The British troops outnumbered the attacking paratroopers by far, and their resistance could be described as tenacious, but they were not frontline combat units. Their combat quality was far inferior to that of the German paratroopers.
"Machine gun! Suppress them!" Jonas shouted, pointing to a British position in the distance.
The German paratroopers continued with their signature tactic: using machine guns for suppressive fire while several combat teams flanked the enemy. From Poland to France and now Britain, the German paratroopers had mastered this tactic to perfection.
In the original timeline, a single MG42 machine gun could make enemies tremble at its sound, pinning down entire enemy units. Now, the attacking German paratroopers not only had MG3 machine guns but also an RPK light machine gun, their intense firepower immediately pinning down the British soldiers.
Meanwhile, other combat groups took advantage, rushing forward to throw grenades into the British trenches as they approached.
"Boom! Boom!" With smoke and flames from the explosions, they swarmed into the first line of British trenches.
Leaning against the trench wall, Jonas raised his gun to aim at a nearby British soldier but was beaten by a soldier next to him with an AKMS, whose 600 rounds per minute assault rifle turned the targeted Brit into a bloody mess.
Jonas then aimed at British soldiers further away, fleeing.
"One! Two! Three!" After three shots, there were no more standing British soldiers within his range. Against German paratroopers equipped with semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons, the British Lee-Enfield rifles posed little threat. After all, while it might be the fastest bolt-action rifle, it couldn't match the speed of semi-automatic or automatic firearms.
"Keep advancing!" Jonas led his team further along the trench, with the British soldiers retreating despite their numerical advantage.
They quickly cleared the first line of British trenches and, under machine gun cover, charged towards the second line.
Suddenly, a hidden British pillbox opened fire, its hot muzzle flashes sweeping across, momentarily suppressing the pursuing paratroopers.
There have been many debates in later years about the MG42's rate of fire from WWII, with some arguing that its 1,500 rounds per minute was excessively high and unnecessary, suggesting that a machine gun with 600-700 rounds per minute would suffice.
However, this relates to the battle environment. In modern warfare, there's no need for the mass charges seen in WWII, so sustained fire rather than high rate of fire is more crucial.
During WWII, high rate-of-fire machine guns were not only effective against mass charges but also advantageous for ambushes, allowing a rain of bullets before the enemy could react, increasing kill efficiency. Like now, the British low rate-of-fire machine gun ambushed, but after the first few shots, the German paratroopers had already taken cover, rendering subsequent shots less lethal. If it had been a German high rate-of-fire machine gun, the paratroopers would have paid a heavy price.
"Hoffmann! Machine gun pillbox at two o'clock! Take it out!!" Jonas ignored the bullets whizzing overhead, calmly reloading his FAL rifle while shouting to Hoffmann not far away.
Hoffmann nodded to acknowledge the order and aimed his 40mm six-shot revolver grenade launcher at the pillbox, firing two grenades.
After two loud explosions, the British machine gun fell silent.
"This kid's a genius!" Jonas couldn't help but praise. As the battle went on, Hoffmann handled the grenade launcher with increasing proficiency, almost hitting whatever he aimed at, often needing only one or two shots. Jonas now understood why Hoffmann, so young, was part of the elite paratrooper unit.
With the British machine gun silenced, the paratroopers hugging the ground leaped up, launching another assault. The British soldiers began to retreat, seemingly without the resolve to die here. However, they forgot that turning your back to the enemy during combat is a foolish move. The German paratroopers, showing no mercy, fired at the fleeing targets, causing them to fall with cries, until all was quiet again.
Jonas leaned against a cannon, catching his breath. The mission was complete; now they could rest.
After setting up sentries, he ordered the others to rest on the spot. After ensuring there were no oversights in the guard positions, he found a spot to take a nap but noticed Hoffmann reading a piece of paper intently. "Hoffmann, what are you looking at?"
They were behind enemy lines, where a fight could break out at any moment; this was a time to rest and recover.
Hoffmann waved the paper. "Found this on a British corpse; it's a letter to his two-year-old daughter. My father died in the last war. I wonder if he had a letter like this in his pocket when he fell." His eyes started to redden as he spoke.
"..." Jonas was taken aback. He hadn't known about Hoffmann's background, but this was the harsh reality of war - countless families shattered, many dying on the battlefield with their bodies hard to retrieve.
Moving to sit beside Hoffmann, Jonas patted his shoulder. "Definitely. No parent doesn't think about their children. They fought to give their offspring a better life. Although their wishes weren't fulfilled, we've gone far beyond their steps. If we win this war, Germany will become a thousand-year empire. Our children and grandchildren won't have to suffer through war."
Hoffmann sniffed, folded the letter carefully, and put it back into the envelope. "I'll give this letter to his daughter after the war."
"..." Although Jonas didn't think much of it, he said nothing, signaling Hoffmann to rest before closing his own eyes, soon falling into a rhythmic snoring.
While they rested, other paratrooper units were also systematically eliminating British artillery positions, showing what a true elite force could do. They broke through British positions that outnumbered them, destroying cannons and anti-aircraft guns one by one.
As British ground anti-aircraft defenses weakened, the Germans deployed numerous gliders. Unlike paratroopers who had to jump from transport planes and then find their units and weapons, these gliders carried soldiers organized into platoons, complete with heavy weapons, enhancing their combat effectiveness.