Four Hundred and Eighty Three Shaken

On April 16, the almost silent London battlefield became lively again. More than 100 German bombers of various types appeared in London, which had no bombing value. Army Group A seemed to suddenly not care about casualties, and the attack became Vicious and destructive.

A quadruple self-propelled anti-aircraft gun appeared in the center of London under the protection of the last German army. The impatient German army used 30mm machine guns to raid several important buildings in the city center. After the ruins, the swastika flag representing Germany was erected there.

The battle continued on this day, and the German army tried its best to clear the British defenders one by one from house to building. Only then did the British soldiers defending London realize that the real combat effectiveness of the German army is not as gentle as it was shown a few days ago .

Any area in doubt was greeted with napalm as the Great Fire of London, which waned and died down, was burning again, and even more violently than it had been a few days earlier. German soldiers crossed the burning building from one side, and rushed to another battlefield in groups.

Rundstedt looked at two documents in his headquarters without saying a word. One was the order of the head of state to order him to capture London at all costs, and the other was the two hours he received. Incomplete casualty statistics report.

He knew that the head of state, Akado, would not have signed and issued such an order if there were no unsolvable troubles. In his impression, the head of state is more concerned about the casualties of soldiers than the generals on the front line. This high-ranking head of state is a bit inexplicably petty in terms of the loss of soldiers. Marshal Brauchitsch once explained the reason in private , The marshal attributed the head of state's habit of caring about casualties to the low-level soldier class of the head of state, because of his own personal experience.

Now that the head of state can issue orders at all costs, it means that there are some troubles in the country, and these troubles need to win the war quickly to solve them. As the commander-in-chief of an army group, Rundstedt is obviously not an idiot. He immediately understood that the high-strength war has raised domestic anti-war sentiment.

Humans are really complex creatures. When the national crisis is at the head of the nation and the nation is not prosperous, a single slogan can often get countless people to support it. At that time, it seems that everyone is obliged to throw their heads and blood, as the saying goes, everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the country. However, when the country becomes strong and emerges from the crisis, the same people and the same things will no longer receive applause and encouragement. Everyone will be eager to live their own lives and have no interest in expanding their territories to dominate the world.

Akado did not use ethnic hatred before, nor did he promote radical racism. The benefits of this are naturally huge. This decision allowed Germany to maintain its due rationality and tolerance during the war, and removed the "no Righteous War" hat. And on the other hand, it also alleviated the sequelae caused by war inertia to Germany, and avoided the stagnation and collapse of the German domestic economy in the event of a stalemate in the war.

But doing so has its downsides, too.

The disadvantage is that the incitement of national sentiment is not thorough enough, and the reserved reason and tolerance began to reflect on its own gains and losses during the war. Therefore, Germany now lacks the desperate fighting mentality that was originally instigated by Hitler, so it appeared. this embarrassing situation.

In fact, under the rule of Akado, the Germans have not relied on completely distorted emotions to launch foreign expansion wars. In the early stage, Akado mainly gained popularity by inciting the people to overthrow the "Treaty of Versailles". That is to say, Akado relied on the prestige brought about by breaking the Versailles system. In the later period, the fundamental driving force behind Germany's expansion was that Akado's distribution of benefits satisfied the capitalists, and the support of these capitalists was the cornerstone of the rampage of the German army.

Accardo, who understands history, has always been walking on the edge of nationalism, using the expanded concept of "Great German" to blur and use dangerous racism, so he has successfully gained unprecedented status and people's recognition, absorbing fanaticism This is the fundamental reason why he was able to defeat the Nazi Party, which relied solely on fanatic points: he did more and more radical things for this country than the Nazi Party, so fanatic points turned to support him, but he was moderate He treats domestic conflicts very well, so rationalists are optimistic about him, so he can beat Hitler, who is in the limelight, and become the head of state of this country... Now that he has already taken the benefits, now he must also bear the incomplete "blurred race" "ism" brought him trouble and consequences.

Because he did not often use the radical strategy of the Nazi Party to strictly control domestic public opinion and undisguisedly exclude dissidents, he did not wantonly arrest those who opposed him, nor did he make great efforts to silence their mouths. He has seen too many heroes who sacrificed their lives for this country, and he admires people like Sickert and Karl Benz, so he is unwilling to kill people who also love this country.

So these pressures are now passing through Akado's shoulders, and are now on the frontline commander of the British mainland, General Rundstedt. The crazy attack for two hours had already caused the German army to lose a full 2,000 soldiers. If it continues at this rate, the German army will lose at least 15,000 troops before today's attack stops.

Another question that makes Lundstedt feel helpless is, what is the use of London that has been defeated in this way? This place is already in ruins, the factory has been destroyed, the palace has collapsed, and it is estimated that not even one-tenth of the original tens of thousands of citizens will remain. Such a London may have more symbolic meaning than actual significance.

Looking at the piece in front of him, he stood up shaking his head and sighing. The combat staff officer came over to comfort the general who had been looking old for a few days: "General, this is the meaning of the Supreme Command, we just need to carry it out."

"Of course I know what to do. I just don't think it's necessary to do so." Rundstedt seemed very emotional, and as he walked to the window, he continued, "I know Berlin needs a way to end the war." News, even if London is just a symbol, it must be brought down as soon as possible. As long as the war here is over, it will be much better for the Führer in Berlin... But it is a pity to sacrifice soldiers for nothing."

"General, we swore to be loyal to the Fuehrer." The staff officer thought for a while and persuaded the old general: "Compared to the time when we were loyal to the German emperor, our current situation is many times better-at least the Fuehrer treats us Treat it as life, not a consumable material, and that's enough."

How could Rundstedt, who had experienced the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Mu River, not know how cruel the war was back then. Of course he knew that compared to the battle that was purely based on human life and blood, the battle he commanded now It can be regarded as a military exercise. Thinking of this, he felt a little better.

Coughing, he patted the shoulder of the staff officer gratefully, and then walked back to the front of the battle map. Watching his troops gradually compressing the central London area, he seemed to feel better. Come to an end, as long as we occupy this place, we can declare the war on Britain over. He thought silently in his heart.

In fact, the British didn't want to continue fighting like this for a long time, because the war was carried out in their homes, and no matter what was broken, it was their own. Some people have compared Paris, France, which is also patronized by Germany, but the treatment is very different.

Paris is almost unscathed now, and the German army is also very restrained in its actions in Paris. Therefore, whether it is defeated or occupied, it actually does not bring much pain to the civilians in Paris, France. On the contrary, London in England is different. Razed to the ground! Therefore, many British people are reflecting on whether their desperate resistance is right or wrong.

It is not impossible to let Germany suffer less suffering now. Since we firmly believe that we can win, why not take it back in the future! This is what many people think, and if they don't say it, it doesn't mean they don't think so.

Just when Lundstedt was struggling with how to carry out the brutal street fighting to the end, someone knocked on the door of his office.

"Come in!" The general and the staff officer turned their heads at the same time and looked at the young officer who walked through the door.

"Long live the head of state, Acador Rudolph!" The officer who came in stood at attention and saluted, and then said: "General! The commander of the 29th Division of the British Garrison stationed in south London sent a letter of surrender. He is willing to surrender to us."

"Oh? This is good news. Are you sure they really want to surrender?" Rundstedt was stunned for a moment, then immediately ecstatic. It is not that he has never seen an enemy division surrender in France, but this time is obviously more significant: the surrender of the British army at this time shows that the opponent's determination to fight to the death has been shaken, and once there is a will of one side in this kind of determined battle Shaken, then it is not far from collapse.

The news was confirmed soon, and Germany made an exception and sent the commander of the 1st Infantry Army nearby to personally receive the division commander who surrendered from Britain, and held a grand surrender ceremony. According to Accardo's instructions, the surrendered division commander was appointed honorary mayor of the German city of London.

The position of this division was quickly handed over to the German army, and the southern defense line of London completely collapsed. The British defenders who had persisted just two hours ago were defeated in an instant.