Even the German army, which is said to have the strongest combat effectiveness, is not sure that it can take the joint attack of the German-French allied forces and the combined fleet. What's more, the British army is already at a disadvantage. In the west of the town, the British defenders and the Gibraltarians tried their best. resistance, but it still cannot change the fact that there are fewer and fewer comrades around them. On the contrary, there is a steady stream of German and French soldiers facing them. There are fewer and fewer places to hide, and some can escape. The location was controlled by coalition soldiers in advance and turned into a death passage. The soldiers of Prince Eugen's Division fully implemented Lin Wei's instructions. If they don't surrender, they will die. With the German army setting an example, the French soldiers certainly followed suit and soon got used to this indiscriminate attack mode. As Lin Wei once said, civilians are civilians. Before they have undergone systematic military training, they are just a group of lambs waiting to be slaughtered when facing the army.
"No! This is a massacre, this is not a war!" General Wei Gang frowned and shouted. Obviously, this old general still could not accept the fact that the army was attacking unarmed civilians.
"No, General Wei Gang, this is a war and not a massacre!" Lin Wei coldly corrected General Wei Gang's point of view, "Since they help the British fight against us, they naturally become part of the armed forces. If you Deliberately emphasizing their identity as civilians, please remember that the SS are also civilians, and we are not the regular German army!" Lin Wei's words are irrefutable. Since the Gibraltarians took up arms to help the British fight, they will naturally be classified as war Within the scope of this, there is no comparison with what the Japanese did in Nanjing. The Chinese army in Nanjing had given up resistance and entered the prisoner-of-war camp. In that case, what the Japanese army did was massacre.
Mount Gibraltar is indeed a good perspective from which to view the entire battlefield. From here, Lin Wei can clearly observe the situation of the entire battlefield. Now that the German and French forces have been fighting fiercely in most places in the town, they have calculated the remaining resistance of the British. After that, he looked up at the position of the sun and said, "No, according to the current intensity of combat, the British should not have the strength to resist!"
"Report, leader! French General Soul and Italian Admiral Cortan have launched an attack from the outer sea against the British battleships Barham and Warrior stationed inside the military port!" Just as Lin Wei was thinking hard. Meanwhile, his adjutant Robert C. Crawford immediately reported the latest situation of the battle to his leader.
"Oh, the United Fleet has taken action!" Lin Wei said absently, but a possibility flashed through Lin Wei's mind like lightning and he shouted, "Is the resistance they face fierce?"
"The British fleet relied on shore batteries to hold on and seemed to be on the defensive!" Robert C. Crawford replied.
"The British did not have many troops to fight, and they seem to have collapsed now!" Lin Wei wondered, "The local Gibraltarians do not know how to fight at all, and cannot give the British much help. Their military strength They have all disappeared a long time ago, so why can we still fight vigorously with our offensive troops? Even if they include the wounded, they can't withstand us for so long?"
"Leader, what do you mean?" Robert C. Crawford immediately thought of the navy stationed here. In the pre-war intelligence, the strength of the British navy was not included in the number of British defenders. This Not saying no is a simple mistake.
General Weigang said, "It seems that Gott has transferred the excess navy forces to the war on land. Only half of the fleet should be left with the minimum number of combat readiness!"
"Oh? Is that so?" To be honest, Lin Wei didn't really understand how many normal numbers the navy needed to maintain combat effectiveness. Now I can only listen to General Wei Gang's introduction to the situation, and then make my own estimates.
After some calculations with Robert C. Crawford, Lin Wei had almost figured out the number of troops that Lord Gott could have now. The number was probably less than 2,000. Lin Wei shook his head and said, "It's not at all Regardless of the overall situation, Robert C. Crawford ordered Lieutenant General Arthur & Phillip that the plan to capture Gibraltar today remains unchanged. Once our attack fails today, it will be equivalent to giving growth to those Gibraltarians who have no combat experience. The opportunity to become a warrior will be regretted later! Also tell him about the possible increase in military strength by the British!"
"Understood, leader!" Robert C. Crawford stood at attention, turned and walked out of the room.
"You are a good adjutant!" General Wei Gang praised.
"I've always thought so too!" Lin Wei stroked his hair with great passion and said in a disgusting manner.
The only top officers who still remain in the cold semi-underground headquarters are Lieutenant General Arthur & Philip, commander of the Prince Eugen Division. Lieutenant General Arthur & Philip rejected Lin Wei's suggestion to go to the mountain. At least He believes that as a commander, it is better to stay in the headquarters honestly. So after Generals Lin Wei and Wei Gang left, Lieutenant General Arthur Philip commanded the attack of the armored forces of the Prince Eugen Division here alone.
Just when Lieutenant General Arthur & Philip were struggling with their brains because there was no progress, they only heard "Division Commander, Leader's Adjutant, Robert. C. Crawford called, Lord Gott, Commander of the British Fortress Garrison, may have put in naval personnel." It’s time to fight!”
"I see, no wonder there is still no progress for so long! We have to increase the intensity of the deployment of troops. This time we will crush the British at once," Lieutenant General Arthur Philip said to himself.
"After letting the Fifth Armored Regiment join the attack, also mobilize a mountain battalion to join the battle!" Lieutenant General Arthur Philip ordered.
The 5th Armored Regiment, which had been prepared for a long time, immediately joined the final battle with the sound of heavy tracks. The already dilapidated northern defense line immediately collapsed. Like the armored regiments that had joined the battle earlier, the Fifth Armored Regiment also ignored the bunkers carefully built by the British, completely turning the British soldiers there into this. A bystander in a battle.
The Fifth Armored Regiment that had just been put into the battlefield immediately let people know that this newly arrived unit was definitely not a fuel-efficient one. Since the town was not wide enough to face the German armored forces, and an armored regiment had already entered, the armored soldiers of the 5th Armored Regiment felt very crowded. In order to solve this situation, they immediately used tank main guns to blast a path. the way. If they encountered a solid house, they would smash it to pieces with one shot. If there was a wooden room in front of the tank, they would ram into it without mercy and forcefully open a way out within a few minutes.
"They are indeed my troops. This is how the SS should fight!" Lin Wei praised. At this time, General Wei Gang had completely understood that this was a unit composed of lunatics led by a destructive maniac, and there was no need to argue with Lin Wei.
In the blink of an eye, a morning passed quickly. The final winner of this brutal street battle was undoubtedly the German and French forces. The remaining British defenders were forced into the church that seemed to be Lord Gott's headquarters. The area controlled was only a few hundred meters in radius and a dozen houses. At this time, the British soldiers no longer had to hide and seek with the German and French soldiers, because there was no place to hide. The entire town has been turned into rubble, and few intact buildings can be found. The corpses of soldiers from both sides are scattered on the ground. In basements, balconies, warehouses and even toilets, you can find dead people from both sides anywhere. Soldier's body.
This battle was brutal enough, and the smell of blood in the air could be smelled even a thousand meters away from the town. Hundreds of British soldiers were still guarding the last piece of land that belonged to the British Empire. Although they did not speak, the German and French forces surrounding them could see in their eyes that they would not Surrendered.
At this time, the soldiers who were preparing to continue fighting were attracted by a voice. It was Lin Wei's voice urging surrender through a loudspeaker: "Lord Gott, the battle is over. You have no hope of coming back. Surrender!" Lin Wei's voice The urgent tone that sounded on the empty battlefield made people feel how serious he was now.
However, Lin Wei's persuasion to surrender did not receive any response. Lord Gott had used his actions to show that the British soldiers were determined to fight to the end. Lin Wei put down the loudspeaker, wiped his sweat, and said, "I knew he would not surrender. I was ready to order the final attack. We are going down the mountain this time. Don't miss the final battle!"
"Leader, if you knew they wouldn't surrender, why did you do it?" Robert C. Crawford asked.
"Some things have to be done. Even if I know that he will not surrender, I still have to make a gesture!" Lin Wei answered, "After the battle, the British will publicize that Lord Gott fought to the last moment, and Goebbels They would say that the German army showed great chivalry and was willing to provide a way for British soldiers who had no chance of comeback to surrender gracefully! In any case, both us and the British at home need a boost. This is also the propaganda war of the empire!" At the end of the sentence, Lin Wei touched his nose and said, "Although I also hate this kind of pretentiousness!"
The remaining more than a hundred British soldiers were now completely out of ammunition and food. Facing the charge of thousands of German and French soldiers, they still fought calmly. Soon, they ran out of bullets and had to fight again. Mount the bayonet on your rifle and prepare for hand-to-hand combat. Before the Battle of Gibraltar, the British had not conducted this kind of battle for more than 150 years. The last war with bunkers and barbed wire did not stain the British bayonets with blood. This time, they experienced It’s time for the long-lost hand-to-hand combat.
The absolute disadvantage cannot be compensated by the fighting spirit, especially when faced with the attack of two armies that are famous in the world, the mental factor can be ignored. After ten minutes of fighting, nearly a hundred British soldiers fell. In a pool of blood, the remaining dozen soldiers were still tenaciously guarding the door of the church. A man who seemed to have a high military rank became their last leader. This man was Lord Gott's adjutant.
They were covered in blood but still blocked the church door tightly. This spirit moved all the soldiers here. Robert C. Crawford, who came here according to Lin Wei's order, was also moved by their spirit. But everyone had different positions. After being slightly moved, Robert C. Crawford could only grit his teeth and order, "Send these brave warriors to heaven, shoot!"
Bang bang..., with a burst of gunfire, these brave soldiers fell down with endless unwillingness, and their wide eyes seemed to tell people how unwilling they were. A group of German and French soldiers rushed into the church and saw the dead Lord Gott. He also had a pistol in his hand, and it seemed that he had committed suicide.
Robert C. Crawford bowed slightly to the dead Lord Gott, expressed his respect, and then ordered, "Burn the church! Let the Lord rest here forever!"
With a roar, the entire church burst into flames. This originally extremely sacred place, the church, witnessed the bloody battles between the four most powerful countries in Europe. As long as there are people, there will be wars. The Fortress of Gibraltar once again Proved this.
At this time, the naval battle was also over. This originally unsuspicious naval battle ended at the cost of two battleships of the British fleet, the Barham and the Warrior, sinking in the harbor. The Battle of Gibraltar symbolized the fate of the three countries, Germany, France and Italy. Undisputed victory was achieved, both by land and by sea. Then again, Britain's ability to fight against three European powers at the same time is enough to prove its strength.
A soldier pulled down the British flag from the flagpole, and two soldiers stepped up and replaced it with the German swastika and the French tricolor.
"Gibraltar, this is no longer the territory of the British!" Lin Wei thought to himself.
But immediately, after the Italian Admiral Cortan landed, he immediately found Lin Wei to discuss the theory. The reason was that Italy had made a great contribution in this battle, but Gibraltar did not raise the Italian flag. As a loyal ally of Germany, Gibraltar did not raise the Italian flag. , Italy felt that Germany's move hurt Italy's feelings.
In this regard, Lin Wei could only explain that the Italian Army was not involved in the land battle, so he could not find the Italian flag to hang, so he could only temporarily leave the place where the Italian flag should be hung empty. In fact, Lin Wei really I forgot that Italy also played a great role in this battle. When flying the national flag, I subconsciously excluded Italy from my mind.
After seeing off the Italian Admiral Cortan, Lin Wei asked, "Has the news of the capture of Gibraltar been sent back to the country?"
"Sent back, leader!" Robert C. Crawford replied.
"That's good. As for how to inspire people, it depends on Goebbels. Our mission is over!" Lin Wei let out a sigh of relief.
The news of the fall of Gibraltar immediately set off an uproar around the world like a bomb. It was not that they did not expect that the German and French forces and the French and Italian combined fleets would eventually win this battle. I just didn't expect that it only took half a month for the Three Kingdoms Alliance to capture the fortress that the British had operated for hundreds of years.
Mussolini took the lead and announced the news to the people in Italy. For Mussolini, he needed a huge victory to prove to the people in Italy that the great Roman Empire had revived and even dominated the world. The British who had been here for hundreds of years have now been defeated by Italy, although some of Italy's role has been exaggerated. But as far as this battle is concerned, the Italian Navy did not disappoint Mussolini. In the end, Mussolini ended with the last sentence, "The Mediterranean is our sea, and the great Roman Empire will inevitably revive!"
There is no doubt that Mussolini's words won the approval of the Italian people present. Now that the situation of the Axis Powers is excellent, Mussolini is even more convinced that the Axis Powers group will definitely win the final victory.
Although Goebbels was a step late, his words also achieved perfect results. Anyone with a little knowledge knows what Gibraltar means to the British, and even better knows what will happen to the British if they lose it. .
"What is the next goal of the empire? There is no doubt that it is to land on the British mainland!" Goebbels shouted at the top of his lungs.
At the same time, also in Berlin, shortly after Goebbels announced that Germany had captured Gibraltar, inside the Karin Manor on the outskirts, Goering was having a meeting with the leadership of the Air Force. Goering punched the table and shouted: Said: "The SS has captured Gibraltar, now it's our air force's turn to perform!"
For this day, Göring suppressed his fiery temper and waited for ten days. Now he could finally wait for the time to come and complete the plan he had in mind. For this day, Göring suppressed his fiery temper and waited for ten days. Now he could finally wait for the time to come and complete the plan he had in mind. Goering even deliberately sacrificed the effectiveness of the Luftwaffe to paralyze the British. In order to achieve this goal, the Germans dispatched an average of more than 1,000 aircraft every day from July 14 to April 20. The use of sheer numbers to storm the British air defense lines forced British Air Force pilots to dispatch several times a day for a month, keeping British pilots in a state of fatigue as much as possible. Although they fought valiantly, the numerical superiority of the German side began to take effect. Five forward combat airfields in southern Britain were severely damaged.