When three red flares appeared over the battlefield, Niklas and his tankmen knew that all the paratroopers had safely evacuated the bridge, and what their three tanks had to do was to fight and retreat to the bridge, while preventing the British infantry from approaching and destroying the ZHA pills installed on the bridge.

By this time, Niklas's tanks 1, 2, and 3 were already in mixed hands with the British armored forces, with the British tanks having an advantage in artillery, while the Germans had the advantage of relatively agile tanks and experienced tankers. In this case, the short-barreled 40 mm artillery battery of the little nomad never directly hit the German tank, although the German "K" type bullet can penetrate the armor of the weak part of the little nomad, but the reserve of the two bullet belts on each tank is obviously too small, these bullets have been consumed when dealing with the British armored car, and in the end, only one of the "K" type bullets suffered from the small nomad running in the front, in which 7 members were killed and 3 were wounded, and only the gunner sitting in the turret was spared.

After running out of armor-piercing ammo, both tanks are firing at each other with the normal bullets of heavy machine guns, a scene that resembles two heavily armored fighters attacking each other with wooden sticks, fighting fiercely but with little effective damage.

After receiving the signal to retreat, the three German tanks under the command of Niklas began to retreat towards the bridge in reverse, and their shelling of British tanks and armored vehicles in the process of retreat appeared to be somewhat aimless, and the British nomads seemed to be very unconvinced, but their speed was too slow, and the pursuit of German tanks seemed to be more than enough.

The only two remaining M10 armored vehicles were like hunting dogs facing hoplites, although they had strength and speed, they could never find a place to speak, and the "Stone II", which had exhausted the "K" type bullets, had no time to repair them.

Behind the German trenches, the wreckage of a "Broadsword" armored vehicle and a "Trojan" armored personnel carrier, which had been destroyed by British artillery fire not long ago, were still burning, and the surviving soldiers inside had long since been evacuated.

When Captain Niklas's three tanks drove up the bridge one after another, the British nomad tanks were still firing at them, and the exploding shells kept raising mud and debris on the ground, and the British infantry who followed the British armored units also advanced towards the bridge again under the leadership of the officer. Most of the British infantrymen were stunned by the battle between the tanks of the two armies, and a few of them had used their anti-tank rifles to shoot at the German tanks from hundreds of meters away, but to no avail. Before the German tanks retreated, they all stayed there and watched the spectacular but somewhat disappointing tank battle.

In this small-scale tank encounter that can be written in history, the German side invested 3 tanks and 9 armored vehicles, the British side was 3 tanks and 12 armored vehicles, the German tanks consumed 106 ordinary shells and more than 3000 rounds of ammunition, including 1200 "K" bullets, in addition to damaging the opponent's tank, their main result was to paralyze 10 British armored vehicles, British tanks fired 48 rounds of 40 mm armor-piercing shells and 70 ordinary shells in the battle, Destroyed 2 German armored vehicles, but the only achievement against the German tank was the use of shrapnel to leave a few scratches on its appearance. The British did not take advantage of this opportunity to verify the actual power of their armor-piercing shells, and the German top brass also realized through this battle that their tanks could retreat somewhat by luck, and in the case of the increasing combat experience of the opposing tanks, it was urgent for the Germans to strengthen the confrontation capability of the existing tanks.

A large number of British infantry crossed the abandoned positions of the Germans and advanced towards the bridge, but as soon as the last German tank had retreated over the bridge, the railway bridge collapsed in a huge explosion, and the tons of ZHA medicine placed on the piers and other vital parts successfully delayed the British army's plan to meet the east and west for several hours, in fact, the British could not allow their own train to pass through the Fording River from here until the end of the war.

Under the cover of the armored commandos, Lieutenant Colonel Garris and the remnants of more than 700 paratroopers set out on the road to retreat to Bonemouth. Without sufficient troops and effective anti-tank weapons, the British commander, General Reeser, and his men, who were on the west side of the bridge, could only watch the German unit leave from a distance. As for the large number of British troops on the east side of the bridge with tanks and armored vehicles, they could only look at the collapsed bridge with a blank face.

At 6 p.m., the remnants of the defenders of Bonemouth, flanked by the German landing force and the 2nd and 3rd Airborne Regiments, surrendered to the Germans under the leadership of General Cosmo, and the first phase of the landing operation of the German 8th Army was successfully concluded. More than 50,000 British defenders have been systematically erased from the British combat sequence, and the casualties of the German landing force have reached more than 11,000, including nearly 6,000 in four airborne regiments.

2 hours later, the armored commando and the 1st and 4th airborne regiments finally arrived in the German-controlled area, the airborne troops who were still in high spirits a day ago were exhausted at this time, more than 5,000 paratroopers survived less than 1/6 after a day of fighting, and the huge casualties made many officers cry, many people questioned the combat capability of the airborne troops, fortunately, under Chentian's insistence and explanation, similar to the German army in World War II after the airborne operation in Crete, The man-made tragedy of sending the Airborne Forces into the cold due to excessive casualties among the paratroopers during the operation did not arise here.

Despite the poignant casualty rate, the role of the Airborne Forces in the Bonemouth landing operation was enormous. The raid after the airborne landing allowed the Germans to crush the reserves of more than 20,000 Bonnemouth defenders in the inland area, making it impossible for the British defenders to fight back with all their might, which to a large extent ensured that the German landing force successfully gained a foothold on the beachhead; In addition, the airborne troops easily occupied the important Fortin River Bridge away from the beach, which directly delayed the reinforcement of the British reinforcements to the defenders of Bonemouth, and had a profound impact on the British army's operations behind. The movement of British troops on both sides of the river was greatly restricted, and the most elite British cavalry units were dispersed to prevent the German airborne troops from harassing the rear.

As the night wore on, the beaches and harbours around Bonemouth were still busy, and the landing ships were still trying to bring the last soldiers and supplies to shore under the light of countless searchlights.

Because the battle for the beachhead went relatively smoothly, and because it occupied several small docks and civilian ports, and was basically not harassed by the British navy during the landing process, the seemingly arduous task of sending a group army from three sections to the coast in one day was finally completed, and by 10 o'clock in the evening, more than 200,000 soldiers of the 8th Army had all landed. Among them, about 90,000 men of Guderian's mixed armored division, the 1st mechanized division of Maras and the 1st Infantry Corps of François were deployed in Bonemouth, and the 1st Tank Division, the 2nd Mechanized Division and the 3rd Infantry Division of the 3rd Army landed at Krischa, east of Bonemouth, and these more than 50,000 soldiers advanced 5 miles inland under the command of General Olg and began to build fortifications, and about 60,000 men of the 2nd Panzer Division and the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions of the 3rd Army advanced to the area of Okha after landing at Svenger, west of Bonemouth. At this time, the construction of positions had also begun.

Under the bright starry sky, a series of British trains transported a large number of British infantry and equipment to the predetermined position, the infantry disembarked and began to build a simple offensive starting position, the artillerymen dug artillery bunkers for their artillery, and the sappers began to erect pontoon bridges over the Fording River; At a distance of 3-7 miles from the beach, the German soldiers were not caring about the physical and mental fatigue of the boat ride and landing, everyone was working hard to dig trenches and fortifications with their tools, the soldiers also set up minefields and barbed wire areas in front of the positions, all kinds of artillery were unloaded into the artillery positions, and tanks, armored vehicles and other vehicles were deployed behind the positions, which would carry out mobile defense and tactical counterattacks in the event of a British attack.

The British troops preparing to pounce on the landing Germans were to follow General Haig's plan to spread out on the Dorchester and Southampton lines, and the Germans correspondingly established a coherent defensive line on the Oha-Bonemouth-Wood Flats, and the next battle in which the British army attacked the Germans would largely determine the fate of the British Empire.

The armies of both sides are actively preparing for war, and the navies of the two countries are not idle, the first German transport ships have been unloaded and have begun to return home, while in the seemingly calm port of Plymouth, ships are quietly moving out of the harbor.

At 4,000 meters above Plymouth, the German Navy reconnaissance airships L-037 and L-081 floated silently in the air, and the British battleships did not escape the eyes of the German reconnaissance airships, despite strict light control and ventured out of port without pilot lights and searchlights.

Looking down from the night sky, sparks emerging from the battleship's chimney loomed. Due to the lack of effective anti-aircraft weapons and fighter jets with sufficient ceilings, the British army often found it difficult to ensure that their tactical attempts were not detected by the Germans, and the British, like Iraq in later generations, were helpless against American satellites for these German reconnaissance airships.

Suddenly, the flares dropped from the German airships illuminated the entire harbor, and the British warships moving in the harbor and about to sail out of the channel were suddenly nowhere to be seen, and the entire British fleet was almost naked in front of the German reconnaissance airships.

"On December 27, 1914, at 10:36 p.m., in Plymouth Harbour, the British fleet was departing! 8 large warships and 20 small and medium-sized warships! ”

On the L-037, a sergeant was carefully observing the harbor with a telescope, while the corporal next to him quickly recorded what he said on paper.

"The British fleet almost poured out!" The sergeant lowered his binoculars and looked at his companion in surprise, and the two of them ran to the transmitter on board.

The radio waves soon spread from Plymouth to the sea off Bonemouth, and the admirals and staff officers aboard the Frontier Governor were soon busy. After a brief communication with Yu Chentian, Admiral Scheer sent a blocking fleet headed by the Caesar-class battleship "King Albert", which also included the Caesar-class battleship "Louitpol Regent", the Helgoran-class battleship "Thuringia", the Nassau-class battleship "West****", and the battlecruiser "von. Morality. Tann", the heavy cruiser "Blucher" and 3 light cruisers, 18 destroyers, and 5 airships were assigned for reconnaissance and escort missions.

When the calendar of December 27 was officially abolished, the unloading of equipment and supplies from the German landing fleet was finally coming to an end, and a large number of unloaded transport ships set out on their way home, and the lighted airships in the sky showed the way for these ships, and the small warships of the German Navy escorted them along the way.

About 1 hour later, at about 1 a.m. on December 28, the last transport ship unloaded the supplies on board at the port of Svenge and began to return home, the landing plan drawn up by the German General Staff had successfully completed the first stage, and then the convoy would return to Le Havre and the port of Caen to load the follow-up supplies of the 8th Army and go to Bonemouth again, according to the plan they would unload all the supplies by the morning of the 29th and then leave for Calais, France, After that, Hindenburg's 5th Army was to land at Dover in the early morning of the 30th, with the cooperation of the Heydrich fleet.

Southern England, about 12 nautical miles southeast of Cape Portland.

On the calm sea, the blocking fleet of 27 German battleships was deployed in a fan-shaped battle formation, and all the battleships aimed their bows due west, which was almost the only way for the British fleet from Plymouth to Bonemouth, unless the British dared to risk staying on the sea until dawn to make a big circle to the south, after all, after dawn, the German fleet with 3 aircraft carriers and a large number of excellent battleships was something that no country's navy dared to challenge.

The commander of this blocking fleet is German Vice Admiral Schemit, who is an unknown German admiral in history, in the Battle of Jutland in another world, when he was an admiral, he commanded the German First Battleship Squadron, and did not perform brilliantly in naval battles, but this does not negate his command ability, in fact, like most German admirals, Schemitt is strict with his subordinates, serious and not exaggerated, old-fashioned but not sticking to old and conservative tactics.

After the fleet reached this optimal blocking position, Schemitt deployed five battleships in the center of the fleet, in fact, the firepower of these five dreadnoughts alone was enough to send the entire British fleet to the bottom of the sea. Battle Patrol "Feng. Morality. The Tann and the heavy cruiser Blucher each led three destroyers cruising on either side of the fleet to increase the interception area of the blocking fleet, while the Standard and Hound-class destroyers deployed around the battleships were used to alert the British submarines that might appear.

About 10 nautical miles in front of the fleet, five medium-sized Zeppelins of the German Navy were on guard and observation duty at more than 1,000 meters in the air, their engines turned off, and every crew member was listening intently to the movement on the surface.

"General, the submarine forces in charge of blockading Plymouth Harbor sent a telegram that they had successfully sunk 1 British battleship, 3 destroyers and 5 minesweepers in the harbor, and the remaining British battleships were heading southeast after leaving the port!"

After listening to the communications officer's report, Lieutenant General Schemitt couldn't stop touching his mustache. In his opinion, due to the presence of a powerful German fleet, raiding the landing fleet outside the port of Bonemouth is an almost impossible task for the current British Navy, and the German Navy has also deployed nearly 50 submarines of various types in the English Channel, and has also used submarines and minelayers to lay hundreds of mines outside the port of Plymouth (in World War II, the Allied navy and air force began to carry out joint offensive minelaying on the French coast more than a month before the Normandy landings, and a total of 6,859 mines were laid by D day, Blockade of the port between Elmoyden, the Netherlands, and Brest, France, to prevent a possible German naval attack), and several minelayers were lost in the process of minelaying, but the British fleet still desperately broke through the night and headed for Bonemouth.

Schemitt wondered what was going on in the head of the commander of the British fleet.

"Honor! Promise! And the trust of the king and the people! ”

Lord Fisher muttered to himself alone, an ominous cloud hanging over his old face from the moment the fleet had left the harbor. He didn't delve too deeply into General Haig's disposition on land, but Haig assured him for the last time two hours earlier that the British Army would launch a full-scale offensive and drive the Germans back to the beach before sunrise, and he did not expect the navy to defeat the German fleet off Bonemouth, but at least before dawn, he did not expect the German fleet to fully support the German landing force with naval guns, After all, the German line was deployed within the range of the gunfire of the German battleships (the German battleships were generally armed with 50 times the diameter of the 305 mm guns, which had a maximum range of more than 20,000 yards, about 11 miles, while the German lines were deployed 3-7 miles from the beach).

By 2 a.m., the million-strong British troops planned by General Haig to encircle the German landing force had basically arrived on the Dorchester-Southampton line, including 49 British divisions, 3 Australian divisions, 1 mixed ANZ division, 5 Canadian divisions, 3 Scottish cavalry regiments, and 78 separate infantry regiments of about 1.05 million men. After deploying the attacking force as quickly as possible, more than 4,000 artillery pieces of the British army began shelling the defensive line constructed by the German landing force at 2:30 a.m. as scheduled.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, the last naval force on the British mainland appeared before Schemit's blocking fleet, and the commanders of both sides were not surprised by the encounter at sea.