April 27, 1940, 10:45 a.m. The Battle of Arras-Dunkirk, which lasted for almost a week, came to an end as a French officer walked through the front line in Dunkirk under a white flag as he walked through the front line where the city of Dunkirk was being exchanged. Nearly 200,000 French troops in the Dunkirk encirclement laid down their arms and surrendered to the German 1st Panzer Army!

On the 26th, most of the Belgian army (some 30,000 Belgian soldiers refused to obey the king's orders and pledged their allegiance to the Belgian government in exile) had also laid down their arms and surrendered.

Ten days ago, there were 700,000 troops (more than 400,000 British and French troops and nearly 300,000 Belgian troops) in Belgium, but now there are only about 130,000 British troops and 30,000 Belgian troops left, and the defense area has quickly shrunk to the vicinity of Ostend, desperately waiting for the end to come!

"Admiral," said Harold Brown, who had recently assumed command of the 1st Army of the British Expeditionary Force. Major General Alexander dragged his heavy steps into the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force in the port of Ostend, and saluted Admiral Verrick, who was sitting in a circle chair and looked completely defeated, "I have just received news that the French 1st Army Group has surrendered to the Germans...... They will be disarmed in 12 hours. ”

This news had long been expected by Admiral Verrick, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, squeezing out a wry smile, "Harold, we're finished, aren't we?" ”

Major General Alexander nodded slightly, and the British expedition seemed to be over! It's clear that now 160,000 exhausted Britons and Belgians are now surrounded by 1 million demoralized German Supermen, and those damned German Supermen are still on the relentless onslaught, and the collapse of the whole line is only a matter of the past two days.

"General, the troops can hold out for a maximum of 48 hours......" Major General Alexander spoke, and the dull sound of artillery kept coming from outside the headquarters, which was the German army shelling the outlying positions of Ostend.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

"Admiral, I propose to withdraw the command of the expeditionary force to the battleship 'Rodney' at sea." Major General Alexander said, "It is enough to command the command of the 1st Army here in Ostend." ”

Because Germany had always claimed that it was going to "blow up Paris" and misled the British and French high commands, the number of British expeditionary forces was not as large as in history.

As of April 10, the Expeditionary Force had only 2 corps, 10 divisions and some auxiliary units, with a total strength of only 218,000 men (nearly 100,000 fewer than in history, that is, 100,000 more troops in Britain than in the original history). In the past ten days of fighting, the British Expeditionary Force has lost more than 63,000 men (killed, seriously wounded and missing), but at the same time it has replenished 35,000 reservists (soldiers were still added to the British Expeditionary Force until the 19th).

There are still 130,000 British troops in the Ostend encirclement, which means that 60,000 have been successfully withdrawn in the six and a half days since the 21st, including the headquarters of the 2nd Army of the Expeditionary Force and the troops directly under it. The British Expeditionary Force remaining in Belgium was all integrated into the 1st Army under the command of Major General Alexander.

"How many people can be evacuated in 48 hours?" Admiral Verrick asked.

"It depends on the weather," Alexander said, "and if there is fog or rain, it is possible to evacuate more than 60,000 people." If the weather is good, then up to another 3-40,000 people will be evacuated. ”

Because the German army is now attacking fiercely, the number of troops withdrawn to 60,000 is on the line, and there will not be enough troops to maintain the integrity of the battle line.

"Then let's plan for 40,000 men first," Admiral Verrick whispered, "and arrange for the retreat of as many senior non-commissioned officers and officers as possible, we still need them to encircle the Empire." Harold, you retreat after 36 hours, and I'll take care of the rest...... As the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, I am to blame for the defeat, and you have a great future ahead of you, and you can also lead the war against Europe in the future! ”

Harold. Alexander didn't say anything more, just silently gave Admiral Verrick a military salute and turned to leave the building where the headquarters of the expeditionary force was located. This building is the original customs house of the Port of Ostend, facing the English Channel. Standing on the steps outside the main entrance of the building, Alexander saw an incomparably tragic picture of war.

In the sky, fighter jets such as Spitfire, Hurricane, and H-75 flying from the British mainland were struggling to block the German bomber group from approaching the British fleet on the sea. The fighters tumbled up and down, fighting each other, and from time to time the planes that were hit fell from the sky with long smoke!

The sea was full of British transports and warships, large and small, some of which were full of soldiers, speeding towards the other side of the Channel; Others docked on the beach or by the half-destroyed docks, waiting for the empty-handed British GIs to board; Still others did their best to fire at German planes in the air, covering the ships that were retreating their troops.

The beaches and docks were crowded with British officers and men waiting to retreat, all of them very tired and demoralized, but they did not despair, and the order remained good, and there was no confusion in the rain of German bombs and shells. Under the command of the officer, these brave soldiers either sat on the ground and waited quietly, or lined up to wade into the water and walk towards the ships waiting on the sea.

They were all very good soldiers, better than the French ones, and with the right equipment and training, they would have performed even better than the German soldiers! Alexander, praising the British soldier who had just lost the battle, walked slowly to a canvas chaise longue on the beach. Then he sat on it with a calm demeanor and calmly watched the troops board the ship in an orderly manner. His lieutenant handed him an apple, which the major general took and nibbled on, unconcerned about the roar of planes in the air and the fire of artillery on the ground. After eating the apple, he saw one of his division commanders, Bernard. Toil. Major General Montgomery was walking briskly.

"Commander, I just received an order to evacuate, what's going on?" Major General Montgomery asked Alexander aloud.

"I gave the order." Alexander got up from his deck chair and walked gracefully on the beach, "Your third division has withdrawn a third of its personnel, and now it's your turn as the division commander." ”

According to Alexander's plan, all the besieged British troops were to withdraw a third of their men first, including the commander. With these personnel, the troops could be quickly re-established on British soil.

"But I'm the division commander, how can I abandon two-thirds of my subordinates and flee for my life?" Montgomery shook his head. "Please let me stay and fight with my soldiers!"

"No," Alexander smiled, "Bernard, you are a good division commander, but you have no role to play in the German prisoner of war camps. Your mission is to return to your homeland, rebuild your troops, and fight your way back to liberate France and Belgium, then invade Germany and take Berlin! ”

"Occupy Berlin?" Montgomery looked at Alexander, "Do you really think there will be this day?" ”

"There is no doubt about it!" Alexander laughed and said, "Victory will be ours, because the Germans are building an empire that they cannot feed." The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force will let their economy collapse, and then we will go on the counteroffensive. Trust me, this day won't be too far away! ”

……

"By April 30 at the latest," Hersmann said with a smile as he handed over the report to Hitler and Schleicher on the Western Front, "that Ostend will be captured on April 30, and that Paris will be marched on May 1." ”

After sitting down in the conference room of the high command, Hersmann said: "Now it is the German 18th Army that is responsible for attacking Ostend, and the 16th Army and Army Group C are responsible for encircling the Maginot Line, and the rest of the ground forces are adjusting and resting, and they can attack again on May 1 to carry out the 'red plan', and they should be able to occupy Paris around May 10." ”

His tone was very light-hearted, because the "red scheme" had no chance of failure at all. The main forces of the French army were either annihilated in the Battle of Arras-Dunkirk or surrounded by the Maginot Line. Most of the units that could be used to encircle Paris were newly created units that were not combat-ready.

"Italy will also enter the war on May 1, declaring war on Britain and France!" Hitler also said the good news, "There is no doubt that victory in this war will be ours!" ”

Hitler clearly overestimated the Italian army, and as a military layman, it is not surprising that he made such a mistake.

The German leader smiled and asked Hersmann, "General Halder is leaving?" ”

According to the recommendations of the Grand General Staff, the focus of German operations in the next stage would be shifted to the Mediterranean, so a headquarters on the Southern Front would be established. According to the agreement reached between Hitler and Mussolini, the headquarters of the German army on the southern front would be in Rome, and the German army on the southern front would also fight in tandem with the Italian army. In due course, a Mediterranean theater of operations under the unified command of the German and Italian forces will also be established. And General Halder was appointed commander-in-chief of the German army on the Southern Front on the recommendation of Hersmann, and this morning he had already left for Rome with a capable headquarters.

"I've already left, and I should be able to reach Rome tonight." Hersman said, "The headquarters of the Southern Front will be established by May 10. ”

"So...... We really don't need to negotiate with the British? "If they lose North Africa and the Middle East, they should seriously consider submitting to the leadership of the German Empire." ”

Hersman shrugged, "Leader, I think we can have peace talks through the channel of the League of Nations. ”

"League of Nations?" Hitler was stunned for a moment, "Marshal, what do you think?" ”

Hersmann smiled coldly: "The League of Nations should adopt a resolution announcing the abrogation of the Treaty of Versailles, the Treaty of Saint-Germain, the Treaty of Trianon, the Treaty of Sèvres and the Treaty of Lausanne. (To be continued.) )