Chapter 40 Delicate Balance

After Wootton and Yarmouth, around 11 a.m., the East Cowes Harbor, which had basically turned into ruins, gradually raised the blue, white, and red-striped flag with the letter 'M' on a blue background. Shortly after, a similar situation occurred in the Cowes Harbor across the strait.

At this point, all four ports in the northern part of the Isle of Wight returned to the hands of the British military. In the preceding day and night, the British military had paid a tremendous price with nearly 5,000 casualties in their efforts to capture these ports. Most of the casualties were from the 2nd Infantry Division and the newly formed 11th Armored Division of the British Army. The former was one of the few main forces of the British Army to deploy to France intact and to withdraw intact to Britain, with a large number of experienced officers and soldiers. Although the latter was only the size of a brigade, it was a division-level unit prioritized for tank and armored vehicle reinforcements within the British Army after the end of the campaign in France.

According to post-war statistics, when France surrendered in June 1940, the British regular army consisted of 22 infantry divisions and 1 armored division. By the time the German forces launched the Battle of the Isle of Wight in early August, the British Army had expanded its regular forces to 26 infantry divisions, 3 armored divisions, and several independent units by reorganizing reserve forces and mobilizing troops from various Commonwealth countries and colonies. Although these forces seemed substantial, most infantry divisions had only half the personnel they had during the expeditionary period, artillery firepower was only one-sixth of what it was before, there was a severe shortage of transport vehicles, and there was even an insufficient supply of training ammunition. Therefore, only a few divisions were truly combat-ready.

As for the Home Guard, with a total force of 1.5 million, according to the British's own objective assessment, they were "without uniforms, severely underequipped, and soldiers used any available weapons, including personal firearms, bayonets tied to the end of long sticks, Molotov cocktails, and homemade flamethrowers. If it weren't for the timely arrival of hundreds of thousands of rifles and a large amount of ammunition from the Americans, one dare not imagine what would have happened when such forces faced German machine guns."

The essence of the British Empire still lay in the air and on the sea!

In just one morning, the overall outnumbered Royal Air Force (RAF) deployed a total of 1420 sorties of fighter aircraft, with about half of them engaged in defensive actions towards the Isle of Wight; 411 sorties of bombers were dispatched, all used in airstrikes against German facilities and ports on the Isle of Wight. With the support of the RAF, British naval transport ships and voluntary civilian ships participating in the transport operations shuttled back and forth in the Solent Strait, reminiscent of the scene of the Dunkirk evacuation.

The British ambitions clearly extended beyond the four northern ports of the Isle of Wight. However, fearing the tanks and armored vehicles in the hands of the Germans, they did not immediately launch an attack after consolidating the landing sites. Instead, they continued to build up their strength, awaiting the opportunity to decisively deal with these audacious Germans!

While the British desperately transported landing forces to the northern ports of the Isle of Wight, Logan, accompanied by his deputy Hartmann, drove from the eastern side of the island to the west, inspecting the defense facilities and newly constructed field airfields on the island. As a key part of the "Fortress Plan," more than 3,000 officers and soldiers from the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Regiment, along with over 400 airborne engineering soldiers, worked tirelessly through the night to construct five makeshift airfields in Brooding, Vinnut, Bilinghem, Chessell, and Baucom. These airfields were located at least 5 kilometers away from the coast, each with two runways, measuring approximately 300 meters by 20 meters. Although the conditions of these airfields were rudimentary, they were sufficient for the operation of light reconnaissance aircraft, fighter aircraft, and general bombers and transport aircraft in the era of propeller-powered aircraft.

Logan was quite satisfied with the efficiency of the German soldiers in constructing fortifications. However, as soon as a German aircraft landed on these makeshift airfields, it quickly attracted intense bombing raids from the RAF, leaving little respite for the Luftwaffe engineering soldiers and the SS soldiers assisting in the construction. When the British aircraft departed, they had to pick up shovels and fill the bomb craters, then use trucks and armored vehicles to repeatedly compact the ground. As the nearest frontline airfield of the British was located less than 20 kilometers north of Portsmouth, their small-scale harassment gradually made the German Luftwaffe unable to defend against it. Within the first four hours after dawn, nine German fighter planes and six transport planes were destroyed on the airport runways!

Regarding this matter, Logan had fully considered it at the beginning of the "Fortress Plan." He realized that merely increasing air defense forces and ground anti-aircraft guns could not completely solve the problem. His solution was simple: fighting fire with fire!

After lunch, Logan arrived at the "Linke" airfield east of Chessell to welcome the first squadron of the "Stuka" squadron stationed there—the 1st Squadron of the 2nd Dive Bomber Group.

This makeshift airfield was originally coded as "h4," but since the two commanders in charge of construction happened to be named "Linke," it was nicknamed "Linke Airfield" by the troops. Due to favorable natural conditions, the two runways here were completed first. According to the plan, more take-off and landing runways would be established nearby successively, eventually replacing Newport Airport as the core airport of the German Luftwaffe on the Isle of Wight!

Dozens of BF-109E fighter planes were still circling in the air, ready to intercept the incoming British aircraft for bombing. Under the gaze of everyone, a group of clumsy black birds flew from the southern airspace. However, unlike usual attacks, there were no round bombs mounted under their wings and fuselage.

As the formation approached, the ground crew at the airfield were nervously busy. The previously parked fighter and transport aircraft were dispersed on both sides of the runway, and trucks carrying fuel and ammunition had left the danger zone—everything was just a precaution. The sturdy fixed landing gears of the Ju87 and their resemblance to seaplanes' floats both had an impact on flight speed, but the advantage was that they were less dependent on airport conditions and could even take off and land on some natural, not very flat grasslands!

Under everyone's gaze, one after another, the Stukas landed smoothly on the airfield, kicking up a lot of dust. When these dive bombers came to a stop, trucks borrowed from the SS troops would promptly approach, and soldiers would use hand pumps to transfer the barrel-packaged aviation fuel from the trucks to the aircraft's fuel tanks. They would then hang the aviation bombs brought through the landing fleet the day before onto the wings and fuselage of the aircraft. Although this procedure was somewhat cumbersome, it minimized the risk of accidents!

"Hello, Major Jäger, welcome to Britain!"

Logan spoke while assessing the Luftwaffe major,

 Karl-Heinz Jäger. He was just in his early thirties, tall and lean. Unlike fighter squadrons, the achievements of dive bomber squadrons were difficult to quantify, so the evaluation of pilots' performance often relied on hit rates and attendance. It was said that this squadron leader had conducted 62 attacks on Polish military forces and ground facilities during the Polish campaign, and even more, 71 attacks during the French campaign, averaging two to three sorties per day. With such data, he could be considered a model pilot in the Air Force!

The major shook Logan's hand firmly. "Hello, Colonel Logan, it's a great honor to meet you!"

Logan smiled calmly. Given his promotion speed, it would be strange if he didn't become an idol to those young pilots!

"Was the journey smooth?"

"Well, with Major Garland escorting, British fighters can't even get close!" Jäger complimented the airborne ace Adolf Garland, who was still circling in the sky. Before rising to command in the air force, Adolf Garland was indeed a top-notch aerial combatant, ranking among the top three in personal achievements. This morning, he led two sorties, shooting down three British aircraft, two of which were reported to be Spitfires!

With no worries about their flight distance, the Isle of Wight seemed to have become a holy land for German fighter pilots to score victories. In just two days, four little aces with over 10 kills each emerged under Garland's command. Even those who weren't shot down by opponents achieved breakthroughs in their records.

"Hey, their performance is indeed impressive, as are yours! Next, it's time for you to show your might!" Logan said with anticipation. According to the plan, these Stukas would take off from the airfields on the Isle of Wight, swiftly assaulting three British airfields near Southampton and Portsmouth—the Stukas' top speed when fully loaded with bombs was not even 300 kilometers per hour. If they flew from the French coast, British radar and reconnaissance planes could provide early warning. However, taking off from the Isle of Wight, they would reach the airspace above the British airfields within 5 minutes while gaining dive altitude. With the German fighter group diverting British fighter patrols in advance, when the Stuka group dived, there should be many British aircraft unable to take off from the airfields...

The entire plan seemed flawless. However, as soon as the last two Stukas landed, the airfield was filled with a piercing air raid siren. Looking up, Logan saw the Messerschmitt fighters that had been circling overhead forming their familiar "finger-four formation" and flying north!

"An English aircraft group is attacking from the direction of Southampton, with about thirty aircraft!" Luftwaffe Major Laurence, in charge of airfield air defense, rushed over after hanging up the phone. Hearing this report, Logan angrily took off his Air Force cap, looking at the variety of aircraft on the airfield, totaling 41, and scratched his head vigorously, muttering, "Those British really know how to rush!"

"Four fighters have refueled, but the ammunition hasn't been fully loaded. Three have refueled partially, and half of the ammunition is loaded. I've ordered them to take off!" Although Major Laurence had already made the decision himself, he still looked at Logan and Jäger in a manner suggesting he sought their opinions. This clearly meant that the Stukas with fuel still in their tanks could only stay on the ground. If the English aircraft group broke through the aerial defense circle and attacked the airfield, some of them were likely to become helpless prey under the claws of the Royal Air Force!

"Major, you've done the right thing!" Logan praised without hesitation. He looked around with gritted teeth as trucks refueled the landed Stukas and loaded bombs, quickly withdrawing. This was also the correct action to take in the face of sudden enemy air raids.

Although the number of anti-aircraft guns around the airfield was not large, the German anti-aircraft gunners wearing M36 helmets were already prepared for battle, ready to fire at the incoming British bombers at any time!

"God bless us!" Jäger crossed himself on the chest. Given the priority supply of the runway for fighter use, the bomber pilots could only reluctantly leave their own aircraft behind.

Though not a believer in any religion, at this moment, Logan still hoped that whether they existed or not, various deities could grant him some extra luck: if these British aircraft failed, his batch of Stukas might even follow their footsteps back—under the heavy pressure of the German Luftwaffe, every additional loss of an aircraft meant a slightly weaker hope for the British Air Force to turn the tide...