This Is What You Call Strength

By evening, the town of Wormhout on the map appeared in Logan's sight. This small town, caressed by the sea breeze, was connected by wide roads but still retained a traditional layout and architectural style.

Apart from being a bit far from the beach, living in such a peaceful town would be quite pleasant. At one point, Logan had dreamed of settling down in such a paradise with the girl he loved. But reality had ruthlessly shattered that dream: only princes with money and power were real princes!

Standing on the half-track armored command vehicle that still smelled of fresh paint, the "fanatic leader," Dietrich, held binoculars with both hands and said to the Luftwaffe Leutnant beside him, "Hans, my friend, you guessed it perfectly. The Allies are indeed building a defensive line in this area, buying as much time as possible for their sea evacuation!"

Was such an obvious conclusion really a guess? Logan felt a bit helpless. The Germans' continental army mindset was far too entrenched, which was why they thought surrounding the Allies on three sides would allow them to leisurely trap their prey—the British Navy, with its centuries-old tradition, was no pushover!

The strength of the British Navy was well-known, but their army, by comparison, was less impressive. From the initial rallying point to here was at least 150 kilometers, and Dietrich and his fanatics had covered it in less than three hours, defeating the British Gloucester Regiment and two other British units that had tried to retake their positions. If they hadn't set their sights on Wormhout, they could have used the speed advantage of their motorized infantry to pull off a couple of brilliant encirclement battles!

Dietrich was quite satisfied with his unit's advance speed. In the past 24 hours, the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler had been the fastest among the German units besieging Dunkirk—but they had only advanced 4 kilometers into the Allied depth. Some Wehrmacht infantry divisions had advanced so little that their progress could be measured with a tape measure!

"Should we scout the situation over there?"

Though they had shed their British uniforms, Logan didn't mind putting them back on and taking his acting skills to the next level. When making this suggestion, he had already thought of how to deceive the Allied soldiers later.

However, Dietrich didn't give him the chance. The "fanatic leader" said with full confidence, "No need! On the battlefield, sudden and decisive strikes are more effective than anything else!"

Once the motorized infantry battalion caught up, the attack began immediately!

Dietrich set up his command post on a small hill, watching the battlefield ahead with great ambition: amid the rumble of engines, dark gray-painted tanks and armored vehicles rolled toward the once-peaceful town, like black stones scattered on a grassland being drawn toward the same direction by some strange force.

Logan counted carefully: 4 Panzer IVs led the way, followed by 16 Panzer IIs and Panzer IIIs, with a large number of infantry supported by wheeled or tracked armored vehicles. Dietrich had thrown most of his forces at Wormhout in one go! What made him so confident that he could take the town, defended by an unknown number of Allied troops, in one fell swoop? Just because their defenses weren't fully set up? But who could guarantee there weren't anti-tank guns or tanks hidden behind those houses?

These questions plagued the rookie paratrooper officer, and the war documentaries he had watched clearly couldn't explain every detail on the battlefield!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The lead tanks were still over two kilometers from the edge of the town when several white puffs of smoke rose from the Allied positions. After a brief whistling sound, flashes of light and clouds of dust erupted in the German advance. Although no tanks or armored vehicles were directly hit by enemy shells, the flying shrapnel still posed a significant threat to the German infantry, protected only by thin armor plates. The tank commanders, who had previously exposed half their bodies or heads, now retracted them with lightning speed!

Through his binoculars, Logan clearly saw that the enemy positions had at least four artillery pieces, and possibly some small-caliber anti-tank guns waiting for the right moment. In ten minutes, he might witness the grim sight of wrecked vehicles scattered across the field!

At this critical moment, another buzzing sound reached his ears. Logan turned his head and saw something awesome: six black planes were approaching from the east. Their eagle-like silhouettes could only belong to the super-violent Ju-87 Stuka dive bombers!

The overcast weather meant the clouds were still lower than usual, so when the Stukas climbed to gain altitude for their dive, they seemed to fly just beneath the gray ceiling, occasionally disappearing into the clouds like dragons hiding their heads.

If Logan's binoculars could see far enough, he would have noticed that most of the Allied soldiers now wore expressions of deep terror. But even the most venomous curses in the world couldn't stop the assault of these black reapers!

Whoosh…

With a screeching, soul-shaking whistle, the eagle-like black planes dove down. This was the first time Logan had seen Stukas in action. Compared to what he had seen in TV programs, this scene was truly shocking: they fell from thousands of meters in the air, and just when it seemed they would crash, these seemingly clumsy machines pulled up in a sharp arc, leaving only a few black bombs to continue their descent toward the ground!

Out of the corner of his eye, Logan noticed Dietrich's smug smile.

So this guy had already coordinated with the air force for the bombing. No wonder he was so confident about taking the town in one go.

In Wormhout, violent explosions followed one after another. The tremendous energy easily flattened nearby pointed-roof houses and flung debris hundreds of meters away. It was said that the shockwaves from heavy bombs could instantly kill anyone within dozens of meters and knock out or injure those further away.

The explosions lasted only a few seconds, but in that short time, nearly half the town's buildings were affected. As the dust and smoke gradually cleared, the binoculars revealed a landscape of ruins and broken walls, with no sign of human life.

In the blink of an eye, another three black planes began their dive. With an increasingly piercing whistle, the three planes in a triangular formation plunged straight down from high altitude, their movements so precise that Logan was reminded of kingfishers diving for fish in nature documentaries.

Boom… Boom…

A series of violent explosions assaulted Logan's eardrums: and this was from 5 to 6 kilometers away. How could the Allied soldiers exposed on the positions possibly survive?

The six Stukas flew away, leaving the battlefield eerily quiet. Soon, Logan heard the rumble of tanks again. Raising his binoculars, he saw the lead Panzer IV crossing the Allied trenches without any resistance, followed by Panzer IIs firing their 20mm autocannons wildly. Though he couldn't see their targets, Logan could imagine a group of panicked Allied soldiers being slaughtered!

Seeing that their tanks had breached the enemy's main positions, the German infantry quickly jumped out of their armored vehicles and advanced in skirmish formation. Through the binoculars, it seemed every armed man had a target to shoot at: soldiers on the armored vehicles fired machine guns, while the "fanatics" on the ground used rifles and submachine guns. From the enemy's weak resistance, the six Stukas had achieved far more than their actual destructive power!

In the face of the Germans' proud blitzkrieg, the British and French armies were like a flock of sheep!