Chapter 419: Pitiful

When Montgomery read the report submitted by the pitiful Norwich Armoured Brigade, his face showed no trace of either joy or sorrow. There were far too few people in the world who understood the German army. Counting them up, there was only himself, Montgomery, and that man de Gaulle, who no longer had any military authority.

The German air force liked to operate ahead of the armored spearheads. They attacked every target they could find, slaughtering their opponents’ armies, destroying assembly points and logistical facilities, causing the enemy’s counter-attack to collapse before it even began.

This is what de Gaulle had told Montgomery, and it was a conclusion drawn from several direct confrontations with German panzer forces. He believed that the key to the German armored units’ success was their use of superior air power to compress the depth of the enemy’s defenses and destroy the majority of their defensive strength.

Of course, he had added a supplement, the words filled with even more helplessness: And from what I know, the combat effectiveness of the German panzer units themselves is absolutely world-class. They are tenacious and exceptionally fierce in battle, often making bold and timely decisions at the local level. In terms of combat power, they can defeat any opponent. Therefore, do not underestimate any German armored force, because they are capable of changing the outcome of a battle.

Montgomery thought of this assessment, which was filled with praise, and of the exiled French leader who spoke of the German panzer forces with such respect. He felt that even such a glowing evaluation failed to fully describe this respectable adversary.

“This is a force that often creates miracles. They have excellent combat awareness and a spirit of sacrifice. The lessons learned from countless losses have made the German armored forces fully capable of facing a numerically superior opponent. Therefore, I recommend against launching an attack on a German armored force, even with a two-to-one advantage in numbers.” After long consideration, Montgomery finally began to write his report. He started by appraising the German armored forces in even more direct terms than de Gaulle.

The British had shown countless weaknesses in the Battle of the Woods. If one were to summarize all the problems, from lack of training to chaotic command, it would fill dozens of pages. This variety of issues directly pushed one Michael Wittmann onto a divine pedestal and allowed the Germans to firmly establish their foothold on the landing site.

For example, the entire brigade of nearly one hundred tanks had left only two tanks to guard the road, while other areas were screened only by armored cars. After this single scout vehicle was destroyed, the entire unit still failed to react, with most of the men asleep in their tents.

Then, after Wittmann’s crew began their slaughter, the British soldiers were thrown into chaos, with no semblance of order. On the other side of the road, the larger half of the force, which was not under attack, failed to send a single tank across to provide reinforcement.

At the same time, the chaos on the radio made unit coordination and command difficult. Only about half of the British tanks had been retrofitted with radio systems, and many of the commanders were not in the habit of using them. This lack of coordination meant that even after 20 tanks had been destroyed, more than half the men still had no idea what was happening.

The British had had an opportunity to destroy that German Tiger tank, which was already being hailed in rumors as the Grim Reaper. But a lack of communication and command allowed the British Norwich Armoured Brigade’s numerical advantage to go completely unutilized, ultimately helping Wittmann achieve his heaven-defying victory of 25 tank kills.

In truth, Wittmann’s actions had been reckless and dangerous. Firstly, he was not on an assault mission but was responsible for confirmation and reconnaissance. After encountering the British armored car, he should have retreated immediately and contacted the waiting armored reconnaissance vehicles. Instead, he made the insane decision to continue the attack.

Then, after breaking into the British encampment and discovering far more tanks than he had imagined, he still had the chance to retreat immediately. At that point, he had already completed his mission brilliantly by ascertaining the strength of the British armored force. But he still chose not to leave, instead commanding his tank to begin an irrational attack.

It had to be admitted that what saved the German crew was not superior skill or extraordinary ability, but simply heaven-defying luck. The three times they were hit, the shells struck the sturdier turret, not the vulnerable engine compartment at the rear. The two most dangerous hits were deflected, one by the externally mounted gear and the other by the angle of the armor. If not for luck, they would have had to die at least twice to achieve the same result.

In hindsight, his irrational and crazy actions proved to be absolutely correct for the situation. They created a miracle, destroying 25 enemy tanks in one go. They disrupted the British operational plans and knocked the only nearby British armored force out of the battle in the most unfortunate way possible.

Wittmann became the new idol of the German panzer forces, but he was also subjected to a thorough internal review within his own unit. He received the coveted Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, but he was forced to wear this medal while delivering a self-criticism in front of an entire regiment of tank commanders, detailing the various mistakes he had made in the battle.

A promotion was out of the question. He remained a demoted second lieutenant, still the commander of that same Tiger tank, and still the frontline commander of the only Tiger tank unit in the landing force. The only difference was that he was now strictly forbidden from ever charging into battle alone again.

Montgomery had two main routes to reinforce the Norwich area. One ran through London to Colchester, then to Ipswich, and finally to Norwich. The other went north through Harlow to Cambridge and then on to Norwich. Both routes had their advantages.

The first route was shorter and offered the quickest way to the Norwich area, but its disadvantage was obvious: it ran close to the coast and had likely been bombed to pieces by the German air force.

The second route was relatively safer, located in the British heartland and less vulnerable to attack by the German naval air arm. Although it had been bombed a few times, compared to the first route, it was practically heaven. Of course, this route was longer, and it was uncertain how much faster it would be to reach Norwich.

After some consideration, Montgomery resorted to the unfortunate solution of splitting his forces to ensure the reinforcement of Norwich would be as swift as possible. He himself would lead the main force on the longer route north from Harlow to Cambridge, while an experienced armored regiment would take the Colchester route, trying their best to evade the German air and naval blockade.

As for the disgraceful Norwich Armoured Brigade, destined to be remembered in history for the Battle of the Woods, Montgomery ordered them to change direction and reinforce Great Yarmouth, to prevent the German armored forces from capturing a second coastal city and expanding their supply capacity.

And so, the Norwich Armoured Brigade, destined to be remembered for its misfortune, began its journey of misery. The pitiful unit endured relentless bombing by the German air force, and after losing another 15 tanks, they barely reached the outskirts of Great Yarmouth. There, they discovered that the city had already been captured by the German 1st Marine Division.

The helpless British tankers had no choice but to launch a probing attack. After losing 2 tanks and 20 infantrymen, they concluded that Great Yarmouth could not be retaken and began to flee in disarray. They retreated along the river all the way back to Norwich before they finally managed to regroup.

An armored force had set out from Norwich, marching in grand style to the south of Bacton to counter-attack the German landing force. Instead, it was hit by air strikes and lost a third of its men and equipment, then had 25 tanks knocked out by a single German tank in a nameless forest, then was bombed again as it retreated towards Great Yarmouth, and finally ended up back in Norwich. After wasting 72 precious hours, this vital armored force had lost two-thirds of its weapons and personnel and was right back where it had started.

If you think the pitiful tale of the comical Norwich Armoured Brigade ends here, you are sorely mistaken. After returning to Norwich, they were ordered, without a moment’s rest, to reinforce Cromer. That such a repeatedly defeated unit was sent on yet another mission shows just how desperate the British coastal defense battle had become.

The brigade was reinforced with 300 new recruits and set out once more. They prepared to travel along the railway to reinforce Cromer, but on the banks of another river, they encountered the German 2nd Panzer Division. After a 15-minute battle, the Norwich Armoured Brigade was routed yet again, leaving behind the wrecks of 10 tanks and the bodies of 110 soldiers.

By the time Montgomery arrived in Norwich to take over command of the area’s defense from the prudent but slow-reacting General Powell, he discovered that the German landing force already controlled a vast beachhead stretching from Cromer in the north to Great Yarmouth in the south. They had also established a defensive depth of about ten kilometers and had even captured two nearby field airfields. It was safe to say the Germans had completely and firmly established themselves on British soil.

The situation could not have been worse. German armored forces were providing cover for large numbers of infantry and had already advanced to the river, only a dozen or so kilometers from the important town of Norwich. Preliminary estimates indicated that at least a hundred thousand German troops had landed, and the entire beachhead had been fortified into an impregnable position.

Montgomery desperately wanted to curse, to flip the table and point at a group of British commanders, screaming obscenities and asking them if they were idiots, fools, imbeciles. Just as he was about to explode and throw something, the pitiful remnant of the British Norwich Armoured Brigade limped back into Norwich.

As if to vent his anger, or perhaps because he had no other good options, Montgomery’s first order after taking command was to disband the pitiful armored brigade that had returned to Norwich and incorporate it into his own armored corps. From that day on, the Norwich Armoured Brigade ceased to exist, its pitiful life brought to an end.