"Marshal, you say the British will strike at the French fleet?" Adolph. Hitler was stunned for a moment, "What did the intelligence services find?" ”

"Nope." Hersman shook his head, this kind of thing must be the highest secret, I'm afraid only a few people know about it, and it is very difficult to find out. "But the British rulers will do whatever it takes to maintain their evil empire, and they will not let us get the French naval fleet."

"I remember that there was a plan in the 'Liberator Plan' to seize the French fleet," Hitler said, "and that could it be used?" ”

The "Liberator Plan" is not the same as the "Operation Scythe" program, which is only an outline to guide the Mediterranean operation, not a specific plan of action. It is necessary to develop a plan according to the progress of the French campaign. Among them, of course, was the plan to prevent the destruction of the French Navy by the British Mediterranean fleet.

"There was a 'shield cart plan,' Hersman said, "a sub-program of the 'Liberator Plan,' which was intended to use naval aviation to cover the French fleet anchored in Toulon and at the same time strike at the British fleet trying to get close to Toulon." However, in order to implement the 'shield cart plan', Italy must first be persuaded to join the war, and we must also use the airfield in Italy. ”

Without the Italian airfield, German planes would have to take off from Freiburg Airport, close to the border between Switzerland and France, more than 600 kilometers each way, and it would be difficult to protect the French fleet in Toulon.

Moreover, Italy itself had a powerful air force and fleet, and could even start a decisive battle with the British Mediterranean Fleet with the cooperation of German naval aviation.

"Italians ......" Hitler glanced at Hersmann and said slowly, "We want a German-dominated European community, Mussolini wants the Roman Empire!" ”

During this time, Hitler traveled back and forth between Rome and Berlin, discussing with Mussolini the question of proposing a German-Italian alliance. However, the negotiations did not go well, and the two sides disagreed on the division of spheres of influence and dominance in the Mediterranean.

Mussolini also had his own imperial dreams, and he did not want Italy to become a member of the European Community in the future - the Italian leaders wanted the Roman Empire! It was a Roman Empire with the Mediterranean Sea as its inner lake, the Italians!

Hitler shook his head, a wry smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "The Italian leader believes that Italy can undertake the operation in the Mediterranean alone, and Germany does not need to intervene, it only needs to provide a large amount of strategic materials such as oil, coal, and steel to Italy...... And he also wants to get Provence and Corsica in France! ”

Mussolini's current offer is no different from history. And as far as Hersman knew, Mussolini's preparations for war were not much better than in history. The only difference is that there is more oil in reserve, and there are two more aircraft carriers converted from cruise ships.

"Leader, we cannot accede to Italy's demands on Provence and Corsica." At this time, Hersmann showed a very disdainful expression, "Everyone knows that Italy's combat effectiveness is equal to zero, and they can't be compared with France at all." If it weren't for the geography, we wouldn't have had to woo Italy at all.

Moreover, our war with France is in fact a 'brotherly war', and the purpose of defeating France is only to build a European community with France. We and the French will eventually become a family, while the Italians are and will be outsiders. So we can't let Italy get into France. ”

"Perhaps we can let the Italians themselves go and seize Provence and Corsica...... "Adolf. Hitler said, "Before we sign an armistice with France." ”

In fact, Hitler did not want Italy to take too much advantage of France, but Mussolini was not so easy to deal with.

"Leader," Hesmann pondered, "or we may express our unequivocal support for the ideals of the Italian leaders to establish the Roman Empire...... Many of the lands on the Mediterranean coast that were conquered by the Arabs were historically part of the Roman Empire. Now that it was occupied by Britain and France and turned into a colony, Italy could only be revived as the Roman Empire if it liberated those areas. Thus, the French colonies in North Africa and Syria could be handed over to Italy, but France itself could not be touched by Italy.

At the same time, combat operations in the Mediterranean theater will also be dominated by Italian troops. ”

This would be tantamount to cutting off the European Community and the Roman Empire, and the Mediterranean coast of Europe (excluding the Mediterranean coast of France) would be the sphere of influence of the Roman Empire. For Italy, this is a big picture. Moreover, French possessions in North Africa and the Middle East would be ceded to Italy.

"But will Italy be too strong in this way?" Field Marshal Schleicher, the Minister of Defense, interjected with a frown, "And once Italy controls most of the Mediterranean coast, the oil-producing regions of the Middle East will also fall into Italian hands." ”

"No," said Hersmann, shaking his head with a smile, "because the Italians can't beat the British, and the British can show the Italians with a little effort that they can't do without us Germany." When the time comes, we'll be able to dominate everything. ”

"What if the Italians win?" Schleicher asked again.

"Minister, they can't win, I promise!" Hersman replied in the affirmative.

His words sounded profound to Schleicher and Hitler - if the German General Staff did not want Mussolini to win, then he certainly couldn't!

Adolph. Hitler thought about it seriously, nodded after a while, and said: "That's fine, if Italy wants to realize its ideals, it must rely on Germany, so let them suffer first." ”

……

"We evacuated more than 7,500 people from Belgium last night, 4 destroyers hit mines, 2 of them were blown up and sunk ......"

On April 22, in the cabinet room at 10 Downing Street, First Sea Secretary Pound reported to members of the British Cabinet on the previous night's withdrawal. The home fleet sent 4 cruisers and 18 destroyers to 3 ports in Belgium to pull people. More than 7,500 were rescued at the cost of 2 destroyers, 2 destroyers were sunk by German mines, more than 1,500 people fell overboard, and more than 500 were missing.

"7,500 people......," Churchill said, puffing on his cigar, "it seems that the withdrawal of 100,000 people is also possible." He looked at the Foreign Secretary, Viscount Halifax, "Viscount, what is the reaction of France and Belgium?" ”

The British withdrawal of troops from Belgium was kept secret, not only from Germany, but also from British allies, France and Belgium.

"No report has been received," replied Viscount Halifax, "they may not know yet, but I am not sure how long they will be able to hide it." ”

Churchill nodded and said: "Hide it as much as possible, and if the French and Belgian sides ask, they must be firmly denied!" ”

Churchill had long considered that the retreat of the British Expeditionary Force would have to be carried out in secret before an open mass withdrawal began. Only in this way could the French and Belgian armies be guaranteed to continue to resist and create conditions for the retreat of the British troops.

And in order to justify himself, after the mass retreat began, Churchill would ask the British propaganda department to package a "miracle" of retreat, and by the way, inspire the hearts of the people of the British Isles.

"Got it, Prime Minister." Viscount Halifax replied.

Churchill asked again: "How is Arras doing?" ”

The Chief of the General Staff, Admiral Ironside, replied: "There is still a hard battle, our armored forces have suffered heavy losses, and the 3 light mechanized divisions of the French and the 1st reserve armored division have suffered heavy losses at the same time. ”

This is to be expected, and the breakout will certainly not be successful. Churchill calmly smoked his cigarette and said: "If we fail at Arras, then we will have to think about an open and large-scale withdrawal of troops from Belgium." ”

The Battle of Arras was a key battle for the Anglo-French forces stationed in Belgium to break through to the south, and if they were defeated, the Anglo-French forces would have to retreat by sea. At that time, all ships will definitely have to be mobilized to catch people, and there will be no secrecy to speak of. And if we want to withdraw our troops at that time, we can't just withdraw the British troops and not the French troops.

And to withdraw the French troops at the same time would inevitably reduce the number of rescued British troops. And now Germany is luring France to surrender, and through Spain and the Netherlands, it has offered peace conditions for the "formation of a European Community", which is not necessarily a bad thing for France.

In the unlikely event that France surrendered after the defeat at the Battle of Arras, then the French troops withdrawn from the Belgian beaches would no longer fight for the interests of the British. Even after the British Mediterranean Fleet attacked the French naval fleet, these people could well become enemies of the British!

"And once the battle of Arras is lost," Churchill said in a very solemn tone, "there is a possibility that the French mainland will fall, and as an ally of France, we are obliged to preserve the revival of France." ”

What does this mean? The people in the cabinet room looked at each other and were a little unsure.

"Prime Minister, do you mean that we are going to try to get the French government to move to Algeria?" Foreign Secretary Viscount Halifax asked.

"This is of course the first choice," Churchill nodded, "and it is the best option for the French government to move to Algeria with the fleet. But we also need to be prepared for bad things to happen! He was silent for a moment, "If the French government is unwilling to leave, then what should we do?" ”

Churchill glanced at the room and said, "We should support a political force that truly represents the French people and is capable of leading the resistance of the French possessions, and we must now begin to find and cultivate this force!" (To be continued.) )