Four Hundred and Seven One Step Ahead

The head of state, Akado, once again left the already pregnant Mercedes, and went to the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands in the early morning of February 11. There, the Group A army from the north had just arrived, and here also gathered the German Dutch There are 4,000 transport ships of different sizes in Norway, Denmark and other countries.

Germany made up its mind to make a quick decision and landed on the British mainland for the final blow. The code name of the operation is "Overlord". As the head of state of Germany, Akado will personally supervise this battle, and the German navy, land and air forces will unite to execute the largest landing operation plan in human history.

The Air Force will dispatch 2,000 fighter jets and 1,500 bombers of various types to completely destroy the British landing field in southeastern England. Destroy all obstacles on the coastline, bomb all nearby British airfields and defensive positions, and drive every British aircraft out of the airspace in the landing area.

The navy will bring together 2 Italian battleships, 3 French battleships, and 17 cruisers to ensure fire suppression in the landing area. These warships have bypassed Spain and converged at the naval port of Brest. Although the use of these warships has greatly reduced the secrecy of the landing, Germany has not concealed its combat intention to land in England, so there is no such thing as secrecy.

Of course, the specific landing time and landing location are absolutely confidential. The navy has equipped every Italian and French warship with a liaison officer. According to the principle of confidentiality, the mission objectives will not be announced until the fleet sets sail.

At the same time, Germany requisitioned almost all the ships it could find, some were real landing ships, some were temporarily modified landing ships, and more were civilian ships, just to be able to send the total number of landing troops Germany needed to the beach at one time.

The first batch of troops to land in the UK included the famous 1st Army Division of the Army Group A, the 1st Marine Corps Division, which was newly formed by the Navy for less than a year, and an armored battalion of the 2nd Armored Division of the 2nd Armored Army. The ordered SS Acador Youth Corps, as well as the engineering units directly under the entire group army and 200 special forces of the 0th Division of the SS. The total force is about 40,000, and they are responsible for landing on the beach at the very beginning and occupying the beach area needed by the follow-up troops to go ashore.

This time, the army has spent all its money, and is ready to knock a big enough hole in the solid coastline of the United Kingdom. More than half of these 40,000 soldiers are veterans who have participated in the French campaign, and 1,000 of them are even elites from the Wehrmacht era. They prepared all the equipment that could be considered, and endured a full 10 days of high-intensity landing training. Akado even distributed morphine to some of the recruits, using the exciting effect to fill up the fear of combat.

The landing site was chosen in the Norwich area, which is far away but extremely flat. The advantage is that the terrain is very suitable for the deployment of armored forces. The disadvantage is the same as the Normandy area of ​​​​France, which lacks important port cities.

However, the German head of state proposed an innovative pontoon port design, which allows the German landing force to replenish supplies in wild areas without ports-Germany roughly calculated the throughput of materials,

When the Atlantic weather is good, this pontoon dock can provide the necessary supplies for 100,000 German soldiers.

Of course, Akado also has a huge air superiority and the means of supplying supplies by transport aircraft. If the two aspects are added together, it should be said that it is not a problem to ensure the battle of 120,000 troops. The only thing that makes Rundstedt timid is that when the time comes How far will the British counterattack force go?

The Norwich area provided by the spies has many railway lines, and a relatively elite British 4th Army is deployed near the city of Norwich. Although this unit does not have the armored units that Montgomery lacked, it is considered a relatively tenacious force in the ranks of other British troops.

Moreover, because of the flat terrain here, the British defensive positions are well deployed, with a total of 3 complete defensive zones in front and back. Because there is no danger to defend the Yimapingchuan near the coastline, a large number of mines and obstacles are laid. About 200 meters behind the beach is a permanent fortification consisting of machine gun bunkers and defensive positions, and it is also the strongest line of defense for the British defenders.

About 40 large-caliber artillery pieces whose angles can be adjusted at will are deployed on this position. In addition, there are two ancient open-air forts built in the last century, which have now been reinforced into two main defensive positions. There are also two 280mm caliber railway guns supporting the entire theater. It can be said that the defense measures are very complete.

Moreover, the local defenders have an entire division. Although they are scattered along the long coastline, at least one regiment of infantry is deployed on any landing surface. The only thing that makes people feel uneasy is that these troops are all composed of recruits, and no one can know what their combat effectiveness is.

Both Montgomery and Churchill in the United Kingdom guessed wrongly the direction of the Germans' landing. They firmly believed that the Isle of Wight, Southampton, Brighton, and Dover in the southern part of the United Kingdom were the main direction of the German attack.

Among them, Brighton and Dover were mainly strengthened by the British defenders. The only armored force in the hands of the British is also deployed in this direction. Churchill was worried that the Germans would attack and land in Brighton, because it was the closest to London, the capital of England, while Montgomery and the naval admirals felt that Germany would land in Dover, after all, where the strait was the shortest and most beneficial to German transportation.

However, after repeated confirmation and comparison of photos by German intelligence agencies and reconnaissance planes, both Accado and Rundstedt felt that landing in the southeastern part of the UK, that is, the Norwich area, was the safest way. If the German army captures the two cities of Norwich and Ipswich, then even if Germany has gained a firm foothold in the UK, London will be nothing more than a bag.

Of course, landing in the Norwich area also has a more troublesome place, that is, the Stuka bomber can only stay here for a short time after flying here. This is one of the main reasons why the British side did not pay attention to the defense of the Norwich area. Because Montgomery believed that if the German army landed at Norwich, then Germany's air superiority would be offset by half.

But no one knows that the Luftwaffe already has a new type of attack aircraft called the Stuka 2 in service, and no one knows that the German paratroopers were ordered to capture several nearby British airports after they airborne in the Norwich area, preparing to forcibly establish a front-line field airport , to ensure more timely air cover.

No one thought that the High Seas Fleet of the German Navy had already detoured the North Atlantic with five battleships, preparing to rush to the scheduled landing site to cover the German landing force. The naval aviation composed of these four aircraft carriers had more than 130 Stuka bombers. Offset the trouble caused by the Norwich area to the Luftwaffe due to distance problems.

On February 12, the German Air Force bombed Dover on a large scale, blowing the port city into ruins, and 200 bombers of various types bloodbathed the coastline defense positions near Dover. The British government ordered the army to start full-scale martial law, and relevant departments estimated that the possibility of Germany landing the next day was as high as 90%.

As a result, on February 13, the large-scale landing of the Dover German army that the British had been waiting for did not come. Instead, because of the weather, not even a German plane could be seen. However, on this day, the 100,000 German troops in the port of Rotterdam came out in full force, riding a huge fleet of cruise ships ranging in size from thousands of tons to barges ranging in size from hundreds of tons, and rushed towards their scheduled destination. attack target.

The wind was cold and the waves were huge. Soldiers vomited on the heaving ship holding their weapons. Everyone didn't know whether this landing operation would usher in success. They could only wait, wait, and pray for a good weather tomorrow morning.

"Report!" An officer rushed into Montgomery's office in a hurry, and took a telegram on the general's desk: "General! An urgent message from our intelligence personnel, the German army deployed in the port of Rotterdam Army troops are out to sea in ships!"

Montgomery stood up abruptly, walked to the front of the map, rested his chin and stared at the possible landing sites, and murmured softly, "It's finally here! Where exactly is it? Is it Dover... or Brighton? "

"Order the troops to cancel the vacation! All officers must return to their combat posts within one hour! Inform the Air Force to send a reconnaissance plane, and must find the German Navy's transport fleet! In addition, the artillery on the coastline is on alert, ready to meet the German landing forces !" Montgomery, who decided to send soldiers to cover up the water and earth, withdrew his thoughts and ordered.

"Also! Call the air defense force, don't save any strength, take out all your wealth and prepare for the battle. Call the Prime Minister, the possibility of the German army landing in the next 24 hours is 100%! Let him prepare, command The entire British anti-landing operation. The outcome depends on it!" He thought for a while and said: "That's all, let's arrange it immediately!"

Sure enough, as predicted by the German Meteorological Department, in the evening of February 13, the weather improved and the sky was clear. Akado stood in Rotterdam's original palace of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, looking at the horizon where the sea meets the sky not far away, and his heart was full of heroism - after some entanglement, he finally made his bet. Now Germany's national fate will be decided after tomorrow's World War I. Whether it becomes the world's hegemon or commits suicide squatting in the basement, the answer will soon be known.

Anna came from behind Akado holding a coat, and helped Akado put it on his shoulders. Now she prefers to be that little woman leaning on the big tree of Akado, and what she wants to do the most is to wait by Akado's side and see an indifferent result.