Battle of the Third Reich

Two o'clock in the afternoon on May 25th, 1940. London. 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister.

"Has it been confirmed?"

Winston. Churchill stood in his office carefully watching the pile of photos on the desk.

"Yes, Prime Minister, we got the confirmation as soon as we got the latest information." British Army Secretary Anthony. Aiden nodded affirmatively on the side sofa.

"The intelligence is very real. Yesterday afternoon, the Royal Air Force conducted a reconnaissance on the side of the German front, and the results were captured. In fact, the French intelligence agencies and the MI5 have discovered that the German squad began to have abnormalities the night before. action.

In order to obtain more accurate information, in addition to dispatching the Air Force's reconnaissance aircraft, we also used intelligence personnel lurking in the German occupied area. As a result, we found that the Germans mobilized almost all the troops on the front line. Those powerful armored divisions suddenly began to move to their rear, and some second-tier infantry divisions were transferred to replace the armored division's offensive.

The German squads near Arras have completely stopped their offensive. According to the news from the front line, the Germans there are shrinking their positions as if they are preparing to move into defense. In addition to Calais in France, it was also violently attacked by the installation of the Armored Forces of Guderi in Germany. The other fronts have begun to stabilize. So far, except for some small-scale harassment attacks, the French front has been basically calm. "

Churchill frowned. He turned to the back of the desk and sat down, looking at the documents from the Army Intelligence Department on the table.

"Prime Minister, this morning we sent reconnaissance planes to conduct reconnaissance. We found that the German armored forces were gathering in the Cambrai area. We also found a large number of tank battlefield repair workshops and oil depots.

After analysis by our intelligence experts, it is believed that the reason for this large-scale mobilization in Germany was that their armored forces were in serious trouble. "General Ismail, representative of the British Chiefs of Staff Committee, said in a report.

"We have seen from the reconnaissance photos that the enemy's armored divisions are gathering towards their rear, and a large number of tanks are being towed to march, which shows that these tanks are either broken or run out of fuel. There are in the photo The seventh German armored division, the fourth armored division, the sixth armored division, the same situation has appeared in other mobile armored divisions in Germany.

In particular, several troops moving in the direction of Cambrai also carried a large number of empty fuel barrels, which can be clearly seen in the photos of the 7th and 4th Armored Divisions, which makes us more convinced that the Germans have Run out of fuel. And we also found that the German supplies to Guderi’s installation of the Armored Division accounted for a large proportion of fuel. There were more fuel trucks on the road to Calais than ammunition vehicles. They even used the Air Force's transport aircraft to supply Guderian transport. "

"Transport aircraft? Air freight?"

Churchill raised his head and looked at Ismay suspiciously.

"Yes, this is a report from the Royal Air Force radar station." Ismay pulled a report from the file and handed it to Churchill. He continued.

"Last night, the No. 4 radar station on the outskirts of Dover found a large number of German aircraft moving in the direction of Calais. From the perspective of the speed and size of the aircraft, all were large transport aircraft. Then those targets were suddenly near Calais. Disappeared, we think the Germans landed there, there was an occupied French field airfield. At midnight they suddenly appeared from the radar and flew back to the German rear. We can believe that Germany is doing its best to Going to deliver supplies to Guderian means that Guderian's situation has reached a very difficult point."

Churchill pondered for a while, he opened the cigarette case on the desk, took out a cigar from the inside, then took the silver scissors on the table to cut off the tail of the cigar, he slowly picked up one side The lighter lit the cigarette. Churchill took a sip of cigar and stared at the photo on the table fiercely. Then he turned around and looked at the map on the wall for a while.

"Your opinion is that something is wrong with the German logistics?" Churchill asked.

"Yes, and it may be more serious than we thought." Ismay answered. "According to yesterday’s and today’s information, Germany is desperately delivering fuel to France. On the railway to France, German tankers are 70% more than usual. And we think that German tanks have arrived. Must stop when it is overhauled.

We have found a lot of tanks parked outside the German tank battlefield repair shop. And now it seems that Guderian's armored forces have also reached the end of the crossbow, and the Germans may have concentrated all their current supplies to support him in the fight.

The other German armored forces had to retreat to a safe rear for repairs and wait for their domestic transportation to provide support. After all, it was unwise to leave fuel-depleted and malfunctioning tanks on the front line. Only a small number of infantry troops are now defensive in the Alas region. They exposed a weak line of defense of 50 kilometers long in front of us. "

"Is this a trap?" Churchill was still a little skeptical. "Germans just let us see their weakness?"

"It shouldn't be because the Germans' actions started suddenly. They must think that even if we knew these things, they would be too late to respond. And their supplies should be delivered within three days, when they can. We quickly repaired the hole and launched another attack. Moreover, we also paid a considerable price to obtain this information. The Air Force lost about fifty reconnaissance planes, bombers and fighters to get close to those tank repair plants. More than eighty pilots died or were captured for this, and more than thirty intelligence personnel lost contact with the headquarters, which should have been captured by the Germans.

After our first successful aerial reconnaissance, the Germans mobilized a large number of fighter planes to block these areas. If it was a trap, they would not have to spend so much effort to protect their secrets. "

Churchill thought about it and nodded, then he asked Ismay.

"So what is the opinion of the Chief of Staff Committee?"

"Our opinion is that the German mobilization is now the best chance for us to fight back. The main strength of the Germans and the biggest headache for us is their tanks. Now their tanks lack fuel and are being repaired.

As a result, their infantry units will lose tank support for at least three days. and. Ismail stood up, walked over to the map, and took a pencil to mark on the map.

"And, because of the retreat of these tanks, the enemy left a big weak link in their encirclement. Just in the area of ​​Arras, they only have the strength of an infantry regiment to defend their supply line. If we put this The mouth is torn open, then our troubled expeditionary army and the French First Army will be able to jump out of the encirclement and then join the main force of the French army in the south. By that time, even if Germany sends his armored division, it will not be able to break through and strengthen these troops. Somme defense line.

Moreover, we can also cut off the logistics supplies for the installation of the Armoured Army in Guderi. If we then counterattack from the French coast, we can even surround the elite German armored army in reverse. In that way, Germany's combat capabilities will be greatly weakened, and with our counterattack, we are likely to win this war! "

Ismay said more and more excited, he seemed to have seen himself standing in the venue of the German surrender signing ceremony.

Churchill didn't think so, he always felt that this opportunity came a little too suddenly. According to the strict attitude of the German Army, such low-level and fatal mistakes should not be made. He is ready to seek support from the Secretary of the Army.

"Mr. Aiden, what is your opinion, will this be another trap for the Germans. This does not seem to be a mistake made by the Germans."

Aiden nudged his beautiful bazi, and said seriously.

"Sir Prime Minister, I don’t think this should be a trap, because I can’t see what the Germans can get by arranging this trap. They have surrounded our troops in the canal area, and now they will surely be able to continue their offensive. To win, I can't think of any reason why they didn't do it that way.

But now they have not only stopped attacking, but also exposed their weaknesses. If this is a trap, it is too illogical. So I think that the only correct answer is what General Ismail said, and they are indeed in great trouble. Now I support the opinion of the Chief of Staff Committee, and we must seize this opportunity. This is simply God's arrangement. I can't believe whether we can meet the same opportunity again in the future. "

The Secretary of the Army's words finally dispelled Churchill's worries, his face suddenly brightened. He called happily.

"God bless Britain! If this is true, then this is really the opportunity God has given us. We can use these three days to break through the German encirclement and rescue our brave soldiers from desperation. We will now draw up immediately A plan. Discuss how to make better use of this opportunity and thoroughly teach those **** Nazi lunatics. Do the chiefs of staff already have plans?"

"There is no detailed plan yet, only a general framework. We want to proceed immediately after obtaining your approval. It is basically based on General Wei Gang's plan to enter the South."

"General Wei Gang does have a set. Has he expected this already, ha ha ha ha. Then use his plan as a framework."

"Yes, sir, do you still have to notify the French Command to cooperate with our actions?" Ismay asked.

"Of course, immediately send a message to Renault, and explain these details to him in detail. Oh, just say that General Wei Gang's plan seems to be possible now."

"Yes, I will arrange these when I turn around."

"I immediately called the ministers and chiefs of staff of all services to come to me for a meeting. Now the time is tight, we seem to have only... It is only two and a half days now, so this plan must be drawn up today and then immediately handed over Give the French Commander a copy. Get Gott ready immediately."

"Gott's forces are retreating towards the coast, only a small number of troops are defending on the front."

"What, what are they doing on the coast? Oh, yes, it's my order. I forgot everything when I was happy. The Army Department immediately sent a message to Gott and ordered his troops to stop retreating to the coast and let them return. Go to the original position."

"Yes, Prime Minister, I will arrange it right away. What about the Navy's "generator" operation? Is it necessary to stop their preparations? Admiral Ramsey is still collecting ships everywhere." Aydin asked.

Churchill hesitated.

"If we use that plan, how many soldiers can we bring back."

Aiden replied: "It may be possible to withdraw 50,000 or 60,000, and there may be fewer. The German air force and submarines will not allow us to cross the strait so easily."

Churchill thought for a moment and slammed the cigar in the ashtray.

"Then let Admiral Ramsey first suspend preparations for Operation "Generator"... wait... Then, let's talk about it now, it seems that we should not use this plan anymore... . At least now we have a better chance.";