Outside the port of Oran, on the British fleet lined up in a row, a colonel and staff officer asked Sir Forbes:
"General, our battle this time is not a conventional battle, but a long-distance attack. The attack was launched without any preparation by the enemy, and the opponent was the French rather than the Germans. I believe there will be no more surprises.
?”
In the eyes of his staff, he actually felt that this battle was inevitable.
After all, France is no better than Germany. The British Royal Navy cannot do anything against the German High Seas Fleet, so it is impossible that it cannot do anything against the French fleet.
Forbes thought for a while and said angrily: "In order to avoid irritating the Vichy government, the German navy will not go south into French waters for the time being. Therefore, we can say that we have an unimpeded journey. After sneak attack on the French port, we can return to Liverpool in time.
This time it’s considered a success.”
It's a pity that Forbes' adjutant just handed him a disappointing telegram right after he said this.
The telegram clearly stated: Germany sent nearly a hundred bombers to attack Liverpool, blowing up the port and dock, and also destroying a cruiser that had no time to escape in the port.
This news hit Sir Forbes on the head like a bolt from the blue.
What he was panicking about was not just how many ships or soldiers the Royal Navy had lost. What he cared about was that the port was destroyed, so that his fleet would have no home and would have to abandon its planned route and take a long way back.
Supplies at other ports.
In fact, this is the third consecutive day that the German army has carried out air raids on Britain. During these three days, nearly a hundred bombers visited British airspace every day and carried out successive attacks on many British port towns and factories.
Especially since the northern part of France was occupied by the Germans, the German army used France's original airports to easily enter London's airspace for take-off fighter groups.
The Luftwaffe no longer had to dispatch its limited and precious strategic bombers to participate in the bombing of London.
The German bombers currently carrying out bombings on London and British ports and industrial facilities have been replaced by do-217 medium bombers, and their numbers have been greatly increased.
The Do-217 is actually an enlarged version of the Do-17, which first flew in 1938. After a few A-type and C-type aircraft were produced in limited quantities, the mass-produced Do-217 rolled off the factory line in early 1940.
Different from the previous model, it has a deeper fuselage and a bomb bay with a larger load capacity. Its cutters can allow it to pass through air defense balloons smoothly. Although it is heavy, it is very flexible when flying. It is a quite mature weapon.
Medium bomber.
Today's London is a sea of fire every day, and the people of London are in dire straits every day, fearing that they will lose their lives because of a German bombing.
On the other hand, the British Air Force's casualties and combat results during bombing missions were not satisfactory. The British troops were often shot down by German BF-109 fighter jets just after flying over the English Channel. The few British fighter planes that escaped would have been shot down if they continued to carry out the mission.
Bombing missions were inevitably shot down by German anti-aircraft guns.
Compared with the invincibility of the German Air Force, the miserable situation of the British Air Force is almost obvious.
The bombers they sent never returned. Faced with the joint blockade of air defense radar anti-aircraft guns and BF-109 fighter jets used by the German air defense forces, the German army formed an airtight air defense network almost on the mainland and along the English Channel coast in northern France.
As for the British bombing formations, they were shot down again and again.
Even when the domestic situation was so severe, the British Royal Navy's Home Fleet secretly left the mainland and quietly lurked near the Port of Oran, using its equipment to find the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to the French main fleet in the Port of Oran.
To this end, the British Home Fleet used their fleet that had been severely damaged by the Germans to form a special operational fleet, including HMS Brave and Resolute, the two remaining battleships of the British Home Fleet, and 2 cruisers.
Eleven destroyers and one carrier-based aircraft are not enough to complete the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal.
Although the Germans "accidentally" destroyed the port where the Forbes fleet was supposed to return, cutting off their escape route.
However, the current Forbes fleet is also on the verge of action. No matter what happens behind the scenes, they must first resolve the immediate matter.
The thing has been done, so there is no need to stop it!
So soon, Sir Forbes issued a broadcast to the French fleet in the harbor. This broadcast was very simple: Join us and stand on the united front with us.
The specific way to join is to hand over all French warships and let the British navy take them away.
Naturally, Darlan refused to respond to the British request.
He believed that since France had declared an armistice and remained neutral, it should not join any party.
In addition, the French and German governments also jointly promised not to use the French fleet for military purposes.
But even so, it is particularly shameful that the British are still forcing each other hard.
Therefore, Darlan, the French naval commander who scolded Churchill for his betrayal, refused to make any reply.
In desperation, the British officer had no choice but to get on a motorboat, sail into the port, and hand the ultimatum to the French.
After all, Forbes still hopes to avoid fighting as much as possible, otherwise, the British Royal Navy will appear too shameless.
However, although Forbes wanted a peaceful solution, due to pressure from Churchill, the four options he gave the French in this ultimatum were non-negotiable!
1. Follow us out of the port and continue fighting for victory in the war.
2. Reduce the crew and sail to British ports under our supervision.
3. Leave the warships to the U.S. government for safekeeping until the end of the war.
4. If the above three points are unacceptable, please scuttle all warships yourself within 6 hours.
Finally, the British wrote that if you fail to comply with the above measures, then I will have no choice but to use all necessary force according to the orders of His Majesty's Government to prevent your fleet from falling into German or Italian hands.
After all, Sir Forbes's order was to ensure that the French ships in Oran and Mirskbil were handed over, surrendered or destroyed to ensure that these ships did not fall into the hands of the Germans. In addition, they also had to remove all the ships anchored outside the French mainland.
Arms of the French fleet.
Churchill gave them no room for relaxation, so they followed orders and gave the French no room for bargaining.
However, Darlan is not a vegetarian.
As a commander who is deeply respected by French naval officers and soldiers, his first thought was not to confirm the facts with the British Navy to avoid misunderstandings, but to directly and resolutely order the entire army to launch a first-level alert to avoid being slaughtered!
The French army's move to enter a state of combat readiness caused the British to panic. They saw smoke rising from the French ships and they were preparing to fire. At the port, the nearby army troops under Berante's command received the news and even mobilized a group of field troops.
Artillery support Darlan.
The fortresses and coastal forts around the Port of Oran were also condescending, aiming their artillery barrels at the British fleet in the distance.
At the same time, although he was extremely angry, Darlan calmed down and repeatedly promised on the radio to the British fleet: "The French fleet will not surrender to him, the Allies, but it will not surrender to the British ultimatum."
Of course, Darlan's explanation to the British fleet was not out of weakness.
On the contrary, Darlan just wanted to delay a little time. At the same time, he had mobilized French squadrons from several nearby ports to support the port of Oran.
Once reinforcements arrive, Darlan can cooperate with them inside and outside to attack the British army!
As a result, Commander Darlan and Sir Forbes fought in a tense manner for five hours.
It was not until 12:10 noon that Lord Forbes, the commander of the British fleet, received a warning from Churchill himself: "Solve the problem as soon as possible, otherwise you will encounter the French reinforcements sent by Darlan!"