Outside Port Oran, on the British fleet, a colonel's staff officer asked Sir Forbes:

"General, our operation this time is not a conventional operation, but a long-distance attack. If the enemy attacks without any preparation, and against the French, not the Germans, there must be no more surprises, right? ”

In the eyes of the staff officer, he actually felt that this battle was inevitable.

After all, France is not as good as Germany, and the British Royal Navy can't do anything with the German High Seas Fleet, so it can't do anything with the French fleet.

Forbes thought about it for a while, and said stupidly: "In order to avoid provoking the Vichy government, the German Navy will not go south into French waters for a while. Therefore, we can say that the road was unimpeded, and after the sneak attack on the French port, and then returned to Liverpool in time, this time it was considered a success. ”

It's a pity, the adjutant of Forbes. As soon as he had said this, he handed over a disappointing telegram,

The telegram read: Germany sent nearly 100 bombers to attack Liverpool, blowing up the harbor and the dockyard, and destroying a cruiser in the harbor that had no time to dodge.

The news hit Sir Forbes like a bolt from the blue.

He was not just alarmed by how many ships the Royal Navy had lost or how many soldiers it had lost. He cared about the destruction of the port, so that his fleet would have no place to go, and would have to abandon the scheduled route on the return journey and make a long detour to another port to resupply.

In fact, this was the third day in a row that the Germans had launched air raids on Britain, and during these three days, nearly 100 bombers visited British airspace every day, striking many British port towns and factories in turn.

Especially since the northern part of France was taken over by the Germans, the Germans took advantage of the original airfields in France, and the take-off fighter groups could easily enter the airspace over London.

The Luftwaffe no longer had to send limited and valuable strategic bombers to participate in the bombing of London.

The German bombers, which now carried out the bombing of London, as well as British ports and industrial facilities, have been replaced by DO-217 medium bombers, and their number has increased significantly.

The Do-217, which was actually an enlarged version of the Do-17, first flew in 1938, and after a limited production of a few Type A and C, the mass-produced Do-217 rolled off the factory assembly line in early 1940.

Unlike the previous model, it had a deeper fuselage and a larger bomb bay, its scissors allowed it to pass through the balloon smoothly, and although it was heavy, it was agile when flying, making it a fairly mature medium bomber.

Today, London is in flames every day, and the people of London are in dire straits every day, fearing that they will lose their lives due to a German bombing.

On the other hand, the British Air Force, its casualties and combat results during bombing missions were not satisfactory, and the British army was often shot down by German BF-109 fighters just after flying over the English Channel, and a small number of British fighters that slipped away were inevitably shot down by German anti-aircraft guns if they continued to carry out bombing missions.

Compared to the invincibility of the Luftwaffe, the tragic situation of the British Air Force can almost be said to be obvious.

In the face of the joint blockade of the anti-aircraft radar anti-aircraft guns and BF-109 fighters used by the German air defense forces, the German army formed an impermeable air defense network almost on the mainland and along the English Channel in northern France, so that the British bombing formations were shot down again and again.

However, when the domestic situation was so severe, the home fleet of the British Royal Navy secretly left the mainland and quietly lurked near Port Oran, equipping the opportunity to strike a fatal blow to the French main fleet in Port Oran.

To this end, the British Home Fleet used their fleet that had been heavily damaged by the Germans, and specially drew out a special fleet for operations, including the Brave and the Resolute, the two remaining battleships of the British Home Fleet, as well as 2 cruisers, 11 destroyers, and an aircraft carrier, the Ark Royal.

Although the Germans "coincidentally" destroyed the port where the Forbes fleet was supposed to return, cutting off their back route.

However, the current Forbes fleet is also ready to be launched. Regardless of the rear, they must first settle the matter in front of them.

It's done, so there's no stopping it!

Soon after, Sir Forbes issued a radio message to the fleet in the French port, which was simple: Join us and stand with us in a united front.

The specific way to join was to hand over all the French warships and let the British Navy take them.

Darlan naturally refused to reply to the British side's request.

He argued that since France had declared an armistice and remained neutral, it should not join either side.

In addition, the French and German governments have also pledged not to use the French fleet for military purposes.

But even so, it is particularly shameful that the British are still struggling with each other.

Therefore, Darlan, the commander of the French navy, who scolded Churchill for his treachery, refused to give any reply.

In desperation, the British officers had no choice but to get on a motorboat, sail into the harbor, and deliver the ultimatum to the French.

After all, Forbes still wants to avoid fighting as much as possible, otherwise the British Royal Navy will be too shameless.

However, although Forbes wanted a peaceful solution, under pressure from Churchill, he gave the French four options in this ultimatum, all of which were non-negotiable!

1. With us out of port, continue to fight for victory in the war.

2. Lay off the crew and sail to the British port under our supervision.

3. Give the warship to the U.S. government for safekeeping until the end of the war.

4. If none of the above three points are acceptable, please scuttle all the warships within 6 hours.

Finally, the British wrote, "If you fail to do what is said above, then I am compelled to use all the forces necessary to prevent your fleet from falling into the hands of Germany or Italy, by order of His Majesty's Government."

After all, Sir Forbes was ordered to ensure the handover, surrender or destruction of the French ships at Oran and Mirskbiel, to ensure that they did not fall into German hands, and to disarm all French fleets anchored outside the French mainland.

Churchill did not give them room for relaxation, so they did what they were told, and they could not give the French room to bargain.

However, Darlang is not a vegetarian.

As a commander who was deeply respected by the officers and men of the French Navy, his first thought was not to confirm the facts with the British Navy and avoid misunderstandings, but to directly and resolutely order the whole army to launch a first-level alert to avoid being slaughtered by others!

The move of the French army into combat readiness caused great panic in the British. They saw that the smoke of the French ship was rising, and at the harbor, the nearby army units under the command of Bélunte who received the news even brought in a batch of field guns to support Darlan.

The forts and coastal batteries around Port Oran were also condescending, and they aimed their guns at the British fleet in the distance.

At the same time, despite his exasperation, Dar Lang calmed down and repeatedly promised the British fleet on the radio: "The French fleet will not surrender to him, the Allies, but it will not give in to the ultimatum of the British army." ”

Of course, Darlan reluctantly explained to the British fleet at the moment that it was not because of weakness.

On the contrary, Darlan just wanted to delay a little. At the same time, he had mobilized French detachments from several nearby ports to support the port of Oran.

Once reinforcements arrive, Darlan will be able to join them inside and out and flank the British!

So, Commander Darlan and Sir Forbes went on to wrestle for five hours.

It wasn't until 12:10 p.m. that Sir Forbes, commander of the British fleet, received a warning from Churchill himself: "Solve the problem as soon as possible, or you will encounter the French reinforcements transferred by Darlan!" ”