Chapter 340 France Don’t Cry 25

"Prime Minister, the Germans have reached the English Channel, in Abbeville!"

Admiral Verrick, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force and the new commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces in Belgium, boarded Churchill's private plane and told the British Prime Minister a terrible news.

"Oh, God," Churchill, who was about to take a plane to Bruges, Belgium to meet Leopold III, smoked a cigarette, "Our troops in Belgium are surrounded?"

"Yes," said Admiral Verrick, "but we still have a fairly strong force in Belgium. If you count the Belgian army, there are nearly 700,000 people, and they are all relatively combat-capable troops. As long as the logistics line at sea can be maintained, we should be able to hold on."

"But if France and Belgium surrender, can our troops there still hold on?" Churchill said gloomily, "Admiral, I think you should know what kind of peace conditions the Germans have proposed."

"I heard about it, but Admiral Weygand is a firm leader, he will not succumb to Germany..." Admiral Verrick frowned when he said this.

Churchill glanced at him and said with a slightly ironic tone: "But now it is not a few determined leaders who decide the fate of France, but tens of millions of fallen French people. Admiral, you have spent a lot of time in Paris, and you should know more about these French people who are waiting for the end of the world with knives and forks than I do?"

"Yes, Prime Minister, this is indeed a problem." Admiral Verrick sighed. "If the French can't cheer up again, I'm afraid we will have to defeat the Germans alone."

"Defeat the Germans alone!" Churchill laughed, "That's it, the British Empire can defeat any powerful enemy alone." His tone became serious again, "But before we defeat the enemy, we must first defend Great Britain, and this requires an army, a well-trained army, not recruits who can't even hold a gun."

The United Kingdom has also carried out a full mobilization since September last year, and has formed dozens of divisions so far. But the ones who can really fight are the old troops that were formed before the war, and the 10th Division of the British Expeditionary Force accounts for most of them.

"Prime Minister, what you mean is..."

"We should do everything possible to keep the troops, at least keep the people, experienced officers and non-commissioned officers." Churchill said bluntly.

"I have instructed the Admiralty to formulate a plan to withdraw the expeditionary force," Churchill took a puff of cigarette, "This is also the reason why I recommend you to be the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces in Belgium. Admiral, you understand what I mean, right?"

Admiral Verrick nodded and said, "Prime Minister, I want to remind you: this will make the British Empire lose its credibility with its allies."

Churchill shrugged, "Breaking credibility with allies is a bad thing, but it is necessary to do so now." He sighed softly, "In fact, we have to do something more terrible than breaking faith... But for the empire, we must do that."

More terrible things? Admiral Verrick immediately thought of the French Navy! Transporting the 200,000 people trapped in Belgium back to the country can only ensure that the British mainland will not be conquered by the small number of German airborne troops and landing troops. But if Britain lost control of the English Channel and the German armored divisions continued to arrive in the British Isles, then the British mainland would fall regardless of the presence of these 200,000 people!

Churchill smiled grimly, which reminded Verek of Emperor William or Hitler. The British Prime Minister went on to say: "The British Empire has no eternal friends, only eternal interests. The same is true for the French Empire and the German Empire... Although they are mortal enemies now, once they have common interests, they will embrace each other and become enemies of the British Empire together."

"Prime Minister, I understand." Admiral Verrick said, "I will bring most of the officers and soldiers back."

"Very good!" Churchill nodded with satisfaction, "Admiral, where do you plan to withdraw from?"

Admiral Verrick thought for a while and had the answer, "From Belgium, Zeebrugge, Ostend and Nieuwpoort all have ports. In addition, the coastline from De Panne to Knokke-Heist (near the Dutch border) has good beaches, and some troops can be withdrawn from the beaches."

It is now May 20th, and the situation on the Belgian battlefield is already very bad. Brussels fell on May 17th, Antwerp fell on May 18th, and Ghent (located west of Antwerp and Brussels and east of Bruges) is about to fall. But Belgium had not surrendered after all, so the British and French forces were not compressed around Dunkirk, so there were still many ports that could be used for retreat.

…

"Marshal," on the morning of April 21, General Halder, the second quartermaster general, saw Hessman hurried in and immediately said to him, "According to the report from the Western Front Headquarters, the 18th Army has approached Ghent, and the Belgians have deployed defenses in Ghent. The 16th Armored Army set out from Antwerp early this morning and detoured to the west of Ghent. The Western Front Headquarters estimates that Ghent will be occupied by the 23rd at the latest, and Bruges will be occupied by the 24th-26th."

"Very good." Hessman looked very good. After returning to Zossen from Berlin yesterday, he did not stay up late at the General Staff, but went home to accompany his pregnant wife. The two spent a very pleasant night, and then Hessman slept in with Chloe.

He smiled and nodded, "After taking Bruges, Belgium should surrender, so that the British and French forces will be compressed to the Dunkirk area."

This is what happened historically, but things may be different now.

General Halder said: "Marshal, this morning's air force reconnaissance showed that the British and French coalition forces are marching westward and seem to want to break out. I think... we will have a decisive battle with the British and French coalition forces at Dunkirk and Calais."

"Breakout?" Hessman was stunned.

"Yes," Halder said, "the road from Belgium to Dunkirk is crowded with vehicles and troops, and at least several armored divisions are moving westward. In addition, there are already troops stationed in Dunkirk. A nearby armored group (the French 1st Reserve Armored Division) has also started and is heading towards Calais."

"Perhaps they want to retreat from Calais Port?" Hersman asked hesitantly.

"Probably not," Halder shook his head. "The air force and naval aviation bombed the ports of Calais and Dunkirk very smoothly. They did not encounter the British Spitfire, and there were not many anti-aircraft guns deployed there. ”

"The British Spitfire is covering the army's movement?" Hersman asked hurriedly.

"Yes." Halder said, "The Western Front Headquarters believes that the British and French armored forces may have to fight the 19th Armored Corps south of Calais."

Armored battle? Hessman frowned and walked to the map table. He asked: "What was the result of the air raid? Was there enough damage to the ports of Calais and Dunkirk?"

"Because there is no interference from the Spitfire aircraft, the bombing effect is very good." Halder said, "The Air Force Command will send the photos over in the afternoon."

"Blow it up again," Hersman ordered. "Arrange another air strike tonight and be sure to completely cripple the ports of Calais and Dunkirk!"

What he is now worried about is that the British and French forces slipped away from Dunkirk after the failure of the "Battle of Calais".

…

"The Prime Minister, First Sea Lord Admiral Pound and Commander of the Dover Naval Port, Vice Admiral Ramsay, request an audience."

Churchill, who had just returned to No. 10 Downing Street in London from Bruges, Belgium, had no time to take a breath when two naval chiefs responsible for formulating "Operation Dynamo" came to visit. Moreover, the two men also brought a considerable headache to Churchill.

"What? All civilian ships are to be requisitioned?" Churchill looked at the two of them, "Including fishing boats and private yachts?"

"Yes," Vice Admiral Ramsey said, "It is very likely that we will not be able to use the ports to withdraw our troops. The Germans bombed the ports of Calais and Dunkirk this morning, causing heavy losses, so we must be prepared to evacuate from the beachhead. Preparation for withdrawal. This requires civilian small-tonnage ships to participate in the operation.”

Large ships of several thousand tons or tens of thousands of tons cannot go too close to the beach. They can only use small boats of tens to hundreds of tons to transfer people, or simply use small boats to transport people back to the UK. Of course, to do this would mean abandoning all the heavy equipment, and 200,000 people would return to England empty-handed!

Moreover, British civilians participating in the operation will witness with their own eyes how their expeditionary force fled back to the UK in embarrassment, which will cause a serious blow to national morale.

Churchill was silent for a while, and finally nodded, "Okay, then let's mobilize civilian ships... Anyway, the people will know sooner or later that we have suffered a terrible defeat on the mainland! I believe the British people must be very brave, and they will fight with us Stand together and get through this!”

Vice Admiral Ramsay paid a military salute and left in a hurry, but First Sea Lord Pound did not leave.

Churchill knew why the other party didn't leave. He took out his cigar, lit it, took a puff, and then asked in a low voice: "What did General Cunningham say? How many troops does he need to complete the mission?"

Admiral Cunningham, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, now also had a very difficult task falling on his shoulders.

"He wants two aircraft carriers, the 'Glorious' and the 'Ark Royal'." Admiral Pound said.

The "Glorious" aircraft carrier is the first ship of the "Glorious" class aircraft carrier. It has not yet been delivered to the Royal Navy and is undergoing sea trials. The "Ark Royal" is equipped with F2A "Buffalo" fighter jets and "Swordfish" attack aircraft, and is the main aircraft carrier of the Home Fleet. If the German break-up fleet breaks into the Norwegian Sea and Denmark Strait when it is transferred, the British Home Fleet will be in big trouble.

Churchill took a deep breath from his cigar and nodded heavily, "Yes! Immediately equip the 'Glorious' with personnel and aircraft...can be drawn from the 'Eagle' and the 'Hundred-Eyed Giant'. The 'Royal Ark' will also be immediately Transfer to the Mediterranean!”