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Chapter 293 Stupid Mussolini

The second wave of British attacks began.Only then did the officers and soldiers of the Italian army become a little smarter. The battleships, cruisers, and land anti-aircraft artillery groups no longer fought independently, but cooperated with each other to form a dense anti-aircraft fire network.When 19 British Sailfish aircraft attacked, one was shot down.However, the British pilots were well-trained after all, and the remaining 1 planes nimbly passed through the dense curtain and billowing thick smoke, skillfully evaded maneuvers, and launched continuous attacks, which once again severely damaged the Italian Navy fleet and destroyed the shipyard and other facilities in the port. Then return safely.

On January 1940, 1, the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet carrier-based aviation unit made a surprise attack on the Italian naval base Taranto and achieved a major victory.This battle was the first large-scale attack on ships in the port since the advent of aircraft carrier-based aircraft, highlighting the huge assault power of carrier-based aviation, making aircraft carriers replace battleships as the main type of naval ships, and ushering in a new era of integrated sea and air operations at sea. During the period, the naval battle mode of "giant ships and cannons, fleet decisive battle" became a historical relic, occupying an important position in the history of world naval warfare.

In the surprise attack on Taranto, the British Mediterranean Fleet dispatched only 40 planes, and at the cost of losing 2 planes, 38 torpedoes and a small number of bombs, it sank and damaged Italy in just 65 minutes. There were 3 naval battleships, 6 cruisers, and 12 destroyers. Since then, they have mastered the command of the Mediterranean Sea. The main ships of the Italian Navy were sent to the bottom of the sea, and Taranto became the graveyard of the main fleet of the Italian Navy.However, the Italian Navy, which was originally in a dominant position, suffered a tragic defeat and suffered heavy losses. Its experience and lessons are worth discussing.

This battle shows that pre-war preparations must be cautious.The battle of preparation cannot be fought, and the battle of inattentive preparation is also difficult to win.Judging from the pre-war preparations for this battle, it should be said that the Italian army still attaches great importance to defense. Anti-aircraft guns, searchlights, and arresting balloons are all available, forming a complete air defense system, which seems to be called "impregnable." ".But it is by no means invulnerable. In the storm in early November 1940, two-thirds of the arresting balloons that Riccardi considered to be the "killer weapon" were destroyed, and only 11 of them were still functional.Faced with such a huge loss, it failed to replenish and repair it in time.In particular, the quality of the Italian army's personnel was poor, intelligence collectors had difficulty distinguishing between true and false information, and the anti-aircraft artillery units lacked night combat capabilities, and they were not psychologically prepared, so failure was inevitable.

However, the preparations of the British army can be described as meticulous. They carried out targeted training and modification of the pilots and fighter planes participating in the battle, conducted repeated aerial reconnaissance of the port of Taranto, and adopted effective deception operations.Under the condition that the conditions are not yet ripe, it is better to postpone it again and again than to attack rashly, and the result is a hit.Since the end of the Second World War, the style of war has undergone earth-shaking changes, but knowing yourself and the enemy is still a prerequisite for victory, and it is also the primary content of pre-war preparations.Knowing the enemy is to thoroughly study the opponent, know the opponent's combat power, possible tactical means, and the main direction of the possible assault, and make targeted countermeasures.A confidant requires not only knowing how to creatively develop one's own strengths, but also having a clear understanding of one's own weaknesses and deficiencies, making corresponding improvements, refraining from arrogance, and truly doing well in all aspects with an attitude of walking on thin ice and facing an abyss. Work, do not give the opponent any opportunity to take advantage of.

Imitation cannot replace innovation.Throughout the attack process, the British army showed a positive and innovative military concept.General Cunningham, the commander of the British army, was keenly aware of the decisive role of aviation in naval battles, and pioneered the use of carrier-based aircraft to attack enemy naval bases, and achieved significant results; The intercepting balloon net, hard training jng flight, ingenious response, finally passed the level smoothly; the magnetic xng torpedo developed by the engineers and technicians successfully broke through the lightning protection net set up by the Italian army jng center.However, Mussolini was backward in thinking and lacked the basic concept of synthesis, which turned the sea-air coordination into a sea-air division; the Italian commander not only had a rigid and conservative command method, but also regarded the blocking balloon invented by the enemy as a weapon for air defense. As a result, 21 old-fashioned biplanes in the British military area were defeated.The lessons of blood have taught us: Victory cannot be copied, and imitation is difficult to innovate.

An army lacking in innovation will only follow suit in peacetime, and can only be passively beaten in wartime.And military innovation is a system engineering, reflected in every aspect of army construction.It is necessary to get rid of the traditional concept of "a fresh move, eat all over the world", and strengthen the "big innovation concept" of system integration and top-level design, and use comprehensive and innovative actions to drive the overall improvement of the combat effectiveness of the troops, instead of "treasure" simply Bet heavily on a new weapon or two and a fresh idea or two.

The commander must have the judgment ability to see through the clouds.In order to achieve the suddenness of the air strike, the British army took various measures to conceal their combat intentions, and the interference confused the judgment of the Italian command organization. As a result, the British fleet sailed at sea for 3 days and nights, not only was not intercepted by the Italian army, but the Taranto naval port Not even on high alert.What is even more ironic is that on the day of the air strike, the Italian army dispatched 88 planes to participate in the air strike against North Africa, but did not dispatch planes to protect the naval fleet with weak defense capabilities. .

In the high-tech battlefield of the future, the battle situation is complex and ever-changing. The warring parties will use various means to create false appearances, confuse the public, and look for various opportunities to carry out surprise attacks.In this regard, battlefield commanders must not take it lightly. They must be good at predicting the possible actions of the opponent from the perspective of the overall situation, be good at judging the real movement of the opponent from clues, and be good at using empathy to guess the enemy commander’s combat intentions. blinded by false appearances, so as to make rational and objective judgments. [

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When Zhang Jun heard that the British fleet actually used two aircraft carriers to successfully attack the Italian Navy's garrison, he was so angry that he couldn't laugh or cry, because Zhang Jun had already sent three consecutive telegrams to Mussolini, telling him to be careful about Taranto. Fleet, every time Mussolini swore that Taranto’s defenses were impenetrable, and even a British fly could not fly in. As a result, [-]% of the main ships of the Italian Navy were buried in the cemetery of Taranto , This is what Mussolini said about being impenetrable and not a fly can fly into Taranto. Believe in the oath of Italy, it is better to believe that a sow can also climb a tree.

This is not over yet, Mussolini was unwilling to fail, and personally sent a message to Hitler, asking Hitler to send an air force to support the Italian Navy. Mussolini planned to organize all the remaining Italian naval ships to form a Break through the fleet and attack the British Mediterranean supply line, but Hitler actually agreed.

Of course Hitler agreed, as long as Italy is willing to find the British desperately, Hitler absolutely agrees with both hands, but after the fiasco of the "Sea Lion Project" Hitler, there is still an air force transferred to reinforce Italy. At this time, Germany is approaching Four thousand planes have gone, and the two air armies of the SS originally had 130 planes, but now 29 planes have gone, and the National Defense Forces have left 29 planes in France to guard against air raids on the British mainland. There were less than [-] on the Soviet front.However, Hitler still transferred [-] **-[-] bombers to Zhang Jun, including [-] air tankers and six **-[-] air pre-jng aircraft, which is a very powerful air force.

Since Mussolini is an idiot who is desperately looking for Britain for the sake of face, Zhang Jun has no objection. Of course, the specific plan was formulated by Italy. Zhang Jun also has an Italian combat plan, and Zhang Jun is in charge of the air force part of the fleet. .

In order to open up the situation in the Mediterranean, Zhang Jun also had to annihilate the main force of the British Mediterranean Fleet, and the remaining Italian fleet is the best bait. This is not because Zhang Jun does not regard his allies as allies, but Mussory Don't blame Zhang Jun for using the Italian navy as a bait for the plan proposed by that idiot himself. In order to protect its own supply line, Britain will definitely choose to face the Italian navy's initiative.

For this reason, Zhang Jun made special changes to his "six-barrel rocket launcher", which is to remove the support, tires and other equipment from the "six-barrel rocket launcher" made in Germany, and only keep six launch tubes. Such a set of "six-barrel rocket launcher" The total weight of "Liu Ye" is only 260 kg. Two "six-barrel rocket launchers" can be hung under the wings of "Liu Ye", each rocket weighs 31 kg and has a range of 8 kilometers. The superstructure of the warship, such as the command room, telecommunications room, anti-aircraft artillery, etc., will be destroyed by these rockets if the armor is not very thick.

The British warships that have lost their anti-aircraft firepower are the targets of other aircraft. Even the **-29 strategic bomber can bomb at low altitude. It is a pity that the jng quasi-bomber such as the ju87 has not been modified for aerial refueling because its propeller is in the nose. , It is really not easy to modify the aerial refueling system.Therefore, the air strike plan arranged by Zhang Jun is mainly completed by **-29 and "Six Masters".How effective it is, you can only know by playing it.Using **-29 to fly at low altitude to bomb warships is hard to say. At the same time, **-29 is still dangerous. If the "Six Master" carries a 150mm rocket launcher and turns all the British fleet's anti-aircraft weapons into scrap iron, then what** -29 can basically send the British fleet into the bottom of the sea without any injuries. If the British warships did not lose their anti-aircraft firepower, then **-29 would be miserable. Anyway, Zhang Jun also placed his bet on the "Six Lord".

The 150 rocket weighs 31 kilograms and has a range of 8 kilometers. The "Liu Ye" only needs to dive to 5 kilometers away from the British warship to launch. The air defense weapons on the warship can hardly threaten the "Liu Ye" who is so far away. ", and the power of the German 150 rocket is equivalent to a 155 mm caliber gun. The British warship has no way to blow holes except for the armor of the battleship. The warship below the cruiser cannot withstand this power, but the rocket is not like The gun can penetrate the armor and explode, and it can only explode when touched, so it can only pose a fatal threat to the deck or superstructure of the British warship. There would be no such ability.But the advantage of the rocket launched by the plane is also very obvious.

... (To be continued.)

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