Inside Le Havre, fierce battles began. More than 100,000 German troops entered the city and began a fierce battle with the British expeditionary force.

However, the morale of the two warring sides is very different. The German army on one side was full of morale, and the British army on the other side was the will to fight collapsed, and it was about to collapse at the first touch.

This also made the German army in the offensive, which can be described as overwhelming. The British resistance was so fragile that it could not even stop the German attack.

"Da Da Da!"

On one of the British positions, a heavy machine gun was firing. This kind of velocity-of-fire weapon was supposed to be a weapon for killing enemies in urban defense operations. However, the British soldiers, whose will to fight has almost fallen to the freezing point, even with these weapons, will not be able to exert their combat effectiveness!

"Mortars, aim at the machine-gun positions of the British, take them out!" The platoon commander of a second lieutenant in the German army ordered.

"Boom!"

A shell from a 60-mm mortar accurately hit this machine-gun position. The bunker was blown up, and the machine gunner inside was killed. However, the machine gun was not able to destroy.

Originally, the Germans thought that they needed to continue the shelling. But what was surprising was that the British soldiers stationed there fled directly after the machine-gun fire point was destroyed. As a result, the Germans took this British position with almost no effort.

Such scenes can be seen almost everywhere on the entire battlefield. In the face of the German attack, most of the British soldiers did not have the courage to continue fighting. At the touch of a button, the positions of the British Expeditionary Force were constantly lost. Their space in Le Havre has also been suppressed a lot. In this case, it seems that they will not last long at all.

By the evening of 11 May, when the Germans had stopped attacking, almost half of the entire city of Le Havre had fallen into German hands. Admiral Crook and Lieutenant General Ludendorff were very satisfied with today's attack. The two were even optimistic that perhaps by tomorrow evening, the whole of Le Havre would completely fall into the hands of the Germans. The British Expeditionary Force stationed here will be completely eliminated.

The tide of the war became even more unfavorable for the British Expeditionary Force. It is almost a foregone conclusion that they will lose the war. But what do they do next? This became a headache for the leadership of the British Expeditionary Force.

"Sir Sir, in this afternoon's battle we have lost half of Le Havre. The losses of the troops, not very large. The most critical problem was that the soldiers no longer had the courage to fight the Germans. Often the Germans came with a few shells, and the soldiers lost their positions and fled in confusion. This leaves us with no way to continue in the city. Admiral Haig looked frustrated. There is no doubt that he no longer has the slightest confidence in the current situation.

"How much longer will we be able to hold out in Le Havre?" Sir French asked.

"Your Excellency, it's hard to say. Perhaps, we can make it until tomorrow night! Admiral Goff said.

Sir French couldn't help but smile bitterly: "We are in Le Havre, and there are at least 200,000 people." Is it only enough to last for one day? Is the combat effectiveness of the expeditionary force already weak to such a point? ”

"Your Excellency, though there are still quite a few troops. However, everyone no longer has the courage to continue fighting. In such a situation, even if there are more troops, what is the use? Admiral Haig said.

Sir French nodded helplessly, he also knew that he was powerless now.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think we should do next?" Sir French asked.

"Your Excellency, there is no other way to fight this battle. If the fighting continues, it will only increase casualties. So, I suggest that the soldiers surrender to the Germans. They have done their duty in this war. There is no need to force them to continue fighting. In that case, it's no different from sending them to death. Admiral Haig suggested.

"Surrender? If you surrender, you can save the lives of those boys. In this way, it can be regarded as saving them. But what do we do? I don't want to go into a German prisoner-of-war camp. Sir French said.

As the commander of the British Expeditionary Force, Sir French was undoubtedly a top magnate figure belonging to the British Army. If he were captured by the Germans, it would be a major blow to his personal reputation. It could even have a serious adverse effect on the British Empire. Sir French didn't want his glory tarnished. If necessary, he would rather commit suicide than be captured by the Germans.

"The German fleet cruised off the coast of Le Havre. Even if we wanted to evacuate Le Havre, we probably wouldn't be able to. Admiral Goff said. He understood what Sir French meant. If it can be withdrawn to the British mainland, even if it is a defeated general, it is obviously better than being captured.

Admiral Haig frowned, thought for a moment and said, "Your Excellency, if you want to leave Le Havre, there is no way. We may be able to turn to the Navy for help. Their submarines can secretly reach Le Havre. We can return to the mainland by submarine. It's just that, in this way, the number of people evacuated is not much. ”

Sir French thought for a moment, and then said, "It is better than all the people being captured by the Germans." ”

"Well, Sir Sir, I see." Admiral Haig had already grasped what Sir French meant.

The British Expeditionary Force Command and the British Navy were secretly in contact, and it happened that a submarine was operating not far from Le Havre. Their mission, which was supposed to be to spy on the German fleet. Now comes in handy.

The British War Office also learned of the predicament of the expeditionary force, and expressed its understanding of the decision of Sir French and others. So, that night, the British submarine secretly arrived in Le Havre and picked up a few people, including Sir French, Admiral Haig, and Admiral Gough.

The next day, after dawn, the officers and men of the British Expeditionary Force discovered that several of the main commanders had slipped away. This feeling of abandonment was even more unbearable for the officers and men of the expeditionary force.

Therefore, when the German army launched an offensive, a large number of expeditionary officers and soldiers surrendered directly to the German army. Many troops, even in formations, surrendered.