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On the night of July 9, the huge fleet of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy and the transport ships of the 8th Marine Division was already less than a hundred nautical miles from Sicily. Along the way, the whereabouts of the fleet did not leak. The Indian Ocean Fleet sent a number of destroyers to clear the way ahead, and if they encountered ships from other countries, they immediately drove them away.

In fact, after the start of the war, shipping in the Mediterranean was devastated, and it was originally a major communication route between the East and the West, but after China took control of the Suez Canal, communication between the East and the West was almost cut off. All Allied ships were diverted to the Cape of Good Hope, and only a few neutral merchant ships were allowed to pass through the Guò Canal. During this period, there were also several incidents of Allied spies using merchant ships disguised as neutrals to spy on the intelligence of the Chinese Navy. As a result, the Chinese Navy sent a fleet to inspect these passing merchant ships. In such a situation, the waterway withered even more.

After nightfall, the fleet implemented the light control, and now Sicily is so close that the slightest mistake will reveal its whereabouts. Although there are not many Italian troops in Sicily, the Chinese Navy does not want to leak the news in advance.

On the battleship 'Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty', only the faint light was in the bridge. Admiral Li Haitao, commander of the Indian Ocean Fleet, and Vice Admiral Wu Zhiyuan, chief of staff, are looking at a map of Sicily to choose a landing site for tomorrow's landing.

"Commander, Chief of Staff, General Tang Hongtao and General Wang Shaoxuan of the 8th Marine Division have arrived!" A staff officer entered the bridge and reported.

"Huh? Please! Admiral Li Haitao raised his head and said. Tang Hongtao is the commander of the 8th Marine Division and a lieutenant general of the Marine Corps. Wang Shaoxuan is the chief of staff of the 8th Marine Division and a major general of the Marine Corps.

"Commander Li, Chief of Staff Wu, good evening!" After Vice Admiral Tang Hongtao entered the bridge, he first greeted him. No matter what. Li Haitao's military rank is one level higher than him, and he is the commander of the fleet, even if he is younger than him, but in the army, it has always been about rank rather than age.

"Division Commander Tang, Chief of Staff Wang, please take a seat. We are in the process of choosing a landing site for tomorrow's landing. The two of them are the commanders of the Marine Division, and they are here to staff them! Admiral Li Haitao said with a smile.

Vice Admiral Tang Hongtao and Rear Admiral Wang Shaoxuan did not postpone and immediately came to the map next to the bridge. Tomorrow's landing will be done by their 8th Marine Division. A suitable landing site can effectively avoid casualties, which is directly related to the safety of the 8th Marine Division, and it is not sloppy at all!

"Division Commander Tang, Chief of Staff Wang. We initially decided that it would be more appropriate to place the landing in Catania. Located in the eastern part of Sicily, it is a nice deep-water harbour. At the same time, the terrain is flat, which is conducive to the landing of marine divisions and the deployment of troops. It is also conducive to the use of our heavy weapons. If you land here, the fleet will also be able to provide better fire support for the Marine Division! Vice Admiral Wu Zhiyuan, Chief of Staff of the Indian Ocean Fleet, introduced.

Lieutenant General Tang Hongtao and Major General Wang Shaoxuan both nodded, Catania is indeed a very ideal landing site. The terrain of Sicily is mountainous, especially in the north-east of the island, where there are continuous high mountains. Only the coastal areas have narrow plains. And the eastern part of the island, where Catania is located, and the southeastern and southern parts of the island, have some plains. The rest of the island is also mountainous.

"Then choose Catania as the landing point! When the time comes, we will have to rely on the fleet to provide us with fire support! Lieutenant General Tang Hongtao said solemnly. Although the armament of the Marine Division is equivalent to that of the Army's Heavy Infantry Division. The army has heavy equipment, and the Marine Division also has it. It's just that these heavy weapons can't be used until they go ashore. At that time, it will be possible to rely on the warships of the Navy to provide fire support to the Marine Division and destroy the enemy's positions. Broke the enemy's resistance.

"Master Tang has seen the outside, we are a family! This time, the Indian Ocean Fleet will provide the most complete fire support for the Marine Division. Even if the main forces of the Italian Navy come, we will leave enough warships to provide fire support for the Marine Division! Admiral Li Haitao assured. Judging by the topography of Sicily, the Marine Division will definitely clear the coastal zone first, and these are within the range of the naval guns.

After that, everyone analyzed the information obtained, in Sicily, the Italian army only deployed one infantry division, the 75th Division of the Army of the Kingdom of Italy, the whole division only had more than 12,000 people, no heavy artillery, only more than 50 light artillery. The number of machine guns equipped is not large, and the combat power is relatively low in the Italian Army. The only thing to worry about is that the men of this division are almost all natives of Sicily, who are more adapted to the terrain and environment. And whether they will fight with the squadron in order to protect their homeland.

Catania is located on the eastern coast of Sicily, halfway between Messina and Syracuse, at the foot of Mount Etna. It is an important city in Sicily, with flat terrain and an important grain-producing region in Sicily. After the Chinese occupation of the Suez Canal, in order to strengthen the defense of Sicily, the Kingdom of Italy deployed some coastal defense artillery in the eastern coastal cities of Sicily, such as Messina, Catania, Augusta, Syracuse, etc. However, Italy was still a member of the Central Powers at that time, and their defenses were not very strong. In the case of Catania, Italy deployed only one battalion with 12 155mm coastal defense guns, under the command of the Army's 75th Division. Such a defense is no different from paper paste for the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy.

Having chosen to land in Catania, the fleet began to move towards it. It is expected that at about 8 a.m. on July 10, the fleet will be able to reach the sea off Catania. Then launch a landing here, defeat the defenders here, and then expand to the whole of Sicily.

The Italian army deployed an infantry division in Sicily, but the army was completely scattered throughout Sicily. In Catania, in addition to a battalion of shore defense artillery, there was an infantry battalion of more than 600 men, commanded by a lieutenant colonel named Cattelan. Of course, in the minds of the 75th Division of the Italian Army, they were all very safe. Although the war was already raging between Italy and the Central Powers, the battlefield was in the mountains of northern Italy. And the Italian army, which had been preparing for a long time, had already entered the territory of Austria-Hungary, and the final victory was just around the corner.

At 7 a.m. on July 10, two destroyers of the Chinese Navy arrived off the coast of Catania. However, the Italians were defenseless against this. Even the lazy fishermen remained in the harbor and did not go out to sea. As for the Italian troops, they stayed in the barracks and slept lazily, without any sense of vigilance.

At 7:30, the heavy cruisers "Oujiang" and "Huaihe" of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy arrived off the coast of Catania with four light cruisers. According to the plans of the Indian Ocean Fleet, they were to launch artillery strikes on the shore fortifications of the Italian troops in Catania, clear the Italian fortifications before the arrival of the main forces of the fleet, and prepare for the landing of the marines. The Chinese side already knew about the deployment of Italian troops in Catania through Guò exact information. With the firepower of two 'river-class' heavy cruisers and four light cruisers, it was enough to clean up the Italian army here.

At 7:35 a.m., the heavy cruisers 'Oujiang' and 'Huaihe' were ready for shelling, and the three triple 210-mm guns on the battleship were aimed at Catania.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The heavy cruiser 'Oujiang' opened fire first. After that, the heavy cruiser 'Huaihe' followed. Two heavy cruisers began to tilt artillery fire at Catania at a rate of one salvo per minute.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "Dense explosions rang out from the positions of the Italian troops, and it was the positions of the coastal defense battalions that were the first to be attacked. 12 155-mm shore defense guns were destroyed on the position before they could fire. At the same time, the shelling also woke up the Italian troops here.

When Lieutenant Colonel Cattelan hurried out of the headquarters, he saw that the shore defense positions were covered by heavy artillery fire.

"Damn, where did the enemy come from? Could it be that the Austro-Hungarian navy called? Lieutenant Colonel Cattelan said with a look of horror.

"Your Excellency, Lieutenant Colonel, not Austria-Hungary, but Chinese! The Chinese warships are firing at us! "An ensign officer reported that he had just returned from the harbor and was well aware of the situation on the sea.

"Chinese! My God! It's them! Quickly report to the division commander that the Chinese are attacking us! Lieutenant Colonel Cattelan hurriedly ordered.

Later, in order to reduce the losses, Lieutenant Colonel Cattelan immediately ordered the Italian troops to retreat. So much so that by the time the 8th Division of the Chinese Marine Corps arrived, there was not a single Italian soldier left. A battalion of the vanguard of the 8th Marine Division landed in Catania without any resistance and took over the important city. Most of the Italian inhabitants fled here, and the few who remained hid in their homes, looking at the outsiders with horror through the windows.

The non-resistance of the Italian army surprised the squadron, but it also reduced a lot of trouble. The 8th Marine Division began to land, and at the same time sent troops to attack around Catania, clear the surrounding Italian troops, and ensure the safety of the landing site in Catania!