Guderian's platoon of tanks had to stop advancing because their tanks had burned out of fuel, and another tank had been hit by a French anti-tank gun during the Battle of Abbeville, with its tracks falling off and several parts damaged, making it impossible to return to the battlefield without major repairs. That is, there are only two tanks in a tank platoon that can fight - with sufficient fuel.

Sending the 2nd Panzer Army to the coastline was already the limit of Germany's logistical capabilities, with insufficient trucks, most of the fuel and ammunition had to be transported by cattle, and there was no rail connection from the Ardennes Forest to France, which made it much more efficient. Fortunately, Moltke Jr.'s First Army had already joined forces with the main force of the German right flank, and the railway line from Germany to France via Belgium had been opened, and Moltke's troops would be much better in the coming days.

"Look, what is this, where did you get so many good things?" A tank soldier carrying a pile of silver cutlery in his arms immediately attracted many onlookers.

"Hurry up and take a look, the good stuff has already been robbed by the grenadier bastards!" The soldier seemed a little indignant, and his words caused the tankmen to disperse and join the army of looters.

Guderian sat down next to the top of the tank with a smile, smoking a French cigarette in a good mood, and the sight in front of him made him feel refreshed, this is the prerogative of the conqueror, there is no need to correct it. As for him, he doesn't care about the insignificant loot, his family and himself don't need money, they don't lack money, they need honor, the Iron Cross.

According to the orders of the superiors, the 2nd Panzer Army had about ten days to rest in place, which was really incredible in the fierce battlefield. They had to rest before enough fuel was sent from the rear, and I heard that there was a problem with the domestic fuel reserves, and that there was a gap between the estimated fuel consumption and the actual consumption of the logistics department, which was a problem that needed to be solved, and Guderian did not want to be in a state of rest all the time.

As for the infantry and cavalry, they did not need to rest for a long time, the First Army stopped advancing after besieging the coalition forces in the Dunkirk area, and the task of encirclement and annihilation was handed over to the main forces of the German right flank, and the light of this war was about to be stolen by Moltke Jr., and according to the principle of being a man, it was necessary to give some honor to other troops.

More than 400,000 elite German infantry squeezed the coalition forces from all directions in Dunkirk, and the enemy did not collapse and surrender as expected, their resistance was very fierce, and in the absence of heavy firepower, ammunition and food, those French soldiers showed the temperament of a strong country. In the Battle of Lille, five divisions of French infantry repelled more than a dozen attacks by three German corps, and the defensive line was not broken through until four days later. Lille was reduced to rubble by the indiscriminate bombardment, with more than 43,000 French soldiers killed and only more than 10,000 surrendered to the Germans. In order to capture this critical juncture, the Germans paid more than 22,000 casualties, which was not easy in the case of a huge difference in firepower.

The battle of Lille made Schlieffen realize that it would not be easy to solve the coalition forces in the encirclement in a short time, the enemy's will to resist was not broken, the defense line was stronger after the retraction, and the losses inflicted on the German army were greater. Under these circumstances, Schlieffen adjusted the operational deployment, ordering the Third and Fourth Armies to continue to refine the encirclement, but not to launch a large-scale offensive. The Fifth Army joined up with Moltke Jr.'s First Army and drew an arc along the northern coastline of France, cutting from the weakly defended north into the Paris area.

At this stage of the war, the situation can be said to have become relatively clear, the French army is absolutely incapable of resisting the penetration of the German army, after the main force is eliminated or surrounded, there is only a large corps in the German-French border area, but Xia Fei does not have the courage to mobilize all the troops near Paris. The French must not lose Alsace and Lorraine again, from here the Germans will attack as soon as the German-French border is empty. Thus he ordered the mobilization of two army groups in the direction of Paris, which had not yet reached their destination before the surrender of Paris - the Germans were attacking significantly faster than the French.

The First Panzer Corps of the First Army, two infantry corps, two cavalry divisions, and the German Fifth Army began to sweep along the French coastline, and the defenses here were extremely empty, and the German offensive was not as fast as marching.

The focus of the world's attention, in addition to the threatened Paris, the 200,000 British troops and more than 300,000 French troops in Dunkirk are also worrying, especially the British. At 10 Downing Street and Whitehall, there have been no less than ten meetings to discuss how to free the more than 200,000 British soldiers, but each time they have ended in desperation, and each time the content of the discussion is similar, such as:

"Gentlemen, the British Empire is on the verge of survival, and without those 200,000 elite infantry, the British Empire itself will only be defended by 20,000 standing infantry, which is unbearable for us. No matter what happens to the European continent, rescuing those army boys is the bottom line to ensure the safety of Britain, gentlemen, please come up with a rescue plan and plan as soon as possible! "This is Prime Minister Asquith, who never imagined that the situation would deteriorate to such a point, in fact most Britons thought that the war would end in a few months, and they were still waiting for their son, father or husband to come home and be reunited! If those 200,000 lads are lost, the saliva of the British will drown Asquith.

"In a short period of time we can call up 100,000 reservists, but the lack of weapons and equipment makes their combat effectiveness a problem. As the Prime Minister said, without those 200,000 elites, the local defenses would be empty to the extreme, and if the Germans launched a landing operation, we would not be able to drive them out to sea. "This is the Secretary of War, and when he finishes speaking, he usually turns his attention to the Admiralty Fisher, because it is clear that the salvation of those Army lads must rely on the strength of the Navy.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am very aware of the seriousness of the matter, and I very much want to help those young men return to their homeland, and before making a decision, I will maintain the utmost objectivity to describe the current situation of the Navy, and the Prime Minister can decide whether the Navy will launch a rescue operation based on my description, and the Navy will unconditionally support whatever the Prime Minister decides." Fisher first came to a long speech, and after laying the groundwork, he seemed to be objective, but in fact, he didn't want to send a battleship to save people, so he just threw the ball to Asquith.

"After the Battle of Jutland, the strength of the home fleet was weak to an all-time low, and now we have only four capital ships, three of which are ex-dreadnoughts. In the case of a shortage of decisive battleships, cruisers, torpedo boats, and shore fortifications could barely defend the homeland from the Germans, but they could not engage in a decisive battle with the fleet, because it was not easy to play with fire and burn themselves. According to our original plan, in six months we will have three new capital ships, in a year we will have two new capital ships, and in two years we will have four more capital ships in service, during which time we will have four seaplane carriers in service, which means that in two years we will have the advantage of regaining the lead over the German Navy. Note that this was a judgment made when there were no new warships in service with the German Navy, but this was not the case in reality. ”

"The German High Seas Fleet has sent a large number of cruisers into the North Atlantic to carry out sabotage operations, sinking or capturing more than sixty of our transport ships and merchant ships within a month, and coupled with the threat of German submarines, our sea transport lines are in a semi-paralyzed state. In order to change the situation, the home fleet sent some warships to escort and attack those German ships, but the situation was not ideal, our number of warships was not superior - the Battle of Jutland cost us too many ships, not only capital ships, but also other types of ships. ”

"The paralysis of the transport lines has led to the fact that we do not have enough strategic materials such as steel, oil, rubber, etc., a large number of shipyards are in a state of semi-shutdown, and the warships under construction have to be exposed to the wind and sun on the slipway. As for the withdrawal from Dunkirk, the Navy will have to send warships to escort transports and other types of vessels, and we are confident that the German Navy will also send a fleet against our escorts. The disparity in strength was huge, and it was impossible for our escort fleet to defeat the powerful German High Seas Fleet, and not only would the only warships of the home fleet be damaged, but also those transport ships and other ships would also face the threat of German warships, and it would be difficult for the retreat to continue. ”

Fisher said that he was completely dumbfounded, but in fact, these people knew it, but they didn't want to think deeply. The chain reaction brought about by the Battle of Jutland has not stopped, the defeat of the naval battle and the loss of supremacy, this heavy blow has made the British, who have been superior for hundreds of years, drowsy, and subconsciously unwilling to believe that this is the truth.

But this is the truth, they could not guarantee the safety of even the small English Channel, and the German High Seas Fleet could have blocked the channel passage and allowed the ships and warships that had saved the British Expeditionary Force to come and go.

"Unacceptable! Unacceptable! Fisher you should go to court-martial, take all the blame! Those more than 200,000 young men must be rescued, and the navy is reluctant to send those warships, so we will mobilize all the transport ships, merchant ships, and even fishing boats and sampans! Prime Minister, please approve the rescue plan! The War Secretary stood up angrily and shouted, he realized that Fisher's words had convinced most of the high-ranking people present, even Prime Minister Asquith, who was tempted - for the sake of 200,000 army soldiers, it was not necessary to pay all the goods of the Navy and a large number of transport ships, and it was not worth it at all!

"We will discuss it tomorrow, please go back and think about whether there is a better way, and I will also go back and think about it, it is related to the future of the British Empire, and we must be cautious!" At the end of the day, Asquith announced his disbandment, and the War Secretary would blush, angrily walk away, and the next day's deliberations would continue as yesterday until the 200,000 troops were gone. (To be continued.) )