Chapter 309 Gibraltar Fortress (1)

Afterward, Churchill contacted Gibraltar and instructed them to enhance their vigilance.

Lord Governor of Gibraltar, Viscount Liddell, confidently assured that if the Germans wanted to break through Gibraltar, it would take them three years and cause two to three hundred thousand casualties to succeed.

His confidence was not baseless; after all, anyone given over 200 years could build a fortress resembling a turtle shell. Nature also greatly aided the British by allowing them to construct the fortress within the exceptionally sturdy limestone mountain. The rock formation on top of the mountain, combined with the later artificial reinforcement of reinforced concrete, gave the fortress an average thickness approaching a formidable one hundred meters, and the side thickness averaged around three to four meters. This was sufficient to withstand the impact of modern nuclear bombs.

It was unimaginable that the existing bombs could harm such a robust fortress. Furthermore, compared to its defense, its firepower was also formidable enough to annihilate any attacking enemy. The fortress had three fortress artillery platforms at the top, equipped with over twenty 381mm-caliber fortress cannons. The tops of these platforms were covered with steel plates and cement, reaching a thickness of ten meters, capable of withstanding direct hits from several 500kg air-to-ground missiles. These fortress cannons could rotate 360 degrees, attacking both sea and land targets. Regardless of the tank type, they would be like tofu in front of these fortress cannons. Even without a direct hit, the shockwave from the explosion of the shells at close range would be sufficient to destroy tanks.

Adding countless large-caliber cannons and direct-fire cannons on the mountainside, armored units would be annihilated within five hundred meters.

Attacking Gibraltar with infantry would be suicidal. The lower levels of Gibraltar were riddled with machine gun perforations, and this flat distance offered no obstacles to evade the fortress's firepower grid.

Even if one made it through with massive casualties, it would be to no avail. The machine gun perforations were shaped like a downward-sloping funnel with a diameter of over one meter at the front. It seemed easy to stuff explosives into it, but that was impossible. Because Gibraltar's fortress side thickness was about three to four meters, the depth of this perforation was also three to four meters, and it narrowed as it went inside, eventually reducing to a size just like a bowl mouth. Therefore, explosives or any attempts to breach the fortress through these perforations were futile.

The most frustrating aspect was that Gibraltar Fortress only had two sturdy thick iron doors facing the sea, and there were no doors in other places. An attacking enemy from the land couldn't even find the fortress's door, let alone breach it.

Even if you breached the door, what could you do? There were over ten thousand soldiers inside the fortress. You would need to sacrifice tens of thousands of people to capture the labyrinth-like fortress. The British always believed that their Gibraltar Fortress was impregnable; this was their confidence.

Therefore, the Gibraltar Fortress was hailed as the most formidable fortress in the world, not just empty praise from the British but the result of centuries of British efforts. This place was truly the lifeline of the British Empire, absolutely not to be lost. Hence, they continuously reinforced it for hundreds of years.

However, Churchill still felt a vague unease because Gibraltar Fortress had its weaknesses.

The construction of Gibraltar Fortress was over three hundred years ago, while airplanes only appeared in World War I, just twenty short years before World War II broke out. So, from the construction of Gibraltar Fortress to the outbreak of World War II, there was no emphasis on the layout of anti-aircraft firepower, as the introduction of aircraft, which changed the nature of warfare, occurred within a very short period. The British did not realize the tremendous role of anti-aircraft defense for the fortress.

Therefore, on ordinary days, a fleet was stationed at the Gibraltar Fortress, including two aircraft carriers responsible for air defense. However, due to the failure of the "Operation Crossbow ," the remaining fleet had already withdrawn to Alexandria Harbor.

Now Churchill could only secretly pray that the Germans would retreat.

As soon as Spain announced its agreement to allow Germany passage, Manstein, who had been waiting in Andorra, immediately led his forces to Gibraltar.

Wilhelm figured that this "Manstein" would eventually capture the Sevastopol Fortress, so it might be a good idea to practice on Gibraltar first.

Under the coordination of the Spanish government, the railway line from Andorra to Gibraltar was entirely cleared for the German military column. In less than 20 hours, the vanguard of the German forces had reached the outskirts of the Gibraltar Fortress.

However, Manstein did not rush to attack, instead sending a deputy to the fortress to persuade surrender. Although he did not hold much hope for peacefully liberating Gibraltar, if it could be taken without firing a shot, that would be ideal.

Unfortunately, in less than half a day, the deputy returned in a dejected manner. "Report to the general, Governor Liddell's attitude is very firm. He said that if we want to capture Gibraltar, we must be mentally prepared for a three-year battle with twenty thousand casualties."

"Such arrogance," Manstein sneered disdainfully. "I doubt if their food reserves can last half a year. If it weren't for the time constraints, we could exhaust them to death. Since Governor Liddell is confident in holding out for three years, then let's take it in a week. I'm looking forward to seeing Governor Liddell's expression when that happens."

"Is the air assault bomber unit ready?" the staff reported.

"Yes, they have all arrived at Saint Roque Airport, 10 kilometers away, and are ready to take off at any time," another staff member reported.

"General, the long-range bombers of the air force will arrive at Gibraltar for bombing in half an hour!"

In the original timeline, the German Air Force had only a few key decision-makers. The rotund Goering, with a background in fighter aircraft, oversaw overall strategy, paying little attention to specific technical routes. Udet, also from a fighter aircraft background, was one of the two technical directors responsible for the development of the air force, with a passion for tactical aircraft. Milch, an administrative bureaucrat, oversaw production arrangements, with a natural preference for quantity (perhaps due to not caring much about the size of aircraft, but rather focusing on quantity).

Therefore, the key decision-makers for the types of aircraft used by the German Air Force were Udet and Milch, with Goering's default approval and signature.

It was evident from the hobbies and scope of their duties that they were unlikely to prioritize strategic bombers.

As for the other technical director, Max Weber, he was an advocate for strategic bombers, proposing the development of a large bomber that could "carry 3 tons of bombs in combat and fly around the British Isles in a circle." Why didn't he challenge Udet? Unfortunately, this poor fellow died in a plane crash in 1936, o(╯□╰)o.

With his death, the influence of the "strategic bombing" faction significantly weakened, and the "Ural Long-Range Bomber," under development, was also abandoned.

Many times, historical outcomes depend on the decisions of one or two individuals.

Now, under Wilhelm's orders, Germany was preparing for long-range bombers when restoring its air force. Although they started late, Germany did not lack talent. As long as there were no restrictions on various materials and bizarre requirements, Germany's technological development speed was undoubtedly among the world's best. German efforts in developing long-range bombers had caught up, reaching the level of the American B-17G, and even excelling in certain aspects such as aiming devices compared to the B-17G.

Companies like Junkers and Focke-Wulf were making every effort to overcome the updated version of the Super Bomber B-29 Super Fortress. Although they were lagging behind in the fight against England, in just a few years, they would undoubtedly become a nightmare for Stalin!

Manstein nodded and ordered, "Inform the land-based bomber units to commence the bombing of Gibraltar as planned in one hour!"

"Yes!"

The order quickly reached the bomber squadron stationed near Saint Roque. The already prepared Mosquito bombers took off one by one, forming a massive flight formation heading towards Gibraltar.