Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.

Let's get to it.

Chapter 12- Cherbourg

(June 8, 1944)

The sky slowly begins to get lighter as the sun rises over the horizon, lighting up the city of Cherbourg. Just like any normal summer day.

However, the citizens of Cherbourg know that it is far from a normal summer day as another volley of artillery fire breaks open the sky over the city. The 1st Marine Division had reached the outskirts of Cherbourg the night before and immediately begun an assault on the city. The timely arrival of the Marines had prevented the Germans from withdrawing nearby forces into the city to reinforce it, leaving 22,000 German troops to defend the city. Although they outnumbered the Marines in numbers alone, the German defenders were seriously outgunned. The speed of the Marines' assault had also caught the Germans off guard, and they were still trying to establish a sound defense.

The commanding general of the 1st Marine Division had established a very good plan of attack, which was proving effective against the German defenders. Most of the division made a straight in attack from the south, except for the 1st Marine Regiment, which swung around to the east of Cherbourg to make an attack on the Germans' left flank. The Marines were also supported by Harriers, Hornets, and SuperCobras from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, as well as two Spruance class destroyers offshore that were providing gunfire support.

The battle had been raging for a few hours now, and now that morning had come, the Marines were about to make their big push. The 11th Marine Regiment, with its complement of M1 and M48 tanks, was going to make a rapid charge straight for Cherbourg's city center, with the 1st and 3rd Light Armored Reconaissance Battalions coming up behind them to keep the lines open and secured. Once the city center was captured, it was hoped that the Germans would begin to surrender, leaving those who wouldn't far more vulnerable as the 1st Regiment moved in from the east.

In his headquarters in a captured town several miles behind the front lines, the general is paying close attention. With only 14,000 Marines under his command, going against a German division of 22,000, he knows that his main attack has to be executed perfectly in order to minimize casualties to his men. Although he's now somewhat regretting leaving behind the 5th Marine Regiment to defend the beachead at Utah, he knows he can pull this off, and his men are now in position. Turning to his aides, the general gives the order to begin the attack.

As the orders reaches the front lines, the 11th Marine Regiment begins moving. The Regiment had already gotten into the town and secured two of the major streets leading towards the city center. As the orders filter through the ranks of the Marines, the leading M1 tanks start to rev their engines and begin their advance down the streets. More M1s and M48s quickly start their engines and start following the lead tanks. Marines follow on foot, ready to help clear the buildings of German soldiers.

The minutes pass slowly as the leading Marine tanks advance down the roads into the town. Rubble from the fighting and bombings prior the the battle, along with rubble laid by the defenders, slow the tanks down, but the tanks are relentless in their advance.

The Germans quickly realize that the Marines are making a more aggressive push into Cherbourg, and begin diverting more troops to meet the main advance.

The Marines quickly begin to encounter stiffer resistance. Their biggest surprise comnes just minutes into the advance, when a German officer hidden in an alley fires a Panzerfaust anti-tank weapon at an M1 trundling past him. The projectile hits the M1 right at the base of the turret, blasting through the M1's armor and disabling the tank completely.

The Marines are shocked as they watch the M1 be destroyed. This is the first M1, Challenger, or Leopard destroyed by the Germans since the landings began at Normandy. Although they knew their tanks from the future were not invulnerable, it's still unexpected.

The Marines move quickly. Two more M1s trundle up to the destroyed Abrams and pretty much ram it out of the way to stop it from blocking the street. The rest of the tanks and accompanying infantry continue their advance down the street.

As the Marines continue their advance despite the loss of one of their tanks, the Germans are trying to muster their forces to meet the Marine advance. However, the German officer in command did not realize that the 1st Marine Regiment was waiting east of Cherbourg. Now, as the Germans are pivoting to meet the main advance, the next phase of the Marines' attack begins.

At a signal from their commander, the 1st Marine Regiment begins their advance into Cherbourg. The 1st is perhaps the heaviest armored of all the units of the division, only equipped with M1 tanks. The M1s lead the way as the regiment moves into Cherbourg.

The regiment has very strict orders. Their goal is to secure the harborfront as quickly as possible. If the Germans can destroy the port facilities or seriously damage them, it could hamper Allied resupply efforts and make all further landings have to go through Normandy instead of a real port. Eisenhower wanted the harbor front captured intact.

The Marine tanks advance quickly, with armored personnel carriers following behind them. The regiment commander had decided to take a gamble and send the tanks ahead of the rest of the regiment, with the APCs accompanying them, and get to the harborfront as fast as possible. The men on foot and other vehicles would advance slower and eventually join up with them.

The tanks advance quickly down Cherbourg's roads, moving at almost 30 miles an hour. In the lead tank, a Marine officer, Major Jack Stone, watches through his commander's sight. Up ahead, he sees a German machine gun nest. Immediately, he calls out, "Got one machine gun nest in sight, distance 240 yards. One round, HEAT."

"One round, HEAT," the loader calls back as he quickly loads a HEAT round into the barrel and closes the breach before calling out, "Breach closed!"

"Fire!" Stone orders. A second later, the gunner pulls the trigger, and the M1's 120mm gun discharges a HEAT round. A second later, the round impacts the German machine gun nest, instantly killing the Germans manning it and destroying their weapons.

"Confirmed impact," Stone says after seeing the nest destroyed, and the tank continues onward.

After about 20 minutes, Major Stone's tank rolls out of the street and onto the harborfront. Immediately, Stone spots a number of German soldiers, who look to be setting explosives. Stone immediately orders the main gun to fire, while he mans the machine guns.

The main gun fires first, and a second later, Stone starts firing his M2 .50 caliber machine gun, hile the guner also starts firing the smaller coaxial machine gun. Hundreds of rounds lance across the harbofront as the HEAT round hits a group of German soldiers, killing them all. More and more Germans fall as the machine gun rounds tear through their bodies. More tanks comes forward and add their HEAT rounds and machine guns to the mix.

The Germans are caught completely off guard by the sudden arrival of the M1s. At the same time, the destroyers stationed just off the coast are adding to the fire with their 5 inch guns, trying to keep the Germans away from the docks.

The Germans try desperately to fight back, but are unable to keep up with the speed of the American assault. One M1 tank commander is injured by a stray bullet, and an APC is destroyed by an anti-tank weapon, but the Marines continue to try and keep up the speed of their assault, and the Germans cannot stand up against it.

Within half an hour, the advance force of the 1st Marine Regiment has secured the harborfront with minimal casualties and almost no damage to the port facilities. Marines on foot set out to check for any demolition charges set around the harbor while the tanks set up a perimeter to defend against any more attempts by the Germans to destroy the port facilities.

In his tank, Major Stone settles in, but keeps his eyes on his scope, knowing he can't afford to let his guard down despite the quick victory in capturing the harborfront.

(The following day)

In his headquarters, now in a relatively undamaged building in Cherbourg, the commander of the 1st Marine Division breathes a sigh of relief. The battle for the city had gone rather well, and Cherbourg was now in Allied hands.

The battle had not been as easy as the capture of Utah Beach. The Germans had been dug in a little, and fought from the buildings. The Marines had sustained a number of casualties trying to clear out the buildings, but had managed to do so while keeping their casualties relatively low.

The final casualty count had just arrived at his headquarters. The Marines had suffered 781 dead and 849 wounded, as well as losing 13 vehicles, including an M1 tank. However, the Germans had suffered very heavy casualties. Almost 10,000 dead or missing, and the rest of the defenders all taken prisoner.

With Cherborug now in Allied hands, resupply efforts could accelerate, and more divisions could begin to be brought across from England. The capture of Cherbourg with its port facilities intact would be a great boost to the war effort, and it was done with minimal casualties. If things keep going at this rate, the Allies will be able to liberate Western Europe and capture German with a tiny fraction of the casualties they sustained in the original version of history.

And, I'll end the chapter there. Yeah, it was short, but I hope it was alright.

Next chapter will be showing a bombing raid by the future air forces into Germany and air combat between future fighters and German fighters. It should be up in a week or two. Until then, please leave a review, and stay tuned!