: Fifty-eight Malta is ours
In theory, the British army that reinforced the island of Malta should belong to the British Army Command in North Africa, and Can Anning should not take the blame.
However, because the reinforcement plan for the island of Malta required the cooperation of the navy, and it was General Cunningen who canceled the plan, he had to bear the blame.
On the Italian Navy's battleship, a huge 320mm caliber artillery turret is firing violently at the buildings on the island of Malta.
The firing flames spewed out from the muzzle, rolling and spreading, and the soldiers on the battleship had to stay away from these turrets and block their ears as much as possible.
On the sea, because of the lack of combat experience in landing on the heavily fortified coast of the enemy, the Italian troops were in chaos, and until now they were not ready to attack.
"Our reinforcements will not come again..." Looking at the port, a destroyer that had been destroyed by the Luftwaffe and sank in the port, the commander on the British island of Malta said helplessly to his colleagues. .
The commander of the naval fleet had no opinion. A few hours ago, as the last destroyer was completely destroyed, he had nothing to command.
In the same way, because there are no aircraft capable of combat, the air force commander is already a bare-handed commander. He looks at the army commander with a look of helplessness on his face.
At this point in the battle, the fools knew that there was no possibility of victory. Even if they successfully defeated the Italian troops spread out on the sea, they would not be able to ignore the German paratroopers behind their heads.
There are still less than 8,000 British defenders on the island. Even if they keep defending, it is unknown whether they can fight until dark in such a state of isolation and helplessness.
The nearest German paratroopers are only more than 3,700 meters away from them - if you want to surrender, you always need to find a way to solve these troubles, right?
"We've done our best... gentlemen." The army commander looked at his colleagues around him and defended: "Who thinks we can continue to fight?"
The air force commander looked at the navy commander, neither of them said a word, and the fool knew that they could no longer fight.
By nightfall at the most, they would not even have to surrender: Italian and German attacking forces would destroy every bunker and fortress on the island, and then hang all living British.
"Then, since no one is willing to insist, then I will give an order to surrender... Is there no objection?" The leading army officer asked everyone around him.
Everyone still kept their mouths shut, because everyone here knows that the motherland has abandoned them, and now they can only rely on themselves to survive.
"Can Anning has abandoned us, and there is only one question left, to whom shall we surrender?" The army commander asked his last question.
There are at least 5,000 Italian soldiers floating on the sea, and they are still making final preparations for the landing under the cover of huge artillery.
On land, the German paratroopers were about to kill Valletta's core defense area from behind, and the nearest German position was only more than 3,700 meters away from their headquarters.
"We can't get close to the Italian fleet, and the sea is almost crowded with the small boats they carry..." The commander of the British navy laughed.
……
"Don't shoot!" In front of a building where German paratroopers were stationed, and the windows had been cracked, a British officer with a white handkerchief in his hand walked out of the trench while talking.
He carefully bypassed the body of a British soldier, and looked at the muzzle of the gun pointed at him in horror: "Don't shoot! I have something to say!"
"Anyone who understands English?" A German paratrooper with a Mauser rifle suddenly turned around and shouted to a place farther away.
Several German soldiers were still holding their weapons, watching the enemy with a white handkerchief in his hands vigilantly.
"I understand something, what's the matter?" An officer of a German paratrooper company carrying weapons walked over from a distance, surrounded by two or three soldiers.
They also walked carefully, bypassing the broken wall that could block their figure, and lowered their heads as much as possible to ensure that they would not be broken by the gunman on the opposite side.
"Hello, I'm Major Taylor, and I'm here to deliver news to you." The major, who called himself Taylor, handed over his military ID, and then slowly said what he meant in English.
"He said he had something to do, come to us." The officer carrying the weapon said to the commander of the paratrooper company beside him.
"Within half an hour, we will surrender all our weapons and surrender to you." Taylor said slowly, looking at each other vigilantly.
The German soldiers carrying Mauser 98K rifles were also looking at the British officer curiously. After all, they didn't have many chances to see the living British officer at such a close distance.
"Uh... They said they would surrender within half an hour... I'm not sure, he mentioned the weapon, it seemed that he meant to put down the weapon." The person in charge of the translator was just an officer, he was not a professional translator.
"Tell him that they are allowed to surrender. Only those who put down their weapons can leave here and go to a safe place." The company commander nodded and said this.
The officer who was part-time translator said three simple words, so that the other party understood what they meant: "Allow, you, surrender."
Soon, the news came back to the British headquarters, and then the German paratroopers saw British soldiers holding various white flags coming out of the houses or trenches where they were stationed.
Before the Italian troops landed, German paratroopers had already disarmed more than 4,000 British soldiers.
By the time the Italians actually launched the landing campaign, the British in the coastal fortifications were ordered not to open fire.
As a result, this time the Italians made a big oolong: they opened fire on the other side of the bank frantically to embolden themselves.
I didn't find that the very quiet Italians on the opposite side drowned 20 of their own soldiers because of their panic. The large force rushed to the shore and received the ceasefire order.
In the end, they killed 13 unfortunate British defenders and lost 20 of their own in the course of the attack, which brought an unsatisfactory end to the battle for the island of Malta.
……
In the Chancellor's Office, Berlin, Germany, Baumann walked past the SS guards standing on both sides of the corridor with documents in hand.
"Victory! Führer!" The guards on both sides raised their chins and saluted Bowman, the Führer's secretary.
Their movements are uniform and full of momentum, combined with the exquisite oil paintings hanging on the walls on both sides, making people feel the majesty and luxury here.
"The Führer..." knocked on the Führer's door, and Bowman couldn't bear to wait at the door for the voice inside.
Since the Battle of Malta Island began, the head of state has been so nervous that he couldn't sleep. He stayed in the office and ordered his subordinates to send all the news about the Battle of Malta.
Before going to sleep yesterday, the news that the German army captured Mosta reassured the Führer a little, but it seems that the Führer has not left his office until now.
"Come in!" Inside, the voice of the head of state came out, looking weak. The soundproofing here is so good that Bowman almost didn't hear the order.
Bowman pushed open the door and was taken aback by the scene inside: Li Le already had thick dark circles under his eyes, leaning against his desk looking very haggard.
"Victory! Head of State!" He stood at the door, saluted Li Le at attention, and raised his arms: "News from Malta."
"It's good news, right?" Li Le felt that these two days were more exciting than the past year.
Is it more exciting to start a war and send tens of thousands of people to die than to play extreme sports such as roller coasters and bungee jumping?
It was because it was too exciting that Li Le was overly stimulated. Since he crossed the border, he seldom ate the food he liked, resulting in less and less appetite, and his mental state was not very good.
In addition to the battle of Malta Island, the mental torture of him, a traveler~www.wuxiaspot.com~, caused him to look so haggard now.
If someone thinks that Li Le is not as calm as a leader should be, then he can buy a 400,000 lottery ticket and wait for the draw! (If you really buy it...well, it means that your concentration is really steady...but your IQ is worrying...)
"The news just came back from General Student himself. The British garrison surrendered, and Malta is already ours." When Bowman read this telegram, his face was full of joy.
Because just on the 20th, that is, four days ago, a shipment of oil arrived in Italy, which caused a national sensation in Italy.
Their investment in North Africa has finally paid off. Libya's oil is like a shot in the arm, making Italy full of desire for the war and the future.
Now, with Malta, for the Axis powers, the shortcomings in oil seem to have been made up, or at least it is possible to make up for it.
This is good news anyway. At least the funds promised by Li Le have been added to the accounts of the German Armed Forces on time.
The Navy got aircraft carriers, the Air Force got more planes, and the Army got more tanks!
Although Mussolini was deeply resentful that he had only obtained 30% of the production capacity of Libyan oil fields, when the head of state Tori Bintrop brought a note to Mussolini, the Italian dictator closed himself mouth.
It was also at that time that the Italian high-level officials officially started the plan to conquer the Balkans.
"Malta is ours...Finally, it's ours..." Li Le heard the news of the victory, and suddenly felt his body exhausted. He just wanted to find a pillow to rest, and just wanted to sleep well. Sleep.