Chapter 209: The Behemoth on the Shipyard

"At 10:55!"

Captain Scherme, lying on the ground behind a small hillside on the side of the railway line, anxiously raised his hand to check the time again. Less than 4 kilometers ahead was an open-air freight yard, covering several square kilometers and filled with numerous wooden crates covered with canvas or exposed directly. However, not a single soul could be seen. It wasn't the freight yard that hindered the advance of the German airborne forces along the railway line, but the British artillery position set up behind it. Judging from the frequency and power of the shells falling, there was at least one field artillery battery, primarily using 6-pounder field guns (57mm caliber). Regular artillery couldn't stop the onslaught of German tanks, but already, two abandoned German armored vehicles were burning, and more than thirty bodies wearing gray combat uniforms and short-brimmed paratrooper helmets littered the surrounding fields.

These were the results of the British rapid artillery fire!

Without infantry support, the tank crews of the model airborne battalion reluctantly withdrew. Ever since the combat operations around Cardiff, they had firsthand experience of the terrifying killing power of British incendiary bombs and makeshift flamethrowers against armored vehicles. Who knew if there were British infantry lying in ambush behind that factory, armed with plenty of British version Molotov cocktails?

In terms of ground combat tactics, flanking from both wings was the most basic choice. Twenty minutes ago, Scherme had indeed dispatched a mobile force composed of motorcycles and combat bucket cars to flank the British position. However, they were fiercely repelled by the British machine guns and anti-tank rifles ambushes in the fields.

Scherme, with a decade of military experience, wasted no time in requesting air support via radio. As he checked his watch for the eleventh time, the long-awaited drone of aircraft finally echoed from the horizon.

The planes approaching from the south were divided into two groups: four Bf-109 fighters providing cover above, and six Ju-87 bombers with various nicknames such as "Stuka" and "Black Death" below. Considering the straight-line distance from Cardiff to Chester was approximately 160 kilometers, the efficiency of the German Air Force command was commendable!

Upon seeing the air support, the soldiers under Scherme fired red signal flares into the sky, and with red flags with a white circle, red smoke grenades, and radio communication, they guided their aircraft to bombing targets. Ten German aircraft began to climb to higher altitudes in unison—the fighters climbed to prevent enemy attacks, while the bombers climbed for more accurate dive bombing.

Listening to the piercing scream of the Stukas, Scherme felt a sense of relief. Amidst the earth-shattering explosions, several black smoke columns rose in succession from behind the freight yard. These dive bombers attacked in groups of three, with only four minutes between each assault. Their nearly vertical bombs had tremendous killing power against targets in trench positions. The compact barrage placed a heavy psychological burden on the surviving British soldiers.

While the German planes had not yet returned, Captain Scherme wasted no time in giving the command: "Attack!"

The No. 3 and No. 4 tanks, slightly modified for airborne operations, rolled forward on the solid iron rails, with German paratroopers who had lain on the cold ground for a long time following closely behind, each carrying their rifles. Two bucket cars and two half-track armored vehicles sped through the open fields, bypassing the front where the craters created by the British artillery reached the freight yard. Then, soldiers on the bucket cars vigilantly manned machine guns, while paratroopers inside the half-track armored vehicles adjusted the 80mm heavy mortars carried with them and opened fire directly towards the British position from the open compartments. Some were seeking revenge, others settling scores, while some simply joined in for the sake of it. The booming sounds resembled the drums of thunder, and the ensuing explosions were the conclusive remarks to the intense bombing earlier.

One weapon might not change the outcome of a war, but it could certainly affect the course of a battle. After the pressure from the Stukas and the mortar bombardment, the artillery on the British position had completely lost its former might. When the German tanks appeared on the flank of the position, all the British soldiers could see were the backsides of their comrades!

In terms of combat effectiveness, encirclement was greater than rout, which was greater than repulsion. Although most of the British soldiers had been put to flight, Captain Scherme felt a slight disappointment. However, as they crossed the freight yard and continued north, the vast Birkenhead was already in sight. Subsequently, the old train, temporarily named the "Berlin Express" by the German paratroopers, arrived from behind—perhaps the British never expected the Germans to seize a train, as they had not destroyed the railway tracks along the way. Although this train salvaged from a junkyard couldn't charge into battle, its four flatbed cars could carry an entire company of paratroopers. The German soldiers crowded onto the cars, giving the impression of traveling through time to India.

If British aircraft appeared in the sky, these men had to scatter and take cover within two minutes. However, by noon, more than 800 German paratroopers and their combat vehicles had advanced to the Everton district south of Birkenhead at a speed that even exceeded the expectations of the German Air Force Command by an hour!

After unloading the paratroopers, the "Berlin Express" completed its "turnaround" at the railway hub outside Birkenhead and headed back to Chester empty. According to the plan, by this time, a battalion of the 7th Parachute Division should have landed near Chester with the assistance of previously airborne units.

The 12 British anti-aircraft gun batteries and 6 makeshift machine gun batteries deployed around Birkenhead were thoroughly frustrated by the rapid advance of the German model parachute battalion along the railway line. If the Germans dared to carry out an airborne operation near Birkenhead and Liverpool, these anti-aircraft guns and machine guns would certainly have decimated most of the German paratroopers in the air. However, to enhance the density of firepower, these anti-aircraft weapons were concentrated in several positions facing all directions, making it impossible to organize a ground assault by the German paratroopers!

In the absence of a large-scale British counterattack, German reconnaissance troops, using motorcycles and armed bucket cars as their means of transportation, quickly conducted penetrative reconnaissance into the urban area. Subsequently, Captain Scherme organized the 1st Parachute Company and the 5th Heavy Company to launch a rapid and decisive attack on the scenic Blazenton Park. The British 441st National Anti-Aircraft Battery stationed there had 22 American-made anti-aircraft guns and 7 heavy machine guns. However, as soon as they saw the German tanks, the British gunners, wearing helmets and civilian clothes, almost abandoned their high-caliber anti-aircraft guns at the fastest speed possible and fled.

Despite not achieving an ideal encirclement battle despite their overwhelming advantage, Captain Scherme should have been very disappointed. However, all the unhappiness vanished when he saw the weapons captured from the British. The American-made anti-aircraft guns mounted on movable stands were 76.2mm M1918s, although they were weapons from the previous war era, they were easy to operate and had ample ammunition. After organizing a few captured British gunners for instruction, the versatile soldiers of the model parachute battalion quickly mastered the basic essentials of these guns. Under the command of officers with artillery experience, they rearranged the positions and turned this beautiful park into an open battlefield that could both defend against air attacks and withstand ground assaults.

If it were just a simple defense, nearly half of the model parachute battalion, along with these captured equipment, would have been fully capable of holding out until the arrival of subsequent forces. However, the biggest difference between Scherme and his predecessor, Captain Rendt Stefenberg, was boldness. He mobilized the soldiers who could operate these American-made anti-aircraft guns and machine guns into five defense platoons, with each platoon responsible for one side of the park and the fifth platoon serving as a reserve. The remaining 500-odd soldiers and all combat vehicles formed a large fist, continuing to advance north under his personal command—five kilometers away was the Campbell-Led Shipyard, where countless British warships were born, including the Revenge-class battleship HMS Ramillies, the Nelson-class battleship HMS Rodney, and the famous aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. In addition, there were light combat vessels such as the Leander-class cruiser HMS Achilles and the Carden-class cruiser HMS Carden. Even the brand-new King George V-class battleship HMS Prince of Wales was under construction in this shipyard. When the Germans began their landing in England, it was still in the stage of fitting out, and according to the plan, it would be completed in the spring of 1941. However, with Liverpool becoming the focus of the German Luftwaffe's relentless bombing, the nearby Birkenhead was also not spared. In order to avoid the fate of being damaged before completion, the British hastily moved it overnight, eventually docking it at the Belfast Harbor in Northern Ireland for final assembly. With this delay, the construction schedule was inevitably pushed back!

Regardless of whether the propulsion system was installed, the already launched warships could find ways to be moved, but those still on the slipways would not be able to avoid enemy air strikes in this way. In recent aerial reconnaissance photos taken by the German Air Force, two Dido-class light anti-aircraft cruisers (the "Sailor of Argus" from the second batch and the "Calabdis" from the third batch), three unidentified destroyers, and four small auxiliary vessels could be discerned. In order to protect these warships as much as possible, the anti-aircraft artillery in Birkenhead and the anti-aircraft units in Liverpool across the river formed a circular air defense zone, with the port and shipyard located in the center. Any attempt by German warships and vessels to intrude from the sea would be met with strong resistance. In addition, to prevent German warships and vessels from entering from the sea, the Royal Navy had also laid mines in the Liverpool Bay in the past two months, and only the navy ships knew the location of the safe passage.

Although the German aircraft sent to support the operation from Cardiff had been dispersed by the dense artillery fire from the British anti-aircraft positions before approaching the shipyard, the glorious German paratroopers still bravely traversed the unfamiliar urban area. By 2 p.m., the No. 4 tank, with an Air Force eagle emblem spray-painted on the lower right corner of its turret, had advanced to the block only steps away from the shipyard. The few regular British soldiers, along with the second-line militia and shipyard workers, had built a fortress-style defense line with the shipyard's walls and outer buildings as their stronghold. However, what truly stopped the German advance was not their tenacious will, but the several 4-inch (102mm) naval guns directly dragged from the warehouse. Although the technicians who temporarily served as gunners were unprofessional, their shells were fierce and fast at a distance of hundreds of meters, and they managed to overturn a German No. 3 tank directly on the ground!

The street battle entered a temporary stalemate. Captain Scherme climbed to the roof of a three-story building, from where he could see the bare black hulls of the two ships on the two shipyards by the sea. They were two stories high and about 150 meters long. Compared to ordinary buildings and vehicles, they were giant beasts. However, if the Germans had come a little earlier, they would have seen the "Prince of Wales," a battleship under construction, nearly twice the size of these ships, here!