The decisive battle against the Third Reich - Chapter 898

c895 trap

The worse was yet to come.

Just as Brigadier General William was leading the paratroopers to escape in the water, searchlights suddenly lit up in several directions, and then dense gunfire followed. Bullets “swooshed” along the light of the searchlights, knocking the paratroopers to the ground one by one.

Then there were flares, mortar shells, etc., illuminating groups of panicked American soldiers and then bombing them into the sky in groups… The water columns that rushed up into the sky could not be distinguished as white water or red blood, and there was chaos everywhere.

The US military was in an awkward situation at this time.

Because they were in the water, they moved slowly, and they could not lie down to avoid the flying shrapnel and bullets. What was worse was that their heavy equipment instantly lost its function in this situation… For paratroopers, mortars and heavy machine guns were heavy equipment, but the sea water had flooded over their waists, so all of these could not be set up unless their mortars and heavy machine guns could be fired as usual in the water.

All the American soldiers could do was to blindly shoot at the enemy with rifles and submachine guns, but this obviously didn’t have much effect.

“Keep attacking!” Brigadier General William ordered loudly: “We have no way to retreat!”

Brigadier General William was right, because the sea water was rising continuously, if they didn’t attack and occupy a high ground, they would just stay there and drown.

“God!” Brigadier General William said: “The Germans were well prepared, and we fell into their trap!”

Brigadier General William guessed right, the Germans had foreseen this long ago, and they even went through careful mapping and calculations, and clearly knew how long it would take to flood to what height after the gates were opened, so they built fortifications in suitable locations to prepare for dealing with American paratroopers.

However, American paratroopers still had a chance.

The reason was that the paratroopers were scattered, and they were everywhere when the wind blew them, and it was impossible for all the paratroopers to land accurately at the designated location and get into trouble.

In addition, the paratroopers were all elites selected from various units and well-trained, so these scattered paratroopers surrounded the high ground occupied by the German army without anyone commanding them and launched an attack… This may be a little unimaginable for other units, but it is normal for paratroopers, whose mission is to parachute behind enemy lines and conduct special operations.

Under the heroic fighting of these paratroopers, they even captured several high grounds and opened a breakthrough in the encirclement to rescue the trapped American troops.

But their suffering did not end there, because the “French guerrillas” appeared next.

According to the agreement with the Allies in advance, the “French guerrillas” used one long and two short whistles to contact the American paratroopers. The American paratroopers did not know what was going on, and they responded with whistles while moving closer to the German army, and then suddenly… gunshots rang out all around.

What’s more, the American paratroopers even met with the “French guerrillas” wearing civilian clothes in the dark, but when they turned around, they found that the guerrillas raised their guns and pointed them at them one by one.

This chaos lasted until dawn.

Some were drowned, some were killed by explosions in minefields, some were pierced by sharpened stakes, some were killed by German guns, and some were killed by their own guns in the chaos.

Only some American paratroopers gathered in the woods and orchards in the countryside and were lucky enough to hold on until dawn.

However, the airborne operation was obviously a failure. They could not even guarantee their own safety, let alone occupy bridges, destroy roads and block German reinforcements.

“What’s going on?” Eisenhower paced around the headquarters anxiously: “The Germans seem to have been prepared. Does this mean that our strategic deception has been discovered by them?”

“That’s impossible, General!” Halke replied while wearing glasses and reading the telegram: “The failure of our parachute landing was mainly because we did not find that the Germans had already prepared to flood the low-lying areas. This was obviously Rommel’s method, and this method did play some role… But as we said before, Rommel always believed that we would land on the Brittany Peninsula and actively make various defensive preparations there.”

Eisenhower nodded in agreement.

It has long been no secret that Rommel and the commander-in-chief of the Western Front have great differences. This is not only a difference in views, but also a struggle between different classes in Germany.

So, it is normal to suffer losses and resistance in the Brittany Peninsula. After all, that is Rommel, Rommel who frightened the Allies in Africa.

After thinking for a while, Eisenhower ordered: “Begin the landing!”

“General!” The staff officer said to Eisenhower: “Before that, I think you’d better say a few words to all the landing troops!”

Eisenhower nodded, then walked to the microphone and said in a low voice: “All the warriors of the Allied Army, Navy and Air Force! You are about to set out to participate in the “Great Crusade” that has been prepared for many months. The whole world is watching you, and the freedom-loving people all over the world are always looking forward to you and praying for you. Together with the brave Allies and comrades on other fronts, you will definitely destroy the German war machine, eliminate Germany’s cruel rule over the oppressed people in Europe, and ensure the security of our free world!”

“Your mission is not easy. Your enemies are well-trained, well-equipped, and tenacious in combat. They will fight you to the death!”

“But I believe that with the support of people all over the world who yearn for freedom and peace, you will surely rush forward to the enemy and move towards victory!”

“Peace to you, warriors! Let us pray to the Almighty God to bless this great and glorious cause! Go forward and win!”

The Allied soldiers on the transport ship cheered loudly.

Then, when the eastern sky gradually turned pale, the American soldiers climbed down like a pile of ants by feeling the net ropes on the transport ship, and then boarded the landing craft below with difficulty in the wind and waves to assemble near the coast to make final preparations.

At 5:30 in the morning, the naval guns carried out the last wave of firepower preparations.

The shells covered the sky and flew over the heads of the American soldiers on the landing craft with a whistle towards the German coastal defense positions, and then exploded into balls of flames on the seashore.

Then all the soldiers knew that the bombed places were where they would land and fight fiercely with the Germans.

“Let’s go!” With an order, the landing craft rode the wind in the rolling waves, and the bow was thrown up by the waves from time to time as if it was about to turn over.

But the American soldiers’ attention was not here. They were thinking about what would greet them on the other side of the sea!