0p0 Third Reich Episode 426
Third Reich Episode 426
Although Churchill immediately issued an order to block the news, among the top British officials, the news was not blocked, but spread more and more bizarrely.
Some officials even believed that the whole of London was full of "fifth columns", and it was the fifth columns that took Mosley away.
The statement about the fifth column originally originated from the Spanish Civil War.
At that time, Franco's Spanish National Army troops and Rommel's German Expeditionary Force launched an attack on Madrid under the control of the Republican Army at the same time.
At that time, a British reporter asked Franco which army he thought would capture Madrid first.
Faced with this tricky question, it is actually not easy to answer.It stands to reason that the capital of Spain should of course be taken back by the Spanish troops under Franco's command.But judging from the situation, the one most likely to enter Madrid at that time was clearly the [-]th Armored Division under the powerful Rommel.
In the end, Franco's mechanism resolved this problem, neither talking nonsense against the facts nor losing face to the Spaniards.
He replied to the British reporter: "The fifth column was the first to capture Madrid."
It is well known that Franco had only four columns at that time.And this so-called fifth column refers to the insiders and traitors of the Republican Army who supported Franco in the Spanish capital Madrid.
Therefore, after the British reporter brought this sentence back to the country, the British began to use the fifth column as a synonym for the enemy's inside line.
Mosley was swaggered from London by the Germans, once again evoking the British's memories of the fifth column.
Many British people believe that London, the capital of the United Kingdom today, is full of insiders and spies that the enemy has ambushed in advance, just like Madrid, the capital of Spain.
And some British politicians still take this issue as an issue, claiming that if the capital is moved to Belfast, where there are fewer traitors, the situation may be much better.
Those politicians claimed that London had long been targeted by the Germans, and many insiders had been ambushed.But Belfast, the administrative center of Northern Ireland, is different. It is relatively marginal and not easy to be valued by the Germans, so it will not be ambushed by the Germans in advance to a large number of insiders.
Of course, the voices and reasons for moving the capital to Belfast are far more than these.
Many politicians believe that Belfast, as the political and cultural center and the largest industrial city in Northern Ireland, has a rich heritage and a high level of industry, which can completely replace London.
On the one hand, Belfast has the most and largest airport in Northern Ireland, which can park most of the planes evacuated from the British Isle. Among them, the fighter force is stationed nearby, and can better surround the new capital.
And Belfast has just the southwest side of Belfast Bay, the largest seaport in the Northern Ireland region of the United Kingdom.As long as the transportation is properly arranged, the main institutional personnel and important equipment in London can be transported to the port of Belfast in a short period of time, and then quickly stationed in Belfast.
The new capital is so superior in environment, plus it regains possession of an Irish Sea, providing the island of Ireland with another natural defensive location.This has met the dual needs of political officials and the military at the same time, and it is simply the best choice for moving the capital.
After the relocation, the British capital will be away from the front lines and will be operational again.And the security and defense pressure of the new capital will be greatly superior in an instant because of the barrier of the Irish Sea.
Therefore, when the Allied forces had just captured Harmsworth Park and Lambeth Hospital in south London and had not yet advanced to the Thames, the British government on the north bank of the Thames had already begun the work of moving the capital.
Chapter 642 I'm Watching Africa
"Moving the capital...?"
In North Africa, Admiral Wavell, who had just received Gott's notice of moving the capital, took the telegram and chewed it over and over in disbelief.
In the telegram, Gott has made the situation very clear.The situation in London couldn't be worse. Prime Minister Winston Churchill went crazy and yelled and cursed non-stop.
In London, there is no one who can preside over the overall situation and turn the tide.Lord Gort said frankly that what he can do now is to withdraw as many troops as possible to the island of Ireland to lay a good foundation for future landing defense battles.
In addition, Gott also told Wavell in the telegram that the local side has no chance to come back. All the local army can do is to delay as much as possible and try their best to keep the island of Ireland.
Great Britain, the largest of the British Isles, is doomed to fall completely.Although the German army only captured a small part of the British island, since the last main force of the British army was concentrated in the London area, London was not safe, and there was no force behind it for defense.
Even if England has not yet fully fallen, Scotland is even more unscathed, but the sad reminder is that the British army has no troops to defend those lands that have not yet fallen.
This is a typical example of losing people in order to save land, and as a result, everyone loses land.
"Commander, it seems that Lord Gott can't hold on on the mainland." Wavell's adjutant, who had read the telegram, said in a low voice at this time: "The future of the British Empire depends on us."
"Count on us..." Wavell repeated softly.
After a while, Wavell smiled helplessly and said: "The native country counts on us, who can we count on? Originally, our army was at a disadvantage, and now the native land is no longer able to provide any assistance to North Africa. It's okay if the war goes well, But now..."
"When the armored troops on the right attacked the outer positions of the Alfaya Pass, they encountered a powerful anti-tank gun from the German army and suffered heavy losses. Of the 39 tanks in the first wave of attack, 35 were killed by the Germans. Damn powerful anti-tank guns destroy."
"There is a Matilda tank regiment in the middle. As a spearhead, I originally planned to quickly take Capucho Fort." Gritting his teeth, Wavell confided to the adjutant with difficulty: "We have not encountered such a strong German army in the middle." The anti-tank guns encountered are basically the most common 37mm anti-tank guns in the German army."
"But our armored troops in the middle can't beat the armored troops deployed by the Germans in the middle!" Wavell said, clutching his head almost collapsed.
"Our 7th Tank Brigade equipped with cruiser tanks on the left side originally planned to outflank the German flank, but was ambushed by the German flank at Harfield Ridge and retreated back to its original position."
His adjutant is also clear about what Wavell said.
Originally, Wavell's plan was that in the three-way attack, even if one of them succeeds, a breakthrough can be achieved and the strategic goal can be achieved.
As a result, it now appears that none of the three-way offensives succeeded.On the contrary, several offensives were ambushed and counterattacked by the German army in advance.
In particular, the new anti-tank guns that appeared inexplicably by the German army are even more powerful and incredible.Wavell was surprised to find that none of the tanks in his hand could withstand even one shot of the powerful anti-tank guns of the German army!
In fact, the British army concentrated a part of the 22th Indian Division and the [-]nd Guards Brigade in the Alphaya Valley, and the divisions launched attacks on the pass from both sides.As a result, the German artillery of unknown origin happened to launch violently at the pass, and they suffered heavy losses.
In the first large-scale tank duel between Britain and Germany in the true sense of Capucho, the British army worked hard and only slightly suppressed the German tanks that were not as many as their own.
In the report, the frontline troops have reported that the number of German tanks is significantly less than their own.This also means that a large part of the German tanks, which originally had the same number of armored forces as the British tanks, must have not appeared.
The most terrifying enemy is the one that did not appear, which made Wavell feel guilty and timid.
"Commander, should we withdraw our troops now?" The adjutant suggested, somewhat at a loss.
At this time, the adjutant thought of General Montgomery who stayed in Egypt.Before the start of the war, Montgomery said that this time the offensive force was too scattered, and the offensive was bound to be weak.
As a result, now, everything is as Montgomery predicted at the beginning, and the three-way offensive is very difficult. Rommel's African Army, the German Army, and the Commonwealth Army are fighting so hard.
Coupled with the Italian troops under Rommel's command, plus the French and Italian troops in the hands of Berente and Garibaldi, Wavell's North African British army suddenly appeared "under great pressure".
"Order the center to step up the offensive, concentrate the armored forces to take Kapuzo Fort, and then occupy Musai near there, and detour the German defenders in Halfaya!"
Wavell finally had to order his strongest line of troops, the most armored center army, to step up the attack.
"After occupying Halfaya, we must ask the German prisoners what kind of anti-tank guns they used to hit our tanks." Wavell added with lingering fear when he recalled the huge tank losses of his own side.
......
"The British army is going to attack Kapuzo Fort, so let's give them Kapuzuo."
At the same time, in the headquarters of the German-Italian African Army, Rommel joked to his subordinates confidently.
His last attack failed due to a serious shortage of troops, which made him lose face.
But this time, Rommel, who commanded the entire German-Italian-African Army, found that before he exerted his strength, the British Army Wavell was almost unable to support and fell down.
In Rommel's hands, there is still a German armored regiment, an Italian light armored division, and 2 Italian infantry divisions that have not been put into battle.It was only the 30th Infantry Division deployed by Admiral Hans on the two wings and the two armored regiments sent by Rommel to the center, and the British army did not make any progress.
Now that the British army has fought so softly, it will be much easier to handle next.
Rommel smiled slyly, and immediately ordered: "Leave Hans in the German defensive positions around Fort Capuzzo and Muse, and hand them over to the two divisions of the Italians, deliberately lose to Wavell, and let his troops Put it into the Halfaya Valley. In addition, let the German 15nd Armored Regiment of the reserve team and the No.[-] Light Armored Division of the Italian Army go through Sidioma and attack the flank of the British army in the middle."