"Sir, I'm back. "Before the pale-faced Lin Shuo could slow down, the logistics officer in the battalion had already hurried over.www.biquge.info

"Supplies?" Lin Shuo straightened up and looked at the logistics officer and asked out loud.

"There is no fuel and no shells." The logistics officer shook his head helplessly and said, "The division headquarters is also busy now, and his feet can't touch the ground. I went to the deputy division commander to get supplies, and he said that there was everything else except fuel and artillery shells. Canned tents, military uniforms, or something, are enough. ”

"What do you want to do with those?" Lin Shuo looked at the busy scene around him, frowned and whispered, "We are going to the front line to fight, how can we fight without fuel and shells?" Do you want us to drive a tank to hit the Germans? ”

As the most combat-ready heavy tank battalion in the armored division, the troops under Lin Shuo's command were given preferential treatment, and they used professional tank carriers when they crossed the sea.

However, like other troops, they only carried the most basic base fuel and ammunition when they boarded the ship, after all, it was impossible for people, vehicles, and supplies to be loaded on one ship. With the strong firepower of the Ming army, in a slightly more intense battle, these ammunition and fuel will be exhausted.

It's just that because of the previous disorganization, the port unloaded goods in a mess. The sea is now full of transport ships, and the harbor is so crowded that it will not be possible to dock ships loaded with fuel and ammunition for a while. Even now, the sea did not dare to turn on the lights because of the need to prevent the Allied submarines from sneaking attack, and the black lights were blind, and even the ships transporting ammunition could not be found anywhere.

Moreover, due to the large-scale and indiscriminate unloading of the previous port, there are now a lot of materials piled up everywhere in the port. There are also a large number of vehicles and personnel belonging to different units who are also crowded here, and the noise is loud and noisy. There are so many goods piled up in the port that there is no place to put your feet down. In this case, let alone finding a supply ship, even the troops going out has become a very troublesome matter.

The gendarmes who were supposed to be on the scene did not even see a single figure, and no one knew which ship they were still floating on. The officers of the various units were busy looking for their own troops, and the scene was chaotic.

It was already early morning on the 8th of January, and the German armored forces were bound to attack the extremely important Zionz Pass in a big way. It was no longer possible for the Ming front-line commander to let the troops of the 2nd Panzer Division ashore wait in the harbor for supplies. Soon, Lin Shuo received the order to attack.

At about three o'clock in the morning of January 8, the 1st Division of the 2nd Panzer Division, which had already gone ashore, including the heavy tank battalion directly under the division headquarters, half an armored regiment and a mechanized infantry regiment, as well as part of the logistical support units, hurriedly left the port area of Salerno and headed for the Zionz Pass. There they were to block the attacks of German armored forces.

"Sir, what if we only have a base number of ammunition?" On Lin Shuo's Tiger tank, his loader asked with some concern.

The main gun of the Tiger tank is an 88 mm long-barreled gun, and the standard number of ammunition is 92 pieces. However, experienced crews will optimize the placement of the internal facilities of the turret to load as many shells as possible when entering the battlefield. Generally, the number of ammunition can reach more than 100. And these shells are not all armor-piercing. According to different combat needs, some high-explosive bombs, smoke grenades and so on will be matched.

Although the Ming army's elite tank crew had a relatively high hit rate, it definitely did not reach the point of hitting the soul with one shot. The tank technology of this era did not have high-tech gadgets such as fire control radar, and the hit rate was far from comparable to that of modern time and space.

It is also normal for a tank to knock out many shells in a single battle. Now that there is no sufficient logistical supply, the mood of the tank crews will naturally feel bottomless. And it's not just a question of ammunition.

"It's okay to say that the ammunition is good, and it's good to be accurate in battle." Lin Shuo leaned out of the turret and looked at a long queue of tanks galloping on Highway 18, and shook his head helplessly, "Fuel is the big problem." ”

Although the Tiger tank of the Ming Dynasty has done a good job in terms of high-power engine, transmission and suspension system, and fuel combustion efficiency. And it is also deliberately equipped with a large fuel tank. However, because the tonnage of the tank is too heavy, even if the tank is filled with fuel once, it can only travel a distance of about 150 kilometers.

This fuel is quickly depleted when it comes to maneuvering on the battlefield. Although tank crews in various countries generally carry a spare fuel tank on the tank, this is only a drop in the bucket compared to the huge consumption of the tank.

"What is the division doing?" The loader in the turret couldn't help but complain, "What are you doing if you send us to the battlefield without supplies?" ”

Lin Shuo looked at the long line of lights composed of vehicle headlights on Highway 18, and looked at the white of the fish belly gradually rising in the sky in the distance. Sighing lightly, "It should be the urgency of the war on the front line, and we urgently need to help." ”

Lin Shuo's prediction was correct, the German 14th Panzer Army had launched a heavy artillery attack on the Zionz Pass before dawn. Intensive artillery fire blew up the makeshift positions of the Ming army on the mountain pass. Without the support of heavy equipment, the defenders could only call for the support of naval guns while urging reinforcements to come as soon as possible.

In fact, the high-ranking mole planted by the Ming intelligence department in the Italian top has sent the latest information. Both Rommel and Catherine, the German Supreme Commanders in Italy, believed that the Ming army's large-scale landing operation on Salerno was definitely not a feint. It was a decisive major offensive operation.

Although the German General Staff had not yet made a final decision, it was the supreme commander of the German forces stationed in Italy. Rommel and Catherine were already determined to use their powerful armored forces the next day to drive all the Ming troops out of the sea as soon as they landed and had not yet gained a firm foothold.

As for the threat of artillery fire from the Ming escort fleet. The main forces of the German naval fleet had long since left the Mediterranean and headed north to return to their home bases. The small fleet they left behind and the weak Italian navy could not pose any decent threat to the Ming naval escort fleet.

In order not to be beaten to scrap metal by the naval guns of the Ming army when the armored forces attacked. While urgently contacting the French Navy, the Germans mobilized all the air forces they could muster to attack the Ming convoy.

The information sent by the mole said that Catherine had assembled and mobilized thousands of combat planes of all kinds, and that as soon as it was dawn, she would launch an unprecedented and frenzied attack on the landing force and the escort fleet. Under these conditions, it was difficult for the Ming escort fleet to provide strong fire support for ground battles.

This is because if a surface warship wants to provide fire support to the ground, it must be close to the shore and maintain a stable firing platform as much as possible, which means that it is best to drop anchor and stop. In this case, once it encounters a fierce air attack by the enemy, it will be a live target one after another. No matter how poor the German and Italian air forces' naval attack capability is, they can still be sure of hitting fixed targets.

Of course, the Ming Army will do its best to provide support, but their main base is in Sicily. It takes a long time to fly from Sicily, and they need to fly back and forth non-stop.

Even if the Ming Army Aviation can seize air supremacy in air combat, the Mediterranean Fleet of the Ming Navy will definitely not put its precious warships in danger in order to help the army. In the hearts of the navy, their own warships must be much more valuable than the broken copper and iron of the army.

Without naval artillery support, the only way to stop the attack of the German armored forces was to rely on the 2nd Panzer Division, which had just been ashore for a short time and had only been partially ashore.

On the morning of the 8th, not long after the sky brightened, the roaring sound of engines could be heard in the sky. German fighters from the airfield near Naples were the first to arrive on the battlefield and a fierce battle began.

Catherine, as a good air commander, rationalized the forces in her hands according to composition and distance. Whether it is from places like Rome in the north, or from airports like Foggia in the south, it is strictly on a schedule. Numerous fighters brought great trouble to the Ming escort fleet one after another.

Of course, the German and Italian air forces fought desperately, and the Ming navy and army aviation naturally would not sit idly by. Hainan Airlines is good to say that this time there are only two aircraft carriers to attack, and the number of carrier-based aircraft is not much. But Daming Army Airlines is different. In order to successfully return to the European continent, Zhang Cheng gave a lot of support. The Air Force in the Southern European Theater alone is as high as three. This is the largest air cluster of the Ming Dynasty outside of the Russian battlefield.

Don't look at the fact that the number of fighters in the various air forces of the Daming Army Aviation is not very large, it is because Zhang Cheng believes that the scale of the establishment is too large, and the cyst will affect the combat efficiency. The most important feature of the highly efficient Daming Air Force is that the reserve force is very sufficient, and it can replenish the battle damage in a very short time.

After Zhang Cheng took control of the army airline, he formulated a new marshalling plan. Behind every full-fledged air force is a reserve air force of almost equal strength. This shadow-like reserve force is almost the same as that of the regular air force, and both fighters and pilots are very abundant. After the battle losses on the front, the rear reinforcements can soon be sent to the front. After all, it is an aviation unit, and if you fly in an airplane, you will soon be able to reach the front line.

In this case, one air force is almost equal to having double the power. Moreover, it is based on the strong production capacity of the Ming Dynasty and the huge population base that has received quality education. No matter how big the losses on the front line are, it will not take much time for the Daming Army Aviation to be able to replenish all of them. This is where the biggest strength gap between the Ming Dynasty and other countries lies.

After dawn, groups of German and Italian air force fighters flew over the theater and entangled with the fighters of the Daming Navy and Army Airlines. The entire sky was shrouded in warplanes from both sides.

The armored forces on the ground were not idle, and after several hours of shelling, hundreds of German tanks and armored vehicles covered a large number of grenadiers and killed the Zionz Pass. (To be continued.) )