The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1202 - 898 Return on Horses and Guns

Chapter 1202: Chapter 898: Return on Horses and Guns

Chapter 1202 -898: Return on Horses and Guns

For this air raid operation, Italy had prepared dozens of transport planes, each able to transport more than 2,000 soldiers at a time.

Given the proximity between Sicily and Malta Island, the Italian descendants planned to transport an entire division’s troops to Malta Island in several batches.

As long as they could occupy Malta, even if the British came to their senses, retaking Malta would not be easy.

After all, Italy’s Air Force in the Mediterranean was not inferior to that of the United Kingdom and France, and without air superiority, landing on Malta became very difficult.

As soon as it was confirmed that the British Air Force had evacuated, Italy immediately began bombing key facilities on Malta Island.

Naturally, the focus was on the military bases on Malta Island.

Italy was also aware of the number of British troops stationed on Malta. If they could eliminate a portion of the British forces through the air raid, the subsequent paratrooper attack would be much easier.

As for the airports on Malta Island, they were not within the bombing range of the Italian Air Force for the time being.

In the view of the Italians, if their air raid was successful, the airport would become their possession, obviating the need for bombing.

Even the well-established military airports built by the British could be utilized by Italy, becoming critical facilities to resist British attacks.

After the bombing was completed, the transport planes at the rear began to approach Malta Island, starting to deploy the Italian paratroopers that had already been prepared.

About 2,000 paratroopers were deployed this time; they were to first seize the military airports on Malta Island and, relying on the military facilities of the airport, confront the British troops on Malta Island.

As long as they could hold on until the next batch of paratroopers arrived, the Italian military would be established on Malta Island.

Similarly, if these paratroopers could not hold on until the next wave arrived, Italy would at most lose an army of 2,000, which would not be a major loss.

This was much better than having the navy launch a massive landing operation on Malta Island simultaneously.

If the navy and transport fleet were deployed, and they encountered the main force of the Royal Fleet, it would cause massive losses for the Italian navy.

For Italy, a country not particularly strong in naval forces, such a loss would be devastating and should be avoided at all costs before deciding to engage in a major naval battle.

Fortunately, the Italian paratrooper troops had also undergone relevant training, and the air drop phase went quite smoothly, with basically no incidents occurring.

To avoid the Italian air raid, most of the British military had already taken shelter in air-raid shelters, leaving the military airport sparsely guarded at the time.

More than 2,000 Italian troops quickly took over the entire airport and regained control of various military facilities at the airport.

The British, being wealthy, had deployed a large number of anti-aircraft weapons and heavy weapons at the small military airport on Malta Island.

These weapons were conveniently utilized by the Italians to prepare for a possible British counterattack.

What they did not anticipate was that the British military had no plans to attack them.

At that moment, British military command, Brigadier Matthews, was continuously contacting Egypt and France.

Upon learning that Italy had deployed hundreds of aircraft and might conduct airborne operations, the British had already planned their response.

First were the ships from the eastern Mediterranean fleet; some of the faster warships would quickly head to Malta Island to guard against possible Italian military vessels.

The French Air Force in Tunisia and the British Air Force in Egypt had already taken off, rapidly heading towards Malta.

The number of these planes combined had already exceeded the number of planes deployed by the Italians.

Moreover, to prevent any further moves by the Italians, the British fleet in Cyprus was also heading towards Malta Island.

About half an hour after the Italian paratroopers took over the military airport, the French Air Force and the originally retreating British Air Force returned to the skies over Malta Island.

After encountering the Italian Air Force again, the British Air Force launched another attack, pouring all their firepower into the Italian Air Force without reservation.

The French Air Force also competed bravely, perfectly coordinating various attacks against the Italian Air Force.

Although most pilots carried out standard attacks, there were some exceptionally talented pilots who, after long flying combat periods, had mastered smoother and more skilled flying tactics. Their planes were flown much more smoothly and skillfully.

These individuals were the ace pilots heavily promoted by their countries. Although all flying the same model of fighter aircraft, these highly skilled ace pilots demonstrated combat power far surpassing that of ordinary pilots.

However, training an ace pilot was not easy. Besides extensive training and flying hours, a pilot also needed a unique innate talent and inspiration for flying.

This was like artistic creation. While effort was equally important, the ultimate limit of a pilot often lay in unforeseen potential.

By now, several ace pilots had emerged internationally, treasured greatly by the air forces of their countries.

By this point, the production of aircraft had increased in every country, with even the least among the powers being able to produce up to a thousand planes annually.

But training pilots was not easy, even for the United Kingdom, which dared not claim that it could train thousands of excellent pilots within a year.

This had also led countries to value pilots more than the airplanes themselves, and there were even relevant regulations in place.

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In cases where airplanes could not be saved, all countries prioritized the safety of the pilot’s life.

After all, with another airplane, a pilot could still take off and fight, but an airplane with a new pilot would need lengthy training and combat experience to become a qualified member of the Air Force.

With the aid of French airplanes, the British Air Force was finally no longer at a numerical disadvantage.

Although some of the French airplanes were not the most advanced products, they were more than sufficient for this air battle.

Bang! Boom!

The various exchanges of fire in the sky formed a stunning spectacle, beautiful yet deadly.

An Italian airplane, having run out of ammunition, decisively chose to crash into a French aircraft.

This collision instantly shattered both airplanes, leaving no sign of life from the pilots, and with a loud crash, the debris fell to the ground.

This gruesome scene did not scare off the air forces of both parties; instead, it intensified the interactions between them.

It must be admitted, regardless of how the Italian Army performed, the Italian Air Force’s performance was quite outstanding.

Of course, the British and French Air Forces were not inferior; although they could not achieve the recklessness of fearing no death, they were definitely more than qualified.

Even though they were in a stalemate with the Italian Air Force, the British and French Air Forces were not panicked at all.

Because they knew that more airplanes were on their way to Malta. The longer they could drag out the engagement, the greater the advantage for Britain.

The most embarrassing, perhaps, were those 2,000 Italian paratroopers who had successfully occupied the airport.

Following a tactical turnaround by the British Air Force, the Italian Air Force no longer cared about their ground paratrooper troops.

Because of this, the British military began emerging from air-raid shelters and launched a comprehensive attack on the Italian-occupied military airport.

The Italian Air Force in the sky was completely unable to attend to the ground troops; they had just attempted an air strike on the British ground forces when they were interrupted by the British and French aircraft and even directly shot down.

War in the skies was no joke; any hit from the enemy could potentially lead to a crashing danger.

Especially as a significant portion of the aircraft from Britain, France, and Italy were made of wood, the chances of crashing were even higher.

By comparison, the all-metal airplanes provided to Britain and France by Australasia actually held an advantage.

At least the all-metal aircraft did not have to worry about the strafing of machine guns, a point that alone significantly surpassed the wooden frame airplanes.

After a prolonged stalemate in the air, the Italian Air Force finally also realized something was amiss.

The British and French Air Forces did not intend to fight them to death, but clung to them as persistently as a pliable plaster.

This also indicated that the goal of the British and French Air Forces might very likely be to hold them off while waiting for more airplane support.

Without much thought, the Italian Air Force decisively chose to retreat.

Compared to the more than 2,000 paratroopers on the ground, the Italian Air Force was more concerned about their own casualties and losses.

After all, the economic value of 2,000 soldiers compared to several hundred airplanes was completely disproportionate.

“They want to retreat, follow them, don’t let them escape,” the British Air Force commander ordered upon seeing the Italian Air Force’s intentions to retreat.

The air battle had progressed to such a stage that, without further instruction from the commander, British pilots maneuvered their airplanes to continually harass the Italian Air Force’s retreat route.

Facing incessant harassment from British and French airplanes, it was not so easy for the Italian Air Force to withdraw.

After all, if they turned back, it meant exposing their aircraft’s rear to the British and French. Faced with such an easy target, the pilots of Britain and France would not hold back, their fingers were almost red from pressing the fire button.

The Italian Air Force naturally also realized the intentions of the British and French. The Italian commander, face grim, decisively ordered, “The fifth and sixth squadrons will stay behind to hold them off, everyone else quickly withdraw.”

In such a situation, only by leaving behind some aircraft to cover the retreat could the safe withdrawal of the large aircraft troops be ensured.

And the most suitable for this rear-guard action were the fifth and sixth squadrons. As the Italian Air Force’s fifth and sixth squadrons had only recently been formed, their airplanes were all relatively cheap Fiat basic model fighter aircraft, constructed purely to increase the production of fighter aircraft.

Such airplanes had the advantage of low cost and high production, but their drawback was that their comprehensive combat capabilities could not compare with the upgraded models.