Chapter 442 Generous (Part 2)

At 11:00 on May 4th, after nearly 3 hours, the French fleet finally arrived in Gothenburg waters. The transport ship loaded with soldiers and supplies stopped on the sea about 15 kilometers away from Gothenburg, and the battleship "God" led two "Heavy Cavalry" class heavy cruisers and 6 "Light Cavalry" class light cruisers to leave the formation. Drive to Gothenburg. They will use their powerful naval gun fire to clear the way for the landing force as much as possible.

The news that the French army is about to land has already been spread to Gothenburg by Swedish spies. Therefore, before the arrival of the French fleet, they were ready for battle. On the beaches of Gothenburg, various solid fortifications are densely built. Moreover, around Gothenburg, more than 20 large and small forts were built, with 12 240mm large-caliber coastal defense guns shipped from the United States. There are 20 210mm caliber coastal defense guns, 35 155mm caliber coastal defense guns, 60 122mm caliber coastal defense guns, and hundreds of 105mm howitzers and 75mm field guns. Such a defensive force, in Europe at the time, could indeed be called impenetrable. The artillery in Gothenburg accounts for almost a quarter of the entire Kalmar Union. Others are only comparable to the defenses of Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, and Oslo, the capital of Norway.

"General, the French fleet has appeared. It looks like they are about to forcefully land." A major general hurriedly approached the Gothenburg Defense Command and reported to Admiral Buzz, the highest military officer in Gothenburg.

"Oh? Come so fast? Major General Kyle ordered the troops to enter the position immediately, ready to resist the French attack. In addition, send a report to Stockholm, telling them that the French have begun to attack us." Buzz said nervously. Although he is now 54 years old, it is also the first time he has encountered such a large-scale battle, and it is also the first time he has fought against France. Nervousness is inevitable.

"It's the general. I'll do it right away." Major General Kyle ordered. As soon as the words were finished, there was a violent explosion in the port area, and the whole city seemed to be trembling under the artillery fire of the French fleet. This is the power of the French Navy's 305mm naval gun.

Admiral Buzz's face turned pale in an instant. He has been in the army for decades, but he has never seen such a powerful artillery. Fortunately, he has not forgotten his duty. He grabbed Major General Kyle, who was still in a daze, and shouted: "Go and order the forts to fight back, let all the soldiers enter the position, and the French must not be allowed to go to the coast."

Major General Kyle came back to his senses. Nodded, then rushed out.

But at this time, Boots shouted to the staff officers who were still staying at the headquarters: "What are you still doing in a daze? Hurry up and clean up, go to the basement." In order to resist the French large-caliber naval guns, they Gothenburg has built countless strong basements, and the basement located under the headquarters is undoubtedly the strongest. Its reinforced concrete shell with a thickness of 3 meters cannot be broken even by the most powerful 305mm naval gun of the French Navy. This also reflects Boots' love for his life from one aspect.

"Quickly, the turrets quickly launched a counterattack to kill those French warships. The infantry quickly entered the position and prepared to resist the French landing." Major General Kyle shouted into the phone. Of course, after issuing the order, he quickly hid in the basement. God! Is that considered a French battleship? It's just too big. It's hard to imagine that humans can build such a huge warship. This is what Rear Admiral Kyle felt when he saw the French Navy's "God's Family" battleship. This is simply not comparable to their Swedish navy.

The troops quickly implemented Major General Kyle's order. More than 20 forts began to bombard the French warships that were showing their might. A large number of soldiers were also driven by low-level officers, braved artillery fire, and entered the position.

However, as if for their own safety considerations, warships such as the "Shen Juan" stayed at a distance of about 8 kilometers from Gothenburg and kept firing at the fortifications and forts built on the beach in Gothenburg. In this position, the Gothenburg defenders can only reach the 240mm large-caliber coastal defense guns, 210mm caliber coastal defense guns and 155mm caliber coastal defense guns. Other cannons are a complete waste of shells.

After the Swedish artillery commander, Major General Eric, came back to his senses, he immediately ordered the 155mm cannons on the campus to stop firing and stop this wasteful behavior. After all, although there are so many cannons, their shells are limited, especially the shells of those large-caliber coastal defense guns, all of which are transported from the United States. One is less than one.

Although Gothenburg has 62 cannons with a caliber of 155 mm or more, the French side has only 50. But the French side has these four extremely terrifying 305mm naval guns. In the case of using armor-piercing projectiles, its terrifying firepower can easily penetrate the turret protected by reinforced concrete with a thickness of 1 meter, which is very lethal to the defenders of Gothenburg.

In general, in this fierce artillery battle, the French side has a great advantage. Because they are mobile, it is difficult for the artillery shells of the Gothenburg defenders to hit them, but they can easily hit each other.

"Ignore the fortifications on the beach for now. Concentrate your firepower and pull out all those forts." The commander of the "God's Family", Rear Admiral Darcy ordered. As the captain of the "Shen Juan", he is also the supreme commander of this temporary fleet.

Under his order, the French navy immediately gave up ravaging those fortifications, and turned their fierce artillery fire to the forts that were constantly blazing. Suddenly, the pressure on the defenders of Gothenburg increased greatly. Several forts were silenced.

"Good job. That's it, concentrate your firepower and pull them out one by one." Darcy put down the binoculars in his hand and ordered excitedly.

Since Gothenburg's turrets are reinforced with reinforced concrete, even if they are replaced with armor-piercing shells, it is difficult for the 155mm naval gun to destroy the target. In order to relieve the opponent's resistance as soon as possible, Dalcy had no choice but to order the three battleships, the "God's Family" and the two heavy cruisers "Loire" and "Dordogne", to concentrate their firepower and jointly attack a Target.

Needless to say, this method is indeed very effective. Basically, no fort can withstand their 5 rounds of salvo. In this case, the forts of Gothenburg were destroyed one by one, and the sound of the guns gradually became sparse.

"General, our losses are very large. If this continues, our entire army will be wiped out." An artillery colonel reported anxiously to Eric.

"Report our current losses." Eric ordered.

A captain's staff immediately reported: "So far, the forts we have destroyed are No. 2, 3, 6, 8, 13, 17, and 21. No. 1, 3, 9, and 11 shells have been severely damaged, and our firepower has been lost. Reached 50%. Among them, there are only 4 240mm coastal defense guns left."

"Damn! Where's the French? How many battleships did we kill?" Eric asked.

"Unfortunately, General. So far, we haven't killed a single warship of the opponent. It's just that we have injured a few warships of the opponent, but this doesn't affect the battle." The captain replied bravely.

"Damn it. Order the turrets, concentrate their firepower, and bombard the three largest warships. As long as we can sink or severely damage them, we still have a chance to win." Eric ordered.

Immediately, the large-caliber coastal defense guns of the remaining forts in Gothenburg all greeted the three warships including the "Shen Juan". Make their pressure greatly increased. But they still walked through the shells, avoiding the shells while continuing to fire at the target.

It seems that the good luck of the French Navy has come to an end here. A 210mm artillery shell hit the bow of the 'Loire'. The impact of the explosion immediately pushed all the soldiers who were still busy on the deck into the sea, and a hole with a diameter of two meters was blown out on the deck. big hole. The scattered shrapnel also jammed the A turret of the "Loire", making it impossible for a 210mm naval gun to turn.

It seems that from this beginning, the bad luck of the French navy came, and more and more shells were concentrated on the French warships. Fortunately, they were all minor injuries, but they still reduced the combat effectiveness of the French fleet a lot.

"Order all the warships to retreat two kilometers~lightnovelpub.net~ As a last resort, Darcy had to order the warships to retreat. In the battle just now, even the 'Shenjuan' was hit by several shells. Fortunately, the 'Shenjuan' Under the protection of the ship's incomparably strong armor, he was not seriously injured, but this already made Darcy feel a little scared.

"Damn it. Order the 'Loire' to withdraw from the battle and return to Friedrichshafen." Darcy ordered helplessly. After the first shell, the "Loire" ate several shells successively. One of them even hit the bridge of the "Loire", and almost all the commanders, including the captain, were killed. If it persists, the "Loire" will definitely not escape the fate of being sunk. In order to save the battleship, Darcy had to issue this order.

At a distance of 10 kilometers, it has exceeded the longest range of the 155mm naval gun. Only cannons of 210mm and above can continue to fight, but the hit rate is frighteningly low.

With the withdrawal of the "Loire" from the battle, the firepower of the French navy weakened at once. Of course, they are much better than the Gothenburg defenders. Among the remaining forts in Gothenburg, there are less than 10 surviving 240mm large-caliber coastal defense guns and 210mm caliber coastal defense guns. The French side also has 10 210mm naval guns, 6 240mm naval guns and 4 305mm naval guns. The French navy has an absolute advantage.