The night sky is deep and the sky is like ink, and the official office at 10 Downing Street in London, 1,000 kilometers west of Berlin, is also in the sleepless lights. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoSeveral richly dressed high-ranking dignitaries sat on dark brown sofas, with irrepressible heaviness and depression in the depths of their eyes; And their appearance and bearing also showed a tired and decadent demeanor, and they no longer had the sharpness and sharpness that pointed out the country on the eve of the war.

"In the 100 days since the start of the war, Great Britain has lost 317 merchant ships with a total registered displacement of 1,776,000 tons. Among them, more than 85% of the losses came from German pirate breakdowns in the Atlantic, and more than 13 transport fleets lost more than 50% of merchant ships. To be sure, the Germans adopted a completely new tactic: they could always concentrate a limited number of submarines in time to attack our convoy at night. Due to the lack of sufficient escort ships in the navy, coupled with the deterrence of elusive German pocket battleships, there are a large number of loopholes in our transport fleet that are difficult to take into account, which directly leads to the continuous unfolding of one tragedy after another......"

"In addition to the breakage of diplomatic relations, the mines dropped by German aircraft on our ports also pose a significant threat to our merchant ships. This is also a completely new piece of equipment, and conventional minesweepers do not detect anything unusual at all, but when a merchant ship or warship enters the waters, it will explode violently without warning. So far, the Thames estuary and the major ports on the east coast have not been able to resume normal navigation, and all merchant ships that try to force their way into the restricted area in pursuit of lucrative profits have now become the new home of shallow sea fish. The only thing that can be determined now is that small ships with a displacement of less than 200 tons will not trigger such mines. Perhaps we can use this to ease the pressure on land transportation for eastern port cities such as Kingston......"

Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain listened silently to Churchill's report, and the frustration and anxiety in his heart were indescribable. Although the German navy's first-class attack was forced back by the British fleet with heavy casualties, the situation on the sea has not been significantly improved: British merchant ships are still being sent to the bottom of the sea by Germany in dozens, and the loss of them and the goods they carry has a serious impact on the foundation of Britain's national strength. At this time, the total number of merchant ships sunk by Britain accounted for 10% of its total registered tonnage, and the total cargo volume imported into Britain in the past three months was only 11.3 million tons, almost 20% lower than in peacetime. Because it is inefficient for merchant ships to sail together in a group, the time spent waiting for the group is enough to do a transatlantic voyage!

In the face of this dire situation, the British government promulgated a wartime ration system in mid-November that was second only to the wartime rationing system in early 1917. Coal, oil, metals, agriculture and food were all brought under government control, and the rich and comfortable life that the British people were proud of disappeared almost overnight. They have thousands of pounds, but it's hard to get what they want in the market: the consumer goods stores are running out of stock, and they can only sigh at the empty shelves. Petrol stations have banned the sale of petrol to private individuals, and millions of cars in Britain have been scrapped almost instantly. Whenever you commute to work, the endless stream of bicycles seems to pull people back to a century ago.

Rao is the British people were full of hostility to the gluttony of the Hitler regime, and fundamentally reminisced Chamberlain's declaration of war on Germany on September 3, but in the face of his own life suddenly falling from a well-off and wealthy to a difficult place to have food and clothing, he also had a strong sense of dissatisfaction and resentment towards those in power. In the eyes of the people, it is precisely because of the incompetence and stupidity of the current authorities that the original good hand has been played to a pulp, so that the Atlantic shipping line has been so badly damaged.

Although ordinary people do not have access to classified data such as the tonnage of specific merchant ships, they can make the most accurate measure of their own living conditions - today, only 22 years after the last unrestricted submarine battle conducted by the Germans, most Britons have the deepest memories of the tension at that time!

As the most direct guardian of Britain's maritime shipping lines, the Royal Navy was the first to bear the brunt of the most intense doubts. For more than a month, Churchill, Secretary of the Admiralty, has responded to these voices in front of the House of Commons and the media, and has worked hard to indoctrinate the angry and disillusioned people with his unique and persevering strong conviction. In this regard, Chamberlain's heart was full of guilt, because he knew that Churchill completely carried the black pot for himself. When Churchill came back to a ruined mess, and the navy was an army that particularly needed time and resources to form a fighting force, how could Churchill make this defeat of the Germans without any money?

"Mr. Winston, do you think there is anything Great Britain can do to change the current situation?" Chamberlain tried to dispel the worries about the current situation in his heart, and asked Wen Yan, the fat man in front of him. Although there was a serious ideological confrontation between the two sides, and Chamberlain, as the leader of the Conservative Party, even poked the hawkish Churchill "hatched out of the shell" to the end through political momentum in the past 10 years, but today, when Britain is facing a serious war crisis, Chamberlain's sense of responsibility for the country has made Chamberlain forget all thoughts of fighting for power.

Chamberlain had already made up his mind that if Churchill could really solve the current crisis in Britain, he would be more than willing to give up the post of prime minister. Because at this moment, what he needed for his beloved British country was a true wartime leader who could lead his people to grit their teeth in the face of adversity and achieve ultimate victory at any cost.

Churchill looked at the old man in front of him with complicated eyes, and his heart was also full of mixed feelings. The Sudetenland crisis a year ago was supposed to be the best chance to eradicate the German threat, but the man in front of him had too complicated ideas and missed it in vain, which led to a series of extremely serious consequences. How difficult is it to beat the Germans now than it was last year? At this time, Hitler not only united with the two dictators in the east and south, but at the same time his rule at home was very secure; That terrifying army alone is enough to make it difficult for any country to match!

Churchill, however, was by no means the kind of politician who attacked each other and did nothing himself. Like Chamberlain, he didn't want to pay too much attention to the past, but made solving the current crisis his top priority. In response to Chamberlain's inquiry, Churchill said slowly: "There is a huge gap in the number of escort warships in the Atlantic, and at least 20 cruisers and 80 destroyers are needed to effectively protect the fleet." Therefore, conventional means can no longer fundamentally change the situation of loopholes in the Atlantic route, and can only start from some other aspects. ”

"From now on, all British ships sailing in the Atlantic will fly the American flag. In addition to changing the flag, warships should also camouflage their shapes so that they look like U.S. Navy ships from a distance. A hint of struggle appeared on Churchill's face, and he spoke with a determined expression. As soon as these words came out, the chancellor of the exchequer, the minister of war and others next to him were all stunned. They looked at Churchill in disbelief, as if they had heard some heresy that subverted universal values.

Churchill ignored the contemplative gazes of several of his colleagues and explained in a clear and coherent manner: "At present, our merchant losses are mainly due to the attack of German submarines on the transport fleet. The only way for these sharks to catch their targets is to look through periscopes to see the nationality of the surface vessel and the model of their appearance. If we were to fly all the ships under the American flag, it would have greatly affected the hunting operations of German submarines. For at present, the number of American merchant ships and warships sailing in the Atlantic Ocean is very considerable; Even if a fleet were to be seen in the periscope of the opposing side, the German submarine that fired the torpedo directly would bear a great risk of accidental damage and consequent culpability. ”

"If we encounter a German pocket battleship, the American flag will also help our fleet to survive. It is hard to imagine that the German warships would fire directly at our merchant ships flying the American flag, and that the flotilla would be much more advantageous than it had been before, whether it would have been in a situation where it had been in a situation where it had been waiting for darkness or simply fleeing for its lives. If there were escort destroyers in this fleet, it would be a good opportunity for us to eliminate those German pirates: when the enemy gets close to check, we will directly fire a salvo with torpedoes! Churchill said with burning eyes.

"This ...... Is this too despicable? The Chancellor of the Exchequer said with some difficulty. This act of flying someone else's flag, proposed by Churchill, was only used by pirates before the advent of steam-powered warships. What's more, the British flag has been a symbol of the king of the sea for the past three centuries, and now it is a shame to be reduced to the ugly Star-Spangled Banner of the nouveau riche in North America to survive. And it was none other than the Admiral who had shouldered the glory of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years!

Churchill's eyes lit up and he said, "This is not what you call despicable. First of all, international law recognizes the act of flying the flag of another country in order to protect itself in wartime, as long as it is exchanged for the flag of its own country at the time of combat. Now I'm ready for all ships to be camouflaged, and who can condemn it? What's more, what we are facing now is a life-and-death struggle with the brutal Hitler Germany that is related to the fate of Britain. There are no means in this struggle, only victory, and any means can be implemented! (To be continued.) )