At dawn on December 1, the German military launched its offensive on Cape Breton Island.
The already-landed 1st Armored Division, 11th Mechanized Infantry Division, and 12th Mechanized Infantry Division became the main force. Three divisions of the Marine Corps also joined the offensive. At the same time, the other units of the German 1st Army Corps were rushing to land.
Although the British Army had suffered grievous losses in yesterday's battle, they still intended to put up stubborn resistance. Near Sydney, the British had assembled more than four Infantry Divisions and one Armored Division, intending to defend Sydney to the death. In addition, the British were transferring troops from the Nova Scotia peninsula to urgently reinforce Cape Breton Island. The US Army was also accelerating the dispatch of troops northward, hoping to block the German offensive and even deal the German military a crushing blow on Cape Breton Island, driving them into the sea.
In the sky, the German Air Force's 1st Air Group deployed dozens of fighter planes and more than a hundred ground-attack aircraft to cover the Army's advance. At sea, the decks of the aircraft carriers of the three German Navy fleets were also packed with fighter planes ready for takeoff. The moment fighters from the US Army Air Corps and the Royal Air Force appeared, they would immediately take off to meet them in battle.
At the same time, the German homeland had begun dispatching aircraft to reinforce the front. However, reinforcements flying from Germany to Newfoundland had to pass through Norway and Iceland before they could land on Newfoundland. Including pilot rest and refueling time, the journey took at least seven or eight hours.
On the ground, the German military's offensive was exceptionally fierce. The 1st Armored Division in particular, with its "Mighty Tiger" heavy