"What? Did the British begin to withdraw their troops from Belgium? ”

Palais Martingnon, Paris, France. French Prime Minister Paul. Renault looked at Vice Chancellor Pétain with some surprise.

The old marshal, who had just returned from Spain to save France, found Renault in a hurry just after noon on April 22 and told him the shocking news. While the French were fighting hard in Arras, their British expeditionary force allies retreated from Belgium in cruisers and destroyers. Moreover, the retreat of the British was carried out in secret from the French army.

"Marshal, how do you know?" Paul. Renault asked Petain.

"This is what Franco told me," Marshal Pétain grimaced, "I think the credibility is high...... The British are beginning to abandon us! ”

Franco's news came from Germany, of course, but Marshal Petain was not without the brains to take the enemy's word for it.

"Mr. Chancellor," said Pétain, "I have communicated with the headquarters of the First Army and the Seventh Army. Except for the 1st Panzer Division, the rest of the British troops were placed on the line from Knok-Heist to Corkside. It was the Belgians who were now placed on the Eastern Front, and it was mainly us the French who resisted the German armored forces on the Western Front. ”

Even Renault, who did not understand military affairs, knew that there was a problem when he learned about the deployment of the coalition forces in Belgium. All eight divisions of the British Expeditionary Force were placed on the edge of the beach, with only the 1st Panzer Division in front (the British 1st Panzer Division had to be sacrificed, otherwise the three light mechanized divisions of the French would have been crushed by Rommel). The French and Belgian armies, on the other hand, were put in front of the Germans......

"Damn British!" Paul. Renault couldn't help but curse. The situation in France was now dire, with two heavy armies (Belgian and Maginot) on the verge of total annihilation. If these troops are finished, then what will France fight with?

"Mr. Chancellor," Petain continued, frowning his eyebrows, "Franco also said that the British might attack or capture our fleet...... lest they fall into the hands of the Germans. ”

This news, of course, was also revealed to Petain by the Germans through Franco.

"What?" Renault's mouth was wide open, a shocked expression on his face. "It can't be...... This is an act of war! ”

It's not righteous to run away when disaster strikes, but if you stab your friend again when you run away, it will be too evil.

"Mr. Prime Minister, I don't think it's possible." Petain shook his head and whispered, "But we have to be on guard, and I propose to concentrate the fleet in the port of Toulon and send the latest D.520 fighters to protect them...... Because these big warships are the only bargaining chips in our hands! ”

Paul. Renault was taken aback and immediately asked: "Marshal, do you think that the Germans will rule the world?" ”

"If they get our navy," said Marshal Pétain slowly, "a European community strong enough to rule the world will emerge, and what role should we, France, play in this European community?" ”

Petain's opinion was reasonable, the German army and air force were now kings, and the Soviet Union and Germany still maintained a "socialist comrade and fraternal friendship", and there was no sign of going to war against each other. Therefore, it seems that no one can shake Germany's hegemony on the European continent, but Germany's maritime power is somewhat weak.

But now it is very likely that Italy and Germany will enter the war in an alliance, so that the Italian Navy will be on the side of Germany, and if the French Navy is added, then the British Mediterranean Fleet will definitely not be able to withstand it.

And once the Mediterranean Sea fell into the hands of Germany, Italy and France, as long as the two entrances to Gibraltar and Suez were held, there was no need to worry about the British counterattack. In this way, the Italian and French fleets could be diverted to the Indian Ocean, and if the German High Seas Fleet was able to pin down the British Home Fleet, then the French and Italian navies would be able to defeat the British Indian Grand Fleet without much difficulty.

Once the Indian Ocean is lost, the British Empire is almost finished. Once the British Empire is over, the European Community will most likely dominate the world......

"Marshal, you have forgotten about America," Paul . Renault shook his head and said in a very deep voice, "I think the United States will eventually stand with Britain and then inherit the world hegemony of the British Empire!" ”

Speaking of which, Paul. Prime Minister Reynolds sighed softly: "The fleet can be concentrated in Toulon first, and then send planes to protect it." But if the Germans had begun to attack Toulon, I would still have ordered the fleet to leave...... Or self-sinking! ”

……

While the leaders of England, France, and Germany began to focus on the aftermath of the Battle of France, fierce fighting continued on the front.

As the German 1st, 2nd and 10th Panzer Divisions arrived at the Arras battlefield one after another, the Anglo-French breakthrough operation completely failed, and they switched to the defensive at noon on the 22nd.

Now it's the turn of the Germans to attack!

On the afternoon of the 23rd, in the port of Calais, a soldier of the 11th company of the "Großdeutsch" flag unit was hit by a bullet from a building while crossing an intersection.

Shortly after he fell, Rudolph. Ribbentrop kicked open a door. A very beautiful, but frightened French mother and daughter with frightened expressions and tears on their faces appeared in front of him. The mother is about thirty-six or seventeen years old, and her figure is still very good, and the girl is only fifteen or sixteen years old at most, and she is as cute as a porcelain doll.

"Get out of here and find a place to hide!" Ribbentrop commanded them in fluent French.

"Oh God!" The mother hugged the girl and cried, "This is my home!" ”

"Get out of here!" As he spoke, Ribbentrop smashed the glass window with the butt of his gun. "This is the battlefield, come back when the battle is over!"

At this time, Second Lieutenant Schwarzenegger entered the room with a machine gun crew, he looked at the hostess and her daughter, and then ordered his men to set up machine guns in the room.

This room is on the top floor of a 4-story apartment building, and it is directly opposite the intersection, making it a great place to set up a machine gun. Opposite the building, another taller building, was now a French stronghold and the target of the 11th Company.

"Machine gun squad! Later, when you see the infantry guns firing, shoot at the buildings over there to cover the infantry approaching! Schwarzenegger gave the order first, and then shouted at Ribbentrop, "Get those two twittering women out of here, and beat them up a few times if they don't obey, now is not the time for gentlemanly manners!" ”

The two women were quickly thrown out, and Ensign Schwarzenegger heard the woman's crying, and he guessed that someone must have been beaten. Seeing that the MG34 machine gun was ready, Second Lieutenant Schwarzenegger left the room, and he saw Rudolph in a daze in the corridor outside. Ribbentrop beckoned at him.

"The machine guns are all set, come with me to charge! We're going to have to take over that damn building, and then get the Frenchmen out and kill them!" ”

Gustav. Schwarzenegger said annoyedly. His platoon had been in Port Calais all day, and it was definitely a very bad day, almost comparable to when he was in the town of Stoney.

The French defending the port of Calais were very tenacious, and even though the Germans had already invaded the city, they still refused to retreat (and there was nowhere to retreat), but fought with the Germans house by house, turning the entire port into a flesh mill!

A 75mm infantry gun was pushed up, and the gun crew aimed its muzzle at the target building, and then fired a shell against the wall with the command to "fire". Three machine guns, which had been erected long ago, roared and swept towards the French-fortified building with tongues of fire.

"Chong Chong Chong, now rush with me!" Gustav. Schwarzenegger immediately shouted, then led the charge with a submachine gun, and rushed into the building with a strange scream in the face of a French bullet that had come from somewhere.

Rudolph. Ribbentrop also rushed to the door of the ground floor of the building, and only after a few steps did he seem to be struck by something on his left leg, and he fell before he could stand still, and then the pain reached his brain......

This is the eldest son of the German Foreign Minister, Rudolf. Ribbentrop's first wound! For him, the Battle of France was over.

April 23rd was certainly not a good day for the German son, who was in Rudolf. Ribbentrop was shot for the first time in his life. Another Rudolph, Rudolph. Feng. Second Lieutenant Heinsberg-Hersmann had his first crash! His Fokker Zero was shot down by a British Spitfire over Ghent.

The German 18th Army was storming Ghent, a city that was the gateway to Bruges, the temporary capital of the Belgian government, and the Belgian army's resistance could be halted if it was occupied by the Germans.

Hersman Jr.'s squadron was ordered to protect Ju87 and Hs-123 to bomb Belgian positions, only to be ambushed by Spitfires over Ghent.

Good thing Anthony. Fokker made the Zero a little stronger than the Japanese and didn't hit it all at once, so Rudolph had the chance to skydive, skydiving over a city where fierce street fighting was going on.

Whether it will fall on the positions of the Belgians or the Germans, it is really difficult to say.

Little Rudolph hung on his parachute and swayed down, chanting the Aria - influenced by his mother Chloe, a Catholic who was not religious, but who really needed the blessing of the Virgin Mary. (To be continued.) )