Keiheiwen is a rather inconspicuous seaside town in southern England, located at the westernmost end of the Solent Strait, which separates the Isle of Wight from the British mainland. It is only 5 kilometers away from the Totland coast on the Isle of Wight, which is almost the narrowest part of the Solent Strait.
"Look, those damn German ships are laying mines!"
In a British military observation post near the coastline, a brown-haired Army private angrily reported to his companion, a slightly overweight sergeant nearing forty. Although the Germans had occupied the Isle of Wight for almost a month, their ships had mostly been unloading personnel and supplies in the southeastern and southern parts of the island. It was only yesterday that a large fleet of landing ships entered the strait for the first time. Initially, the British coastal artillery had fired, but under the joint attack of German dive bombers and heavy shore guns, the remaining British guns had to relent.
"Mines? No way!" The sergeant took the binoculars and looked serious for a while. "Damn it! They are indeed laying mines! But... what are they up to? Blocking the Solent Strait to prevent our fast boats from attacking? Then how do their own ships come and go?"
"Maybe... they are going east through the strait," the private said naively. "Shouldn't we call for our artillery to prevent them from laying the mines?"
"Don't be silly, it's daytime!" The sergeant tilted his head and easily spotted several German planes circling in the distance. Since gaining air superiority, German fighter planes occasionally carried bombs for ground attacks. In recent times, the Germans even brought their heavy-caliber shore guns to the Isle of Wight. Those unseen behemoths sounded like thunder when they fired!
"What should we do? They are definitely up to something!" The private grew increasingly anxious. In the strait, more than thirty small German ships were orderly laying mines from their sterns—previously, they had only done so at night. But without the threat of the British navy and air force, who could stop them now?
Every time a mine was dropped from the ship, large splashes would appear on the water's surface, followed by the disappearance of mines that looked somewhat like large sea urchins. Experienced naval personnel knew that these were drifting mines, highly mobile and extremely powerful upon contact. Even a battleship hitting one would suffer greatly!
"We can't do much about it!" the sergeant said, grabbing the phone next to him and promptly reporting what he observed to his superiors.
"Keep a close eye on the Germans' movements. As far as I know, they are also laying mines on the east side of the strait!" The voice on the other end of the phone sounded unusually heavy.
"I understand, sir!" After hanging up the phone, the sergeant realized that if the Germans were laying mines on the east side of the strait, wouldn't that mean the entire strait was being blocked off? No, they must have left a passage!
With this thought in mind, the sergeant quickly fetched paper and pen, instructing his subordinates, "Guys, we've been ordered to keep a close watch on those damn Germans. Better mark every single mine they lay! This could be crucial for us!"
As the intelligence of the Germans laying mines on both sides of the Solent Strait spread, the British task force, led by the heavy cruiser HMS Sussex, was swiftly navigating through the English Channel at a speed of 28.5 knots.
"I think they intend to completely block the strait, so that if we want to shell their landing positions, we'll have to fire from... 18 kilometers away, which would greatly reduce our accuracy! And the closer we get to the coast, the greater the chances of being hit by their bombers and shore guns!" speculated a tall, slim captain in his thirties.
Currently commanded by the experienced Royal Navy Colonel Cliff, this heavy cruiser with a displacement of 13,000 tons carried 912 officers and men, many of whom were seasoned veterans with over a year of service, and had experience fighting Germans in the Norwegian campaign.
Since receiving the order to sail out, Cliff had been ashen-faced. He said heavily, "As long as we can safely reach the waters near the Isle of Wight, this mission will be considered accomplished! Gentlemen, the likelihood of us returning alive is slim, but for our army brothers, for the honor of the Royal Navy, for the victory of this last-ditch counterattack, I believe we should bravely press on!"
The officers on the bridge responded passionately.
Taking a deep breath, Cliff's expression softened slightly. "Gentlemen, I personally believe that before the Germans block the strait, they should have already assembled a large number of ships inside, so that their troops and equipment can be directly transported ashore from the north of the Isle of Wight, with subsequent equipment being delivered from France to the south of the Isle of Wight! This is probably what the Germans have already taken into account when repairing the railway line on the Isle of Wight!"
"As you said, the German staff team is simply a terrifying war machine!" echoed the tall, slim staff officer.
Another young officer interjected, "It is said... they have a genius, an unknown Air Force colonel, very young, but highly regarded by the German leader. He has planned events including the Night of the 32nd Redoubt, the Calverton Corner Massacre, and the previous landing battle on the Isle of Wight. In today's Germany, he is already a well-known figure!"
"I know the person you're talking about, Hans Roggen! Our formidable opponent!" Cliff paused. "But besides God, no one is all-powerful!"
Before the debate on omnipotence could make sense, the lookout post's alarm drew the officers' attention to the current situation.
"Enemy aircraft sighted on the starboard side!"
Amidst the alarm, Cliff turned resolutely to the south. The expression on his face was reminiscent of the British infantry facing the Roman legions many years ago.
Heading their way were 29 Ju-87s, these clumsy birds, once they found an opportunity to attack and entered a dive, posed a considerable threat and destructive power to both land and sea targets. The British sailors on board did their best to maximize the firing rate of every gun and machine gun, but their anti-aircraft tactics remained relatively primitive. The swirling hail of bullets made it difficult to hit the Stukas diving head-on. Whenever one or several bombs fell nearby or even hit the deck, the warship's anti-aircraft firepower would significantly decrease, providing better opportunities for the German dive bombers behind.
Facing the well-trained Roman legions, the courage of the Britons was trampled; now facing the onslaught launched by two squadrons of German Stukas, the stubborn faces of the Britons were once again swollen. Bearing the name of an anti-aircraft cruiser, the HMS Coronet was the first to suffer heavy damage. A 500-kilogram aerial bomb almost blasted its bridge off. After a battle, 72 crew members, including Captain Solley, were killed, and over a hundred were wounded. Although the power systems were mostly intact, its combat effectiveness was reduced by more than half!
Knowing the fate of a damaged warship returning alone in such circumstances, Clive ordered the smoke-filled HMS Coronet to continue following the fleet towards the Isle of Wight.
Fifteen minutes later, the second wave of German bombers appeared, still consisting entirely of Ju-87s. A total of three squadrons, 46 aircraft, looked daunting from a distance, and the sound of their engines was already unsettling even before the formation approached.
Seeing the aggressive German formation, Clive adjusted the fleet formation: two destroyers led the way, with the HMS Coronet moving forward and the HMS Sussex at the rear, concentrating the main anti-aircraft firepower ahead of the vessels to support their damaged companions.
As expected, the German bombers focused their attention on the smoking HMS Coronet, but the first two Stukas in the dive were actually shot down by the firepower of the British fleet, trailing long tails of smoke into the sea. Sensing the unfavorable situation, the following dive bomber pilots adopted a tactic they had tried repeatedly in Poland and France: one group feigned a steep dive, while the other quietly approached from a distance at a 45-degree angle. When the bombs confused the enemy's attention, the first group dived accurately to deliver the final blow!
After a chaotic battle, the HMS Coronet was hit by three more bombs, and Acting Captain Hamust ordered the entire crew to abandon ship...
The German dive bomber formation immediately shifted its focus to the largest ship, the HMS Sussex. Bombs fell continuously nearby, creating a high and low "sea forest" of white water columns. However, the massive warship continued to maneuver rapidly on the sea surface, with its towering bridge frequently tilting at a 10-degree angle. With the efforts of the gunners, they managed to survive the German bombing without major damage. However, several near misses caused partial flooding in the lower compartments of the cruiser, slightly affecting its speed.
At 11:00 a.m., the remaining three British warships were attacked by the German air force for the third time, about 40 nautical miles west of the Isle of Wight. The attacking force still consisted of pure Stuka squadrons, but following them were 11 torpedo boats approaching from the direction of the French coast. They came like lightning and left like a fierce wind, launching torpedoes before swiftly retreating from the battlefield. In this battle, only the HMS Sussex and its companion, the HMS Express, remained able to continue forward.
At 11:40 a.m., just as the Isle of Wight was in sight, the British fleet suddenly came under inexplicable artillery fire. Large-caliber shells whistled through the air and erupted into huge water columns hundreds of meters away from the warships. Uninformed sailors even thought that large German surface vessels had sneaked into the strait. However, Clive reported to his superiors via telegram: "Two large-caliber coastal guns have been used by the Germans to carry out long-range shelling against our task force. Their firepower is immense, and the main fleet must be doubly vigilant!"
At 12:11 p.m., the E-class destroyer HMS Express was sunk by German bombers 17 nautical miles west of the Isle of Wight.
At 12:23 p.m., the HMS Sussex also capsized after suffering heavy damage from the German air force. Its sinking location was 12 nautical miles west of the Isle of Wight. In its final moments, the ship's 8-inch guns fired 22 shells towards the Isle of Wight, killing and injuring multiple German troops and destroying three German combat aircraft parked at a field airstrip.
Before the fleet was destroyed, the British seemed to only see the Stukas flying in the sky. As for those torpedo bombers hidden in French airfields or ports, they had not seen a single one so far - the most plausible reason being that the Germans had deployed the majority of their torpedo bombers to the north. After fully attacking the British secondary fleet, either they had not yet transferred, or they were in the process of transferring.