Brandt and several of his men, including the Frenchman Francois Mitterrand, who was so tired that he wanted to sleep for a day and a night, received so-called protective equipment - not steel helmets and body armor, but white panty overalls, leather gloves, gas masks, and sunglasses......

"This ...... There's nothing wrong with this, right? How can there be sunglasses? What is it protected against? When Brandt saw this pile of protective equipment, he immediately had a feeling of being teased by the logistics department. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

"Well, yes, that's right," replied an ensign officer in charge of distributing protective equipment...... uncertainly, "and orders were given to each of the paratroopers and to make sure they were used correctly." ”

"Proper use of sunglasses?" Brandt asked with a little crying and laughing.

"Oh, that's not called sunglasses, it's called U-45 individual radiation goggles...... "said the second lieutenant quartermaster," said the quartermaster. ”

He handed Brandt a copy of the operating rules for "sunglasses", compiled by the Luftwaffe Strategic Arms Command, which set out the standard procedures for wearing "sunglasses" and how to maintain them.

"Glasses must be worn strictly in accordance with the regulations." After the second lieutenant quartermaster finished speaking, he took out another copy of the operating regulations for the coverall, and said to Brandt: "This is the operating regulations for the U-45 individual radiation protective suit. ”

There are also rules for wearing clothes!

"What kind of suit?" Brandt didn't understand.

"Radiation suits."

"Radiation?" Brandt still didn't understand, "What is this?" ”

"A secret weapon," said the quartermaster, "I don't know the specifics, the order doesn't say it." ”

I didn't know anything, just because of an order from above, I came to North America to kill people and set fires! Brandt said in his heart: This is probably the sorrow of the German nation, right? This people knows how to obey orders from above, no matter how ridiculous they may be.

Although Brandt thought so in his heart, he still seriously followed the quartermaster in front of him to learn the correct way to wear "sunglasses", the correct way to wear radiation protective clothing, the way to wear gas masks, and how to properly put leather gloves on his hands.

Oh, in addition to the correct way to wear them, there are also ways to take these "protective gear" off the body, wash them, and store them, in short, it is very troublesome.

After Brandt and a few of the paratroopers he brought with him learned how to use the "protective gear", the quartermaster gave him a "Radiation Protection Combat Manual" and said: "This is also a copy for everyone, and everyone must read it several times, and it is better to memorize it." In addition, there are some tin buckets that you will take with you. ”

"Bucket?" Brandt glared and asked, "Is it for water?" ”

"Yes, for water." The quartermaster said, "Well, I don't think those barrels are of any other use." ”

This time, Brandt received much more "protective equipment" than expected, and the few people he brought with him couldn't get it at all. Fortunately, the battalion headquarters of the 5th parachute battalion had already prepared and sent a captured Dodge truck to transport a large pile of messy things to Brandt's company.

The same situation occurred on the night of April 26 not only in the paratrooper battalion where Brandt was located, but in every paratrooper battalion and air assault battalion parachuted into Newfoundland.

As a result of another airborne landing during the day on the 26th, the number of Wehrmacht paratroop battalions on the island of Newfoundland now reached 27, along with 9 regimental headquarters and 3 divisional headquarters, as well as a full brigade headquarters of the 1st Air Assault Brigade. The total number of German paratroopers parachuted into Newfoundland has reached more than 26,000.

On the night of the 26th, these 26,000 German devils (including a small number of French devils) were busy reinforcing trenches, bunkers, and learning to use strangely shaped protective equipment, despite fatigue.

On the night of the 26th, the headquarters of the 1st Air Assault Corps of General Shipper Airborne was also moved from Grace Field to a large bomb shelter near the Port Cabernier Airport - this bomb shelter was originally an underground ammunition depot, which was very well built, and when the Germans occupied it, there were still many aerial bombs in the warehouse that had not had time to be destroyed. Now the bombs have been removed, and the vacated space is just right to accommodate Shipper's military headquarters.

"Admiral, the non-combatants in Port Grace and Port Cabernier have been evacuated to Victoria, and the combatants are ready to evacuate at any time......"

While the staff officers and orderlies were busy arranging the military headquarters, the chief of staff of the 1st Air Assault Corps, Colonel Cork, was reporting to Admiral Shipper on the evacuation of Port Grace and Port Cabernier.

"The defense there must not be slackened!" Shipper instructed, "Troops may withdraw to designated areas and conceal only after receiving orders from the War Department." The evacuation of the other six fishing ports must also be completed tomorrow. But the defenders of Carbonier and Basque Country can't retreat, there's no problem there, right? ”

"No problem, these two islands are very high and will not be swept away by a tsunami, and the Americans have dug tunnels there, which we have taken a lot of effort to capture, and they should be used to hide troops."

"Well," said Shipper, after a moment's thought, "put a battalion on the Basque Island, and a company on the island of Cabernier, and let them be more careful, prepare more food and drink, and stay in the tunnels as long as possible after the big explosion." ”

"Okay, okay, I'll let them know right away."

Shipper's "Big Bang" means, of course, a nuclear explosion! In Operation Columbus, a plan was prepared for the dropping of the atomic bomb.

One of the options was to drop atomic bombs somewhere on the west coast of Concepson Bay, near the entrance to Concepson Bay and at Churchill Naval Fortress after the failure of the airdrop and airdrop operations, in order to clear the way for a landing fleet to force a landing.

Option 2 would be to drop atomic bombs in Concepson Bay, Naval Fortress Churchill, and over the U.S. armoured forces assembly area after a successful airdrop and airborne operation - option 2 did not provide for the simultaneous dropping of three atomic bombs, or one or two, depending on the circumstances.

But an atomic bomb had to be dropped, not only to scare the Americans, but also to clear the mines, submarines and torpedo boats in Concepson Bay. Without cleaning them up, the landing fleet of the European Combined Fleet would not dare to sail into Concepson Bay.

And if an atomic bomb with a yield of 20,000 tons is dropped on a bay less than 20 kilometers wide, there is a good chance that it will set off huge waves crashing on the shore, as if a tsunami had occurred.

Therefore, the troops deployed in the ports and fishing ports on the west shore of Concepson Bay must be transferred and concealed before the nuclear explosion. Because these ports and fishing ports are very low-lying (it is impossible to build a port on the edge of a cliff that is tens of meters high), they are easily swept away by tsunamis. As for the troops deployed on the platform, they will not be killed by the tsunami, but they still have to do a good job of preventing radiation. That's why they were tired and busy digging ditches and trenches, and they also received a lot of strange protective equipment. The military headquarters of General Shipper Airborne also ran to the original underground ammunition depot.

However, the Germans' initiative to shrink and dig trenches to build fortifications was, in the eyes of the Allied command on the island of Newfoundland, to "hold on and wait for reinforcements."

"Joseph," Vice Admiral Fraser of the British Royal Navy walked into the combat command center with the report he had just received from the F-13 reconnaissance plane. Collins said, "The landing of the Germans on the Grand Fleet has been discovered!" The location is 500-550 nautical miles northwest of Newfoundland, probably from Iceland. ”

"500-550 nautical miles? So when will they arrive? "Joseph. Collins asked.

"36-72 hours." Fraser gave a large time zone, "arriving on the 29th at the latest." ”

"29th...... "Joseph. Collins crossed his arms, "The 16th Panzer Division and the 11th, 13th, and 17th Airborne Divisions may not have time to regain the western shore of Concepson Bay before then." ”

Joseph. Collins now sent more than 50,000 American troops in four divisions to counterattack on the west shore of Concepson Bay, which was only twice as many as the Germans, but had an overwhelming advantage in firepower and tanks.

The 32nd and 33rd Divisions (actually mechanized infantry divisions) attached to the 6th Army (US Army) have also been drawn from their original fronts and will be able to participate in offensive operations by the morning of the 28th at the latest.

In addition, 10 separate heavy artillery battalions (armed with 240mm and 203mm heavy guns) have been withdrawn from shore defense artillery positions and are being redeployed to the battlefield on the west bank of Concepson Bay. Once in place, the attacking U.S. forces will have overwhelming fire support.

So Collins was not worried that as many as six divisions of troops he had or was about to commit would not be able to defeat the Germans who had fallen from the sky and did not have much heavy equipment.

However, the approaching German landing fleet made him very worried, because he knew that although his six divisions were strong, they were not superhuman troops, and it was impossible to end the battle before the 28th.

"They can't get into Concepson Bay," Fraser confidently told Collins, "and the mines, torpedo boats, and U-class submarines could hold off the German fleet for at least two weeks, and the artillery at Churchill Fortress wasn't vegetarian."

And the Royal Fleet's Z Fleet and Task Force 11 are coming...... If all goes well, the landing fleet of the Germans will become the prey of the Z Fleet and the 11th Task Force. ”

"Are you sure of the battle at sea?" Collins asked, looking at Fraser with suspicion.

"Yes!" Fraser answered in the affirmative.

"Alright," Collins nodded, "then let's make a battle plan to recapture the west shore of Concepson Bay in two weeks, nay, one week." ”