Chapter 435: Operation Viper

In the dark sky, the sound of the wind blowing through the forest echoed. This was an unremarkable building on the outskirts of Cambridge, England. Apart from the dense defensive positions surrounding it, it was no different from any ordinary suburban residence. However, what no one knew was that this was, in fact, the general headquarters of the British garrison defending Cambridge.

Near the outer security perimeter of this headquarters, a British soldier on sentry duty clutched his rifle and stared at an open field not far away. He seemed to have heard something, so he raised his weapon, trying to get a clearer look at what was happening over there.

But behind him, a dagger held in a black-gloved hand had already wrapped around his chin. It effortlessly sliced through his vulnerable throat. He tried to cry out, but blood gushed from his severed windpipe and esophagus. He clutched his neck desperately, finally collapsing to his knees and then slumping like a boneless heap at his post.

In the darkness, a grim-faced man, his face smeared with black paint, revealed himself. He flashed a special signal—one long and two short flashes—with a flashlight towards the distant open field, then quietly melted back into the night.

A moment later, on that same open field, a German soldier carrying an MP-44 assault rifle advanced cautiously, hunched over. He safely crossed the area that should have been under close surveillance by the British army. Following him was a second German soldier in a black uniform, then a third, and a fourth.

These German soldiers wore special tactical vests and were more comprehensively equipped than ordinary grenadiers, even carrying engineering equipment like ropes and pliers. They were all uniformly dressed in black SS uniforms, but without any identifying insignia or unit numbers. Without making a sound, these soldiers silently crossed the open field.

They then came to a halt next to a British checkpoint, staring at the roadblock with its sentry box and patrolling soldiers. The German commander in the lead gave a gentle wave of his hand, and four German soldiers, who were not carrying firearms, rushed forward from the rear.

These four men were not empty-handed; they were carrying a type of special crossbow. It was clear these German soldiers had come prepared. They aimed at the British soldiers from a distance, and with a single volley, all four British soldiers were hit. The British sergeant in the sentry box was pinned directly to the wall of his post.

The archers gave a nod, and the special forces of the 0th SS Division charged past the checkpoint. In the British barracks not far away, still no one had discovered the arrival of the uninvited guests.

Beside a camouflaged British villa, three guard dogs lay poisoned on the lawn, and several British patrolmen were dead in the corners. The German special forces had approached their target.

Two men moved in perfect sync to the base of the villa’s balcony. They assumed a practiced horse stance and clasped their hands in front of their abdomens. Two other German soldiers then ran towards them, stepped onto the clasped hands of the two men in the horse stance, and, as the men below pushed upwards, the two above used the momentum to leap onto the villa’s balcony.

Following another perfectly coordinated maneuver, two more soldiers leaped onto the second floor in the same manner. They then gave a ready signal to the men below. The commander on the ground nodded and led the remaining soldiers around to the main entrance, preparing for the assault.

He checked his watch; it was exactly the pre-arranged time for the operation. The German commander raised his hand and gave the signal to attack. All the soldiers swarmed forward, rushing towards the lit doorway.

Two unsuspecting British soldiers had just started to cry out when two throwing knives, as fast as lightning, silenced them, sinking into their throats. Two commandos rushed forward and caught the falling bodies, not making a sound. A skilled special forces soldier then knelt by the door, worked a small piece of wire in the lock for a few seconds, and then stepped aside with his tools.

The door was opened. Several soldiers entered the house and assumed a practiced tactical formation. Two stood on either side of the door, two knelt at their feet, and four MP-44 assault rifles pointed in different directions, covering almost every angle.

Two soldiers moved past a vase to secure the staircase, two guarded the door to the kitchen, and another two entered the kitchen, checked the corners, and then gave an all-clear signal.

The commander held up a fist in front of him, palm up, then suddenly opened it in a “scatter and search” gesture. All the soldiers nodded and, in pairs, began to check every room.

Boom! In the distance, a massive explosion tore through the night sky. The pre-arranged German artillery barrage had begun, providing cover for their operation. As if on cue, with the start of the shelling, the quiet villa, which had just been infiltrated by over 20 uninvited guests, suddenly erupted with intense gunfire. Screams echoed from the top floor to the bottom.

The German officer in command sneered, a ferocious expression on his painted face. He held his assault rifle and strode to the door of a bedroom that had been secured by several of his men. He looked inside at the British general and his wife, who were being held at gunpoint by several rifles, and said in fluent English, “Come with us, General Koman.”

And amidst the deafening artillery fire, seven Crusader helicopters, with a great rush of air and a roaring of engines, landed around the villa. Three other helicopters did not land but provided covering fire for the surrounding British positions with their mounted 13mm and 7.92mm heavy machine guns.

Soon, the ten German helicopters had quickly disappeared into the night, bringing this daring special forces operation to a successful conclusion. At almost the same time, in another location, another special operation was underway.

A team of “British soldiers” drove up to the gate of a British frontline munitions depot. The officer in charge handed a pass, bearing the seal of the British Frontline General Headquarters, to the guard on duty. As the British soldier was puzzling over the unfamiliar seal, the “British officer” who had gotten out of the vehicle to have a smoke suddenly wrapped an arm around his neck. Before the poor sentry could even cry for help, his life was over.

Subsequently, these “British soldiers” took over the important munitions depot, bit by bit. They stood guard, patrolled, and carried out their duties in a methodical and orderly fashion. These men, disguised as British soldiers, were, of course, a German special forces team that had infiltrated to carry out a sabotage mission.

If you hadn’t witnessed it yourself, you would never have believed that this German special forces team had been brazenly driving around, looking for British munitions depots. They would stop their vehicle, flag down a British patrol, share cigarettes, curse the Germans, and then, under the pretext of being lost, easily get information about nearby military facilities.

Soon, these disguised German special forces drove away from the now-burning munitions depot. They left openly amidst the explosions and the panic of the British firefighting units, even shouting a warning to the firefighters to be wary of a German attack.

About ten special forces teams had been inserted behind the British lines. They robbed and plundered for food and supplies, then created panic, spread rumors, and destroyed everything they saw. They blew up railways to stop British reinforcements, attacked British supply convoys, and divided up or burned the food and ammunition. They wore British uniforms and shot British soldiers. In short, these soldiers caused more trouble for the British than an entire German division.

The German operations were pushing the British to the brink of collapse. The second British commander-in-chief, Lord Gort, was ambushed and killed by a German special forces team on his way back to London after being dismissed. This old lord, who had been a general since the Dunkirk evacuation, died an ignominious death on a forest path along with his chief of staff and a dozen guards.

Another incident brought even greater shame to the new British commander-in-chief, Willis. During a speech while inspecting the front, his aide, who was standing just a few steps away, was shot by a sniper. The blood splattered all over his face. It was later confirmed that this not-so-precise kill shot had been made from a terrifying distance of 550 meters.

Of course, a German special forces team also blew up a railway line near Cambridge, incidentally destroying a train bound for the city. No one knew how many supplies Britain had lost in this small attack—the train was carrying parts for four large-caliber railway guns destined for Cambridge, as well as almost all of their large-caliber shells. Also on the train were the engineers responsible for assembling the guns and 240 soldiers tasked with protecting the equipment and supplies.

That night’s operations brought a perfect end to the German special forces’ mission. The commando raid, codenamed “Viper,” was complete. 131 battle-hardened special forces officers and men returned safely to the German-controlled area, bringing back the ashes of their fallen comrades in urns.

The next day, a German war correspondent interviewed the captured commander of the Cambridge garrison, General Koman, and his still-shaken wife. A small London tabloid published this ironic news: the Germans had snatched a British frontline commander in the night. Overnight, 11 captains and 5 majors had been killed, and a colonel and a major general had become prisoners of the German special forces.

However, the newspaper did not report the final outcome of the incident. On the afternoon of the day the news broke, the leaderless British forces were thrown into chaos. The Germans took the opportunity to launch a full-scale offensive. In just five hours, at 7:15 PM, just after dinnertime, they captured the world-famous university city of Cambridge.