October 25, 1940, quickly arrived. In Britain, the weather had cleared up again. After thwarting two counterattacks by the British on the 16th and 22nd, over 300,000 German landing troops firmly established a zigzag defense line from Southampton to Bristol, completely cutting off the British forces on the eastern and western sides of England.
According to estimates from the German General Staff, there were about 50,000 regular British troops stranded in the southwest of England, along with approximately 200,000 second-line militia with inadequate equipment. According to the plan, under the command of General Busch, two armored divisions and seven infantry divisions, supported by the German Air Force, began to advance westward. Once the depth of the landing area was expanded, the Germans would establish a series of airfields, and large-scale bombing raids on northern England, Wales, and Scotland would be carried out successively.
The German steel offensive continued to dominate, and the command talent of German generals was admirable. However, our Logan could only watch the Italian performance in Sicily.
During these 11 days, Italian paratroopers conducted a large-scale live ammunition exercise and several ground tactical exercises based on German combat experience. The performance of officers and soldiers was generally satisfactory. However, the biggest drawback of pure paratrooper drops was the lack of firepower, and the Italian airborne troops currently lacked suitable gliders for air landing and had not undergone corresponding training. It was also unrealistic to conduct air landing in a short time. The only suggestion Logan could make was to urgently draw two to three airborne companies from Germany. After all, the newly formed 1st Parachute Division was still undergoing training domestically, and they could arrive in Sicily by rail within two days.
However, whether it was General Sapienza or the headquarters in Rome, they easily vetoed Logan's suggestion. They believed that the Italian army alone could win the Battle of Malta, without the need for combat troops sent by German allies. Even if the paratroopers were not feasible, their army could solve the battle on their own after landing.
The Italian ambition to dominate the Mediterranean was well known to all, as far as Logan understood. The Little Mustache Fuhrer only planned to capture the Suez Canal via Spain (regardless of their participation in the war). He believed that Italy and its allies were fully capable of occupying the Suez Canal by the end of 1940. As long as they held the Suez Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean would be completely closed to Britain!
On the 25th, the wind force in the Mediterranean reached level 7. After urgent consultations by Italian commanders, the airborne and landing operations aimed at capturing Malta were postponed. However, the Italian Air Force continued to bomb the three airports and other military targets on the island. The Italian fleet, led by the battleship "Duilio," also set sail from the port of Catania, preparing to shell the heavily guarded British Valletta.
Invited by Italian Admiral Simone Tornatore, Logan boarded the "Duilio" with Air Force Major General Francis Bocaccio, Army Major General Sapienza, and other Italian military commanders to observe the defense situation of the Italian forces firsthand.
"General Logan, your Air Force is truly admirable, opening the sea passage for the Navy single-handedly. I heard that General Luftjans's fleet has been having a very enjoyable hunt in the Atlantic Ocean recently!" General Tornatore, with a long face, somewhat resembled Tony, the former Italian center-forward known to Logan, and they were both born in Florence.
It was clear that his words had a hidden meaning. Logan glanced at Bocaccio, who was wearing a long coat and standing on the bridge gazing at the sea. Currently stationed in Sicily, the 4th and 36th squadrons were both under the command of this 49-year-old general. As for the grudges and entanglements between these two Italian air and naval generals, it was unknown to him, an outsider.
Although feeling seasick, the chubby Sapienza hurriedly came out to ease the atmosphere: "Gentlemen, let's guess, will the British defenders surrender under the bombardment and shelling?"
"That's also thanks to the Navy's strong deterrent!" Bocaccio said sarcastically.
Tornatore did not confront him head-on but continued in German to Logan, "Hey, when we were fighting the British main force outside Alexandria port, the British Air Force bombers were flying all over the sky! It's time to let them taste the same!"
Logan had no intention of getting involved in these mutual accusations and was tired of the conflicts between the branches of the military, so he changed the subject: "Uh, General, I've always been curious, does your 305mm caliber main gun need to be replaced with 320mm caliber, along with the equipment and ammunition?"
"Hahaha, that's indeed something unimaginable for the Air Force!" Tornatore still didn't miss an opportunity to mock, and this "Duilio" belonged to the Andrea Doria-class battleship, laid down in 1912 and commissioned in 1916. Equipped with mainstream 12-inch guns at the time, the configuration of its four main turrets was quite special: two twin mounts and two triple mounts. After a large-scale refit starting in 1937, the main gun caliber was increased from the original 12 inches to 12.6 inches, but the method of increasing the caliber was also quite special: directly reaming out the original gun barrels - Italians always had plenty of imagination.
Before coming to Italy, Logan had also considered the Mediterranean and North African strategies of this time and space Germany by comparing them with historical events. However, due to the early weakening of the British Navy, the Italian Navy gained the upper hand, and Malta before him was a glaring point. So what's next? Can Italy defeat Greece alone, drive out the British, and eventually reach the Suez Canal?
"Gentlemen, please return to the command tower! We are about to start shelling. The salvo of these 10 main guns is quite impressive!" Tornatore smiled as his aide brought cotton earplugs for everyone.
Although he hadn't been on a battleship before, Logan had heard plenty of naval gunfire bombardments. Amidst the tremendous roar, the "Duilio" began shelling Malta at a rate of one round per minute from a distance of about 15 kilometers from the coast. The fortress-like Valletta soon rose up with gray-black smoke pillars, and large areas of the city were quickly enveloped in flames and smoke. Near the coast, several British artillery batteries attempted to drive away the Italian fleet, but their shells clearly fell short in range - at this moment, Tornatore's smile became even brighter.
Twenty minutes later, the shelling ended, but the fleet did not immediately return. Instead, a cruiser accompanying the fleet launched a seaplane, which circled near Valletta for several weeks before radioing back an observation report. So Tornatore ordered his battleships to conduct supplementary shelling on the eastern part of Valletta. With such repeated observations and shelling, along with a lunch break of an hour and a half, by the time the Italian fleet completed its final round of shelling, the entire Valletta seemed to have descended into a hell of fire and smoke.
"Gentlemen, the enjoyable shelling has ended. Now we should..." Tornatore was about to speak triumphantly when sailors on the sea surface spotted white torpedo tracks. The panicked screams instantly made the army and air force generals anxious.
Tornatore grabbed his binoculars and didn't see any British torpedo boats or destroyers in his line of sight. He hurriedly shouted, "Turn right. Full speed to the right!"
Despite the modernization of the "Duilio," which added "Plessey" underwater defense structures to absorb the shock and damage from torpedo explosions, it was still an old ship with a displacement of less than 30,000 tons and a service life of 24 years. Its thickest waterline armor was only 9.8 inches thick, making it somewhat difficult to withstand an attack from a large-caliber torpedo. Fortunately, the Italian naval officers and sailors hastily maneuvered the warship to avoid the two torpedoes, and the accompanying Italian destroyers rushed towards the direction where the torpedoes appeared, causing mushroom-shaped water columns to erupt on the sea surface, mixed with black seabed mud!
Although the Italians didn't say it, Logan knew that sonar was their weakness. Tornatore immediately ordered a return to base, and the seemingly formidable fleet quickly sailed back towards Sicily...
In this day's operation, not only did the Italian fleet make a high-profile appearance and end in disappointment, but the situation of the Italian Air Force was also not good: in the air battle, the British deployed fighters and successfully shot down 14 Italian fighters and 9 bombers at the cost of losing 5 Hurricanes and 3 Gladiators. Under the interference of British fighters and strong sea winds, the Italian Air Force failed to achieve its intended targets of destroying three airports and important anti-aircraft facilities. They also bombed several ports on Malta, sinking or damaging only three British ships, forcing the rest to evacuate early.
At the evening operational meeting, Logan made a new suggestion based on the aerial photos provided by the Italian Air Force: "Given that the British have strengthened the defense of the airports, I strongly suggest that you carry out airborne drops in areas 5 to 10 kilometers away from the airports. Otherwise, many transport planes may be shot down by British artillery fire during the landing process, resulting in significant losses for the paratroopers before they even land!"
"General Logan, I know that you suffered significant losses during the initial airborne operation on White Island, but that was an island close to the British mainland. The situation in Malta is very different! After our continuous week of airstrikes, many anti-aircraft ammunition on the island has been depleted, and... I believe that many of the artillery positions shown in these photos are fake targets created by the British to deceive us! Today, only 2 of our planes were shot down by British ground artillery fire, which is the best proof!" Italian Air Force Major General Francis Bocaccio said confidently.
"Yes, General Logan, our bombers will carry out an intensive bombing raid on the British airfields two hours before the paratroop drop! As long as the paratroopers can hold their ground there, our fighters and bombers will fully cover the landing, ensuring the timely delivery of follow-up personnel and equipment to the island!" Anthony Pasino, commander of the 36th Squadron, also supported his superior.
After dealing with Italians for more than ten days, Logan had gained some experience. He knew that if he continued to insist, he would be unanimously refuted by these arrogant Italian military commanders. So he simply said coldly, "I'm just making this suggestion from the perspective of a technical advisor. As for how the battle is fought, I don't have the right to speak! But I would like to remind you all kindly that the ultimate goal of occupying the airport is to airlift more troops to the battlefield. However, you neither have gliders nor do you have an adequate number of transport planes! If you want to neutralize the British air defenses, it's enough to directly destroy the combat aircraft on the airfields!"
At this point, the straightforward Major Tony stepped forward and said, "Gentlemen, the situation may not be as serious as General Logan worries about, but the combat experience of the German paratroopers far exceeds ours. I think we should try to weaken the threat of British ground artillery to our transport planes and paratroopers as much as possible. Therefore, I suggest that the Air Force conduct two rounds of bombing of the same scale four hours before the airborne operation. If possible, the Navy should also conduct an early bombardment!"
"Two bombings in four hours? Colonel! Don't you think this frequency is something even the German Air Force can't achieve?" General Bocaccio immediately retorted.
"Colonel, regarding your suggestion, we will report it truthfully to the Naval Command. If it is approved, we will definitely make the British suffer. But... what if our heavy artillery destroys all the airport runways, delaying your airborne operation?" Italian Vice Admiral Simon Tornatore, deputy commander of the fleet, retorted smoothly.
"But..."
Colonel Tony was still arguing logically, but his voice sounded weak. Logan couldn't sit still anymore. He walked out of the meeting room alone, lit a cigarette, and slowly walked to the back door of the command post. There was a beautiful little garden here, planted with roses, jasmine, and a small patch of tulips, but it wasn't the season for them to bloom, and all he could see was a green-brown hue.
There were no flowers, but the air was fresh. Logan walked along the sandy path in the garden with a heavy heart. He realized suddenly that there was someone sitting on the innermost bench, and in the moonlight, he vaguely saw a couple embracing intimately, with the man wearing a military uniform.
In terms of environment and atmosphere, it was indeed a good place for romance, but this was the joint command headquarters of the Italian military on Sicily. If the weather permitted, in just over ten hours, the Italian military would launch a historic attack on Malta!
Sighing, he walked away silently.