Chapter 642 Procrastination

Stepping on the gangway, Colonel Holland stepped on the battleship Dunkirk. He looked at the slightly white sky in the east, but a sense of unease emerged in his heart.

After waiting for several hours, I finally waited until now, and let General Sur invite him to come, but why do I always feel uneasy?

He stepped on the gangway, got on the bridge, and in a small conference room, he saw General Jean Sur.

Even a 10,000-ton warship has a very narrow interior. Many sailors sleep in a three-story bunk. Even the captain has only one small room. The entire warship has such a small conference room.

At this time, the conference room was filled with smoke, and it was obvious that someone had already smoked a lot of cigarettes.

"Let General Sur, my old friend." Holland looked at the person sitting in the chair in front of him and calmed down.

The purpose of his trip was to resolve this conflict, that is, to persuade the people in front of him to hand over the French Navy's ships to the United Kingdom. He came for peace.

If his conversation fails, it is obvious that his own warships will not leave this French fleet to Germany, and will surely sink all these warships.

In this case, it is a tragedy.

A good friend eventually became an enemy. This is the most embarrassing thing, and now Colonel Holland feels this way.

"I have already read this agreement, that is to say, our French Navy has no choice?" General Sur looked at Colonel Holland and said.

Although he invited Horan to come up, but thinking of the other party's intentions, General Sur was still disgusted. In the past, the two used to fight and train together, and they were the most tacit beach ball combination, but now, the two People stand on opposite sides for their respective countries.

"My old friend, I'm sorry about this, I just want to say, please see, France, has been betrayed by those shameful politicians of Pétain! As a proud French navy, how can you watch France falling under German control? You must have this idea in your mind, right?"

Colonel Holland had prepared a lot of words, but now, when he saw General Jean Sur, his mind was confused. He didn't know where to start, and he felt that these words were inappropriate.

"We may be able to find a better way to solve the current problem." Horan continued: "We came with sincerity. As an old friend, I very much hope that with our efforts, we can resolve this issue. crisis."

Horan is not a qualified lobbyist.

Meanwhile, in the distance, ten nautical miles away, the British fleet was waiting for Colonel Holland's results.

In fact, Lieutenant General Somerville is not willing to go to that step, no matter what, this matter seems a little disgraceful.

After waiting in the dark for several hours, Colonel Holland finally boarded the boat after dawn. He breathed a sigh of relief and hoped that Colonel Holland could convince the other party. In this way, everyone was happy.

On one side of the fleet, on the battleship Warrior at the forefront, the lookout post is also doing its duty, observing the French fleet in the distance.

"Their chimneys seem to be smoking." The lookout shouted, his eyes fixed on the high-power marine telescope in front of him, looking at the distant port.

The port of Mirskbil, there is a breakwater, and this breakwater connects the landing site with a hill, from this direction, the hill blocks their view, so that they can't see part of the French warships at all, and can't see the outline. , can only see each other's masts.

But now, it can be seen that there is thick black smoke next to the mast, which shows that the other party is lighting a fire!

After the First World War, almost all warships eliminated coal-fired boilers and adopted heavy oil boilers. After all, when replenishing, solid granular coal is more difficult to replenish than liquid heavy oil.

However, heavy oil cannot be ignited directly. Therefore, when the boiler is ignited, it is not heavy oil, but diesel fuel. First, the diesel oil is injected into the boiler, ignited, and then injected into the heavy oil. In the middle, there will be Severe incomplete combustion.

In this way, black smoke comes out, and when the warship is sailing normally, the black smoke is not big.

Now, seeing the black smoke of the anti-boti on the opposite side, the lookout post reported the situation, and by radio, the news was gathered on the aircraft carrier Eagle.

When he got this news, Lieutenant General Somerville was stunned for a moment. The other party was making a fire, indicating that he wanted to start it. Then, what was the other party's purpose?

It can be guessed that there will be two, one is that Holland has persuaded them that their fleet intends to join their own formation and then set sail, while the other is that the other party intends to escape, or to fight with their own side!

How to do? At this time, misjudgment, the consequences are quite serious.

"Quick, contact Colonel Holland immediately!" Lieutenant General Somerville shouted.

Contact Horan and see what the other person is saying! However, Horan has already gone up and can't be contacted at all!

Here, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"General, London has intercepted and deciphered the French telegram." At this moment, another message came: "General Darlan ordered six Glorious-class light cruisers stationed at Algiers to set sail at full speed for Mill immediately. Skebil, meanwhile, ordered Oran's submarines to leave the port and prepare to occupy the attack position, and the French mainland fleet in the port of Toulon is preparing to set sail."

Hearing this, Lieutenant General Somerville immediately clenched his fists, what are you afraid of, what are you coming, do you really want to fire on the French warship?

The situation is already obvious. The French are here to stabilize their side, but at the same time, they have mobilized other navies to surround their fleet!

Are they here to defect and go to England together? Of course this is impossible. If the French have this intention, how could General Sur let Horan wait for several hours to receive him?

The French do not intend to agree to their own demands. In this case, the ballista operation can only be carried out with another backup plan!

Although Lieutenant General Somerville has been resisting and hesitating after receiving this order, but now, after this step, he knows that he has no choice.

As a soldier, it is your duty to obey orders, and to defeat your opponent is the first priority. Even your former friends are now enemies!

"Attention, I am Lieutenant General Somerville. Now, I give the order to attack the French fleet with all my strength and destroy all French warships!" Holding the microphone, he finally gave the order.

There will definitely be some people hesitating to open fire on his former friends. At this time, he must stand up and bear all the psychological pressure at the same time.