When the Allied troops suddenly launched a landing attack, the American and British troops stationed on Corvo Island had only 872 people, of which 84 were non-combatants, and there were 220 anti-aircraft gunners who lacked close combat ability. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

In the last war, Britain was in danger of being invaded, as one of the Commonwealth countries, Canada had the unshirkable duty to send troops to participate in the war, more than 200,000 Canadian troops went to Europe, more than 30,000 Canadian soldiers were killed or captured in the battlefields of France and Ireland, and nearly 10,000 people were disabled for life due to injuries. Still, when the catastrophe of yet another war struck, thousands of adult Canadian men said goodbye to their families and enthusiastically walked into recruiting stations, underwent rigorous military training, and then lined up to board ships and head to the battlefield full of hardships and murders......

The outline of Corvo Island finally came into view, and Irish Air Force Private Steve Queeve took a few deep breaths with his back against the trembling cabin wall. Even if you unfortunately fall into the water during the parachute landing process, as long as you are in danger and operate in strict accordance with the regulations, the possibility of drowning should be very low, but there are various threats on the battlefield in addition to accidental drowning. The partners who joined the Airborne Forces with him at the beginning have gone to three or four, and how many of them will stay in a foreign land forever after this battle?

Soon, the red light next to the hatch turned on, and the lead non-commissioned officer got up and said: "Boys, get ready, parachute in five minutes!" ”

As soon as the words ended, the paratroopers began to do a final check of the equipment they were carrying, confirming that the buckles were in the correct position for different purposes. Then, some people closed their eyes and waited, some people chanted words, and some people stared intently out of the window.

At this time, Corvo resembles an active volcanic island, except that smoke from the fire comes from the foot of the volcano rather than the crater. On the east and south sides of the island, more than a dozen ships are docked on the coast, and a number of warships are cruising in the coastal area.

After a few moments, the red light next to the hatch flashed twice, then went out, and the green light below lit up.

"The last thirty seconds!" The leading non-commissioned officer shouted the order.

The paratroopers immediately stood up from their positions, fastened the drawstring hook to the parachute rope, and then, without exception, all kissed their shamrock armbands, which were both a symbol of victory and glory, but also a spiritual sustenance of luck.

Half a minute passed in a flash, and the leading non-commissioned officer opened the hatch with force, and the strong air flow poured in instantly, and the dull warmth in the cabin was suddenly swept away by the refreshing fresh air.

The lead non-commissioned officer glanced out of the hatch and immediately shouted, "Let's go!" ”

The 12 paratroopers were like a bunch of ripe grapes, swaying their branches slightly, and then falling one by one.

Sunny days, few clouds, northeast winds, wind force two to three levels, this is a more suitable weather for parachute landing -- before the paratroopers board the plane and set off, the command will provide them with important information such as the weather conditions at the target location and the enemy's deployment, but this information can not always coincide with the actual situation, weather changes, enemy adjustment and deployment, or other accidental factors may bring variables to the airborne operation.

The direction and speed of the wind in the target area are difficult to intuitively feel on the plane, and after jumping out of the cabin, the experienced paratroopers can judge by the relative displacement of the reference object below. The wind was steady, the wind speed was low, and more importantly, there was no terrifying anti-aircraft fire on the island, which gave Steve a lot of peace of mind. During the descent, the young but experienced paratrooper did not close his eyes as he did in his first jump, but estimated his landing site while observing the situation below. Compared to the R-type parachute favored by the Germans, the T-parachute used by the Irish Airborne Forces was more maneuverable, and the paratroopers could change the direction of the landing by dragging four connecting belts - elite Royal Guards could even land accurately in areas the size of rooftops.

The Bowl of the Bowl Volcanic Dome on Corvo Island is located in the northwest corner, with an area of about three square kilometers, and the Irish Airborne Forces are to seize the commanding heights, attack the enemy's fortifications from the rear, and cooperate with the landing force to capture the entire island as quickly as possible. Steve's company was scheduled to land at the southern end of the summit, and because the inner slope of the crater was steep and difficult to navigate, the best place to land was the outer edge of the crater, so Steve carefully adjusted the direction and let himself gradually fall to the slope that he had seen many times in the photos.

With no soldiers, no trenches, and no ground structures, this barren slope seemed to be a landing ground for Irish paratroopers. Dozens of paratroopers fell to the ground unhindered, and just as they were already tensing their feet and preparing to accept the cushioning force of the ground, a series of bullets swept in, and the sound of swishing made the paratroopers break out in a cold sweat!

Following the direction where the bullets were flying, Steve Horan discovered that the flame-spewing tongue was actually an inconspicuous hillbag, and its clever camouflage allowed it to successfully avoid the shelling and bombardment ahead. The Irish paratroopers hung in the air, like pieces of meat hanging on hooks, and only for the sake of slaughter, and only by landing as soon as possible could they find ways to eliminate the immediate crisis -- the reason why the Germans chose the R-type parachute was that the primary consideration was to reduce the time of the paratroopers in the air, which not only reduced the risk, but also reduced the enemy's reaction time.

In the last landing distance, Steve was mentally prepared to be concentrated by bullets at any time, but fortunately, the enemy only had one or two machine guns, and the position was a little far away and it was difficult to aim, and most of the paratroopers fell to the ground without danger. When the time finally came, Steve fell backwards, using his hips and backpack to absorb most of the cushioning. Just then, a gust of wind blew from the west, and the reopened parachute dragged Steve down the bumps for several meters, the uneven ground hurting his buttocks.

Easily freed from the shackles of his parachute bag, Steve reflexively prostrate and took his rifle from his bumper bag as he looked around.

"Damn it, it looks like a Vickers-20 is shooting at us!" Someone shouted.

The Confederate camp referred to the British Vickers light tank as the Vickers-20 because it was first publicly unveiled in 1920. In front of the main tanks of Germany and Ireland, these six-ton tanks armed only with machine guns were as bad as toys, but they were ultimately armored combat vehicles and were still very advantageous against troops lacking heavy weapons support.

"Hell, how did this guy get up?" Steve muttered to himself, thinking that the bag was about the size of the Vickers-20's rotating turret, and it was really possible that it was an enemy vehicle covered in camouflage. The Irish Airborne Forces are equipped with steel core bullets and anti-tank grenades as standard, which are theoretically sufficient to deal with ordinary armored targets, but the actual combat situation is very different, a light tank covered by infantry or in special bunkers is very difficult to deal with, and once the paratroopers encounter enemy vehicles on the battlefield, it is the most sensible choice to actively retreat or wait for reinforcements.

The enemy's machine guns rattled and the flying bullets pinned the Irish paratroopers to the slope, and then a loud cannon burst through the air, sending up a huge cloud of smoke and dust in the middle of the slope.

"That's not the Vickers-20, it's a tank turret mounted on top of a concrete fortification, a 'masterpiece' left by the German army, which they didn't blow up before surrendering!" Another voice shouted.

As the man spoke, the enemy's machine gun fired several more bullets, but instead of grazing the scalps of the paratroopers as they had just done, they whizzed upwards.

When Steve looked up, there was a spectacular scene of white umbrella flowers in the sky, not to mention twenty or thirty paratroopers floating in this direction, and the machine gun bullets with tracer bullets flew diagonally upwards at an angle of about 30 degrees to the ground - the turret machine gun was limited by the pitch angle and could not be used as an anti-aircraft machine gun, not to mention who would have expected that the Allied troops would carry out an airborne operation on such a volcanic island?

"Lieutenant Angus! Did anyone see Lieutenant Angus? A non-commissioned officer in front hurriedly shouted and asked.

"The lieutenant is here!" Someone immediately replied, "He's been shot, and we're stopping the bleeding." ”

As far as the situation is concerned, this is definitely very bad news.

In a moment, the voice just now shouted: "Sergeant Tengk, Lieutenant Angus has authorized you to command the battle!" ”

The non-commissioned officer in front took over the battle without hesitation, and he asked loudly: "What about our mortars?" Where are our mortars? ”

Someone immediately responded to him: "The mortar team is fully in position, but there are no mortars, we have to find a way to avoid the enemy's machine guns and find the weapon sac!" Can you call in naval gun support? ”

The acting commander immediately rejected the proposal: "No! It's too far from the coast for naval artillery to send us into the sky! We'll have to move forward and see if we can solve this big problem with submachine guns and grenades. 3 platoons shoot in place, distracting the enemy; 4 rows, 1 shift, 2 shifts, detour from the south; 4 platoons, 3 squads, 4 squads, detour from the north, whoever approaches the target first will attack! Execute it now! ”

Despite the risk of being hit by oncoming bullets, the paratroopers moved bravely, one group made a roundabout way to the south, that is, to the low-lying ground, and the other group to the north, that is, to the top of the volcano, while the rest of the paratroopers looked for their own firing positions on the slopes, trying to suppress the enemy's fire with rifles and light machine guns, but ordinary bullets and steel-core bullets could not damage the fortifications in the distance. With the passage of time, more and more paratroopers landed on the slopes and around them, but due to the enemy's firepower points, the units were unable to deploy at all, let alone achieve the predetermined combat objectives, and the situation was very unoptimistic.

A few minutes later, small groups of paratroopers detouring from the north gradually approached the enemy fortifications. Seeing that they were about to attack, two grenades suddenly threw out of a bunker next to the turret of the chariot. Only two booms were heard, and several paratroopers immediately fell in pools of blood.

Paratrooper Steve was in the middle of a roundabout line from the south, and saw a puff of smoke rise from a distance, and thought that another group of comrades had succeeded, but the rattling of machine guns rang out again, and everyone involuntarily quickened their pace.

The paratroopers who made a detour from the north did not complete their mission, but at least they distracted the enemy, making it easier for the group of paratroopers to go around the rear of the enemy's fortifications from the south. In a short time, two Ju-30 tactical bombers whizzed through the air, and the enemy's fire point temporarily stopped firing due to the destructive power of the aerial bombs, and Steve and his companions took advantage of the momentum to throw grenades at the enemy bunker, and then rushed into the bunker, clearing the enemy soldiers inside with pistols and submachine guns, and the fierce battle lasted about two minutes, where the gunfire and explosions all stopped, and then someone waved a new good stick that burst into green flames, in order to tell the companions outside, The enemy here has been dealt with.

(End of chapter)