On the morning of August 7, just as Li Ling had just finished arranging his training mission and was about to sit down to eat something in peace, a top-secret telegram was delivered to his desk. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Li Ling looked at the top-secret telegram in front of him, this was the official combat order he had been waiting for, the No. 16 combat order in history.

"The Leader and Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces, Leader's Base Camp

Wehrmacht Command/Defence Command/Defence Department, 7 August 1940

Top Secret Document No. 0

Only officers were conveyed

In view of the fact that Britain is still unprepared to compromise despite its own military despair, I have decided to prepare for a decapitation and landing operation against Britain, and to carry it out if necessary.

The purpose of this combat operation was to eliminate the British mainland as a base for the continuation of the war against Germany, and to occupy it in its entirety if necessary.

To do this, I command:

1. The sea landing and paratrooper deliveries must be taken by surprise on a wide front, roughly from Ramsgate to the west of the Isle of Wight. At that time, the air force will play the role of artillery, and the naval forces will play the role of engineers. The question of the appropriateness of a partial occupation of the Isle of Wight or the Earldom of Cornwall prior to the implementation of a general operation should be studied separately from the point of view of the various branches of the Wehrmacht, and the results of the study should be reported to me.

In late August, preparations for the entire operation had to be completed.

2. Preparations also include the creation of prerequisites for landing and parachuting in the UK:

1. The British Air Force must be demoralized and de facto crushed, so that he will no longer have a striking force worth mentioning when the Germans cross the Channel.

2. It is necessary to open up a waterway free of mines.

3. Blockade the western entrance and exit of the Strait at both ends of the Strait of Dover and the Alderney-Brandt line with dense mines.

4. Use powerful coastal artillery to control the coastal land and sea areas and implement artillery cover.

5. Before the start of the sea crossing operation, it is more desirable to contain British naval forces in the North Sea and the Mediterranean; It is now necessary to try to deplete the naval forces of the British mainland with air strikes and torpedoes, and the main forces of the navy will set up blockade zones at both ends of the English Channel to ensure absolute security in the strait.

3. Organization of command and preparation.

Mr. Commander-in-Chief, in accordance with my orders and directives, direct the forces sent by their services.

From 20 August, the respective command and staff of the Commanders-in-Chief of the Army, Navy and Air Force must be within a maximum of 50 kilometers from my base camp (Ziggenberg).

I think it would be more appropriate to have the more interconnected command and staff of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy in Giessen.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Army had to direct the operations of the landing armies through one army group command.

This operation was codenamed "Sea Lion".

In the preparation and implementation of this operation, the various branches of the Defence Force are tasked with the following tasks:

1. Army:

First of all, a battle plan and a plan for crossing the sea should be drawn up for all the troops on board the first wave. The first wave of anti-aircraft artillery to cross the sea was temporarily placed under the command of the Army until it received the tasks of supporting and covering the ground forces, covering the landing ports and covering the air bases to be occupied.

In addition, the Army should allocate sea-crossing equipment to each sea-crossing cluster and determine the embarkation and landing sites in consultation with the Navy.

Note: The 1st Huaxia Division will be divided into two parts, one part of which will be the first landing batch with its 1st Tank Brigade and the division's rocket artillery battalion as the first landing batch to open up a landing ground and seize a favorable position, and the other part will be the 2nd batch of landing with the 3rd Motorized Rifle Brigade under its subordinate subordinate Brigade as the main body, and the overall command of the 2nd batch of landing troops will be handed over to the cluster commander to be responsible for direct command.

The commander of the 1st Huaxia Division will directly command the troops to fight with the 1st Tank Brigade, and the other subordinate units will unconditionally provide support for the combat operations of the 1st Huaxia Division.

2. Navy:

Provision of sea-crossing equipment,............

…………

5. I would like to request you, Mr. Commander-in-Chief, to report to me as soon as possible:

1. The plan of the Navy and Air Force to create conditions for forced crossing of the strait.

2. Specific measures for the formation of coastal artillery batteries (navy).

3. A summary of the tonnage of ships in service and the methods of raising and deploying ships. Is the civil sector involved?

4、…………

…………

10. Suggestions of the Army and Navy on the issue of command during the sea crossing.

11. Proposals on the feasibility of putting the USS Zeppelin into actual combat in the early stages of the war, as well as the deployment of the USS Bayan (Navy).

(Signed) Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich"

Looking at the battle order in front of him, Li Ling knew that there was not much time left for him, and according to the above requirements, he should prepare for a full-scale war in late August, which means that in fact, his troops only had the last ten days of training time, and how to improve the combat effectiveness of the troops as much as possible in these ten days was Li Ling's top priority.

"Tian Tian, you go and find Kirsch, let him prepare, the division headquarters has a meeting, I have an order to pass it on."

......

"This is the situation now, everyone has read the combat instructions, and there are still ten days left for us, and in these ten days, you must improve the combat effectiveness of the troops, and then ensure the combat enthusiasm of the soldiers, and not let them be afraid of war."

After speaking, Li Ling sat down and quietly looked at the group of people in the conference room, everyone thoughtful.

"Division commander, the order says that my motorized infantry brigade will be separated from you and stay in the second echelon, why is this? Doesn't this mean that the 1st Tank Brigade was completely denied infantry reinforcement after landing? ”

Lieutenant Colonel Bender, who had been promoted to commander of the 3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade, looked at the battle order in front of him and had ten thousand incomprehensions in his heart.

"Don't worry, there will definitely be a large number of infantry troops in the first wave of the attack, and the reason why the Supreme Command arranged it this way is probably to protect you, after all, among the vanguard of the landing operation, the infantry is the unit with the highest casualty rate, and my soldiers, they dare not take it to death."

Recalling the movies about the Normandy landings that he watched in later generations, Li Ling still feels a heartbeat, the coastal defense force is simply an indiscriminate massacre of the infantry in the landing operation, the reason why Heydrich took out the third motorized infantry brigade alone is probably to protect this army, otherwise, once this motorized infantry brigade has serious casualties, he is really afraid that Li Ling will come to the door and collapse him.

"Okay, then I'm fine, I'll just stay in the back......"

"Okay, let's go back, that's basically the way it is, go back and convey the battle order, and then give the troops a three-day vacation, let them rest and relax during these three days, and after three days, the troops will be fully prepared for war, and no one will be allowed to take a leave of absence."

"Gentlemen, get ready for battle!"

...... (To be continued.) )