Imperial Overlord

The surrender of the defenders of Mostar suddenly disrupted the plan of the British defenders to counterattack at night.

Not all British soldiers are determined to fight to the death. At least in 1940, the British were losing ground, and surrender was obviously more acceptable than fighting to the last person.

After German paratroopers surrounded Mostar, they made two tentative attacks. After capturing some buildings, hundreds of British defenders surrendered their weapons and raised white flags.

About 300 of these soldiers came from British colonies such as India and Nepal. In itself, the combat effectiveness of the colonial army was far behind that of the British army.

Now they surrendered, and no one was surprised—and no one, because the British on the island were surprised, because they had planned to save Mosta at night.

In London, the capital of the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister's residence, Churchill's office door was knocked by the attendant, a British officer walked into the Prime Minister's office uneasy, and then stood at attention.

He handed the document in his hand to Churchill, and reported anxiously: "Sir! The German paratroopers have captured Most... The Battle of Malta, we are quite passive."

"When will the reinforcements arrive in Malta?" Churchill raised his head, put down the pen in his hand, and asked the officer.

The officer's face became even more embarrassing. He lowered his eyes and replied, staggering Churchill's gaze, "Sir, the 2,000 people assigned by Alexandria have just started boarding..."

Churchill also knew that because of fear of the Germans' espionage work, Britain's combat preparations became very passive. The decision to reinforce Malta at any cost was also a temporary decision he made, and he directly contacted General Cananning.

It can be said that this decision surpassed many British generals, and even Churchill made the decision himself.

In order to achieve such a secrecy effect, Churchill was under a lot of pressure, because if the operation failed, he would bear the responsibility alone.

"That damned spy, haven't you found it yet?" Knowing that Britain might be short of chess in the competition for the island of Malta, Churchill asked another question a little dejectedly.

Since the last time the H fleet lost the battleship Resolve due to leaks, this "German spy" seemed to have disappeared, and no flaws or traces were revealed.

He seemed to have disappeared, as if he didn't exist at all, leaving the British high-level helpless.

"The intelligence department is still sorting out the investigation...sir." The officer hesitated, as if he wanted to say something to Churchill, but finally gave up.

Churchill knew that his confidant had something to say, so he opened his mouth and gave him a chance to say what he wanted to say: "If you want to say something, just say it here."

Hearing the Prime Minister's words, his confidant officer hurriedly said, "The investigation team has already interrogated me twice... I know this is work, so I cooperate very well... But."

He paused and found that Churchill didn't answer, so he had to talk to himself: "But they are now investigating my lover and son... Sir, our family's life has been disrupted."

Hearing what his subordinates said, Churchill also realized the seriousness of the problem. If it is not unbearable, his confidant should cooperate very well with the detection work.

Since all the confidants have been unhappy about this matter, it is conceivable that other people's views on this matter should be on the verge of breaking out.

"It seems that the search for German spies must be stopped." Churchill pinched the bridge of his nose with a headache, feeling a little powerless.

In response to high-ranking British officers, even those with the rank of major general, the intelligence department carried out searches of every household, which has indeed caused the naval department to complain.

The situation on the army side is slightly better. Although the investigators are also monitoring many senior generals, the intensity is much lower than that on the navy side.

On the night of the 23rd, Churchill ordered a temporary suspension of the disastrous internal inspection, ordered the Navy Command and the Army Command to return to work as soon as possible, and redeployed strategically to Malta.

It was also on this day that 200 twin-engine bombers of the Luftwaffe took off from southern Italy and carried out destructive bombing on Valletta.

That night, the sound of the explosion did not stop. On the ground, the German paratroopers who had stopped advancing looked at the exploding horizon in the distance and enjoyed a fairly good night.

The expected British counterattack did not come. On the contrary, the British withdrew from Zebbug that night and transferred their troops to Gormi.

At the same time, the British mobilized 500 men from the airport to strengthen the Siggiewi garrison.

The British front-line commander hoped that he could use this move to block the German paratroopers in the middle of the island, so that the opponent could no longer threaten the airport and Valletta.

From a strategic point of view, the decision to defend the airport and Valletta after losing Mosta's Maltese defenders was the most correct judgment.

However, this is the best choice they have made from the standpoint of waiting for help.

Unfortunately, that night, Can Anning received an order from Churchill to give up his support for Malta, and re-disbanded the 2,000 British reinforcements who had been loaded and ready to go to sea.

Churchill felt that Malta, which had lost Mosta, had lost the possibility of continuing.

Can Anning also believed that taking on the responsibility of sending another 2,000 people to Malta to die would make him lose his position as the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, so he followed Churchill's orders graciously.

The fact that reinforcements were cancelled, the defenders of Malta did not know yet. They are still waiting for their reinforcements, and they are working hard to hold their defensive positions.

Time passed minute by minute, and until the early morning of the 24th, there were no waves on the island of Malta.

After the Germans had breakfast, they began to tentatively attack Zebbug. As a result, when Brown was standing on the road with his weapons on his back and waiting for the front-line scouts to bring back the enemy, Zebbug was occupied by German scouts.

Without wasting a single shot, the German paratroopers drove into Zebbug. They looked curiously at the buildings on both sides, walked through the empty streets, and passed through the city.

They didn't hear the cheers of victory, nor were they welcomed by the locals, they just passed through here with their weapons and rushed to the city that was guarded by the British ahead.

Unlike yesterday, a huge fleet had already spread out on the sea just north of Valletta, the largest city in Malta.

Led by two Cavour-class battleships, the landing fleet of the Italian Navy arrived at the designated sea area as scheduled.

After Mussolini got the story of the Battle of Oran from the German Navy, he was furious with his admirals.

He ordered that 10,000 courage must be used to complete the Malta landing battle this time.

Therefore, in the early morning of the 24th, the forward of the landing force composed of the Italian black shirt army, in the cool Mediterranean sea breeze, began to board their own boats and prepared to land in Malta.

At the same time, the large-caliber naval guns of the Italian Navy began to violently bombard important military targets on the island of Malta.

The Cavour-class battleships have been modernized and have 10 320mm main guns.

This kind of main gun is made by boring and milling the 305mm caliber main gun that was originally equipped on this class of warships... Although it feels a little bit like dealing with errands, its ability to attack the sea is also worrying. It can be used to deal with shore targets, but it is more than enough.

At more than 7:00 in the morning, the Italian fleet shelled Valletta violently, and the pressure on the British defenders doubled.

At the same time, the Luftwaffe and the Italian Air Force carried out massive air raids on the positions of the British defenders.

The city of Valletta, which had just been bombed last night, was still smoking with black smoke, and the fire had not been completely extinguished.

At this time, they encountered air raids and artillery shells again, and the British defenders were already on the verge of collapse. These poor people persisted in the trenches, waiting for reinforcements that would never arrive...

Lehmann looked at a place 5 kilometers away in Zebuji. Cannonballs fell one by one, and then black smoke engulfed the sky.

He was a poor paratrooper who had almost never been supported by such heavy artillery fire. On the contrary, he is often exposed to such heavy artillery fire, praying that he can survive in a hellish environment.

Now, watching a large-caliber artillery shell explode on the enemy's position, he felt a kind of schadenfreude in his heart.

"I heard that we have prepared 3,000 people. This afternoon, we will take the opportunity to drop into the airport directly?" When Laiman was on his way, he heard some gossip from the battalion commander.

The squad leader nodded, showing off his level of gossip: "Yes, once the Italians' attack is blocked, they will start an emergency plan, parachute 3,000 people from behind the enemy, forcibly seize the airport, and attack the British from the other side."

The attack plan drawn up by Li Le and Student can be described as a lion fighting a rabbit, and they tried their best. Most of the paratroopers were passively used. Even if the paratroopers were used alone to capture Malta, it would be a slap in the face.

"It sounds like a good plan. I heard that the British in front are sticking to it." Lyman has been inquiring about the front line.

It seems that the new paratrooper regiment is storming Siggiewi, but there are about 1,000 British soldiers there, relying on the city's defenses to fight tenaciously.

The German paratroopers, who had not succeeded for a while, met the resolute resistance of the British army in Birkirkara and Gormi in the north.

Even under the fierce shelling of the Italian Navy, the main British troops displayed the integrity of a veteran military power, and they did not take a step back within 2 hours.

However, soon, they were irritated by a message from one of their own: Can Anning canceled reinforcements to Malta, and the British troops in Alexandria were still in place...