81_81266 "Are you saying that the technicians who were in our hands are gone?" Churchill was not in a good mood these days, and he had to hide in the dark basement, looking at the British troops on the map who no longer existed.

In fact, the commanders at the front had ordered the disgruntled divisions of a few thousand men to be split into real combat units, so that the units on Churchill's map with only names but no combat effectiveness were actually gone. But some of the old forces were reinforced, and these troops were ordered to hold several important passages to London.

Hearing Churchill's questioning, the head of the intelligence department wiped the sweat from his forehead and did not know what to answer. His personnel did protect those important people, and sent out veterans who were still quite alert, only to be killed by hundreds of people in his hinterland, Liverpool.

The German special forces were elusive, they caused all kinds of trouble in London, and the head of the intelligence department was anxious, but the appearance of such a German unit in Liverpool broke him down. In fact, the appearance of the German special forces made the British authorities realize that they did not have an agency to contend with this special forces.

Although the traditional intelligence services were able to compete with the German special operations groups in terms of intelligence analysis and acquisition, they did not have sufficient striking power. Although the army can suppress these special forces, it cannot adapt to the rhythm of these special forces because of its slow action. The police are not even the opponents of these specially trained German people......

Moreover, Britain under the state of war was in chaos, the people were displaced, the supervision of the whole country by various departments in the past was lost, the displaced people could not be counted, strangers were everywhere, and it gave the German special forces an environment that was rampant.

"Mr. Prime Minister! The other side has dispatched a special unit that can operate independently in the occupied areas of our army, this force is different from the previous espionage activities, it is not harassment, they have a strong combat capability, and the purpose is clear, the intelligence is perfect, and it is not something that one of our departments can deal with...... As the saying goes, the responsibility is everyone's, and only the credit is their own, and in this case, he does not shirk the responsibility, and he estimates that the person in charge of his intelligence department will do the end.

So he hurriedly pushed out the prepared words: "The inspection of the navy is not comprehensive and perfect, and the army does not cooperate with our actions...... Our intelligence department can't help it......"

When the admiral was found, the admiral's rhetoric was: the air force has no way to provide cover, and we have no way.

When we found the air force general, the air force general's argument was: The army has lost the front-line airfield, and we have no choice.

When I found the army general, the army general's statement was: The navy cannot defend the enemy from the country, and we have no choice.

Now the head of the intelligence department is also saying this: the matter is the responsibility of the army and the navy, and we have no choice.

What a good-tempered person he is, he will burst into anger when he hears almost the same excuse of kicking each other's balls in the past few days, right? So Churchill was furious and lost his temper in front of the head of the intelligence department: "You can't do it? The army can't do it! The navy can't do it! The air force can't do it! You are all waiting for me to find a way? Or have you actually figured out a way and are ready to go to Chamberlain's new master?"

Seeing that the prime minister had turned his face, the head of the intelligence department knew that his official position might not be able to be saved, but he was not too sad, and now it is secondary to being an official at this time, and whether he can save his life is the main question.

So the head of the intelligence department quickly took out a written letter of resignation from the inner pocket of his suit, put it on Churchill's desk, and said very embarrassed: "Mr. Prime Minister, since you are not satisfied with my work, I am willing to resign." ”

What does it mean to be shameless? That's it. The Germans are about to march into the city, and you say that you are going to run away if you quit your job? Who will take over the mess you have left behind? Those scientists and engineers who have been lost, but they are all the hope for the future of the British Empire.

"Packed up, ready to go to Liverpool, and then take a boat to the United States, where it's safe and there's a paycheck. Churchill sneered: "There are many people waiting for you there, and a little British secret can make you live well." Every one of you has thought of a way out for yourself, who has thought about the British people? Who has thought about the British Empire?"

I'm just resigning from my post, and I don't need to use the future of the British Empire to pressure me, right? And the fate of Britain is not the fault of you big men? What do you care about me? The head of the intelligence department sneered. However, he still didn't have the courage to say these words, so he could only silently express his disdain, or dissatisfaction.

"Prime Minister! At this time, a secretary walked into Churchill's office and eased the awkward atmosphere at a certain point, but Churchill only took the telegram and glanced at it, and he was furious again.

"Are they pigs? Are they pigs? A division of troops can't hold a small city! That's a whole division of troops!" Churchill cursed loudly as he waved the telegram in his hand, and the head of the intelligence department did not speak, because he did not have to look to know that Harlow had lost it.

After consolidating their defenses in the north, the Germans launched another offensive in the south, and the British defenders were overwhelmed by the 140 mm howitzers discarded by their own men in the north, and retreated until the city of Harlow.

Originally, Churchill hoped that Harlow could hold out for three or even ten days to buy more time for his defense of London, but what he never expected was that Harlow's defenders only held out for five hours before losing Harlow, the gateway to London, to Rundstedt's Army Group A.

As expected, at noon the Germans, the British, were able to hit the streets of London. His Churchill plan for a million Londoners to fight London to the death has not progressed and has become a complete joke. It would not be long before he Churchill would be able to hear the German cannons, hear the roar of machine guns, and he himself would become the first British Empire prime minister to have his capital attacked by enemy land during his reign.

"Let's get out...... Let's all get out. Churchill sat back in his place weakly, waved his hand helplessly, and said, "Let me be quiet for a while." ”

The two men who had been granted amnesty hurriedly exited the prime minister's room and entered the corridor of the spacious underground bomb shelter.

"Are we really finished?" the female secretary asked, looking at the head of the intelligence department, "The Germans have already hit Harlow?"

"I'm afraid it's true, miss. The head of intelligence sighed and said: "Although we defeated the Italian attack in North Africa a few days ago, our situation here is really very bad. ”

"If I'm willing to pay you, can you arrange for me to leave London? either north or to America, or Canada. The female secretary asked softly.

Glancing at the bewitching figure of the female secretary, the head of the intelligence department swallowed a mouthful of saliva: "What are you going to pay me?"

"At night, you wait for me at the exit of the bomb shelter. The woman understood the other party's thoughts as soon as she saw the man's eyes, smiled more and more seductively, and spoke.

"Okay, that's no problem. I'll arrange for you to leave here and go to the United States, as long as you can get permission to leave. The man nodded.

"What if there is no permission?" the woman asked again.

The man was stunned for a moment, and then nodded his head - who cares about that permission these days? Maybe one day Churchill will find that his female secretary is gone, but will he still be in the mood to find a missing woman at that time?

As expected, at noon the Germans began shelling London. More than a dozen shells landed in the north-east corner of London, blasting several intact buildings into rubble, killing dozens of civilians and wounding hundreds.

There are no civilians walking around the streets of London now, and occasionally a few soldiers with ammunition boxes and guns can be seen hurrying through the streets, all bent over, this has become the front line, this has become a battlefield.

In the afternoon, Churchill, his secretary and several staff members, accompanied by the commander-in-chief of the London garrison, inspected the area shelled by the Germans, shook hands with several old men who had been temporarily found, and left a few pictures for the accompanying reporters, and then the prime minister hurriedly withdrew to his basement.

In the evening, the British defenders temporarily launched a counterattack on the Harlow area, and the two sides fought fiercely for a whole night, but they could not tell the winner. The two teams fought back and forth in the ruins, and the result was that the British recaptured the southern city of Harlow, but at a heavy cost of 5,000 men. Unlike the British recruits who originally held on to Harlow, this time the British defenders lost veterans drawn from all corners, so the British did not take advantage of the battle this time.

The next day, the fighting continued, and the southern city of Harlow, which was controlled by the British, was repeatedly visited by German bombers, and finally the British abandoned the area and retreated to the suburbs of London, and the battle for Harlow ended in a German victory.

The commander of the German Army Group A, Rundstedt, sent a telegram to Berlin that night, the contents of which were concise: I have taken Harlow, and the battle of London will begin tomorrow. Long live Führer Accardo Rudolph!