A somewhat dilapidated off-road vehicle drove quickly to the outside of a temporary camouflage tent at the Dunkirk military port.
This large tent was set up among the remains of a dilapidated building. Using the ruins that had been bombed by the German Stukas, the tent was cleverly disguised as being located on the side of a dilapidated high wall. In this way, the German fighter planes in the sky
If you weren't paying special attention, it would be hard to spot this big tent.
A colonel officer of the British Expeditionary Force pushed open the door of the off-road vehicle and jumped out. Immediately, he greeted several guards outside the tent and quickly got into the tent.
As soon as he entered the tent, the colonel was taken aback by the fiery atmosphere inside the tent.
I saw the topographic map of Dunkirk spread out on the table, which was messily filled with drawing pens, compasses, measuring rulers, and graduated plates... On the map, the locations of various areas were densely circled.
, already at the sniper point outside Dunkirk.
Under the illumination of more than a dozen light bulbs hung on the roof of the tent, more than 20 senior military officers and headquarters staff were chattering about the frontline situation.
Some of them gathered in a circle around the table with the battle plans and pointed, while others stood a little further away shaking their heads and waving their hands. The volume in their voices was not high, and there was an indescribable heaviness.
Nearly 24 hours have passed since the start of the generator plan. During this period, only a few logistics personnel were transported. And the number of people was only more than 1,300. At this rate, it is impossible to reach Dunkirk
It would take more than a whole year to transport all the coalition forces away!
The Germans were not going to wait for a year. In fact, their armored forces only waited less than 24 hours for some reason that was unclear to the British and French forces before continuing the attack. Now, they may have reached Montgomery's sniper line.
Speaking of Montgomery, Expeditionary Force Commander Gott admitted that he was an extremely good general.
Montgomery's troops were not only the only team that did not collapse after fighting the Germans, but also successfully defended the large army after the Battle of Lucca. They also led the troops to jump into the German army overnight and use the Belgian positions to build up after the Belgian Army surrendered.
In the first encirclement, we set up a peripheral sniper line for the Dunkirk withdrawal operation to buy time.
These days, Colonel Allen has been responsible for being the liaison officer between the expeditionary force headquarters and the 3rd Division. Now, seeing Allen striding into the tent, several senior staff officers surrounding Gott immediately rushed over.
, shake hands with him.
"Allen, how's the situation over there in the 3rd Division?!" the colonel staff leader asked first.
After hearing about the heroic achievements of the 3rd Division, the colonel became a loyal fan of Major General Montgomery. Now seeing Allen's arrival, he was naturally the first one to eagerly learn the news he brought.
"Yes, did Major General Montgomery bring us any other surprises?" Another staff officer who admired Montgomery also stepped forward and asked curiously.
At a time when the Allied forces were defeated all the way and turned back to shame, Montgomery can be said to be the only shining general in the Allied forces.
These senior officers and staff officers in the British Army Headquarters no longer believed that their commander Gott could turn the tide, but they were looking forward to some kind of miracle from Montgomery, the little division commander.
This is Montgomery's luck and glory, and it is also Lord Gott's misfortune and shame!
The dignified commander of the British Expeditionary Force did not receive the trust of his subordinates. The fate of the nearly 200,000-strong expeditionary force could only depend on the success or failure of one division.
Unfortunately, things went counterproductive. The news that Allen brought was not what everyone expected...
"General Montgomery... is leading the division to retreat to Dunkirk." Allen swallowed and hesitated: "However, the large forces of the 3rd Division are still dispersed and deployed on the sniper line.
, continued to perform sniper missions. According to the final telegram sent by General Montgomery, his troops could only continue to hold off the Germans for less than 36 hours."
"What?!" This news stunned all the officers present. Even Lord Gott, who was standing far away and pretending to be reserved, trembled violently.
Montgomery has always been their hope. Although it is embarrassing, Gott also knows in his heart that the only chance he, the commander of the expeditionary force, can think of is that only Montgomery's 3rd Division can persist in resisting for ten days and a half.
of.
Without the resistance of the 3rd Division, Gott really couldn't think of any way to survive until the day when all the expeditionary forces were withdrawn.
Relying on those French people as cannon fodder to buy time? Pull them down, these French people can play a useless role, as long as they don't cause trouble.
"Didn't General Montgomery just deploy the sniper line? Why did he withdraw so quickly?"
"This is impossible! I have also studied the 3rd Division's serial sniper positions. They are perfectly deployed and can definitely be relied upon for a long time!"
"Can't even General Montgomery and our most elite 3rd Division stop the German army? How can we fight this battle?!"
Everyone spoke with uncontrollable shock and confusion. They really couldn't figure it out, and they didn't want to figure it out, why their troops were so vulnerable.
"That's true," Allen lowered his head and said solemnly: "The telegram was sent by Major General Montgomery himself. In the telegram, he firmly believed that the troops' fighting will was far lower than he expected and was not enough to complete the task.
Combat objective. In order to prevent the division headquarters from being captured by the Germans, General Montgomery could only let the division headquarters retreat first."
Heavy sighs sounded one after another in the tent. Everyone's face was bloodless blue and white. Under the cold-colored lights in the tent, it looked dead.
"It's over, it's all over now." Brooke, commander of the 2nd Army, said in a daze, "The last chance is gone."
A sad atmosphere spread with Brooke's mood. Before that, Montgomery and his troops had once become the spiritual pillar of the expeditionary force.
But not long after this pillar was erected, it collapsed again.
Too cruel!
"At least General Montgomery bought us 24 more hours." As the commander, Gott said with a forced smile: "This is an unexpected 24 hours, and we should be grateful for it. Besides, the 3rd Division's
The main force is still on the ground and continues to hold on, and only one division headquarters has been withdrawn."
Clapping his hands, Gott cleared his throat and loudly said: "We still have time to prepare. Isn't this good news? At least, we haven't completely lost yet."
Gott's response was complete silence. It seemed that his encouragement did not have much effect.