The Third Reich: I Became Emperor

Winchester, the German paratroopers have captured this important transportation route, cutting off the British army's transportation of supplies to the southwest.

However, due to limited manpower, after the paratroopers captured Winchester, they did not continue to expand their victory, but built temporary positions, and are now resisting the British counterattack.

The British troops who came to counterattack were not the original local garrison regiments, but real elites. Among them, there were also many veterans who withdrew from Dunkirk and had certain combat experience.

At least, it was impossible for the German army to defeat them in a short period of time, and they could only rely on the defense line to resist.

After two days of airborne replenishment, the combat capability of the paratroopers has been greatly improved, and each paratrooper is accompanied by automatic firearms.

Basically, it is rare to see bolt-action rifles, and even each squad has mortars, and there are even many bazookas.

Therefore, the attacking British army suffered heavy losses, which frightened many British soldiers.

"General, the casualties are too great. A British officer looked at the casualty report and couldn't help but say

"I know, but Winchester is very important, we must take it back."The British commander in charge of the attack, Major General Steven, said with a look of dismay.

To be honest, he didn't want to fight the Germans. He was a veteran who had withdrawn from Dunkirk. He was originally a lieutenant colonel, but because of his combat experience and the expansion of the army, he was promoted to major general.

"But……"The officer wanted to persuade him, but Steven waved his hand.

"Stop attacking and rest for half a day"

"Yes!"

Steven also knew that the morale of the troops had been greatly reduced at this time, and their fighting spirit was not high. They could only rest for half a day and wait for the morale to recover a little before considering the next attack.

With the order of Major General Steven, the retreat bugle sounded throughout the battlefield. The British troops who heard the bugle breathed a sigh of relief and retreated in alternating cover with each other, without any signs of panic.

"The Germans are still the same Germans."Steven muttered when he saw that the Germans did not take advantage of the situation to counterattack.

The Germans on the battlefield looked at this scene and said with emotion

"This British army still has some fighting power and has been able to fight us for three rounds."

"Yes, they could beat them in one round before, but now they can last three rounds in our hands, which shows that they are well trained."

"Indeed, although their offensive capabilities were not very good, they were very methodical when they retreated. I thought they could launch a counterattack."

The lieutenant next to them saw this and said with a smile,"Do you really think that all the British troops are useless? Look at their flags. They are obviously elite troops, and they are troops withdrawn from Dunkirk. They still have a certain understanding of us and are still capable of fighting.""

"Hey, Lieutenant, can you tell us how you chased the British army back then?" Someone couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Okay, stop asking. Let's clean up the battlefield and prepare for dinner. There won't be any fighting today." The lieutenant changed the subject.

At this time, it was already two o'clock in the afternoon. If the attack was to be reorganized, it would take at least until three o'clock. In addition to the artillery preparation, the formal attack would be launched at about four o'clock. If we fight casually, it would be dark. So the lieutenant judged that there would be no fighting in the afternoon.

Hearing this, many people smiled. This was a rare leisure.

Before the popularization of individual night market equipment, night battles rarely occurred. Unless it was an urgent mission, there was generally nothing to do, so people would avoid fighting in the dark.

At the German paratrooper headquarters, Student looked at the map and thought to himself.

"General, according to our prediction, the British army will definitely launch a fierce attack when daybreak comes. Winchester is a major transportation hub for both us and the British army. Most of their supplies are here."

"So the British army will definitely launch an attack at all costs tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. We may not be able to stop the British army's desperate attack with just our small number of people."The commander of the 1st Paratrooper Division pointed to the map and said.

Hearing this, Student nodded:"You are right, the British army will not give up this place, and the troops we have are indeed difficult to resist their desperate counterattack, so, do you have any good suggestions?"

"Counterattack, it is best to defeat the British troops in front of us before other British support troops arrive. We will have enough time to rest and then use airdrop to transport more troops."The commander of the 1st Paratrooper Division said loudly

"Well, you are right, but we can't do it alone. We need air support. I will send a telegram to the Supreme Command to request air support."Student nodded, indicating that he agreed with him.

"Notice to all troops to set up guard posts to prevent surprise attacks by the British"

"Yes!"

At this time, the communications staff came running over with a telegram, shouting"Great victory, great victory".

Hearing the great victory, many people were stunned.

"What great victory? Did they capture Dover?"

"Impossible, it's only been a few days, and the troops there are the best of the British Army, it's impossible for it to be so fast."

""General, it's a great victory. The Royal Fleet has been severely damaged and has lost its combat capability. We have won." The communications staff officer said excitedly while holding the telegram.

"What? The Royal Fleet was badly damaged?"Student was so shocked that he jumped up from his chair, not even caring that the cup in front of him was knocked over.

"Really, this is a general order from the Supreme Command." The communications staff handed over the telegram.

After reading the telegram, Student's breathing quickened a lot. This was really great news.

""Good, good, this is really great news. Without the Royal Fleet, the British army lost. Hahahaha, great. Immediately send this telegram to the entire army." Student said immediately.

"yes!���

As expected, when all the paratroopers learned that the Royal Fleet had been severely damaged, their morale reached its peak and there was a carnival on the battlefield. On the other hand, there was a wailing on the British battlefield.

"What? Our fleet was hit hard? We can't keep high pressure on the German fleet?"Major General Steven looked at the telegram in front of him with disbelief. He thought it was fake, but when he heard the cheers of the German army on the other side, he thought it was true.

"General, what should we do? Many British officers said with worried faces.

"What else can we do? Tell them the truth, and retreat another ten kilometers to prevent the German army from pursuing us."Steven closed his eyes in pain. He didn't expect it to be like this.

Without the Royal Fleet, it would be absolutely impossible to defend the British Isles.

But as a soldier's honor and responsibility, he must recapture Winchester, but looking at the horrified expressions of his subordinates, he knew that morale had completely collapsed and he could only retreat now.

Because the British army retreated ten kilometers overnight, the offensive on the second day was also delayed. The German army was originally on high alert.

Now that the British army has retreated, it means that the distance between the two sides has also widened. If the German army wants to counterattack, it has to cross ten kilometers before it can launch an attack.

But the physical strength consumed in this way will also increase exponentially. Considering that the British army still has armored forces, Student decided to abandon the offensive on the second day.

Although Student temporarily changed the combat plan, the Air Force arrived over Winchester on time.

"The Air Force is now more and more punctual"

"Yes, in the past it was delayed by at least half an hour."

"It seems that Marshal Catherine has done a good job.

Indeed, since Marshal Catherine took over as the Air Force Commander, the efficiency of the Air Force has indeed improved a lot, and many problems have been reduced.

""Sir, what should we do now? Is the plan still going on?" A paratrooper officer at the German headquarters asked, looking at the fighter planes in the sky.

They had just received news of the British army's retreat, so the original battle plan was scrapped. It was a distance of ten kilometers, and without a truck, running there would have been exhausting.

"Let's wait and see how effective the air force bombing is. However, in order to ensure the offensive posture, we should form a commando team to teach these British troops a lesson."Student thought about it and decided to send a small team.

"Yes!"The commander of the 1st Airborne Division had no objection to this. Air superiority meant that they had the initiative on the battlefield.

Soon, the unique bombing sound of the Stuka bombers was heard, and thick black smoke rose from the British positions.

In order to support the Airborne Division, Marshal Catherine made a great effort. In name, the Airborne Division was still under the jurisdiction of the Air Force.

Marshal Catherine naturally did her utmost to support this very proud unit.

The first batch of bombers had a formation of thirty aircraft, and there were two more bombing batches to come.

Due to the shortage of fuel, being able to dispatch thirty fighter planes was already the biggest move, but as the news of the Royal Fleet being severely damaged spread, several younger brothers of the Third Reich also began to use their stocks to support the German army.

But it can only alleviate the problem temporarily. If you want to completely solve the fuel problem, you can only take North Africa.

"There was no fighter escort this time? Is the Air Force so arrogant now?"A German paratrooper looked up at the Stuka bombers ravaging the British positions and said in surprise

"The British fighter planes were beaten so badly that they dared not take off, how dare they come to harass us?"Someone said disdainfully.

At this moment, Major General Steven felt like a knife was twisting his heart. Without the cover of fighter planes, he could only watch one tank after another being destroyed by the Stuka bombers.

"General, we can't go on like this. If we continue like this, we will collapse before the Germans attack."The British officer next to him saw this and roared angrily.

"What exactly does the Air Force do? Where are the planes? Why are there no planes?"

"Without air superiority, no matter how many tanks you have, they will just be a waste of your resources."

"There will be no planes coming. Even the Royal Fleet was defeated. The Air Force dares not attack."

"General, please make up your mind."

During the debate, several more tanks were blown up, and the surrounding British soldiers were scared and ran around.

"What can I do? Retreat? Where to retreat? I can only grit my teeth and wait for reinforcements to arrive."Major General Steven shook his head and said

""Reinforcements? Will there be reinforcements?" Someone laughed bitterly.

"General, the empire has already been defeated. We have already lost. Why don't you admit it?

Hearing this, Major General Steven closed his eyes in pain. He certainly knew that the defeat was inevitable. The greatest asset of the British Empire was the Royal Fleet. Without the navy, the army would be a third-rate army.

"Well, as a soldier of the British Empire, don't waste your tears. Our mission is to hold our position and wait for reinforcements." said Major General Steven.

"yes!"