The Buccaneers were keeping the Maus’s attention but were not actually causing many casualties. A few brave British Charioteer medium tank crews used the distraction to carefully move their tanks in position to flank the Aryans.
The five tanks had managed to go unnoticed as they moved around the unguarded left flank, they bumped into a small group of unprepared infantry and five Kugelblitz setting up.
“Cheeky bastards.” Barry Downs said. “Fire!”
The 20 pounder gun of the British medium tanks bellowed as high explosive rounds penetrated the weak armor of the Kugelblitz anti-aircraft guns. They were quickly dispatched in a ball of flames.
The Aryan infantry did not have any anti-tank weapons but hosed the hulls of the tanks with plasma fire. The medium tanks returned fire with 0.30 caliber browning’s, the rounds rattled off quickly but only caused minor damage to the Aryan’s armor.
“Fire the high explosives at them.” Downs ordered.
The 20 pounders guns bellowed to life once more and made short work of the infantry. Body parts littered the scorched earth.
Once the Aryan forces realized a Kugelblitz division had been ambushed the retribution was immediate. Lieutenant Downs armor swiftly came under heavy fire from Panther tanks ordered to protect the flank.
The Charioteer’s fought for their lives as they were rapidly cut off. The 20 pounders kept up a high rate of fire and managed to destroy four Panthers. The Panther’s returned fire and one of the Charioteers were penetrated a total of six times before it vanished in a powerful explosion.
“This is Lieutenant Downs of the 15th armor; we have flanked left and destroyed a group of anti-air but have been cut off. We are being overrun by enemy armor. I am requesting air support to completely carpet bomb the area 15.7!”
“Roger that Lieutenant, can you make it out?”
“Negative.”
Everyone knew what that meant.
“Roger that Lieutenant, god bless you.”
The Charioteers kept firing for another five minutes before two of them were knocked out. The two remaining tanks charged towards the Panthers in a suicide attacked. They managed to knock out another three before a plasma round sliced through the turret of Downs tank; he was cut clean in two, his insides painted the hull in deep scarlet.
The next round penetrated the ammunition rack and the whole tank went up in flames.
Two minutes later and the roar of engines filled the sky once again as twelve Blackburn Buccaneers split from the main attack run and swept in over the Panther tanks. The bombers dropped their bombs and carpeted the whole area.
Many of the Panther tanks were completely destroyed in the following explosions but it was too late to save the cut of Charioteers who were consumed by the spreading fire.
Bomber activity slowed down in the next few hours but the intense fighting on the ground continued unabated.
The Eastern Front
The rain continued to lash down sideways as a powerful storm swirled around San Francisco Bay, the sound of fighting was almost drowned out by the growing wind. A small group of surviving American armor was making its way back to the shore.
The army group had suffered heavy losses and were now only managing to cling on due to the support of the Navy vessels to their rear. American cruisers were firing into the town; they had kept up this heavy bombardment for the last thirty minutes.
Admiral Phillips wished they had some real battleships but he knew he only had these vessels at his disposal. The sixty-two-year-old veteran cursed the growing storm as air support was now unusable.
Phillips was a cautious man by nature and he was reluctant to mount a rescue operation in the poor conditions and without air support. Every instinct screamed at him to delay the operation until the morning light.
The older man pulled an antique, gold pocket watch from his jacket and flicked the lid open, the time read twenty to three in the morning. The Admiral sighed heavily. ‘They will never hold out until daybreak.’ He thought.
The Chinese Admiral had no such caution. He was throwing every transport ship he had at his disposal to recover the men clinging on at the edge of the harbor. Plasma rounds were lighting up the area but they were not very accurate.
The Aryan forces had not followed the retreating men into the harbor but instead camped at the very edge of the area. Xiu Chang thought this was strange but they were due a lucky break and he was going to grab it with both hands.
The Chinese vessels opened up with another huge bombardment as the transports got closer to the docks. The communication between the Americans and their Chinese counterparts was almost nonexistent.
By the time the American fleet reacted and sent in their rescue force, it was almost twenty minutes behind the Chinese. The smaller transport craft was quickly secured to the dock. Men rushed towards the ships as quickly as they could.
The wounded were taken aboard first; the ones that could still walk had to carry their comrades on stretchers aboard the ships.
A group of desperate Chinese infantrymen tried to rush a tiny transport craft but were gunned down by the men guarding it. The others who had witnessed it had learned their lesson and waited patiently for the next transport to arrive.
The American destroyer USS Lynde McCormick was the closest to the shore. Her Captain was trying to watch the scene unfold in front of him but the low cloud and swirling rain were making it hard for him to make anything out.
He watched through his binoculars but now that the light from the plasma rounds had stopped it was even harder to see. He stood there for another thirty or so seconds before it hit him.
“The Plasma rounds have stopped but why?” He said to himself, “Shit.” He said, “Contact all ships we have incoming!”
The radio man was stunned.
“What do you mean we have…”
The whole bay was suddenly illuminated by a bright shade of purple. It looked almost lavender in color as it was dulled slightly by the thick cloud.
The Captain looked through his binoculars and to his horror he could just make out five, then six, and then seven small purple suns in the night’s sky.
They did not have enough time to warn the rest of the fleet as the clouds in front of them literally dissipated in the heat, the rain turned to steam as the ‘suns’ grew larger. The first giant orb hit Admiral Phillips aircraft carrier, The USS Enterprise started to vaporize in front of everyone’s eyes.
The great aircraft carrier lurched to the left as the impact site grew and then the ship disappeared in a bright purple haze. The water around it turned to steam and the sea bubbled aggressively.
“Artillery, all vessels evasive action. Repeat evasive action.” All radio operators seemed to shout in unison.
The Aryan Artillery was targeting the larger ships at the back of the bay. The heavy cruiser USS Newport News was struck in the stern the ship went up in a massive explosion. The sailors in the aft of the ship who survived the blast were thrown into the boiling sea. They screamed in pain as their bodies bubbled in the intense heat.
One ship after another was struck by massive orbs of light; the metal that was not instantly destroyed melted and bowed. Water rushed into the open wound gorged in the side of the destroyer the USS Barry it started to sink rapidly.
Panic had set in amongst the vessels clustered closest to the harbor, a Chinese destroyer set full ahead with its guns still blazing and raced forward. It struck several smaller transport vessels in its blind panic and caused them to sink.
The USS Manley had not seen the panicked Chinese vessel speeding towards them until it was too late and the two vessels collided with each other, The bow of the Chi Lin sliced into the stern of the American destroyer, the sound of the metal scraping against each other was sickening.