The 39th Infantry Division, as the main offensive force in the attack on Rotterdam, concentrated the artillery force of more than 500 cannons of the 18th Army and began to violently bombard the city that was still resisting. Earth-shaking explosions were heard incessantly. The Dutch army, lacking heavy weapons such as cannons and tanks, could only hide in the bunker of the fortress and persevere.
As the sound of artillery gradually fell silent, the 39th Infantry Division immediately began to attack Rotterdam. The soldiers of the Wehrmacht did not believe that the Dutch would resist in this case, because in the general impression, after being subjected to such an irresistible bombardment, the general military commanders of Western countries would choose to surrender honorably. arms. But this time the situation was beyond the expectations of the Wehrmacht soldiers. When the Wehrmacht soldiers rushed within the firing range of the Dutch army, the Dutch soldiers immediately used all light and heavy weapons to fire at the Wehrmacht. The first attack took place in just a short time. failed within a period of time.
"General, the attack has failed!" the staff officer looked at General von Küchler and said unspeakably.
"Prepare for the next attack!" Admiral von Kuchler replied expressionlessly, as if this failure was simply an insignificant matter.
After repelling General von Küchler's attack, the defenders of Rotterdam immediately realized that concentrating all their forces in Rotterdam was a foolish decision in view of the heavy casualties caused by the artillery bombardment. The top priority now is to relieve the pressure on the Rotterdam front. After submitting it to the Commander-in-Chief of the Dutch Armed Forces, General H.G. Winkelmann, and receiving approval. The garrison commander of Rotterdam immediately detached his troops from the city and prepared to retake the surrounding airports that were already controlled by German paratroopers.
A total of four battalions of troops were smuggled outside the city. The defenders of Rotterdam gave them all the active mechanized equipment, because for the troops guarding the fortress, these weapons were dispensable and were not necessary. The addition of these equipment will not make the war develop in one's own favor.
Although the German Wehrmacht troops saw several Dutch troops leaving the city, they did not intercept them because the frontline commander believed that these Dutch troops would either break through or retreat. He wished that the more these troops, the better, so that You can conquer Rotterdam without any effort. The soldiers of the National Defense Force are still preparing for the next attack, and the artillery troops are still nervously adjusting the artillery, carrying box after box of artillery shells to the position.
Just as the Wehrmacht was attacking Rotterdam again, the paratroopers who had previously occupied the Valport Airport were renovating the facilities at the Valport Airport to provide a good air base for the domestic air force that was about to move in. The Dutch troops seized this opportunity and gave the paratroopers who were leisurely repairing the airport a heavy blow. The paratroopers, who had only light weapons and were caught off guard, had no time to resist and were expelled from the Val Port Airport.
"Leader, the Varport Airport was successfully raided by the Dutch army, and the airborne troops were driven out!" Robert C. Crawford said with a gloomy look.
"What..." Lin Wei's current mood was as if he had just finished a sumptuous dinner, but found a fly in the remaining snacks. Lin Wei had just thought of using the Valport Airport to attack Rotterdam, and in the blink of an eye the airport was occupied. Dutch troops recaptured it.
Shame, absolute shame, Lin Wei now feels as if he has been slapped in the face, "Skeleton Division, no, in Belgium. The Gendarmerie and the Imperial Division are in the Ardennes area. The remaining divisions are on the front of the Maginot Line!" My troops, where are my troops?" Lin Wei asked as if possessed by fire.
"Leader!" Robert C. Crawford said cautiously when he saw Lin Wei's appearance.
"Robert C. Crawford, you go out first. Don't come in without my order!" Lin Wei's eyes lost focus again. Facing such a pair of eyes, Robert C. Crawford felt a chill in his heart and immediately obeyed. The order went out.
After a while, Lin Wei called Robert C. Crawford in again and said, "Send a telegram to Marshal Göring in my name. The Varport Airport has been lost. The earlier plan will wait until it is recaptured." Continue to the airport. Since I don’t have any troops directly under the SS around me, I need about 5,000 paratroopers to retake the Valport Airport! I hope the Marshal can help!”
Immediately, the telegram was transmitted to Berlin along with the radio signal and was delivered to Goering. After reading the telegram, Göring shook his head slightly. Göring knew why Lin Wei was so aggressive. He had just drafted the telegram in the morning and the airport was occupied in the afternoon. No one could bear this tone.
Göring called the air force staff officer next to him over and said, "The bombing mission of Rotterdam is temporarily cancelled, and the commander of the 22nd Airborne Division, Sponnick, is ordered to take all the remaining paratroopers and land at the Vaal Harbor Airport."
"Yes, Your Majesty Marshal! But it will take a day to prepare," the staff officer said seriously.
"There is no problem, but if it takes a day to prepare, you can integrate the airborne plan with the earlier plan to bomb Rotterdam and let them proceed at the same time. If there is no problem, you can call the leader of the SS for me. Let's go!" Goering said with a tired look. It seems that Goering's drug rehabilitation journey still has a long way to go.
At 3 o'clock in the morning on May 14, the Dutch infantry near the Var Port Airport hid in the trenches and tunnels of the airport, guarding the machine guns and mortars. However, at this time, two reserve companies of soldiers were still at the airport. He slept with his head covered in Ku's temporary dormitory. While they were having sweet dreams, death came. Countless bombs fell from the sky and exploded in the trenches and anti-aircraft gun positions at the edge of the airport. A bomb hit the large hangar where the reserve team was sleeping soundly. After the hangar was hit, it immediately burst into flames and collapsed instantly, with many soldiers trapped inside. The backbone of the defense force at Val Port Airport was wiped out in this way. This extremely accurate bombing was the prelude to the German airborne assault on Rotterdam.
Just as the explosions in Val Port stopped and the anti-aircraft fire fell silent, the roar of aircraft engines came again in the sky. The transport plane of the 3rd Group of the 1st German Special Mission Bombing Regiment, carrying the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Parachute Regiment and 1 company of the 2nd Battalion, entered the south of Rotterdam on time at 5 o'clock. Bomb craters littered the Varport airfield, and the thick smoke from the burning hangar quickly identified their target from the air. The paratroopers jumped out of the cabin and saw small white dots appearing one after another in the sky at and around the airport. They floated in the air for 15 to 20 seconds, slowly approaching the ground. At this time, the Dutch army discovered that they were German airborne paratroopers. Then, machine gun fire rang out from the ground. The Dutch anti-aircraft fire was fierce at first, but then gradually weakened and the firepower was not concentrated. The biggest loss suffered by the paratroopers was caused by their own fault: a Junkers-52 transport aircraft carrying paratroopers actually airborne directly above the burning hangar. As a result, the silk parachutes caught fire and many paratroopers died. He was beaten to death like this. But most of the paratroopers landed on either side of the Val Port airfield and immediately went into battle. As a result, the Dutch army had to spread their firepower to deal with the paratroopers outside the airport. After about an hour of fierce fighting, the paratroopers took control of the Val Port Airport.
Sponnick, the commander of the 22nd Airborne Division, flew over the Val Port Airport with the second group of aircraft. After the German army was ready to receive the airborne troops, Sponnick, the commander of the 22nd Airborne Division, and the 16th Airborne Division The infantry regiment began to land. First, a squadron of transport aircraft attempted to land at the airfield, but came under fire from small-caliber anti-aircraft guns. One Junkers-52 transport plane had its fuel tank leaked and two engines caught fire. The plane finally landed. Before the plane stopped, the door opened and the soldiers jumped out. They were two platoons of the 9th Company of the 16th Airborne Infantry Regiment commanded by Lieutenant Schweiberke, and they were the advance detachment of the airborne troops. Immediately afterwards, Junkers-52 transport planes landed next to the burning aircraft one after another. Lieutenant Colonel Hortiz, commander of the 3rd Battalion of the regiment, wrote afterwards: "As expected, there was an astonishing roar here.
The roar of engines, the explosion of ammunition in the hangar, and the explosion of heavy cannon shells were all intertwined. Enemy machine guns were preventing the plane from landing. But our soldiers had already jumped out of the cabin quickly and started attacking. "During the German air landing, the Dutch army violently attacked the transport aircraft carrying infantry with intensive artillery fire. Several transport aircraft were hit by ground artillery fire, and one of them crashed to the ground and caught fire. Several small ships of the Dutch Navy also attempted to bombard the landing aircraft. troops, but were driven away by German Stuka dive bombers. At this time, the 3rd Battalion of the Dutch Infantry, supported by heavy mortar fire and artillery fire from northern Rotterdam, was counterattacking, but what was worse was that the Germans suddenly sent out a green signal flare --This was a signal for the Dutch army to stop firing heavy firearms. The Dutch army had no way of knowing how the German army knew their signal. As a result, the Dutch artillery mistook this as a signal sent by them and stopped firing. The airport defenders lost Without artillery support, they could not withstand the attacks of German paratroopers and airborne infantry. The final resistance collapsed, and the remnants raised their hands and became prisoners. At this time, German transport planes were still landing one after another, and the Var Harbor Airport was completely destroyed. into the hands of the Germans.
"Leader! The airport in Port Val has been recaptured!" Robert C. Crawford said.
"Very good. Are the Air Force's bomber formations here too?" Lin Wei asked.
"Yes, Leader!" said Robert C. Crawford.
"Robert C. Crawford, I want to give you a task!" Lin Wei said, "From yesterday to now, the National Defense Force has launched eight attacks on Rotterdam. Although they were all repelled, I believe , they can’t stand it for much longer! If Rotterdam can be captured peacefully, I don’t want to blow up this city!”
"Leader, what do you mean, let me go to Rotterdam to persuade him to surrender?" Robert C. Crawford asked.
"Yes, I wonder if you have any questions?" Lin Wei asked.
"No, I am willing to accept this task!" Robert C. Crawford said happily.