Chapter 705 Atlantic Strangulation War (14)

Ps: I wish all readers a happy New Year 2017!

"If you ask me, it is still beneficial to fight Cape Verde. Otherwise, where can we find a suitable training ground to simulate Operation Overlord?" Ingersoll gave the order without hesitation, "Send the signal, let the army land!"

At 16:09, the Cape Verde landing campaign was officially launched. A large number of LCTs (tank landing craft) and LCMs (personnel landing craft) came out in a line, and rushed to the designated beachhead under the cover of light warships. The main guns of the battleships stopped firing, and only the 6-inch naval guns on the light cruisers and the 5-inch naval guns on the destroyers were used for suppressive shooting. Ingersoll and other naval high-ranking officers who were watching the battle in the rear stared at the island intently, ready to suppress firepower if there was any abnormality. However, the German troops on the island stopped moving after several artillery batteries failed to fire, which made everyone feel relieved.

"Under such fierce bombardment, how many German soldiers on the island can survive?"

"At least half of them should survive."

"Half? That means there are still 3,000 people. An army division should be able to deal with them, right?"

"I can't guarantee it. To be honest, I have no idea." Turner smiled bitterly, "I am still worried about Marshal's fleet. The German deployment always feels a bit strange."

"Go up, go up." A sharp-eyed fleet staff suddenly cheered, and a Sherman tank rumbled onto the Cape Verde beach and began to test fire with its tank gun.

Turner looked at the time and saw that exactly 39 minutes had passed. He was surprised that the German army had not yet launched any counterattacks. However, since the landing had already begun, no matter what problems there were ahead, they could only move forward bravely. He couldn't help but shout "good". Although he estimated that 4 days would not be enough, no one would complain about fighting too fast. Time passed by minute by minute, and one after another, American tanks climbed onto the beach. A large number of army officers and soldiers also landed on the beach without any danger. Except for the occasional sound of landmines, there seemed to be no particularly big threat.

"Sir, the enemy is coming up, probably 19 tanks and nearly 400 people." In a hidden bunker in Cape Verde, the staff reported to Colonel Link, the highest commander on the island.

"Wait a minute, the enemy's naval guns are too powerful, let the Americans get closer, closer, and closer." Colonel Link is a person who is very willing to learn. The biggest inspiration he got from the Japanese army's Nanyang island defense battle is that if the firepower of the enemy and us is very different, the traditional concept of annihilating the enemy on the beach is not applicable. The enemy must be brought close to fight, and close combat, melee, chaos, and even night battles must be used to eliminate the opponent and save oneself.

As more and more US military officers and soldiers rushed to the beachhead, in order to avoid accidental injuries, the naval gun fire gradually extended to the distance. The US military engineer unit took advantage of this favorable opportunity to set up an artificial dock to facilitate the unloading of subsequent materials and vehicles.

At 17:18, more than 1,000 US troops had landed in Cape Verde. After completing the unloading of the first wave of personnel, some landing craft began to return to prepare to receive the second wave of personnel ashore. The earliest infantry unit advanced more than 1,000 meters under the cover of tanks. Along the way, they encountered mines buried by the German army. The advancement speed was not fast at all. They could only summon engineers to speed up the mine clearance and carefully make a way through the minefield. Even the thick-skinned and tough Sherman had two broken tracks and had to be repaired urgently.

"Sir, the enemy has entered the A3 position and is clearing mines on a large scale. The number of people is at least more than 1,000."

Link nodded: "Let the mortar company open fire, and give priority to the minefield channel!"

15 seconds later, 3 mortars immediately began to fire. This mortar is a replica of the Soviet-made 120mm PM38 mortar, and its performance is quite excellent. After the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, Germany seized a large number of this type of artillery and immediately used it, and then copied it domestically. The gun weighs 285 kilograms and has a barrel length of 1865mm. When firing a 15.8-kilogram WGr.42 shell, the muzzle velocity of the projectile is 283 meters per second, and the maximum range exceeds 6,000 meters. It can also be used with Soviet ammunition.

This product is very popular among German frontline officers and soldiers because of its convenience and firepower. It is also very cheap, with each gun costing only 1,200 Reichsmarks (12,000 for the main gun of the No. 4 tank). The entire mortar company's belongings are not as valuable as a No. 4 tank. The Marine Brigade has fewer barreled artillery (howitzers or cannons) than the ordinary army due to its relatively streamlined organization, but it has more mortars than the army. The two regiments in Cape Verde have two standard mortar companies, a total of 3 large-caliber mortars.

Hearing the sharp sound of breaking through the air, the faces of American officers and soldiers changed drastically, and they immediately lay down as a conditioned reflex. However, since Link is so good at forbearance, of course he also has a special killer move. Half of this batch of mortars are normal shells, and the other half are special steel ball shotguns, which explode at a height of 5-8 meters above the ground. After each shell explodes, hundreds of high-speed flying steel balls can burst out - in other words, lying down can cover a larger area of ​​personnel damage.

"Ah!" Screams rang out one after another. Not many American soldiers were killed directly by artillery shells, but many were hit by steel balls. The area covered by 36 mortars was not small. Almost all American soldiers in the minefield were hit. The most unlucky ones were several soldiers who were directly in the center of the explosion. Their bodies were blown up like honeycombs.

"Medic! Medic!" A bunch of people shouted at the top of their lungs. More people rolled on the ground in pain. If they were unlucky, they would detonate 1-2 mines, and then die in the explosion. It was really a hopeless situation.

The lethality of shotgun shells is not great. Except for the unlucky ones who were hit too many times, others will not be in danger of life, but will lose their combat capability in a short period of time and must be rescued. If it were the Eastern Front, the Red Army would probably not even look at these wounded and directly launch a human wave attack, but Link knew the style of the US military very well, and they would definitely come to rescue - the military academy curriculum clearly stated that killing an enemy can only cause the enemy to lose one soldier, but if an enemy is injured, it may occupy 3-4 enemy soldiers.

The naval guns in the distance began to fire back as if awakened from a dream, but after firing for a long time, they found that the effect was very poor - these two mortar companies were placed by Link in the depression between the anti-aircraft tower and a hill, using the mortar's unique high trajectory for fire coverage. The firepower of the US naval guns is at best a cannon trajectory, which is straight and long. It either hits the anti-aircraft tower too close or crosses the depression too far, and it can't kill these German troops at all. They worked hard for a long time, but still couldn't suppress these mortars with strange trajectories.

"Damn, the enemy is very cunning." Ingersoll stared anxiously, but he couldn't think of any solution.

"Let the army use mortars to deal with them. The naval guns will be useless until tomorrow." Turner sighed, "The German commander is very smart and a powerful character."

The army liaison officer next to him happened to hear it and rolled his eyes, as if asking: Which side is General Turner on?

Ingersoll followed with a sentence: "Let the plane think of a way."

Collins, the commander of the regiment who landed, immediately ordered the 107mm mortars of his own artillery to come forward to provide suppression. Considering that the number of his own mortars was small and the power was not as good as that of the Germans, he arranged another battalion to detour from the right, and at the same time desperately called for air support, hoping to suppress the Germans in the depression with dive bombing.

The aggressive SBDs immediately swooped down to provide support, but since Link had deployed the mortar company next to the air defense tower, he would naturally not ignore the threat from the air. Just as the US planes swooped down to attack, several firing holes on the third floor suddenly opened, and more than 10 20mm machine guns lined up and fired fiercely. Two SBDs were immediately hit in the vitals, and the pilots did not even have the opportunity to parachute, and plunged directly into the depression, completing a desperate attack with the planes and bombs. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the mortar company quickly dispersed through the communication trench. The air strike only destroyed 9 mortars, but the US military had 4 planes shot down.

This loss made everyone on the New Jersey tremble with fear, and now everyone finally understood what Turner meant by "powerful character".

"Sir, there are about 300 American soldiers and 10 tanks that have bypassed the B12 position."

Lin Ke, who was sitting in the bunker, was not afraid of danger and immediately answered another phone: "Organs, it's your turn. Cover B12 at full speed. Be fast."

"Got it!"

Half a minute later, the only rocket launcher company of the Cape Verdean defenders drove out of the secret passage. With the cover of rubble, 12 powerful SdKfz251/1 half-track armored vehicles fired 24 Himmler organs - 150mm rockets with a breathtaking "whoosh". These ammunitions are modularized and can fire all 24 rockets in 7 seconds at a time. Before the US troops could react, they quickly retreated to the secret passage at full horsepower.

The flames of 288 rockets lit up half the sky, which contrasted with the setting sun. All the naval officers and soldiers stared at this rare scene in a daze. It was not until the "rumble" sound was heard that they woke up and launched a counterattack, but it was too late. On the other side, the US military's flanking troops covered by rockets were in a terrible state. Nearly two-thirds of the 10 tanks and more than 300 people were killed by the dense rain of fire.

In addition to the losses just now, the US military, which had a total of more than 1,500 people on board, suffered nearly 500 casualties in just 2 hours. The entire Cape Verde was like a man-eating monster, with a hole popping up from time to time to swallow the troops. Whether they had landed or were about to land, the officers and soldiers of the 5th Army Division were all terrified.

"We can't get in, let's all retreat." Turner shook his head and sighed, "It's getting late, let the army send more troops and supplies, and fight tomorrow. Tomorrow we will cooperate with the army and cover the area with artillery and aircraft first..."