"How is the progress of our Portuguese army on the Seclavin triangle defense line?"
Tang Ning came to the Joint Staff Headquarters again and asked about the battle situation.
From the start of the war on November 14 to December 10 now, the war has been 26 days, and the Castile-Portuguese army is still hindered by Spain's triangular fortress.
Portugal's three-pronged army, Lusitania, and Catalonia all progressed to victory. With the help of the leading party, Spain was defeated step by step.
However, the other two armies fought smoothly, but they could not reverse the situation. This time the center of the battlefield was Castile. Although the other two were also important, they were actually the icing on the cake.
Spain will obviously not surrender unless it reaches Madrid. As long as Spain does not surrender, Portugal's strategic goals will not be achieved.
Countries in Europe are now waiting and watching. Portugal's performance this time must be perfect, letting European countries know that Portugal cannot be booed, and Portugal's value as an ally is very high.
Tangning overestimated his strength against Portugal. He originally thought that Spain was just a run-down house, and that he could knock this country to the ground quickly with a strong kick.
But the reality slapped him in the face. With the help of many plans, Spain, which was in a mess, could still resist Portugal tenaciously.
The war that was originally thought to be over in a month is now turning into a war of attrition.
"Your Majesty, the Second Brigade of the 18th North Division, the Heavy Artillery Regiment, and the Guards Cavalry have captured Salsa and Calchoria, and have now successfully bypassed them.
Just now, a telegram was sent from the front line at 8:15. The 21st Division of the Northern Army in the Southern Route Army captured Aseuche and cut off Spain's river channels.
Now Spain's 100,000 troops have been surrounded by us, and the Spanish fortress army cannot support it for long. "
Facing His Majesty the Emperor, who was becoming more and more impatient as time went on, Kaka quickly informed him of the important and good news about the current war situation.
In the battle to siege the defense line of the Triangular Fortress of Seclavin, except for the sudden attack on the provincial capital of Cáceres in the early stage and the capture of Garovillas behind Alcantara, the rest of the battle was very unsatisfactory.
On the Spanish side, after discovering the danger of being cut off and surrounded by Portugal, they immediately sent a large number of troops from the core fortress of Seclavin to guard Aseuche in the rear and tried to send troops to take back Garrovillas.
In addition, in order to prevent the Portuguese Southern Route Army from further expanding its victory, three ordinary divisions and a large number of militia regiments were also sent from the direction of Madrid to block Cañavera and Inojar behind Garovillas. Santiago del Campo, while attacking Garrovillas.
After some mobilization, Spain gathered 160,000 troops on the fighting front, and Portugal's fight became increasingly difficult.
In order to better break through the defense line, Portugal also chose to increase its troops in early December. The elite 16th Division, 23rd Division and a large number of militia regiments were transferred to the front line. Portugal's troops on the front line also reached about 120,000.
In order to break through the Spanish Seclavin triangle defense line, all the regular troops in Portugal were wiped out.
If Andalusia had not gone smoothly and the 19th Division and the 22nd Division had returned home, then Portugal could say that there was only a group of militias left in the country and no regular army at all.
Among the three major fortress defense lines of the Seclavin Triangle, except for Alcantara, which is relatively low-lying, the other two are relatively high. Seclavin, as the central core, is located on the inter-river highlands. It also serves as the basis for the other two. Affiliated forts provided strong support.
In the Seklaven defense line, the heavy artillery troops were on high ground, and their range was expanded, which made up for their own major shortcomings and effectively suppressed the superior Portuguese heavy artillery.
On the Seklaven triangle defense line, Spain defended very resolutely, and Portugal's offense was very difficult. Every step forward had to pay a heavy price.
Tangning once wanted to use poison gas bombs to change the situation of the battle, but after considering the impact, she chose to give up.
"Did Aseuche win? Is it true?" Tangning said in disbelief.
"It's true, Your Majesty."
"Okay, okay, we have finally cut off Spain's shipping lanes, and then there will be no supplies to replenish the Secrawen defense line. This is very beneficial to us."
"Kaka, Spain will definitely take back Aseuche, and the frontline troops must defend it."
"Your Majesty, we know the importance of that place. The troops that captured Aseuche have been converted into defensive forces, and a large number of militia groups have also been added."
The defense triangle of Seclavin and Alcantara was now being attacked by Portugal with increasing intensity.
Alcantara Fortress, with its low terrain, was originally a weak part of the triangle defense line. After being attacked from behind by the Portuguese Southern Army, it became even more passive.
If not, Lieutenant General Philip, the commander-in-chief of the triangular defense line, had excellent war consciousness and sent heavy troops to attack the Portuguese army in Garovillas, then Alcantara would be attacked from both front and rear by Portugal, and the situation would be very dangerous.
More than 20 days since the start of the war, after Portugal captured Aseuche, the Seclawen triangle defense line has been de facto surrounded.
Aseuche and Garrovillas have become the two nails in Spain's lifeline. The Portuguese army upgraded and constructed a complete line of defense here.
Facing Portugal's epoch-making defense system, Spain suffered heavy losses in order to regain its lost territory, but they had to mobilize heavy troops to attack.
It was a good fortress battle. Spain thought it was to concentrate its forces to defend a strategic core battle situation, but now it turned into two battles: one attack and one defense.
As time went on, Alcantara Fortress, the weak point on the battlefield, became increasingly fragile.
"Is this the Skoda 305MM howitzer of the Austro-Hungarian Empire? It's too huge."
Major General Williams, the commander of the 16th Division who succeeded Major General West, the commander of the 17th Division, and became the current commander-in-chief on the battlefield, looked at the Skoda cannon that had just been delivered, his eyes were bright and his expression was full of joy.
"Yes, division commander, this is the latest cannon from Austria-Hungary. This M.11 305MM cannon is designed to destroy fortresses. This cannon..." Leeuwenhoek explained confidently.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire, as one of the top five powers in Europe, is very famous for its artillery, second only to Germany. Its famous military-industrial enterprises such as Skoda are on par with Rheinmetall and Kluber.
The two 305MM heavy howitzers just sent from Portugal are Skoda's latest products and the pride of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The development of the Skoda 305mm heavy howitzer was completed in 1911, which is the M.11 305mm howitzer. This howitzer was one of the best land heavy artillery during World War I.
M.11 305mm howitzer, the gun adopts a small diameter barrel, the barrel pitch angle is 40°~70°, the left and right firing range is 120°, the muzzle initial velocity is 340 meters per second, and there are two huge barrels above the barrel. Hydraulic recoil device, below is a huge gear structure for artillery pitch adjustment, and a simple optical sighting device is on the left. In order to withstand the huge recoil when the artillery fires, the artillery is also specially designed with a steel base to make the deployment of the artillery easier.
The total weight of the gun is 28 tons, and it has two types of grenades: light and heavy. The light grenade weighs 287 kilograms and is mainly aimed at targets that lack structural protection such as heavy fortresses. The maximum shooting distance is 11,300 meters; while the heavy grenade weighs 382 kilograms and is mainly aimed at reinforced concrete targets such as solid fortresses. The shells can penetrate the protective layer and explode internally, which is not An out-and-out fortress destroyer, it can penetrate 2 meters thick reinforced concrete and has a shooting range of 9,600 meters.
Such a heavyweight artillery can penetrate 2 meters thick reinforced concrete when firing heavy shells. The ammunition has a delayed fuse and can explode inside the fortress; and its light shells are very powerful in anti-personnel capabilities and can easily hit the ground A large crater with a diameter of 8 meters and a depth of 8 meters was exploded on the ground. The huge explosion and fragments could kill and injure exposed personnel up to 400 meters away.
However, the excessive weight of the M.11 is indeed a hardship for the army in this era. Because the gun body is too heavy, it takes a lot of time to disassemble it and enter the position where it can be assembled and ready for firing. 300 It is also not easy to load shells weighing around 100 kilograms.
To serve such a heavy artillery fire, it requires a gun crew of 15 to 17 people. The artillery's continuous firing capacity is only 10 rounds per hour. Although it is powerful, its efficiency is indeed somewhat low. During the march, three trailers are needed to tow the dismantled artillery, and several vehicles are also needed to tow the artillery shells, as well as a number of troops responsible for security and vigilance.
The M.11 305mm howitzer is undoubtedly a heavyweight strategic weapon, although it has good logistics.
In World War I, Austria-Hungary lent Germany eight gates, which made great contributions in the Battle of Liege, Antwerp and the fortress offensive in the Namur area.
Listening to Leeuwenhoek's introduction, Williams was shocked and said in disbelief.
"This latest 305MM heavy artillery is obviously the most important weapon of Austria-Hungary. How did we in Portugal get it? It's incredible."
"I don't know. Maybe it was His Majesty Emperor Pedro III's parents, Duke Francisco and Duke Anna, who got it by joining the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg royal family." Leeuwenhoek guessed wrongly.
"Well, it's very possible. Our relationship between Portugal and the Austro-Hungarian royal family is indeed very good."
After listening to Leeuwenhoek's words, Williams nodded in agreement.
"My dear commander of the heavy artillery regiment, with these two guns now, are you confident in destroying the Alcantara Fortress?" Williams asked Levinhu.
Leeuwenhoek stroked the cannon and said confidently: "Yes, I believe this cannon can crush the fortress in front of us."
