While German steel warhawks roared over France, blasting bridges, roads and transportation hubs into a sea of debris and flames, the 120,000 British expeditionary force, armed with 50,000 military horses, 1,300 guns of various types, and 300 tanks, was also assembled in Exmouth and Portsmouth. Compared with the delay of the last war, the British Army today can be described as efficient, and at the beginning of the war they have assembled a very powerful army and are ready to cross the sea into the fiercest French battlefield.

Because they know that France alone will never be able to fight the Central European Alliance led by Germany for a long time; As early as the early 20s, Britain, whose navy was limited by treaty, began to devote more energy to the development of the army and air force, and hoped that these two new forces could become a new force to defend the European continent and the British mainland in future wars. Today, the British Army is completely devoid of the inherent characteristics of a maritime nation: its peacetime standing force reaches 20 divisions, and in wartime it can be expanded to more than 35 divisions through guò reserves. After full mobilization, the British Army can theoretically reach a huge number of 120 divisions; Compared to France, which has a disadvantaged population, the British Army undoubtedly has a mobilization potential that surpasses that of this traditional European army power!

According to the mutual defense agreement signed between Britain and France, the British Army was required to land in the northern ports of France at the first opportunity of the war to stabilize the situation on the European continent. Crossing the English Channel safely was the first priority for the British Air Force and Navy in the event of war. The large-caliber shore guns in the Strait of Dover were held high, and the mine arrays and torpedo boat units laid in the strait were on standby. Always ready to wreak havoc on incoming enemies. Hurricanes and Spitfires are also on guard in the air. Make sure that no German aircraft launch a catastrophic attack on a ship full of soldiers.

To the surprise of the British military. The Luftwaffe, which had tens of thousands of combat aircraft, was so bothered that it was wreaking havoc in France, and not a single plane broke through the Channel to trouble the expeditionary force. The skies were cloudless in early summer, and the roar in the air was filled with Royal Air Force fighters painted with rings. The garrison in the Strait of Dover also reported that it was normal, and there was no sign of the fierce enemy ship either on the water or under the water. Unhindered, the British expeditionary force's cross-sea landing went unusually smoothly: on average, every five minutes, a ferry full of men and supplies left the pier without any risk of attack. The whistle whistled and the cheers were deafening. The British soldiers on the deck of the transport ship were in high spirits, as if they were collectively on a war trip to mainland France.

On the evening of 10 May, the first expeditionary force landed at Caen and was enthusiastically welcomed by the French garrison and the local population. After the trenches of the last battle, the hatred of the French for England had long since faded under the threat of Germany, a common enemy; The local musicians were all organized to play the British national anthem on the pier, and the French tricolor and the British rice flag were piled up like waves in the setting sun. Although the embarrassment of the current railroad system in the aftermath of the bombing was a minor regret to the French officials, the British soon began to enjoy the march through France. The French people welcomed the khaki-clad army. They kissed and gave flowers. Fruit tables with food and drink were everywhere, and British soldiers were not charged. The warm welcome of the French led Montgomery, commander of the British 3rd Division, to order the whole army to "resist the temptations of wine and women." During the march on the 11th, he said in his diary, half worried, half joyful, that today's expeditionary force's march in France was really "a spring breeze all the way."

"Your Majesty, why did you veto the idea of allowing the air force to break through the English Channel and attack the British troop convoy?" In the general headquarters of the front in Koblenz, Ludendorff asked Qingying, who came to inspect the battle situation, with seven points of doubt and three points of anger, "Although the western part of the English Channel is more than 600 kilometers away from our air base, beyond the combat radius of the two main single-engine fighters of the BF-109 and FW-190, we still have the BF-110 heavy fighters with a range of 2,500 kilometers, which can fully realize the full escort of the JU-88 bombers." As long as our heavy fighters can entangle their counterparts, the bombers will be able to take advantage of the situation and launch a deadly divine punishment sentence on the British transport! When the bomb load is less than 1.5 tons, our JU-88 can carry out dive bombing missions like the JU-87, and it is completely possible to accurately destroy British transport ships, not to mention that we also have the Hs-293, a radio-guided bomb! ”

Looking at Ludendorff's already blushing and thick neck, the muscles on Qingying's face couldn't help twitching, all along, Ludendorff has always used Schlieffen as his life model, and everyone is following the latter's unrelenting smile; It seems that this time, his interference in the battle situation did make him a little anxious. However, Qingying also has her own considerations; And today, when he is in charge of the center, Ludendorff can no longer become the supreme minister in history who actually ruled the whole of Germany in the Great War.

Facing the chief of the General Staff who was excited and obviously made up for it in the field of the Air Force, Qingying just smiled faintly and said: "Marshal, nothing can be done from the surface to find out the reason. It is true that our air power is capable of attacking British transports in the western part of the Channel with a fairly high probability of success, but this is not the wisest course of action for the war as a whole. The easiest option is whether you want to face the British army in France, or do you want to go to the main British island and fight them again? ”

As soon as these words came out, Ludendorff, who was still menacing just now, was stunned in place and did not speak again for a long time.

"At present, the British Army is no longer what it used to be, and it is accompanied by a large number of bulky armored vehicles; If it is all to be delivered to the French battlefield, even if the British ferry goes all out, it will not be able to do it in half a month. If we attack their troop carriers now and sink a large number of them, how many more troops will the British Army, which has been severely attacked by means of delivery and confidence in war, send to the French theater of operations? ”

Qing Ying's voice gradually rose, and there was a hint of coldness in his words: "If the elite of the British Army is stationed at home, then although we can achieve an easier victory in the current war against France, we will undoubtedly face extremely difficult problems in the future war against Britain." They can easily amass a large number of forces to resist the landing of our troops, and with a strait of voices, it is obvious that our projection force cannot be as powerful as it is on land. At that time, I don't know how many more lives of German youth will have to be paid in order for this sower of hatred that has been poisoning Europe for hundreds of years to get the punishment it deserves! Now you understand, why did I let the British Expeditionary Force pass through the Channel unharmed? ”

Ludendorff looked solemn and bowed deeply to Qingying apologetically. Compared with the cross-sea landing, which greatly constrained the German army, fighting on the main road was obviously more conducive to the German Army to fully realize its potential; In this case, it is undoubtedly the best choice to let the opponent go and fight again. Although Britain will not be in the dilemma of running out of manpower in a short time, a large number of well-trained soldiers and heavy equipment will be difficult to compensate for in a short time; As long as they can defeat the elite main force of the British Army in one fell swoop on the battlefield in France, the pressure on future landing operations will undoubtedly be greatly reduced.

Qingying snorted coldly and said, "Since the British want to come to France as guests so much, then we don't have to let them go back." By the time the middle cluster that had broken through the Ardennes forest crossed the Maas, the air force fighters that had established a new base from Belgium would completely block the English Channel, and the British would have to ask us if the bombs under the bombers had agreed if they wanted to withdraw to their homeland! Let General Brauchitsch, who commands the right flank, further put pressure on the north of France and try to draw the main forces of the coalition forces into this area, and we will turn the north of France into a graveyard for the British Expeditionary Force, where all the elite of the British Army will be wiped out. ”

In fact, without the need for Qing Ying to deliberately give orders, the Anglo-French forces were deeply shocked by the German march in Belgium. As a result of the Belgian abandonment of the egg-and-stone resistance, the German right-wing army advanced faster than the Allied forces had expected: by the night of 11 May, they had penetrated more than 70 kilometers into Belgian territory, and their vanguard reconnaissance force had crossed Brussels and headed straight for Alost, only 60 kilometers from the French border. Faced with this grim situation, the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces, Ganmarin, could no longer sit idly by and watch Belgium fall into the hands of the Germans, so that they could once again condescendingly rush into French territory. Although the mobilization of the French army was disrupted by the indiscriminate bombardment of the Luftwaffe, based on the experience of the last war, they still deployed a considerable part of their main forces in this area before the start of the war; With the order of Gammelin, the French army also began to fully break into the Belgian border on the night of the 11th. The Belgian defenders were either disarmed or simply surrendered to the side of the French, and this small country, caught in the middle, once again became a theater of war in the struggle of the European powers. (To be continued......)

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