At the time of the Second Task Force, led by Rear Admiral Fernandez, was sadistic off the coast of Crete. In the Inland Sea, the First Task Force, commanded by Vice Admiral Midrafael, has reached the sea off Heraklion, the largest port in Crete.

Along the way, thousands of Romanian warplanes from the Kiraczes Islands, Athens and the Peloponnese have already swept over this island.

As for the more than 200 warplanes left on the island with British support and Greece, they have long been consumed. The only remaining ones had also suffered heavy losses in the previous reinforcement of the B-12 fleet, and now only a dozen or so were housed in a secret airfield, which could not be used as a last resort.

Now that the threat from the air has been lifted, Task Force 1 can carry out artillery bombardments on Crete with impunity. Sadly, Greece had no coastal defenses on the island, and its largest coastal defense guns were 240 mm guns used to protect against the Ottomans before the Balkan Wars.

How could this pre-World War I coastal defense artillery have a chance to threaten the First Task Force. Not to mention that before this, the Romanian Air Force had already taken care of it, and several 1000KG ground-penetrating shells scrapped the old shore defense guns in advance.

Of course, Romania's ground-penetrating bombs certainly cannot be compared with later generations. The air-dropped bomb is designed with a time-delay explosive device, and the warhead is also designed to be sharp, and at the same time extremely strong. The main goal of this bomb was to penetrate the fortified tops of the various forts.

At the moment, it seems to be working well, and the damage and penetration caused are enough.

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

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

"Woo~"

The sound of a 406 caliber shell flying over the train frightened everyone. The officers and men of the defenders prayed incessantly that the shells would never hit themselves or fall nearby.

"Boom!"

I saw a puff of smoke and dust rising from the city, and several houses disappeared in front of me in an instant, and the power of the 406 caliber cannon was vividly displayed.

Of course, this was nothing more than a shell that ran out of place, and with the correction of the reconnaissance plane in the sky, the next shell landed in a barracks.

The fortified barracks immediately fell in pieces, and the scattered bricks and tiles were struck a second time, causing many of the defenders to suffer.

In fact, it is not only the barracks that are being shelled, but also warehouses, fortifications, airports, oil depots, assembly points and other facilities are within the range of naval artillery strikes. Although the speed of the bombardment was not fast, the huge power made these facilities under the blow, without the strength of a round of resistance, and all of them were hit tragically.

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

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

As the commander-in-chief of the Greek army, Admiral Papagos could not bear it, and he opened his mouth and decided to reduce the garrison in the city.

It's just that his words immediately attracted the opposition of Major General White. "Your Excellency, this is not a good time to withdraw. In the present situation, we cannot easily reduce the number of defensive forces in various places, otherwise it is very likely that the enemy will take advantage of 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 dying, and I can't watch them die like this in vain."

"Your soldiers are bleeding while they are dying, and my soldiers are not bleeding? They are also crouching in a trench like you, with the same weapons in their hands. ”

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel over this, General Tsolaglu, who was the chief of the general staff of the Greek army, hurriedly stepped forward to play a round. "The two of you, at this time, the senseless quarrel will only be unfavorable to the battle situation, we should put aside our prejudices and face this difficulty together."

In fact, Admiral Tsolaglu knew that this quarrel was just a further manifestation of the previous disagreement on tactical deployment. In the previous military deployment meeting, Admiral Papagos believed that the Romanians now have sea supremacy, so they will have the strategic initiative, and they can only gather their troops together and become a fist, where to land and where to fight.

And Major General White of the British Army believed that Admiral Papagos's ideas were out of touch. It looks great, but it's difficult to implement. Not to mention the road situation in Crete, the absolute superiority of the Romanian sea and air alone would have frustrated Admiral Papagos's idea. A large-scale build-up of forces is simply impractical, and it will be defeated by the enemy's superiority in the navy and air force.

The best way is to turn the three cities of Chania, Heraclion, and Rethymnon, which are currently convenient for landing, into fortresses, relying on their urban terrain and enemy attrition, to play a role in delaying the enemy's footsteps.

And in the face of Major General White's thoughts, Admiral Papagos denounced it as trying to drain the last drop of blood of the Greeks. Such an arrangement will not only not work, but will also be broken by the enemy because of scattered deployment.

Then the two argued over it, so much so that neither of them could convince the other. The end result was a partial garrison of the three cities, and the rest of the army was left as a mobile force, ready to reinforce the attacked city.

Of course, there is also the struggle for the command of the Greek-British forces stationed in Crete. Admiral Papagos believed that this was Greek territory, and since the British army was a reinforcement, they should listen to themselves.

Major General White believes that at present, the supplies of the Greek army on the island are basically provided by the British, and we have also sent troops to reinforce it, and Admiral Papagos has not performed satisfactorily in the Greek campaign, so he should listen to the opinions of the advanced military concepts.

Therefore, these two people showed that they were not accustomed to each other in all aspects, which made it difficult for General Tsolaglu, as the chief of staff, to not only reconcile the relationship between the two, but also to give opinions that were acceptable to both of them.

And the results of his persuasion are generally the same as they are now. The two of them glanced at each other, and both ended the discussion with a cold snort coming out of their nostrils.

Seeing this familiar scene, Admiral Tsolaglu had a hint of bitterness in his expression, whether such a combination could stop or drag down the Romanian army, he was a little unconfident in this.

It's just that such a scene in his motherland can't be delayed, and everything is for the motherland Greece.

The Romanian fleet outside the harbor was still there, while the defenders of Heraklion were still suffering. And in the open sea, a huge fleet of ships is heading towards Crete, and everything is so natural.