When the German fleet began to bombard, the town of Wood, a dozen kilometers from Bonemouth Beach, could clearly hear the earth-shattering thunderclap that destroyed some of them. The residents of Wood Town ran out of their homes looking for the direction from which the sound was coming from, and they were horrified to see that the southern sky was already burning red, and the terrible explosions were even more dense than machine gun bullets.

This has never happened before in the Bonemouth area.

Whether it was Bonnemouth, which was shelled for the first time, or Brighton, whose wounds were sprinkled with salt, the British Home Defense Command was still making the final guesses about the German landing site. The commander-in-chief of the British forces, General Haig, always insisted on Brighton, which had been bombarded repeatedly, while Kitchener preferred Dover, which had not yet been shelled but was in an excellent position for the German landing. General Haig relied on his strong instincts, while Kitchener, based on the reports of spies, speculated that another convoy of steamers had sailed into Calais before dark, bringing the number of German ships in Calais to nearly 500.

As the shelling of the two beaches reached a climax, the British Home Defence Command, after a heated debate, made the decision that part of Taunton's garrison would move to Bonemouth, part of Southampton's garrison would rush to Brighton, and that the London garrison would remain still. Despite its small size, the British Isles did not have the same dense and developed rail system as the German rail network, not to mention the fact that the British lacked fuel and other resources.

The only mobile forces that the British could rely on, apart from the armoured trains that had to travel along the railroad and the slow-moving armoured cars, were the 12 Scottish cavalry regiments and the few Canadian cavalry. Although some British infantry had amazing running ability, they ran dozens of kilometers and then entered the battle, and the combat effectiveness of these units was greatly reduced; If even the cuirassiers of the King's Guard had to take part in the battle, then the British would have been left with only a battle of honor.

What Haig and Kitchener are most worried about is not the mobility of the British troops, after all, the British Isles are so big, and the places that can't be caught up today will naturally be able to arrive tomorrow, but in the face of German tanks and armored vehicles, the British soldiers have not many weapons in their hands to fight them. Before the surrender, the generous French announced the damage inflicted on German armored reconnaissance units by using anti-tank guns in the area around the Boer River, which the British and Italians regarded as the most convenient anti-tank weapon until an effective anti-tank gun was developed.

The weak industrial strength of the Italians meant that they produced only 200 mediocre anti-tank guns before the Allies attacked, which did not have the desired effect against the German armoured assault forces; Despite the scarcity of resources, the British managed to produce more than 500 11 mm anti-tank guns and distribute them to British soldiers on the front line. In addition, the British provided the Americans with technical drawings of this anti-tank gun and customized 2,000 of them, but unfortunately this batch of weapons and ammunition, along with 40 munitions ships, was blocked by the Shiller fleet in port Rodel, which was still dozens of kilometers from Scotland.

Returning to the wilderness south of Woodtown, Ensign Halim and his squad not only returned on time, but also brought back a few new faces.

"I'm Captain Clad, the leader of Commando 3, and it's an honor to meet you all here!"

The man in the British captain's uniform winked at Cullen as he spoke, and it seemed that they were old acquaintances of the "British Sleepers".

"Surprised to see that I'm still alive?" Cullen opened his arms and gave Klad a big hug.

"To be honest, I don't doubt that you, a cunning fellow, will be able to fool all the British, you are really talented in this area! When I saw you again, I was even more convinced! "The conversation between Klad and Cullen was not like that of pure Germans, and in some ways even a bit like that of Americans, which, of course, was part of the training of spies.

"Alright, we're running out of time, let's quickly assign the next tasks! Captain, are your men all west of town? Cullen had a few commandos gather around and set up a small tent with blankets, while he, Klad, Captain Shetten, and Halim studied the map under the blanket like ostriches with their heads stuck in their holes, so that the beams of the flashlight would not be detected by outsiders.

"There were 112 people from the 3rd Commando Team this time, but 2 unlucky guys injured their feet when they landed, so we had to put them in a hidden place. Now there are 111 people, including me, and most of them are on standby in the west of the town. During the day, we observed that there were about 300 British troops in the town, and their barracks were in these houses to the north, with a total of 12 sentry posts and 2 patrols of 8 men. Clad gave a brief overview of the situation in Wood Town, where his assault team had arrived the night before, and was familiar with the environment.

"Presumably these Englishmen are awake by now!" Disappointed, Halim had planned to rush in and kill all the sleeping British soldiers. However, after the shelling of Bonemouth Beach began, the town was lit up one after another, and it seemed that some soldiers and residents could no longer sleep peacefully.

"That's true! According to the plan, there are still ...... airborne forces" Crader looked at his watch, "and the airborne landing will begin in about 45 minutes!" If nothing else, in another 15 minutes, the navigation airship will be flying over us, and my soldiers will have their colored flares ready for indication. What we have to do now is to take out the British troops in the town before the first airborne troops land! ”

"Well, you'll take care of everything here!" Cullen handed the baton to Clad, after all, this was an unplanned mission for the First and Second Commandos, and the details of this mission were naturally not as familiar as the Third Commando.

"Thank you very much! I was amazed when Lieutenant Halim told me that you have 126 people here! You know, you've almost turned half of England upside down, and you've almost left the commandos behind you with no place to stay! ”

Clad habitually continued his American humor, and his usual identity was that of an American businessman.

"I will send two other teams to the north and east of the town, and the few people I just brought will stay here, and when the airborne landing begins, we will light the directional fireworks on all sides of the town at the same time, and the airborne troops who fall into this area will be considered to be passing, and those who fall directly into the town will be counted as full marks! This area is 3 kilometers wide from east to west and 4 kilometers from north to south. ”

"And what about after the landing of the Airborne Forces? Heading straight to the beach? When he arrived at Woodtown, it was natural for a career officer like Halim to think that Bonnemouth was the landing site, and he was excited to go behind enemy lines, and it would be best if he could still participate in the landing operation.

"Oh, lieutenant, that's not our concern! What is certain is that the Airborne Forces will land with your uniforms, and then your commandos will be integrated into the ordinary Airborne Forces to fight, and your new commander will naturally tell you what to do when the time comes! Clad said, refocusing everyone's eyes on the map, "Now, 80 of you and 60 of us will enter Wood Town. I think shooting is inevitable, but try not to use grenades, hoping that the sound of the fleet's shelling will drown out the sound of our battle, and if the British troops elsewhere hear the news and come to support, then we and the Airborne Forces will be in trouble! ”

"With me, maybe I could have avoided shooting!" Cullen confidently said that his acting skills can sometimes achieve some unexpected results.

"I hope so! Pack up as soon as you can, and you'll be off in 5 minutes! ”

After another telegram to the command, Cullen and Halim set off with the commandos behind Clad, while Captain Xie Ding and the rest of the men remained in place to guide the airborne troops.

As the commandos made their way towards Woodtown, three gray-painted Zeppelins slowly flew over Bonemouth Beach and headed for Woodtown at a speed of 35 knots (about 65 kilometers per hour). Behind the beach, which was tormented by the smoke and heat of the fire, the British shore guns had long since given up firing back, and the searchlights were either destroyed or turned their attention to the German battleships on the sea that were firing in waves.

"Your Highness, our airships have already arrived over the fleet, and they arrived about 20 minutes earlier than planned!" When Hoffman reported, Tatsuten was sitting in the command room drinking coffee with Admiral Scheer.

By the time the bombardment had been going on for almost an hour, the generals were no longer as excited by such a spectacular salvo of battleships as they had been at the time, and most of them had returned to their temporary headquarters on the ships to go about their work. As for the airship units that arrived ahead of schedule, it was very difficult for the surface ships and aviation units to arrive at a certain area on time and according to the plan in this kind of combat operation, so Chen Tian and the others were not surprised.

"Inform our receiving troops, and hopefully they won't be caught off guard all at once!" After dealing with the situation with ease, Chen Tian picked up the delicate coffee cup, and the invigorating combat operation was accompanied by the fragrant and bitter coffee, which was a very wonderful feeling. If it weren't for the huge sound waves and air waves generated by the salvo of battleships, he could still walk to the bridge and see the spectacular sight of countless airships and planes flying in the night sky, knowing that this was 1914, an era that originally belonged to rifle bayonets and machine gun cannons.

"The fighter-bomber unit will fly over the British coast in about 10 minutes, the bomber and transport units will arrive in about 30 minutes, and the landing fleet will take at least 2 hours! At present, everything is normal in all departments, and the British fleet is still quietly staying in Plymouth Harbor! In addition, Lieutenant Commander Dönitz sent the startling news that his submarine had sunk a British submarine named the Sea Thorn 22 nautical miles southwest of Port Rodel, and according to the prisoner's confession, the former British Admiralty was on the submarine, but no trace of Churchill had been found! ”

Hoffman closed his folder with that, and it seemed that the latest situation had been reported.

Hearing the name Churchill, Chen Tian and Scheer looked at each other, this Englishman is not a good character, and the world should be much calmer without him.

"Send a report to Lieutenant Colonel Dönitz, I want to see people in life, and I want to see corpses in death!" For Churchill, who did not have a warship, Chen Tian felt that he still could not be underestimated, this person could play a very important role in the British and American fleet transactions, who knows what he will do in the future.

"Yes!" As Hoffman left, a new volley began, and even the coffee cups on the table vibrated slightly.

A huge formation of airships from the Admiralty, War and Air Departments slowly approached the British coastline, and the 2,500 paratroopers of the 1st Airborne Regiment leaned on the portholes of the airships to watch the wonderful and spectacular scene. Rows of red bright spots appeared on the pitch-black sea, and the more than 4-kilometre-wide Bonemouth beach was shrouded in fire and smoke.

German airships over the beach have stopped dropping flares, but the calibration of the shelling fleet continues. The Scheer Bombardment Fleet had to shell the British beach line for two full hours, and only after a short break did it extend its fire farther from the beach.

The naval bombardment gave the paratroopers confidence, and in addition to the formidable battlefleet, they were also paved with a brave and resolute commando team.

"Change the guard!" Cullen's tone was firm and urgent, and the soldiers behind him were still gasping for air, as if they had just done a 10-kilometer armed off-road.

"What part are you from?" Standing in front of Cullen was also a captain, a real British captain and commander of the British forces in Woodtown.

"Our company has been ordered to be transferred from Fortinbridge to take over your garrison in Wood Town, and your two companies will immediately head to Bonemouth Beach!" Karen said matter-of-factly, and the other party not only looked sleepy, but also confused.

"What's going on? Did the Germans attack? Why didn't my superiors call us? Corporal, pick me up ......"

"No need!" Cullen interrupted the British captain, "The telephone lines in several nearby towns have all been broken, presumably by German spies!" The Germans have already begun to land, and the beach defense line is in a hurry! ”

While the British captain was still hesitating, Cullen shouted angrily, "Hurry! Do you want the Germans to land on our land? ”

"Is there an appointment?" The British were still not reconciled.

"When is this, and what is the appointment! We set off as soon as we received the order, and you cowards are still here to ask me for something! Maybe it won't take an hour, and we'll even have to go to the front line! Cullen was screaming hysterically, and even the commandos behind him were affected by the scene, as if they were really facing an emergency.

"That'...... All right! "The artillery fire to the south was still intense, and the British captain had no time to think it through. Compared to Dover and Brighton, Bonemouth's defence is indeed the weakest.

"All assembled!" The Englishman turned to his herald and shouted that if he looked closely at the soldiers behind Karen, he might have noticed that the British troops were not equipped with the Firebird light machine guns, and although the commandos had them in canvas cases, it was not difficult to distinguish them from the outside.

Two companies of British garrisons began to concentrate in the town's central square, while Cullen's commandos lined up opposite them for a brief "change of guard ceremony," and behind the commandos, the Firebird was quietly ready to shoot.

Five minutes later, the original garrison of Wood Town had finished plating, 340 British soldiers were standing on the south side of the square in some embarrassment, Cullen's commandos were standing on the north side of the square less than 20 meters away from them, and many militiamen and residents who had heard the news stood on the east and west sides of the square to watch the "final change of guard ceremony".

"Gun on the shoulder!" After the British captain shouted the password, he turned and walked towards Cullen, and there was not even the slightest strange look in the eyes of the old and spicy Cullen. But when the commandos pulled the bolt of the Firebird and made a clattering sound, the British were visibly stunned for a moment, and then a strange smile appeared on the corner of Cullen's mouth. More than 100 commandos lined up in four columns suddenly spread out to both sides, revealing the muzzles of 12 Firebird black holes and the cold gazes of 24 German machine gunners.

In less than 30 seconds, each "Firebird" ran out of a whole belt, 200 rounds of ammunition, 2,400 rounds of machine gun bullets and more than 200 rounds of rifles, and easily harvested the names of more than 300 British troops and more than 100 militiamen on the opposite side, and many hapless bystanders also paid the price for their curiosity.

The few remnants of the British militia and residents began to flee in all directions, and Cullen's infantry pursued them without mercy. Cullen himself was a spy and belonged to the Hague Convention of illegal combatants, and he knew that whether he was wearing a British military uniform to shoot at British soldiers or to fire at British civilians, it was a violation of so-called international law, but he was even more convinced that international law was the law that constrained the weak, and that the Japanese army was trampling on the Hague Convention in almost every battle, but the person who punished them did not show up.

The gunfire that broke the silence of Woodtown quickly subsided, and the commandos began to hunt down the British militia from house to house, and in the end, only 2 commandos were killed and 8 were wounded in Woodtown, which lasted a quarter of an hour.

At 3:25 a.m. on December 27, colorful signal fireworks set off outside Wood Town, and the overwhelming airship began to slow down and reduce altitude.

At 3:29 a.m., the first paratrooper jumped out of the airship pod, and at this moment, his feet were 521 meters above the ground.