In front of a flour store in the port of Liverpool, a salesman reluctantly put up a sold-out sign at the eye-catching door. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

And the dense crowd standing in line at the door let out a groan of pain. These people have stood from morning to now, but have not waited for what they want to buy.

Before, when they wanted to buy flour, they went to the store and bought it. But more than a month ago, food was already available in limited quantities as rations.

So after that, people who needed food gave up trying to go to the store to buy flour and began to find ways to buy such supplies.

Later, the local people found that even the limited supply of flour began to be in short supply. At this time, everyone really got nervous and began to find a way to stock up on something to eat.

Compared to London, the people here have not been devastated by the bombing, and they have a somewhat high-minded mentality that they have nothing to do with themselves.

But now, they have to face a terrible future with a lack of shipping supplies, which will lead to a plummeting standard of living.

"No more flour? Just one kilogram is fine! I still have children at home, and they can't live without food. A man in a gray coat pleaded with the salesperson at the door of the store.

"Sir! We're really out of stock. The salesman's face was bitter, he also wanted flour, but now he couldn't even meet the supply to him.

Before the outbreak of the war, he never imagined that such a man as a man at the port supply station could have such huge power.

Half a month ago, he was still complacent about being able to bring food and clothing to his family. After all, he can deduct a little bit from the sales and keep the little bit for himself......

The unfortunate thing happened yesterday, because there was a delay in the arrival of the transport ship, and the storage of their supply depot was finally exhausted.

Originally, a ship would arrive today, but it hasn't arrived yet. Therefore, the supply station can only hang a sold-out sign to disperse the queue guarding the door.

At this moment, even the poor civilians with the material distribution vouchers will not be able to receive the supplies they deserve.

In the hearts of people during the war years, food may be their only spiritual support...... Now that this pillar is gone, can it really not be panicked?

"I have a ticket in my hand! I've got a ration ticket in my hand! You're going to give me something to eat! My wife and my children are still hungry! The man pinched the ration coupon in his hand and shouted loudly.

For him, the minimum subsistence guarantee provided by the government is his last glimmer of hope. If he didn't bring back what he had eaten today, his family would really starve.

Maybe other cities still have food, maybe the rural countryside in Britain can be self-sufficient. But here in Liverpool, there is already a massive food shortage.

"Oh God! What we're going to eat! We don't have anything to eat at noon today, should we be hungry for dinner? An old woman muttered with a frown.

Behind the old woman, several young men waved the ration coupons in their hands and shouted loudly, "You have kept all the food for yourself, what shall we do?" ”

In the eyes of these poor people, how can there be a ridiculous thing about food shortages in a huge city? Someone must have deducted food, it must be so!

Once this kind of thinking spreads in people's minds, it becomes out of control. The people in the back queue were shouting and screaming, and many people began to get ready to move.

As soon as the policemen on both sides of the police were in order, they knew that they might be unlucky to be on duty here today.

I heard that there was a big fight in Birmingham yesterday, and they were reinforced here today......

"Hey! Hey! I say! If you don't believe me, come in with me! If you can find flour or anything else to eat, take it! The clerk shouted, and immediately stopped the crowd that was about to stir.

He seems to be very experienced, with his waist crossed and his stomach straight, and he is terrible: "You choose your own people!" Find ten or eight come in with me! I'm hungry myself, who am I going to reason with? ”

I have to say that when he shouted like this, he really calmed the crowd in front of him. The two policemen breathed a sigh of relief, it seems that they had met someone who understood today.

But just as they were about to breathe a sigh of relief, someone in the crowd opposite began to curse: "The ship didn't come, it must have been transported to Plymouth!" This is discrimination! It's about taking our food and feeding London! ”

The shouting made everyone suddenly realize - yes! What does it mean to be sunk by the Germans? The Germans were able to sink a few ships by sinking submarines, but in the end it was because the south was bombed so badly that all these supplies were transported to the south to subsidize the refugees!

Thinking of this, everyone began to curse Churchill and the higher-ups. However, for the time being, there will be no trouble, so that the heart that the police just hung up will fall back into their stomachs.

There was nothing to eat, the crowd was reluctant to disperse for a long time, and no one could guarantee that a boat full of flour would come to the dock in the next second.

If such a ship arrives and you go home early, you will miss an opportunity to redeem the ration voucher in your hand.

In the port of Liverpool, a material statistics officer standing on the dock has no blood on his face.

Compared to the civilians outside who didn't know anything, he knew the truth of the matter. Today there are indeed three transport ships loaded with American flour to be unloaded in Liverpool.

It is precisely because of these three transport ships that have been determined for a long time that three days ago, in order to alleviate the crisis in Birmingham, Liverpool used grain reserves and transported a lot of flour.

As a result, the three transport ships have not yet arrived, and Liverpool is also experiencing food shortages.

What made the official even more frightened was that if these three ships were not available today, what would he use to appease the angry citizens?

"Why hasn't any of the transport ships arrived today?" The officer frowned and asked the lieutenant colonel officer who was in charge of the matter in the port of Liverpool.

The lieutenant colonel officer was also embarrassed and explained: "I got the news because I want to merge the arms ships of the TC fleet and transport them together to improve safety...... So the whole fleet was a little late. ”

"Late? Last-minute changes to the flight schedule are just not reliable. Hearing this explanation, the officials were visibly relieved.

He believed that the fleet was delayed, not some other accident. In the previous two months, German submarines had caused more delays than British shipping had done in a single year.

Moreover, because the German intelligence force "shadow" obtained the British shipping planning table, so it caused a lot of shipping losses, so the British side was also forced to change a new escort transportation plan recently.

The new plan was changed in less than twenty days, using scrambled time and different routes.

While this plan has been effective in minimizing losses, the downside is that it has been hastily drafted, resulting in chaos throughout the shipping system.

Ships had to wait for other escorts on the east coast of the United States, sometimes up to a day before they were allowed to depart.

For Britain, this is tantamount to wasting a lot of transportation power, and it has also reduced the efficiency of its domestic material replenishment to an unprecedented dangerous situation.

"Don't be so optimistic, although recently our anti-submarine forces are growing, the number of submarines of the Germans is also increasing." The lieutenant colonel opened his mouth depressedly and said to the official: "It is also possible that something really happened." ”

"What about the telegraph?" The British official asked.

After all, it is not a secret military operation, and the other side does not have any forces in the Atlantic that need attention, so the convoy does not need to be silent.

"The TC fleet did not respond...... This is strange because even if you encounter an enemy submarine, you can't do it without a response. "When the lieutenant colonel officer mentions this, he has a sense of unease.

"Perhaps, they encountered interference, such as wind and waves...... "Looking at the rare clear sky in the distance, the supply officer tried to convince himself and the other party at the same time.

Because the German fleet was so sudden, the news that the enemy fleet had broken through the blockade of the Danish Channel had not yet reached the point where everyone knew about it.

At least this level of intelligence, it is impossible to inform a lieutenant colonel in the port of Liverpool and an officer in charge of supplies in the first place.

So the two of them didn't expect that the TC transport fleet they had been waiting for for a long time was not only a few hours later than expected, but also annihilated by the German fleet halfway.

Of course, at this time, they who don't know what happened are actually lucky. Because there is still a large group of officials who know what is going on, and they are about to be driven crazy by this incident.

Churchill stood at the table at the command of the Navy, looking at the huge circle in front of him, not knowing what to say.

Estimate the range of the opposing fleet...... It didn't shrink at all, but it was bigger than before......

Because in the vast Atlantic, the German fleet had more directions to choose from, and also had more targets, to attack.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill really wanted to arrest Dudley at this time? Pound's collar asked loudly - "What the hell are you kidding me?" ”

It's a pity that he knew that it would not help to ask such a question, because the commander of the Navy, Dudley? At this time, Pound was angrily tugging at the collar of the officer behind him and asking the same question......