Chapter 23 War Talent

Leaving a platoon of infantry to control the urban area and the port, Logan and Schultz "parted ways" here: Schultz took a tank and half a platoon of paratroopers to advance towards Koes on the west side of the bay, while Logan took another tank and the remaining nearly 200 paratroopers to advance towards East Koes on the east side of the bay.

There are roads leading to the bay on both sides of the valley. Leaving the urban area of Newport, they entered into undulating fields. Apart from small patches of woods, the rest were large, regularly shaped farmlands, with the azure bay as the backdrop and scattered white farmhouses adding to the picturesque English countryside scenery!

However, before Logan and his team parachuted into this largest resort destination in southern England, the German Air Force's hundred or so Stuka bombers had already carried out airstrikes on the island's key targets. Despite the beautiful natural scenery, war scars, which greatly contrasted with the surroundings, were still visible: a truck overturned beside the road was emitting wisps of smoke, scattered debris and dark blood stains were more shocking than the blackened craters; in the bay, a gunboat of about a hundred tons lay stranded near the shore, with the sailors nowhere to be seen, and intact cannons and machine guns could still be seen on the damaged deck.

With a reconnaissance team riding motorcycles leading the way and IV-type tanks with "08" painted on their turrets, Logan and his large group of paratroopers were still wary of threats from the air. Shortly after leaving Newport Harbor, the second wave of British aircraft appeared like a dark cloud from the north, and the German fighters stationed temporarily at Newport Airport immediately took to the air to intercept. This time, with nearly forty fighters adorned with iron cross insignias, the interception force was much stronger, and as a result, Logan and his soldiers were able to disperse on both sides of the road, smoking and enjoying the spectacular dogfight: visually, about twenty-five or twenty-six planes were shot down in the battle—naturally, the British planes suffered the most casualties!

After the air raid ended, the group continued to advance northward. Logan happened to turn his head and saw paratroopers with rifles slung over their shoulders and bullets draped across their chests, smoking cigarettes and smiling. The image of the "German paratroopers on the Eastern Front" from World War II, widely quoted, appeared before his eyes.

Even travelers would eventually merge into a fragment of history!

A military motorcycle raced from the front, and as no gunfire was heard, the advancing paratroopers showed no curiosity about the appearance of the two reconnaissance soldiers.

"Sir, we just returned from the outskirts of East Koes. The British have fortified their defenses there, and we couldn't get close enough to observe. We estimate there are over a hundred defenders, and there are five or six cargo ships moored in the harbor, one of which is equipped with artillery!" The reconnaissance soldiers reported succinctly.

"Understood."

Adjusting his binoculars while contemplating the upcoming battle, Logan decided to ride on the motorcycle with the reconnaissance soldiers to the outskirts of Koes for a closer look.

For a BMW military motorcycle, the distance of less than five kilometers was just a matter of minutes. Along the way, they also passed through a small river port embedded on the east bank. Leaving aside the neat and grand buildings, the wooden docks with streetlights and the open-air exquisite tea houses indicated that it seemed to be a marina specifically prepared for yachts. However, after the Stukas' devastation, only a few stranded boats could be seen, with no one in sight on the shore.

The reconnaissance soldiers said they had carefully checked the area earlier, and except for a few Indian sepoys left behind as guards, all the British had fled!

Facing the flowing water with the green mountains behind, surrounded by green trees, it was indeed a picturesque Feng Shui site. If it weren't so close to the British mainland, Logan would have thought about setting up his command post here.

A few hundred meters north of the river port was a slightly elevated hill. The reconnaissance soldier told Logan that standing on top of it, they could overlook East Koes Harbor, and Sergeant Schneider, the commander of this reconnaissance team, had already chosen it as a vantage point to monitor the movements of the British defenders!

The performance of the "BMW" directly took Logan to the top of the hill. Two German paratroopers, wearing camouflage nets over their combat uniforms, were lying under a small pine tree, observing the situation ahead. One of them held a Zeiss 6x30 military binoculars, the standard equipment of the German military, while the other held up a field telescope—this simple and practical observation equipment could be folded and put into the luggage compartment of the motorcycle, but due to its high cost, each reconnaissance team in Logan's model paratrooper regiment was equipped with one, carried by the squad leader personally.

"Colonel, you're here!"

In the frontline, this sergeant of the reconnaissance unit didn't stand at attention pompously but moved aside automatically, giving Logan a better view.

"Ah, good work! What's the situation?"

"All British forces are inside the harbor area, and they've been reinforcing their perimeter defenses during this time. Ten minutes ago, a cargo ship docked at the pier, bringing in some soldiers and equipment!" The sergeant reported concisely the observations he had made.

"Hmm!"

As Logan adjusted his field telescope while contemplating the upcoming battle, he considered that using IV tanks, currently the most powerful tanks in the German army, to lead the charge, with a large group of paratroopers providing cover, should have a success rate of over eighty percent in capturing East Koes. However, a rough approach often meant more casualties. The Waffen-SS was renowned for daring to fight tough battles, but their casualty rates were much higher than those of the regular army. Occupying East Koes was far from the final objective of the campaign. The intense British airstrikes conveyed a strong message: lying down would only invite further attacks.

To counter the possible counterattacks by the British, every German soldier who had landed on the island was extremely precious combat power. Moreover, if the British used anti-tank grenades or explosive packs in urban combat, it was possible, at the cost of not sparing any expense, to severely damage or even destroy the IV tanks!

If a swarm of Stukas were to come for bombing, the battle might be much easier, but at this moment, the primary task of the German bombers taking off from the opposite shore had changed to covering the fleet carrying the vanguard of the Fuhrer's Guard Flag Team for landing. Due to the limited availability of the German Navy in the middle section of the English Channel, with only three destroyers, fourteen minesweepers, sixteen torpedo boats, and over forty temporarily converted armed merchant ships available for deployment, the German Air Force had to do everything possible to prevent British vessels from approaching!

Lost in thought, the only things running through his head were tactics like camouflage and deception, trying to recall scenes from similar combat situations in documentaries or movies, only to realize that they were either overly focused on grand strategy or entirely unrealistic!

As he pondered, Logan suddenly felt disappointed and frustrated: Was he destined to be nothing more than a mediocre actor on the battlefield, relying on shoddy acting skills to get by?

No! A voice in his heart shouted loudly: I refuse to be a clown. I want to become a true commander, a figure who commands respect in this era, a master of destiny!

As the saying goes, success is one percent talent plus ninety-nine percent sweat. Sometimes, despite giving one hundred percent effort, people fail to achieve success because they lack that one percent of talent. However, after experiencing trials and tribulations on battlefields large and small, Logan gradually discovered his talent—an innate, sinister talent for war!