Romanian Eagle

Admiral Tsoraglu's concerns were soon ignored. The artillery fleet not only shelled Heraklion, but also Chania and Rethymnon.

Without waiting for them to guess what the Romanians were doing, on the third day, a large fleet appeared in the open sea. These ships are loaded with the marines responsible for landing, as well as some landing equipment.

And such a scene naturally attracted him, Admiral Papagos, and Major General White by this situation, and it seemed that the landing of the Romanians was close at hand. And the target is the beach on the left side of Heraklion. They plan to use this place to land and then capture the port city.

What they expected was right, a large number of Romanian officers and soldiers descended down the rope ladder to the small boats landing below. Among them, a boat with a square head and a square brain is very eye-catching. This is a newly built landing craft in Romania and the first professional boat built for landing in Romania.

This ship, which is specially responsible for landing, is named HDL-type landing craft in Romania. The boat has a total length of 13.8 meters, a width of 4.3 meters, and a full-load displacement of 28.1 tons. The boat is equipped with two 120-horsepower 6-cylinder diesel engines and adopts dual-shaft propulsion, which can reach a range of 81 nautical miles at a speed of 7.5 knots.

The boat can carry both soldiers and armored vehicles (an HR10 amphibious tank), which was also specifically requested because it was designed at the time.

Such a landing craft was designed, and 54 were purchased by the Navy. And now these landing craft are now all in the Cretan Sea. They were brought in by other ships and released when they were to be used.

While the landing force was preparing, the naval and air armies were not idle either. In addition to the three battleships in the naval artillery fleet, six heavy cruisers were now joined. Although the 203mm caliber main gun it is equipped with cannot be compared with the battleship, the damage to the defenders is not small at all.

And more importantly, the Greek-British coalition did not have many coastal fortifications on Crete. Because Romania did not give them much time, it was only a month and a half from the start of the Greek campaign in Romania. And from the time Athens was captured by it, it was a month.

How can any solid fortifications be built in a month, it is all hasty civil works. Besides, when the Greek government returned, it didn't bring much materials at all. Although the treasury brought something over, but now there is no place to buy it. As for British transportation, weapons, ammunition, and personnel and equipment are naturally the first priority. Building materials, even the British troops in Egypt themselves did not have enough.

Therefore, the defenders at the booth were in difficulty. They suffered from the attack of the naval artillery and the blow from the air at the same time. In order to cover the smooth progress of the landing operation this time, the Air Force prepared 2,000 fighter aircraft missions today alone.

So these guards officers and soldiers,

Before waiting for the enemy to land, they suffered a double blow.

"boom!"

A violent explosion made a bunker-like fortification vanish.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The defenders on the ground were constantly attacked by the sea and the air, and their morale continued to decline. Although many officers and soldiers hid in anti-gun holes, many fortifications were destroyed in it.

Although the looting attack made the defending officers and soldiers look up a little, the Romanian landing troops drove towards the beach in ships.

"The Romanians are coming."

Following the report of the observation post, the defending soldiers who had been evading the attack ran out from various hiding points under the command of the officers and soldiers, and they needed to block the Romanians' offensive. But fortunately, this is a landing battle, and Romania's dominant armored combat vehicles simply cannot perform under this tactic.

With the appearance of a large number of defending soldiers, the attack from the air and sea became more ferocious, and even fighter jets began to fire at low altitudes.

This made the defenders even more uncomfortable, and they were helpless in the face of threats from the sea and air. Many days of fighting have exhausted its air defenses and fighter planes, and the defending Greek and British troops can only bear it with human lives.

It's just that the Romanian army that has landed has appeared in front of them. They can shoot at it with the weapons in their hands, and shoot the anger in their hearts at the incoming Romanian army with the weapons in their hands.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

"Da, da, da~"

Facing the Romanian marines who landed by boat, the defending Greek defenders immediately gave a warm attitude, and the sound of machine guns and artillery resounded throughout the beach. From time to time, a landing ship is hit, turning the entire landing ship into a Shura field.

"Da, da, da~"

The landing troops on board were not without counterattacks. The 12.7mm machine guns they were equipped with kept giving counterattacks.

Faced with the constant hail of bullets on both sides, all the officers and soldiers who landed huddled their heads inside the ship. The clattering of the ship's armor plates constantly alerted them to the danger outside.

"Ready to log in!"

With the command of the landing craft captain in the operational direction, all the huddled Marines clenched their weapons.

"Gah~"

As the front hatch opened, everyone rushed into the waist-deep sea water. Because everyone knows that leaving the landing ship as soon as possible can free themselves from this huge dangerous place, and the enemy firepower will never miss this good opportunity to shoot them.

"what!"

Several soldiers who had slowed down were shot by the defenders' machine guns and immediately fell into the landing craft, their blood filling the cabin with a bloody smell.

The glass in the captain's observation room was also smashed. Fortunately, the captain was quick-witted and fell down immediately.

Now he doesn't care whether there is anyone in the boat, and immediately starts to reverse the boat, and the strong horsepower makes the landing boat quickly leave this dangerous beach.

The Marine Corps officers and soldiers who disembarked did not care about the departure of the landing craft. They were wading towards the beach. In this distance of only ten meters that could not be avoided, the blows suffered by the Marine Corps officers and soldiers were not small. Because of wading, its movements can't be fast at all, so it can withstand the damage of the enemy abruptly, and many officers and soldiers have fallen here.

But anyway, let the first wave of Romanian officers and soldiers board the beach. After getting on the beach, the officers and soldiers of the Marine Corps quickly rushed up. They were the first to set up positions at the stalls and waited for the arrival of follow-up reinforcements.

On the fleet side, the second wave of reinforcements came very quickly. This time, the reinforcements have changed a lot compared to the first time. That is, a battalion of HR10 amphibious tanks were transported this time, and they are on their way.

The battle on the beach naturally attracted the attention of the three commanders, and the information was sent to them one by one.

"The enemy is attacking the beach, and our division has entered the battlefield to stand firm."

"The enemy has landed on the shore, and our division is suppressing its firepower. At present, the battle situation is still within our expectations. The enemy is pressed on the beachhead and cannot advance an inch."

"The second batch of reinforcements from the enemy has arrived. The enemy has transported dozens of tanks. Now we are requesting reinforcements from anti-tank weapons!"

In fact, there is no need to send a report from the troops guarding the beach. The three commanders can see the situation of the stall with binoculars. Their location is a small hill called Gurnes outside the city. This is just to include the beach. .

I saw a new batch of landing ships arrived at the beach. The number of reinforcements was not too many, but they brought in the tanks that the landing troops urgently needed. So with the support of the second wave of landing troops, the landing troops launched an attack on the defending troops on the front line.

The defenders, lacking in anti-armour strength, were shaky in the face of this offensive. The only few anti-tank guns in his hands were destroyed by the opponent's attack immediately after destroying several enemy tanks.

In the face of this situation, the three commanders naturally would not let it go. They saw that the Greek troops of one division were going to the front line for reinforcements against the air strikes.

In the face of this reinforcement, Romania would naturally not let it accomplish its purpose comfortably. The artillery bombardment from the navy was immediately transferred to it. With the help of the artillery school plane, the division suffered a lot. In the face of this feeling of being double-struck by the enemy, the division commander immediately ordered, "Each unit will immediately distribute reinforcements on a company scale."

The previously dispersed reinforcements, which had been maintained in regiments, had become more dispersed under his orders, and they were moving in reinforcements to the positions.