Chapter 24: Divine Hammer

As noon approached, the white sunlight scorched the earth. Soldiers, clad in khaki military uniforms and carrying Lee-Enfield rifles, sweated profusely as they moved large pieces of furniture, doors, and sacks of grain towards the street corner. They speculated whether this dreadful weather was intentionally conspiring with the Germans. On the street corner, several soldiers brought baskets of bread and large barrels of soup. Surrounding soldiers slowly gathered around. The excitement from the two previous waves of British bombers crossing the channel had dissipated with the dominant presence of German fighter planes. At present, the absence of German aircraft bombing was considered a blessing from God.

Suddenly, several black dots appeared in the southern sky. The sentry stationed on the warehouse rooftop immediately sounded the manual air raid alarm, its eerie wail unsettling everyone. Upon the officers' shouts, many soldiers grabbed their bread and weapons, rushing towards the nearest shelter. Faced with aerial bombs weighing tens or hundreds of kilograms, even seemingly sturdy warehouses struggled to withstand the attacks. Fortunately, the underground air raid shelters constructed by both military and civilians over the past two months provided safety and reliability.

The enemy's aircraft swiftly approached, unmistakably identified as four Stukas, lacking fighter escort. These "Black Death" bombers, notorious for their piercing screams during attacks, precisely aimed their black bombs towards the docks. Sheltered within the air raid shelters, British officers and soldiers couldn't help but pray for the safety of the transport ships ferrying infantry and ammunition.

Minutes later, the deafening explosions subsided. British infantry, donning Tommy helmets, cautiously emerged like moles from underground, cursing the evil Nazis while checking on the safety of their comrades. As expected, two transport ships were sunk before they could leave the port, and unlucky souls on the docks were blasted into the sky along with their hiding places.

"Oh! German tanks!"

A panicked voice instantly pierced through the fragile psychological defenses of the defenders. To the north of Eastern Coase Harbor lay the surging sea, and to the west, the spacious inland river. Due to its proximity to important British southern naval ports like Portsmouth and Southampton, the likelihood of German naval vessels appearing was minimal. Hence, the northern defense was merely fortified with machine guns to prevent German forces from Newport. An attack from the north was almost improbable. The focus remained on defending the east and south: a wide, straight road approached from the south, where German motorcyclists had been spotted early on due to lack of equipment and unclear command, the defenders failed to destroy the road or lay mines in time. To the east lay vast fields spacious enough to accommodate several German regiments. Fortunately, the outer perimeter of the streets was fortified with three warehouses made of reinforced concrete, where soldiers had set up firing positions through windows and ventilation ducts. If the enemy only sent infantry, Vickers machine guns and Bren light machine guns would make them pay dearly.

Undoubtedly, the appearance of German tanks caught the British defenders off guard. Only a few among them had experience fighting in France as part of an expeditionary force. However, the formidable strength of the German army and air force had been exaggerated. Earlier in the morning, a squadron of Stukas "visited" the river port, and a mere dozen bombs had inflicted devastating destruction on an equivalent number of houses. While casualties were one aspect, the immense psychological impact was oppressive: if the German Luftwaffe was this powerful, wouldn't the rumored tidal wave of steel be unstoppable?

Before long, the sound of artillery fire came from the south. Given the geographic locations of Eastern Coase and Eastern Coase Harbor, coupled with the British Navy's absolute control over the English Channel, the British command had never considered establishing a battery or similar coastal defenses here. Most of the anti-aircraft weapons were also stationed near the airfield.

Thus, only the Germans could be firing!

The artillery fire was distant, but the explosions were close, confirming the soldiers' concerns. Soon, the rat-a-tat-tat of machine gun fire echoed. An officer yelled as he ran, "John, take your machine gun team to the south; they need firepower support over there! And anti-tank gunners, all of you go south!"

Such shouts, coupled with the sight of soldiers hastily leaving with their weapons, left those remaining with a mixture of panic and relief: at least they didn't have to face German tanks head-on. If the southern forces couldn't hold, they would quickly retreat from the docks and board the ships. The gunfire intensified from the south, but strangely, there were no grenades—was it due to the distance or some other reason?

Suddenly, a sentry on the warehouse rooftop shouted, "Enemy spotted ahead!"

The heavy machine guns deployed at the warehouse windows opened fire, accompanied by several light machine guns roaring. With the help of the artillery sight set up behind the ridge, Logan calmly watched the scene. The August wheat fields had already been harvested, making it impossible for the German paratroopers, dressed in gray combat uniforms, to hide their presence. Fortunately, the No. 4 tanks and a battalion of paratroopers were feigning attacks from the south, making the defense on this side weaker than imagined.

"Smoke grenades!" Logan ordered coldly.

Almost immediately, the four 50mm mortars, adjusted and loaded with ammunition, began to thud loudly. Mortar shells traced high arcs, landing at the far end of the 500-meter range. As the white smoke appeared on the horizon, one couldn't help but wonder if the British soldiers on the other side would recall the extensive use of chemical weapons by the German forces during the First World War—Logan couldn't help but think of the scene from "Resurrection: The Battle in the Third Reich" where the protagonist scares off British tank crewmen using pepper spray to capture a Matilda tank. Unfortunately, this time Logan's brought a purely combat force. According to the plan, the logistics and cooking units would arrive with the second wave of landing craft. Before that, the soldiers had to fill their stomachs with various dry rations and canned goods!

The mortars continued to fire in succession, gradually forming a broad smoke screen. Although the slightly pungent gas didn't immediately deter the defenders, it greatly disrupted their machine gun firepower. With the reduced resistance, the paratroopers quickly advanced towards the warehouse. At this moment, some paratroopers holding club-shaped weapons paused and raised their "clubs" (the Panzerfaust did indeed resemble a club when the handle was folded down, haha) to about a 30-degree angle.

A slight smirk played at the corner of Logan's mouth. "Panzerfaust," one of the two important weapons he had hurriedly produced after crossing over. Although the technology was not yet fully mature, due to its simplicity and low cost, it had already been extensively deployed in his paratrooper assault unit!

The flickering flames brought with them a slight sound. Moments later, intense explosions erupted from the warehouse across. Though obscured by smoke, Logan was confident that the "Panzerfausts" intended to deal with enemy tanks could indeed penetrate the concrete outer walls of the warehouse!

Urged on by the explosions, the German officers bravely led the charge, urging the soldiers to complete the final assault with all their might! It was well known that one of the main reasons for the rapid formation of the formidable combat power of the "Hundred Thousand German Troops" after expansion was the excellent quality of the officer corps supporting the backbone of this large army. And that was precisely why Logan had scrounged around to ensure his model airborne troops were equipped with proficient officers!

The warehouse area, shrouded in smoke, soon echoed with intense gunfire, grenade explosions, and cries of battle. Logan made a decisive decision and quickly led the machine gun and mortar teams responsible for covering the assault to follow up. By the time they gasped for breath and reached the warehouse area, the valiant paratroopers had already seized control of the three warehouses acting as strongholds!

Surveying the chaotic battlefield, aside from the twenty-plus riflemen left behind to clean up, the rest of the paratroopers had split into two groups and rushed towards the British southern defense zone and the dock area—this was the plan he had briefed the platoon-level officers on before the battle began. Considering that the main force of the defenders was concentrated in the southern defense zone, Logan personally led three MG-34 machine gun teams and some scattered riflemen towards the most intense gunfire!

The German paratrooper units attacking from the south also deployed mortar smoke shells. With the assistance of the breeze, the white smoke gradually spread towards the harbor area. The urban area of Eastbourne was not particularly large overall. After turning the second corner, Logan entered the battlefield: the previously arrived paratroopers were fiercely attacking the British defenders entrenched at the street junction from behind. With attacks from both sides, most of the British soldiers were forced to retreat into the houses on either side of the street to continue resisting. However, this didn't deter the German paratroopers armed with "Panzerfausts." In Logan's view, numerous individuals clad in German paratrooper combat gear were utilizing these simple weapons to launch attacks on buildings tens of meters away, with some rockets even piercing through windows and exploding inside rooms. The smoke mingled with the fog of smoke grenades, creating chaotic scenes where English and German shouts intertwined.

Logan's machine gun team swiftly positioned themselves at the windows of buildings, setting up the MG-34. Whenever a flicker of fire appeared from a window across the street or a figure moved behind the white mist, they would unhesitatingly pour a barrage of bullets, the clattering sound perfectly matching the nickname of this renowned machine gun - "The Ripper!"

With overwhelming firepower advantage, the German paratroopers began to demonstrate their characteristic teamwork: they formed groups of four or five people, with only one carrying the "Panzerfaust," while the others mainly wielded P38 pistols and MP38 submachine guns. Once the "Panzerfaust" wielder breached a large hole in the building's outer wall, others would either throw a grenade inside or directly spray into the hole, providing cover for each other as they rushed in to clear each room.

As more and more assault teams joined the attack, windows and even whole window frames were shattered onto the street under the onslaught of grenades and rockets. Some bold German paratroopers even used anti-tank rocket launchers to blast open doors facing the street. In close combat, the rapid-fire capability of the MP38 was fully utilized, even making Logan forget the early lack of automatic rifles in the German army during the war!

"We surrender!" came a shout in English, followed by another. As such voices multiplied and the resistance's firepower dwindled, Logan finally issued the ceasefire order.

Minutes later, the supporting German forces on the outskirts also ceased firing.

Amid the spirited cries of the German paratroopers, one disheveled British soldier after another emerged from their hiding places, raising their weapons high. Under the overwhelming pressure of the German's aggressive tactics, they had finally collapsed!

The resounding sound of tank treads timely echoed on the streets. Under the sunlight, a heavily pockmarked Panzer IV emerged from the mist, as if heralding that the German war machine had found a new path out of the historical confusion.

Leading the way was none other than the young colonel and commander of the German Air Force, Hans Logan...