Before the start of the defense of Savona Harbor, Zhang Cheng knew very clearly that if he wanted to defend this place, the only hope was strong support from the navy. Because the strength of the army is insufficient.

Powerful naval artillery support is enough to destroy any enemy attack. Because in this era, no one can successfully complete a combat mission under the ferocious bombardment of a large number of giant artillery. The cannon of the giant ship is the strategic deterrent weapon of this era. The strength and face of the country are reflected in this. The huge lethality and deterrence of the big ship and the giant cannon are definitely not blown out, but they do have such power.

The naval guns of the Navy were the decisive force in this war.

Dozens of battleships, hundreds of heavy guns. Once the navy is really serious and provides fire support without an external threat, relying on the artillery area coverage tactics given by Zhang Cheng, it doesn't matter whether it is a night battle or not.

As the Sardinian soldiers approached their positions, a large number of flares were fired into the night sky by the defenders from their hillside positions.

The orange-red light that filled the sky suddenly reflected the dense figures of the Sardinian soldiers below the hillside, which looked like a raging tide.

"That's a lot." Even Zhang Cheng, who was full of confidence, was smacking his tongue in his heart because of the number of enemy troops. But he was only shocked, but not afraid. Zhang Cheng, who comes from the 21st century, knows very well that after the Industrial Revolution, the main factor determining victory or defeat on the battlefield is no longer quantity. Powerful weapons are powerful enough to change everything, and nuclear weapons are a prime example of this.

"Command." Zhang Cheng gave the order in a cold voice: "The shelling begins." Long-range interdiction was carried out from 155 guns, and the ships used half-round fire. The heavy artillery did not move for the time being. ”

A few minutes later, several heavy shells roared from the distant sea, smashing heavily into the ranks of Sardinian soldiers in the distance. Even though the formation was very loose, the powerful shock wave and flying shrapnel still claimed the lives of more than a dozen soldiers.

Count Cavour's hand gripping the telescope tightened suddenly. He certainly wasn't afraid of a few shells. He was scared because he knew it was just a correction shot!

Sure enough, it didn't take long for a large number of orange-red hot spots to rise in the distant sky. These substantial dense points of light tore through the dark night sky at an astonishing speed and smashed into the ranks of the Sardinian soldiers! This time, the scale of the shelling suddenly rose to dozens of shells!

In the midst of the violent explosions and the huge flames that soared into the sky, more than 100 Sardinian soldiers fell to the ground screaming, and even many of them were left with only a pair of excellent quality boots because of the explosion of heavy shells around them. But the others continued with their eyes firmly on the way. These soldiers also know that there is no way back but to move forward, and behind them is the fate of the whole country! A minute later, the next wave of shelling was belated.

"What's going on?" Count Cavour frowned tightly, "How did the artillery fire of the defenders weaken?" "The defenders' artillery counterattack was clearly not on the same level as during the day. Both the density and the frequency of firing are decreasing significantly. This made Count Cavour very puzzled in his heart.

"Maybe there aren't any shells, right?" The chief of staff on the side also frowned, and spoke with some uncertainty.

"Impossible." Count Cavour shook his head and said, "It can't be that fast. "Even if he wasn't a Navy man, he knew how an entire fleet could be depleted so quickly? The Count of Cavour knew exactly how powerful the artillery support of the defenders was. He was mentally prepared to take a quarter of the casualties before he attacked! It's going to be an uphill battle.

"The 155 artillery group is divided into double waves of firing to speed up the firing frequency." As the Sardinian soldiers gradually approached the forward positions, Zhang Cheng was constantly adjusting the intensity of the artillery bombardment. This kind of command method is very testing the level of training, and if it is not the strongest Ming Navy in the world, it may not be able to do it.

The Sardinian soldiers were keenly aware that as their side approached the defenders' positions, the defenders' artillery fire began to grow fierce.

Although they had stretched out as far as they could, the width of the frontal battlefield was so great that they would eventually have to gradually assemble and attack the hillside. At this time, the defenders were under heavy artillery fire, which immediately brought huge casualties to the attackers.

"Knock knock~~~" With the help of the fire caused by the explosion of flares and heavy artillery shells, the heavy machine guns on the defenders' positions everywhere also began to spit out long tongues of fire. The long tongue of fire with tracer bullets in the chain of bullets poured water from top to bottom into the ranks of the Sardinian army, taking the lives of many soldiers.

The artillery of the Sardinias continued to bombard the defenders' positions, but unfortunately neither the strength nor the strength was enough to suppress the defenders. As for the fleet on the distant sea, they are even more helpless.

The attacking Sardinian soldiers fell in droves in pools of blood. Most of them were killed by the raging shells. The defenders' shells were not only powerful, but also dumbfounded by their accuracy. The shells landed as accurately as if they had eyes, where the Sardinian soldiers were concentrated. Where there are many people, where the offensive is fierce, it will soon be covered by intensive shelling.

"It can't be!" Dumbfounded, Count Cavour raised his binoculars to look at the attacking troops in the distance covered by dense shelling, and shouted with a look of shock on his face.

He couldn't believe that under such a dark night, the battleship that was tossing on the sea could be so accurate! The deadly cannonballs rained straight at the heads of the charging Sardinian soldiers as if they had eyes.

"This, this, this." The chief of staff beside Count Cavour also had an unacceptable expression, "The Chinese navy is so strong?!" Can this be played so accurately?! ”

The level of technology in this era is far from being compared with modern time and space, and the various tactics are also very primitive. A simple artillery observer is already a very advanced tactic that is difficult to master. As for this tactics of area artillery coverage, it is simply unthinkable.

"What now?" There was a tremor in the chief of staff's voice.

"What else can I do?!" Count Cavour's eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Keep attacking!" ”

The Sardinian army began to throw into reserve. They began to drop their troops into the blood, fire and hell in the distance, one regiment after another.

Commanders at all levels watched as army after army poured into the area covered by artillery fire, and then rushed out in a sparse manner. Then go into the machine gun coverage of the defenders. Countless mutilated corpses paved the entire path of the attack, and as far as the eye could see, the ground was red with blood and countless corpses. The people of Sardinia wept bitterly on this night.

Dead, dead, dead. Hundreds of Sardinian soldiers were engulfed in the flames of war. Those brave soldiers rushed out of their starting positions and entered a reddish battlefield illuminated by the smoke of war, and were immediately swallowed up by the merciless shells and bullets.

Watching batch after batch of stick boys rush to death under his own orders, Count Cavour, who was oppressed by the great pressure, his snort increased rapidly, his eyes were bloodshot, the corners of his mouth were blistered, and the whole person fell into an inexplicable state of anger.

The people of Sardinia can't afford to die.

They have worked hard for many years, and the whole country has worked together to thrift to provide for such a well-trained army. But tonight, in such a short period of time, it was quickly consumed in large quantities. This kind of blow is no longer cutting meat for the Sardinians, it is cutting bones.

Count Cavour gasped for air, and he felt a buzzing in his ears. The incessant bombardment, which rained like drops, made him feel like the whole world was spinning. Biting his tongue vigorously, Count Cavour clutched his binoculars with both hands, watching the huge explosions, noises, gunshots and cannons coming from the red battlefield filled with gunsmoke in the distance.

"Go on the offensive !!" The red-eyed Count Cavour howled sharply and gave an order that made the hearts of the Sardinians very painful.

The assault in the truest sense of the word began. The three regular Sardinian divisions and the royal guards took turns to attack the defenders' positions on the top of the hill under the heavy artillery bombardment, and the artillerymen in the rear did not hesitate to shoot out all the shells. The Sardinians began to fight hard.

In fact, before Count Cavour gave the order to attack, the Sardinians had lost thousands of brave soldiers, but the main force still maintained a basic lineup. However, unwilling to lose the strategic initiative, Count Cavour, who was dragged to death by the Ming Empire, was determined to attack at any cost, but brought irreparable losses to the Sardinians.

"The time has come!" Zhang Cheng took a step back away from the gun mirror, straightened up and waved his fist vigorously. That's what he's waiting for!

Holding on to the port of Savona under the siege of tens of thousands of enemy troops was indeed a great achievement, and he himself would have won the honor. However, this is not enough.

Zhang Cheng wanted to break into the core of the Ming Empire as soon as possible, and it was not enough to just hold on to the credit of Savona Port. It's hard, but it's not impossible. What Zhang Cheng wanted was to hold on to the port of Savona while severely defeating the Sardinian army that had just shown its might! That's what others think is impossible. Once it is really done, it will be of great help to Zhang Cheng, who actually commands the operation.

For Zhang Cheng, he estimated that the Sardinians would most likely launch a large-scale assault in a desperate attempt after repeated defeats. Therefore, he had been suppressing the support of the navy's heavy artillery before, because he was afraid that the dense coverage of a large area would directly scare the Sardinians away. That would make the battle imperfect.

Now, after the scattered loss of thousands of people, the Sardinians finally can't hold back, and a massive general attack is what Zhang Cheng wants to see now. If he didn't defeat the main force of the Sardinians here, how could Zhang Cheng advance towards Turin City with peace of mind?

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