The night was dark, the stars were sparse, and the great Limerick could not see half of the lights, as if it were an abandoned city, but the British did not forget it. After two massive air raids during the day www.biquge.info the British Air Force once again flew a huge group of bombers across the St George's Strait, across the south of Ireland, and along the sparkling Shannon River to the Irish capital.

At 9:22 a.m., air raid sirens sounded throughout the city of Limerick, and a large number of searchlights suddenly lit up in the fields, and strong pillars of light pierced the sky, directing anti-aircraft artillery to attack the British bombers that had passed through the Allied air lines. Spotting enemy warplanes, anti-aircraft guns deployed around Limerick and warships anchored on the Shannon River opened fire, a fireworks display never seen on St. Patrick's Day in any year......

Due to the British air raid, the pre-imperial military meeting that was being held in the "Forest Palace", the residence of the Irish royal family, was temporarily interrupted, and the personnel were quickly moved to a nearby emergency shelter, while Natsuki and his generals did not follow into the reinforced concrete protected underground fortifications, but observed the battle in the air defense observation post close to the surface.

"The radar warning station detected that the incoming enemy aircraft were divided into four groups, each with about 100 aircraft, for a total of about 400 aircraft. According to the contact reports of the fighter units, most of the bombers sent by the British this time flew at an altitude of 4,000 meters, thus avoiding our small-caliber anti-aircraft weapons. As things stand, our fighters can only prevent a quarter of the British bombers from approaching Limerick at most, and then shoot down another quarter on their way back, and whether we can minimize Limerick's losses depends on the performance of the ground air defense forces. ”

Receiving the latest report from the General Staff, the Chief of the General Staff of the Air Force, Colonel Connolly, informed His Majesty the King and the senior officers in a tone of neither joy nor sorrow. In the two air raids during the day, the British army invested a total of nearly 1,000 fighters, and the combat statistics of the coalition forces showed that 514 British fighters were shot down and more than 300 were damaged. The British top brass should have revisited the bombing campaign at such a heavy cost to the Irish capital, but they insisted on launching night air raids, and it seems that the occupation of the Isle of Man and the landing on the Coen Peninsula by the coalition forces stimulated the most sensitive nerves of the British.

The efficiency of direct-aim anti-aircraft guns is geometric, and Natsuki knows the history of today, he never has too much expectation of ground air defense, nor does he put excessive pressure on air defense forces. In response to Colonel Connolly's last words, he said in a tone of eloquence: "If we can do a good job, our anti-aircraft artillery may be able to take down fifty British bombers." If there were more than fifty, I went overnight to award medals to the gunners. ”

The implication is that half of the British warplanes will break through the barriers and fly to the mouth of the Shannon River, but this does not mean that the Irish capital will be ravaged by the fire of purgatory. During the day, even with hundreds of tons of fumes, it is difficult to hide Limerick, which covers an area of more than 200 square kilometers, but at night, the conditions for the "magic of war" are much easier. In order to disrupt the judgment of the British pilots, the Limerick garrison made a special deployment northeast of the city, and the ring formed by searchlights and anti-aircraft guns was actually a large area of farmland and several villages and towns, and the real city and port were to remain absolutely silent during the night air raids, and radio monitoring and jamming were to be fully utilized.

Air raid sirens sounded in Limerick from 9.10pm to 9.55pm. British bombers braved anti-aircraft fire to drop hundreds of bombs, the actual bombing lasted less than 20 minutes, most of the bombs fell on the false target area set by the Irish army, only a few blocks in the northern part of the city of Limerick were badly damaged, and the British fighters shot down by anti-aircraft fire were also pitifully few, no more than 20 by visual observation.

The officers were speechless for their admiration for His Majesty.

During the bombing by the British army, Natsuki did not say a word, and after the air defense alarm was contacted, he immediately explained to the secretary of state accompanying him: "Inform the cabinet that an official announcement will be issued tomorrow that Limerick has evacuated the whole city in advance, and the British army has suffered little casualties during the three bombings, but a large number of civilian facilities have been damaged, and countless civilian property has been reduced to ashes, so it is severely condemned for the indiscriminate bombing of the Irish capital carried out by the British army." ”

"That's a wonderful solution!" Air Force Commander De Bloni was the first to speak out.

In the face of the praise of his subordinates, Natsuki kept a cool head as usual: "Fortunately, we are only facing the British Air Force, if we can't defeat the military force of the British mainland as soon as possible, and wait until the Americans are fully involved, no matter how much we dig out, it will be useless." ”

So far, the strength of the United States has only been reflected in the economic and industrial aspects, and its concessions in the Azores crisis have led to the widespread belief that American military power exists only on paper, and that in the event of a head-on battle with the Allies, the American military will inevitably be repaired. Therefore, the officers did not pay much attention to Natsuki's "American threat theory", and the current commander of the Irish Army, the German general William Brandt, diverted the topic and said:

"The Isle of Man is calm, the British seem to have given it up flatly, and on the Coen Peninsula, the British army is striking back with great intensity, throwing in a lot of chariot troops, and I fear whether the coalition line will survive tonight. I wonder what Your Majesty thinks? ”

Nominally, the King of Ireland was the supreme commander of the coalition forces and had full command of military operations in the Irish theater of operations, but the battles on the Isle of Man and the Coen Peninsula were from the outset under the direct control of the Joint Operations Command, or more precisely, on the chessboard of the German General Staff, and all deployments were carried out according to the German plan, with the Irish army in a subordinate position in terms of strength, equipment and battlefield role. Within the Irish army, the generals were generally dissatisfied with this arrangement, and even many German officers objected to the excessive authority of the German General Staff, believing that the Irish king was more qualified than anyone else for the post of military commander, but the parties themselves remained silent and never expressed their grievances on any occasion. Regarding the army commander's concern, Natsuki responded indifferently: "If we can hold the defensive line, it means that the fighting spirit of the front-line soldiers is stronger than we imagined, and even if the defensive line is broken, the landing force may not be driven into the sea by the British, and we will find a way to recapture the position tomorrow." ”

Brant was obviously unwilling: "Although what you said is right, we have invested the most elite 1st Parachute Battalion and 1st Tank Battalion in one go, and if there are serious losses in the first day of fighting, it will inevitably deal a blow to the morale of our army, and excellent soldiers cannot be trained in a few weeks." ”

Natsuki looked at him and asked, "What is a good soldier?" ”

Brandt did not answer, for he knew that His Majesty was not asking for an answer that was not known to everyone.

The excellent soldiers on the training ground and the excellent soldiers on the battlefield seem to be inextricably linked, but they may not be the same thing at all. The former depends on the military system and individual attitudes, and basically as long as you give it you will get it, and now Germany, Ireland, and Britain each have a large number of well-trained soldiers who know the conventional skills of shooting, marching, trenching, and fighting, and are able to do what they are ordered and forbidden in most cases. The latter is the understanding gained through the tempering of the war, the sacrifice of blood and even the cost of life, the soldiers who have grown up in the flames of war, have the temperament of not being arrogant in victory and not being discouraged in defeat, and can calmly cope with various situations, so that they are not afraid of danger and do not be chaotic. In recent years, the Allies have lost tens of thousands of soldiers in France, costing countless funds, and the biggest gain is to let the soldiers of the front-line troops receive actual combat training in advance, which is a major advantage of the Allied forces over the British army, but most of the Allied soldiers who returned from France are not "excellent", because only a very few of them have encountered the real test there.

In Natsuki's eyes, the Battle of the Cohen Peninsula was the first tough battle in the early stage of the Great War, and it was likely to become a watershed in the evolution of the mentality of the soldiers on both sides, so he advocated adopting a steady combat strategy, that is, on the first day of landing, with the first goal of stabilizing the beachhead, expanding the landing ground during the day with the support of the air force and navy, establishing a circular defense line with a certain defensive depth, and relying on the position at night to defend to the death to resist the counterattack of the British army. As a result, when the battle began, the British troops stationed on the Cohen Peninsula showed themselves vulnerable, and the coalition forces took a step forward and implemented the third operational objective, which was to establish a defensive line across the peninsula. If the objective is achieved, the landing force will soon be able to open up a number of field airfields in the western part of the Coen Peninsula, which will be of very positive significance for the coalition forces to seize air supremacy on the battlefield as soon as possible, but judging from the battle reports transmitted from the front, this step is really too risky -- the coalition landing fleet has not been able to complete the scheduled delivery task due to the heavy British air raids, the landing force has stretched the defensive line too wide, and the anti-tank weapons on the positions are insufficient. The most critical reason is probably that the German generals underestimated the British preparations for war.

At this moment, on the battlefield in the middle of the Coen Peninsula, fierce fighting between the two armies is still going on. Seeing that the British tank group was crushing over with overwhelming momentum, many of the allied soldiers, including Gallaher, quickly retracted into the trenches, waited for the British tanks to run over their heads, and then repeated the same trick, attacking their relatively weak rear with various anti-tank weapons.

In the eyes of ordinary people, this is a choice that knows how to advance and retreat, and knows the gains and losses, but the private next to Gallaher doesn't seem to understand it that way. The young Irish paratrooper threw his rifle aside and, at the risk of being hit by enemy bullets, threw anti-tank grenades one after another. The explosion at close range shook the human organs, and the blood and qi surged, and Gallah was ashamed to see the robe around him so brave, he clenched his fists and smashed the ground, threw aside the fear and cowardice in his heart, grabbed his rifle, loaded an anti-armor grenade in a crouching position, and resolutely got up and returned to the battle.

It didn't matter if he looked up, he was almost kicked in the head by the hooves of a horse flying through the air.

In the moonlight, the sharp saber flickered, and only a crisp sound was heard, and the private beside Gallaher fell on his back in a strange position.

Gallaher was stunned by the scene, and before he could recover his senses, a strange creaking sound from the turning of the track came overhead. His vision was dark, and the scene of being run over by the British chariots was repeated, except that this time the British cavalry kept up with the rhythm of the attack, and their presence made it difficult for the Allied soldiers to repeat their old tricks and destroy the British chariots that had crossed the trenches in isolation.

The British chariot drove through the trench, and the obscured moonlight sprinkled back into the trench. Gallaher hurriedly leaned over to check on his companion's injuries. The private clasped his hands on the right side of his neck, blood gushing out from his fingers, his body continued to tremble, and his eyes showed deep consternation and unwillingness.

Each Irish paratrooper carried a double field first aid kit, and Gallaher took out the hemostatic powder and hemostatic bandage as quickly as he could, and removed the private's hand, if this guy was really unlucky, he was actually wounded by a cold weapon on the battlefield in the early 30s, and the British cavalryman's knife left deep scars on the base of his neck and right shoulder. Just as Gallaher sprinkled the hemostatic powder on it, the private suddenly stopped trembling, his eyes lost the last of their vitality, and became hollow.

Gallah didn't cry, didn't scream, didn't roar, he silently raised his head, and the British cavalry was crossing the trench one after another. Under the deterrence of the cavalry swords, the coalition soldiers in this section have been crushed in the trenches.

Can't hold the position?

As soon as Gallaher uttered such a lament in his heart, someone in his ear lashed out at him for his cowardice with a sonorous voice.

"Except for the grenadiers, all bayonets ready!"

It was the battle order of the German army, and the pronunciation of the words was somewhat similar to that of Irish Gaelic and should be understood by most Irish soldiers. A moment later, Gallaher heard the same meaning in Irish, saw the riflemen of the same paratrooper combat group drawing their bayonets and loading their rifles, saw the private who had replaced the light machine gunner kneeling on the ground, reloading the light machine gun, and saw Corporal Reilly leaning against the wall of the trench, carefully observing the situation outside the trench.

At the moment when he was overwhelmed by the British cavalry and chariots, everyone was preparing to counterattack, and Gallah was even more ashamed of his desire to be perfect. The grenade uses a trigger fuse and is capable of attacking any target within range, so instead of removing the grenade cartridge and replacing it with a bayonet, he is ready to deal a hard blow to the enemy in front of him.

In a few moments, the command to open fire sounded on the side of the German troops next to them. The German soldiers fired forward with rifles loaded with bayonets, and the defensive fire was like a spring of pressure. Amidst all kinds of shouts and shouts, many soldiers resolutely stood up and tried to block the follow-up troops of the British army; The grenadiers threw magnetic anti-tank grenades and incendiary grenades at British vehicles.

Gallaher clenched the rifle in his hand, waiting for Corporal Reilly's command, but the next second, the cacophony of metal grinding and the dull roar of the engine drowned out all sounds.

Having been run over twice before, Gallaher knew that a British chariot was in front of him, and if no one could stop it, it would drive over the trench in half a minute at most.

Thinking of the fresh life that had just disappeared in front of him, Gallah suddenly got up, and the muzzle of his gun was aimed at the British tank.

This is a Vickers MK-II, and there are not many cavalry behind it, but a considerable number of "Vickers" and "Kitchener" are rumbling over the wreckage of the wrecked tanks, and the artillery fire of the coalition forces has significantly weakened by this time.

The line of defense can't be held!

Gallaher groaned in his heart, and there was no hesitation in aiming and shooting. The grenade fired accurately hit the British combat vehicle more than ten meters away, and the front of the hull was the thickest part of its armor, but the thickness was only 20 millimeters, which could not stop the attack of an anti-armor grenade. The damaged tank continued to move forward, slower and slower, and finally came to a complete stop five or six meters from the trench.

The weapons on the car did not fire again, and no occupants abandoned the car to escape, were they afraid that they would come out and be beaten into a sieve, or had they all been killed? Gallaher had such doubts, but he didn't have time to think too much, he lowered his head to reload his grenade, and didn't notice Private Hart stumbling to his side.

"Corporal killed!" Hart wept and said, "He was hacked to death by the British cavalry!" ”

Gallaher was taken aback, which meant that something he was extremely unwilling to see had happened. Although he was mentally prepared, the current battlefield situation was extremely complicated. The coalition forces may be able to hold their ground after a bitter battle, or they may face a catastrophic rout right away.

Before Gallaher could speak, Hart added: "The position on the north side seems to have been completely breached!" ”

As far as the eye could see, the gunfire of the guns on the northern position had faded, and the coalition resistance there seemed to have weakened considerably.

The Allied soldiers who had withdrawn from their positions on the north flank soon appeared in the trenches, and they were not only disgraced and demoralized, but also brought the dismal news that they had lost a large part of their positions in a matter of minutes because they had been beaten by the enemy on their backs and were being beaten by the British; The British cavalry rushed into the field artillery positions of the coalition forces in the dark, most of the artillery was destroyed, and the only way to survive was to retreat quickly, retreat to the beachhead, rely on naval artillery support to hold the position, and wait for an opportunity to counterattack under the cover of the air force until dawn.

(End of chapter)