The Rise of the Empire

Chapter 441: Battle of Taranto One

"Damn, they surrendered too quickly! We didn't even have a chance to fire!" Major Staf said furiously. While the cruiser Marco Polo was still struggling on the sea and the Italian Navy had not given up on protecting its army colleagues, the transport ship Zara carrying 3,000 Italian troops first lowered the national flag and raised the white flag!

"Captain, what should we do? We can't take thousands of captives to Turkey? If we let them go, then maybe in the afternoon, they will take another ship to North Africa." The officers were also a little depressed. After the warships loaded with supplies, artillery and horses sank, all the materials on it were gone, but what about the 3,000 Italian army? Sank the ship directly, and then shot it to death? This must not be done like this!

In fact, during the first battle, the maritime battlefield was still very gentlemanly spirit. For example, when Earl Luknar had too many captives, he used the captured ships to release these captives, and as long as the opponent said that he would not be at sea. Just disclose the whereabouts of the earl. Another example is that some German assault ships also give an extra salary when they release captured persons...

Therefore, it is definitely not enough to kill these people directly in the water, but just put them back in this way. Doesn't it mean you are busy? That's unwilling in Staf's heart!

"We always want these Italians to give something!" Staf said to himself.

"They seem to be engineering troops, maybe they can't fight, but if we can take some people away, then we can build the port in Turkey faster!" said an officer next to him.

"That's it. Let's hurry up." Just when Major Staf agreed to this suggestion, Scheer once again signaled that a warship carrying arms and supplies had sunk, and the other three ships were rebelling. In hopeless circumstances, they gave up resistance, and these ships naturally cannot be wasted. Scheer intends to seal Taranto Port with these ships and mines!

"Arrange personnel to take over the ship, and the Prince Albert will provide fire cover. We will sink these three ships into the channel of Taranto Port!" Scheer sent an order via telegram.

Most of the captured Italians left in a lifeboat, some were taken to the Swordfish, and the other part was forced by German soldiers to operate three transport ships to return to Taranto and block the port with a sunken ship. Old, but really easy to use!

"Busy Port Taranto! It seems we have come to the right this time!" When the morning fog has completely cleared, Scheer's fleet also arrived at the outskirts of Port Taranto. At this time, another fleet sailed out of the port under the guidance of the guide ship, and this time they just hit Scheer's muzzle!

"It seems we don't need to sink the ship ourselves, just sink them! Now fire!" In the surprised eyes of the Italians, the Scheer fleet launched the first round of attacks! The armored cruiser Prince Albert was responsible for suppressing the turrets on both sides of the port, while the Swordfish rushed over and attacked the fleet struggling to leave the port at a distance of less than 2000 meters!

"We started shooting from 1800 meters, and then gradually approached, even to a distance of 500 meters! In the end our 150mm gun basically fired on the opponent's forehead! The Italian ship was very weak, and the first ship was a ship. The coal carrier, it’s a big ship with a deadweight of about 8,000 tons. It had a deep draft and insufficient reserve buoyancy. We solved it in less than 5 minutes. It just drove two on its side. This hole quickly capsized, and in the end only half of the stern was left out of the water."

"The second target should be a ship transporting ammunition. He tried his best to avoid it when he found us, but it was a pity that a shell that flew from nowhere directly hit the ammunition on the ship, like a thunderous noise. Resounded throughout the battlefield. The shock wave generated by the explosion became a visible wave of air spreading around! The scene at that time was terrible, and the violent explosion even tore a troop carrier behind to pieces! The scene at that time was terrible. , God, you will forgive our unintentional actions, is that right?"

"The fourth and fifth ships did not attempt to rush out of the port anymore. They retreated into the port, but when they returned, they blocked the torpedo boats they wanted to get out. The entire channel was in chaos." A few simple strokes in Tuft's diary sketched out the chaotic scene at the time. The Italian was blocked at the door of his house without any precautions.

The chaotic battlefield situation made the balance of victory more inclined to the German fleet. There are no large warships in the port of Taranto, and if the torpedo boats can’t get out, then the only thing you can rely on is the coastal defense turrets!

Just as the Swordfish assault ship blocked the port of Taranto and killed the transport fleet preparing to leave the port, the cruiser Prince Albert was also suppressing the turrets outside the port of Taranto. . The Italians did not expect that war would break out at their doorstep, and that the "Turk" fleet would directly attack the naval port~www.NovelMTL.com~The naval battery garrison could not be full, and they could rush to the gun position in a hurry. The number is very rare.

As a result, the truly powerful large-caliber shore fire guns failed to function, and those 6-inch and 4.7-inch guns were the main resistance. Although the shells fired by these artillery pieces have no actual effect. Scattered shells fell into the water, and some unlucky gun positions were suppressed by fierce naval guns before they fired a few shots.

"Forget it, save some shells. Let's directly attack the two outfitted warships!" Scheer was very disappointed with the performance of the Italians. Their shore artillery was not worth wasting precious shells to suppress. The outfitted battleship was blocked by the breakwater, and only one or two exposed masts could be seen, but the tower crane beside it marked the opponent's location.

The main rangefinder slowly rotated, and the tower crane was clearly printed in the field of view. After calculating the distance based on the height of the tower crane, the eight 10-inch main guns slowly rotated, and began to attack the two tower cranes next to the tower crane based on the prior investigation. A battleship for coverage shooting! The distance between the two sides is 8,500 meters. Although the distance is a little longer, they are hitting a fixed target this time!

"Fire!" The four barrels shrank back violently, and the shells with a total weight of 1 ton flew out of the barrel at a speed of nearly 800 meters per second, accompanied by the harsh whistling sound, falling on the target like a doomsday meteorite. around! A shell directly hit the bottom of a tower crane, like a hot knife cutting butter, blasting the tower crane over 30 meters high!

The third one is here~~~! Seeking subscription~~~!

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like