The defense system of the Dover area is unqualified in the eyes of some military experts, compared with the defense system of those fortresses on the European continent, its light and heavy firepower distribution is very unscientific, the main fortress is not strong enough, the design is outdated as a whole, most of the facilities have not adapted to the needs of modern warfare, the most fatal problem is the lack of defense in depth and roundabout space, it is easy to be surrounded by enemy forces.

There are many reasons for this, first of all, the Dover region has only been threatened with invasion twice in hundreds of years, and has never actually suffered a war, so the ancient fortifications built since the Middle Ages have almost been intact, which has severely restricted the role of later fortress builders, because many of the old forts did still play a defensive role for a period of time in modern times, and due to economic considerations, the parliament and the upper echelons of the army did not agree to dismantle those seemingly strong forts and rebuild them on the spot. Because in the eyes of politicians it is a shameful waste, and in the eyes of the army, it is a rejection of tradition and glory.

Secondly, the fortified fort of Dover was mainly designed to deal with the threat from across the Channel, which had been reduced to almost zero during the years when the British Navy was dominating, so the British government decided that the existing fort facilities were sufficient to deal with all the troubles.

It was only during the Napoleonic Wars and the First World War that Dover was really threatened with invasion, especially in the First World War, and the British government really put a lot of effort into improving and expanding it, but it turned out to be another false alarm, and when the war ended, the economic situation turned bad, and these new renovations stalled again, so the equipment in these forts was all old from the First World War, and in many places even the old copper telephone tubes were preserved.

The special geography of the Dover region is also an important factor restricting the development of the defense system here, the port closest to the European continent exists first and foremost as a trading port, and the military value can only be placed in a secondary position in the face of economic benefits, and all projects must make way for the development of trade. Dover is a small plain sandwiched between two highlands, with a large number of low north-south ridges and valleys to the west and a three-hundred-foot plateau to the east, with little gentle ground that can really be exploited.

Since there was no threat of war for hundreds of years, a large amount of flat land and gentle slopes were occupied by civilian buildings, and military installations that did not exist at all in the eyes of the citizens were driven to some hilly and ditchy slopes, and the various fortifications and fortresses were separated by large areas of residential streets, warehouses, and factories, and the positions were like isolated islands surrounded by civilian houses.

Also because of this topography, Dover is surrounded by a large area of ravines and hillsides. A main road runs through the middle line, and there is no depth at all, let alone a defense system in depth.

The attack of the landed Germans was directly hit at its vital point, because the Dover defense system was not a defensive circle, but a defensive line, which consisted of a number of coastal permanent fire points, a central fortress, a flank bastion, two large coastal fortifications and coastal defense batteries, all of which were built to defend against the enemy on the sea. With the exception of the central fortress and the bastion, there was no omnidirectional defense, and most of the machine gun perforations and artillery were aimed at the coastline and the port road, and they had little resistance to attacks from behind.

The remaining infantry of the 1st Armoured Division of the British Army is not enough to assemble an infantry battalion. The tankmen were no match for ordinary infantry after leaving their iron shells. When it was learned that the German armored forces had appeared behind them, the British command structure in the Dover defense circle fell into a panic without surprise, and everyone was stunned by this shocking news.

Most people thought there must have been a communication error when they heard the news, but when one of the Queen's private cavalry squadrons, a Vickers light tank, fled back to the British position in panic with half a turret and the mutilated body of the commander. The commanders finally accepted this brutal truth.

The Germans had landed and had outflanked Dover. There were only two paths left for the British commanders, hold on or retreat.

As long as it is a formal military education. This question is actually very good choice, the back road of Dover has been cut off, the German army is continuing to outflank the rear, the intention of the Germans is very obvious, that is, to encircle the Dover area, if you continue to stay in Dover, what awaits the British army will be a war of annihilation.

As a result, there is no need to guess at all, the defenders of Dover have little combat power left, except for the still large formation, the German army has gone around to the back of the fortress, no one had ever thought that this situation would be encountered, there are no defensive positions at all in the rear of the city, except for some anti-paratrooper trenches and barbed wire on both sides of the main road, at most only a few barricades in the form of checkpoints and rudimentary sandbag fortifications.

The local National Guard wanted to set up a minefield in the field on the side of the road, but was stopped by the local farmers, because it was private property, and what to bury had to be agreed by the owner, the farmers insisted on setting up signs on each mine after laying mines, and at the same time receiving material compensation, otherwise when the Germans did not land, who would dare to enter this land, and finally the self-defense army gave up this plan after half a month of noisy noise, when the Royal Navy still had the strength to fight, and the Royal Air Force was also in the limelight, No one thought that the Germans would be able to break through to the fortress of Dover.

So now if it wants to stop the advance of the German army, the British Army can only leave the strong fortress and fight a field battle with the German army in the hilly area, facing the German army armed to the teeth, the British army in its heyday may not be able to confront it head-on, let alone in this state, there is no hope of victory at all.

The supreme command structure of the fortress was destroyed, the garrison infantry units were heavily damaged, the fortress artillery units and batteries were burned together, a large number of ammunition and materials were damaged, the supply line was cut off, the only armored mobile unit was annihilated, the remaining armored troops were short of fuel and food, and the ammunition was only a base of vehicles, which was only enough for a medium-scale combat use, but most of the fuel had been consumed, and the mechanical failure was also very serious, and there were no accessories and spare parts, so it was impossible to repair at all.

The most correct choice the British could make now was to abandon Dover immediately, and while the troops still had a certain amount of combat strength and morale, they concentrated all their assault forces and retreated along the coastline in the direction of Folkestone. Before the Germans completed the encirclement of Dover, they would join up with the two infantry divisions stationed at Folkestone, and whether they would hold on to the spot or retreat at that time would depend on the specific situation at that time.

This was the view held by Colonel Evans of the 1st Armoured Division of the British Army, who had taken over the command of the Dover garrison by virtue of his current highest-ranking army officer in the Dover area, and who was not prepared to discuss it with the other officers at all, and immediately gave the order for the whole army to assemble and prepare for retreat.

It was at this moment that one of the most dramatic scenes in the history of the war occurred, when the command of the Dover Fortress, which had been thought to have been buried deep underground along with the collapsed fortifications, returned to the world. The process can be called a Hollywood-style disaster blockbuster, with twists and turns in the plot, wonderful and touching. There are also a lot of personality flashes dotted among them, of course, this is another story, so I won't elaborate on it here.

Anyway, the members of the command were almost unscathed, and they finally escaped from the closed cement coffin through a shaft that had been abandoned for many years, and Major General Mason poured two jugs of water after returning to the surface, and then rushed to the temporary headquarters as soon as possible, he wanted to take back his command.

The official level can be the dead man, let alone the second level now. Colonel Evans didn't even struggle at all, and obediently presented the seal of the commander of the defense zone on the spot, which had not yet been warmed up. Major General Mason is not an official fan, nor does he have such a strong sense of power**, he just stubbornly considers himself the commander of the fortress. It is a commander's duty and responsibility to take command, and as long as he still has a breath, he will never give up this responsibility.

Mason first asked Evans and the current commander of the garrison to report on the current situation at the fortress in Dover, especially the current state of the troops and the latest combat status obtained. He was also taken aback by the news that the Germans had landed. Where did the Germans go ashore, does London know about this news, and why there is no reaction until now. The fortress commander was completely confused.

Evans suggested a retreat to Mason, feeling that as a qualified commander, Mason would agree with him and make the right trade-offs. But to everyone's surprise, Mason was adamantly opposed to the withdrawal of troops from Dover, much to the consternation of the officers present.

Major General Mason had a good reason, as there were still some fortified forts in Dover that had not been destroyed, thirty percent of the bomb shelters on Mount Elizabeth were still intact, some of the barricades had been erected in the city, and the harbour facilities were still intact. Mason believed that the British Army could rely on these existing conditions to fight the Germans in the Dover area, draw the Germans firmly into the port, and buy time for London to send reinforcements.

Mason believes that although the retreat can temporarily retain the existing army, it is difficult to predict how long it can last, the supply line of the British army has been cut off, and the supplies on Folkestone's side have been exhausted, even if the British army in Dover really reaches Folkestone, it will not be able to get supplies, and it will consume the only remaining vehicle fuel on the road, and at the same time, Folkestone's food supply has been in short supply, plus Dover's troops, the consequences can be imagined.

And now no one knows exactly how many German troops landed on the British island, if there were enough of them, the Germans could probably include even the British troops of Folkestone, and who can guarantee that the Germans are not marching on Folkestone now.

Mason felt that it was a good thing for the German army to send out the army, as long as the German army was put into the city, the other side would not dare to bombard it with heavy artillery, and he still wanted to fight a vigorous street battle with the Germans according to the original plan.

Mason also reassured Evans that although the garrison's coastal heavy artillery had been lost, there were still more than a dozen large-caliber infantry guns on the small batteries around the fortress that had not been destroyed, and although the ammunition was not much, it was enough to create a deterrent for the German attacking troops.

He also had to defend Dover, that is, the port of Dover was still intact, and London could organize the delivery of troops and supplies to Dover Fortress from the sea, as long as the sea supply line could be guaranteed, Dover would still be a fortress that would never fall.

Perhaps it was Mason's rank that put too much pressure on him, or perhaps he was indeed persuaded by the facts Mason had enumerated, Evans finally agreed to Mason's plan.

A part of the garrison was sent to the outskirts of the city, where they were ordered to construct an improvised line of defense to delay the German advance and buy time for the rear troops to reposition their positions. More than a dozen infantry tanks that were running out of fuel were given to these light infantry units, which were used as mobile fire points to support the infantry along the entire line, and when the fuel ran out, they could also be used as fixed pillboxes, these tanks carried enough ammunition and heavy armor to withstand the Germans for a while.

The remaining armoured units and infantry were ordered to shrink into the core fortifications, fortify and rebuild the barricades, and at the same time draw some of the surviving forces from the central fortress into the city, build hidden fire points and anti-tank traps in the houses, and the soldiers began to collect all kinds of combustibles, set up anti-tank fire barriers and make Molotov cocktails.

The other group of soldiers was ordered to clear the core fortress and excavate the buried underground ammunition depots and supply warehouses, and Mason believed that at least three of these tunnels dug along the slope had only been blown down, and that the ammunition and supplies in these storage warehouses were now an important guarantee for the defense of Dover, even if they were to be dug out at all costs.

With the order of the rear admiral, the entire Dover fortress area began to get busy, and the frustrated and dazed soldiers finally found a direction to work on, and the news of the arrival of the German army waved behind them like a whip, but they were now beginning to feel a sense of confidence that perhaps under the command of Rear Admiral Mason, they could really hold off the Germans.

On this day, because of this series of orders, Rear Admiral Henry of the British Royal Navy. Mason went down in history. Historians agree that if the German Führer had put a noose around the necks of the defenders of Dover, the Rear Admiral of the Royal Navy was the one who pulled off the flap switch on the gallows.

PS: Yesterday the computer was broken, the graphics card died, because it was found late, and it was Sunday, so I had to take a day off, I posted a top post in the book review area yesterday, and it was obvious that many people didn't go to see it, so I made another explanation here, thank you for your support. (To be continued......)