Southern Africa was not ready to declare war on Germany.
There is a lot of preparation work to be done. Southern Africa has not yet begun mobilization, and there are still staff stranded in San Roque. Once war is declared, Cyprus will face a huge threat from the Italians. It will take at least a month for the Southern African Army to rush to Europe to participate in the war. Even now Even if we set out, we would not be able to catch up with the Allied soldiers who saved Dunkirk.
On the 29th, the "Generator Project" continued.
From the initially planned number of 10,000 people per day to 17,804 on the 28th, the British exploded with great enthusiasm in order to save the British Expeditionary Force surrounded by Dunkirk.
Warships, merchant ships, cruise ships, fishing boats, yachts, ferries, and even motorboats and sailing ships that could only be used for inland navigation all joined the ranks of the rescue expedition.
People rushed to Dunkirk in all available ships. Some ships could only carry dozens of people and could be overturned by a bomb. The captain was still fearless.
Many Dutch ships also joined in. Captain Pym, director of the Map Office of the British Admiralty, piloted a small Dutch ship and brought 800 expeditionary soldiers back to the British mainland within four days.
On the evening of the 28th, Alexander, the commander of the First Army of the British Expeditionary Force, known for his calmness and composure, arrived at Dunkirk to take over from Lord Gort, the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force who was commanding the retreat in Dunkirk.
Gott, like Montgomery, both graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. During the last World War, when Gott commanded a battalion of the Guards in France, as a lieutenant colonel, he guided tanks to attack German positions and was injured. He destroyed two German artillery positions and captured 200 Germans. Gott received the Victoria Cross and was known as "Tiger Gott".
From 1937 to 1939, Gott served as Chief of General Staff of the British Army.
After the outbreak of the European War, Gott served as commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force and went to fight in France.
History is always surprisingly similar.
Rock didn't know if Gott had received a secret order similar to the one Rock received during the last world war.
However, after Germany broke through the British and French defense lines from the Ardennes Forest, Gott did not follow the decision of the British and French forces to withdraw southward and join the French army. Instead, he ordered the British Expeditionary Force to go to Dunkirk and prepare to withdraw to the mainland.
Regardless of whether this decision was made by Gott himself or by the British War Department, Gott himself must be held responsible for it.
Gott has now been relieved of his duties, and his new position as director of the National Guard appears to have been left idle.
But soon, Gott will return to the front line as Governor of Gibraltar.
Considering what Gibraltar means to the UK, this is an appointment worth pondering.
Harold Alexander is indeed calm and composed. He is another standard British soldier who graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He has a rich resume and has served in the British overseas colonies for a long time. He has rich experience in fighting the colonial natives, but in the face of There was a serious lack of experience in attacking German mechanized forces.
After the outbreak of the European War, Alexander served as the major general commander of the 1st Infantry Division and went to fight in France. On the eve of arriving at Dunkirk, Alexander had just been appointed commander of the 1st Army.
In the early morning, Alexander emerged from his tent, full of energy.
The sky is covered with dark clouds. It has been like this for the past few days. The weather is very bad.
It is a good thing for the British and French forces. The bad weather has had a serious impact on the German Air Force. Yesterday, few German aircraft appeared on the beaches of Dunkirk. This is thanks to the British Air Force's operations. It is a pity that most of the battles took place in
Above the clouds, many coalition soldiers had no idea how much the British Air Force had paid for their successful evacuation.
After experiencing the indiscriminate bombing on the 27th, the soldiers of the British and French coalition forces were now accustomed to the shrill air raid sirens. Even if the sirens sounded, no one panicked.
The environment of Dunkirk's beaches minimized the power of German aerial bombs.
Many German aerial bombs did not explode at all after being dropped.
Even if it explodes, the soft sand will minimize the force of the fragments.
Outside Dunkirk, tens of thousands of British and French soldiers were fighting the German army, covering the evacuation of the British and French forces from Dunkirk. There was a faint rumble of artillery, but the British and French soldiers on the beach were not affected in any way.
Despite the critical situation, most British and French soldiers still brushed their teeth and washed their faces after getting up.
A British soldier is eating an apple not far from Alexander. The British and French coalition forces now have sufficient logistical supplies. The expeditionary force headquarters no longer restricts the use of supplies. It is better to consume them than leave them to the Germans.
Farther away, a British soldier wearing a plaid skirt was playing the bagpipe. The melodious music had great soothing power on the soul.
Farther away, a British soldier was actually fishing. Although he didn't get much, he was still very focused.
An orderly brought Alexander face wash and toothpaste.
An orderly held a mirror for Alexander, who had to shave every day, a habit he had developed since childhood.
Alexander was born in an aristocratic family in Ireland. He loved competitive sports and painting as early as his days at Harrow School. His ideal as a student was to become the president of the Royal Society of Arts.
After washing, Alexander had someone bring a deck chair and place it on the beach. He lay on it calmly and watched the British and French troops boarding the ship in an orderly manner.
Alexander's calm attitude greatly boosted the morale of the British and French forces. When Gott came to see Alexander, Alexander actually fell asleep, which made Gott very satisfied.
"I hope you don't blame me. I failed to defeat the Germans and could only bring more expeditionary soldiers back to the homeland." Gott was in a low mood. He already knew that he would retire from active service after returning to China. Although this was only temporary, it still made him feel sad.
Gott was a little sad.
"General, we all know that this is not your fault." Alexander comforted Gott. Roark couldn't have done better than Gott.
As the saying goes, don't be afraid of opponents who are like gods, but be afraid of teammates who are like pigs.
No matter how incompetent Joffre was at the beginning, he did not allow the Germans to advance straight in. If he entered an uninhabited country, at least Joffre led the French troops to withstand the German offensive.
Compared with Joffre, Gamelin was useless. It was said that after being dismissed from his post, Gamelin was in contact with some French politicians who were inclined to surrender to Germany. This was simply a shame for France.
This is no wonder that Gamelin made those strange decisions when Germany attacked Poland.
Gott's fate was not good, and with a French commander like Gamelin on his side, it is no wonder that Gott chose to lead the British Expeditionary Force to retreat, and replaced him with Rock. Rock would only run faster, and he would easily take all the people he could bring with him.
All supplies were taken away, and not even a bullet was left for the Germans.
"Harold, remember your mission, bring more British children back to the UK" Gott said meaningfully.
Alexander understood instantly.
There were now over 400,000 Allied troops at Dunkirk.
Mustache has now realized that the air force led by Goering alone may not be able to keep 400,000 Allied troops in Dunkirk. Therefore, the 40th Panzer Corps commanded by Reinhardt and the 19th Panzer Corps commanded by Guderian
The Armored Corps is launching a frantic attack on Dunkirk.
Gott and Alexander did not have the confidence to evacuate all 400,000 people.
Then who gets on the boat first becomes the most critical issue.
From the evening of the 25th to the early morning of the 29th, nearly 40,000 British troops had withdrawn from Dunkirk to the British mainland.
At the same time, less than a thousand French troops were able to evacuate Dunkirk.
Alexander did not answer the question directly and nodded silently.
As the Allied forces hurriedly evacuated from Dunkirk, Winston held a cabinet meeting in Downing Street, London, to discuss how to prevent the Germans from crossing the English Channel.
Just now, Winston received a telegram from the Palace of Justice in Pretoria. The telegram revealed that the Germans had formulated a plan to launch an attack on the British mainland. This was Winston's biggest worry since the outbreak of the European War.
thing.
"How accurate is the intelligence?" Air Secretary Sir Archibald Sinclair was under great pressure. If the intelligence was indeed correct, then Germany would break through the British defenses through the air and launch an attack on the British mainland, which may be unprecedented in human history.
The largest bombing.
When Neville's cabinet collapsed, Winston took over the task and formed a large-scale war cabinet with complex members.
Air Secretary Archibald Sinclair is a Liberal, Lord Privy Seal Clement Richard Attlee is a Labor Party member, Foreign Secretary Halifax is a Conservative, and Health Secretary Marko
Tom MacDonald is a member of the National Labor Party, which is not the same thing as Attlee's Labor Party.
Winston was good at uniting vertically and horizontally, and in the face of the German attack, the British finally united.
Hope it's not too late.
"This is a telegram personally signed by Lord Nyasaland. There is no need to doubt its authenticity." Winston's voice was low. Compared with the intelligence personnel in southern Africa, the British intelligence personnel were simply scum.
You can't say he's a scumbag either.
At least the initial version of the "Business Building Plan" obtained by the UK is indeed accurate.
However, the Germans made timely adjustments to the "Business Building Plan" later on, but the British intelligence personnel knew nothing about it. This was really inappropriate.
"When will Southern Africa declare war on Germany?" Sir Kingsley Wood, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has almost lost all his hair during this period. If Southern Africa does not join the war, Britain may not be able to hold on for long.
Mention Rock.
The cabinet ministers in the conference room were as if they had suddenly seen a savior, their eyes were astonishingly bright.
"Gentlemen, we cannot always place our hopes on others. Only by firmly controlling our destiny in our own hands can we face the challenges of the future. It is good for Southern Africa to declare war on Germany; but even if Southern Africa does not participate in the war, we
We must resolutely win this war and win this war at all costs!" Winston finally showed his strong side. When the fat man was fighting against the odds, his burst of energy was unparalleled.
