On May 13, Churchill attended the House of Commons for the first time as Prime Minister and spoke: "I have nothing but blood, toil, tears and sweat for you." You ask: What is our purpose? I can reply in one word: victory, to fight for victory at all costs, no matter how terrible, no matter how far and difficult the road, to strive for victory, because without victory there can be no survival. ”

Because of his speech, the House of Commons finally expressed its support for the Churchill government by an overwhelming majority of 381 votes to 0, and determined the British policy of persisting in fighting to the end against Germany.

When Li Junhao saw the content of the new prime minister's speech, it was already that night, and he smiled and said to his subordinates: "To be honest, I really admire this kind of person, whose speech can indeed stir people's hearts, which is probably the necessary quality of an excellent politician!" There is just one point, you can't win a war with your mouth alone, and in the end, you still have to rely on military strength and national strength to finally solve the problem......

"At this point, the new prime minister is smart, and he knows that as long as we hold on, we in the United States will definitely go to war eventually, just like the previous war!

"When do you say, when will our country go to war?"

In the battle analysis room, in addition to the staff office, several main regiment commanders were also present, and they all laughed when they heard his words—they also felt this way when they saw this report, but they didn't know how to express it, but Chief Pan Sen's words were clear.

"Commander, you said that this time Germany attacked France, can the Anglo-French coalition win?" Colonel Rupp of the 15th Infantry Regiment asked.

"Can't win!" Li Junhao affirmed, of course he is sure of this, the current Germany is not World War I, does not have the conditions for turmoil in the rear, so it will not be like the First World War lost nest, this time it is to fight to the end, and in the early stage, the German army is simply invincible.

"However, when I look at the armament strength of European countries, Germany's current army is 3 million, while France's side, even if you don't include the British Expeditionary Force, has more than 5 million......," a staff officer said at this time.

Li Junhao looked at the people present and found that there were many people who also agreed with this point of view, only Chief of Staff Yang Shixiong was groaning, so he smiled and said: "Let's listen to Chief of Staff Yang's opinion!" ”

Yang Shixiong nodded and said: "Although the number of French troops far exceeds that of Germany, its tactical thinking and equipment level have fallen behind, especially in armored strength, and there is a huge gap with the German army, so France can't win!" Not even with the British Expeditionary Force. ”

Colonel Cole, the commander of the 4th Regiment of the Navy and Army, was a little unconvinced, and pointed to the Franco-German border line on the sand table and said: "Chief of Staff Yang, France has a Maginot Line!" It wasn't so easy for the Germans to break through this impregnable line, right? ”

The Maginot Line is a fortified defense system built by France in its northeastern border area after the First World War, which began to be built in 1928 and was basically completed in 1940 at a cost of 5 billion francs. The main body of the defense line is 390 kilometers, and because of the high cost of construction and the relationship between France and Belgium, it is planned only on the Franco-German border, and the Belgian border is supported by the Anglo-French forces.

The fortified line was made of reinforced concrete, with artillery, trenches, forts, kitchens, power stations, hospitals, factories, and even trams.

Yang Shixiong shook his head and said: "No matter how strong the defense line is, it is dead, the key is to look at the strategy and tactics......" He vaguely thought of some points, but he had not yet formed a perfect idea, so it was a little difficult to express.

Colonel Cole insisted: "No matter how good the tactics are, it is impossible to bypass this strong defensive line, right?" Many people nodded their heads in agreement.

"Why can't you get around?" Li Junhao looked at them at this time, "Why do you think Germany attacked the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg first?" ”

Well? When they heard this, they all wondered......

A staff officer was the first to react and said: "Germany is trying to bypass the Maginot Line from the direction of Holland and Belgium!" ”

Another staff officer continued: "But in that case, the Germans will run headlong into the main force of the Anglo-French army behind the border between the Netherlands and Belgium!" ”

At this time, Yang Shixiong, who was looking at the sand table, suddenly had a fine light in his eyes, turned his head to look at Li Junhao who was at the top, and asked, "Commander, is it the Ardennes Heights?" ”

"It's the Ardennes!" Li Junhao gave him an approving look.

"I see!" Yang Shixiong breathed a long sigh of relief and figured out the whole thing.

The conversation between the two of them was heard in the ears of others, but it was a little unclear......

Colonel Rupp, who was the first to figure it out, looked at the terrain on the sand table, frowned, and said: "If the German army wants to quickly defeat the British and French forces, it will definitely adopt the mode of blitzkrieg, and use tank-based armored forces to advance quickly to defeat and divide the enemy...... But it is difficult for armored troops to pass through the dense forests of the Ardennes? ”

Located on the left flank of the Maginot Line and on the Franco-Belgian border, the Ardennes Heights have rugged terrain and dense forests, which are not suitable for advanced armored forces at all, and it is even more difficult to conduct mobile warfare; Because of this terrain and the fact that Belgium was opposed to the construction of a defensive line on the Franco-Belgian border, the French army did not take much precautions here.

Yang Shixiong shook his head and said: "Colonel Rupp, the Ardennes Heights are not impassable, as long as there are enough engineering troops, it is completely possible to open a road in the forest for the operation of armored troops......"

Xie Jinyuan next to him also understood, immediately picked it up, pointed to the terrain on the sand table and said: "That's right, now the main force of the British and French forces is deployed behind the border of the Netherlands and Belgium, ready to meet the German army, but the German armored forces suddenly rushed out from the Ardennes Heights at the junction of southeast Belgium and northern Luxembourg......

Everyone present stood up and looked at the sand table seriously, the more they looked, the more shocked they became, so that the battlefield situation would completely become different! But will this be what the German plan will look like?

Looking at everyone's performance, Li Junhao smiled and nodded, not too stupid! Among them, Yang Shixiong's performance is the best, followed by Xie Jinyuan, which is worth cultivating and reusing; Rupp and a few staff officers are also qualified, but Cole's performance is a little poor, and it seems that he will be the top of his life as a Marine Corps commander!

(End of chapter)