Chapter five hundred and eighty seventh British counterattack
Otto Kalius, a recruit who once belonged to the 104th Infantry Replacement Battalion, participated in an armored training and was assigned to the newly formed 21st Armored Regiment at Portsmouth Landing during the Battle of Britain to participate in the battle.
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Because the German army used partial divisions in the Battle of Britain, most of these units were not well-known, and the ratio of combat effectiveness to veterans was lower than that of other units.
Because of this, Calius, an inconspicuous recruit, got a good opportunity to show off his skills.
Although what he is driving now is not the Panther V, the main battle tank of the German armored forces, but the modified German Panzer III submersible tank. But, even so, he has already performed at a very strong level.
Moreover, among the landing troops sent by Germany to the British Isles, the No. 3 submersible tank was already a very common tank.
After all, Reinhard left his elite troops and high-quality equipment on the Eastern Front. Although he did not want a war on two fronts, it did not mean that he would be stupid enough not to prepare for a war on two fronts.
The most obvious result of this preparation is that although the German troops on the British Isles are far more effective than the expanded British Army, they are not the strongest German main force.
On March 28, 1941, one week after the German attack on the British mainland began, in an unknown town 20 miles south of Maidstone, the No. 3 Tank Armored Regiment where Carlius belonged was in full swing.
and drove towards the small town ahead.
Although street fighting is not conducive to tanks, compared to plains, there are too many obstacles in the buildings, and it is easy for the enemy to conceal their whereabouts and penetrate the tank armor at close range.
However, quantity can change quality. Starting with the No. 3 tank, and followed by a new grenadier regiment, the German army took less than an hour to conquer this unknown town.
Fortunately, the Iron Palm bazookas used by the British National Guards in the small town are not only easy to explode, but also have almost no accuracy among the public. Once the distance exceeds ten meters, this British version of the anti-tank bazooka becomes impossible to afford.
A decoration that has no effect at all.
An hour later, more than a thousand National Guard soldiers surrendered, leaving only a few stubborn extremists in the town still resisting.
So the final battle here was no longer important. After leaving more than a hundred grenadiers to clear out the remaining British troops, the 21st Armored Regiment and more than 1,300 grenadiers continued to advance towards Folkestone.
Next, as long as Folkestone can be successfully captured, it can refer to London and pose a huge threat to the British government in London.
To Churchill's surprise, the Germans took Folkestone without much effort.
In just about three hours, the British regular army and the National Guard here lost the important town of Folkestone in south London.
The German army suddenly attacked Folkestone, which once again frightened the British and also shocked Churchill.
He did not expect that when the German army received a fierce attack from the Soviet army on the Eastern Front and had to fight on two fronts, it could continue to launch an offensive against the British Empire, and its actions were so sharp.
It seems that the Germans will not have the best outcome that Churchill expected, which is to transfer troops from the west to support the east because of the pressure on the east, and then leave a small number of troops to maintain a defensive position in the British mainland.
On the contrary, the German troops who had already set foot on the British mainland continued to attack. It was as if the bad news from the Eastern Front had not reached their ears at all.
"Damn Reinhardt, his Germany is going to be finished, but he still has to drag the British Empire with him to be buried with him!" Churchill cursed angrily.
Yes, Churchill fully believed that Germany was doomed to fail from the moment it was attacked by the Soviet army.
Judging from the experience of the British Empire's many years of colonial rule, a huge land area means a huge strength. Other European countries may not realize it, but the United Kingdom fully understands that a country with an abnormally large land area like the Soviet Union,
What a terrifying war potential it has!
Why did Chamberlain pursue the appeasement policy so stubbornly before, and why did he get the support of so many party members?
It's not because these people are stupid, on the contrary, it's precisely because they understand how terrifying the Soviet Union's war potential is, and that no single European country can fight it alone. That's why they drive away wolves and gobble up tigers, and encourage Reinha to indulge.
The special Third Reich planned to make Germany a rival to the Soviet Union.
Even so, they believed that no matter how Germany annexed Austria, annexed Hungary, or annexed Czechoslovakia and occupied East Poland, they believed that no matter how strong Germany was, it would not be able to defeat the Soviet Union.
Judging by Germany's land and population, they have no chance of winning against an enemy like the Soviet Union.
But the worst thing is that now Britain also has no chance of winning against the German army due to a series of previous decision-making mistakes.
Then, an interesting phenomenon appeared.
The British believed that Germany would definitely not be able to defeat the Soviet army. But at the same time, they also discovered that it seemed impossible for them to defeat the German army in front of them.
But the current situation is that the Soviet Union insists on attacking Germany, and Germany refuses to stop attacking Britain.
The final result seems to be that Germany will die, but Britain will not be much better. Moreover, according to the current situation and war situation, Britain seems to die faster.
Churchill was in a daze. Could it be that after working so hard for so long, he would eventually lose both sides with Germany and become the spoils of the Soviet Union?
Moreover, after being reminded by Lord Gott, Churchill also understood that once Folkestone was lost, it would be basically impossible to regain Folkestone with the strength of his army. In that case, London, the capital of the British Empire, would be only a few steps away from falling.
Not far away.
When the Germans fought against the Soviet Union, they mainly fought on the land that was once Poland and Hungary, and it would not affect their core areas.
But the British Empire fought on its own soil, having worked hard and vigorously to build it for hundreds of years, and fought in the core areas of the empire that had never been exposed to war and were well developed.
Every cannonball falling on this land will be accompanied by huge losses!
The loss cannot be greater and must be stopped in time! This is what Churchill thought.
"Now we must increase our efforts to inspire the people's determination to resist Germany, try to slow down the pace of the German offensive, and use the National Guard to hold back the German army." Churchill once again thought of the delaying tactic of sacrificing cannon fodder.
The Prime Minister cannot resist and cannot. He has lost a big city like Folkestone in vain without saying a word. He will inevitably be criticized by the masses. This is also contrary to the tough image Churchill has always shown in front of the public. The smart Churchill will never
Would do such a stupid thing.
Therefore, before sending cannon fodder to die, he first asked the British Army to perform a symbolic resistance.