Chapter 489 Surrender

In the spacious German High Command operations room, phones and telegraphs were ringing incessantly, and operations officers were busy marking the battlefield situation on maps and sand tables, creating a scene that was both bustling and orderly.

"The main British forces have been moved to Plymouth."

"The attack on Norwich has begun."

"The fortresses at Dover have been completely destroyed; the K5 gun batteries are firing on extended targets."

"An air battle has erupted over Plymouth."

"The Plymouth defense forces have raised white flags across the board!"

Hearing Lord Austin's broadcast order to hoist white flags and cease resistance, the frontline soldiers were naturally astonished, but none would have guessed that their commander was being held hostage, lying to his troops to save his own skin.

The commander explained to them that Britain was negotiating peace with Germany, preparing to cede the Plymouth area in exchange for peace. Anyone defying orders and attacking the Germans would be branded a criminal of the British Empire, a destroyer of peace.

With the label "criminal of the British Empire" hanging over their heads, although many soldiers were indignant about surrendering without firing a shot, no one dared to disobey. Coupled with the belief that "the British Empire would soon reorganize and counterattack the Germans," they chose to follow their commander's orders, watching helplessly as German liberty ships docked steadily in Plymouth's harbor.

With the roar of engines, tanks rolled out of the ship holds one after another. The Jackal tanks had been upgraded; the original 50mm KwK 39L/60 tank gun was replaced with a 75mm KwK 40L/48 tank gun, the frontal armor thickness was increased to 80mm, and the engine power was boosted to 420 horsepower.

As the first German tank touched British soil, the sky filled with waves of transport helicopters.

British soldiers, sitting dejectedly in their barracks with nothing to do, heard the loud rumbling from outside. Out of curiosity, they stepped out of their barracks, looking towards the source of the noise.

"My God, what are those?!" Most of these soldiers had never seen helicopters before, and they stared in shock as these wingless aircraft roared overhead, making a chugging sound. Unlike conventional planes, these had their enormous rotors on top.

Under the astonished gazes of the British soldiers, four helicopters hovered over the camp. The rotors stirred up a storm of leaves, causing robust tree trunks to sway wildly.

Shielding themselves from the flying dust with their hands, the British soldiers squinted to see German soldiers, fully armed, rappelling down from the hovering helicopters, immediately pointing their dark gun barrels at the gathered British troops.

"Who is in charge here?" A German officer with the rank of lieutenant walked up to a seemingly stunned British private, shouting in perfect English.

"..." The British soldier's eyes darted around frantically before settling on an officer with the rank of captain not far away. That captain seemed to understand the German's intent, stepped forward, and loudly said, "Our battalion commander is at the headquarters for a meeting; I am Captain Smith." As he spoke, he noticed the four aircraft slowly moving to hover over each corner of the base, effectively surrounding it. Under each helicopter hung what looked like revolver-style ammunition drums, and there were machine gunners at the doors.

The German lieutenant knew these commanders were being held at headquarters. "Captain Smith, I assume you've received Lord Austin's orders?"

"Yes, all weapons have been secured." Captain Smith never imagined he'd one day give such a humiliating order to surrender without a shot fired. He didn't want to chat much with these Germans, opting for the briefest response. His greater concern was what kind of weapon was mounted under the strange aircraft. Since the war began, Germany had introduced numerous new weapons, and this was likely another deadly one.

The German nodded in satisfaction. "Captain Smith, to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, have your soldiers return to the barracks and stand by. No one should move around." Although these prisoners would eventually be taken back to Germany for internment in POW camps, Plymouth's port was currently packed with landing German forces, and bringing these British soldiers there now would cause chaotic congestion. So, their task was to first secure these British captives, preventing them from causing trouble by rebelling in despair.

Captain Smith nodded, giving the order for his soldiers to return to the barracks.

Watching the dispersing British soldiers, the German lieutenant turned to his men and issued orders. "Becker, take the first squad to guard the armory; Koch, take the second squad for lookout in the watchtowers; Bowen, your squad patrols with me."

"Yes!!"

Even though these British soldiers had given up resistance, with an entire battalion's worth of soldiers, having them guarded by just one platoon was still nerve-wracking.

The German paratroopers swiftly took control of key military sites in Plymouth.

When the British ground reinforcements reached Exeter train station, they received this dire news, leaving Brigadier General Brandon of the 12th Armored Division stunned.

Plymouth had fallen in less than half a day?!

That was six thousand British soldiers and a complete defense system!

How did the Germans manage to break through so quickly? What was the situation?!

"Quick, order everyone to fortify the city, set up defenses!" But he wasn't a fool; once he recovered from the shock, he immediately gave the order to fortify Exeter.

His aide was taken aback by this command. "Shouldn't we be heading to Plymouth to defeat the Germans?"

"..." Brigadier General Brandon gave a wry smile at this young, eager officer. Were the Germans so easy to defeat? If they were, they wouldn't have reached British soil. He was one of the officers who had been evacuated from Dunkirk and knew well the prowess of the German armored forces; direct confrontation would only lead to destruction.

The silver lining was their current geographical advantage. Exeter had been a mining area since the Stone Age, with the mining of tin, lead, zinc, silver, copper, and kaolin being key to its economy. Years of mining left numerous abandoned pits around the area.

Tanks couldn't navigate this terrain without risk of falling into a pit.

For the Germans to advance quickly towards London, they'd have to use the roads.

And Exeter, sitting on the direct path from Plymouth to London, became the place where Brigadier General Brandon decided to make his stand since they couldn't stop the Germans at Plymouth.

Even if British tanks were inferior to German ones, in the complex urban environment, tank performance would be greatly reduced. Even using their tanks as fixed gun emplacements could inflict significant damage on the German forces.