Chapter 781: Churchill's Death XII
Major General George Patton, the best tank general in the United States, was dismissed by Stilwell at the climax of the Battle of Hartlepool-Middlesbrough.
At the same time, the life of Major General Parisi Hobert, Britain's best tank commander, came to an end.
His 11th Armored Division was no match for the German armored group, which consisted of two heavy armor battalions and one destroyer tank battalion.
Because the British 11th Armored Division had just been transferred from the Irish front line and had not undergone necessary renovations - after the London protests, the originally efficient war machine seemed to have slackened overnight, and many in the military and government departments People are busy fleeing to Canada. Even those who have no way to escape are not thinking about the battlefield. Moreover, the storm of protests in London also spread to other major cities in the UK. Even the British railway system experienced short strikes and long-term management chaos.
The Churchill tanks and tank destroyers that were supposed to be shipped to the Hartlepool-Middlesbrough front line on the 13th had not been loaded until the 16th. As for when they would be shipped, only God knows.
As a result, on the morning of the 16th, the 11th Armored Division had only 55 Churchill tanks/tank destroyers that could be activated. They faced more than 80 Tiger tanks, and there were 45 Rhino tank destroyers with firepower no less than that of the Tigers.
However, the reason for the rapid collapse of the British Army's 11th Armored Division was not the bounties offered by the armored forces on both sides, but the collapsing fighting spirit of the British officers and soldiers. It’s not that the 11th Armored Division has never encountered Tigers on the island of Ireland, nor has it never fought battles with huge disparities in strength. But they always managed to find a way to persevere until the end. Even if they were forced to retreat, they were defeated without collapse. They had never collapsed like they did today!
When a group of Tiger tanks appeared menacingly, the thousands of British troops on the battlefield who did not know who they were fighting for and why they were fighting were shaken. The tanks refused to move forward, the soldiers dragging the anti-tank guns also refused to enter their positions, and the infantrymen who had just completed their deployment retreated one after another. The officers who were supposed to urge the soldiers to fight did not stop this passive avoidance of war, and many of them were even ready to join in.
Probably Major General Hobert was the only one who still refused to give up. He first angrily issued the order to counterattack. Seeing that no one was executing, he simply stopped a Churchill tank destroyer that was reversing, then got into the car, used a pistol to force the crew members to drive the vehicle and launched a charge!
This brave act of almost death aroused the courage of some people. Sixteen tanks/tank destroyers and hundreds of officers and soldiers launched an almost suicidal charge. However, in the face of the overwhelming German armored group, such a charge was meaningless.
In less than 10 minutes, all sixteen tanks/tank destroyers, including the Churchill tank destroyer driven by Hobert, were smashed into pieces by the German Tiger tanks and Rhino tank destroyers. The infantry following the charge were also covered by grenades from the short-barreled artillery of 44 Type 4 F tanks.
After Major General Hobert's heroic sacrifice, the British 11th Armored Division, like the 3rd Infantry Division, ushered in a moment of total collapse.
The news reached the British and American Allied Forces Command in Darlington, but General Montgomery did not immediately summon his staff to discuss countermeasures. Instead, he locked himself in his office and started talking on the phone with Viscount Brooke in London.
"Viscount, we have been defeated. The troops have no fighting spirit and cannot fight at all... The 3rd Division and the 11th Armored Division have collapsed!"
During the phone call, Montgomery told the Imperial Chief of Staff all about the crisis on the battlefield. This call was actually discussed in advance. Viscount Brooke called Montgomery after the turmoil in London temporarily subsided and asked him to call him. When the Hartlepool-Middlesbrough campaign faced setbacks, he was immediately called to inform him.
"How many more troops can be gathered?" Viscount Brooke asked on the other end of the phone line.
"If we retreat now, we should be able to gather 5-7 divisions." Montgomery replied.
"Are they all British divisions?" Viscount Brooke said, "What I want is the British divisions. Withdraw as many British divisions as possible! Let the Americans fight the Germans. Do you understand?"
Montgomery was silent for a while and replied: "Then leave two American divisions behind, so that at least six divisions can be withdrawn."
"Okay," Viscount Brooke said on the phone, "Don't worry about the Americans, take your troops and retreat."
Montgomery seemed a little surprised and was silent for a while, then asked: "Viscount, where are our people going to evacuate?"
"Go to Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield!" said Viscount Brooke. "You personally lead a division to Liverpool. There are many supplies and equipment there that must be mastered. I will go to Liverpool to join you... Remember, you are saving Britain! We cannot let this country become Russia in 1917!
To save the country, we must master some troops. Only in this way can we protect the British Isles! Do you understand what we are going to do? "
Obviously, Viscount Brooke did not intend to accompany Churchill to Canada as an apartment. He believed that Britain was the place where he should stay, and he also wanted to do something for Britain.
"I understand, I understand, Viscount, I listen to you."
Montgomery's answer made Viscount Brooke very satisfied, and he then connected the phone to Admiral Alexander in Belfast.
"Harold," Viscount Brooke asked on the phone, "The Battle of Hartlepool-Middlesbrough has failed, and I have ordered Montgomery to gather his troops and retreat."
"Oh my God, the empire is over, isn't it?" Harold Alexander's voice sounded a little trembling.
"The empire is not over!" Viscount Brooke said in a deep voice, "The empire still has a future, as long as we soldiers can stand up at the critical moment. Harold, are you willing to stand up?"
There was a silence on the other end of the phone line, and then Harold Alexander's slow but firm voice: "I do! Viscount, I am willing to fight for the empire to my last breath."
"Okay, send your people to control all British ships in Belfast Port." Viscount Brooke said, "At the same time, take care of your army, and then select some reliable troops and transport them to Liverpool."
"Liverpool? You said Liverpool?" Alexander seemed very surprised.
"Yes!" Viscount Brooke replied, "It will be Liverpool."
"What are we going there for?"
"To fight a civil war!" Viscount Brooke said, "There will be a civil war, the British Bolshevik Party is ready, and we must be prepared too! Now... we have to be the German Wehrmacht of 1918! Harold, do you understand what I mean?"
"Yes, I understand! Our British Army must also work for the future revival of the country like the German Army did back then."
...
Facing the inevitable defeat, the British Army is ready to learn from the German Wehrmacht of 1918. They are sharpening their knives and preparing for a big fight.
The British Bolshevik Party is ready to learn from the Russian Bolshevik Party in 1917, and is also doing its best to prepare for a London uprising.
The optimistic Lieutenant General Stilwell was sent by Montgomery to the vicinity of Stoddonk to command two American divisions to hold their positions...
Montgomery told Stilwell this way. He said: "Lieutenant General, the key now is to prevent the German armored group from joining forces with the German paratroopers in Stoddonk. If they attack Stoddonk, our two divisions and your two divisions will be surrounded. In this way, the defeat of the Battle of Hartlepool-Middlesbrough will be irreversible.
So I hope that the US military can stop the German army near Stoddonk and hold them off for at least 48 hours, so that our reinforcements will arrive. I hope you can personally go to the Stoddonk front to supervise the battle, and the two British divisions east of Stoddonk will also be under your command. I think only in this way can we ensure the success of the operation."
His words certainly could not deceive General Patton, and most likely Eisenhower in Edinburgh, but Stilwell was an honest general who was easy to deceive, and he also had an overly optimistic personality, which doomed him to a tragic fate in this time and space.
"Lieutenant General... do we really not need to consider retreating?"
When Lieutenant General Stilwell drove from Darlington to the US military headquarters near Stoddonk, Bradley already felt something was wrong.
"No, not yet." Stilwell said, "Although the situation is a bit serious, the front line can still be maintained. I just asked the British officers who withdrew from the front line on the way to Stoddonk. According to them, the attacking German army is at most a division-level cluster. There may be 100-150 Tiger tanks. I think we can deal with it."
There are so many Tiger tanks! ? Although Bradley is an infantry expert, he also knows how powerful the German Tiger tank is. The Soviet military adviser told him that one Tiger tank can at least fight 10 T-34 tanks!
Bradley reminded: "Lieutenant General, the 2nd Armored Division now has only more than 60 M10s, and... the artillery used by the M10 tanks is also difficult to penetrate the Tiger tank."
"No problem," Stilwell waved his hand, "It can be penetrated if it is closer, and we have a lot of anti-tank guns." He paused and said, "Now we must deploy quickly. We may be temporarily surrounded, but the British will organize a counterattack in 48 hours. As long as we hold on for 48 hours, victory will belong to us."
Just hold on for 48 hours? Bradley suddenly remembered Patton's words. Stilwell's optimism is a disease!
It seems that I have to ask people to find the clothes left by General Patton on the people...