Amidst the slanting wind and drizzle, a massive fleet of more than fifty ships was sailing steadily at 12 knots on the sea south of Iceland. In recent times, most German submarines had concentrated in three areas: the North Sea, the English Channel, and the Celtic Sea, providing cover and support for the German military's landing operations. The previously perilous North Atlantic had entered a rare period of calm. For two consecutive weeks, only four merchant ships had been sunk each week. Compared to the vast British merchant fleet, such losses were negligible.
However, as they approached closer to the British mainland, the vigilance of this transport fleet became increasingly tense. The lead cruiser launched Walrus-type seaplanes for nighttime patrols, while twelve destroyers formed anti-submarine formations around the fleet. Observant individuals could easily notice that half of these destroyers had a typical American style with "flush deck." In early September, the United States and Britain had signed the "Destroyer Base Exchange Agreement." These aging destroyers were supposed to participate in escort operations after being equipped with sonar and anti-submarine bomb launchers. However, due to the near annihilation of the British home fleet in the Battle of the English Channel, the number of cruisers and destroyers available to protect the British coastline was severely insufficient. They couldn't even dispatch enough destroyers and minesweepers promptly enough to break through the German blockade line in the Bristol Channel!
In addition to dispatching light combat vessels to the mainland, this large fleet also carried much-needed combat weapons for the British mainland garrison: 60 vehicles equipped with Canadian-made anti-tank guns (6-pounder, 57mm caliber), 130 active and surplus 1918-model 155mm howitzers from the US military, 40 M2-type 105mm howitzers recently introduced by the US military, 200,000 Lee-Enfield rifles, 200 Allison V-1710-19 aircraft engines, and a large quantity of ammunition.
Undoubtedly, the arrival of these weapons would greatly strengthen the defense capabilities of the British mainland. Of course, the cost of wartime armaments was staggering. According to the American principle of "cash and carry," the gold reserves of the British government were flowing into the treasury of the United States and the pockets of arms dealers at an unimaginable speed!
With four hours of sailing left to reach the Scottish coast, the fleet was suddenly alarmed, and sailors and crew members cast vigilant gazes over the sea. However, this time, the attackers were no longer the cold-blooded submariners. Two large German warships - the "Gneisenau" and the "Prinz Eugen" - had hidden in the Norwegian Sea for four days before suddenly speeding out of the Danish Straits at 30 knots. Their swift actions were like cheetahs on the African savannah, and the British fleet instantly turned into a pitiful herd of antelopes. Although there were still "prehistoric giants" among the escort vessels, such as the "Revenge," the German fleet cunningly avoided the frontal defense of the British vessels and launched a fierce bombardment on the rear of the fleet with their long-range naval guns. During the battle that lasted for more than two hours, the British lost one destroyer, three large transport ships, and five other transport ships were damaged to varying degrees. Before dawn, the two German warships sped away from the battle at full speed, heading deep into the vast Atlantic Ocean.
Commanding this German long-range attack formation was Admiral Kurt Lütjens, the most outstanding fleet commander of the German Navy. Although sinking with the Bismarck was considered unlucky in history, his naval command capabilities were well demonstrated in battles such as sinking the HMS Glorious aircraft carrier in the Norwegian campaign and leading the Scheer sister ships in later operations in the Atlantic. Apart from Admiral Karl Dönitz, he could be regarded as the best fleet commander of the German Navy in World War II, haha!
Since the pocket battleship "Graf Spee" was sunk, the British Navy's sea lines of communication once again faced the challenge of German surface vessels. However, this time, a large number of famous ships, including the "Hood," the "Repulse," and the "Queen Elizabeth," could no longer appear in the lineup for naval operations. The Royal Navy could not even put together a fleet capable of matching the speed and firepower of the German two ships for pursuit.
September 27, 1940, Friday, overcast.
Escorted by six BF-109E fighters, a Ju-52 transport plane landed slowly at Southampton Airport. Infantry General Ernst Busch became the first senior German military commander to set foot on British soil during the war (suddenly reminded of the unfortunate Rudolf Hess). Of course, the arrival of this corps commander was not for sightseeing or to boost morale for the soldiers. The headquarters of the German 16th Army had arrived earlier and set up its command post in Southampton, directly commanding the more than 200,000 German troops landing in southern England. If we include the 36th Infantry Division landed in Cardiff, the total force has reached 220,000.
After a series of battles, the strength of the British Army had decreased to 250,000, and with the emergency mobilization of combat units from the dominions and colonies, the total number barely reached 300,000.
General Busch had a standard Germanic face and was a traditional military man with a firm approach to warfare. His tactics had already been recognized by the high command during the Polish and French campaigns. When this 55-year-old pragmatist arrived in Britain, his first order was to attack!
Armored and infantry divisions were decisively thrown into the attack - the 4th Armored Division and the newly arrived 5th Armored Division were both the second batch of tank divisions formed by the German Army in 1938, primarily equipped with Panzer II and Panzer III tanks, with only one company of Panzer IV tanks each. Although their equipment was somewhat inferior to the "Führer's Guard" Regiment, the tankers of the German Army were experienced in combat, and their coordination was skillful. The commanders were also familiar with their counterparts in the infantry divisions, and they had harmonious relationships. The 17th, 21st, 24th, 73rd, and 82nd Infantry Divisions were all old units under Busch's command, proficient in both field and trench warfare. After the rest period following the French campaign, they were well-rested and high in morale.
The German army first sent troops eastward. On September 28th, Portsmouth was captured; on the 29th, Bognor Regis was captured; on the 30th, Littlehampton was captured. The German troops landing on Britain squeezed all their mobile forces into a hard iron fist, swiftly approaching the core area of the British mainland defense - the Greater London Defense Circle.
Britain trembled!
Just as the British mainland forces began to reinforce the Midhurst area in the southwest of the Greater London Defense Circle, the German army suddenly advanced along the railway line (although there were no trains to ride, the railway track bed was harder than ordinary sandy roads, making it easier for tank units to march in rainy weather) from the night of September 30th to the afternoon of October 1st, capturing Aldershot, Petersfield, Winchester, and Andover. After a brief rest, the powerful armored group continued to advance northwestward. By the afternoon of October 2nd, the leading forces of the German 4th Armored Division had advanced to Bath, 20 kilometers from Bristol. Once the Germans occupied Bristol, it meant that the entire England would be cut in half. What's more deadly was that the German troops on both sides of the Bristol Channel would achieve "north-south sea passage" within the "Bristol Sea Blockade Line"!
The British military high command was shocked!
The British army units assembled within the Greater London Defense Circle could no longer hold back. On the night of October 2nd, they dispatched one armored brigade and two infantry divisions towards Portsmouth, intending to cut off the "tentacles" of the German landing forces extending from the east to the defense circle around the British capital. However, this move fell right into Busch's hands. The 21st Division, commanded by General Otto Spohr, had already built two defense lines on the outskirts of Portsmouth. When the British army attacked, they abandoned the outer defense line after a brief resistance, but they put up a fierce defense relying on the solid buildings in the harbor area, thwarting the British army's desire for a quick victory. By midnight, the "Führer's Guard" Regiment, which had rested for a week, launched an attack from Southampton like a tiger descending a mountain, swiftly flanking the rear of the attacking British forces. Meanwhile, a detachment of the 5th Armored Division, which was ambushed in Littlehampton, also suddenly appeared on the flank of the British army. With the German army flanking from both sides, they dealt a heavy blow to the British 4th Army, which had more than 30,000 regular troops, if it hadn't been for the timely deployment of reserve troops by the British army to reinforce, these more than 30,000 British regular troops would have been swallowed up by the German army in one breath!
On October 3rd, the German army launched a general attack on Bristol. The armored forces broke through the city's outer defense line in just three hours. However, the more than 20,000 British soldiers and a large number of second-line militia stationed here did not surrender or retreat to the north. Instead, they launched a desperate resistance relying on the sturdy buildings in the city. Their Molotov cocktails, flamethrowers, and anti-tank grenades temporarily stopped the German 4th Armored Division south of the Frome River. At a critical moment, the German Navy cruiser "Emden" shelled the British positions in Bristol Bay, while the surviving German torpedo boats also escorted 16 ships from Cardiff upstream, and more than 900 infantrymen from the German 26th Division quickly landed in the western part of the city. Their sudden appearance disrupted the British deployment and prompted the militia to launch a desperate counterattack. After a fierce battle, more than 3,000 British militia soldiers fell in the streets, and the streets were filled with blood!
On the main battlefield, with the breakthrough of the German 73rd and 82nd Infantry Divisions into the urban area, the experienced German infantry swiftly advanced in the heavy rain, and the close-quarters combat quickly entered a white-hot stage. In some neighborhoods, the battle unfolded building by building, and the German soldiers used the new "Panzerfaust" anti-tank rocket launchers allocated to them. These single-handed weapons with limited range but powerful firepower played an unimaginable role in urban combat!
Before nightfall, a tank company belonging to the German 4th Armored Division advanced to the front of the landing position of the 26th Division, which strategically meant that the "Wrath of the Sea God" plan had successfully entered its final stage, and the Battle of Britain had finally entered a new phase!
On October 8th, the German 7th Paratrooper Division, the 22nd Airborne Division, along with the Army's 36th and 21st Divisions, set off from Cardiff and quickly captured Barry, Bridgend, and Talbot Harbour in the southern part of the Welsh Peninsula, expanding the occupation zone of the Bristol Bay on the north shore tenfold. With the 82nd and 160th Infantry Divisions of Busch's 9th Army crossing the Bristol Bay through maritime transportation and landing on the north shore, the German airborne troops, who had experienced multiple battles, began to withdraw to the German occupation zone in southern England for a brief rest. What awaited them next would be larger-scale battles.