Not all of the French navy was in France at this time. Except for some that were stranded in various colonies, some of them retreated to the United Kingdom. Because the Pétain government and Hitler had signed an armistice agreement, and De Gaulle began to publicize in London that he would continue to resist Germany and insist on
The battle divided the French navy into two groups. One group wanted to continue fighting until complete victory, while the other group wanted to obey the government's orders and return to France.
Both factions have their own reasons. For the time being, no one can convince the other, so they can only stay in the UK until things are sorted out internally. But the good thing is that they are both French after all, and they understand each other's position, so
There was no internal fighting.
"Look! That's a British warship!" A French sailor pointed into the distance and said.
"This is the United Kingdom. Isn't it the most normal thing for British warships to appear? The soldier next to him said disapprovingly. In fact, although the United Kingdom lent the military port to the French army, since France and Germany were about to sign an agreement, the British military was near the military port.
Slowly strengthening their strength, although the French army protested, there was nothing they could do.
"But they are in combat formation...the gun jackets have also been withdrawn." The sailor shouted, feeling that something was wrong.
The navy's warships are weapons that are resistant to grass and are extremely precious. Especially the warship's cannons, which generally have a lifespan of several hundred rounds, so they must be maintained with great care. They are usually covered with gun jackets, so the cannons are removed.
The gun jackets can basically be regarded as a precursor to war, not to mention that the formation of battleships is also very particular. They must use their flanks to confront the enemy in order to maximize their firepower. If a fleet has these two characteristics at the same time,
It's obvious that a war is about to begin.
"Quick! Sound the alarm! God! What's going on? Are the British going to war with us?"
The piercing sirens instantly rang through the sky. The sailors who were resting in the cabin hurried out and began to prepare for battle. The commander of the fleet, Lieutenant General Misselier, immediately sent someone to contact the British fleet to find out what happened.
What's going on? Even if you want to fight, you have to tell us why you want to fight. We were allies just a few days ago.
"Report to the Commander! The British say that our government has betrayed the Anglo-French alliance and become a pawn of Germany. Now we are given two choices, either to join General de Gaulle's Free France and fight Germany to the last moment, or in six hours
It will sink internally or be sunk in six hours!" the liaison officer ran over and said.
"What? You want us to surrender to De Gaulle? He is just a brigadier general, and our general is a lieutenant general. Does he still recognize his military rank? Or is he no longer a soldier?" The naval officer next to him became angry when he heard that he wanted to listen to de Gaulle himself.
He said that he was one of the leaders of the return faction, and the commander of the fleet, Miselie, remained silent on the surface, but was also unhappy in his heart. He looked at the British fleet not far away with a telescope, and only saw four or five battleships.
And the fleet with four or five large cruisers as the main force was looking at his fleet eagerly. He said, "Go and tell the British that we don't have to leave the UK, and we won't surrender to Germany, but we can't go to war with our motherland."
, we hope to remain neutral until the end of this war."
Although several other people felt dissatisfied, the situation was such that they reluctantly agreed.
Within a few minutes, the communication tube came again and said to Miselier, "Commander, they rejected our request and said it was approved by General de Gaulle."
"traitor!"
"What qualifications does de Gaulle have to decide the fate of the navy?"
"The great French fleet must never surrender!"
"tong" "tong" "tong"
There were bursts of gunfire in the distance. When Miselie saw the British fleet shelling the sea, he knew that the British were forcing him to make a choice. He looked at his subordinates and said, "Our fleet is not
It belongs to us, but to all the French people. We cannot selfishly sink the ship for any reason. In any case, the war will eventually end, and France will still need these warships by then. So I decided to go see De Gaulle and the British.
cooperate."
"Very good!"
"This won't work! General Miselier!"
There were various voices. Miselie waved his hand and said, "I have decided. This is my military order. I hope you will obey my order!"
Everyone agreed with joy or helplessness that de Gaulle's Free France had its first fleet.
But Miselier was willing to cooperate with the United Kingdom with De Gaulle, but the French fleet in the other Portsmouth naval port chose to sink itself. With tears in their eyes, they sang songs and watched their beloved warships sink to the bottom of the sea. Churchill was
There was no emotional upheaval after the news. You must know that the real main force of the French fleet is in Toulon and other colonies. Churchill asked de Gaulle to send electricity to all colonies, asking them to reject the orders of the French Pétain government in Paris and instead accept
De Gaulle was naturally happy to give orders to Free France. Less than a week after the British raided the French fleet, the fleets in colonial France all over France made their choices one after another. Most of the fleets chose to obey the orders of the Pétain government. After all,
, now the Pétain government and Germany control the entire French mainland, and Pétain is not a complete traitor. According to the agreement, there are still large areas of land that belong to the free zone and are completely ruled and governed by the French, even French colonies such as North Africa.
, Germany did not invade and occupy. Compared with the fate of Germany in the last war, such conditions cannot be said to be too excessive. Anyway, those lost territories can be slowly regained through subsequent political means and negotiations. Isn’t that what Hitler did?
Yes, now it's France's turn.
——Beilun
Dönitz looked at the telegram he received in the submarine, smiled and said, "Jiang really was right. The British really raided the French. Aren't they afraid of completely becoming enemies with the French?"
The staff officer next to him thought for a while and said, "General, maybe they think that with de Gaulle here, the French will obey de Gaulle's orders and continue fighting with us."
"De Gaulle? A nobody...What's going on over there in Africa?" Dönitz asked.
"It will take some time to get to the designated position. Do the British really dare to come?" the staff officer said in disbelief. You must know that the British just suffered a big defeat, and now it is time to lick their wounds and attack now.
It really goes against military common sense.
"It's normal. The navy is the weakest among our three armed forces. There are almost no large warships. Now with the addition of French warships, our strength has increased rapidly. Of course, the British are restless. Wait, look at our China
Did my friend get it right again?" Dönitz said with a smile.
Late at night, a light rain slowly began to fall in the sky. Dönitz was lying on the recliner with his eyes closed and waiting. A sonar soldier suddenly took off his earphones and said, "Report, a fleet is approaching in my direction."
Dönitz's eyes lit up and he smiled and said, "Okay! It must be the British fleet, hurry! Be careful and go up and have a look!"
The periscope slowly rose up, and Dönitz looked into the distance. He could hardly see anything at night, but he had an intuition that a large fleet was rushing towards him from the opposite side.
The location where Dönitz is now is the only place where the British fleet must pass to reach Beilun Military Port. Dönitz has gathered more than thirty submarines to ambush here, waiting for the arrival of the British fleet.
"Okay! All submarines remain silent. Let's first see what choice the French army will make." Dönitz did not directly disarm the French army as he often suggested. In Hitler's heart, he still hoped that he could
With the help of the French army, if he directly disarms the French fleet, it is likely to cause problems in Hitler's plan, so he is ready to wait until the British fleet arrives to kick the British fleet's ass. If the French army and the British fleet fight in the end,
Well, if you don't fight and choose to sink yourself, you can bite off a big piece of British flesh.
In fact, Jiang Cheng did not fully understand Dönitz's psychology. The reason why Dönitz rose to power so quickly was because he was a representative of the submarine faction. If the German army had a large surface fleet, it would naturally reduce its use of underwater submarines.
Therefore, it would be more beneficial for Dönitz if these battleships were in the hands of the French or scuttled than in the hands of the Germans. Of course, Dönitz's thoughts were only subconscious and did not really become a mental plan.
"It's the Grand Fleet, you can see it." Dönitz smiled and whispered. Perhaps it was a coincidence that the British fleet just appeared on the left side of the German submarine. Dönitz could clearly see the black figures one by one.
It was sailing by him. Since it was night and raining, the British fleet also implemented a light control to prevent being discovered. If the distance was not too close, Dönitz might not know about it even if it was sailing by him.
.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
What surprised Dönitz was that the British fleet directly attacked the French fleet without contacting the French army. In fact, the British fleet also hoped to persuade the French army to surrender, but this is France, and the German army can appear at any time.
We really don't have six seconds left to give the French army, so we can only fight first.
"...Whoever said to me that the British are gentlemen, I am worried about him. Have Britain and France declared war?" Dönitz looked at such a scene and shouted in surprise, "The French will be finished! Rush immediately.
Go up and sink the British!"
The huge explosion woke up the French army from their sleep. Admiral Francois Darlan, who was hurriedly getting dressed, looked into the distance. The firelight of the British naval guns illuminated the British warships. He could tell at a glance.
That's a British battleship.
"The British are attacking us?" Francois Darlan simply felt that his head was running out. Although he got the news that the British had lifted the siege of the French warships in the UK, after all, it was in the UK, and such a thing was also
There is precedent, but now to attack French warships - this is too shameless, even the Germans allow France to have a navy.
Darlan immediately ordered a counterattack, but the British warships were walking on the sea, and the French warships were motionless in the harbor, and they did not even have ammunition ready. The situation was extremely unfavorable to the French army. Darlan only felt that his heart was bleeding. You must know that the French navy
The reorganization of the company was completed in his hands, and now he has to see its destruction with his own eyes. This kind of thing is really unacceptable.
A huge explosion pulled him out of his thoughts. He was surprised to see that a Sovereign-class battleship in the British fleet was hit on the flank...the flank? Darlan suddenly felt something was wrong, and then
Continuing to look, I found that the fire was near the waterline, which was hit by a torpedo.
Before it was over, explosions occurred one after another in the British fleet. In just two minutes, two battleships, a heavy cruiser, a light cruiser and two destroyers were besieged. All were attacked on the left or right wing.
The British Navy is surrounded...
"Long live the German submarine! Long live Hitler!!!" Darlan shouted excitedly. Although he didn't know why the German army appeared in such a strange position, after all, the German submarine had saved his fleet's life. As a naval veteran,
He knew very well that there was only one way in front of the British fleet, and that was to retreat.
Sure enough, the British fleet did not expect that there would be so many underwater wolves lurking around them. They threw depth bombs at the suspicious sea surface like crazy and wanted to leave this sea area. There are currently no two battleships in Beilun Port.
Well, no matter how we fight this battle, we will all lose.
The British fleet began to evacuate. Only one battleship and three or four cruisers and destroyers were actually sunk. The rest of the injured ships were brought back. Dönitz felt extremely regretful as he looked at the retreating British fleet.
"Commander, we must replace our torpedoes. The attack power of our current torpedoes is still too small in front of battleships." The staff officer next to him said to Dönitz.
Dönitz nodded and said, "I know there are new torpedoes that will be ready for use soon. Let's go and meet the French."
"Report! C Fleet battle report. Yesterday evening, the British fleet suddenly appeared at the Oran and Mirskbill military ports on the North African coast. The British Navy's "H Fleet", under the command of Vice Admiral Somerville, surrounded the French fleet at the military port.
Within six hours, he put forward conditions: either join Britain in the war against Germany, or scuttle all ships on their own within six hours. The French army, under the command of Admiral Jean Sur, fought back. During the fierce battle, our army raided the British fleet and won a major victory.
Victory. In this battle, our army lost five submarines, the French lost one battleship, two heavy cruisers, and eight destroyers, with a loss of more than 1,500 troops. The British lost two battleships, one battlecruiser, and a cruiser.
Four ships and five destroyers. Since the British air force joined the battle at a later stage, our army did not pursue them."
Dönitz clapped his hands and shouted, "Okay! Send a message to the head of state immediately. The British only have a dozen battleships in total. We killed three of their battleships in one day. Let's see if he feels bad!"
When the news newspapers the next day reported yesterday's naval battle, the whole world was shocked. The British army and the French army launched a fierce battle, and the French army was rescued by the German army. The Pétain government announced that it would sever all relations with Britain. France
Navy Commander-in-Chief Darlan announced that all the French navy should fight the British to the end? What is even more surprising is that it was the British who attacked the French army secretly, but suffered heavier losses than the French army due to the rescue of the German navy. They lost their battleships alone.
The three ships are the Royal Oak, the Hood and the Warspite. Although most of them are old ships from World War I, they are enough to disgrace the British Navy.
