The Rise of the Third Reich

"Looks like it's Hartlepool!"

In the early morning of January 3, people in the bunker on King Charles Street in London finally determined that the real location of the German army was the city of Hartlepool on the North Sea coast.

"These damn Germans!" said the pale British Prime Minister, puffing on a cigar. "They actually dare to land in winter, and they are not afraid of the strong winds and waves on the North Sea sinking the ship!"

"Mr. Prime Minister," Imperial Chief of Staff Viscount Brooke reminded in a low voice, "the weather forecast says that it will be sunny from January 3 to January 5, and the sea state in the North Sea is only level 2-3."

It’s not that the UK and the North Sea don’t have good weather in winter, it’s just rare.

"Then what?" Churchill asked, "What will the weather be like after January 5th?"

"There will be wind and snow starting from January 6," Viscount Brooke said. "The whole of England will be shrouded in wind and snow, and there will be clear weather until January 15."

"The German plane can't take off?" Churchill asked again.

"It has been difficult to fly over England since the 6th," Viscount Brooke said, "but the wind and waves on the North Sea are still not enough to stop the German fleet. As long as the Germans control Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, Reinforcements can arrive in a steady stream."

The wind and waves on the North Sea can block landing operations, but they cannot stop ships from entering the harbor - hitting the beach and entering a sheltered harbor are completely different things. Therefore, after the good weather has passed, the landing operation cannot be carried out, but as long as the Germans control a medium-sized port, the troops can arrive in large numbers.

"We can't let them come in a steady stream!" Churchill patted the table and said, "Otherwise we will have a hard fight in the spring."

According to the information currently available, the maximum number of German troops that landed and airborne at Hartlepool was 2 divisions - before they took control of Hartlepool port, the most they could rely on for airdrops and beach landings was this number.

Although these two divisions must be the elite of the elite and can still be supported by the German fleet in the North Sea, it is still impossible for just two divisions to break through all the way to London. But if the British and American forces ignore Hartlepool, then German troops will continue to arrive. When the weather improved in the spring of 1943, London was attacked.

"They will not come continuously. We will drive them all into the sea before that!" Lieutenant General Stilwell, Chief of Staff of the European Allied Forces, vowed. "We have enough strength. There are millions of troops on the island of Great Britain. Even if 20 German divisions land, they will definitely be defeated!"

Are 20 German divisions bound to be defeated? That's because you haven't seen how good the Germans are at fighting! Fatty Qiu glanced at the ignorant American Lieutenant General, took a puff of his cigar and said, "But we still lost the most critical 24 hours."

Now that there were not many regular troops around Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, it was likely that both cities would be lost, and the Germans would then gain a fatal foothold in England.

"We must fight back as soon as possible!" Viscount Brooke also knew the seriousness of the matter.

"We can dispatch armored forces to counterattack, they have enough attack power." Lieutenant General Stilwell, chief of staff of Allied European Command, suggested, "The U.S. 2nd Armored Division now has sufficient equipment and can be dispatched at any time. "

There are currently two armored divisions on the books of the US military stationed in the UK, but one of them currently only has rifles. The 200 M10 tank destroyers that arrived at the end of December were only enough to equip one division, so Eisenhower gave them all to General Patton's 2nd Armored Division. In addition, the 2nd Armored Division also received a sufficient number of towed artillery and horses (the horses were given by the British), as well as a small number of trucks, jeeps and armored vehicles. Now it is probably a mechanized force that "burns horse dung", somewhat similar to the Japanese mecha army.

However, in the British mainland where long-distance mobile operations are not required, burning horse manure is not a big problem.

"The U.S. 2nd Armored Division can be transported to Coventry by train," Viscount Brooke said. "Then there's about 300 kilometers of road maneuvering."

The railway to Coventry is still operational, but further north it has become difficult to travel due to continuous bombing, and it is necessary to rely on road mobility.

"How long will it take?" Churchill asked directly when the armored troops arrived at Hartlepool.

"Today the troops are loading trucks during the day and they can arrive at Coventry at night. Tomorrow they will be unloaded during the day and the engineers will be building roads and building pontoons so that the troops can move to Hartlepool tomorrow night." Viscount Brooke calculated and said, "It may be necessary during the day the day after tomorrow. Stay hidden so the troops will arrive on the morning or noon of the 6th.

In addition, our Guards Armored Division, 1st Armored Division and 6th Armored Division can be dispatched later, and they will all arrive on the 7th and 8th. "

There are now 3 British armored divisions on the island of Great Britain. They all have 1 armored brigade and 1 mounted infantry brigade (the motorized infantry brigade can no longer be maintained) - like Patton's 2nd Armored Division, they also burn horse dung. of mechanization.

However, burning horse dung is still burning horse dung. The tanks and assault guns of these three British armored divisions are still in place. Not only are there sufficient numbers (each division has more than 200 vehicles), but there are no cruise tanks with thin skins and insufficient firepower. They are all Churchill 4 tanks and Churchill 4 assault guns.

Now Britain is encountering the same problem as Germany at the end of its history - it no longer has enough power to provide its troops with a large amount of mechanized equipment, so it can only take the path of heavy and small quantities, and has developed a 17-pound gun equipped with armor. The sturdy Churchill No. 4 assault gun!

"One American armored division, three British armored divisions, and how many infantry divisions are there?" Churchill asked thoughtfully.

"There is currently a North Yorkshire Division..."

"There's no need to forget about this division," Fatty interrupted, "They won't be able to hold on for a few days."

This judgment was correct. Half of the North Yorkshire Division had now collapsed, and the remaining troops would collapse within the next 24 hours.

"There is the 52nd Lowland Infantry Division, they are on foot from Newcastle and will arrive tonight." Viscount Brooke said, "There are also the 15th Scottish Infantry Division, the 51st Highland Infantry Division and the 1st Infantry Division, they are coming from Newcastle Fort William and Manchester rush to Hartlepool, and they will all arrive around the 10th. In addition, there are troops of the 5th Infantry Division in Middlesbrough, Scarborough and York."

"Four armored divisions, five infantry divisions!" Fatty Qiu's fat face regained some energy. "Nine divisions can definitely defeat the two German divisions!" He thought for a while and then asked, "Who will command these nine divisions?"

"A British commander and an American chief of staff can be arranged." Viscount Brooke suggested. "General Montgomery can be appointed as the commander of the group army. As for the chief of staff..."

"I will go there myself!" Stilwell's eyes were shining. "I will personally serve as the chief of staff of this combined army."

…

Crash... plop.

With a loud sound of heavy objects falling into the water, the bow springboard of the tank landing ship was lowered.

"Rudolf, can we start?" An officer on the landing ship waved a small flag in his hand and directed at Rudolf von Ribbentrop who was leaning out half of the Tiger tank's turret. call.

"Of course it can start!" Ribbentrop then shouted to the driver of his car, "Adolf, start the vehicle, we are going to land on British soil!"

"As you command, Captain."

A Maybach HL210P35 gasoline engine that was already rotating (this engine is also better than the model used by the Tiger E-type, although the output power is the same, but the reliability is better) immediately roared and began to run at high speed, reaching 650 Horse power is sent to the driving wheels. Driven by the driving wheel, the tank's tracks began to roll, and the vehicle body also slowly moved forward, and soon rushed through the bow springboard onto the beach filled with the smell of gunpowder smoke.

The battle on the beach was over. There were not many British troops guarding the beach. Not long after the German Marines began to seize the beach, the German paratroopers who had parachuted behind them came to attack them. Under attack from both sides, more than a thousand people were attacked. The British army of less than two thousand was quickly wiped out.

But the battle for Hartlepool was not over yet.

A harsh whistle suddenly reached little Ribbentrop's ears. He quickly followed the sound and saw a Marine Corps sergeant major waving a striking red flag to direct traffic. In the direction of his red flag, a huge sign was erected that read: Tank/Assault Artillery, Forward!

That must be the road to the battlefield! Captain Ribbentrop thought of this and quickly ordered the driver to change the direction of the vehicle and follow the route indicated by the road signs and red flags - that was the route to the Tiz River.

The River Teez is to the south of Hartlepool, and the beach where Ribbentrop and his companions landed is on the backside of Hartlepool. The 7th Paratrooper Division is currently fighting the British in Hartlepool. It has captured most of the city, leaving only the port area, but it does not need the help of the Marine Corps.

Therefore, the task assigned by General Halder to the 1st Marine Division was to cross the Tees River and advance towards Middlesbrough. A key bridge over the Tiz River has been captured by soldiers of the 7th Paratrooper Division. This is a sturdy rail-road bridge that can fully bear the weight of the Tiger G tank.

Through this bridge, Ribbentrop's 516th Heavy Armored Battalion can penetrate directly to the southwest of Middlesbrough, blocking the main traffic route from the north to reinforce Middlesbrough and Hartlepool - that is, Completed the siege of Middlesbrough.

Once Middlesbrough was occupied by the German army, the German army would have two medium-sized ports on the island of Great Britain.