Therefore, a problem arises if naval guns are used for fire cover against ground forces...... It was obvious that the enemy was aiming, but because of the fluctuation of the sea water or the recoil of the cannon, the shells fell on their heads in pieces.

Therefore, the role of naval artillery on the battlefield in this era is more about fire preparation...... The U.S. military often did this kind of thing in the Pacific theater, before attacking a certain island, because the U.S. troops had not yet landed, the naval artillery could be bombarded with confidence, even if the naval artillery error was large, it didn't matter, as long as it could hit the island, it would be considered to hit the enemy, bomb him for a few days and nights, turn the fortifications on the island upside down, and then the U.S. troops began to land.

Once the army is ashore, it is more of an air force with a much higher hit rate than naval artillery that provides fire cover.

The current situation of the US military is in such an embarrassing state.

It was dark at night, and fighters and bombers could not carry out effective fire cover, so all they could do was to use naval guns...... The unreliable hit rate of the naval guns put the US troops on the beachhead in danger themselves, and even once the enemy broke into the area of one kilometer before the beachhead, the naval guns would basically fail, because it was certain that they would injure their own people by mistake.

This is why General Patton is "unsure".

At the same time, it is also the basis for the implementation of Qinchuan's plan to lure the enemy...... Because of the problem of large errors in naval guns, the US military, from the perspective of its own security, will inevitably push the cordon several kilometers outward, because only in this way can it ensure that it has sufficient time to react and that its naval guns will not accidentally injure friendly troops.

Qin Chuan guessed correctly, General Patton marked the area of five kilometers in front of the beachhead as a cordon...... That's when the naval guns come into play.

From Patton's point of view, why not use artillery shells to keep the enemy out and keep the American and beachhead safe when there is plenty of ammunition?!

As a result, there was a cracking sound in the palm grove, like a tree being knocked down by a tank, and then there was a faint "rumble" of the tank motor in the sea breeze, and occasionally the "gurgling" sound of the track rubbing against the transmission wheel.

"They're coming!" A U.S. military lookout standing on a watchtower and observing the distance with a telescope poked his head out and shouted a warning down.

Because of the low terrain of the beach and the lack of high ground, in order to be able to observe the distance, the US military had to use local materials and use the trunks of palm trees to erect a dozen guard towers, which were artillery observers for the naval guns.

"How far?" General Patton asked.

"Four kilometers!" The lookout replied, "I'm not sure!" ”

It is not easy to determine the distance to the target in the dark, but the artillery observers certainly have their way...... The method is to calculate the distance between the two watchtowers in advance, and then according to the angle at which the two watchtowers see the target, the distance of the target can be calculated by the triangle theorem.

It didn't take long for the observer to shout: "4.6 km!" ”

"4.6 km!" The correspondent immediately reported the data to the warship.

General Patton gave the order: "Release!" ”

With a loud bang, dozens of warships spat out a large number of shells 4.6 kilometers in front of the beachhead, and the shells carried a whistling sound from far and near, crossed the beachhead, and the bright light swept over the faces of nervous and frightened American GIs, and then smashed into the palm grove four kilometers away.

There was a violent tremor, and a wall of fire rose outside the beachhead, and the heat waves raised by the wall of fire rushed to the shore one after another.

In the firelight, General Patton ordered: "Fire!" ”

Suddenly, all the American troops fired their weapons, howitzers, mortars, rifles, and machine guns all roared and poured bullets and shells into the palm grove.

After a while, at Patton's command, everyone stopped, and there was silence all around, except for a few palm trees in the jungle that had fallen in the firelight, and some screams and wails could be faintly heard.

"We're blocking them!" The lookout shouted, "I don't see anyone attacking us, they should be retreating!" ”

"Boom!" The U.S. soldiers couldn't help but let out a burst of cheers.

However, at this moment, several more shells suddenly came at their position, kicking up a cloud of sand nearby.

"Quiet! Excuse me! General Patton shouted angrily: "They are staring at us in the dark!" ”

At this time, the U.S. military is like a frightened bird, as long as there is a little movement, they will make an excessive self-preservation action...... A large number of artillery shells were fired into the jungle, and sometimes B17s were dispatched to drop a bomb indiscriminately deep into the jungle to destroy suspected enemy artillery positions.

What they didn't know was that the Germans in the jungle had only one company combined, and they dug individual bunkers in advance and divided them into several parts to hide in the jungle, and then used loudspeakers to play the pre-recorded sound of the armored troops advancing downwind, simulating one attack after another.

As a direct result, the area around the US beachhead was almost blown into a scorched earth...... At dawn the next day, the U.S. military saw that the first few kilometers of the beachhead were full of bomb craters overlapping on top of each other, and the palm groves had long since disappeared, leaving only sections of broken trees and roots that had been blown into jagged shapes. Strangely, however, almost no body could be found.

Montgomery was a little relieved when he heard that the American direction was under "fierce" German attack, because it meant that his guess was wrong, and the German target was not Syracuse...... Montgomery at this time preferred to have guessed wrong.

Because Montgomery knew what it would mean if Syracuse was attacked, Syracuse stored tens of thousands of tons of ammunition and supplies that all the British troops needed, and if these supplies and port equipment were destroyed, it would not be a matter of cutting off transportation, but of the British army not having enough supplies to continue fighting on the island.

"The position of the 6th Australian Infantry Division?" Montgomery asked.

"It's two kilometers from Catania!" Degan replied: "The enemy has blown up bridges, destroyed roads, and laid a large number of mines, and we cannot move an inch!" ”

"Transfer the 7th Panzer Division back!" Montgomery ordered: "Bypass from Brontène to Catania and cooperate with the 6th Infantry Division to attack!" ”

"Yes, sir!"

At this time, Montgomery no longer dared to attack the port of Messina, and he only hoped to retreat step by step to keep Syracuse.

Looking at his watch, there were still two hours before dawn, Montgomery couldn't help but relax a little, as long as it was light, the British army could suppress the German armored forces with air superiority.

At this moment, however, the communications officer reported: "General, Pumoro has discovered the enemy!" ”