Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 37: Lifesaving plan
"No! The generator operation cannot be cancelled!" Churchill yelled at Secretary of the Navy Bakerhausen.
"Now we have not yet reached the point of failure, we have not lost Dunkirk. Gott is still there insisting, he is still leading the brave British soldiers in battle. And you, you, are actually lost because of Four or five transport ships want to abandon them." Churchill yelled angrily at the navy officers.
"Are you still the glorious British Imperial Navy? You want to throw 200,000 British army officers and soldiers at the brutal Germans."
"But we cannot safely rescue Lord Gott’s army now. The German heavy artillery has blocked the port. They have deployed hundreds of doors on each side of Dunkirk. Heavy artillery, they took almost all of their heavy artillery to Dunkirk. They were determined to eat the expeditionary force. Our transport ship could not even enter the port." Beckhausen defended.
"This is your problem, and you are responsible for solving it! I am the Prime Minister. I am thinking about how to get our empire out of the current crisis. Britain must not lose the expeditionary force, otherwise it will be a disaster! And how Saving the expeditionary force is the responsibility of your navy. You must now make a plan. No matter what materials or troops you need to use, no matter what you think of, I only need one result. I want to see mine in the UK. The expeditionary army returns. If it fails, you must bear your responsibility for the destruction of the expeditionary army." Churchill replied blankly.
"Prime Minister, what should I do with Lord Gott? Their harbors and beaches are covered with German time bombs. Soldiers have suffered a lot of casualties. Now Gott has marked some areas as dangerous areas and prohibited troops from entering. They are now trying to get rid of those bombs, but there are too many, and because the Germans mixed a lot of erbium mines in those bombs, the engineers were seriously injured." Secretary of the Army Dent said with a frown.
"Also, their ammunition and supplies are almost running out. They are now rationing soldiers’ food and ammunition. Gott said he can hold on for two more days, and the expeditionary army will run out of their supplies in two days. He doesn’t know how long his soldiers can hold on when they are hungry. Now due to the German blockade, sporadic soldiers defecting to the Germans have begun to happen in the expeditionary army. And now although most British soldiers Morale and loyalty are still maintained, but they are not enough to fight. If the Germans attack, the British Expeditionary Force will immediately collapse."
"This is what the Germans want to see now! They don’t launch an offensive just to make the expeditionary forces themselves collapse. They want to force the brave British army to surrender to their brutal German forces. This is the one The despicable Hitler likes to see most. No! I will never allow that to happen! I will never tolerate Hitler’s wish to succeed!
Your navy and army must work out a plan to rescue the expeditionary army at all costs, even if you break a blood path. This is now not only to protect our islands, to protect our empire. This is already related to the honor of our British Empire, our face in front of our allies and the capital supported by them. Yesterday I also went to meet with U.S. Ambassador Kennedy. He told me that the U.S. government is very worried about the current situation. He told me in private that if the expeditionary force is annihilated, then the United States will probably reconsider its weapons assistance program for us. Those Americans only care about who will win and who can guarantee their interests in Europe. I suspect that if our expeditionary force fails, they may stop supporting us. Worse, their parliament may fall to Germany. "Churchill said excitedly.
"Prime Minister, our Navy Department originally made a plan for the current situation, but this plan requires the assistance of the Air Force, but our Air Force Commander Sir Dowding strongly disagrees to let his air force participate in this plan. If we did not With the support of the Air Force, then we will never be able to achieve that plan, and we will never be able to rescue our army, so we asked you to stop the generator operation when there is no other way.” Beckhausen defended helplessly, staring fiercely. Hugh, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Air Force who had been shrinking to the side in front of him. Dowding.
"What kind of plan, why haven't I reported it to me." Churchill eagerly asked when he heard that the Navy had made a plan.
"We have formulated a forced assault plan. If successful, we will withdraw those expeditionary forces from Dunkirk within three days. We are ready to concentrate our main naval forces in the middle of the strait and bombard with our large-caliber ships. The Germans carved two wings at Dunkirk and suppressed their heavy artillery out of range of the Germans. For this reason, we also cleared a safe artillery channel.
We have fully considered the feasibility of doing so, and after discussions with all members of the staff, we determined that this plan can be successful. The Germans cannot threaten our naval capital ships. The warships of the German Navy are still in the German ports far away there. Even if they are there, they are not the opponents of our powerful fleet, so their surface ships cannot pose a threat to our plan. We also considered the threat that those German submarines might pose to our giant ships, so we plan to use a large number of destroyers to **** the warships to deal with those German submarines. The large-caliber guns of the German Army absolutely cannot cause damage to our warships, even their largest 210mm heavy guns cannot reach our warships.
And when the heavy German firepower was suppressed by our large-caliber naval guns, we immediately dispatched a large number of small ships to rush into ports and beaches at high speed, carrying the soldiers of the expeditionary army, and then reloading to our high speed The destroyer withdrew back to England.
According to this procedure, we can guarantee that the 200,000 people will be withdrawn within three days. But we must get the assistance of the Royal Air Force. The German large-caliber artillery cannot intercept those boats, but the German Air Force can. They already have the dominance of the Dunkirk. So when those boats rush into the Luftwaffe's sphere of influence without air cover, they will face a massacre. So we must need the full cover of the Royal Air Force, our fleet and fleet need the support of the Air Force, otherwise all this is just fantasy. "
"Why use small ships? Can't you use large ships?" Churchill asked.
"Because the sinking of the transport ships yesterday afternoon blocked the channel of the harbor, and the water on the beach is very shallow, now we can only use small boats to complete this task, Lieutenant General Ramsey has collected Two hundred small ships."
"I think the number is still not enough. A national mobilization order can be issued when it is critical."
"Yes, Prime Minister, but now we are short of air force assistance."
Churchill turned his head to the air force commander and asked: "Sir Dowding, what are your reasons for opposing your air force to cover this operation?"
Dao Ding replied calmly: "Prime Minister, our air force has already suffered a lot in France. If we are to cover for such a huge operation, we must use the main force of the local air force. We. The intelligence of Germany shows that Germany has concentrated their most elite air wing in that area. I think even if this plan is successful, the main force of our Royal Air Force will be greatly injured. Then what do you want me to use to protect the air security of the British mainland. "
"Do you want to abandon the 200,000 soldiers of our army in order to preserve the strength of your air force? If there is no army, do you rely on your aircraft to resist German attacks? You are afraid that your air force will be badly injured, then our army Should the whole army be wiped out?" Dent jumped up after hearing Dowding's words.
"You are afraid that your air force will be lost. Our navy has lost so many outstanding sailors and officers. What do you say, we have lost dozens of ships to save those army soldiers." Bakerhausen also shouted.
"Calm down! Gentlemen."
Churchill stood up, and he scanned the generals and ministers coldly. Then he asked Dent: "Mr. Dent, how long can Gott last?"
"He told me three days, four days at most. If they hadn't supplied or retreated then they would have to surrender and go."
Churchill nodded, and asked Beckhamson coldly: "Mr. Admiral. When will your artillery fleet and fleet reach the departure point?"
"I can prepare these in twenty hours, because I was already mobilizing the warships when I was making this plan. But the air force..."
Churchill shook his hand and interrupted the Admiral. He turned his head and asked Dowding coldly: "Sir Dowding, do you still insist that your air force does not participate in this retreat plan?"
"Prime Minister, I think this plan is still too risky, if this is the trap of the Germans..."
"Enough!" Churchill interrupted Dowding sharply.
"Sir Dowding, you must know that the air force, navy, and army all exist to protect our great British Empire. Now if those army soldiers do not withdraw to Britain, then the British Empire will be in a dangerous situation. At that time, your air force alone could not defend the German attack. Please remember that it is worth the loss and price for the safety of the empire.
And your current performance makes me feel that you have completely lost the dedication, fearlessness and sacrifice that you must have as a British soldier. So I now have to consider whether you are still suitable to continue to serve the Empire in your position. Now I give you one last chance. I order you to command your air force to fully cooperate with the implementation of this plan at all costs. Do you understand it? Mr. Air Force Commander in Chief? "
"Ming... I understand."
After hearing what Churchill said, he knew that this time he couldn't persuade the Prime Minister to change his mind. If he continued to oppose him, he would be really ignorant of practice.
Now he finally understands that Churchill is already losing his eyes~ IndoMTL.com~ As long as there is any way to save the current crisis, he will agree to use it. Moreover, the Navy’s method is indeed good, and it seems that it has been successfully rescued. The hope of the British army, Churchill will of course desperately grasp this life-saving straw.
Dao Ding can almost see the sight of his air force being besieged by the Luftwaffe at Dunkirk, but he still decided to succumb to the Prime Minister’s order, at least surrendering is better than dishonorable dismissal.
"Mr. Dent."
Churchill said to the Secretary of the Army: "Your War Department immediately sent a telegram to Gott, so that he must prepare for all retreat within two days at any cost, including clearing out the boarding area and organizing guard troops. This matter is left to your Department of the Army. If you have any problems, you must find a solution yourself. Remember that you must prepare within two days. Also tell Gott that I will not allow him to surrender anyway. >
"Yes, Prime Minister."
"The task of the Navy Department is to discuss the details of this action plan with the Air Force. We must carry out this plan until the 31st day at the latest, so you still have two days to prepare. In this paragraph You have to find a way to deliver some supplies to Gott in time. If you have any problems, you can solve them yourself. Now this plan is left to you. Now gentlemen!"
Churchill picked up the paper on the desk.
"You are here to discuss your problems. I am going to see His Majesty the King. Gentlemen, see you later." Then Churchill turned and strode out of the meeting room.
There was a moment of silence in the conference room, and then there was a loud noise.