Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 143: Over the sea

"It's starting to rain, General, the weather forecast is very accurate. Baidu search GeiLiwx.COM" Guderian picked up the coffee pot and poured a cup of coffee for Rondstede.

"Two pieces of candy, thank you." Lundstede tilted his head and looked at the file in his hand.

"The command has already had a plan for this. The problem is that the current situation is a bit different from what we thought. How much impact this rain will have on our follow-up operations, we still don’t know, but the problem It has been placed in front of us, and Keitel’s thoughts seem a bit sloppy. What do you think, Bok.” Rondstedt handed back the document to Bok, and then took the coffee from Guderian. , He nodded slightly to thank the other party.

"The Weather Office told me with certainty that this kind of weather will last for forty-eight hours, maybe longer, but it will never exceed seventy-two hours." Bock took the file and put it in the file box on the desk. He 'S adjutant handed him another document.

"That means three days." Lundstede carefully held the coffee cup, took a sip, and then nodded his head. He felt it tasted good.

"These are not problems. We were fully prepared for this before we landed. Now my biggest concern is that our intelligence collection work is hindered by the weather. We can only use light reconnaissance aircraft. Reconnaissance at low altitude, this is a big risk." Guderian put another cup of coffee in front of Bok, and he walked to the front of the office with his own cup of coffee and stretched out the blinds.

"It is four o’clock in the afternoon. According to the Meteorological Office’s report, the rain will increase in the evening and the wind will increase accordingly. The height of the waves in the strait may reach more than two meters. Work will be a severe test."

"So the High Command decided to close the Deere Landing Area in these two days, and all landing troops will land from Dover and Folkestone." Bock read the document, then took the pen and signed it. Own name.

"The paratroopers needed vehicles immediately allocated to them, and told him that the command agreed to his request. The 38th Armored Reconnaissance Battalion will cooperate with their actions." After finishing Bok, he handed the document to him. adjutant.

"Understood, sir."

"You can go down and deal with these things."

"Yes, sir, retreat. General Guderian, General Lundstede." The young adjutant picked up the file box on the table, put the file in his hand into the box, and told the other two After the general nodded in greeting, he turned around and exited the commander's office with the file box.

"Thirty-eighth Armored Reconnaissance Battalion? Cyprus?" Guderian raised an eyebrow. He was very interested in the dispatch of the regiment directly under the Führer.

Guderian was a little surprised that the Commander had put this elite unit into the battle so early. He originally thought that after the battle situation developed a little more solidly, the High Command would send the direct line of this Führer across the strait. Many people have already regarded this as an opportunity to please the Führer.

"Their desire for battle is very strong, and Manstein is almost unable to hold the chain of the three-headed dog. I met Mueller once and he said that the head of state personally met him and Manstein. Because of this, and expressed that he is looking forward to seeing the performance of the immediate regiments in the British operations." Ron Dested put down the coffee cup and rubbed the rim of the white cup with his fingers.

As originally expected by the Germans, the weather around Dover on the 22nd began to turn bad, and the morning was still clear and sunny. In the afternoon, clouds began to cloud and rain began.

The impact of bad weather on the landing of troops is not great, at least for now, everything is still proceeding smoothly according to the plan. Unlike ordinary passenger transportation, the army has a unique style of the army. Unless it encounters a catastrophic climate, ordinary bad weather cannot hinder the army's actions. The soldiers still lined up in a neat line from the gangway of the passenger ship step by step, everyone put on the rubber poncho that had been prepared long ago, and their rifles and equipment were also properly protected.

The loading and unloading of vehicles and tanks did not have much difficulty. Although the wind and waves in the strait began to increase, the ports of Dover and Folkestone had very complete breakwaters. These breakwaters were originally set up to protect against wind and waves in the strait, and solid dams encircle a wide berth. Even if the huge waves outside are surging into the sky, the water is still calm in the harbor.

The most difficult issue that the German Army finds right now is the placement of people in the city. The military camps and fortifications at Dover Fortress were severely damaged, and only a few of them were able to be stationed. The problem is that Dover is not just the German army. There were also some citizens who remained in the city, as well as more than 20,000 British prisoners.

British prisoners are a very scratching problem, and the German High Command has made some mistakes in formulating this plan. The high command anticipates that there will be a large number of prisoners. According to the practice in France, they have prepared a large number of barbed wire and prefabricated steel bars for the landing troops to build fences and build temporary prisoners of war camps.

But now the problem arises. It is still related to the weather. Now more than 20,000 British prisoners are concentrated in several original British barracks. Since most of the barracks were damaged in shelling, it can only barely ensure that some of the wounded can be covered with one tile. They can only curl up and squat in the mud in the rain.

These soldiers have just gone through a fierce battle. The German army is busy clearing the battlefield and responding to the landing troops. There is no free to manage them. A battalion of gendarmerie units took on guard tasks. These temporarily deployed units are only responsible for preventing prisoners of war. Fleeing, indifferent to all demands of the prisoners of war.

The German logistics forces are already operating at an overload. They must give priority to meeting the needs of the German troops. The number of field kitchens simply cannot cope with the current situation. Many German companies are allowed to eat emergency dry food. This is not the case for the German army, not to mention the prisoners of war and The citizen.

The exhausted British soldiers can only cling to each other in wet uniforms and shiver in the rain. The German medical department reported to the Landing Army Command that if this situation cannot be improved in time, it will be difficult for these British soldiers to persist until the construction of the prisoner-of-war camp is completed, and some of the wounded may not even survive that night.

The easiest way is to let them enter the houses in the city to shelter from the rain, but it’s easy to say, and it’s hard to do at present, because there are still a lot of weapons scattered in every corner of the city. Before things are cleared out, it is absolutely impossible for prisoners of war to have another chance to obtain weapons.

Finally, Guderian came up with a solution. He drew out six empty-cargo passenger and cargo ships from the transport ships anchored in the Port of Dover. These ships were the backbone of the Deere landing fleet. After being specially modified to carry German infantry units, these ships are coastal passenger ships of about 1,500 to 2,000 tons, with small tonnage but relatively complete facilities.

The British prisoners of war were driven by the Germans aboard these passenger ships. The British prisoners were quite cooperative in the transfer process. These prisoners thought that the Germans were going to transport them to France. At this time, they had broken their tanks. No matter where the Germans transported them, as long as they don't let them continue to be exposed to the rain.

What they didn't expect was. The German sailors soon delivered hot water and food, and some soldiers who were already ill were treated by the doctor on board, and the situation began to improve. The British soldiers finally settled down, and Guderian finally no longer needs to be condemned by his conscience.

Bock felt that Guderian's handling methods were very clever, and he had a new understanding of the commander's adaptability. Immediately, he sent a telegram to the high command. He believed that the British prisoners of war were simply transported back to France for custody. Fully equipped prisoners of war camps have been established in France. These soldiers can also be well managed and separated by a strait. It is also an effective way to prevent prisoners of war from escaping. After all, this is the territory of the British. As long as the British soldiers who are familiar with the road want to escape, they can always find a way. Instead of trying to search everywhere, it is better to throw them directly through the sea and cut their retreat.

Now that the British in France have almost reached the point where everyone is shouting, British prisoners of war will be captured by the local French and handed over to the Germans within a few miles. Of course, those who contribute can get a considerable bounty. , The Germans were extremely generous in this kind of thing, and the French had begun to look after the British as a legitimate opportunity to earn extra money.

The placement of British civilians is slightly more troublesome, for the same reason. They were also forced to be centrally managed by the German army. The reason given by the German army to the citizens was for their personal safety. Now there are war remains everywhere in the city and many of them have not yet been activated. Until the German army has cleaned up these dangerous things, they can only operate under the management of the German army.

For civilians Guderian and Bok have different opinions. Guderian believes that it doesn’t matter if these people are released. They don’t even have basic food supplies and can’t leave the city at all. Bok’s opinion is at least They were detained until a new German offensive began. These people have seen too many things before, and at the same time they have been deeply hurt by the German army. Many of them lost their property, business, relatives, friends and family in the war. Many of them were full of resistance and hatred towards the German army. It is difficult to guarantee. What irrational actions they will do after release, at least until the Germans completely control this area, they can not let these people out of the sight of the Germans.

Finally, the number of these people was not many. Finally, the German army opened an air defense tunnel in the Dover Fortress. After clearing it, the German army confirmed that there were no weapons or ammunition in the tunnel, and immediately gathered the surviving citizens into the tunnel. Here, the German army provided fresh water and a batch of food and vegetables, allowing the citizens to select personnel to manage their lives and diet. The German army was only responsible for peripheral surveillance. Before the war changed, they could only move within the scope allowed by the German army. At the same time, the German army stated that during the period of centralized management, the German army would supply necessary food and medicine, and the German army would not interfere with their lives. But any actions that endanger the security of the German army will be punished.

The German High Command has made full preparations for the severe weather in these two days. In addition to special deployment of large ships that are not afraid of wind and waves, it also speeds up the laying of submarine pipelines. Fuel is now the most important material. With the increase in armored vehicles, daily consumption will increase exponentially. Deere’s fuel will also be supplied to the Air Force. The current delivery volume is no longer sufficient to meet the needs of all units. .

The Deere Landing Area has now become a material storage and logistics base. A large amount of logistics materials, weapons and ammunition were sent ashore before, but for various reasons, when the Battle of Dover was over, it was discovered that the troops were consumed The materials in the city are far less than expected, and at least two-thirds of the reserves are stored intact in that place.

Now these materials have become the most critical guarantee in subsequent operations. Reichenau took his troops to garrison in Diere, and now he has accumulated an infantry division and an armored regiment in his hands, which are sufficient to defend the logistics base.

Because of its geographical advantages, Deere is still a very good forward base. From it to the Thames Estuary and Mapingchuan, there are dense towns along the way. Most of them are prosperous business and production bases. The essence of the British Empire’s capital circle is mostly concentrated in This area.

The High Command has decided that when the weather improves, the Deere landing site will be reactivated, and some troops will still land from here, which can ease the pressure on Dover and Folkestone. But now Deere has stopped all shipping work, and the landing fleet that has been wandering in the open sea has turned to the Dover port area. Those small cement landing craft do not have much resistance to wind and waves. At this time, a safe port must be found. Avoid wind and rain.

The most affected by the climate are the German air force units. The Luftwaffe stopped most of its combat flights over the strait. The rain screen will cause certain navigation troubles~IndoMTL.com~, but the impact on flight safety is not great. As long as you climb to the upper part of the clouds, there is still sunny and sunny.

However, the clouds also obscured the view in the air, and the pilots can only observe the scene on the ground by descending below the clouds. Not to mention that cloud work is inherently dangerous, because it is summer, and these heavy rain clouds often carry a large amount of electric charge. If you are not careful, you will be struck by a terrible lightning. This is still more for the aircraft at the time. It is fatal. Although the metal body is like a Tesla coil, the pilot will not be harmed by lightning, but lightning will burn the engine's circuit and cause the engine to stall. If it is some models without a self-sealing fuel tank, the lightning will cause electricity. Sparks are more likely to ignite the gasoline vapor in the aircraft's fuel tank. The former may have a chance of forced landing, while the latter will directly explode and destroy the aircraft.

In this environment, the Luftwaffe can only dispatch some light auxiliary models for basic reconnaissance missions, but since this climate also has an impact on the Royal Air Force, there is no need to worry about the landing zone being affected by the Royal Air Force. attack.

At this time, the German radar unit has built the airborne early warning defense line in the Dover area. From the seaside to the sky over London, any disturbance can not hide the eyes of the German Air Force radar. (To be continued.) Happy reading every day