"Horizontal azimuth 334 degrees 21 minutes...... Shooting elevation angle 14 degrees 9 minutes...... Armor-piercing charge...... Shooting Preparation...... Fire! ”

Under the German officer's command, more than two dozen gunners worked closely together in the slightly cramped turret. Pen~Fun~Pavilion www.biquge.info Although the exhaust fan kept turning all the time, the air was still filled with a strong smell of gunsmoke, and almost everyone's military uniform was soaked with sweat.

The turret is equipped with a triple gun that is large in size and surprisingly loud when firing. After a roar of shaking the mountain, the German officer stared at the periscope with a frown, and after a dozen seconds, his cheeks were slightly raised, and then he muttered to himself: "It seems to be closer!" ”

The last rays of the sunset disappeared more than half an hour ago, and now the sky is getting darker, and the vision on the sea has become very blurred, even with the help of precision optical instruments, it is difficult for people to distinguish the scene in the distance.

After a while, the communications corpsman who was standing by the telephone reported: "Captain, the firing command ordered us to increase the horizontal azimuth by 5 points, increase the elevation angle of the shooting by 2 points, and fire another volley. ”

The officer's gaze was off the scope, and with a still grim expression on his face, he commanded in the tone he had just said: "The horizontal azimuth is 334 degrees 26 minutes...... Shooting elevation angle 14 degrees 11 minutes...... Armor-piercing projectile ......"

Before he could finish speaking, a shrill whistling sound rang out, reaching people's ears through the thick turret outer wall. In an instant, the sky cracked, the mountains roared and the tsunami roared, and such a violent explosion lasted for several seconds, and after the explosion subsided, the tremors under the feet of the people stopped, and this is the difference between a fortress and a warship.

Although the enemy's shells did not hit the turret, the smoke and dust completely obscured the field of vision, and the officer simply stopped looking at the scope, but personally checked the shooting elements set by the artillery, and after making sure that it was correct, he waited for the signal corps' move, and when the other party raised his hand to signal, he resolutely roared: "Fire!" ”

The thunderous fury of the triple guns was staggering, and beyond their roar, the same roar rang out one after another. The ancient fortress of San Sebastian has stood for more than 300 years on the southern shore of the island of Texel, on the southern shore of the island of Texel, on a hammer-shaped peninsula that stretches from the land into the sea, but it has played little role in modern warfare, and a few accurate salvos from Lexington-class battle cruisers armed with 18-inch guns have been able to reduce them to rubble, but this has not happened so far - the German Navy has deployed several mine arrays in the waterway near Angrasínoshan, In addition, concealed torpedo tubes are deployed on the shore, so the US and British capital ships never dare to approach before the obstacle is cleared, and it is difficult for long-range artillery bombardment to exert the effect of targeted killing.

After the occupation of the Azores, the Germans spent a lot of money on a series of modern coastal defenses, and the eight fortresses on the island of Texel are the representative of them. The fortress complex "Berlin" and the fortress group "Brandenburg" are responsible for the defense of Angrasmoshato, the latter of which was built on the hill of Brazil. The most powerful weapons here are the nine 45x14-inch heavy guns shipped from the German mainland - they were originally prepared for the Mackensen-class battlecruisers, and after learning that the British Queen Elizabeth-class used 15-inch main guns, and the American Lexington-class battlecruisers planned to be equipped with an amazing 18-inch naval guns, the German top brass decided to install the more powerful 50x-diameter 15-inch naval guns on the Mackensen-class, and the Tirpitz Earl and Deutsche classes designed and built later used 16-inch naval guns. As a result, the already created 14-inch naval guns were used in coastal defense. In the Brandenburg fortress, these heavy guns were arranged in a triple arrangement in a specially armored turret, and together with hundreds of large and small high-level guns in other fortresses and positions, they turned the huge mountain defending the harbor into an unsinkable supership.

Since ancient times, the relationship between the fleet and the coastal defense fortress has been like a spear and a shield, and they have been mutually reinforcing. At the beginning of night, about 15 kilometers southwest of Angra Sangra, two large warships flying the Stars and Stripes and three large ships flying the St. George flag were lined up, and more than a dozen light ships were scattered around it. This artillery fleet had 15 15-inch cannons and 24 14-inch cannons, and had an overwhelming numerical advantage over the shore defense guns of the German fortress "Brandenburg", but this did not mean that the attacking side had an absolute guarantee of victory. Shore defense turrets placed on land are usually much more protected than battleship turrets because they are less weight-constrained. The three triple coastal defense turrets of the "Brandenburg" fortress are equipped with 600 mm thick armor on the front, which can not be directly penetrated by even the largest caliber 18-inch naval guns, and each turret is equipped with an independent rangefinder, the concrete base is 30 meters deep underground, the ammunition depot, the machinery hang, the galley, the dining room, the living quarters, and the operating room are all available, and the two sets of 400-horsepower diesel engines for submarines provide sufficient power supply, so each turret can be regarded as an independent combat system.

After the initial correction of the impact point, each salvo of the German fortress guns was a test of life and death for these American and British battleships, and the armor-piercing projectiles weighing more than 600 kilograms per second came at a speed of nearly 800 meters per second, whether it was the two Pennsylvania-class ships of the US Navy or the three Queen Elizabeth-class ships of the British Navy, they had to be afraid of a few points, and they could still carry it stiffly after one or two rounds, but if they took a few more rounds or were injured to the vital point, the situation would not be good.

The reason why the US and British fleets stormed the German fortress "Brandenburg" on the Brazilian Hill was forced by the situation after all -- on 24 and 25 May, the battle on Texel Island was deadlocked outside Angra Sangra, but on the afternoon of 25 May, the Allied fleet arrived in the theater at an unexpected speed and attacked the US and British aircraft carrier fleets with carrier-based aircraft groups, achieving remarkable results. The situation on the battlefield changed abruptly, the United States and Britain sent the main force to pounce on the Allied fleet, and the United States and British forces that landed on Texel Island also accelerated the speed of attacking Anglo Herosmo. In the evening of the same day, the U.S. 2nd Marine Division and the Canadian 1st Light Infantry Division organized assault teams to storm the heights north of Angra Sansseesha, suffering more than 4,000 casualties but still failing to succeed, and the British army's offensive from the west of the city was also futile. The reason for this is that the two major fortresses of "Brandenburg" and "Berlin" located in the east of Mount Pasir and Angrasmoshafen played a very important supporting role in the ground defense of the German army, especially the three triple 14-inch heavy guns of the "Brandenburg" fortress group, when they fired high-explosive shells at the American and British troops who were engaged in the attack, two or three rounds of fire were enough to destroy the fighting spirit of many American and British soldiers.

The disadvantage of battleships over fortresses lies in their protection, and their advantage lies in their maneuverability. The three British Queen Elizabeth-class battleships had a long range and therefore moved in the rear, while the two American Pennsylvania-class battleships slowed down, but the salvo of the four triple guns was quite powerful, so they fired frequently in the front row. At the beginning of the battle, the German fortress artillery twice caused close damage to the American battleship, but the light gradually dimmed, and it became more and more difficult for the Germans to threaten the moving target, but the German fortress on the hill of Brazil was a fixed target that would not move, and the American and British fleets gradually gained the upper hand. Under the continuous bombardment of the opponent, the rangefinders of the three large German coastal defense turrets were damaged one after another, the communication lines were broken and repaired, repaired and broken, the firing speed was greatly slowed down, and the accuracy of artillery fire also showed a tendency to decline.

Seeing that the German large-caliber fortress guns were no longer majestic, the British heavy cruiser "Cornwall" and the light cruiser "Carlisle" arrived near the coast under the protection of several minesweepers, and tried to carry out targeted elimination of other German coastal fortifications, but the attack lasted less than half an hour, and the "Cornwall" suddenly hit a mine, and then lost power for a time, but fortunately, at this time it was completely dark, and the Germans did not immediately notice the strangeness of the British heavy cruiser, and the accompanying "Carlisle" quickly released a smoke screen in front of it. This made it impossible for the German gunners to aim accurately. After some emergency repairs, the "Cornwall" barely regained its ability to move at about 9 o'clock that night and finally managed to escape.

The episode of the "Cornwall" did not affect the realization of the stated operational intentions of the coalition forces, and after effectively suppressing the fire of the German fortress at Mount Pasir Hill, the two Queen Elizabeth-class battleships turned their guns and bombarded the city of Angra Sansseeshami with high-explosive shells. The power of the 15-inch naval guns is so great that the neighborhood hit by the shells suddenly becomes a purgatory on earth, not to mention ordinary bunkers, even underground fortifications made of reinforced concrete are difficult to withstand such a strong impact, and heavy artillery bombardment is often more effective in reducing the morale and will of the defenders than a long-term siege.

Under the continuous attack of American and British battleships, the German fortress "Brandenburg" and most of the city of Angrasmo Sansmo burned almost all night. As the most prosperous town in the Azores, Angra do Heroísmo is a tightly knit urban complex with a large number of Baroque buildings, the rectilinear layout of the port streets is uniquely adaptable - the street orientation is adjusted to coincide with the prevailing winds, and the two-storey houses with painted wooden balconies are a typical Brazilian Portuguese architectural heritage, which was used by the German army to build a defensive line. Now, after the baptism of artillery fire, buildings have been reduced to ruins, many underground bunkers have been buried, and the German defense system has become fragmented.

At 4 o'clock in the morning, the U.S. Army deployed three tank battalions and the elite 1st Infantry Division to launch a fierce attack on the German land defense line west of Angra Sangra, and the 1st Marine Division also made a comeback, this time taking the northern heights overlooking the city in one fell swoop, and then erecting heavy mortars to launch targeted strikes on the German buildings and trenches in the city.

In spite of the terrible situation and the loss of vigor, the majority of the German officers and men still fulfilled their duties, and with their excellent combat skills, they stubbornly resisted the American and British troops who broke through into the city, and even organized battlefield counter-assaults in some areas; if the Bernke fleet, which had high hopes at this time, could appear in time to drive away the American and British fleets that were shelling the "Brandenburg" fortress, and support the German ground forces in launching a counteroffensive with carrier-based aircraft and naval gun firepower, then it would be entirely possible to turn the tide of the battle.

It is a pity that the figure of the Bernke fleet did not appear at sea level. Until a crucial victory over the main fleets of the United States and Britain is achieved, they will not be enough to play the role of savior. The day before yesterday, in the last wave of air raids before dark, the Allied fleet dispatched 144 carrier-based aircraft, but this inevitable blow failed to materialize, and the American and British aircraft carriers retreated northward, hiding their tracks under the cover of rain clouds.

On the way back, the Allied carrier-based aircraft discovered the American and British battleships heading south at high speed, which had nine battleships and four battlecruisers, all of which were enough to rival the presence of the German first-line capital ships. German and Irish carrier-based bombers launched an all-out air attack, damaging the enemy flagship and two other battleships, but this did not stop the American and British battleships from moving on. In order to avoid encountering the formidable American and British battleships at night, Admiral Beanck led the Allied fleet to retreat eastward, only to turn back after dawn. Since his own battleships were far outnumbered by his opponents, Beinke regarded the carrier-based aircraft as a magic weapon to defeat the main American and British fleets, so he only sent two fighter squadrons and one bomber squadron to reinforce the defenders of Anshasa Sangra, which was a drop in the bucket for the troubled defenders.

Under the powerful offensive of the American and British troops, the German army continued to shrink its defensive line, relying on the two fortresses of "Berlin" and "Brandenburg" for the last stubborn resistance.

By noon, the American and British troops had already occupied the main city of Angra de Marsmo, and several small German units acting as the rear guard had no hope of breaking through, so they surrendered to the American and British forces. By about 1 p.m., the U.S. tank unit had crossed the block to the eastern pier of Angrasmoshafen, thus cutting off the land link between the two German fortresses.

At the fortress "Brandenburg", the nine 14-inch guns protected by strong armor were still intact, but the three turrets were either damaged at the base and the turret could not be turned, or the mechanical failure caused by the impact of the explosion, and none of them were able to operate normally at this time, and there was a large blind spot in the defense of the sea. The commander of the U.S. and British fleets sensed this anomaly, and he dispatched two Queen Elizabeth-class battleships to slowly approach Mount Pasir and move laterally after being attacked by German fortress artillery, and then sail to the coast from an angle that could not be covered by German heavy artillery, and launch the ultimate artillery bombardment of the German fortress group on Mount Pasir at a firing position about 4,000 meters from the shore.

At 4:40 p.m., a white flag was hoisted on one of the remaining fortresses of the fortress "Brandenburg". Twenty minutes later, the white flag was raised at the Berlin fortress.

It had only been a week since the outbreak of the war, and the overwhelmingly superior Allied warplanes were ravaging Britain, and the well-armed Allied troops had gained a foothold on the Cohen Peninsula in North Wales and were trying to penetrate the British hinterland from this breach.

(End of chapter)