With the major victory of the German army in the Polish campaign, the British finally made up their minds to throw the Second Army of the British Expeditionary Force, which had not been transported to France for a long time, into the European continent.

Previously, Lord Gort, the British Chief of Staff, who served as the commander of the expeditionary force, had already entered France with Sir John Deere's First Army.

Since the initiative in the war was still in the hands of Britain at that time, it was completely impossible for the German army on the Western Front to pose any threat to France. Therefore, the follow-up force of the British Expeditionary Force, the 2nd Army under Lieutenant General Alan Brooke, dragged its itinerary unhurriedly and did not leave for France.

But now, the Polish campaign has ended, a large number of German troops have returned to the Western Front, and the pressure on the British and French forces has suddenly increased sharply. Since the German army was already increasing on the Western Front, the British Expeditionary Force should also rush to France as soon as possible to increase its own strength.

"Knock knock!" With a rhythmic knock on the door, Major General Montgomery, who had just served as the commander of the 3rd Division with the title of "Steel Division" in the 2nd Army of the British Expeditionary Force, came to the door of Lieutenant General Allen Brooke's office: "Commander, I am the commander of the 3rd Division, Montgomery. I heard you called me over? ”

"Come in." Brooke put down the papers in his hand and looked solemnly at Major General Montgomery who strode over.

Among the division commanders under his command, Brooke valued Montgomery the most, a steady major general who was about to fight in France with him.

In terms of experience alone, Montgomery, who participated in the last world war, graduated with honors from Camberley Staff College, and later led troops to quell the riots in Ireland and Palestine, and had experience as a chief instructor at the Queta Staff College, is definitely one of the few experienced army generals in Britain today.

"Monty, you're finally here, I have a lot of things here that I want to discuss with you." As soon as they met, Brooke affectionately called Montgomery's nickname.

In Brooke's hands, the most well-trained elite was Montgomery's 3rd Division. The troops in hand are good at fighting, and Montgomery's status among the division commanders under the 2nd Army is naturally higher.

After all, if a fight breaks out later, Brooke will have to rely on Montgomery's "Iron Master" to act as the main force. It is particularly important to listen carefully to the opinions of the division commander.

"General!" Receiving Brooke's attention, Montgomery's heart was also very satisfied: "If you have anything you want to hear, you must know everything and say everything." ”

"Good!" Brooke made a gesture to Montgomery to sit down, and said, "The big war is coming, but I always feel that my heart is getting more and more bottomless." To tell you the truth, I would love to hear your objective views on the future of warfare, and do you have any thoughts on the possible imminent war between Anglo, French and German? ”

This solicitation of opinions made Montgomery hesitate for a while. He originally thought that Brooke wanted to learn from him about some tactical issues such as the morale of the junior officers and the combat readiness of the troops, but he didn't expect that what Brooke wanted to ask was actually such a question about the overall situation.

After thinking about "....... not optimistic," Montgomery confided in this worry that he had thought about repeatedly: "In the past ten years, our army has become more and more rigid and rigid, and more and more like an old man with a glorious past. However, those blind pride and arrogance are still growing in this group. ”

"But the Germans are different! They are constantly arming themselves and refining themselves. How brave the Polish army was, but it took them less than a month to defeat the Polish army and lose their armor and be wiped out! As a thoughtful senior commander, he covered his forehead and expounded bitterly: "The Germans have become stronger and more courageous than they were in the last war. But the armies of our great British Empire are intoxicated with the dreams of the past, and they are withering and regressing! ”

"Monty, remember that great battle more than twenty years ago?" Brooke patted Montgomery on the shoulder.

Montgomery looked up and looked at Brooke with fiery eyes: "Remember! It was a time of great enthusiasm! ”

In order to deal with Germany, Britain abandoned the "glorious isolation" foreign policy that had been pursued since the 19th century in World War I, and after 1907, it became an ally of the "Triple Entente" with France and Russia.

For this reason, more than 500,000 officers and soldiers of the British Empire fell into eternal sleep in a foreign land. Montgomery was also seriously injured and almost died.

It was only 22 years ago that Britain finally defeated the German submarine forces and asserted its naval supremacy.

However, the British Empire won in the end! Even though he won badly, he still won in the end. The German emperor, who attempted to challenge Britain, abdicated, lost almost all of his colonies, and signed the humiliating Treaty of Versailles.

Politics aside, in that battle, the British soldiers did play the role of a superpower and defended the glory of the British Empire!

"Many young people, when they entered this army, were also so passionate......" Brooke sighed heavily: "However, in the past 20 years, our army has become a pure bargaining chip in the hands of politicians, and they have used it as bargaining capital, and it has been used as a bunch of beautiful ornaments across the English Channel!" Far from the war, our soldiers look down on the Allies who fought bloodily on the battlefield. While turning a blind eye to the struggles of their allies, their blood has long been cold. After a few years, they have become a bunch of mediocre people in military uniforms! ”

With a heavy fist on the table, Montgomery gritted his teeth and said: "If you shouldn't say something, in the past few years, a certain policy of the empire has cooled down the boiling blood of the soldiers, so that the beating pulse has gradually slowed down, and there is nowhere to throw the blood!" ”

"Hmph....... Prime Minister Chamberlain's 'wise' policy" "Unexpectedly, Brooke, the dignified military commander, dared to snort coldly without hesitation.

Looking at Montgomery, who wanted to stop talking, Brooke smiled faintly: "What, is there something wrong with what I said?" Chamberlain humiliated the country, and he has come to this point, he has an unshirkable responsibility! ”

"There are not a few people who think this way, and in Britain today, only Mr. Churchill, the Lord of the Admiralty, can lead us back to the glory and passion of the beginning!" Brooke's eyes were blazing: "With the fall of Poland, World War II has arrived. Troubled times need strong ministers, and the weak Mr. Chamberlain has not been able to keep up with the pace of the times. The only one who brought victory to the British Empire with his ability was Churchill, and it had to be Churchill........"

World War II? Montgomery was silent. Perhaps, he will witness a war on an unprecedented scale next. Born in troubled times, is this lucky or unlucky.......