Chapter 28: Ship Killers

Batch after batch of ships slowly sailed into the river mouth, resembling a black hole. The sporadic and dense gunfire constantly echoed from the East Cowes harbor on the east bank and Cowes on the west bank. Whenever these sounds became unusually intense or suddenly fell silent, the British naval officers and sailors on board the two cruisers, HMS Aurora and HMS Bande, cruising outside Portsmouth Harbor, paid special attention. However, although the two cruisers were equipped with 6-inch twin guns, a barrage of fire would inevitably risk injuring the army comrades who had already landed. It's worth noting that there are always tensions and frictions between different branches of any country's military. Mishandling such situations would only neutralize one's own combat effectiveness and benefit the enemy...

On board the HMS Aurora, a Linx-class light cruiser flying the command flag, three officers stood solemnly on the bridge. In the center stood a Royal Navy Rear Admiral, with white hair and weathered skin. Mentioning his name, people would likely recall the famous Dunkirk evacuation. If not for a German assault team's night raid on Fort No. 32, killing a group of senior British and French commanders including Gott and Browne-Charlton, disrupting the Allies' original withdrawal plan, Bertram Ramsay would have had the opportunity to become a historical figure. Nevertheless, his excellent organizational skills demonstrated in the Dynamo operation earned recognition from the British high command. Therefore, when the Germans unexpectedly launched a cross-sea joint landing on the Isle of Wight, the British Joint Command quickly made the decision to counterattack. To organize a fleet capable of carrying out a cross-sea landing in the shortest possible time, Ramsay was once again called upon to take charge!

Even during the most intense bombings by the German Luftwaffe, major ports like Portsmouth and Southampton were not lacking in ships. However, launching a landing operation was not as simple as having ships. After the army units were transported to their own ports, there needed to be a plan to get them aboard the corresponding ships. It was best to arrange battalions and companies belonging to the same infantry regiment in the same landing batch to maximize their coordination. After the troops were embarked, these transport ships, lacking self-defense capabilities, would proceed to the landing area under the cover of combat ships. Factors such as water depth, navigational channels, and external forces had to be considered when deciding which ships would land first, which would follow, which ships would provide long-range fire support, and which would engage in close-range firing. What seemed like minor differences in efficiency could become decisive factors on the battlefield!

"Four battalions of infantry have already gone up. It seems the Germans' defense is very stubborn! Should we pull back the soldiers already on board and bombard for half an hour?" Dolph Black, a middle-aged naval officer standing to the left of Ramsay, suggested. He was a Royal Navy Captain, serving as the captain of HMS Aurora and commander of the 11th Naval Patrol Fleet. At noon, this captain had led three light cruisers and eight destroyers to the waters near Portsmouth Harbor, attempting to intercept the German landing fleet heading north. However, they not only fell into a sea trap set by several German submarines but also came under heavy attack from a large group of Stukas. As a result, two destroyers were sunk, and the cruiser HMS Delhi, the same class as HMS Bande, was severely damaged. Faced with unexpectedly strong German defenses, Captain Black withdrew to Portsmouth Harbor with his fleet. However, just as the wounded were disembarking, they received orders to cover the landing fleet attacking the ports of Cowes and East Cowes, still flying the signal flags of "M".

In the Linx-class light cruiser HMS Aurora, Ramsay made no physical movements. "Old friend, what do you think?"

Standing to Ramsay's right was a senior general of similar age, with a sturdy build and a clean and tidy British Army major general uniform. Despite his pale complexion, his chest was as proud as a fighting cock.

"No, let the third batch go up. We must take down at least one port in one fell swoop!" The general glanced at a convoy of transport ships that had just departed from Portsmouth Harbor. Although these ships were not large in tonnage, a careful examination of their decks would reveal that the outlines of the temporarily covered objects were very similar to the famous "Matilda II", known as the Queen of the Battlefield!

Ramsay and Black did not try to persuade him any further. After all, this Paresi Hobart was considered a pioneer in British armored warfare. He was the first commanding officer of the world's first tank brigade (the British 1st Tank Brigade) and the British "mentor" of the father of German Blitzkrieg, Guderian. He personally created the most elite three armored divisions in British history (the 7th Armored Division, the 11th Armored Division, and the 79th Armored Division). In 1938, he went to Cairo to serve in the British Army stationed in Egypt, training and cultivating a highly combat-effective force, which was officially renamed the 7th Armored Division of the British Army on February 26, 1940, later famous as the "Desert Rats". Due to conflicts with the conservative faction of the British high command at that time, he was forced to retire in December 1939. It was not until the German sweep of the Western Front and the imminent danger to Britain's homeland that this old general was recalled to service with Churchill's personal intervention, assuming the position of commander of the 11th Armored Division (considering the likely increase in the possibility of a German invasion of Britain in the battle of Dunkirk described in this book, the establishment of this division was set slightly earlier than in history).

In terms of the terrain of the Isle of Wight, it was not suitable for large-scale armored operations at all. However, what outsiders didn't know was that the 11th Armored Division had lost most of its tanks and armored vehicles during the Dunkirk evacuation. Therefore, this unit was currently just bearing the name of "armored". Three of the four regiments under its command were semi-mechanized infantry regiments, with only one under-strength tank regiment equipped with Matilda infantry tanks, Mk I and Mk II cruiser tanks, and the first batch of Covenanters assembled from other units. Of course, these were not the real reasons why the British sent the 11th Armored Division into battle. In the British homeland defense plan, three "elite" armored divisions were deployed as mobile forces in the southeast and south of England. Hobart and his division happened to be stationed in the eastern part of Southampton and the western part of Portsmouth. It only took half an hour to drive to the ports, and the British headquarters believed that since the Germans had already used airborne troops to deliver tanks to the Isle of Wight, it would be best for their landing forces to also have armored forces not inferior to the enemy...

"Torpedo! Torpedo sighted on the port side!"

The alarm from the lookout post made the sailors, who had relaxed their guard a little, tense again. Looking south, two faint white wakes suddenly appeared on the sea surface, only three or four hundred meters away! Although there were 6 or 7 destroyers with sonar equipment and depth charges active in this area, there were too many ships to effectively organize an anti-submarine defense line.

Immediately, the alarm on the ship sounded loudly. The helmsman hastily turned the heavy helm, but the two cruisers, painted gray all around, were only at one-third speed, and their turning efficiency was far from that of full-speed navigation. Seeing the torpedoes approaching, Colonel Blake grabbed the two senior officers and pushed them towards the lifeboat positions.

General Paracelsus Hobart, who had no experience in naval warfare, obediently complied, probably still grumbling to himself about why he had to follow the naval cruisers. These sleek ships must have looked like a delicious feast to the German submarines!

On the other hand, Ramsey, who came from a military family and had served in the Royal Navy for 42 years (joining at the age of 15, did the Royal Navy also recruit child labor?), was quite displeased with this hesitant behavior before the battle. He forcefully shook off Blake's sturdy arms and staggered down to the bridge.

Fortunately, the sailors at the gun positions on the ship's side were already prepared. Just a few seconds after the alarm sounded, gunfire erupted. Looking to the port side, one could see large and small water columns splashing along the path of the torpedoes. It's hard to say how high the success rate of defending against torpedo attacks like this was, but when the warship turned, it was the only thing the deck sailors could do besides praying!

Boom!

The first torpedo exploded prematurely, still more than ten meters away from the ship's side. Although the threat to the ship was greatly reduced, the enormous explosion still sent thousands of fragments shooting in all directions. People on the deck quickly fell into a pool of blood, and several machine guns without shields were silenced. Then, the second torpedo passed by, grazing the propellers of the warship and sending up a spray of water!

At this moment, surely God received many heartfelt thanks.

The machine gun fire didn't completely stop. Sailors on the aft deck were still shooting at the torpedo. It's worth noting that a German torpedo traveling at 40 knots typically had a range of 7.5 kilometers. After missing the cruiser's stern, it headed straight for the group of transport ships!

To evade the torpedoes fired by German submarines, the sailors on the transport ships were once again in a frenzy!

"Damn it, send a signal to the destroyers, telling them to search for German submarines with all their might!" Blake shouted angrily, but yelling at their own destroyers was just for show. In a moment, he turned to Ramsey, "General, there may be more than one German submarine nearby. Shouldn't we..."

Ramsey glanced at General Hobart again. "My old friend, should we wait for more destroyers to be drawn from other ports by the navy, or should we continue to press on?"

Hobart, wiping the sweat from his forehead, replied hastily, "Hold on for another half hour. As long as our tanks make it to the dock, the Germans won't stand a chance!"

"But..." Blake hesitated, the seaplane on the ship had once spotted German ships unloading vehicles at Bournemouth port, but since the reconnaissance results were not further confirmed, and they had already discussed with the two generals before, he tactfully didn't mention it again.

The elderly Major General looked towards the direction of Cowes Harbour with hope, hoping that his troops could also be favored by the lucky goddess as the cruiser had just evaded the torpedo attack. However, just a few minutes later, the traces of two torpedoes appeared on the sea again. This time, the Germans mercilessly struck a 3,000-ton transport ship. In the violent explosion, more than 200 British soldiers, along with a valuable batch of tank armored vehicles, sank to the bottom of the sea...