"Start the shelling!"

With the firing order issued, four 240mm main turrets on the "Emperor Maximilian" made a rumbling sound, and a large ball of fireballs wrapped in brown smoke ejected from the muzzle, and the entire sea was illuminated by fire. The entire warship was shaken and shaking, and the water surface was constantly bumped. Due to sideways, a wave was raised on the sea surface and spread out from the other side of the warship.

Even though Yankel's ears were stuffed with tampons, he still felt a huge rumble and shock. Although he had been in the navy for twenty-five years, this was his first actual combat experience. Although he was only attacking the island, he could not help but feel happy when he saw the shining fire ball, listening to the rumbling cannons and smelling the smoke of gunfire.

The battle has begun.

The "Emperor Maximilian" belongs to the second cruiser, mainly composed of two "Ladetsky" class battlecruisers, commanded by Major General Pachner. Their mission is to shell the "Gozo" island and cover the landing of the 2nd Marine Division here.

Yankel stood on the bridge, holding a telescope, and from it, he could clearly see the shells fired from the 240mm main gun on his warship, carrying four strings of fire-lit trajectories, crossing the sky and flying to the distant island of Gozo. Balls of flames rose up on the island, but they deviated from the defensive position temporarily built by the British army on the coast.

He was a little disappointed. The "Emperor Maximilian" had a bad start in his first volley and deviated too far from the target. The area of ​​Gozo Island is not large, with a width of less than 6 kilometers. It is like a wide-headed sickle, and the firepower of the fleet can easily cover the entire island.

Apart from the four ancient fortresses built by the Maltas to resist the invasion of the Ottomans, the British did not build any fortifications on the island. The Austro-Hungarian Navy bombed the island locally, which still had a certain effect.

The 2nd Division of the Land Army easily landed on Gozo Island and encountered only some slight resistance. The temporary fortifications built by the British near the coast could not withstand the bombing of large-caliber naval guns. Before the Austrian army began to land, the British army had to give up the fortifications along the coast due to heavy losses.

At the same time, on the afternoon of December 15, the 1st Marine Division also successfully landed in the Marsashlok Bay and Meliha Bay on the island of Malta and advanced five kilometers deep. The only difficulty was that the 3rd Marine Division, which landed in St. Paul's Bay, was suppressed by the British troops along the coastal defenses, with the support of artillery from the St. Paul City Fortress, the regiment that the 2nd Marine Division first landed on was tightly placed on a beachhead position about 6 kilometers long and about 4 kilometers wide.

In desperation, Lee Haydn had to let General Holty give up the shelling of Valletta and transfer the fleet to St. Paul's Bay. In this area, he concentrated sixteen warships to launch violent shelling at the British fortresses and defensive positions. In Meliha Bay, a simple steel structure floating box dock was built by a tower, which Lee Haydn learned from later British people. As the subsequent troops and artillery began to land, the 1st Marine Division began to advance towards St. Paul's Bay.

Whether out of arrogance or confidence in the Royal Navy, after the war started, the British did not build fortifications along the island. Indeed, the Austro-Hungarian Navy was locked in the Otto Lange Strait. But the sudden collapse of the Italians caused a great change in all this. It seemed that overnight, the Island of Malta was exposed to the Austro-Hungarians' muzzle.

Now the British naturally have to pay the price for their underestimation.

On December 16, after the flank was attacked, the British defense line on St. Paul's Bay began to collapse. As the Land 3rd Division continued to advance, the British gave up the bay.

By December 18, the overall situation of Malta's battle was decided. The Austrian army had successfully landed on Malta and Gozo. Now the troops have begun to advance gradually toward depth, while there are only more than 80,000 British troops on Malta, and their morale is depressed due to the cut off sea liaison.

"Reported, General St. St. Navy's command sent a telegram. The 3rd Division of the Land has captured St. Paul's Bay City, and the naval engineering forces are organizing emergency repairs to the port. The main force of the British army has retreated to the front line of Goul. There is no attempt to organize a defense line on the spot. It is estimated that they may retreat directly to Valletta!"

In the combat room of the "Istria Grand Duke", Li Haydn's staff brought the latest battle situation. By December 18, the Austrian army had captured three ports and the British army began to retreat to the towns on the island. With the continuous arrival of heavy artillery, the fall of Malta would basically be no more accidents.

General Negovan and General Holtie respectively commanded two battle fleets to protect the waters around Malta to prevent attacks from the British and French fleets.

The overall situation has been decided.

Lee Haydn transferred to the armored cruiser of the "Karl Grand Duke" and returned to the country. He did not intend to attack the city of Valletta, which had a strong defense. His purpose was to siege, and it would be best for the British to send the main fleet to rescue him. Perhaps the battle would last for several months.

Unless the British do not want their local fleets and transfer all their local fleets into the Mediterranean, they can only repel the Austro-Hungarian fleet's occupation of Malta.

Lee Haydn doesn't think there is such a possibility.

In London in a foggy and hazy way, the owners of Buckingham Palace seemed to realize that they had made a major mistake before launching the war. They miscalculated the strength of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and when calculating the power comparison between the two sides, they ignored the war potential of the old empire that had been defeated repeatedly on the European battlefield for decades.

On land, their army performance is indeed a bit surprising, but it is still normal for even the Serbs to resist them for nearly a year.

The question is when their navy has become unknowingly able to challenge the British Empire?

As a traditional landlocked country, the Austro-Hungarian Empire became unremarkable after losing its base in Venice. In the calculations before the war, the British never considered that they would encounter challenges in the Mediterranean Sea, which was regarded as the Inner Lake. The French might have some abilities, but they were allies. For the Austro-Hungarian Navy, they could only hide in the Adriatic Sea and could not leave the Otranto Strait.

Now they not only came out, but also became overlords in the Mediterranean. The British and French fleets in this area were no match for them at all.

A terrible thing that the British had never expected happened.

Perhaps, we will lose control of the Suez Canal.

This is the most terrible thing.

"Great siege! Valletta is surrounded by Austro-Hungarian army!" Before the New Year, the news in major newspapers in London became a heavy pound bomb, which destined that the owners of Buckingham Palace could not have a safe New Year.

Lee Haydn seemed very relaxed in Vienna. The annexed Romanian government finally agreed to join the ranks of the allies. He was conceiving a plan to dismember the giant bear after the Russian Revolution.

The New Year's party at St. Brun's Palace is still luxurious, as if it is far away from war, and the rich empire continues to be in **.

The blue Danube River is almost dyed red by blood.

Thinking of this, he felt very angry. If Falkenhe had not been to launch a meaningless but huge Versailles offensive because of his insistence on weakening the power of the Eastern Front, he would have even been sure to crush Russia in 1916.

I have to find a way to get rid of this obstacle as soon as possible.
Chapter completed!