Romanian Eagle

When the Second Task Force, led by Major General Fernandez, abused the sea off Crete. The 1st Task Force, commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Midraphael in the inland sea, has come to the sea off Heraklion, the largest port in Crete.

Along the way, thousands of Romanian fighter planes from the Gerakdes Islands, Athens, and the Peloponnese have already swept away on this island.

As for the more than 200 fighter planes left by the British and Greece on the island, they have already been consumed almost. The only remaining ones also suffered heavy losses in the previous reinforcements of the B-12 fleet. Now only a dozen or so are placed in a secret airport, and they cannot be used as a last resort.

Now that the threat from the air has been eliminated, the 1st Task Force can unscrupulously bombard Crete. It is a pity that Greece has no coastal defense facilities on the island at all, and its largest coastal defense artillery is the 240mm caliber that was used to protect against the Ottomans before the Balkan War.

How could this kind of coastal defense artillery before World War I have the opportunity to threaten the First Task Force. Not to mention that before that, the Romanian Air Force had already taken care of it, and several 1000KG ground penetrators had scrapped the old coastal defense artillery ahead of schedule.

Of course, Romania's penetrating bombs cannot be compared with later generations. It's just that a delayed explosive device is designed for the air-dropped bomb, and the warhead is also designed to be sharp and extremely strong at the same time. After this kind of bomb was designed, the main goal was to penetrate the solid top of each fortress.

At present, the effect seems to be good, and the destructive power and penetrating power are sufficient.

Now that the worries have been lifted, don't blame the task force for practicing artillery.

After a distance of more than 20 kilometers, greetings from battleships began to visit the largest port in Crete.

"Woo~"

The sound of a 406-caliber shell flying over the train shocked everyone. The officers and soldiers of the defending army kept praying that the shells would not hit themselves or land nearby.

"boom!"

I saw a plume of smoke rising from the city, and several houses disappeared in front of my eyes in an instant. The power of the 406-caliber cannon was vividly displayed.

Of course, this was just a misplaced artillery shell, and under the correction of the reconnaissance plane in the sky, the next artillery shell landed in a military camp.

The sturdy barracks collapsed in pieces immediately, and the bricks and tiles that had been shot up made a second blow, causing many defending officers and soldiers to suffer.

In fact, it is not only the military camp that is being shelled,

Warehouses, fortifications, airports, oil depots, assembly points and other facilities are all within the range of naval artillery strikes. Although the shelling speed is not fast, but the huge power makes these facilities under its attack, there is no resistance for a round, and they all suffer a tragic blow.

This also made the faces of General Papagos, the commander-in-chief of the Greek army, and Major General White, the highest commander of the British army, who were hiding outside the city, look extremely ugly.

"This can't be done. The morale of our soldiers will quickly disappear under such a blow. We must reduce the garrison in the city."

Admiral Papagos, the commander-in-chief of the Greek army, couldn't help it, and he decided to reduce the garrison in the city.

However, his words immediately attracted the opposition of Major General White. "Your Excellency, now is not a good time to withdraw. In the current situation, we cannot easily reduce the defensive strength everywhere, otherwise it is very likely that the enemy will take the opportunity to attack the shore."

It's just that Major General White's words did not calm down the Greek commander-in-chief. "But our soldiers are bleeding, and I can't watch them being sacrificed in vain."

"Your soldiers are dying and bleeding, aren't my soldiers dying? They are also squatting in a trench like you, with the same weapons in their hands."

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel about this, General Tsoraglu, the chief of staff of the Greek army, hurried forward to smooth the field. "You two, unnecessary quarrels at this time will only make the situation unfavorable. We should put aside our prejudices and face this difficulty together."

In fact, Admiral Tsoraglu knew that this quarrel was just a further manifestation of the differences in the previous tactical deployment. In the previous military deployment meeting, Admiral Papagos believed that Romania currently has the command of the sea, so it will have the strategic initiative, and they can only bring the army together to become a fist, where to land and fight.

The British Major General White believes that the idea of ​​Admiral Papagos has been out of touch with reality. It looks good, but it is difficult to implement. Not to mention the road conditions in Crete, the absolute advantage from the Romanian sea and air will make Admiral Papagos's idea fail. It is not practical to gather troops on a large scale, which will be beaten by the enemy using the dominant navy and air force.

The best way is to turn the three cities of Chania, Heraklion, and Rethymnon, which are currently convenient for landing, into fortresses, and rely on their urban terrain and enemy consumption to delay the enemy's footsteps.

In the face of Major General White's idea, Admiral Papagos scolded him for wanting to drain the last drop of blood from the Greeks. Such an arrangement will not only be ineffective, but will also be defeated by the enemy due to scattered deployment.

Then the two argued about it, so that neither could persuade the other. The final result is Hexianmu, part of the defenders stationed in the three cities, and then the remaining army is reserved as a mobile force, ready to reinforce the attacked city at any time.

Of course, at a deeper level, there is also the struggle for the command of the Greek-British coalition forces stationed on Crete. And Admiral Papagos believes that this is Greek territory, and since the British army is a reinforcement, it should listen to itself.

And Major General White believes that at present, the Greek army supplies on the island are basically provided by the UK, and we have also sent army reinforcements, and General Papagos's performance in the Greek campaign was not satisfactory, so it should be heard. Own opinion from Advanced Military Concepts.

Therefore, these two people can't stand each other in all aspects, which makes it hard for Admiral Tsoraglu, who is the chief of staff. acceptable opinion.

And the result of his persuasion is generally the same as it is now. The two looked at each other, and both let out a cold snort from their nostrils to end the discussion.

Seeing this familiar scene, Admiral Tsoraglu showed a bit of bitterness in his expression. Can such a combination stop or drag the Romanian army's footsteps? He lacked confidence in this.

It's just that the scene of my own motherland can't be delayed, and everything is for the motherland, Greece.

The Romanian fleet outside the port is still there, and the defenders in Heraklion are still suffering. In the open sea, a huge fleet is heading for Crete, and everything is so natural.