For the sake of the overall situation, Li Ming put forward his "speculation" to Raeder. Although uncertain about the British fleet's determination to attack France, Raeder took it very seriously, and immediately reported this information to the German Yuan and informed him of possible British action. As a strategic decision-maker in his right mind, Adolf. Hitler was quick to accept his views. Due to the uncertainty of the attitude towards France and the navy, he was very worried that the French fleet would disarm the British at the last moment, so he hurriedly summoned the generals of the high command to discuss the matter. Everyone gathered together to analyze the situation, and suddenly the situation was indeed very bad: the main French fleet was now divided into two parts, one was anchored in Toulon and Marseille in the south of France, and the other part was assembled in the military port of Mürskebir in Algeria, North Africa, but neither Toulon, Marseille nor Mürskebir were now under the control of the German team. If the British fleet attacked the French fleet in southern France, then the Luftwaffe could still send bombers to intercept it, but if the British target was Algeria on the other side of the Mediterranean, the German 6 Navy and Air Force could only stare dryly.

At this time, the German generals, regardless of their services, reached an unprecedented unanimity: it was obviously unsafe to put their hopes on the French, and they should immediately inform their Italian allies of the matter and ask them to use their naval and air forces to "protect" the French fleet, and at the same time put pressure on the French through diplomatic channels - using the armistice agreement and the large number of French prisoners held in the hands of the Germans as a bargaining force, forcing the French fleet to surrender even if it was attacked by the British fleet. As for the German Navy, since surface ships could not enter the Mediterranean Sea at all, and submarine forces could not be assembled in the Mediterranean region in a short time, they were helplessly excluded from various solutions.

Hitler remained restless after the German Yuan was the first to approve of the obvious plans that would work, and Ribbentrop was soon summoned to make diplomatic plans, and Keitel was tasked with liaising with the Italians. It is not difficult to see that the British navy, once strengthened by the seizure or capture of the French fleet, will inevitably increase the confidence and determination of the British to continue fighting Germany. At this juncture, he finally remembered that there was still a German admiral who had only recently conducted a detailed study of the situation in the Mediterranean, so he immediately called Zhang Hainuo aside to talk alone.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing for our strategy!" Li Ming did not hurry to say that he was completely different from ordinary people, and out of some "selfish" considerations, he did not raise this ** at the meeting just now.

Zhang Hainuo has always been very optimistic about Hitler's judgment before his psychology was completely out of balance, and the German Yuan did not disappoint him this time, and after calming down and thinking for a while, he asked rhetorically: "Do you mean to let the British navy attack the French, and the good French hate Britain, and the relationship between Britain and France will be completely broken because of this?" ”

Although Li Ming did not say it directly, his meaning was more affirmative: "Your Excellency, in my personal opinion, the unique self-esteem and pride of the French Navy, the decay and incompetence of the French Army and Air Force, coupled with the fate of tens of millions of French people and millions of French prisoners, we don't have to doubt what Admiral Darlan will choose, in fact, he has no choice!" ”

With the signing of the armistice between Germany and France, Marshal Pétain, the hero of the First World War, once again became France. The guns ceased on the land of France, but the richest part of the country became occupied by the Germans, and not only that, but the Germans also held tens of thousands of French officers and soldiers captured in the war, which made Petain**, who had retreated to the south of France, think twice about foreign policy.

"A kind reminder? Hum! I think it was their own idea to fight the French Navy! ”

At the meeting of the provisional cabinet, Admiral Darlan, the founder and supreme commander of the modern French navy, spoke very poorly, because the Germans had just conveyed to France an unofficial official information through the Armistice Commission that, according to information obtained by German intelligence, the British were preparing to seize or destroy the French fleet by force, especially those ships remaining in the ports of the African colonies. In this regard, the Germans also made a simple and straightforward proposal: withdraw all the capital ships of the French Navy to the ports of mainland France!

Long before the armistice negotiations began, the admiral told Petain openly and honestly that if the Germans tried to take possession of the French fleet, then he would immediately lead the entire fleet to the West Indies -- in France in 1940, Dar Langsheng devoted himself to the construction of the French navy, and made indelible achievements in terms of regulations, technical equipment, treatment of officers and men, training of commanders, and so on, and the French navy was better than any period since the French Revolution under his special management for ten years. To some extent, so to speak. Darlan is the Tirpitz or Fisher of France. Therefore, it is no coincidence that every battleship, every sailor of the French Navy is absolutely loyal to him.

Pétain sat silently in his position and did not speak, but the commander-in-chief of the army, Wei Gang, said in a strange tone: "Even if the British really have that courage, they have to measure their own strength!" I don't think it will be a few weeks before Britain will compromise with Germany, and then a peace treaty that can be exchanged for at least a few decades of peace will be signed, so that this damn war will be out of the way! ”

"That's right, the British themselves can't protect themselves. The idea of hitting the French Navy is simply self-inflicted! The improvised cabinet members agreed with approval.

Darlan didn't have any affection for these people. He said to Pétain: "My opinion. It is to maintain the current configuration of the fleet, but increase the alert status of each military port to deal with various situations that may arise! ”

"That's good!" Petain, who looked rather old in appearance, was not yet weak when he spoke, and he glanced at the admiral and said cautiously: "The most important thing is not to let the Germans find an excuse to break the armistice!" ”

"Okay!" Darlan stood up and kept his face facing Petain, "I'll make arrangements, it's not a bad thing to properly strengthen the defense of the port!" ”

Petain **** head to show his attitude. As for the others, they already lacked naval expertise and did not have the right to dictate naval affairs, so they were silent.

At about the same time, the British wartime cabinet in London was also in session, led by Winston. Churchill had recently succeeded in rescuing more than 200,000 soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force from France through a bold retreat, but this historic achievement was "overshadowed" by the surrender of France -- in Britain, there was a general pessimism about the prospects of the war. Because the Germans were too strong for the 6th Army and Air Force. In contrast, the British who escaped death were disgraced and demoralized. The British Army had left the best equipment in France, and one could not help but wonder whether such an army still had the ability and confidence to defend British soil, which had been defeated by the Germans not long ago.

It was a meeting where members of the Cabinet and senior officers of the Joint Command gathered. But the atmosphere at the scene was unusually solemn. Pound, one of the members of the wartime cabinet and a longtime aide to Churchill and the current Secretary of the Admiralty, took a document and read:

"To the distinguished officers and men of the French Navy,

On the basis of our past experience, it is believed that Germany and Italy will seize the French fleet at such time as they think fit, and use it against Great Britain and its allies. We have hitherto been your comrades-in-arms, and cannot sit idly by and watch your best ships fall into the hands of enemy Germany or Italy. We are determined to fight to the end, and if we prevail - and we think we can overcome - we must never forget that France was our ally, that our interests are those of France, and that our common enemy is Germany. If we prevail, we declare that we must restore the glory and territory of France. To that end, we must truly ensure that the most elite ships of the French Navy are not used by the enemy against us. Under these circumstances, His Majesty the British Crown** requires the French fleet to act in accordance with one of the following methods:

Sail with us and continue to make the right ones

Victorious battles in the Italian War.

Crews were cut and sailed to British ports under our supervision. Crews that have been made redundant should be repatriated as soon as possible.

If you accept one of these two options, we will return your ship to France at the end of the war, and if it is damaged during the war, we will compensate you accordingly.

Alternatively, if you feel compelled to agree that your ships cannot be used against them unless the armistice is broken by Germany or Italy, then the crew is to be reduced and to stay with us in a French port in the West Indies, such as the Martinique, where the ships may be disarmed exactly as we want, or handed over to the United States for safekeeping until the end of the war, in which case the crew may be repatriated.

If you reject these fair and reasonable proposals, then, with our deepest apologies, we ask you to scuttle your ship within six hours.

Finally, if you fail to do so, we will have to use all the necessary forces to prevent your ships from falling into German or Italian hands. ”

This is not a conventional ultimatum, because it is not aimed at a certain country** but a part of its military power, and its tone is diplomatic etiquette and seems to leave room for it, but it is not difficult to see its toughness when you look beyond the ultimatum itself and look at the relationship between the two countries.

"Perhaps...... We should write the name of Admiral Darlang at the beginning, to the honorable and wise Admiral Darlang! Baron Tovey, who had not long taken over as commander of the Home Fleet, cautiously made his own proposal.

Churchill, with a cigar in his hand, quickly dismissed the suggestion, "No, I think I'll give it to the French according to this document!" Of course, after our H-fleet was out, we could not leave too much time for the French, and at the same time beware of the Germans and Italians getting involved! Their desire for the French fleet will never be less than ours! ”

Pound, who was still standing, said duly: "Our H fleet is ready to strike from Gibraltar at any time!" Strengthened by the Hood, they had completely overwhelmed the French fleet at Mirskbeel and Oran! ”

Churchill not only did not appear confident because of this, but his face was grim. One can imagine the courage required to make such a decision, which, regardless of the outcome of the war, would leave an irreversible rift between the two former allies. In addition, by rejecting the German offer for peace talks through Spain, Britain would soon face a two-pronged German offensive from both the sea and the air, and after the occupation of Norway and the defeat of France, the German aerial bombardment and relatively traditional submarine warfare would be greatly enhanced.

A similar expression was reflected on Baron Tovey's face, the Hood had gained and lost, the pressure on the shoulders of the home fleet that had succeeded Pahaus at a time of crisis had risen sharply, and now he had to use the very limited ships in his hands to defend against possible attacks from the Germans, although this fleet was still stronger than his old rival, the German Navy, but after gaining the entire Norwegian coastline and the ports of western France, the Germans had formed a geographical clamp on the British Isles, and their naval strategy had more initiative, This also meant that the British Home Fleet had to be more careful and rational in the use of its limited forces.

To a greater or lesser extent, out of these concerns, all the cabinet dignitaries and high-ranking generals present here are worried. They feared that a joint German and Italian attack would overthrow British maritime dominance in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and that the French fleet, which had been disdainful, would join in the attack on Britain.

Yet, whether people are worried or not, the game between the warring parties is going on both openly and covertly. Shortly after the French surrender, the month of July, which was particularly valued by many military observers, arrived, and Hitler, who had rejected his "good intentions", officially put the "Sea Lion Plan" on the forefront, the powerful Luftwaffe began to assemble in northern France and Belgium, and the German Navy was also in full swing to prepare ships to cross the sea. The Germans assumed that they were ready to carry out a large-scale cross-sea attack, and the British did not show weakness, on the one hand, they continued to draw troops and combat ships from the colonies, and on the other hand, they quickly strengthened various air defense measures on the mainland. As a precautionary measure, the British Navy's H Fleet stationed in Gibraltar went out on 5 July to target Millsbeek, one of the most important naval ports of the French Navy in North Africa.