May 25, 1940 at 2 p.m. London. 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the Prime Minister of the British Empire.

"Has it been confirmed?"

Winston. Churchill stood in his office, looking carefully at the pile of photographs on his desk.

"Yes, Prime Minister, we confirmed this as soon as we got this latest information." British War Secretary Anthony. Aiden sat on the couch to the side and nodded affirmatively.

"This information is very true. Yesterday afternoon, the Royal Air Force conducted a reconnaissance of the side of the German front, and these were photographed. In fact, the night before yesterday, the French intelligence agency and MI5 had already discovered that the German ** team had begun to act abnormally.

In order to obtain more accurate information, in addition to sending air force reconnaissance planes, we also used intelligence personnel embedded in the German occupation zone. As a result, we found that the Germans had mobilized almost the entire front, and those powerful panzer divisions suddenly began to move to their rear, while some second-line infantry divisions were transferred to take over the offensive of the panted divisions.

The German ** troops near Arras had completely ceased their offensive, and received information from the front that the Germans there were shrinking their positions, as if preparing to move to the defensive. In France, in addition to Calais, it was also under fierce attack by the German army of Gudeli. The rest of the front began to stabilize, and so far the French front had been largely calm except for a few small harassing attacks. ”

Churchill frowned, he turned to the back of his desk and sat down, looking at the papers of Army Intelligence on the table in deep thought.

"Prime Minister, this morning we sent another reconnaissance plane to conduct reconnaissance, and we found that German armored forces were massing in the Cambrai area, and we also found a large number of tank field repair workshops and oil depots.

After analysis by our intelligence experts, it was believed that the reason for this large-scale transfer of Germany was that their armored forces were in big trouble. The representative of the British Chiefs of Staff, General Ismay, said with a report.

"From the reconnaissance photographs, we can already see that the enemy's armored divisions are massing towards their rear, and a large number of tanks are being towed on the march, which means that these tanks are either broken or have no fuel to move. In the photo there are the German 7th Panzer Division, the 4th Panzer Division, the 6th Panzer Division, and the same situation is seen in other moving Panzer Divisions in Germany.

In particular, several units moving in the direction of Cambrai also carried a large number of empty fuel barrels, which can be clearly seen in the photographs of the 7th and 4th Panzer Divisions, which convinced us even more that the Germans had run out of fuel. And we also found that a large proportion of the German supplies to Gudeli's armor division were fuel, and there were more fuel trucks than ammunition trucks on the road to Calais. They even used air force transport planes to transport supplies to Guderian. ”

"Transporters? Airlift? ”

Churchill looked up and looked at Ismay suspiciously.

"Yes, this is a report from the RAF radar station." Ismay pulled a report from the file and handed it to Churchill. He continued.

"Last night, Radar Station No. 4 on the outskirts of Dover spotted a large number of German planes moving in the direction of Calais, all of which, judging by their speed and size, were large transport aircraft. Then those targets suddenly disappeared near Calais, where we believe the Germans had landed, where there was a large occupied French field airfield. At midnight they suddenly appeared from the radar again and flew back to the German rear. We can believe that Germany is going all out to send supplies to Guderian, which shows that Guderian's situation has reached a very difficult point. ”

Churchill groaned for a while, he opened the cigarette case on the desk, took out a cigar from it, then picked up the silver scissors on the table and cut off the tail of the cigar, he slowly picked up the lighter on the side, and lit the cigarette. Churchill took a sharp drag on his cigar and stared hard at the photograph on the table, then he turned and looked at the map on the wall for a moment.

"Your opinion is that there is a problem with the logistics of the Germans?" Churchill asked.

"Yes, and probably more serious than we thought." Ismay replied. "Yesterday's and today's intelligence shows that Germany is desperately trying to send fuel to France. On the railway to France, there were seventy percent more tank cars in Germany than usual. And we believe that the time has come when the German tanks must be stopped for overhaul.

We have found a lot of German tank field repair plants with a large number of tanks parked outside. And now it seems that Guderian's armored forces have also reached the end of their strength, and the Germans may have concentrated all their current supplies to support him in continuing the fight.

The rest of the German panzers had to retreat to the safety of the rear to repair and wait for supplies from within their country, as it was unwise to leave depleted and malfunctioning tanks at the front. Now in the Arras area, only a small number of infantry units remained in the defense. They exposed in front of us a weak line of defense fifty kilometers long. ”

"Is this a trap?" Churchill was still a little skeptical. "The Germans were so careless that they showed us their weakness?"

"Probably not, because the Germans started their actions suddenly, and they must have thought that even if we knew about them, they would not have had time to react. And their supplies should arrive within three days, when they can quickly repair the hole and attack again. Moreover, we have paid a considerable price to obtain this information. The Air Force lost about 50 reconnaissance planes, bombers, and fighters in order to get close to the tank repair shops, more than 80 pilots were killed or captured in battle, and more than 30 intelligence officers lost contact with the headquarters, presumably captured by the Germans.

After the success of our first aerial reconnaissance, the Germans mobilized a large number of fighters to blockade these areas, and if it were a trap, they would not have had to exert so much effort to protect their secrets. ”

Churchill thought for a moment, nodded, and then he asked Ismay.

"And what is the opinion of the Council of Chiefs of Staff?"

"Our opinion is that the German movement now is our best chance to turn defeat into victory. The main strength of the Germans, and the most headache for us, was their tanks, which now lacked fuel and were being repaired.

As a result, at least for three days, their infantry units will lose tank support. And. Ismay stood up, walked over to the map, picked up a pencil and gestured across it.

"And, as a result of the retreat of these tanks, the enemy left a big weak link in their encirclement. Right around Arras, they had only one infantry regiment to defend their supply lines. If we tear this hole open, then our troubled expeditionary force and the French First Army will be able to break out of the encirclement and then join up with the main French forces in the south. By that time, even if Germany sent his panzer division, it would not be able to break through the Somme defense line, which had been reinforced by these troops.

Moreover, we can also cut off the logistical supply of Gudeli's armored army, and if we counterattack from the French coast, we can even encircle this elite German armored corps in turn. In that case, Germany's combat capability will be greatly weakened, and with our counteroffensive, we will be able to win the war! ”

The more Ismay spoke, the more excited he became, as if he had seen himself standing at the venue of the signing ceremony of the German surrender.

Churchill didn't think so, he always felt that the opportunity had come a little too suddenly. According to the rigorous attitude of the German Army, such a low-level and fatal mistake should not be made. He was ready to ask the Secretary of War for support.

"What do you think, Mr. Eden, could this be another trap for the Germans. It doesn't seem like a mistake the Germans would make. ”

Aiden stroked his pretty mustache and said solemnly.

"Prime Minister, I don't think this is a trap, because I don't see what the Germans can get by working so hard to lay this trap. They have surrounded our troops in the canal area, and now they are sure to win if they continue to attack, and I can't think of any reason why they should do otherwise.

But now that they have not only stopped attacking, they have also exposed their weakness, which would be too illogical if this was a trap. So I think the only correct answer is what General Ismay said, and they are really in big trouble. Now I support the view of the Committee of Chiefs of Staff, and we must seize this opportunity. It's God's arrangement, and I can't believe we'll ever have the same opportunity again. ”

The War Secretary's words finally dispelled Churchill's concerns, and his face suddenly brightened. He called out happily.

"God bless Britain! If this is true, then this is a God-given opportunity. We can use these three days to break through the encirclement of the Germans and rescue our brave soldiers from a desperate situation. We are now going to draw up a plan immediately. Let's discuss how we can make the best use of this opportunity and teach those damned Nazi lunatics a thorough lesson. Did the chiefs of staff already have a plan? ”

"There is no detailed plan yet, only a rough outline, and we want to start working on it as soon as we get your approval, which is basically based on General Wei Gang's plan to advance south."

"General Wei Gang does have a set, did he expect this a long time ago, hahahaha. Then use his plan as a framework. ”

"Yes, Prime Minister, do you still need to inform the French High Command to cooperate with our actions?" Ismay asked.

"Of course, immediately send a telegram to Renault to explain these circumstances to him in detail. Oh, let's just say that General Weygand's plan now seems to be possible. ”

"Yes, I'll arrange that later."

"Immediately summon the ministers and chiefs of staff of all branches of the armed forces to my meeting. Time is running out now, and it seems to us that we only have ...... There are only two and a half days left, so this plan must be drawn up today, and then a copy will be handed over to the French high command at once. Let Goth get ready immediately. ”

"Gort's forces are retreating towards the coast, with only a small number of troops defending on the front."

"What, what are they going to the coast for? Oh yes, it's my order. When I was happy, I forgot everything. The War Department immediately sent a telegram to Gort, ordering his troops to halt their retreat to the coast and let them return to their original positions. ”

"Yes, Prime Minister, I'll arrange it right away. And what about the Navy's "generator" operation, is it to stop their preparations, Admiral Ramsay is still collecting ships everywhere. Aiden asked.

Churchill hesitated.

"If that plan is used, how many soldiers can we bring back."

Aiden replied, "Probably fifty or sixty thousand, maybe less." The German Air Force and submarines would not have allowed us to cross the strait so easily. ”

Churchill thought for a moment and slammed his cigar into the ashtray.

"Then let Admiral Ramsay suspend preparations for Operation "Generator" first...... Await...... When the time comes, it doesn't look like we're going to use this plan anymore...... At least now we have a better chance. ”;