If there is enough time, the German High Command would not want to come up with a German version of the mercury plan, using all kinds of tactical deception to keep London dreaming of it.

In the eyes of later generations of war historians, the St. Margaret's Trap was a hastily devised contingency plan by the Germans, which could be said to be extremely clumsy and a trap full of loopholes, but what is puzzling is that London did not realize the obvious loophole until the last moment, and when it wanted to recover it, it was already a complete deal.

Some people say that the chaotic situation in the war zone and the paralysis of the communications and intelligence system at that time may have caused London to misjudge the situation, and some people blame the stubbornness and dictatorial power of Churchill's personality that influenced the thinking of the command structure.

All the surviving people in the aftermath were silent about the matter, because common sense could not explain the strange events that took place in these 24 hours, and in the end they could only be attributed to another miracle performed by the apostles of God in this war.

The St. Margaret's Trap was first introduced around the evening of the same day, and it was the staff officers of the Army General Staff who first proposed it. The staff officers, who were forced by the chief of staff of the army, really could not find a means to continue to strengthen the air defense forces of the landing site, and some people suddenly thought about whether they could create a fake landing site to induce the British to bomb, but the result was almost that Keitel slapped him to death on the spot.

However, when Keitel inadvertently proposed this plan in front of Xu Jun, which he thought was like child's play, he didn't expect Xu's reaction to be a great appreciation for it, and affirmed that he could really do it like this.

Xu Jun's explanation to Keitel was that the Germans did not need to build a fake landing zone, but only needed to create a conspicuous and lively target for the British. London is now like a man groping on the edge of a cliff in the dark. I know I'm in a crisis, but I can't see where the crisis is. So as long as they are given a clear goal, they will rush to the light like a flying insect in the dark, and the task of the German army is to create that little light.

Bock and Guderian were busy organizing night attacks by the troops, and certainly could not have the energy to take over the work. So this task was given to Reichenau, who was idle, and half of his assault group had not yet landed, and was organizing troops at the landing site.

A certain party stick was also a little puzzled after receiving the task, but out of trust and loyalty to the Führer, he immediately began to act without saying a word. St Margaret's Bay is not an undefended and peaceful area because of its proximity to Dover. So it took on the task of flanking Dover, and in fact it was also tasked with the coastal defense of the Kent command post, which was less than two kilometers from the underground command, and if you climbed the dirt slope along the coast, you could see the antenna tower of the command post in the distance.

This was the biggest loophole in the whole fraud trap, but the Germans really couldn't find another more suitable camouflage spot nearby, because it was not only about the terrain, but also about the time of preparation, and in the absence of a second alternative target, this place had to be chosen.

The High Command knew it was simply a risk. Once London sees through the trap, not only will it fail to lure the enemy, but it may also lead to a more serious blow to the Dill landing area. The High Command pinned its hopes on London's confidence in the Kent command post and its confidence in its own control, and the final result did not disappoint the Germans. The British did ignore this loophole.

According to the information from London, they jumped into the trap without hesitation, and the British Bomber Command had issued a general mobilization order, giving orders to all squadrons capable of night bombing. The ultimate goal is St. Margaret's Bay. When the news came, the high command celebrated with their foreheads and once again sighed that God bless Germany. God bless the Führer.

St. Margaret's military mission was, unlike other coastal towns, where a British Army unit of about 200 infantry and 50 coastal artillery men operated four MK-I howitzers. A light anti-aircraft artillery company was also deployed here, and the British Army installed machine gun firing nests on the beach trestle, equipped with twelve brand-new 40mm Bofors single-barreled anti-aircraft guns.

This high-performance anti-aircraft weapon was manufactured locally after the British purchased a Swedish license, but due to the shortage of domestic resources, it was not made into an all-electric drive as in the original history, but an emergency version that was simplified according to the prototype artillery, in addition to replacing the British simple tubular gun mount, it was also equipped with a shield that the prototype did not have, and a centralized fire control system was used, as long as the target parameters were entered in the fire control computer, the whole artillery company could follow the parameters displayed by the indicator to track and shoot.

When the German assault infantry entered the village, the British officers and soldiers in the village were all sitting around the radio in the cafeteria.

They hadn't been in contact with their superiors for a whole day, and there was no trace of the daily noon daily supplies, and three miles away there was a rumbling cannon gunfire, and a huge column of black smoke shot into the sky, looking like the end of the world, and the village was full of panic, rumors, no one knew what had happened to Dover, what he should do at this time, and what he should do.

In the evening, a herald from the Kent County Command Post sent the troops a written order signed by Rear Admiral Rice, ordering the garrison troops to be on standby at six o'clock that afternoon in front of the radio in the canteen, and that Prime Minister Churchill was to make a very important speech to all the British troops, which all must listen to carefully, and no one should be absent for any reason.

When the German commandos arrived, they didn't even see a single sentry, so they set up machine guns and rifles directly at the door and on the windowsill of the canteen, and shot a dozen British soldiers who reacted the fastest on the spot, injuring twice the number of unlucky people in the canteen, and the rest of the people raised their hands and surrendered on the spot. German soldiers then spent another fifteen minutes searching the entire village, during which two skirmishes broke out, killing several stabbing officers who had ignored the Prime Minister's orders to gamble in the barracks. It took less than 20 minutes before and after the occupation operation, and at the cost of consuming more than 500 rounds of ammunition, one infantry member was seriously wounded and two lightly wounded, and this British coastal point was in the hands of the German Army.

They also captured a large amount of ammunition and equipment, and as the front-line position of the Dover Fortress Circle, the supplies here have always been daily and of the highest standard, and the soldiers have been systematically trained, which can be regarded as a good soldier's food. If it weren't for the false orders, it would have taken a lot of effort for the Germans to take the village.

As soon as the army infantry had finished cleaning their positions, Raichenau immediately entered the field with his staff team and began to direct the engineering units to carry out field camouflage.

Fortunately, this area already has a very complete system of field fortifications, trenches, deer barbed wire, and bunkers, trenches, and air-raid shelters, which can be turned into German landing positions and material storage yards with a slight change of camouflage.

The Nazi swastika flag is absolutely indispensable, although the German army has begun to slowly de-swastika the swastika line, but the British are not aware of these changes, and only recognize this set. In Guderian's team, there may not be so many flags, but in the hands of Reichenau, there has never been a lack of this, all kinds of styles and sizes are dazzling, the fiery red flags are hung all over the streets and alleys, and there are two oversized ones, which can be used as restaurant carpets, and are laid on the roofs of houses in the center of the village, these two flags were originally made as air defense identification marks, but Xu Jun feels that it looks like a ground target, and even the bullseye is very intimately drawn for the enemy.

The commander of the group army used all his tricks to mobilize all the idle sappers and light infantry units in the landing zone, and in just two hours, he was stunned to create a decent German landing zone, which was full of German-style signs, flags, camouflage nets, red and white twill-patterned forbidden zone symbols, swastika flags and eagle emblem flags, and a strong Nazi atmosphere rushed straight into the sky.

The rest was night deception, and Reichenau used a number of field lighting equipment and a large number of smoke canisters. He first set up a few landing craft on the beachhead, then placed some dinghy and pontoons on the sea, on which the soldiers installed signal lights and incendiary smoke canisters, and connected the power lines.

German soldiers also took out some dummies from the windows of British clothing stores, put them on German uniforms and placed them on the beach. A circle of incandescent and oil lamps has been set up around the perimeter to illuminate the beach. Some German soldiers carried flares and took refuge in foxholes around the beach, while others scattered into bomb shelters dug by British citizens in villages and towns.

Reichenau reported to the High Command that the mission had been accomplished, and that once the British bombers had landed, the German soldiers would light smoke canisters to create smoke barriers in the towns and villages, followed by simultaneous smoke dispersal over the sea, and fire several flares from all angles to indicate the presence of troops on the ground. Under the influence of lights and smoke, the German flags and logos were conspicuous all over the ground, and the strings of signal flares of various colors made it impossible for British pilots to see any flaws in the air.

Reichenau said that he had done everything he could and was definitely able to achieve his goal of luring the enemy. If the commander-in-command is still not satisfied, then simply tie him to the beach, but remember to plant a party flag beside him, then he can also smile at Jiuquan. (To be continued......)