The long-lost sunlight bathed the land and sea, allowing the clouds in the sky to exhibit a sacred and majestic aura like that of celestial mountains. The presence of a large group of aircraft filled the airspace, infusing a unique vitality into the realm that was once reserved solely for gods and birds.
As the dark silhouette of the Isle of Wight emerged on the sea surface, Logan's glider had been airborne for only 25 minutes. The sky above the island was filled with countless black dots, indicating that the British anti-aircraft firepower was fully engaged in resisting the German air raids. However, the prominent large gray-white smoke columns in the east and south of the island also clearly indicated the achievements of the German Luftwaffe!
"Colonel, the 2nd Battalion has successfully seized the harbor and docks of Yarmouth. Several gunboats that resisted in the harbor have been completely destroyed by Stuka bombings, not one escaped!"
During the flight, Karen Molt and Bruno Hartmann each "manned" a radio set, ensuring that information from all directions could be promptly relayed to Logan, the operational commander.
"The 1st Battalion has secured the docks of Portsmouth. A minesweeper in the harbor sank under bombardment, and a destroyer slipped away! However, they lost 19 men in the fierce battle!"
"Model Parachute Battalion, 3rd Company, sent a telegram. They have occupied the port of Newport, facing only slight resistance from local British forces!"
"Colonel, Lieutenant Jansen (Company Commander of Model Parachute Battalion, 2nd Paratrooper Company) sent a telegram. Due to insufficient troops, their second assault on Wootton was unsuccessful. Lieutenant Jansen is preparing for a new attack after consolidating more paratroopers!"
Regarding these reports, Logan mainly listened without speaking. In airborne operations, the complexity of the battlefield far exceeded that of army positional warfare. Therefore, airborne operations emphasized the personal command qualities and adaptability of frontline commanders. What rear commanders could often do was to deploy follow-up forces and coordinate air firepower support.
"Still no news from Major Schultz?" Logan murmured to himself. This 33-year-old officer was considered the best company-level commander in the 7th Airborne Division, with excellent performance in the battles of the Low Countries. Just last month, he was promoted from captain to major and still served as the commander of the 3rd Company of the 1st Paratrooper Regiment. The reason Logan requested to have his company assigned to the temporarily formed Airborne Assault Group was twofold: firstly, it was a valuable "legacy of friendship" left by "Hans Logan" to himself; secondly, Schultz's company, after reinforcement, was strong and morale was high. Moreover, the exchange of non-commissioned officers between them and the Model Parachute Battalion also ensured a high level of battlefield coordination between the two units!
Just over an hour ago, Karl Schultz, participating as a company commander, led his company as the vanguard force to be the first to parachute onto Newport Military Airport—the only large airport on the Isle of Wight. Their mission was very clear: to seize this airport by all means necessary! Once the runway was open to the German Air Force, follow-up forces could be continuously airlifted in. At ports such as Cherbourg, Le Havre, Brest, and Saint-Malo, four pioneer battalions of the "Fuhrer Guard Regiment" commanded by Dietrich had already boarded ships. His troops also had 6,000 men waiting to be transported to the Isle of Wight via sea and air transport. The Goring Division, with a total of 8,000 men, also needed to be transported to the Isle of Wight by ships collected from France and transport planes of the German Air Force—although airlift could only transport infantry and some light equipment, it undoubtedly far exceeded shipping in terms of time efficiency, especially in the early stages of the battle, where each German infantry platoon landing on the Isle of Wight could become a decisive force in the battle!
"Attention, we're about to release the cables!" Tobias's voice was loud, but not enough to cause panic. After two months of recuperation in the hospital, he and Grot were both eager for new battles like trapped beasts!
Looking forward from the front cockpit, the tail lights of Junkers Ju 52 were flashing. Since each aircraft maintained a safe distance from each other, forty or fifty of them occupied a vast space, a scene that was truly spectacular—if it were night, those within might have thought they had entered a constellation!
At the moment when the towing aircraft released the cables, the gliders only shook slightly, but what followed was exhilarating: the Ju 52s accelerated, climbed, and left the massive formation one by one, leaving the airborne column of DFS 230 light assault gliders even more orderly. Without the roar of engines, they were like a group of quiet birds, effortlessly flying without flapping their wings.
"There's the airfield ahead!"
With Tobias's shout, the world, which had been silent for a while, burst back into noise:
Directly ahead, the number of black flowers increased rapidly with the sound of explosions. Although the range of shrapnel was limited, the airflow in the nearby airspace was still heavily disturbed, causing the gliders to tremble in fear like birds seeing their natural enemies;
On the ground, the anti-aircraft guns, firing desperately, were like constantly igniting matchsticks. They were surrounded by square or circular sandbag emplacements, and almost everywhere, there were more or less scorched bullet holes. This indicated that Stuka's attacks were indeed fierce, but they could not completely solve the problem!
Struggling against the dizzying sensation of being jolted, Logan held his binoculars and carefully observed the situation at the airfield, especially around the runway. When he saw gray figures moving toward the eastern runway through the gaps in the smoke, he felt a slight thrill. Upon closer inspection, occasional flashes on the ground were markedly different from the firing of anti-aircraft guns. They should be grenades or anti-tank rocket launchers exploding—battles were still raging fiercely around the southeastern sides of the runway.
The gliders continued to tremble in the fluctuating airflow. As they approached the airfield, the resistance they faced became stronger and stronger. Not far away, a glider's wing was suddenly blasted off by an anti-aircraft shell nearby, and the entire aircraft irreversibly flipped and plummeted to the ground. In such a situation, the occupants of the aircraft had almost no chance of survival: this was the cruelty of airborne landings!
"Steady, everyone! Colonel! How about we land on the grass outside the easternmost runway?" Tobias shouted again.
Based on the recent observations, Logan already had a basic understanding of the situation at the airfield, but the information he had wasn't sufficient for him to make precise judgments. It was at this moment that two gliders from the same group had already landed on the grass near the runway—raising large clouds of dust as they did so. However, judging by their landing positions, it seemed to be relatively ideal.
There was simply no time for Logan to dwell on it: "Alright, we'll land over there! Everyone hold on tight!"
The glider made a slight dive, and just as it was about to touch the ground, the nose suddenly lifted sharply, followed by the sturdy skids underneath the fuselage making contact with the ground. For a moment, the shaking inside the cockpit was more intense than ever before, but this situation lasted only for a few seconds. When the shaking subsided, the aircraft tilted slightly to the left before stabilizing completely.
Outside the cockpit, there was a hazy scene, filled with dust kicked up during the landing. But the whizzing bullets seemed to be saying: "Hey, you German fools, welcome to the British arena of combat!"