The Principality of Monaco is one of the four principalities in Europe. However, compared to other principalities, Monaco is more controlled by other countries. That's right, it's the French, and the French peep at Monaco is simply naked.

Not only did it take ownership of the two municipalities of Menton and Roquebrunn in Monaco, reducing its territory from 20 square kilometers to 1.98 square kilometers, but it also exercised sovereignty with full respect for the political, economic, maritime and military interests of France.

In addition, the Grand Duke of Monaco signed a treaty with France in 1910 under which Monaco would be annexed to France in the event of the death of the head of state without male descendants.

As for why it was ahead of history, it is up to Italy to put pressure on France. When the hostility between Germany and Italy became apparent, Paris, which was under pressure, had become impatient with the small territory of the Principality of Monaco in the Nice area. Therefore, in the second Moroccan crisis, this naked desire to annex Monaco was thrown in the face of Albert I, who had not long succeeded to the throne.

Faced with the naked annexation intentions of the French, Albert I, Grand Duke of Monaco, could only pin his hopes on his children, and yes, as long as there was a male heir, then the Principality of Monaco would always exist.

As for why Monaco, because now it has become a battlefield. At this time, Monaco was on fire, and the coastal strip was under constant shelling.

The heavy artillery regiment from the 18th Army and the Southern Front Army reinforced the artillery coverage of the 18th Army, so that the French officers and soldiers stationed here could only hide in the anti-artillery holes and shiver.

As for the artillery counterattack, the French artillery did not dare to move at this time, because the artillery formation led by the Kamal, which was six kilometers from the coastline, was preparing for a counter-artillery attack while shelling.

The 210, 150, 120, and 105-mm naval guns on this formation, by virtue of the advantage of high multiples, are enough to shoot a range of more than 10 or 20 kilometers.

The 75mm rapid-fire guns of the French army can compete with it.

The French artillerymen, after being beaten to the point of a bruised nose and swollen face, no longer believed in 75-mm rapid-fire guns. Now it procures, collects, and builds large-caliber artillery everywhere, even in museums. But now the French army does not have many guns above 100 mm, and these guns have priority in the Battle of Paris, and there are not many French troops on the Italian-French border.

There was no way to compete with the artillery in the hands of the Italian army, so save the artillery for a more useful time. This made it difficult for the infantry to fill in the front, and they could only wait for the Italian artillery bombardment to end.

Suddenly, a roar came from the sky, and the faces of the French officers and men hiding in the anti-artillery shelters changed.

A French soldier said, "Damn it, these devils in the air!" ”

The French officers and soldiers called the devil the Italian DF-3 aircraft.

Speaking of which, after the outbreak of the war, the airship shone during this time, and its light even overshadowed the contemporaneous other class of aircraft.

That's right, it's about airplanes. At this time, because of the short range and high failure, the aircraft could only carry out reconnaissance work, and its tactical application was extremely limited. Therefore, the performance of aircraft in the military field is naturally not as wonderful as that of airships.

But this is only for other countries, for Italy, and at someone's direction, the gadget of the shooting coordinator was quickly designed.

With the firing coordinator, then the best way for the pilot to shoot, the nose to shoot forward, was born.

The DF-3 aircraft is currently the top work in the Italian aircraft industry.

The aircraft has a total length of 6.9 meters, a height of 2.7 meters, a wing length of 8.7 meters, a weight of 690 kilograms, and a maximum take-off weight of 950 kilograms.

Its aircraft engine is the Siegel II star engine researched by the Siegel and Power Laboratory, and the maximum horsepower of the engine is 200 horsepower. This horsepower can propel the aircraft to 195 thousand per hour.

This also allows the maximum altitude of the aircraft to reach the limit of 4,500 meters.

Judging from the performance of this aircraft, it has reached the standards of the middle and late stages of the original World War I.

One more thing to say here is that due to the early invention of the airplane, the research on the aircraft of various countries started early, and the general performance of the aircraft of various countries has reached the level of the middle of the First World War in the original time and space. And even so, Italy, with years of heavy investment, is better than other countries.

As for why the French officers and soldiers were shocked, it was because of the two Maxim machine guns in the nose of the DF-3. It carried 1,000 rounds of ammunition, enough to fire more than 10 rounds at the ground.

As for why an airplane and not an airship?

The reason is simple, the French army quickly developed anti-aircraft guns after being attacked by airships in the early days. Although this is just a small-caliber gun with a longer barrel, it is enough to fight an airship. However, airships that can hit targets with large and slow speeds are not enough for small and agile aircraft.

And after the sound of aircraft engines resounded through the French positions, the explosion extended to the rear of the positions.

At this time, the French observation post saw the figure of the enemy.

"Quick, the enemy is attacking."

Amid the shouts of the sentinels, the French officers and soldiers entered the positions one after another, preparing for the Italian attack.

The officer, on the other hand, was much busier, directing the soldiers to defend their positions while keeping an eye on the situation in the air.

At this time, a fierce battle is about to start in the Monaco area, and the officers and soldiers of both sides will also start a bloody battle.

The fighting was not unique to Monaco, as Italian troops launched fierce attacks from the southern front of the border between the two countries, from Monaco on the coastline to the Lombard Pass.

Although it was an all-out attack, the two countries were fighting for Nice, which was mainly mountainous, which also led to so many lines of attack. At this time, both sides are fighting around various passages, the most fierce of which has to be the Buro Pass.

Located five kilometres west of Southperle, the Bloo Pass is the gateway from Southperle to Lescarenne, whether you're on your way to Nice, Conte or Levant.

At present, there is a fierce battle between the Italian and French officers and men in the mountain pass.

"Mortars, eliminate the opponent's machine-gun positions."

Halfway up the southern peak of the pass, the Italian officers who were in charge of directing the attack kept giving orders.

On the orders of the officer, several soldiers quickly assembled the mortars, and at the same time the mortar positions were built.

"Peng Peng~"

After a test firing, several shells destroyed the machine-gun fire point.

And after solving the offensive obstacles, the offensive began again. At this time, it was only 500 meters away from the enemy's position, and after the light machine guns of the accompanying team were erected, they began to suppress the fire of the enemy's position.

And at this time the mortars also fired smoke grenades.

That's right, it's smoke bombs, and firing them with mortars can block the enemy's view and facilitate the attacking troops. Although the mortar groups that followed the troops on the offensive carried a limited amount of ammunition, they carried at least one third of the smoke grenades. This is a common offensive tactic used by the Italian army, which uses smoke to obstruct the enemy's view in order to achieve the goal of reducing casualties among soldiers.

Since the invention of smoke grenades a few years ago, the Italian army has begun to study its use, not to mention that it has studied a variety of tactics, which seems inconspicuous for gadgets that enrich offensive and defensive tactics, but it is remarkable. Therefore, machine guns, mortars, grenades of all kinds and smoke grenades have become the most trusted weapons of the Italian attacking soldiers.

As the elite 11th Army of the Italian army, this tactic is even more handy.

However, despite this, Lieutenant General Kaviglia, who was the commander of the 11th Army, did not take it lightly. Although the attack of his troops seemed to be going well, the terrain here was really terrible.

The location of the Buro Pass is composed of four mountains, which are divided into four peaks, south, south, and north. The eastern peak is the shortest, the south peak is the second, the north peak is the second, and the west peak is the highest, and it is diamond-shaped.

The road from Southperle to Lescarrenne leads south to the foot of the East Peak, then goes around the valley between it and the South Peak, then goes all the way between the South and North Peaks, then west past the West Peak, and then follows the valley to Les Carrenne. A few big words are presented.

Therefore, conquering the South Peak is nothing, and it is necessary to conquer the West Peak to open the way to Lescarren. And Lescarren was only the first town that the 11th Army needed to conquer, and he had three more towns to conquer.

Of course, the attack and defense of the Buro Pass was also one of its most difficult points, because there were two French divisions stationed here. With superior firepower and a series of new weapons such as aircraft, Lieutenant General Kaviglia is still very confident in conquering the Buro Pass.

However, the speed of the attack is crucial, as it can quickly threaten Nice's flanks and relieve the pressure on allies elsewhere. If you are slow, you are waiting for others to help you.

How could Lieutenant General Kaviglia, who was the commander of the 11th Army, not know the gap.

At this time, Lieutenant General Kaviglia already had the idea of a quick breakthrough, and he waited for the time.

(End of chapter)