Chapter 464: Don’t Be Stupid to Ask for a Monthly Pass
UK, London.
How could Churchill not know that Mussolini was eyeing Egypt and might launch an attack at any time?
However, Churchill now has no way to mobilize more reinforcements to North Africa.
The failure of the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk directly led to the loss of 200,000 elite British Army troops.
Nowadays, all the army's ace troops have entered German prisoner-of-war camps. With the surrender of the French government and the establishment of Vichy France, Churchill's plan to unite the French to defeat Germany has also been completely ruined.
Nowadays, in the entire British Isles, there are only two regular army divisions left after all calculations. Moreover, not only are they short of guns and artillery, but they are also short of personnel.
Churchill knew very well that this small number of troops was not enough to fill the teeth of the German troops who served as the first shock wave.
Britain has always maintained a professional military system, so the number of British troops is not large.
However, during World War II, facing the powerful Germany, Britain had to urgently expand its army.
Some people may give an example: at the end of World War II in another time and space, the number of British troops reached 5.7 million, which is enough.
However, the situation in the UK is actually different from that in other countries. Not all of the 5.7 million troops are British.
Britain had a huge colony. The final number of 5.7 million troops in another time and space was based on the continuous expansion of the army that successfully withdrew from Dunkirk, plus the number of British colonial troops in various places.
But no matter how many troops there are in the colonies, they cannot solve Churchill's urgent needs in this time and space.
After all, distant water cannot quench near thirst.
Furthermore, mobilizing colonial troops also needs to be carefully considered.
Those colonial troops cannot be mobilized simply by mobilizing them. These troops are the pillars that ensure the stability of the colonies and are the foundation for stabilizing the overseas interests of the British Empire!
And now, Japan is wreaking havoc in East Asia. Especially at this critical moment, if there is any more trouble in the British colonies in Burma and India, then Churchill will really be the end of his tenure as Prime Minister.
The prosperity of the British Empire depended on the wealth brought by these vast colonies.
The British have been relying on the wealth collected in these colonies to maintain the rapid growth of their country's economy.
If these colonies are lost, the economic development of the British Empire will immediately stagnate, and it will immediately become a second-rate country in Europe. This is something that the proud British will never tolerate!
Although Churchill made up his mind that the British overseas colonies must not be lost, why is the defense of the British mainland unimportant?
Faced with this dilemma, Churchill could only bite the bullet and selectively mobilize troops from the colonies.
Even if we lose some overseas colonies, we can't lose the British mainland easily, right?
If you lose your overseas colonies, at least the foundation of the country will still be there, but if you lose your homeland, it will be the true sense of national subjugation.
Think about France today. After being occupied by Germany, although the so-called Vichy France was established in the south, all the important towns and industrial areas in the north, including Paris, were ceded to Germany.
The Vichy regime in name only is crumbling, and Germany can annex it at any time.
If Bélante hadn't still held a large enough army that was worthy of attention, Pétain's Vichy regime might have been deposed by Germany long ago.
Churchill certainly did not want to follow the old path of France. Moreover, once the British mainland failed, Germany would have no worries on the Western Front.
If the British mainland falls, even if the United States opens a second battlefield on the Western Front in the future, it will be extremely difficult to restore Britain.
Because there will no longer be suitable islands in the Atlantic Ocean that can serve as a gathering place for large-scale landing forces and a starting point for a landing fleet.
And if we set out from the United States, the front is too long. Under the care of the German "Wolf Pack" submarines, how can the safety of the transport boat be guaranteed? Is there any way in this world to cross an ocean to attack another empire?
Furthermore, the biggest prize Germany can get from Britain is the British Royal Navy fleet!
The United Kingdom is a world naval power that competes with the United States and Japan. Although the Royal Navy is greatly weakened, it still possesses a lot of naval warfare equipment that the German Navy is keen on: large-caliber main gun battleships and aircraft carriers.
If the German army occupied the British mainland and then annexed the British Royal Navy, the German Navy's ocean-going combat power would be greatly strengthened and could even threaten the security of the United States.
Under such circumstances, it will be even more difficult for the United States to land on the Western Front, and there will no longer be any hope for Britain to recover.
As for obtaining British naval equipment, the Germans will even have the ability to influence the future Pacific battlefield.
Germany could enter the Pacific battlefield through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Strait of Malacca with the fleet it captured from Britain.
In addition, Germany can also open up the European and African battlefields.
If the British mainland is lost, the British troops on the North African battlefield will face the situation of running out of ammunition and food, and will eventually have no choice but to surrender to Germany.
By then, the Allied forces led by Germany will control the entire Mediterranean region, especially the Suez Canal, and then acquire Arab countries.
The Third Reich would also obtain more strategic resources from the Arab region. Of these, oil was naturally indispensable.
Now if the British mainland is not protected, all of the above will be realized by Germany in a short period of time.
In this way, even if Britain fled to Canada, formed a government in exile, and joined the United States, there would be no chance of winning a counterattack on the homeland.
Therefore, Churchill racked his brains to protect the security of his homeland.
Unfortunately, he borrowed from here and there and only managed to get five colonial camps from India.
In order to mobilize these troops, the British and Indian governments recruited a large number of British expatriates in India to join the army to supplement the local garrison in India in order to block the gap for these troops to leave.
Even so, the current situation in India was still turbulent for several days.
At this time, these British and Indian troops were heading towards Britain in three troop transport ships, having just passed the Cape of Good Hope yesterday.
However, Reinhard personally felt that it might be the last piece of land these soldiers saw, because the report on the whereabouts of this fleet was handed over by Dönitz.
In addition to the colonies, Churchill also sought help from various Commonwealth countries.
As a sovereign state, this is naturally a matter of course.
However, other Commonwealth countries are not fools. They will not just throw troops into a sinking ship.
You said that if you still have a chance of winning, and if the 200,000 elites from Dunkirk are successfully withdrawn, maybe everyone will be willing to give it a try with your suzerain country.
But now it's almost clear that you're destined to lose. Is it possible that anyone would be willing to die with you?