Four Hundred and Thirteen Valentine's Day

Boller took control of the small town of Bute, where the 1st Airborne Battalion then established its own headquarters. ⊙Then Bollor was ordered to take people in the reverse direction to the side of the beach where the German army landed, and destroy the British artillery positions there.

Although the large-scale artillery positions were killed by German planes in sevens and eighties, there are still some sporadic hidden British artillery positions still firing on the beach. These bombardments seriously slowed down the speed of the German landing forces going ashore, so the paratroopers were ordered to clear the troubles that these landing forces could not solve for a while.

After breakfast, the paratrooper company commander Boroll set off with his soldiers. They passed through the woodland composed of bushes and some small trees, and appeared mysteriously behind the British coastline defenders.

Even behind the line of defense, in order to prevent surprise attacks by German paratroopers who have repeatedly made great achievements in the Netherlands, the British coastline positions have been set up as a circular defensive position. At this moment, the beach is in full swing. It's cooler.

Because there was no surprise attack from behind by the German paratroopers as imagined, the British coastline defenders, who were short of troops, eventually mobilized most of the defense troops. Now, most of the remaining troops are recruits with no combat experience. A few sporadic machine gun positions.

The German paratroopers had already learned a lot about this ridiculous defensive method. A few machine gun positions were placed not far from the cannon. This kind of pediatrics continued from the Netherlands to France and was seen in the UK, which made Boroll feel a little annoyed. It was still the suppression of machine gun fire, it was still outflanking and then flanking, and it was still a one-sided result without any suspense.

When Boroll led his men into the British trench, there were only a dozen steaming corpses left. The British deployed a field howitzer on this artillery position hidden under a dozen big trees, about 5.5 inches of large-caliber howitzers, which looked very powerful.

The British artillery calibers of World War II were designed and manufactured according to inches, so they produced a bunch of very weird artillery calibers. For example, this 5.5-inch artillery should actually have a caliber of 140 mm, and its performance is higher than that of the same time. The early German 150mm cannons are more than a little worse, but they have a certain advantage in range.

This is also related to the difference in the design requirements of the artillery of the two sides. Based on the tactical basis of the rapid advance of the armored troops, Germany felt that the range of the artillery was not so important. Akado and his generals preferred to be able to accompany the tank troops to advance rapidly. artillery, so I prefer lightweight artillery. The British, on the other hand, paid more attention to the range of the artillery, and did not have too many requirements for data such as the weight of the artillery, so they were able to manufacture artillery with a longer range.

The paratroopers who don't know how to use these cannons can't leave the cannons to the British. After destroying the two cannons with explosives, Boroll led his soldiers and continued to advance sideways along the trenches and concrete fortifications. The man opened fire and killed them, destroying two British machine gun bunkers that were still unable to exert their force from behind in one breath.

"Set up machine guns here! Cover our attack on the high ground over there!" Boroll pointed to the high ground where a British machine gun bunker was located in the distance and said to his subordinates: "Fire non-stop! Disrupt their rhythm!"

With that distinctive machine gun sound,

The German paratroopers quickly rushed towards their first target. The British seemed to be disrupted. They did not expect the Germans to rush along the trenches, so most of the German paratroopers who intercepted the attack were Lee Enfield. Sporadic shots from rifles posed no threat at all.

Boroll leaned against the wall of the trench, dragged his MP-44 assault rifle, and fired at distant targets one by one. The body of the gun shook as it was ejected from the chamber, and the British soldiers not far away were hit by the bullet and shook. fell down.

"One! Two! One!" Boroll muttered, still pulling the trigger non-stop. Under his cover, two soldiers approached their target, took out a grenade, and threw it far away. British trenches.

"Boom! Boom!" Two grenades exploded in the trenches controlled by British soldiers, sending up a cloud of dust and smoke. Rubble and shrapnel scattered, taking the weapons and arms of the British soldiers into the sky.

Following two explosions, the German paratroopers stooped forward with their rifles in hand. A German paratrooper who was not in the trench was hit by a stray bullet and fell down shaking as soon as he jumped up. However, more German paratroopers rushed to the position, and the sound of gunfire was extremely dense.

By the time Boroll, Baru and others walked up to the high ground, the place had already been occupied by German paratroopers. Two bold soldiers erected a German flag on the top of the hill, and one of them was hit in the palm of his hand. Fly two fingers.

The German landing troops down the mountain saw the German flag, cheering, and soon the British garrison position here was penetrated, becoming the second British position to be penetrated. The dusty German paratroopers and the bloodstained landing troops joined hands in victory, and then fell back to back in the British trenches, panting loudly.

As they gasped, 60 Crusader helicopters whized overhead with weapons and special forces before landing vertically in some areas. Although 4 planes were shot down, the oppressive momentum caused the British defenders to lose their positions. A large number of defenders were killed by special forces that fell from the sky, and more people fled in panic, giving up the defense that could last for a long time. position.

The British defenders who had left their defensive positions were not even as good as the chickens that had lost their hens in front of the German elite. The massacre really started. Dozens of British defenders were killed in the process of escaping, and the loss rate of the British defenders skyrocketed.

Stationed in this sea area is the 1st Regiment of the 5th Division of the British 5th Army. Counting the coastline artillery unit directly under it, this regiment has more than 1,700 people, but now it has lost two-thirds of its defensive positions, and more than half of the losses have been lost. retreat. Of course, compared to the casualties they caused to the Germans, it can even be said to be a long-lost victory for the British.

The regiment killed 2,391 German soldiers at the cost of more than 850 dead. If it weren't for the terrain, these battle-hardened German soldiers were enough to defeat two or even one such new regiment.

However, as the retreat happened, the disaster of this regiment came. Although the helicopters were easy to suffer in positional battles with intact anti-aircraft firepower, they were simply magical weapons for chasing and killing troops that had already been defeated. A dozen helicopters circled overhead, and not a single British force escaped the coastline. As a result, the casualties of this British infantry regiment of more than 1,700 people rose from 850 to a terrifying 1,400 in one breath.

It is a pity that this is not the only bad news for the British 5th Army today. At 11:30, because of the shelling of French and Italian battleships, the headquarters of the British 5th Army was hit by shells. Half of the senior commanders were killed. As a result, the 5th Army's command system, which had already become a mess, became even more chaotic after 11:30, and failed to gather troops to form a complete resistance and counterattack against the German landing forces until 2:00 pm.

With the landing of German tanks and the landing of Colonel Duke, the commander-in-chief of the front line, the German troops played their due level. At 1:50 in the afternoon, the SS Acador Youth Corps entered Bakton and occupied the first small port on the beach. Loading and unloading became easier. At 3:00 in the afternoon, more than 60,000 German soldiers After landing on the British mainland, desperate news spread to the ears of the British one after another. For example, in the evening of that day, Germany's most elite armored force, the 2nd Armored Army, began to unload in Bakton.

The German paratroopers who helped the landing force take the beach were not idle. Boroll was ordered to rush back to the small town of Bit, because the British 4th Army had penetrated the outer line of defense and was close to Bit. Their purpose was to capture the small town of Bit. town, and recapture the all-important Bakton.

As night falls, Germany's air force and naval superiority will no longer exist. The British Royal Navy who got the news all left the port and rushed to the German landing field regardless of losses. Their purpose is very simple, relying on the night to raid the German landing fleet. The possible destruction of German transport ships will reduce Germany's follow-up replenishment capabilities.

Whether it was Churchill or Montgomery, whether it was Accador or Rundstedt, everyone knew that the following night was about winning and losing. Whether Germany can hold on to this long night without the cover of the navy and air force will be the key to whether Germany can defeat Britain and kick Britain out before the United States fails to react.

Watching the sun gradually set down the hillside, Boroll was holding an assault rifle with an indescribably calm expression on his face. He knew that this night would be full of blood and fighting, and he also knew that this night was equally important to the British and Germans. He can only fight desperately, survive this night desperately, and usher in the light and victory of the next day. He prayed that he would complete the task and bring honor back to his homeland.

On February 14, 1938, it was destined to be a bloody Valentine's Day. On the beach in Norwich, nearly 4,000 soldiers from both sides died, which proved that this Valentine's Day was different, and also proved that even in the most beautiful Even the most disastrous things happen on such days. This is war, and this is life like hell.

The Netherlands, Rotterdam, the former Dutch Royal Palace, the current head of state.

Akado held the phone and comforted his wife Mercedes in a soft voice: "My dear, I am really sorry that I couldn't spend this Valentine's Day with you... Well, I know you miss me very much too ...I send those soldiers to die, and all I can do is spend this beautiful holiday with these souls...Thank you, happy Valentine's Day...I love you as much as I love this country...

-------------

Today, many readers have seen the problems of artillery preparation before landing. Long Ling expresses his deep gratitude, adding more today, thanks to "Scholar" and other readers for their enthusiastic help! Thank you!