"Prime Minister, the Germans have hit the English Channel, in Abbeville!"

Admiral Verrick, commander of the British Expeditionary Force and the new commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces in Belgium, boarded Churchill's plane and told the British Prime Minister terrible news.

"Oh God," Churchill, who was about to fly to meet Leopold III in Bruges, Belgium, smoked a cigarette, "our army in Belgium is surrounded?" ”

"Yes," said Admiral Verrick, "but we still have a fairly strong force in Belgium, and if you count the Belgian army, there are nearly 700,000 men, and they are all relatively combat-ready troops. As long as the logistics line at sea can be maintained, we should be able to hold on. ”

"But if France and Belgium surrender, will our troops there still hold out?" Churchill said in a gloomy tone, "Admiral, I think you should know what kind of peace conditions the Germans have proposed. ”

"I've heard that, but Admiral Weygand is a determined leader, and he will not yield to the Germans......" Admiral Verrick said, his brow already furrowed.

Churchill glanced at him and said in a slightly sarcastic tone: "But it is not a few staunch leaders who now decide the fate of France, but tens of millions of degenerate Frenchmen." Admiral, you've spent a lot of time in Paris, so you know better than I do about the French who are waiting for the end with knives and forks, right? ”

"Yes, Prime Minister, that's a real problem." Admiral Verrick sighed. "If the French can't pick themselves up any longer, we'll probably have to defeat the Germans alone."

"Defeat the Germans alone!" Churchill laughed, "That's it, the British Empire can defeat any strong enemy on its own." "But before we can defeat the enemy, we must first defend Great Britain, and that requires an army, a well-trained army, not a recruit who can't even hold a gun." ”

Britain has also been fully mobilized since September last year, and has so far formed dozens of divisions. But what can really be fought are those old units that formed before the war, and the 10th Division of the British Expeditionary Force accounts for most of them.

"Prime Minister, what do you mean ......"

"We should do everything possible to keep the troops, at least people, experienced officers and non-commissioned officers." Churchill put it bluntly.

"I have instructed the Admiralty to draw up a plan for the withdrawal of the expeditionary force," Churchill said, taking a puff on his cigarette, "and that is why I recommend you to be the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces in Belgium." Admiral, you know what I mean, don't you? ”

Admiral Verrick nodded and said, "Prime Minister, I would like to remind you: this will make the British Empire lose its trust in its friends. ”

Churchill shrugged, "It's a bad thing to lose faith with a friend, but now it's necessary." He sighed softly, "Actually, we have to do something more terrible than perfidy...... But for the sake of the empire, we have to do that. ”

What's even more terrifying? Admiral Verrick immediately thought of the French Navy! The repatriation of the 200,000 trapped in Belgium would only guarantee that the British mainland would not be conquered by the small number of German airborne troops and landing troops. But if Britain loses control of the English Channel and allows the Germans to continue to go up to the British Isles, then there will be no such 200,000 British mainland to fall!

Churchill gave a grim smile that reminded Verrick of Kaiser Wilhelm or Hitler. The British Prime Minister went on to say: "The British Empire has no permanent friends, only permanent interests. And the French Empire and the German Empire were the same...... Although they are now mortal enemies, once they have common interests, they will embrace each other and become enemies of the British Empire together. ”

"Prime Minister, I understand." Admiral Verrick said, "I will bring back most of the officers and soldiers." ”

"Good!" Churchill nodded with satisfaction, "Admiral, where are you going to withdraw from?" ”

Admiral Verrick had the answer after a little thought, "From Belgium, there are ports in Zeebrugge, Ostend and Niupulte. In addition, the coastline from Depanay to Knok-Heist (near the Dutch border) has good beaches from which a part of the army can be withdrawn. ”

It's 20 May, and the situation on the Belgian battlefield is already very bad, with Brussels falling on 17 May, Antwerp on 18 May, and Ghent (west of Antwerp and Brussels, east of Bruges) on the verge of falling. But Belgium had not yet surrendered after all, so the Anglo-French forces had not been compressed around Dunkirk, so there were many ports that could be used for retreat.

……

"Marshal," said General Halder, the Second Quartermaster General on the morning of April 21, when he saw Hersmann hurrying in, "the report from the headquarters of the Western Front that the 18th Army was approaching Ghent, and that the Belgians had deployed defenses in Ghent. The 16th Panzer Corps set out from Antwerp in the early hours of this morning and made a detour west of Ghent. The headquarters of the Western Front estimated that Root could be captured by the 23rd at the latest, and Bruges could be captured on the 24th-26th. ”

"Good." Hersmann seemed to be in good spirits, and after returning from Berlin yesterday to Tsosen, he did not stay up late at the General Staff, but went home to spend time with his pregnant wife. The two had a very pleasant night, and then Hersman slept in Chloe's company.

He smiled and nodded, "After taking Bruges, it is almost time for Belgium to surrender, so that the Anglo-French army will be compressed to the area around Dunkirk." ”

This is something that happened in history, but things may be different now.

General Halder said: "Marshal, this morning's air reconnaissance shows that the Anglo-French forces are advancing westward in a big way, and it seems that they want to break through. I think...... We will have a decisive battle with the Anglo-French forces on the Dunkirk and Calais lines. ”

"Breakout?" Hersman was stunned.

"Yes," said Halder, "the road from Belgium to Dunkirk was crowded with vehicles and troops, and at least a few armored divisions were moving westward." In addition, an armoured group (the 1st French Reserve Panzer Division), which had been stationed near Dunkirk, had also been activated and was moving in the direction of Calais. ”

"Maybe they want to retreat from Port Calais?" Hersman asked hesitantly.

"Probably not," Halder shook his head, "the bombing of the ports of Calais and Dunkirk by the Air Force and Naval Aviation went very well, and there were no 'Spitfires' from the British, and there were not many anti-aircraft guns deployed there. ”

"The British's 'Spitfire' is covering the movement of the Army?" Hersman asked busily.

"Yes." "The headquarters of the Western Front believed that the Anglo-French armoured forces might have to meet the 19th Panzer Corps south of Calais," Halder said. ”

Armored battles? Hersman frowned and walked over to the map table. He asked: "What was the result of the air strike?" Did the ports of Calais and Dunkirk get enough damage? ”

"Because there is no interference from the Spitfire, the bombing effect is very good." "In the afternoon, the Air Force Command will send in the photos," Halder said. ”

"Blow it up again," Hersman ordered. "Arrange another air raid tonight, and be sure to completely destroy the ports of Calais and Dunkirk!"

He now fears that the Anglo-French forces will slip away from Dunkirk after the defeat at the "Battle of Calais".

……

"The Prime Minister, Admiral Pound, First Sea Lord, and Vice Admiral Ramsay, Commander of Dover Naval Port, ask for an audience."

Churchill, who had just returned to 10 Downing Street in London from Bruges, Belgium, had not yet taken a breath when two naval chiefs in charge of formulating Operation Dynamo came to visit. And the two also gave Churchill quite a headache.

"What? To requisition all civilian ships? Churchill looked at the two, "Also fishing boats and private yachts?" ”

"Yes," said Vice Admiral Ramsay, "there is a high probability that we will not be able to use the port to withdraw, and the Germans have bombed the ports of Calais and Dunkirk this morning with very heavy losses, so we must be prepared to withdraw our troops from the beachhead." This requires the participation of civilian small-tonnage vessels in the operation. ”

Large steamers of several thousand tons and tens of thousands of tons could not get too close to the beach, and could only be transferred by small boats of tens or hundreds of tons, or simply transported people back to England by small boats. Of course, to do so would have to abandon all the heavy equipment and return to England empty-handed for 200,000 people!

Moreover, the British civilians involved in the operation would have witnessed how their expeditionary force had fled back to Britain in disarray, which would be a serious blow to national morale.

Churchill was silent for a while, and finally nodded, "Okay, then mobilize the civilian boats...... Anyway, sooner or later the people will know that we have suffered a terrible defeat on the mainland! I am sure that the British people must be very brave and they will stand with us through this difficult time! ”

Vice Admiral Ramsay gave a military salute and hurried away, but Pound, the First Sea Lord, did not go away.

Churchill knew why the other party didn't go, he took out his cigar cigarette, lit the fire, took a puff, and asked in a low voice: "What did Admiral Cunningham say?" How many troops does he need to complete the mission? ”

Admiral Cunningham, the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, also now had a very difficult task falling on his shoulders.

"He wants two aircraft carriers, the USS Radiance and the USS Ark Royal." Admiral Pound said.

The USS Tejas is the lead ship of the Tejas class of aircraft carriers, which has not yet been delivered to the Royal Navy and is undergoing sea trials. The "Ark Royal" is equipped with F2A "Buffalo" fighters and "Swordfish" attack aircraft, and is the main aircraft carrier of the home fleet. If, while it was being transferred, the German fleet broke through into the Norwegian Sea and the Danish Channel, the British home fleet would be in great trouble.

Churchill took a sharp puff on his cigar and nodded heavily, "Yes!" Immediately equip the Tejas with crew and aircraft...... It can be drawn from the Eagle and the Hundred-Eyed Giant. The 'Ark Royal' was also immediately transferred to the Mediterranean! (To be continued.) )