Chapter 55: Night Battle of Bloodshed

"The rain is expected to gradually stop within the next two days."

The weather forecast report from the German meteorological monitoring station stationed in Northern Europe. It still utilized the usual vague wording of weather forecasts. Within two days could mean 12 hours or 48 hours, and for both sides of the war, this was the "uncertainty factor" on the battlefield.

In times of dire straits, people often unleash unimaginable strength, and the unprecedented difficult situation greatly stimulated the war factor in Logan's brain cells. Since passive defense was not helping to turn the tide, counterattack became the only effective way. He boldly made the decision to launch a night counterattack, deploying more than 3,600 capable officers and soldiers under his command along with all armored units!

Victory would render the British Army incapable of launching large-scale offensives, thus buying at least a precious day for the German forces on the island. Defeat would force them to retreat to Newport Harbor, where they could hold out for as long as they could.

After making up his mind, he summoned the Deputy Commander of the "Führer Guard Regiment", Kroe. Setelus, Chief of Staff Kay. Solent, along with deputy Stephenberg, to discuss the specific details of this counterattack plan. Finally, the commanding officers and deputy officers participating in the battle were summoned to make specific arrangements to ensure that every step could be implemented according to the plan to the maximum extent!

Around midnight, the rain gradually subsided.

British infantry were in temporary trenches dug in the fields. The water was knee-deep, but both officers and soldiers, under strict orders from superiors, sheltered in them. The tents set up in the wilderness had a few lamps lit, but there was no one inside—purely to attract German artillery fire!

A slight rumble came from the military trucks shuttling back and forth between the front line and the rear. They brought cold, hard bread and large quantities of shells, bullets, and grenades. Some squads continued to lay anti-tank mines in front of their positions, so every soldier was told: not to leave the trenches without authorization, not even for a moment!

Would the Germans really launch an attack tonight?

This was the doubt in the minds of many British officers and soldiers. Although the Germans had a glorious time in the two days before the landing, the subsequent four days of rain and wind completely blocked German sea transportation, and with the Royal Navy completely intercepting it, the number of British troops on the Isle of Wight far exceeded that of the Germans—reportedly reaching an absolute advantage of three to one!

The Germans had tanks, that was true, but every trench here was equipped with either a 37mm or 50mm American-made anti-tank gun. Despite the heavy losses suffered by the British Expeditionary Force in France, thanks to the efforts of the British government, a large number of military aids, including hundreds of thousands of rifles and nearly a thousand artillery pieces, were obtained from the United States in July. This greatly eased the equipment crisis of the British Army. Of course, the assistance from the Americans was not given for free. According to the newly amended Neutrality Act of the United States government, belligerent countries were allowed to purchase weapons from the United States through the "cash and carry" method, which also meant that a large amount of gold and foreign exchange was continuously flowing into Uncle Sam's pockets.

Although the weapons and ammunition provided by American arms dealers were not advanced, they at least met the basic requirement of being "loud and useful". The two calibers of anti-tank guns were just able to pose a direct threat to the current main German tanks at close range. As for the expensive and bulky "Chicago Typewriter" favored by gangsters, its effectiveness in close combat was far inferior to the manually operated Lee-Enfield rifle!

In the late night, tired British officers and soldiers could still fall asleep in the damp environment. Suddenly, several illumination flares burst out bright white light in the sky above the position, revealing every trench, every tent, and every truck from the darkness.

Then, a significant number of German artillery began to show its power. Batch after batch of shells fell with more intensity than raindrops, leaping and exploding in the muddy and slippery fields. Fireballs covered the field of view, and the pungent smell of gunpowder quickly spread. Trucks attempting to withdraw were hit continuously, while British officers and soldiers in the positions obediently crouched at the bottom of the waterlogged trenches, with their buttocks soaking in the cool mud and water.

The German shelling lasted only five minutes, leaving the mud-stained British officers feeling fortunate: the Germans had finally run out of ammunition!

As the German gunfire subsided, the British fleet cruising in the southern waters of the Isle of Wight rushed over upon hearing the news. Although they suffered losses in the afternoon, these brave destroyers, led by the light cruiser "Aurora" which came to reinforce, launched close-range suppression on the German artillery positions. The gunfire echoed incessantly, as if the inexhaustible shells would surely envy the German gunners—under the leadership of the Churchill government, the entire British industry was running at full speed. Aircraft production even exceeded that of Germany, with tens of thousands of shells being transported from factories to the front lines every day, and shipyards of all sizes were also working overtime. The speed of battleship repairs increased by a third, and in the docks, five powerful, fearsome King George V-class battleships were under construction around the clock!

The gunfire was indeed exhilarating, but it also masked some less resounding sounds, so much so that when a German Panzer IV tank emerged from the darkness, the British officers in the frontline trenches scrambled to grab the phone to report to their superiors. Soldiers opened fire at the first opportunity, but unfortunately, the anti-tank shells missed their target, and the German tank returned fire, instantly turning the American-made M3 concealed in the bunker into scrap metal!

In people's minds, German tanks were considered "social animals," often rumbling across the countryside en masse, and this time was no exception. Although they didn't overly approach the British positions, the flickering flames in the darkness still gave the British officers and soldiers a rough idea of their numbers.

"Tanks spotted northwest of the defensive line, at least twenty of them, plus an unknown number of armored vehicles, they are advancing towards our positions! We need fire support, urgently need fire support!"

As he spoke, another shell landed nearby, with the German tanks showing remarkable accuracy at distances of less than 1500 meters, all aiming at the firepower points on the British positions. A British officer wearing a Tommy helmet held the microphone, looking anxiously at where the shells were exploding. Two soldiers operating Browning machine guns along with their weapons had disappeared, and two injured soldiers lay in the nearby trench, one of them still shouting for a medic.

Every British soldier who had participated in the Western Front campaign deeply feared the combat power of the German armored forces, just as the Germans feared the shelling from the British fleet.

Taking a deep breath, the officer shouted, "Prepare anti-tank grenades and Molotov cocktails, soldiers, muster your courage, we are defending our homeland, we have no retreat, only a fight to the death!"

In the line of sight, no one dared to leave the positions on their own, but it was difficult to say whether they were inspired by the officer's words or chose to stand their ground because of the threat of death. Anti-tank grenades with large warheads and Molotov cocktails were distributed to some brave souls, while others tightened their grip on their firearms, preparing to stand stubbornly against the formidable onslaught of the German armored forces.

Before the German tanks could close in, the sound of artillery reverberated behind the positions, shells fired from field guns whistling overhead, causing waves of heat in the darkness. By the light of the explosions, the British soldiers were surprised to see: the German tanks and armored vehicles were retreating!

"They're retreating?" The officer widened his eyes. On the Maas River front, the German armored forces had broken through the Allied defenses under far greater artillery fire. Had they become cowardly?

No, of course not!

Just a stone's throw away from Culver Cliff, Logan sat on the turret of a Panzer IV, a unlit cigarette dangling from his lips, silently watching the flickering fires to the northwest. Four tank columns. Almost half of the armored forces at his disposal, acting as the "East" in the feint maneuver north of the British defenses. Could the British commander resist the temptation and not be lured away?

Logan never harbored illusions about his enemies. Behind him, all the half-tracked armored vehicles and trucks capable of movement were loaded with Waffen-SS soldiers bearing helmets emblazoned with twin lightning insignias, silently awaiting the order to attack. After a night of rest, they showed little signs of fatigue, these young, energetic, brave soldiers, who saw the large enemy force as nothing more than a herd of sheep with long horns, unafraid of any challenge.

Before long, the infantry units on foot caught up—due to the tight blockade and relentless shelling by the British in recent days, the available vehicles and fuel in the hands of the Germans were scarce, so two-thirds of the troops in the counterattack force could only advance on foot.

The Waffen-SS soldiers hung their heavy helmets on their shoulders, their formations in complete disarray by parade standards, but each individual marched with determination and seriousness. If one ignored their insignia, gray combat uniforms were barely distinguishable from those of the traditional Wehrmacht units, along with Mauser 98k rifles, MP38s, MG34s, and entrenching tools.

Among the long columns were units of Fallschirmjäger wearing short-brimmed helmets, these elite paratroopers were the first to land, enduring numerous brutal battles, of the 3000 officers and soldiers who had landed by parachute and glider, only about 2000 remained, with casualty rates far exceeding those of the historic Battle of Crete (6500 casualties, a third of the total paratrooper force). Now, some surviving paratroopers were defending the port of Newport together with the Waffen-SS, able to join this counterattack were 1100 men from nine companies, with each company only at about three-fifths of its full strength!

The heavy casualties weighed heavily on Logan's mind, but he believed that regardless of the outcome of the Battle of the Isle of Wight, it would go down in history as a great battle.

The victor will win the entire war!

At 2 a.m., the German counterattack force decisively broke through the forward German positions, then launched an assault along the southeastern coast of the Isle of Wight towards Portsmouth. This perilous route was constantly under the crossfire of the British Navy and coastal artillery, causing the Germans to suffer additional casualties. However, it was also because of this that the counterattack achieved a surprising victory. After two hours of intense fighting, the Germans re-entered Portsmouth and launched an attack from the rear of the British positions with armored units. The German armored force that was used to divert the attention of the British also timely withdrew to the west, and after joining forces with the artillery, staged a fierce assault, causing the British to mistakenly believe they were being attacked from both east and west.

A daunting decision lay before the British commander.

Before dawn, the rain silently ceased.