That's right, Zhang Cheng has never forgotten the idea of marching towards Turin! If you want to make a name for yourself, is there anything more brilliant than a partial division to defeat the main force of the enemy army and occupy the enemy's capital?

"Notify the Navy and begin full fire coverage." Zhang Cheng ripped off the wind and discipline button on his collar and ordered loudly. It's a really exciting moment. Zhang Cheng's sideburns had already been soaked with sweat at the moment, and his mood was even more excited. personally participating in a war of this scale and being the protagonist of one side made Zhang Cheng's heart begin to ignite.

As the telegram was sent to the bridge of the Wuhan, the battleship's main guns, which had been waiting for a long time, began to reload their ammunition.

High-explosive shells, weighing more than a ton, were lifted up by a hoist from the main ammunition depot deep under the turret. With the help of machinery, the gunners in the turret fed the shells into the chambers and stuffed the silk-wrapped propellant packets into them. After turning off the bolt, the gun commander picked up the phone and shouted loudly, "Tower 1 is ready." ”

The shooting of Zhu Yuan had already been calibrated, and the heavy artillery that had been waiting for a long time finally began to roar. The fire of a heavy cannon of this level is extremely amazing, and the cannon flame at the muzzle of the cannon is tens of meters long! The terrifying shock waves on the surface of the nearby sea are quite capable of tearing people to shreds. It is better to say that a single gun shot, if it is a salvo of the main guns, the battleship weighing tens of thousands of tons will be pushed laterally by the huge force for some distance.

The 400-millimeter high-explosive bomb is extremely powerful, and it is impossible for there to be a living mouth within a radius of 100 meters after the explosion. Not to mention shrapnel, just a violent shock wave is enough to kill everyone. When this truly heavy artillery shell was added to the battlefield, the total attack of the Sardinians seemed so weak.

Although the two regiments of marines suffered a lot of losses in the battle, their combat effectiveness was not weakened too much. There is nothing wrong with continuing to hold the front. Although some positions were infiltrated and even breached. But it doesn't have much impact on the overall situation of the entire battlefield.

"It's spectacular." Zhang Cheng crossed his arms over his shoulders and held a cigarette in his mouth. Squinting slightly, I looked through the narrow observation hole at the spectacular scene of a volcanic eruption below.

The new battleships Wuhan and Jinan each had nine 400 mm guns. The four old super-dreadnoughts are each armed with eight 380 mm guns. The fifty super-heavy guns, combined with their secondary guns and the guns of other ships, create a rain of bullets that can destroy a city. No matter how many people there are in the Sardinian army, no matter how elite their soldiers are, they can't withstand a fierce blow of this magnitude.

The navy of the Ming Empire made a big splash on this night

"It's amazing!" On the top floor of a lighthouse built on a reef outside the port of Savona, Qi Bing, a veteran reporter for the Times newspaper, is fiddling with his camera with excitement on his face. Press the shutter at the big guys in the distance who are constantly firing.

Because of the success of grabbing the headlines and scoops of the sinking of the Yancheng, Qi Bing's status in the Times has risen rapidly, and he has heard the rumors that this time when he returns, he will be transferred to become the deputy editor-in-chief of the military edition!

The ecstatic Qi soldiers can be regarded as loving the navy to death. He now spends his days wandering around the port of Savona, trying to get another world-shaking scoop.

However, because he preemptively sent the news of the sinking of the Yancheng without permission, the situation of the navy was extremely passive. So he Qi Bing has already been listed as persona non grata by the Navy. Not to mention getting on the ship, even approaching the dock will be driven away by sailors.

The clever Qi soldiers were not discouraged. He knew that a big war was about to break out, and it was another good time to break the big news. However, he was reluctant to take risks on the dangerous front line, and his eyes were only fixed on the navy. Unable to get on the battleship, he paid for his own money and hired someone to send him to the lighthouse. Condescendingly, shoot whoever you want, reporter.

"Unprecedented large-scale artillery support. The Mediterranean Fleet is invincible! Qi Bing's mind had already arranged the headlines for his news. When the photos were washed out and sent to London, it was absolutely another explosive news.

"Navy, Navy, I love you. It's up to you to get promoted and rich. The excited Qi soldiers once again photographed the spectacular scene of the Wuhan's main gun firing in the distance, humming a small tune of thanking the navy. However, if the officers and men of the Navy really hear what he is singing, it is estimated that he will not love the Navy again in the future.

Qi Bing, who had had enough of shooting, finally put down the camera in his hand. Glancing at the navy warship in the dark sea in the distance, he shook his head, turned around and found a place to sit down. He took out a box of expensive Chinese cigarettes from his pocket, lit them, and took a deep breath.

Between the clouds and mist, Qi Bing raised his hand and tightened the collar of his coat to resist the cold sea breeze of the winter night. Squinting at the shore in the distance. There was a lot of fire, and almost half of the sky was red!

"We must win." With a cigarette in his hand, Qi Bing's voice trembled and whispered to himself. Anyway, after putting down the camera, he is an authentic Chinese!

"Are there any reserves?" Zhang Cheng, who had a cold face, asked in a deep voice.

"Our regiment is gone." Major Luo, whose head was wrapped in white gauze, shook his head and said in a hoarse voice, "All the reserves in the regiment are on the front line." The regiment commander was on the position of the next battalion. ”

Speaking of this, Major Luo tightened his eyebrows and said in a deep voice, "Not only does our regiment have no reserves, but the Seventh Marine Regiment next to it has all gone to the front line. In the reserves, there were only artillery, baggage troops, and some civilian staff officers at the regimental headquarters. If you want a reserve again, it's time for the guys to get kitchen knives. ”

Major Luo's meaning is obvious, everyone is now on the battlefield to play with their lives. Should the 3rd Regiment of the London Volunteers, who remained in the port of Savona, come up to support? What can they do if they stay in so? Sleep?

Stimulated by the huge casualties, the Count of Cavour, who broke the jar, threw almost all his strength into a desperate fight. The huge army generally poured into the defenders' positions, putting endless pressure on the defenders.

Zhang Cheng's gaze froze slightly. He naturally knew what Major Luo meant. Of course, the third regiment was not sleeping, and if they really dared to sleep, the navy would be able to swallow them alive. Zhang Cheng had kept the Third Regiment in his hands for nothing else, he had kept this unit in preparation for a counterattack after dawn.

When fighting defensively, you must have a counterattack force in your hand, and put in a counterattack at a critical moment to lay the foundation for victory.

Zhang Cheng thought big. The Third Regiment still has more than 3,000 soldiers at the moment, and in the past few days, Zhang Cheng has deliberately welded hundreds of trucks to steel plates, erected crane guns and transformed them into rudimentary armored vehicles. It's ready to be used to fight back. But if you put yourself into a front-line position to play defense at this time, there will be no counterattack after dawn. More than 3,000 people is already the minimum standard.

Without a strong counterattack, this battle will not be able to end perfectly.

Zhang Cheng narrowed his eyes and did not speak. Turning to the narrow observation port, he looked at the boiling and noisy earth in the distance. The Sardinians attacked like crazy, even with hard-topped heavy artillery bombardment. The front-line positions were broken through in many places under the assault of this group of red-eyed Sardinian soldiers, and even fierce white-knuckle battles took place on many positions. A large number of Sardinian soldiers rushed onto the road, and began to fill the anti-tank trenches with desperately waving sapper shovels under fire. If it had been replaced by other troops, perhaps the position would have been fully broken through.

The same elite Marines are still struggling to hold on. They did not retreat until they received the order to retreat, and several companies had already been destroyed along with the position. In the distance, the sky was already turning white, and it was the darkest hour before dawn.

"Order all civilian and logistical staff." Looking at the battlefield shrouded in blood, fire and gunsmoke, Zhang Cheng's eyes were full of perseverance, "Whether it is a staff officer or a signal soldier, whether it is a man or a transport soldier. As long as they can still move, all of them take up arms and go to the front line. The outpost positions were all abandoned, and the reduced forces were concentrated on a few main positions. Be sure to stick with it no matter what! The last madness of the Sardinians did not last long. ”

Major Luo's eyes flashed with a gloomy color. Zhang Cheng still did not use the thousands of mercenaries in the rear. Zhang Cheng's order meant that the Marines needed to continue to resist strong pressure and pay a huge price. Although he didn't understand why, as an excellent professional soldier, Major Luo slowly raised his hand and saluted, and turned around and left silently.

As a professional soldier, Major Luo would never question the commander's orders on the battlefield. It doesn't matter if Zhang Cheng is an army officer or a reserve officer. At least Zhang Cheng himself has always stayed on the front line of danger. That's a very rare thing.

"Come on, come on." Zhang Cheng slowly lowered his eyelids and whispered to himself, "I want to see how many people you have to fill in!" ”

Zhang Cheng's inference is not wrong. As the defenders, the Marines, who have strong artillery support, have already fought like this. What was the miserable sight of the Sardinians, who were desperately attacking despite casualties? This can be seen from the cold and gloomy expression on the face of Count Cavour, who had already bitten his lip.

Since the start of the attack, the Sardinians have definitely lost more than 10,000 people! This is only a rough count, and the actual number is bound to be much higher. A loss of this magnitude was completely traumatic for the small and weak Sardinians.

Count Cavour knew very well in his heart that even if he took the port of Savona now, he would destroy this stubborn defender. He also has no strength to continue to capture the heat. Naya is gone. The reason why it is hard to support not to retreat. In addition to the fact that all the sacrifices before the retreat were in vain, the Count of Cavour also wanted to take the port of Savona and then press into the heat. On the periphery of Naya, the threat of bluffing is hot. Naya, in exchange for a chance to end the war peacefully. This is the only thing that the Sardinians can pray for.

It's just that when the Sardinians plucked up the courage to strike again with all their might, the already deadly heavy shelling jumped another notch!

PS: Dear book friends, all kinds of requests!