Toulon, France, August 1946.

With the sea breeze from the Mediterranean, the southern coast of France is a popular place to escape the heat even during the hottest season of the year. With the signing of the Soviet-German armistice, the specter of war seemed to be moving away from the European continent. According to the agreement signed by Germany, Italy and France in 1941, the German and Italian armies gradually weakened the control of the French visual team, and with the signing of a new free trade agreement between the three countries, the minesweepers from Germany and Italy have used half a year to clean up most of the ** outside the port. All this has brought the former lifeless Toulon back to life, and under the bright sun, barges and freighters happily travel between the waterways, some from Italy, some from Spain or a port in Africa, and even German ships from the other side of Europe around the Suez Canal!

On the north side of this well-defended and modern military port is the last pride of the French people, the French High Seas Fleet, a powerful fleet that took more than a decade to build with huge sums of money, and was once an important safeguard for France against the enemy outside its homeland.

Before August 1939, it was ranked fourth in the world, but in the next three years, it was sadly declining due to the betrayal of its allies and endless internal strife. Ironically, it was not until Southern Europe and North Africa were under the control of the Axis powers and the situation in the Mediterranean stabilized that the Fayuan Navy saw hope of a recovery from the embargo.

In the sun, two mighty and majestic warships, the "Strasbourg" and the "Dunkirk", stood out among the many cruisers and destroyers. On the "Strasbourg", flying the flag of the fleet commander, sailors in white uniforms were enthusiastically washing the deck, and on both sides of the ship, there were twenty or thirty sailors sitting in hanging baskets to repaint the hull.

"The war is coming to an end, but our warships are just beginning to prepare for a new voyage, and we always feel awkward! General, do you feel the same way? ”

On the bridge, where the lines are rigid and even a little ugly, two people wearing the uniforms of senior generals chatted calmly while watching the officers and men busy, and in terms of face and figure, the two looked like they were approaching or had entered their twilight years, and they were a little shorter, with five silver-white five-pointed stars on their epaulettes, that is, the highest rank of the French Navy - Admiral. However, this man was not the famous François Dar Ran, who was a controversial legend who had risen to prominence since the French surrender, from Minister of the Navy, Minister of Foreign Affairs to Deputy Prime Minister of the Cabinet, Minister of Defence, and was regarded as the best successor to Marshal Pétain, Marshal of France, the highest rank in the French army. Despite his position as Commander-in-Chief of the French Navy, Darlan was now not in direct command of the fleet, and the French fleet in the port of Toulon was restrained on three fronts: Admiral de la Ballet, commander of the High Seas Fleet, Vice Admiral André Matthews, Governor of the Toulon Navy, and the German-Italian-French Peace Agreement, signed in 1941.

The French admiral's uniform was now the commander of the French Pollution Fleet, Laport, who was gentle but not weak, and said:

"Yes, it's embarrassing, but always think about the good. The Germans subdued the polar bear, which did not kill him, but it was impossible for the Russians to recover anytime soon. Next, it was time for the Germans to turn their guns back against Britain and the United States. Britain had nothing to fear, and the war was likely to end with British compromises, as we had guessed in the summer of 1940. We have lost the war, but we have saved the fate of the country and the nation, and we will have a long and strong dormant period, as we did after the Franco-Prussian War in the last century, and France will finally rise again as one of the most powerful countries in the world! ”

Another general, who only has three silver stars on his shoulders, but is already a figure with a good identity, said with the same feeling: "Yes, throughout history, France has always moved forward in setbacks!" The previous combat experience is certainly frustrating, but we should also be optimistic to see that we have saved such a fleet for France! ”

In addition to the two massive battleships, known in England as battle cruisers and as fast battleships by the Germans, the two men looked out for their great harbor, and nearly fifty battleships of various types, including the Foch-class heavy cruisers and the Visionary-class destroyers, which the French were proud of.

A considerable number of these ships, which have only recently been allowed to be rearmed, are the products of the arms race of the thirties, which can be said to have brought together the world's leading shipbuilding ideas and technologies at that time, and are also weapons of war that have been piled up with a large amount of money.

"Yes, this is a promising fleet! If possible, we will also use them to reclaim those colonies that have lost control, perhaps...... You can also fight the British before the war! "Admiral Laporte envisioned the day when the French navy would regain the dignity lost in the Battle of Millschibil, and according to the secret agreement recently signed between Germany and the French Vichy**, one condition for the French fleet to be allowed to rearm was to assist Germany and Italy in attacking Gibraltar, where the British were entrenched - as the Spanish dictator chose to continue to oscillate between the Axis and the Allies, the Germans seemed to have finally lost patience, and as long as the Strait of Gibraltar was occupied by the Axis powers, the whole Mediterranean would become their inland sea!

"Yes! The British will pay for their despicable deeds! ”

Rear Admiral, who is old but ambitious, is also gearing up. In this era, most of the French admirals had what historians thought of a strange and morbid idea—that they hated the Germans and even more hated the British, that they were unwilling to associate themselves with the Germans or the Italians, and that they would not cooperate with the English even if they died, and that they would often prefer the death of the English to the Germans who occupied large tracts of their territory!

The two chatted for a while, and were about to go back to the cabin for a cup of afternoon tea, when their captain's communications officer hurried in to deliver an urgent telegram to Admiral Laport.

"Oh, Dar Lang said that the German troops in France have been moving frequently, and our people have noticed that two elite German panzer divisions have been transferred directly from Russia to the northern part of Lyon, claiming that they are only resting in the rear! Well, now France has become the big rear of Germany, joke! ”

After reading the telegram, Admiral Lapard smiled and folded it.

"So...... Did the marshal think that the Germans were still eyeing the south? The Rear Admiral's expression was a little grim, or rather, frightened.

The admiral was not impressed, "Yes, our brave and wise marshal felt that the only thing that attracted the Germans in the whole of southern France was this rearmament fleet!" ”

"If the Germans move south from Lyon with armored forces...... Maybe two to three days to get to Toulon? The Rear Admiral's expression became more and more unnatural.

The admiral smiled and patted the old subordinate on the shoulder, "Haha, my little quail, you're really worried!" Did they think I was so stupid that I would stop the fleet here for the Germans to occupy? Before the German tanks appear at the docks, I promise that all the French ships in the harbor will leave safely! ”

"Yes, General. But...... Where can we go after we leave Toulon? ”

"Algiers, Oran, or Monaco, the ports are still in the hands of the French, and the Germans do not want to take them easily! If we are forced to rush, I will take the fleet through the Strait of Gibraltar, and the United States may be an acceptable choice, "Of course, it's too far away to talk about this now, haha!" The admiral laughed heartily, and the laughter attracted the attention of several non-commissioned officers on the foredeck, and next to them were two huge quadruple main turrets, and the Dunkirk-class was quite distinctively designed, so that all the main guns were concentrated on the foredeck, but the British Nelson-class battleships with similar arrangements performed somewhat unsatisfactory in the war.

Admiral Lover's self-confidence largely dispelled the apprehensions of his subordinates, and on this sunny afternoon the two Frenchmen spent a full hour and a half drinking tea and chatting, and towards the end of the day, the adjutant forwarded two invitations signed by a large merchant who had recently made a name for himself in the port of Toulon.

"Look at how profitable the maritime trade is!" Looking at the delicate invitation on the gilded cover, the admiral seemed to be a little envious, since the surrender of France, Vichy** had almost collapsed in terms of economy and industry, and even the senior generals were rarely able to enjoy the same treatment as before. Especially after the British army's "Ballista Operation", in order to protect the home fleet from the same tragedy, the French army strengthened the port defense at the same time, but also laid a large number of ** outside the port, plus the German and Italian navy in late 1940 and early 1941 operations, Toulon once lost maritime contact with the outside world for ten months. During this time, not even a single tugboat or fishing boat was able to enter or leave the port, and even the more common seafood became a rare commodity!

"This Joseph can't be a spy sent by Germany or Italy!" The Rear Admiral does not seem to have fully recovered from the shock of Darlang's telegram.

"Hah, maybe!" The admiral narrowed his eyes and said, "Don't worry, although our ships have dismantled the self-sinking **, our sailors now have naval guns." Under the strict nose discipline system, the bad guys don't want to board our warships! ”

"Hahaha!" The Rear Admiral laughed along, for for the French, wine and beauty possess a fatal allure, and these two things are not lacking in a high-class banquet!