Chapter 30 Logan's Reflections

With the withdrawal of the British landing fleet, the battle for Cowes and East Cowes Harbor came to a temporary halt as the British forces suffered a comprehensive retreat. The troops commanded by Logan killed and wounded over 800 British soldiers, captured 416, and destroyed 9 British tanks. Schultz's forces also inflicted significant damage, killing and injuring over 700 British soldiers, capturing nearly 400, and destroying 7 British tanks.

With full confidence in victory, Logan returned to Newport Airport by car. Thanks to the efforts of Lente Steffenberg, the German wartime command headquarters on the Isle of Wight operated smoothly. Although this headquarters was not as grandiose as the Supreme Command Headquarters' temporary camp and did not have the scale of a corps or army headquarters, with five or six staff officers, seven or eight communication officers, and a ten-man guard, all crowded into an underground bunker left behind by the British army. However, the difficulty was only temporary. Steffenberg informed Logan that he had found a more suitable location about a mile from the airport for the headquarters—considering that the British might continue to bomb Newport Airport at night, rural villas were safer than the reinforced concrete bunkers. Moreover, old-fashioned buildings were equally sturdy and durable!

Living in a villa was certainly better than staying in a basement, especially for a very good reason. Logan readily agreed. As officers and soldiers began to move equipment into the vehicles, a communication officer came to report:

"Colonel, the Fishbourne Coast defenses outside Wootton Harbor have been shelled by the British fleet. One cruiser, three destroyers, and several gunboats were sighted, along with a convoy of transport ships!"

"Oh? Do they think the defenses at Wootton are weaker than Cowes and East Cowes?" Logan calmly quipped after hearing the communication officer's report.

"Hah, it's still more than an hour until dark. Let them come; we certainly don't mind expanding the size of the prisoner-of-war camp!" Steffenberg's tone resonated well with Logan's, and it's no wonder he remained "obscure" until Logan rose to prominence. In the consistently serious and rigid German army, this style was non-conformist—Adolf Galland could also be considered such an "alternative" character!

This remark was just to Logan's taste. Although the paratroopers had captured Wootton Harbor for a relatively short time, they had the advantage of sufficient forces. Moreover, Wootton Harbor was a long gourd-shaped port protected by natural seawalls, easy to defend but difficult to attack. Less than 10 kilometers further south, Ryde Harbor was open and had piers extending vertically into the sea, making it very suitable for landing—fortunately, when the exemplary paratroopers descended from the sky, the British troops stationed at the harbor promptly blew up the piers and some dock facilities. While the German landing fleet could not use the harbor, neither could the incoming British fleet use it to transport landing troops!

"Send a message to Lieutenant Jansen, telling him not to hold the beachhead to the death, but to deal with the enemy with flexible and mobile tactics if the British launch a landing operation... Well, just send the first part!" Logan refrained from saying the latter part, not wanting to micromanage every detail, as history had already proven that such interference from high command often backfired on frontline officers!

The message was sent, and Logan was busy gathering his personal belongings. Adolf Galland came in jubilantly, "Aha, the 22nd! I just shot down the 22nd British aircraft, a Hurricane!"

"Is that so?" Logan smiled at this "knockoff version of Chaplin." Purely in terms of appearance, the young Galland was much more handsome than the comedy master. Of course, bullets didn't discriminate based on appearance; handsome, ugly, fat, thin, they were all the same.

Although Galland's score of 22 victories was still some distance from the 29 of the current top ace of the German Air Force, Werner Molders, at the current rate, perhaps one day Galland would rise to become the top ace of the German Air Force in service. Thus, he felt a bit light-headed: "Hey, that guy was quite a tough character, his aerial skills were excellent, he dodged my shots several times in a row, but in the end, I still got him, his plane crashed into the sea, and he parachuted out! It's a pity, if he had landed on the Isle of Wight, I could have had a drink with him!"

The saying goes, "the grass is always greener on the other side." Logan looked at Galland, who was radiant with joy. He couldn't help but feel a bit worried: the 8th Air Corps, along with the 26th Fighter Squadron, comprised six fighter squadrons. In terms of total squadron performance, Galland's squadron ranked second from the bottom. The reason Logan requested Galland be stationed at Newport Airport ultimately was due to his outstanding organizational and command abilities demonstrated throughout history. If it came to picking a top ace pilot, Galland wouldn't have even ranked in the top ten at the beginning of the Battle of Britain!

"The chance for drinks will come plenty in the future! By the way, did you see the British fleet outside Wootton Harbor?"

"Yeah, I saw them. Maybe they want to establish a new landing area nearby!" Galland completely failed to notice the subtle change in Logan's expression. He picked up a glass of water from the table and gulped it down in one go, "Lieutenant Maht's Stukas are still able to sortie before dark. I guarantee they'll know when to retreat!"

Logan glanced out the door. The treetops in the distance were ablaze with the setting sun, indicating that nightfall was not far off. Given that the Isle of Wight was too close to Britain, according to the "Fortress" operational plan, the German Air Force's combat aircraft remained at the island's airfields during the day and all returned to northern France before dark. The engineering teams had repaired two of Newport Airport's three runways, and the third could also be repaired before nightfall. "Aunties" had been busy all afternoon, bringing over 500 officers and soldiers and nearly a hundred tons of supplies to the Isle of Wight, but this was far from enough for the entire operation. The real transportation relied on the outnumbered German Navy!

"It's time to return!"

"Hmm?" Galland turned around, looking at Logan with an expression of unfulfilled excitement.

"Major, you and your pilots have demonstrated the might of the German Air Force today, August 11th will also be remembered as a great day by all! But..." Logan paused and kindly advised, "Perhaps you haven't heard a saying: 'Fatigue driving is a road killer!'"

Galland looked at Logan, seemingly trying to understand his friend's advice.

"Resting well is to shoot down more British planes tomorrow!" Logan added.

"I understand your good intentions. But these are extraordinary times, as far as I know, British fighter pilots are also fighting fatigued!" Galland offered a slight justification

Logan never liked to rain on someone else's parade. He thought for a moment, "How about this, Lieutenant Maht's bombers have almost finished replenishing ammunition and fuel. They will go to the Woolton area for bombing later, then return directly to northern France. You take some fighters to cover them and return to France together, how about that?"

Galand thought for a moment, "No problem!"

"Remember, if you encounter British fighters, don't engage them unnecessarily. Just drive them away and protect our bombers!" As he said this, Logan suddenly felt that he had finally grown into a qualified commander - perhaps in the eyes of others, he was still a weird guy in his thinking!

"Don't worry, I can distinguish between priorities!"

The confident joy returned to Galand's face, as he readily agreed, but whether he was secretly planning to bag one or two more British fighters before nightfall, perhaps only he himself knew.

After Galand left, Logan was silent for a moment and then said to Steinfelberg, "Inform Lieutenant Maht that after Stuka Squadron finishes loading ammunition, they will head to the Woolton area for bombing. Resolve it quickly, then return to the airfield in northern France! Additionally, inform the Air Force Command to assist in the preparation and cleaning of the runways at the French airfields!"

Steinfelberg understood Logan's thoughts and comforted him, "You don't need to worry too much, Major. Fighters like Galand will keep a clear head in battle. Besides, even if they encounter setbacks, it may not necessarily be a bad thing for him!"

This reasoning was easy to understand, but as Logan looked at the sunset shining on the airfield, he felt a sense of melancholy that he couldn't quite shake: the story of "injuring Zhongyong" in history was well-known both at home and abroad. With his limited military knowledge, Logan knew that there were many outstanding German officers who died in World War II due to non-combat reasons. From the pre-war Chief of Staff of the German Air Force, Walter Wever, to the late-war mountain infantry general Eduard Dietl, to Rommel, who was forced to poison himself due to involvement in an assassination attempt, elite individuals who left the historical stage prematurely due to non-combat factors such as crashes, accidental injuries, or politics were spread across various levels! However, even if he remembered all of them, how could he predict the changes brought about by the butterfly effect?

Fortunately, as a commander overseeing the whole situation, the complexity of military affairs compressed the time available for him to express his emotions. Around 6 p.m., the landing fleet that had completed unloading at Portsmouth Harbor was escorted by naval vessels and bombers as they embarked on their return journey. As they were empty, the entire fleet was expected to shorten their crossing time by twenty percent compared to when they came, but the slow sinking sun still meant that they would lack effective air protection for much of the journey ahead. Facing interception by British warships, the performance of German submarines and torpedo boats deployed in the English Channel might become the key to victory or defeat, and the only good news was that the Royal Navy had lost a total of thirteen ships during the day, including two light cruisers that were unable to operate in the short term, which was a considerable blow to their next actions!

Furthermore, the total number of German soldiers who had arrived on the Isle of Wight by air and sea transport had exceeded 8,000, undoubtedly giving a good start to the "fortress" operation. Next, they would use the night to occupy every village and castle on the island and convert some flat and solid grasslands into temporary airfields - although the amount of work was not large, the lack of large-scale engineering equipment meant that the Air Force and SS units had to work overnight to open up at least five field airports before dawn.

A fortress is not invincible from the beginning. It can be foreseen that the British command will soon recover from the initial surprise, coupled with weather and other factors, Logan and his troops must face a more vigorous counterattack from the British!