Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 138: Dover disaster (3)

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The speed of the German advance broke the common sense of the British team, and the Dover Theater Command was in panic. Baidu searched Geli Literature.. ⊥, according to the original plan of the British army, they also knew that relying on the outer line of defense was not enough to withstand the German offensive, especially the opponent still has armored forces, even if these positions occupy a certain geographical area. Advantages, but the deficiencies in equipment and strength are difficult to offset. However, according to the experience of the British army in France, these troops can delay the enemy for at least two to three days, because this area is full of trenches and hills. , Is not suitable for the maneuverability of the German armored forces.

The result was far beyond their expectations. The terrain outside Dover did hinder the mobility of the German armored forces, but the Germans were not only armored forces, they also had the same elite infantry. After the firepower of the armored units cooperated, the German infantry units became the main force for breaking through the line of defense, just as they did in the French campaign. In the French campaign, the German armored units were used by the German government as a threat and deterrence force and carried out excessive beautification and publicity. Their brilliance concealed the glory of the German infantry units, making people ignore that most of their achievements were actually caused by these ordinary troops. This fact was established by the infantry force.

Dover Command’s wishful thinking was completely frustrated. They didn't expect that the three lines of defense would be wiped out in one night. In the eyes of the command staff, the collapse of the first line of defense is inevitable. After all, these positions were constructed too hastily and crudely. For this reason, they also deliberately strengthened their forces and equipment in an attempt to balance their combat effectiveness.

But the rapid defeat of the latter two lines of defense was a bit beyond their expectations. They asked the officers and soldiers who were lucky to retreat from the front line, and wanted to learn the secrets of the rapid progress of the German team. The answers they obtained made them feel heartbroken. cool.

The Germans used a new type of tank, and the existing British tanks had no resistance in front of them. Even the Matilda with the thickest armor was vulnerable to these German monsters. The German infantry used a new type of incendiary weapon. At the same time, there is also a kind of individual artillery that can easily destroy tanks. As long as they are brought close to the position, the hard-built fortifications and fortresses will become like paper, especially after it is burned, it is even more impressive. Intuitive understanding.

In the eyes of the officers of the Dover Command, the reports of these people are like drunk gibberish, but the soldiers who have lingering fears swear by their names that they are all facts and nothing The fabricated place and the reports of some lower-level officers among them have made these superior gentlemen believe these terrible facts. So panic spread like a plague in the headquarters. No one in the headquarters dared to pat his chest and said that he could hold Dover City.

Mason Mason’s heart was filled with regret at this time, and he realized what a stupid decision he had made. His order pushed the remaining seven thousand British soldiers from Dover to the top. The edge of hell. But the mistake has been committed, the evil consequences have been caused, and the bitter wine he brewed can only be drunk bitterly. Mason can only urgently call a meeting of staff officers to discuss how to face the current crisis.

Immediately, the British army began a general mobilization, mobilizing all the logistics and reserve personnel in their hands, including municipal government officials, civilian volunteers and police forces who were unable to evacuate. These people cooperated with the fortress engineers to build a blockade wall on the edge of the city.

This is not a street fighting position or a fortress, as it means literally. It is simply a blockade wall. On the only way for the German army to enter the city, British engineers blew up the buildings on both sides of the intersection, and then the soldiers used rubble and abandoned vehicles to build short ramparts to hinder the advance of the German armored forces.

The rest of the troops began to dig ditches on various roads in the city. Laying mines and anti-tank traps. They used blasting tubes and prefabricated explosives to destroy the ancient blocky pavement, and then organized infantry and citizen volunteers to dig trenches together.

The excavation of the ammunition depots in Fort Dover is still underway, and one of the depots has been dug through. The fortress garrison happily removed a batch of ammunition for the 25-pound gun that is currently in short supply. This was the first thing that made the British happy that morning. Then when the sun rose slowly, the whole city was bathed in sunlight. Another thing that made the British feel happy happened.

I don't know what happened, the German army's ravages suddenly stopped. German troops stopped activities on all fronts, and even in some areas, German troops retreated some distance. This made the British troops who were panicked in the middle of the night, almost desperate, breathed a sigh of relief.

Although it is not clear what tricks the Germans are doing, in any case, the British team got a precious breathing opportunity, allowing them time to continue to strengthen their positions and defenses, digging and clearing out more supplies and ammunition .

The atmosphere in the British command suddenly became active again. Many staff officers believed that it was not the Germans playing tricks, but that the three lines of defense did indeed play the role as originally expected. They broke through these lines of defense in time, but they must have also suffered great losses. They did not intentionally stop advancing, but they no longer have the strength to continue advancing.

Many people suddenly realized that, no wonder the Germans played so smoothly and gestures like broken bamboo. It turned out to be in exchange for the loss of troops and equipment. It seems that the commander of the German team is just a reckless man. Landing the German army is no longer a fear. Some people even suggested that since the German army is at the end of the war and the army is showing fatigue, can the troops in the Dover theater consider taking the initiative to attack, and taking advantage of the strength of the German army, it may be able to defeat the enemy and regain the lost ground. , Maybe it can go further and drive the German army directly off the sea. If it can be done, everyone here will become the heroes who saved the British Empire from life and death, and they will surely stay in the annals of history and be admired by the world.

Finally, the officers in the command center have not yet stunned their heads. It is one thing to make up for the dark, but it is another thing to actually go up and go. Now that you can hold the Dover battle zone, you can go to Westminster Abbey to donate money and eat bread, and you dare to take the initiative to provoke those German barbarians.

Even if the opponent is really at the end of the crossbow as expected, it is still a strong crossbow. It is not your slingshot that can be folded and folded at will. Those are extremely dangerous professional troops and legal violent groups. It is a beast that can kill people all the time.

The most urgent task now is to take advantage of the German army to strengthen Dover's defenses, and then ask London for help. This is already burning eyebrows. I don't know why London can still be so calm.

Since the German army has landed on the coast, it is completely meaningless to defend the port of Dover. If London cannot send reinforcements, then at least some ships can be dispatched to let the port garrison withdraw from this encirclement. Not to mention that these are the only remaining mobile forces in the British army. These soldiers who have received a full set of military training are an immeasurable wealth for the current Britain.

Fort Dover Command sent a distress telegram to London again. This time they finally did not have to forward the message from the Kent County Command Post. The soldiers from the Fortress Communication Company re-entered the collapsed underground command post and rushed out of it. They used a set of 120-watt shortwave radio transmitters. They used a metal flagpole and discarded wires to erect a simple antenna on the wreckage of the fortress, and finally made direct contact with the Army General Staff in London.

The result of this contact surprised everyone. The London side directly rejected the proposal of the Dover garrison. They demanded that the Dover garrison defend the Port of Dover at all costs. Days. And it is guaranteed that everything will turn around in two days.

At the same time, there was also an order from the Navy to Major General Mason. The content was similar to that of the Department of War, except that Mason was not a last resort and not to damage the port. It is necessary to ensure the smooth flow of berths and navigation channels in the port, and the navy will prepare a mobile force to give him full support when he needs it. The hidden meaning in this telegram is if luck is bad. The navy will find a way to grab Mason out.

Then Mason received a telegram signed by Churchill himself, and babbled a lot. First of all, Churchill said that the cabinet of the British Empire had a deep understanding of the dangerous environment he was now in during the war. The outstanding contributions and generous sacrifices made by Mason and Dover's defenders for the British Empire were seen by the cabinet and all the citizens of the empire during the war and recorded in their notebooks. Churchill personally asked Mason to dispel the idea of ​​breaking through and retreating, and must attract the German army to Dover for forty-eight hours. As long as this can be achieved, he and the Dover defenders will be the heroes of the entire British Empire. Finally, Churchill congratulated Mason. Because of his outstanding performance in the Battle of Dover, the Imperial War cabinet promoted Mason to the rank of lieutenant admiral. This is not the kind of foolishness of wartime military rank, but a real regular military rank. , This carrot is full of weight, and Major General Mason struggled for six years.

Mason conveyed the order of London to all the personnel of the fortress command. At this time, even the dullest people felt that something was wrong. London must have some new plan. The Dover garrison has become a part of a plan. There is no word of reinforcement in the telegram. It is obvious that they have become a bait to catch the Germans. The bait will be swallowed.

Just yesterday evening, they did not hesitate to send more than 1,600 British soldiers to the outer defense line. These people are also bait and abandoned children in their eyes, but they did not expect the retribution to come so quickly. Now that they have become bait and abandoned sons themselves, it's really ironic in retrospect.

This is the case. When you use some of your subordinates as tools, you are probably a tool in the eyes of senior people. In the eyes of the London Army Staff and the War Cabinet, when it was confirmed that the German army had landed from another landing point, the Dover garrison had lost its strategic value. If they still preserved their combat effectiveness and mobility, then say There may be some usefulness, but at the moment they are actually besieged by the Germans. Not to mention the heavy losses, they still need London to send troops to rescue them. These troops have completely become a burden and burden in the eyes of the London Staff. At the same time, Churchill was labelled as a waste of failure.

London does not believe that these troops are capable of breaking out of the German encirclement. In particular, they have learned that the Germans have at least one tank division’s armored force. This is simply an insurmountable copper wall. In London’s view, these troops No one can change the ending of.

Originally, if the Royal Navy's home fleet was still there, it would be a way to withdraw these troops from the port. London also felt that these well-trained soldiers were very important to the current situation. But now the local fleet has been destroyed, and the German navy is rampant in the strait. Hunting down all the British ships they encountered, Britain has no ability to organize a Dunkirk-style rescue at sea.

In addition to Fort Dover, there are also the defenders of Folkestone. Intelligence shows that the situation there is even worse. They have been disconnected for 24 hours. The last telegram was that there was a serious loss of food and ammunition. It took so long. There is no news, and London does not even know whether the troops of the two divisions still exist.

Therefore, the Dover garrison has only one use left, as a discarded child and bait to exert the last waste heat, consuming the strength and materials of the German army. If possible, it would be better to delay the Germans in that area to buy time for London to deploy a defense plan.

Churchill still firmly believes that relying on the forces on hand, Britain still has a chance to comeback. As long as it is properly arranged, it will certainly be able to withstand the German offensive. But it takes time to mobilize and deploy these forces and build defense lines. Now for Britain, time is more precious than anything. In order to seize time, it is worth paying any price. Even the lives of tens of thousands of British officers and soldiers.

Mason General Mason, ah, now I am a lieutenant general. Lieutenant Admiral Mason did not have time to change to his new rank, but there was the armband of the lieutenant admiral in the military service department of Fort Dover. But at this time, where there is still time to find a tailor to re-stitch, he can only continue to wear the rear admiral uniform to organize a meeting of commanders.

Col. Evans of the First Armored Division has also been promoted, but what makes him feel annoyed. The commanders of the other two infantry divisions also received the rank of major general. As a result, the commanders of these three units were still equal in rank, and none of them had the dominant power. But at this time Lieutenant General Mason was pressing on the top. The other two were stationed at Folkestone, and Evans no longer struggled with this issue.

Major General Evans’s first armored division is almost dead in name. He has only one battalion of armored forces left in his hand, and most of them are Vickers ultralight tanks, similar to what the Japanese call bean chariots. . It may be used to scare people in Asia. In Dover, the German tanks on the opposite side can run directly on top of these small tanks.

In Evans's view, the report of the tanker who fled from the front line was a bit alarmist, but it shouldn't all be taken as nonsense. The entire infantry tank battalion was almost annihilated, and only three Matildas survived the catastrophic night battle due to the timely retreat command issued by the platoon leader. Although these tankers survived, they were completely shocked by the German tanks. One of the tank drivers refused to get into the tank again after escaping back to the city. For this reason, he shot his leg in front of the division officers and directly stepped into the honor of the First Armored Division. In the mud.

Evans is certain that the Germans already have weapons that can destroy Matilda infantry tanks at a long distance. From the current intelligence, the Germans have at least two types of armored vehicles that can do this. One point is that one is an improved version developed on the basis of the No. 4 tank, and the other is said to be a very low vehicle, which should be a self-propelled anti-tank gun. Because the surviving soldiers were all in shock and couldn't tell, he did not think about the assault gun.

Now that Lieutenant General Mason’s previous street fighting plan has become a piece of waste paper, the Germans are fully technical and capable of winning in urban warfare~ IndoMTL.com~ They have a very portable flamethrower, and the equipment is very common. Some people even think that the Germans are distributed according to the head, because the frequency of use of these weapons on the front line is so frequent that it feels almost like a man.

The German army also has an anti-tank weapon that can be used by individual soldiers. Some people think it is a kind of individual artillery. I don’t know what kind of black technology the Germans have developed to allow a single soldier to destroy armored targets at a long distance. Firepower. However, the wreckage of tanks and the ruins of fortresses all over the front line are there, and no one can deny the existence of such weapons.

Evans felt that if possible, the British army would find a way to seize a weapon of this type at all costs, whether it was imitation or exchange of technology and resources with foreign countries, it would be a very A good bargaining chip may also be the key to reversing the situation in Britain.

It's just that Major General Evans' plan was not reached until the end, and the Germans did not give him any chance. While the officers and staff of the Dover Headquarters were still struggling with how to complete the order in London, the last straw that broke the camel's backbone was advancing towards the Dover city in the suburbs. (To be continued...)

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