What unfolded before Peter's eyes was a very shocking picture - tens of thousands of soldiers crowded on a beach no more than two or three kilometers long, their queues were not confused by the crowding, basically three hundred to four hundred people, the first one standing waist-deep in the water, and the last standing at the end of the beach. And between these long queues, there are anti-aircraft guns of different sizes.

These were soldiers waiting to retreat, the vast majority of them British, and less than a tenth of them were French or Belgian.

Just as Peter and the others watched in amazement, the rocking truck "creaked" to a halt.

The driver jumped out of the cab, walked to the back of the truck, knocked on the metal tailgate, and shouted to the passengers sitting in the back: "Guys! It's time to get there! ”

Hearing this, a group of people jumped out of the car.

Albert jumped out of the car and walked over to the driver, pointed to the crowd on the beach, and asked him, "Well, are all these people going to retreat with us?" ”

The driver did not answer in a hurry, but took out the pack of cigarettes that Albert threw him, took out one and put it in his mouth, lit it and took a deep breath before saying, "Yes." ”

"What about the boat that picked us up?" Albert asked.

The driver pointed to several small barges full of people at sea and said, "Isn't that it?" ”

Albert looked at the small barges pointed out by the driver, and said in surprise: "Just those ones?" How many people can you transport at a time? Also, are you sure this ship can cross the ocean? It doesn't even have an engine, it's all paddled! ”

"Who said I'm going to take you to England on this ship?" The driver looked at Albert like a fool, "It's just that the sea is too shallow here, and the draft of the big ship is too deep, and if you drive in, it will run aground, so you can only let the big boat stop outside, and then use these small barges to go outside and board the big boat." ”

"What about the port? Big ships can't stay on the beach, they can always dock at the port, right? ”

"Harbor?" The driver smiled helplessly, "It has long been bombed into ruins by the Germans, and now there are only two breakwaters left for ships to dock......"

"Well...... Albert wiped his forehead, "and where is the big ship now?" ”

"There." The driver said and pointed to a spot in the sea 1.6 kilometers away from the beach, where three warships were parked.

"That's ......," Albert said, squinting at the three warships and trying to identify them, "that's ...... Three destroyers? ”

"Yes." The driver took a deep breath of cigarette and nodded, "These three destroyers arrived the day before yesterday, and they have been responsible for the perimeter guard, searching for nearby German submarines, and they joined the carrier fleet after the retreat operation began yesterday." In addition to them, the Royal Navy also sent several frigates and minesweepers, but those frigates and minesweepers left yesterday with more than 1,000 people. ”

"And then? That's all there is to it? ”

"Yes, that's all there is to it now." The driver replied.

"When does that have to be shipped?" Albert said dejectedly, "Not to mention that there are 600,000 Allied troops in the entire Dunkirk area, there are tens of thousands of people here now!" ”

"What's the solution?" The driver sighed.

"What about the Royal Navy? Don't they have so many warships? Why did they send only a couple of destroyers and frigates? ”

"Because the Germans also have a fleet!" The driver said, "Their high seas fleet may be coming to us now, if the Royal Navy sends all the ships to transport people, then who will stop the German high seas fleet?" ”

Albert was stunned, as if this was indeed the case.

"Okay, let's not talk about it, I have to go back and transport people." The driver said and climbed back into the cab.

"Alas, wait!" Albert came back to his senses, "You haven't told us where we're going next!" ”

"Oh!" The driver poked his head out of the window and smiled apologetically, "You go over there, the meeting place of the 31st Division is over there, and someone will pick you up when you go over there." ”

The driver gave Albert directions and drove off the beach.

"Thanks!" Albert waved to the departing truck, then led the group in the direction the driver pointed.

The group didn't walk long before they met the person who the driver said to answer.

"Hey! Guys! When several of the "red cap" royal gendarmes saw Albert and them approaching, they took the initiative to greet them and asked, "Highland Corps?" Are you from the Highland Corps? ”

"Highland Corps?" Albert shook his head, "No, Mr. Gendarme, we are from the 31st Infantry Division, looking for a meeting place for the troops. ”

"Oh, the 31st Division." One of the "red caps" in the lead nodded with a smile, and then instructed one of his companions beside him, "Charlie, take these guys from the 31st Division to the assembly point of their troops." ”

"Yes, sir!" "Red Cap", named Charlie, saluted, and then led Charlie and the others towards a breakwater.

On the way, Charlie took the initiative to talk to Peter, who was walking beside him.

"Man, where are you from?" Charlie asked Peter.

"Me?" Peter replied as he walked, "A small town in North England, Pitlochry." ”

"Pitlochry?" Charlie smiled, "Then we are half fellow countrymen, I am from Perth, and it may be only a few dozen kilometers away from your home." ”

"Perth, it's very close." Meeting half of his fellow countrymen in a foreign land made Peter's gloomy mood much better.

"Hey, do you know where we're retreating this time? Dover or Folkestone? Joel also jumped in and joined the conversation.

"If that's right, it's Dover." Cha Li replied after a moment, "General Ramsay came over in person yesterday, and he said that the local side has already transported the logistics materials to Dover, and as soon as we return home, we will be able to use them immediately." ”

"Dover." "That's good, I have a relative there, and I should be able to rest at his house for a few days when I get back." ”

"Lucky guy." Charlie smiled and glanced at Joel, "You people from the 31st Division are always so lucky. ”

"Huh?" Peter looked at Charlie suspiciously, "Why do you say that?" ”

"Because your 31st Division is the best place to evacuate, you can board the frigate directly from the breakwater instead of climbing into a small boat from the cold sea like everyone else, and then row 1.6 kilometers away to board the big ship." Charlie pointed to a breakwater not far ahead, "And there are only two breakwaters on this beach." ”

"Looks like we're really lucky." Joel and the others looked at each other and smiled.