Located in the Midlands of England, Birmingham is the second-largest city in the UK, only surpassed by London. As the world's largest metalworking area and the manufacturing center of Britain, it boasts developed industries in black metallurgy, non-ferrous metallurgy, machine tools, aircraft, chemicals, and military. Throughout the year, the city is almost always shrouded in smoke, but this does little to deter the bombings by the German Luftwaffe. Since late October, except for about half the rainy days, the German bomber fleet has frequently visited the area. The Royal Air Force (RAF) has been striving to protect this pulsating "heart." In just two months, both sides have engaged in more than a dozen intense aerial battles over Birmingham, with over five occasions involving more than a hundred aircraft. As a result, the fields surrounding the city are scattered with many aircraft wrecks, and the number of combat aircraft lost by the German Luftwaffe here is second only to Liverpool!
On December 21, 1940, just four days before Christmas, the German landing forces entrenched in the south of England suddenly launched a fierce attack. The seemingly sturdy frontline of the British army was quickly breached, and the main German forces bypassed the heavily fortified London defense ring. Armored units sped through the highways and fields of England. By around 4 p.m., the reconnaissance company of the "Führer Escort Guard" brigade, departing from Cardiff, appeared on the outskirts of the small town of Kasher in the southwest of Birmingham, only 33 kilometers away from the city center!
"Oh God, the Germans are advancing too fast! Don't they ever worry about running out of fuel?" Colonel George Maxey tightly gripped his binoculars atop the church tower. In his line of sight, several German armored vehicles lingered on the edge of a small grove beyond shooting range. Although the large cluster of German armored units had not yet appeared, his hand, adorned with black leather gloves, was already trembling slightly.
In terms of strength, the "Royal Irish Regiment" was not inferior to the best mechanized infantry units of the German Wehrmacht. They had been stationed here for four weeks, and the defenses built around the town were basically complete. They also had the firepower support of an independent artillery company. However, Colonel Maxey had no confidence in stopping the onslaught of the German armored groups—these soldiers recruited mainly from Northern Ireland would not have much determination to defend a city in England!
"From Cardiff or Bristol to here is almost 120 kilometers. With the range of German tanks, they should be running out of fuel by now! Maybe... we can launch a counterattack while they refuel?" The tall officer with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing the insignia of a British Army Major, had high cheekbones and a sharp gaze, giving the impression of a fearless and ruthless demeanor.
"Lor, a bold attack must be based on a correct assessment of the situation. If our armored units leave the town and roam the open fields, I guarantee that by nightfall, at most one-third of the tanks and armored vehicles will be operational! The German Stuka is like a crow of death hovering in the sky. We must hold our ground here. There will be a chance for a counterattack after nightfall!" The Colonel emphasized solemnly without taking his eyes off the binoculars.
"But by then, the Germans will have refueled and rearmed their tanks and armored vehicles!" The Major's tone was anxious.
"Balancing the pros and cons, Lor!" The Colonel admonished with deep conviction.
"Yes, sir!" The young and handsome Major reluctantly replied.
A few minutes later, the Colonel finally lowered his somewhat sore arm and turned to his deputy, "Do you think they'll charge into our minefield?"
"No!" The Major's response was as cold as iron.
The atmosphere became somewhat awkward. Colonel Maxey, now in his twilight years, paused for a moment, "Yes, the Germans are not fools. As for the outcome, it will be revealed tonight! Let's go! Let's have a cup of hot coffee and wait for those Germans!"
The Major said nothing, but as Colonel Maxey turned away, a trace of disdain appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Before they could finish their cup of hot coffee, the sentries on the front lines issued a warning: a large number of German tanks were spotted in the southwest!
Colonel Maxey hurriedly left his command post to see for himself, but the jarring sound of the air raid siren sounded untimely. Also from the southwest, a vast number of black dots appeared in the sky. Within minutes, the iron wings of German warplanes loomed overhead: 17 Messerschmitt single and twin-engine fighters, 15 Stukas, 12 Ju-88s. The deafening roar was dizzying, and the dark bombs fell with terrifying screams.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It was as if someone was deliberately pounding war drums in their ears. Nearby windows shattered one after another, and the slight tremor of the ground transmitted through bones and nerves to the heart, making some unfortunate souls feel they might be on the verge of cardiac arrest.
In the pitch-black air raid shelter, Colonel Maxey looked ashen. At this moment, the Major squatting beside him seemed to be secretly mocking the old man's rigid mindset. As early as the May campaign on the Western Front, the German armored units had demonstrated unprecedented power and speed in warfare. The forces of Guderian and Rommel, the two armored geniuses, had successively created the unprecedented speed of battlefield marches—the former's three armored divisions advanced 80 kilometers in a single day, and the latter surged an astonishing 100 kilometers in 23 hours when rushing to the coast!
Records are made to be broken. After the conclusion of the Dunkirk campaign in the "Red Plan," faced with the demoralized French army, the German armored units raced westward to the southwest. However, the French surrender diverted people's attention from this historic victory, and few paid attention to how far the fastest armored division under Kleist's command had traveled in a single day.
Ten hours, 120 kilometers. This was not the theoretical limit of tank battlefield marches, especially for a special unit like the "Führer Escort Guard" brigade. With the return of Dieterich, who had recovered from his injuries, everyone was back in a fervent combat state, eager to be ahead of time. The relentless attacks quickly yielded results. They broke through the Leidbery line defended by two British infantry corps in just one hour. At the railway hub of Worcester between Cardiff and Birmingham, the Wehrmacht's Panzer IV clashed once again with their old nemesis, the Matilda II. This time, as the first unit in the German armed forces to be equipped with the IV-F2, the "Führer Escort Guard" brigade tasted the sweetness brought by the new concept: the 43-caliber 75mm long-barreled gun, when using armor-piercing shells, saw its armor-piercing capability increase exponentially. These true tank killers knocked open the frontal armor of the Matilda at a distance of 400 meters. However, not all British infantry tanks were destroyed by the Panzer IV—brave Waffen-SS infantry not only defeated the British infantry but also used the "Panzerfaust" anti-tank rocket launcher with a range of only 50 meters to take out a platoon of Matilda IIs. As for the extraordinary casualties, the officers of the Waffen-SS never cared!
As soon as the German air raid ended, the first wide-tracked Panzer IV had already entered the British minefield. The fervent spirit did not make these steel killers invincible. The leading tanks were successively blown up by anti-tank mines, but the Panzer units of the Waffen-SS did not retreat. Commanding the tanks, they began to maneuver to the sides. After numerous attempts, at the cost of more than 20 tanks, the following tanks finally reached the edge of the minefield, with a large number of wheeled armored fighting vehicles and half-track armored personnel carriers quickly following suit. At this point, the freshly refueled Assault Gun Battalion also joined the battle. This large group of "fanatics" completely disregarded the fierce anti-tank artillery fire on the British positions and bravely launched an assault. Within half an hour, they crossed the battlefield and breached the British trenches.
The Royal Irish infantrymen with their royal titles could not withstand such an assault. Many of them dropped their weapons and ran towards the town, while those who couldn't run surrendered.
The sudden change in the battlefield situation left Colonel Maxey with no choice. Four Matilda IIs, two Matilda Is, and nine Cruiser II tanks hastily rushed into the battlefield. Although they could still use buildings to avoid some of the German firepower, in direct steel-to-steel collisions, their weak firepower and cautious tactics suffered greatly. The Panzer units of the Waffen-SS, which first entered the town, went on a rampage, killing over a hundred British infantrymen in five minutes and destroying two thinly armored Cruiser tanks in passing. However, several of their own tanks were destroyed by British tanks and anti-tank guns.
Then, the low-profile Type A Sturmgeschütz stormed into the city. In the intense urban warfare, vehicle number 030 performed exceptionally bravely, smashing three British Cruiser tanks and destroying a Matilda II at close range within 15 minutes. Its commander was none other than the future renowned Michael Wittmann! (In history, this Tiger Ace had destroyed more than 20 Soviet tanks while serving in the Assault Gun Battalion, especially in the Battle of Kursk, where he destroyed seven T-26s in 28 minutes. If he had stayed in the Assault Gun Battalion, he would have undoubtedly become the most outstanding Panzer III killer in the German army!)
The rapid fall of Kasher made the British commanders who were attempting to use Birmingham's vast and complex urban area for key defense feel terrified. Once this industrial town and railway hub fell into the hands of the Germans, the armored units of the Wehrmacht could fully utilize their speed advantage to launch rapid raids on any target in England. From Birmingham to Liverpool and Borkenhead, the distance, according to railway mileage, was exactly 120 kilometers!
As the large-scale ground offensive and deep airborne operations of the German army continued, the British Joint Operations Command finally faced the ultimate choice: either abandon the south and retreat to Scotland with full force, or commit the strategic reserve to a decisive battle with the German army in England. At this moment, many people were asking themselves: if I were a decision-maker in Britain, what choice would I make?