In this quiet and warm night, Chentian, who was lying on the bed, expressed his trust in the front-line soldiers with a solid sleep. Of course, his personal guard, the brave and resourceful Rainey, was waiting outside the door, and there was something important and urgent, and Tatsuten didn't mind being woken up so much.

For the coming morning, Tatsuten was as full of anticipation as his people, because they knew that there were no more than two results, one was a victory and the other was a brilliant victory.

While the fights, the strategists, the watchers, and all the people involved were focused on England, a fleet that had just sailed from the German military port of Kiel was speeding towards the northeast of England in the dark waters of the North Sea. The fleet consisted of 3 cruisers, 12 destroyers, 37 fast freighters, and 6 medium cruise ships, each with its deck, cabins, and all available space occupied by well-equipped infantry and their equipment.

The 11,000 infantrymen from East Prussia were to take to the beach as a third landing force, and the soldiers were demoralized, albeit a little seasick. Many of them were veterans of the Polish campaign, which was fought by a million-strong German, Austrian, and Russian army, and they were stationed in Poland under the leadership of General Mackensen. With the German-Russian alliance, Poland has become a land of calm, tiresome calm! Now, these East Prussian warriors, eager to fight, had another chance to show their strength. In order to avoid the eyes and ears of the British as much as possible, the German General Staff specially mobilized troops from Poland, the farthest point from Britain. Although these infantrymen were not trained to land, there was not much trouble in landing where they had already been taken.

In addition, the materials and equipment of the landing force were transported from Calais and Dunkirk, which appeared to be bound for Dover to transport supplies for Army Group Hindenburg, but were in fact turned to Grimsby at sea.

In the captain's room, the best room of the cruiser "Piru", Admiral Mackensen, one of the veterans of the East Prussian Army Group and recognized as a first-class commander in the German Army, lived up to the good intentions of the captain, Lieutenant Commander Borg, who generously contributed his room and bed, and General Mackensen soon fell asleep peacefully. A person who rarely takes a boat is able to enjoy a sweet sleep in such somewhat bumpy sea conditions. Even the naval officers and sailors on the ship were envious, not to mention the army soldiers.

At this time, not only the British, but even most of the officers of the German General Staff did not know about this special fleet and this special group of soldiers. As for General Mackensen, who was awarded the Blue Max Order for his meritorious service, everyone except the Kaiser and a few high-ranking generals thought that the Supreme Commander of the Polish garrison was still enjoying the spring rain in Warsaw.

"I'm getting rusty!" General Mackensen said to the Emperor, "Either let me go to war or let me retire!" ”

For the 66-year-old veteran who is still full of energy. Chentian has always been trusting, and this good relationship began more than ten years ago. When he first joined the East Prussian Legion, Chen Tian was still a young man in his twenties, and General August von Mackensen was already one of the pillars of the legion at that time. Since then, whether it is daily training, the East Prussian Campaign, or the Polish Campaign, this calm and wise general has performed enough to reassure people.

"Well, my dear general! Go to England and teach the stubborn Britons a lesson! Tatsuten personally approved General Mackensen's request because he felt that Mackensen was "experienced, quick-witted, and physically strong, and at this time he was in the prime of his command's land," and that it would be a "crime" to let such a general idle Tanaka.

Thereupon. A month before the launch of the battle "Sunken Island". The battle to penetrate the rear of the British army was determined, the location was set at Grimsby, which was geographically suitable, and the operation was launched at the same time as the frontal battlefield. The operational forces were selected from François's 8th Army and Mackensen's Polish cluster - the 8th Army's experienced troops seized the beachhead and fortified the landing ground, and then the offensive or defense was handed over to Mackensen's troops. In terms of offense and defense, the soldiers who fought in East Prussia and Poland were the best -- this is also a "wealth" created and stored by Chen Tian himself.

It was destined to be a sleepless night for the British, who were ready to evacuate to Canada with pessimistic worries about the future, and the main figures of the British royal family and government - not including King George V. Watching the glorious empire fall in his own hands, George V can be said to be the saddest man in the world, and he also has little hope for the war situation, but he understands the honor and responsibility on his shoulders, and he is not willing to abandon his people to live alone. He was even more reluctant to be a monarch in exile - maybe the King of Belgium, maybe the King of Spain, but not the King of England.

Docked next to a remote dock in Glasgow, Scotland, are three submarines that look much larger than the average submarine. The night here is calm, here is far from the hustle and bustle of the battlefield, but everyone here is restless. Under the command of an old man in a black gown with a pale face as if attending a funeral, people were busy transporting large and small bags onto the submarine, everything seemed to be going on quietly, but the soldiers on guard around - the royal guards in red uniforms. But it makes it easy to understand the actions of this group of people.

Shortly after midnight, a motorized carriage rattled to the dock. The coachman wore ordinary clothes, but the horses and carriages were gorgeous, and the people who got out of the carriage had an extraordinary temperament that could not be concealed. One by one, with their heads bowed as little as possible to keep their faces from being seen, they gracefully and swiftly walked through the docks without red carpets and very ordinary pedals to board the three submarines. When entering the submarine through the narrow hatch, the expressions of these people were without exception displeased and reluctant. In normal times, they absolutely disdain to take such a dirty and obscene "vehicle", but the current situation does not allow them to choose. Under the blockade of German warships and submarines, only cruise ships and submarines could pass safely - most of the aristocracy and dignitaries chose cruise ships, but there were also some people of special status or personality who did not want to travel on ships that did not fly the British flag, but now ships sailing in the Atlantic and flying the British flag are stupid and suicidal. Under these circumstances, the British Admiralty had no choice but to obtain a few ocean-going submarines for these special people, and despite such factors as the small space and lack of comfort, their performance was still relatively reliable -- they were launched in Boston, the United States, at the beginning of the year, and were originally used to strengthen the United States' reconnaissance, vigilance, and attack capabilities in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and at the request of the British Government, they sailed to Britain and temporarily "leased" them to the British Navy. So although they fly the St. George's cross flag. But many of the crew members spoke with a standard American accent.

The British soldiers who were far away at the front line clearly did not know what the royal family and the government were planning, and on this night they were brave, fearless, and even hopeful. Under the cover of night, behind the frontal front, where the battle was in full swing, the roads were crowded with marching British soldiers. Lack of equipment, but the soldiers looked confident, British, Canadians, New Zealanders, Indians. All sorts of people and others are rushing to the predetermined assembly place, the final place of their life and death. At this time, every British soldier seemed to know that he had no way back, and most of them chose the former between a glorious death and a humiliating life.

At least on this night, the British forces from top to bottom did not have to worry about the terrifying air superiority of the other side - although German planes could have taken off at night, but for whatever reason, the Germans did not do so after the battle began, not even the Zeppelin, known as the battleship in the air, which was most disgusted by the windy weather of this evening.

In the absence of aerial reconnaissance and cover, the German ground forces had to rely on their limited cavalry for reconnaissance, but this reconnaissance was limited by the terrain and the transmission of information was slow.

"Don't be left behind! Keep searching and moving forward! Double-check every bush! ”

In the dark. The bearded's familiar voice made Schellner grapple with his rifle. At this time. They were making their way through a wood, and Schellner didn't know exactly where he was going, but kept following the bearded man. And this woods was behind the British position that they had captured half of them earlier.

It was the first battle in which Private Schellner had participated, and the large-scale combat operation made it both glorious and nervous for the new recruit, who had recently been added to Army Group Herringen, and fortunately he had many companions by his side, many of whom were veterans of the French battles, especially his company commander, Captain Watt, affectionately known to the soldiers as "The Bearded."

Sporadic gunfire rang out from time to time in the woods, sometimes far and near, and the woods were hiding some of the fleeing British soldiers, so the German infantry were now advancing in search of skirmishers. In addition to the sound of gunshots, the entire forest was filled with the rustle of people touching the branches and leaves as they walked by. In the distance, there was a faint sound of heavy gunfire, which was the other German units attacking the advance.

Just as the infantry could see the edge of the woods ahead, a "stop advancing" command came from the front of the bush. Before everyone could figure out what was going on, a loud bang approached, followed by an explosion in the clearing in front of the woods that almost ruptured people's eardrums, and one after another explosions beat like a huge war drum on the ground......

Schellner followed the veterans to the ground quickly, and the light that shone like the sun shone into the trees from the front. The darkness was driven away, and the world was as bright as day. Scherner looked up reluctantly, only to see some dark shadows scurrying into the woods.

"Team English! There are a large number of British ** teams in front! ”

At 4 a.m. on April 22, it was a dark hour for the 3rd Infantry Corps from Hesse, Germany. 42,500 officers and men, including eight cavalry reconnaissance detachments of 1,080 cavalry and 20 artillery batteries operating 120 small-caliber infantry guns, attacked the area defended by two British, one Indian and one New Zealand brigade according to the predetermined battle plan. After hours of hard fighting, the defenders were left with only two pieces of high ground, and just as victory was in sight, the German commander received a report from a cavalry detachment that a large number of British troops were gathering in the rear of this area! Before this could be verified, a fierce counterattack by the British began. Although the British artillery fire was not fierce, the German vanguard that had just captured the opponent's position was not firmly established and did not have many ready-made fortifications, and the follow-up troops did not have time to start the battle, so that in the face of hundreds of thousands of British troops, the Germans were caught off guard from top to bottom, and the positions that had been captured at considerable cost were quickly lost in just a few tens of minutes, and the command and communication system of the entire army was temporarily ineffective in the battle. In this terrible situation, General Helingen's infantry retreated all the way, and it was only through the efforts of well-trained officers and soldiers that this retreat barely turned into a rout. After retreating to the starting position in a panic, the unit was finally stabilized, but a large opening about 12 kilometers wide appeared in the overall offensive formation of the German army.

On the edge of a wooded area on the southern side of the battle line, Major Manstein and his men, who had been in this special armored reinforced battalion, had been in the distance for three days before the start of the campaign, listening idly and boredly to the distant sound of artillery. The most frustrating thing for the officers and soldiers was not that they could not charge at the front, but that the superiors arranged extremely strong "bodyguards" for them - a whole 3 elite infantry regiments! This made the invincible veterans in Italy feel frustrated and helpless, but this was a direct order from the front command, these latest tanks were for actual combat tests, and in order to ensure that the British captured any of them, the tests had to be carried out in very safe conditions - the British would never easily give up an inch of their own territory, and this battle had just begun, and the two sides were still fighting over many areas, and when the overall situation was decided, these precious tanks would naturally have a chance to attack.

Radio waves were all over the middle of England, but the transmitter of the Manstein tank battalion never received an order of its own. The soldiers waited silently, but as the battle progressed and the Germans continued to advance, the enviable sound of battle was gradually moving away from the woods.

At this time, neither the Manstein Tank Battalion nor the 509th, 577th, and 590th Infantry Regiments protecting them would have thought that the war would spread here. The positions they had built were fortified, but no one ever thought they would be of use - ahead of them, millions of elite German front-line troops were advancing steadily according to a tight plan. However, the battlefield was changing rapidly, and with the talented 28-year-old Manstein, many of the German troops would face another major test after their landing in Britain.