(Today there is still only 1 chapter. There was an earthquake in Sichuan, and Chengdu was also affected. Xiaoyu risked his life and hid in an Internet cafe to update!)

On June 20, after receiving the combat order from the French General Staff, the entire Isle of Wight boiled. The 4 marine divisions stationed on the island and the Mediterranean Fleet all devoted themselves to combat preparations with great enthusiasm. A large amount of weapons and ammunition were shipped out of the warehouse, distributed to soldiers or transferred to transport ships. The battleship is also undergoing final inspections, trying to maintain the best condition and put it into battle.

At six o'clock in the morning on June 21, the troops began to load the ships. The 3rd Marine Division would serve as the first attacking force in the attack on Portsmouth. At 6:20, the bombardment formation led by the 'Pre-Dreadnought' class battleship 'Grand Duke' left the port and headed for Portsmouth. This bombardment fleet included two 'Pre-Dreadnought' class battleships and 8 'Bonaparte' class battleships And 15 'Iberia' class battleships, they will launch shelling on Portsmouth and Southampton in turn to help the Marine Corps clear the obstacles to the attack.

At 6:50, the loading of the 3rd Marines was completed, and the fleet set sail.

The Isle of Wight is very close to Portsmouth, less than 20 kilometers away, and the fleet can reach it by sailing for up to one hour. At 7:15, the bombardment fleet arrived in Portsmouth waters. After 15 minutes of preparation, the fleet launched a fierce bombardment to Portsmouth, and the British coastal defense artillery also launched a fierce counterattack.

The supreme British commander at Portsmouth was Admiral Beale, one of Wellington's rivals. After Wellington was promoted to field marshal, he was jealous. He believes that Wellington has failed many times in the war with France. If he can be promoted to field marshal, then he should be Secretary of War.

At the beginning of the war, Hammurabi, the Minister of War, originally meant to appoint Bill as Wellington's deputy and chief of staff in the Dover theater. However, Britain lacked an officer with sufficient qualifications and experience to serve as Portsmouth. The supreme commander of the war zone. So Bill recommended himself to Hammurabi, and after some twists and turns, he got the position as he wished. Although he knew that the current situation was very unfavorable to Britain, he finally decided to take the risk. If he could withstand the attack of the French army, he believed that he would be able to get the marshal's power.

On June 20, when the British War Department issued an order to send three infantry divisions from the Portsmouth theater to Poole for support, he felt a sense of crisis. However, the order of the Ministry of War is not something he can defy. He can only order the divisions to strengthen their guard against possible landings. At the same time, the five infantry divisions set out from London were required to advance at full speed and must reach Portsmouth before June 22. He thought that even if the French army launched an attack on Portsmouth on June 21, the five infantry divisions in his hands would be enough to hold off the French army's attack for a day. When the reinforcements arrived, it was time for them to counterattack.

On the morning of June 21, when the commander of the 9th Infantry Division responsible for defending the coast of Portsmouth sent someone to report to him that the French fleet had been spotted, he felt a sense of relief. "Order the coastal defense forces to launch a counterattack and protect the fortifications." At that time, Bill calmly issued the order.

A fierce artillery battle unfolded on the coast of Portsmouth. Both the French artillery fleet and the British coastal defense force desperately poured shells on each other's heads, especially the large-caliber naval guns on the French "pre-dreadnought" class battleships. A single bombardment can leave a large crater tens of meters in diameter on the coast.

Portsmouth is one of the two most important points of the British southern defense line. The British army has spent a lot of effort to deploy defenses here. There are more than 100 large-caliber coastal defense cannons, which are distributed on the coastal defense forts around Portsmouth. . In addition, the various fortifications built on the coast are also densely packed, ditches and bunkers criss-cross the coast, and various fixed firepower points are all poured with reinforced concrete. Unless it is directly hit by the French naval guns, it will be difficult to damage it.

Although the British army's coastal defenses are very fierce, but due to performance reasons, their range is always smaller than that of the French naval guns. A large number of shells exploded one or two hundred meters in front of the French fleet. It is difficult to cause substantial damage to the French fleet.

After an hour-long artillery battle, the French naval fleet finally won the final victory. Under their fierce attack, the British coastal defense artillery suffered heavy losses and had to withdraw from the battlefield. The French fleet did not suffer any losses at all. Two 'Iberia;' class battleships were hit by the British large-caliber coastal defense artillery because they were too close to the coast. One of them was torn to pieces on the spot, and the other Battered. Had to withdraw from the battlefield. With lessons learned from the past, other French warships immediately distanced themselves from the coast to avoid the same fate.

At this time, the transport ship carrying the Marine Division had arrived, and the bombardment fleet had to give up strangling the British coastal defense positions and instead devote itself to attacking the British coastal fortifications. Under the fierce bombardment of the French army, the fortifications of the British army were immediately devastated. Although they tried their best to make the fortifications stronger, they still underestimated the power of the French naval guns. Except for a few firepower points in the dead zone, the others were completely destroyed, and many trenches were blown into huge deep pits or filled up. Fortunately, when the French naval shelling began, the British 9th Infantry Division was ordered to withdraw from its position. Otherwise, it would be hard to say whether they would survive under the heavy shelling of the French army.

The artillery fire raged for a full hour before it ended. At 9:30 in the morning, the landing of the 3rd Marine Division began. The transport ship began to approach the coast, and the landing craft was also put on the sea. At this time, the mood suddenly changed, and the silent British coastal defense positions began to roar again, and a large number of shells hit the French transport ship approaching the coast. A transport ship was hit on the spot, the entire middle of the hull was blown off, and a whole company of soldiers on board fell into the water. Although the surrounding transport ships launched a rescue, before they arrived, the vortex formed when the transport ship sank swallowed the lives of a large number of French soldiers. There were more than 200 people on the whole ship, and less than 50 people were rescued in the end. However, this was not the biggest crisis facing the French army. In order to avoid the shelling of the British army, many transport ships entangled with other transport ships while avoiding, causing chaos.

Seeing this situation, the 3rd Marine Division ordered the ships to continue to perform landing operations, while the warships of the Mediterranean Fleet on the sea immediately began to suppress the British army. In order to repel the landing of the French army, the British coastal defense force still fought to the death despite the fierce shelling of the French army, determined to cause the greatest casualties to the French army even if the entire army was wiped out.

The bombardment lasted for 20 minutes before the British secret defense forces were completely wiped out. During this period, 5 French transport ships were sunk and 5 companies were lost.

The landing finally started, and in the first wave of the attack, the 3rd Marine Division invested a regiment of troops. More than 200 landing craft flooded the sea, driving towards the coast in a dark mass. Ten minutes later, the first landing craft docked, and a squad of soldiers on board launched an attack on the British position under the cover of the squad's machine guns, while the navy began to conduct extended shelling to prevent the British from providing support to the coast.

Finally, more and more landing craft docked, and a large number of French marines joined the attack on the British defense line. Gunshots and cannons rang out across the beach. Almost every second someone was shot and fell, and every second someone died.

Only 20 minutes from the first wave of landing, the second wave of 1 regiment began to land. The 3rd Marine Division was determined to break through the British defense line with successive fierce attacks and expel them from the entire coast.

Under the fierce attack of the French army~lightnovelpub.net~The defense line of the British army is gradually tightened. Although they are extremely tenacious, the battle is not determined by courage alone. Sometimes, the gap between weapons cannot be determined. make up for. After the French had committed two regiments, the British 9th Infantry Division lost a third of its defenses. After the third regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division was invested, the 9th Infantry Division began to retreat steadily.

"Reinforcement, tell, General Bill, I need reinforcements, otherwise, I will have to give the order to retreat." The commander of the British 9th Infantry Division roared. He had sent three requests for reinforcements to the Portsmouth command, but each time he had received orders to stand firm. Now, for the survival of his soldiers, he had a showdown with Bill, either send me reinforcements or I evacuate the position. At this point in the battle, the casualties of the British 9th Infantry Division had reached 50%. According to the usual practice, such a unit should have been sentenced to lose combat effectiveness and withdraw from the battlefield long ago. Victory, they have been holding on. But now, they couldn't hold on any longer, so they had to start to find their own way out.

Bill is also very embarrassed now, and he did not expect the French army's attack to be so fierce. The coastal defense force he had placed high hopes on did not achieve the results he expected. The battle has only been going on for less than a morning now, and if he sends reinforcements now, he will not be able to last until the next day. Now, Bill has only 5 infantry divisions, two of which are headed in Southampton, and Portsmouth has only 3, including the 9th Infantry Division, which has been hit hard.