Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 3- Air Assault
(0050, June 6)
The French countryside is beginning to come alive. The Nighthawk attack on the bridges had roused the Germans in the area to a slightly higher level of alert. At the same time, members of the French resistance were mobilizing and beginning to fulfill their tasks to support the invasion.
As the Nighthawks are retreating back to Britain, the next phase of the assault is beginning. Flying at low altitude over the French countryside is a small force of British helicopters. The helicopters are divided into two formations. Each formation is comprised of 6 Puma helicopters, 8 Black Hawks (provided by the US), and 4 Apache attack helicopters. The Pumas and Black Hawks are carrying 340 troops of the 5th Airborne Brigade of the British Army. Their targets are the Caen Canal and Orne River Bridges. 170 troops will be landed at each bridge. Their goal is to capture the vitally important bridges, prevent them from being demolished, and hold them until the troops from Sword Beach could link up with them.
The attack would be swift and deadly. The Apaches would fly in first and strafe any Germans they could see, allowing the transport helicopters to come in and deposit the troops. The troops would capture the bridges intact while the Apaches would find a German tank formation and try to destroy as many tanks as possible ot protect the troops. Later on, British Chinooks would bring reinforcements, including men from the SAS, to reinforce the original force.
The lead Apache pilot watches the ground passing beneath him, comparing it to a map he has in the cockpit. As he watches a particular landmark pass by, he knows they have less than a minute to go.
The pilot swings his Apache from side to side, a pre-arranged signal that they are within a minute of reaching the drop point. The Puma and Black Hawk pilots call back to the troops to prepare, and the troops go over their gear one last time and prepare to disembark, while the Apache pilots start timers to count down the final minute.
The Apaches fly slightly ahead of the Pumas and Black Hawks at both locations. As the countdown reaches 10 seconds, the Apaches throttle up and speed towards the bridges.
The first the germans realize something is happening is as they begin to hear the Apaches' rotors. The Apaches have been painted in a black camouflage, and so are almost impossible to spot until they appear in the light.
Before the Germans can even react, the Apache pilots reign in their helicopters and squeeze the triggers. Their cannons burst to life, sending rounds lancing across the ground, tearing through German soldiers like wet paper. Several dozen german soldiers fall dead as the Apaches rake the bridges and their surroundings with cannon fire.
The Apaches' attack lasts only seconds. The Apaches quickly move on, heading for the area where they know the main German force in the region is located. However, as soon as they vacate the airspace, the Pumas and Black Hawks move in and set down.
As soon as the doors on the helicopters open, British troops surge out of them. Most are armed with SA80 assault rifles, but a few are carrying sharpshooter rifles, anti-tank weapons, or L7 machine guns.
All of these British troops have trained hard for this mission, and now they move to execute it with great efficiency. The men move quickly towards the bridge, spreading out to make sure no German soldiers escape their notice. Rifle fire quickly begins to fill the night as the British troops fire on any German solider in sight.
The Germans are caught completely off guard and are unprepared for the ground assault. Within a few minutes, most of the German defenders at both bridges are dead, and the survivors have surrendered. The Black Hawks and Pumas, which had remained behind, take aboard the German prisoners and a handful of British soldiers to ensure their complacence, leaving 155 troops behind at each bridge. By the time the helicopters lift off to head back to Britain, only five minutes have passed since the troops set foot on the ground.
At the same time, the Apaches had found the German tank formation. Using their cannons and Hellfire missiles, the Apaches had destroyed over 30 German tanks and killed over a hundred German troops. Now, they follow the Black Hawks and Pumas back to Britain.
At the bridges, the British troops take stock of the situation. Both bridges are fully under their control. Several gliders are due to be arriving in a few minutes, bringing about 40 more troops to each bridge. These troops are British soldiers from the 40s. However, within the hour, Chinooks are expected to begin arriving, bringing modern troops, including SAS commandos, and some heavier equipment.
However, the commander of the British attack force knows that their greatest success was how much they surprised the Germans. They had taken the bridges so quickly that there was less chance of the greater German forces in the region realizing the British were there, giving them a better chance of receiving their reinforcements before being attacked. Now, they just need to wait until their reinforcements arrive.
(0120)
High over the English Channel, the sky is filled with the rumble of aircraft. The next phase of the assault is about to begin, the mass air assault.
Several hundred aircraft fill the sky over the Channel. Most are aircraft from the future, including C-130s, C-5s, and C-141s. However, accompanying them are a large number of C-47 Skytrains. The number of transports the future US had sent had not been sufficient for the airborne operation planned, so C-47s were used to fill the gap. They would be following the more modern transports closely, and dropping their paratroopers with them. These transports all together are carrying 12,000 men of the 82nd Airborne Division, ready to drop into France.
They are not alone, nor are they in the lead. A force of 40 F-16s and 12 F-4Gs from the 401st and 52nd Tactical Fighter Wings are already over France, spreading out to find their targets. They are tasked with finding German air defenses and destroying. The F-4s are spreading out to find German radar sets, intending to destroy them with their HARM missiles. The F-16s, armed with laser guided bombs and Maverick missiles, are spreading out in pairs to find anti aircraft gun batteries to destroy them. Many of the F-16s are actually powering up their Mavericks and using their infrared seeker heads to scan the ground for targets.
At the same time, below the transports and on a different course, a massive force of helicopters is bringing a large force of men from the 101st Airborne Division to also be landed in key points and to capture the causeways leading to Utah Beach. Only 2,000 men from the 101st are going to be landed, and they are being carried in by 25 Chinooks, 50 Black Hawks, and 20 Hueys. These helicopters are accompanied by 20 AH-1 Cobras and 24 AH-64 Apaches. The Apaches will be providing support to the paratroopers of the 82nd as they land, while the Cobras will be supporting the men of the 101st.
The first men to reach their targets are the men of the 101st. Moving carefully over the French countryside, the helicopters reach their drop zones. Cobras move in first, firing their miniguns and rockets at any German soldiers they can spot on the ground. The low flying helicopters move in quickly and begin to deposit the men from the 101st carefully onto the ground. A handful of German troops still alive on the ground try and fire at the American troops, but are quickly gunned down.
The helicopters are gone by 0135, headed back to Britain. The Chinooks are due to return soon, and they will be bringing with them more troops and equipment to help them hold their positions. The men of the 101st begin to spread out, spreading out to form a line between the beaches and the rest of the German forces beyond the beaches.
As the 101st is being landed, high overhead, the men of the 82nd Airborne are preparing to drop. In addition to the transports, 3 AC-130 gunships are accompanying the transports, ready to use their guns to support troops once they get on the ground.
In the lead C-141, the pilot is watching a timer. When the timer finally runs out, the pilot gets on the radio and calls out, "All planes. Drop."
The signal is received by every plane in the formation, and within seconds, American paratroopers are streaming out of the transports. Thousands of men are soon parachuting down towards France, parachuting towards four separate drop zones. Thankfully, the success of the pathfinders have given the transport pilots a clear picture of where to drop. And with the slightly better parachutes these paratroopers are equipped with, they will hopefully be able to avoid obstacles on the ground.
As the paratroopers descend, their air support is waiting. The Apaches are moving in on the drops areas, and the AC-130s power up their targeting and search systems as they prepare to start firing at any German forces on the ground.
Right on time, the first paratroopers hit the ground west of the Merderet. Unlike in the original version of history, the paratroopers have dropped perfectly on target. Hundreds of paratroopers land perfectly on target, avoiding dropping into the dangerous swamp areas.
Before long, a full brigade of the 82nd is on the ground west of the Merderet, the division's 1st Brigade, along with 1 battalion from the division's 3rd brigade. The paratroopers have landed virtually unnoticed. This is due in part to several Apaches attacking German troops on the ground before they could take notice of the paratroopers.
At the same time east of the Merderet, the remaining troops are descending towards the ground. Like the force dropped west of the Merderet, it is comprised of a brigade (the 2nd brigade), this one assisted by an additional battalion from the 3rd brigade. Before long, several thousand American paratroopers are on the ground.
Unlike the initial version of history, a serious catastrophe has been averted. No paratroopers had dropped into the village of Sainte-mere-englise. About half a battalion's worth of troops had landed outside the village, however, and now begin to assemble for an attack on the town.
After about 15 minutes, the troops assembled outside Sainte-mere-englise have received additional troops to their numbers. Now numbering about 650 men, the man commanding them, a captain, orders the men into the village.
The first shots of the battle for the village are fired as the first American troops enter the village. German scouts spot the Americans coming in and open fire at them. One American paratrooper falls, but the Americans return fire with their M16 rifles, quickly gunning down the German scouts.
Recognizing that the battle has begun for the village, two Apaches race in to attack German forces in the village. Speeding towards the village center, they a see a number of German troops gathered in the main square. Both Apaches fire their cannons, killing several dozen German soldiers.
As the paratroopers from the 82nd begin moving in on their targets, and the troops from the 101st that have been landed establish control over their targets, reinforcements are already on their way. A total of 40 Chinook helicopters are on their way. Fifteen are assigned to relieve the 101st's troops, while the others are assigned to relieve the 82nd. Each Chinook is carrying 20 troops and a vehicle slung below them. Most of the helicopters are carrying Humvees, each one slightly armored and equipped with a heavy machine gun. However, 10 of the helicopters are each carrying an M113 armored personnel carrier. Each M113 is slightly modified to allow it to be carried by a Chinook, and each is carrying less than a full tank of fuel to reduce its weight. At the same time, a number of C-130s are inbound. Each C-130 has been equipped with takeoff rockets to enable them to take off quickly, and each one is carrying either a howitzer or an M2 Bradley armored fighting vehicle. The plan is for the C-130s to find a relatively flat stretch of ground, land, quickly unload their cargo, and take off again quickly using the rockets.
The airborne operations are well underway. By now, thousands of troops are on the ground, with vehicles and artillery soon to join them, and attack helicopters and AC-130s are on station to provide air support. Already, troops from the 101st have seized a bridge and most of the causeways leading to Utah Beach, The 82nd have captured one of two targeted bridges over the Merderet and are fighting the Germans for control of Sainte-Mere-Englise.
The invasion is coming along. Things are moving along nicely.
And, I'l, end the chapter there.
So, yes, the airborne operations are moving much more smoothly and effectively than in the real version of history, and with much less casualties.
Next chapter should be up soon. Until then, please leave a review and stay tuned!