"Isn't this bad?" Arthur Philip, who was next to Lin Wei, said hesitantly. Lin Wei's words were very clear. Civilians could be shot in this battle. Although Arthur Philip had heard about the SS's style, he would do anything for victory. But when Arthur Phillip gave an order to treat all children, old and young, as enemies, Arthur Phillip still couldn't do it.
Lin Wei looked at Arthur Philip with interest. It could be seen that the commander of Prince Eugen's Division was hesitant about his words. He couldn't help pointing to Gibraltar and explained, "The people here have been ruled by the British for hundreds of years, and there are very few Spanish people. The rest are people who are loyal to the British. General Franco will not kill or hurt us because of us." People here blame us. The most important thing is that the land here belongs to Spain, but the population does not!" Lin Weikai explained.
"But now we can't tell whether the people here really support the British!" Arthur Philip looked irritated, "I don't know, I don't know what the soldiers will think of me if I let my soldiers deal with unarmed civilians! We fight bravely, but not for massacre! Moreover, Franco actually gave up on the people here. Even if there are not many Spaniards in Gibraltar, we can't do it without any scruples!" Arthur Philip obviously fell into a corner, and a On the one hand, he hoped to annihilate the British army here and capture the famous Gibraltar Fortress. On the other hand, he doesn't want to deal with unarmed civilians because it conflicts with his creed.
"This is normal. These Gibraltarians are victims. Sometimes sovereignty and human rights conflict," Lin Wei said expressionlessly.
Arthur Philip looked directly at the young leader and asked a question that Lin Wei found difficult to answer, "If you exchange the lives of Germans for a victory, would you do that?" "
Such a problem is simply unavoidable. Lin Wei had to face this problem head-on. After thinking for a long time, Lin Wei said lightly, "If the victory is big enough, I will definitely do it!" In Lin Wei's view, during the war, The losses of ordinary people are almost unavoidable, and once the war becomes anxious, ordinary people will also cause greater damage to Germany. Therefore, whether they were British or Soviet, Lin Wei always treated them equally and would kick them away if they stood in front of him. Kindness to one's enemies is cruelty to oneself.
"Individuals must obey the country!" Lin Wei coldly threw down these words, turned around and left, "The battle will start tomorrow. If you cannot perform your duties, I am willing to help you issue this order! If you can, It will be much better to study the battle plan for tomorrow immediately than to be sentimental here!"
"Yes, leader!" Lin Wei's cold words made Arthur Philip wake up. Now is indeed not the time to be sentimental. The hundreds of cannons in the fortress would not give Arthur Philip this chance. Now that the matter has become a foregone conclusion, what Arthur Philip is thinking about now should be how to quickly capture the fortress. Thinking of this, Arthur Philip looked back at the Union Jack flag flying on the top of Mount Gibraltar and said to himself, "Bless yourselves!" He straightened his clothes and strode to follow Lin Wei who was walking in front.
Facing Mount Gibraltar, thirty kilometers northeast of Mount Gibraltar, is the headquarters of the German-French coalition. The headquarters is very simple, but very safe. Two-thirds of the entire headquarters is underground, and only the top is on the surface. There is a thick circle of sandbags surrounding the surface to effectively prevent stray bullets and shrapnel. Although there are no hidden objects around, the entire command center is made of materials with the same color as the ground. Even aerial reconnaissance would never be able to tell. Moreover, the distance of thirty kilometers makes the giant cannons in the Gibraltar Fortress powerless, and there is no need to worry about suffering disaster from the sky.
The final plan to attack the Fortress of Gibraltar was being discussed in the headquarters at this time. On the long table in the middle of the headquarters, Lin Wei was sitting in the middle. On the left was the French officer headed by General Weygand, and on the right was the German army headed by Arthur Philip. SS officer. Lin Wei spoke eloquently in front of the officials from both the German and French sides: "Gibraltar has been occupied by the British for hundreds of years. It can be said that from the moment of occupation, the British have been working hard to turn Gibraltar into a fortress. For hundreds of years, In the past, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Gibraltar Fortress we faced this time is the number one fortress in Europe. Gibraltar is more difficult to deal with than the Belgian Fortress of the Sun twenty years ago! As the attacker, we are the number one and number two armies in the world. , time will tell whether Germany and France are invincible, or whether the Fortress of Gibraltar is really difficult to capture!" Lin Wei gave a small compliment to the French Army in his opening remarks, and saw that General Wei Gang's face became warmer. Lin Wei knew that he had achieved his goal. ,
"Now my adjutant, Robert C. Crawford, will introduce the situation in Gibraltar!" Lin Wei said.
Robert C. Crawford came over, bowed slightly, spread out a map of Gibraltar, and explained in detail, "Gibraltar controlled by the British is shaped like an upright rectangle. It can be seen that the British When we signed the treaty with Spain, we were already preparing for Spain to take back the Fortress of Gibraltar one day. The frontal defense area close to Spain is very small, but the depth is very long! It is very conducive to defense, and as you can see, Mount Gibraltar Running through the north and south, it is easy to defend but difficult to attack, which can be said to limit the strength of our attackers, and the British army on the mountain is very advantageous."
General Wei Gang nodded and said calmly, "Gibraltar Mountain actually occupies the entire west side of Gibraltar. In other words, we will be threatened by the British troops on the mountain from the beginning of the attack until the end!"
"Yes, General Weygand!" Robert C. Crawford nodded and said, "If we attack from the flat terrain on the east side, for us, this battle will be a disaster! Because from a We will be exposed to British fire from the beginning until the end of the war!"
"So, to capture the Fortress of Gibraltar, you must control the Gibraltar Mountain!" Arthur Philip said, "The mountainous area severely limits the use of armor. The area defended by the British is simply impeccable in terms of terrain. It is really difficult to do. ! In fact, we blockaded Gibraltar and waited for the British to surrender on their own!"
"This method is not practical!" Lin Wei, who has been an audience member, came out to explain, "It is reported that the British have prepared enough food for the entire Gibraltar Fortress for a year. As for the water, they can desalinize seawater and use it!", informed After learning about Arthur Philip's situation, Lin Wei said in order to let everyone involved know the role of the Battle of Gibraltar, "Everyone should know that Germany, France and possibly Italy will be fighting in September at the latest. Launch the Battle of Britain, codenamed Project Blue~ We defeated the defenders here. On the one hand, we can shock the British defense forces. On the other hand, we can eliminate the two battleships docked here in advance. If possible, we can enrich our In this case, Britain, which has always been maritime-oriented, will never pose a threat to us at sea again, and it will be us who blockade them!"
General Weygand nodded to express his understanding. Although Germany won the battle off the coast of Belgium, all the main warships were seriously injured and could not sail without a few months of repair time. So don't even mention taking out the British Navy with a big victory. In terms of small and medium-sized warships, Britain still has an overwhelming advantage over Germany. Still stubbornly blocking Germany's sea lines of communication.
Although the French Navy and the Italian Navy can help Germany, the current situation is that even the coastlines of France and Italy are not safe. The British Mediterranean Fleet must be eliminated before it can go north to open Germany's sea transportation lines. Therefore, as the British naval power in the Mediterranean, As a home port, Gibraltar has an extraordinary status. This was also one of William II's wishes to support Lin Wei's attack on Gibraltar.
"General Lampard's opinion is indeed very correct, but what I want to know is, what benefits will this action bring to Italy and France!" Weygand must consider for France, the navy in the Mediterranean was wiped out by the British maritime power After that, only France and Italy were left, and it was well known that relations between the two countries were not harmonious. The current relationship between France and Italy, who became monks halfway, can only be described as being in the same bed but having different dreams.
Lin Wei undoubtedly knew what General Weygand and the French government were worried about. In order to get in touch with the concerns of the French, Lin Wei said, "After the capture of Gibraltar, sovereignty undoubtedly belongs to Spain, but we, Germany, France and Italy, will have the right to garrison troops!" Matters of national interest must of course be discussed. Germany will not point fingers at its Italian and French allies. Our focus is mainly on land!"
Bang bang... Lin Wei clapped his hands to make the officers focus their attention on him, and said, "We in Germany have fully anticipated the difficulty of capturing the Gibraltar Fortress this time. In order to become the strongest fortress in Europe, we must use the strongest troops." Artillery!" Lin Wei shouted with piercing eyes, "This war is a war of artillery!"
In order to break through the strongest fortress, the strongest artillery must be used. After careful planning, the German army deployed three types of super cannons. They are: eight 420mm fixed mortars "Gangma Equipment", four 610mm self-propelled mortars "Karl Equipment", and two 800mm train cannons " Gustav Equipmentâ. The "Gustav" in the north continuously fires armor-piercing projectiles weighing 7,100 kilograms, which can directly penetrate the 8,000 mm protective layer. The protagonist of the artillery attack in the northeast was replaced by the 610 mm "Karl Equipment", which is also known as " Thor's Hammer". The "Karl" has a faster rate of fire, and is more maneuverable than the "Gustav" and can avoid attacks from the Gibraltar Fortress artillery. The 420mm "Gangma equipment" carried out carpet bombardment around the fortress. The 1,000-kilogram 420mm artillery shells smashed all the roads around the fortress like raindrops, preventing reinforcements from the British army. At the same time, three hundred artillery pieces of various calibers will work all night after the battle begins until the fortress is captured.
"Has the giant rail gun finally arrived?" Wei Gang certainly knew about the super cannons in the German Wehrmacht. The French Army in Belgium was almost frightened to death by the huge size of the Gustav rail gun, and no one wanted to meet it. Although the accuracy of the Gustav railgun is so poor that it can be said to have no accuracy when it comes to attacking this kind of cannon, it is undoubtedly the best opponent of this weapon when faced with something like a giant fortress.
"General Weygand, the task of attacking Mount Gibraltar is left to the French allies!" Lin Wei said, "The task of the Prince Eugen Division is to attack in the gentle areas in the east and strive to quickly break through the release line. You advance. The deeper you go, the less the British on the top of the mountain will dare to attack you with cannons, because this will cause losses to their garrison down the mountain!"
"No problem!" General Weygand and Arthur Philip said at the same time.
On July 11, 1940, the Battle of Gibraltar began. Although the Gustav railgun was the first to arrive in Spain, it was indeed the slowest to complete combat readiness, because the Gustav railgun can be disassembled, but it has to be reassembled after arriving here. On the contrary, although Rheinmetall's Karl cannon is slow to arrive, it can be put into combat readiness immediately. Looking at the fourteen giant cannons, Lin Wei looked at the Fortress of Gibraltar coldly. Now Lin Wei really wanted to know whether this fortress that the British had worked hard for hundreds of years could survive under this ultimate weapon of World War II. Can bear it.
The German artillery positions were densely packed, and the enthusiastic preparations caused the British defenders of Gibraltar Fortress to immediately alert and report the situation to Lord Gott. Lord Gott immediately ordered to prepare for an attack at any time. Both sides were making intensive preparations. The first battle of the Battle of Gibraltar would be an artillery battle.
At eight o'clock in the morning, the prepared Gustav railgun fired its first shell, directly hitting Mount Gibraltar. The huge explosion and the sight of destruction made the German and French forces cheer, and made the British sweat and watch in horror. The behemoth Gustav railgun. Gustav's first cannon shot seemed to herald the beginning of the battle. The 610mm "Karl Equipment" and the 420mm "Gangma Equipment" opened fire immediately, and more than 300 cannons around them played the music of death.
This huge shock is not enough to describe it. Only those who have truly experienced it can understand how powerful this kind of shock is. It is absolutely possible for people to lose all thinking in such a huge explosion! No matter how strong a person is, there will inevitably be moments of vulnerability. In such a violent explosion, all the survivors in the tunnel were overwhelmed and felt out of breath. They unconsciously moved and lay down based on their instinctive desire to survive. On the ground, I could only feel my chest thumping like a beating drum as the explosions sounded again and again.
The Gustav railgun and Karl cannon were aimed at the stretching Mount Gibraltar, while the Gunma artillery was to open a way out for the Prince Eugen Division, so they faced a group of bunkers that were full of bunkers and barbed wires on the front. The huge power made the Gangma cannon invincible, and all the fortifications on the surface were destroyed.
The British, who were well prepared, immediately retaliated after the Germans were about to take action. The British soldiers, who were still shocked by the power of the German artillery just now, immediately forced themselves to walk towards their position with their still trembling legs. They were already beaten. In the almost hollowed-out heart of Mount Gibraltar, the busy footsteps of British soldiers could be heard in every passage. The main body of the fortress, the permanent turret equipped with 20 381 mm coastal guns, immediately announced its presence. This war was not a show of German giant artillery.
"The British fortress artillery has moved!" Division Commander Arthur Philip put down his telescope and shouted, "This is a contest of the strongest artillery!"
The 20 381mm coastal guns that exposed their position immediately became the focus of the leaders of both sides; "Kill them, and the Fortress of Gibraltar will be at your fingertips!" Lin Wei shouted excitedly, not only Lin Wei, such a large scale The artillery battle made all the soldiers feel that their trip was worthwhile.
Boom..., the 610mm "Karl Equipment" immediately focused its attention on the 20 381mm coastal guns. Although the power of the Gustav rail gun was extremely powerful, its extremely low rate of fire only allowed it to carry out fixed-point operations. blow. Most of the time, "Karl Equipment" performed hard. The huge explosive power of the German artillery made the entire Mount Gibraltar tremble slightly, and huge rocks continued to roll down the mountain.
The British soldiers in the heart of the mountain also felt the effects of the German artillery shelling. The whole mountain trembled slightly, making these soldiers worried. Looking at the mountain above them, the soldiers who had decided to live or die with the fortress were once again Feeling the emotion of fear.
Rumble..., a British 381mm coastal gun was hit by the Karl cannon. The three-meter-thick reinforced concrete covering the cannon was instantly shattered, the steel plate was overturned, and the cannon that was hit by this hit suddenly became silent. Thick dust was thrown into the sky by the huge explosion. No one knew whether the British soldiers there were dead or alive, and no one wanted to know, because the artillery battle between the two sides continued.
The start of the Battle of Gibraltar was immediately reported by observers from various countries here. The first person to receive the report was General Franco of Spain. As someone who had always wanted to regain the Fortress of Gibraltar, General Franco had quietly decided in his heart, If the Fortress of Gibraltar falls, it means that the British decline has become irreversible, and Spain will join the ranks of beating the fallen dogs.
The Rock of Gibraltar stands like a huge "exclamation mark" on the coast of Spain. At the same time, it also fell into the heart of General Franco. The 426-meter-high limestone fortress is like an upright "guard" guarding the strategic key point between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. With its only 23 kilometers wide sea reflection, Gibraltar not only controls the east-west channel where more than 3,000 ships pass by every month, but also controls the flow of people and goods from north to south between Europe and North Africa. Franco could not judge whether Germany could win the final victory of the war, but according to the current development of the situation, Franco was becoming more and more optimistic about Germany's victory. Spain also needs a war, otherwise the world may forget Spain, Franco thought.