As a key bombing target of the German army, Woolwich on the south bank of the Thames suffered heavy losses. Several blocks along the river were completely destroyed. Bayswater, who worked at the Royal Small Arms Factory, lived here.
After Operation Sickle began, the Royal Small Arms Factory was operating at full capacity, with Bayswater working the night shift.
After a hard night's work, Bayswater returned home to find that his home had been bombed into rubble.
This saddened Bayswater.
It is already August and winter is coming. Winter in London is very difficult.
Compared with neighbor William, Bayswater is lucky.
Bayswater's wife and three children hid in the air-raid shelter in advance during the German air raid. Although all their property was lost, fortunately they were safe.
William's family failed to escape, and his wife and two children were all killed in the air raid. The scene of the grown man kneeling beside the three corpses, hugging each other and crying, made Bayswater unable to help but feel sad.
"God, please lower your anger and kill all those German devils. I am willing to die with them and drag all the damn Germans into hell."
Facing the heartbroken William, Bayswater was helpless. At this time, any words of comfort were pale.
What's more, Bayswater is not qualified to comfort William.
It's already August, winter is coming, and winter in London can be very difficult.
"What should we do?" Bayswater's wife Isabella held Jerry, who was just one year old, with a sad face. She was still wearing pajamas, wrapped in a small blanket, barefoot, and didn't even have time to put on shoes.
You can see how hasty it was when we left.
"Dad, I'm hungry." Six-year-old Tom's body was shaking. He was tired, hungry and scared.
Four-year-old Hart was crying loudly and he still didn't understand what was happening.
Two police officers came along on patrol.
Bayswater took the initiative to ask for help.
The police are helpless. There are too many people in London today who need help. The police's task is to maintain law and order. They may also have relatives who were killed in the bombing.
Several ships suddenly sailed from the lower reaches of the Thames River, and people rushed to the river with hope in their hearts.
Not a transport ship.
It's not a warship either.
It is an obstacle course made of cement concrete.
In order to prevent the Germans from attacking London along the Thames River, the British government used sunken ships to block the mouth of the Thames River. The Royal Navy's defense was not without loopholes.
Just kidding, if a warship is parked in a military port, German submarines can sneak into the military port and sink the warship. The defense of the Thames River is basically useless.
Large-scale login may not be possible.
Small-scale sneak attacks are not difficult for the Germans.
"What is our navy doing? Don't they have the ability to protect London?" Bayswater really can't figure it out. The Royal Navy spends so much money every year, and after the war broke out, it actually had to close the Thames River. Could it be that so much military spending is just feeding the dogs?
"Gentlemen, go to the square quickly. The Matilda Charity Foundation is distributing food in the square." A surprising voice came, and people flocked to Woolwich Square.
In the center of the square, more than a dozen staff members are busy, all of them are women, dressed in neat and uniform clothes, with friendly and kind smiles, making people feel the hard-won warmth in the cruel reality.
The UK has begun a nationwide mobilization, with men either joining the army or working in factories. Women have also been mobilized to take on tasks within their capabilities.
Most of the employees of the Matilda Charitable Foundation are students. Under the command of a lady in her sixties, with white hair, but energetic, they are unpacking the well-packed goods from a truck.
Unload the box.
Next to the truck, two girls threw the firewood into the tin oil drum, used gasoline to ignite it, and then lifted a pot to place it on the oil drum.
Too much water was added to the pot, and the two girls tried twice but failed.
Bayswater and Isabella took the initiative to help, and the four of them worked together to finally put the pot on the oil drum.
"Thank you for your help." A girl with a face full of freckles and a bright smile took the initiative to thank Bayswater.
"It's us who should thank you. You are angels. Without you, we really don't know what we would do." Bayswater said with gratitude on his face.
At this time, another girl poured a large bag of instant coffee into the pot. The aroma of the coffee gradually overflowed and filled the entire square. Hope began to appear in people's eyes.
In the other pot is boiling broth.
The freckle-faced girl opened all the dozen cans, then put them all into the pot and mixed them to cook.
The solidified fat spreads when heated, leaving a thick layer of oil floating in the pot, and the aroma is overflowing.
A chef in a white coat came over with a large piece of frozen meat, chopped it into small pieces with an ax and threw it into the pot.
Tom was watching eagerly from the side.
The chef smiled kindly at Tom, picked up a small piece of chicken and handed it to Tom.
"Eat it, it's already cooked"
On normal days, Isabella would definitely not let Tom eat something so cold.
Now Isabella felt that this cold piece of meat was the warmest thing in the world.
What warms is the heart.
More and more people gathered in the square again, thousands of people in total.
There were a few police officers at the scene to maintain order, but they were obviously overwhelmed. There were too many people in need of help, and not everyone was as patient as Neswater.
At this time, a car drove up, and a few well-dressed old people got out. They held musical instruments in their hands, sat down in the center of the square, and began to play "God Save the King."
Before Bayswater could react, the freckled girl hummed softly along with the music.
God bless the United Kingdom
May she live forever
God Bless the United Kingdom
Chang Shengli, Mu Rongguang
The lyrics the girl hummed were incorrect. They should have been "God bless the King," not "God bless the United Kingdom."
But to Bayswater, "God bless the United Kingdom" does not sound out of place in today's environment.
The United Kingdom does need a little luck.
"Don't be sad, don't be discouraged. The difficulties at hand are only temporary. We will definitely overcome the difficulties and win the final victory." The white-haired but energetic lady encouraged everyone loudly. She was wearing a suit from the last world war.
British military uniform.
Although the military uniform has been washed and turned white, it is clean and neat, and the seam of the trousers looks like it was pinched with hands.
"The German bombs will not make us surrender. Even if the United Kingdom fights alone, we will fight to the end and never surrender. I am 60 years old and cannot serve in the army, but if the United Kingdom needs it, I will pick up a gun at any time."
"Run to the battlefield." The lady was impassioned, and there was infinite energy in her thin body.
Someone started applauding.
Then everyone started to applaud, and the policemen's eyes were full of admiration.
"What's more, we are not fighting alone. Just early this morning, Southern Africa officially declared war on the Germans. Our commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force during the last world war has returned. I firmly believe that Lord Nyasaland can do the same this time.
Lead us to the final victory." Madam's voice was instantly drowned out by huge cheers, and everyone rejoiced.
This is the biggest good news for the British since the outbreak of the European War.
Starting a year ago, almost all the news was bad news.
The Germans annexed Austria.
The Germans broke the Munich Agreement and annexed Czechoslovakia.
Germany and Russia divided Poland.
The Germans attack Norway.
France ceases resistance
For the British, southern Africa's participation in the war was a ray of light in the endless darkness.
Although the Southern African Expeditionary Force has not yet arrived in Britain.
But at this moment, the British were already full of confidence. They firmly believed that the addition of southern Africa would bring another great victory to Britain.
Winston also believed it.
At noon on the 3rd, Winston went to Congress to report to Congress the news of southern Africa's participation in the war.
Members of Congress have already known the news through various means.
However, this did not prevent them from enthusiastically applauding Winston's speech.
On King's Road, where the Southern African Embassy in London is located, a large number of Londoners gathered at noon on the 3rd. They applauded enthusiastically and shouted slogans rhythmically to thank Southern Africa for joining.
Even the guards on duty at the entrance of the Southern African embassy received warm hugs and kisses from countless London girls.
While London was rejoicing, in Pretoria, Jan Smuts received a call from Ribbentrop.
"Minister Smuts, you will regret today's decision!" Ribbentrop was furious. Germany had long been prepared for Southern Africa to participate in the war, but when this day came, the Germans' inner fear of Southern Africa finally came to an end.
be awakened.
There is no other reason.
In the last world war, the Germans were badly beaten by the southern Africans.
Without the participation of southern Africa, Germany might have defeated the British and French forces in the last world war and became the world hegemon.
The closest the Germans came to victory was only 60 kilometers away.
Things are looking great for the Germans now.
The addition of southern Africa once again became the X factor that changed the situation in Europe.
"Minister Ribbentrop, when you launched the world war, you should have expected that such a day would come." Yang Smuts was tit-for-tat. It was useless to argue. Who won and who lost would be revealed on the battlefield.
"Very good, just wait and bear the wrath of Germany!" Ribbentrop hung up the phone directly. It's too late to say anything now. The Southern African army had already divided into two groups and entered the Mahdi Kingdom at 8 o'clock in the morning on the 3rd.
and British East Africa to assist in the defense, the Italians were about to face a fierce attack by the southern African army.
Fortunately, he is Italian.
Ribbentrop still has expectations for the Italians.
The Italians have a total of 500,000 troops in North Africa and East Africa. Even if they cannot defeat the Second Army in Southern Africa, they can still hold on for a year or two.
