On August 15, 1939 AD, the third day after "Operation Eagle Day", the German Air Force's attack on Britain entered the craziest moment since the air war was launched.
On this day, the German Air Force came out in full force, with more than 4,000 fighter planes based on the European continent, attacking the British Isles one after another like a wave.
Because the German Air Force Commander Göring had made careful preparations in advance and took advantage of the superior performance of the S3 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, he spent a full week conducting detailed reconnaissance and photography of various strategic points in the UK, and designated several that must be destroyed.
At this location, the British army, navy and air force were temporarily plunged into an existential crisis.
At seven o'clock in the morning Berlin time, shortly after dawn, the German Air Force's first batch of 385 fighter planes, including ten reconnaissance planes, 220 bombers, 120 fighter planes and 35 torpedo planes,
It took off from airports across Belgium and flew towards the southeastern region of the UK.
In previous battles, the German Air Force's radio directional beacon navigation system was cracked by the British. Radio stations called "Mecon" were established across the UK to amplify the received German radio signals and then broadcast them out from the UK.
This led the German fighter planes astray and caused combat errors.
Mistake. After learning from the experience and lessons of the failure, this time the German Air Force adopted a new navigation system-beam guidance device. This navigation device can emit radio beams. German fighters can follow this mysterious beam to grasp their course.
and search for targets to carry out more precise bombing on the ground.
The British coastal radar had long been destroyed in continuous bombings. Now it was the vehicle-mounted radar exported to the UK from Nanhua that was in play. As soon as the Luftwaffe's fighter jets took off, the British discovered the Luftwaffe's attempt and immediately
Making a targeted layout, when the German Air Force was crossing the English Channel, the British aircraft had already taken off from the ground.
The German Air Force's coastal radar is also very clear about the dynamics of the British Air Force. It only needs to know from the mobilization of the British Air Force that the other side still has surviving radars. But unfortunately, so far, German bombers have destroyed the radar near the British coastline.
The base stations were basically blown up, and even the iron frames housing the radars had collapsed. However, the British were still able to capture the news of the air force's dispatch in advance, so the German Air Force had no choice but to list the British airport as a top bombing target.
When bombing Britain from the European continent, short airborne time is a big problem.
Whether it is the Messerschmitt BF109 or the BF111 "Destroyer", it cannot stay in the air for more than forty minutes in the British Isles. It is not bad for the southern region. Once it bombs cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham in central England,
, the time in the air will be shortened to twenty minutes, and because the fighter jets are fast, once they are grouped with bombers, the time in the air will be shortened accordingly.
Taking advantage of this weakness, the British Air Force first sent a small number of fighter jets to fight with the Luftwaffe fighter jets escorting them. When the Luftwaffe Air Force fighter jets needed to return, they then chased and killed them. At the same time, they sent a group of fresh troops to deal with the Luftwaffe Air Force bombers.
In the continuous battles, the Germans also learned to be extremely smart. In order to deal with the piecemeal tactics of the British, they divided their fighter jets into several strategic clusters. They planned the time for the fighter jets to attack based on the time they stayed in the air over the British Isles, and carried out attacks on the bombers.
Alternate cover.
Therefore, as early as the first batch of fighter jets arrived over the UK, the second batch of fighter jets located in Belgium had already taken off. Over the English Channel, they happened to collide head-on with the British fighter jets chasing them. One of them was quickly separated to fight, and the other one was
Then he went to reinforce the bombers and engaged in a head-to-head battle with British fighter planes.
While the fighter jets were fighting each other, the first wave of German bombers carried out fierce attacks on eight British airfields in the southeast and five aircraft manufacturing plants that were trying to resume production, while torpedo planes cruised in the Strait of Dover and attacked the British.
In the Channel and North Sea areas, British ships acting as early warning equipment carried out strikes, causing two destroyers to be hit and sunk by torpedoes, and four wooden fishing boats were shattered and capsized by the dense rain of bullets fired from the nose of torpedo planes.
Just when the British Air Force Command was mobilizing troops and actively responding to the battle, at 7:30 in the morning, the second wave of German strike fleets took off from the border airports in France and Belgium and flew towards the British mainland again.
The second wave of bombings targeted major cities in southeastern Britain, focusing on government buildings, military factories, power stations, and tap water in towns such as London, Maidstone, Dover, Margate, Medway, and Grays.
Factories, refineries, railway stations, bridges, warehouses and military camps were used to undermine the British will to resist and destroy the British army's source of combat supplies.
The third wave of planes and the fourth wave of planes took off from northern and central France at 8:00 and 8:30 in the morning respectively, heading towards the United Kingdom.
The goal of this wave of aircraft is to bomb the port cities of Brighton, Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth, and Plymouth in southern England, and to bomb as many ships parked in the ports as possible.
Create conditions for the landing launched by the army and navy after the air force completely controls the air superiority of the English Channel.
The German bombers took off and landed in waves, but fighter pilots had a much harder time. Generally, the bombers had to fly back and forth at least three times while the fighter jets had to land at least three times. The Germans had radar that could detect the movements of British fighter planes.
The British army also knew the whereabouts of German fighter planes, so the result was fierce aerial battles again and again. The German Air Force, which had a numerical advantage, gradually controlled the air superiority in southern Britain.
By the night of the 15th, all airports in southern England had been destroyed, and fighter planes were forced to retreat to central England, relying on radar instructions to dispatch to meet the enemy. Almost all cities were covered in thick smoke.
On the 15th alone, 221 passive British fighter planes were shot down and 74 were injured. The number of German fighter planes that had been carefully prepared for the war was only half of the British damage. Its huge number
The base number of fighter jets, production quantity and reserve pilot capacity determine that it can continue this consumption, but the British side is already feeling very strenuous.
At the same time, under the bombing of German fighter planes, among the ships parked in various ports, a total of one cruiser, five destroyers and more than 20 auxiliary ships suffered a devastating disaster. They were either broken into pieces and completely disintegrated, or they were broken into two pieces and sank.
Port, the British Royal Navy had to urgently withdraw from the English Channel and retreat to the Irish Sea.
On this day, almost the whole world's attention stayed on the British Isles. As the German government continued to publish new battle reports, the losses of the British Air Force, Army and Navy were quickly brought to the attention of people around the world by the media. Especially when the British
After the release of photos of Buckingham Palace, the Palace of Westminster, Whitehall, the Financial City, the Tower of London, and Big Ben being riddled with holes by aerial bombs in the capital London, almost the whole world agreed that once the German army launched a sea-crossing operation
, the fall of Britain is almost inevitable!
...
Early in the morning, in the dead of night.
In Madagascar, all the ships in the berths of Toamasina Naval Port fell into a deep sleep, and the only sound was the constant sound of sea water hitting the coastal rocks.
On the ocean outside the port, the shadows of ships are longing, and from time to time you can see the vigorous figures of cruisers and destroyers passing through the darkness. According to regulations, the fleet must keep half of the warships in cruise mode to deal with crises that may occur at any time.
.
One kilometer away from the military port base, there is a Victorian-style villa, which was the residence of a Chinese plantation owner, but now it has become a secret gathering place for French naval generals.
In the brightly lit hall, Major General Yaffron Leboail, Chief of Staff of the French Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet, held a glass of wine with a charming aroma in his hand, took a greedy sip, and then said loudly with a flushed face: "Everyone
, As expected, in today's air battle in Britain, the British were completely defeated. Under the German bombing, they were unable to resist. The air control of their territory had been completely placed in the hands of the Germans.
"Although we are thousands of miles away, we can fully imagine that once we defect to the British, our fleet will not only be sent to the Seychelles Islands, but also engage in an unprecedented fierce battle with the powerful Japanese navy that just defeated the British Navy's Eastern Fleet at the beginning of the year.
Fight and survive by chance,
We will also quickly move north to the English Channel to prepare for a possible landing operation launched by Germany. If the Germans have successfully landed, we will still have to risk the strings dropped by bombers to cut off the German sea transportation lines. Our only
The end result is annihilation of the entire army!"
"Yes, judging from the development of the situation, this is by no means an unfounded worry!"
Brigadier General Mele Sanleko, the Fleet Operations Staff, held a cigar in his hand, blew out a long puff of smoke, and said with resentment: "The fleet is going to perish. If we don't reverse this situation in time, we will be destroyed soon."
We can only party in heaven! Alas, Commander Laborde is too arbitrary, he doesn’t listen to our opinions at all! In the past few days, he even sent people to monitor our actions... I’m really fed up with him!”
Seeing that the mood was almost brewing, Admiral Esteva, the plenipotentiary representative of South China who was invited to attend the party, stood up and toasted everyone with a glass of wine. After drinking it all, he said:
"Generals, I am not being alarmist. The two generals Leboyle and Sanleco just said that the consequences will be lighter. There is reason to worry that once Laborde colludes with the British, in order to ensure the safety of the fleet,
Control, everyone here will be purged... Whether it is Commander Laborde or the British who ultimately benefit, they all need to keep the fleet firmly in their hands!
"From all indications, Commander Laborde has decided to stand alone. Prime Minister Pétain and His Excellency Darlan, Minister of the Navy and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, have lost effective control of the fleet. Judging from what Admiral Laborde has said and done,
He is inclined to become the leader of the third party in France with the support of the British, and with the blood of his naval colleagues, he will lay a ladder for promotion and wealth! At this time, it is time for everyone to make a decision!"
"Yes, the situation is indeed critical!" Commodore Andrew Yamena, the fleet's communications staff, put down the tea cup that smelled of cum in his hand and said seriously:
"Fortunately, so far, the fleet communications department has not received a reply from the British. At the same time, we have monitored the telecommunications signals from the Governor's Palace and found no abnormalities. This proves that the people sent by Laborde have not yet contacted the British.
Once contacted, we still have time to respond.
"Gentlemen, if Laborde gets a promise from the British to speak publicly to the naval officers, it will be difficult for us to save ourselves. After all, for many people, the British's false promises are still very attractive, especially
This is when there is a Yankee standing behind you!"
"But--"
Fleet Aviation Commander Rear Admiral Martini said somewhat cautiously: "Labord now has the loyalty of a group of naval generals and has the Marine Corps in his hands. At the same time, the colonial army of Madagascar is also controlled by his ally, Governor Armand.
, how can we persuade him to change his mind?"
"Don't worry too much about this!"
Admiral Esteva, the representative of Nanhua, said: "Actually, we here represent the core force of the Indian Ocean Fleet! As long as everyone is determined and works together, Laborde does not have many trump cards... The colonial army only includes
There are 2,000 Malagasy natives and 4,000 Senegalese soldiers, plus more than 200 French officers. The combat effectiveness of such an army does not need to be considered at all!"
Lieutenant General Provence Grillio, deputy commander of the fleet, asked: "Your Excellency, Admiral, do you want us to openly oppose Laborde? The French Navy has never had a tradition of betrayal. If this precedent is set, we will still do it in the future."
How do we lead troops to fight and let our subordinates give us military advice?"
"betray!?"
Esteva shook his head vigorously: "The Vichy government, led by Marshal Pétain, openly surrendered to Germany. Is this considered a betrayal? De Gaulle was promoted by Marshal Pétain, but he erected a 'Free France' sign in London.
Flag, does it count as betrayal? Laborde disobeys the orders of Marshal Pétain and Admiral Darlan and tries to stand on his own. Does it count as betrayal? Now, what you need is not these hypocritical things, but to save yourself from the misery you are about to face.
destiny!
"The army has always allowed only one voice. Some time ago, your opinions were contrary to Laborde. At that time, Laborde was under pressure and did not dare to do anything to you. But as long as he has the support of the British and his strength has been strengthened,
You may be imprisoned at any time. Have you ever thought about your family members waiting for you at home in Nanhua? Have you ever thought about the families of those navy officers?
"Since ancient times, history has been written by the victors. Our powerful army from South China is currently advancing towards Karachi. It is expected to capture this largest port city in western India within a week and within a month.
Control Bombay and the Persian Gulf. If you lead the ships north, it will greatly accelerate our pace of conquering India and the Persian Gulf. By then, both the Persian Gulf and Kempard Bay will become extremely safe because of Nanhua's powerful air force.
Inland sea.
"Don't forget, our government has solemnly promised that once the fleet returns north, every general here will receive millions of dollars in remuneration. They can choose to continue serving in the navy, or they can invest in setting up factories and become industrialists.
, you can also use this huge sum of money to open a business and lay the foundation of a business empire. It can be said that as long as you choose to join the South China Navy, you will have glory and wealth at your fingertips. On the contrary, if you join the British Navy, you will have nothing but miserable cannon fodder.
Less than."
Everyone's breathing became rapid.
Today, the French navy is struggling to survive, sandwiched between Germany and the United Kingdom. In fact, most naval generals have lost their so-called national self-respect and pride, and they no longer value maintaining traditions.
Just think about the people at the top of the pyramid in the Vichy government, groveling in front of the Germans, and then look at de Gaulle walking between the royal family and the British government in London, begging his father and grandma, just to get recognition from the Allies, you will know
The French have long since lost face, and the only thing that can impress them now is interests.
Fleet Commander Admiral Laborde has a very good idea. With the help of the British, he succeeds and becomes the savior of the country and the nation. Even if he fails, he can hide in the French colonies in the Americas and have a taste of the Turkish emperor under the protection of Britain and the United States.
However, the benefits he could give to his generals were too few, and he was unwilling to share power. He only thought about himself from beginning to end. No wonder the generals were alienated!
Seeing that everyone was a little moved, Esteva decided to add more information: "Everyone, the commander of the Marine Corps, Colonel Montini Varga, has actually been standing with us for a long time. Due to his extremely special status,
, it is difficult to get together with everyone, but he promises that once you make a decision, he will definitely help you.
"To tell you the truth, it was Colonel Montini Varga who revealed General Laborde's trip to Antananarivo to meet with Governor Armand, so we can safely hold today's gathering. Marine Corps
Half of the three thousand officers and soldiers are tired of fighting, and the remaining half hate cooperating with the British who betrayed France. However, the future of the entire France and our fleet is uncertain now. They cannot choose their own destiny, so they can only choose
The opportunity is delivered to everyone present!
"Currently, there are not many people in the fleet who hold the same idea as the Marine Corps, but until now, there is no one who leads the way, or a leading group... I think as long as you all stand up,
If you raise your arms and shout, there will be a flood of people who will respond. I really don’t want everyone to let go of such a good opportunity so easily..."
Lieutenant General Provence Grillio asked: "I wonder if Nanhua will keep its promise after we bring the fleet there. What if they break their promise?"
Esteva smiled and said: "It's normal for everyone to be worried, but I don't think it's necessary! Take me as an example. After I was deceived by that guy Jinsol, I was full of resentment and complained and accused him many times.
This guy's betrayal, but after living in South China for a period of time, especially after visiting the manor, business houses and factories of French immigrants, and going to the shipyard to get along with workers with dual nationality of France and South China for a few months, I suddenly became interested in what happened to that land.
Everything became interesting.
"Whether you believe it or not, I have to tell you that the first batch of officers who chose to join the South China Navy are doing well now. They have served as fleet commander, chief of staff, captain, first mate and other positions. Don't like
Those who fought in the war also served as instructors at the Naval Academy to cultivate naval talents for South China! The South China Navy, which was formed with the blood, bones and soul of the French Navy, is developing at an unprecedented speed!
"The land of Nanhua is full of vitality, which is very different from the old and rotten atmosphere I felt in France. I loved that strong and powerful atmosphere, so after hesitating for half a year, I finally chose to join the Nanhua Navy and was quickly awarded the title of Deputy
Commander's position! Think about it, everyone, even an old and rotten person like me has been used in such a important way. What would it be like if you went there?
"Let me talk about everyone's future. Now Nanhua is vigorously developing its navy. Almost all shipyards have shipyard workers from France. New ships are launched almost every month. So far, Nanhua's shipbuilding industry
Early technology accumulation has been completed, and warships of less than 50,000 tons can be manufactured. France's excellent shipbuilding technology has been continued and developed in Nanhua.
"Everyone, I believe everyone is well aware of the current situation of the French Navy. Since the local shipyards have basically been occupied by the Germans or have stopped production, every ship sunk means one less ship. Do you expect the British and Americans? They added themselves
It is too late to provide us with warships, and it is impossible to provide us with warships. When one day all the warships are consumed, you will be unemployed, and your families will still be waiting for your salary to support their families.
"Before I rushed to Europe, Chairman An Yi personally promised me that after arriving in South China, if you are unwilling to go to sea, you can choose to teach in a naval academy or serve as an instructor on a training ship. If you are still willing to serve in the front-line navy,
In the future, you can choose from the South China Pacific Fleet, the Indian Ocean Fleet, the Persian Gulf, the Beibu Gulf, the South China Bay Fleet and other regional squadrons, and your official position will definitely not be lower than what it is now.
"South China is a brand new, vibrant country. Its army and air force are first-rate. If coupled with a powerful navy, the future will be limitless. Chairman An Yi promised that if France successfully regains its independence in the future, he will allow us to leave South China.
Navy, join the French Navy and fully carry forward the blood of the French Navy in our homeland!"
All the generals looked at each other, feeling that Nanhua had done everything it could, and it was full of sincerity.
Now, the French Navy is in an extremely difficult environment. On the one hand, the British Navy does not allow a naval force that may fall to Germany at any time. On the other hand, the Germans do not trust the power of the French Navy and are always on the lookout for it.
It wants to disarm the South China Navy in order to strengthen the German Navy, but the weak Nancy government is unable to do anything about it. There are also many contradictions within the top management. In this case, perhaps joining the South China Navy is the best way out at the moment.
Lieutenant General Provence Grillio finally expressed his position: "Okay, I agree to implement military admonishment against General Laborde. I wonder who else is willing to act with me?"
Now that we have a leader, things will be easier to handle. Rear Admiral Yavlon Leboele, the Fleet Chief of Staff, who is of Jewish descent, raised his hand: "I do!"
Commodore Andrew Yamena, the communications staff officer of the fleet, who had been bribed with huge sums of money in advance, also raised his hand: "I am willing to participate in the grand event!"
Fleet Operations Chief Commodore Mele Sanleko, who had his family in his heart, also raised his hand: "I agree!"
Subsequently, the fleet aviation commander Rear Admiral Martini, the "Richelieu" battleship captain Rear Admiral Rize Nadir, the "Lorraine" battleship captain Marseille Ambewee Rear Admiral, and the fleet flight staff Esther Bou
Brigadier General Luc and more than 20 generals and commanders all voted in favor.
At this point, Esteva finally felt relieved and had a happy smile on his face.
Esteva, who was first captured and later defected to Nanhua, had a dark mentality, that is, to bring as many French naval officers as possible to Nanhua as colleagues, so that in the future everyone would be a traitor, and the eldest brother would not say anything.
Brother, his emotions have naturally sublimated. An Yi gave him a reward of five million US dollars for this mission. In other words, if he can successfully pull the Indian Ocean Fleet to South China, then his personal account will be added
With seven figures, you can become truly wealthy.
No one will have trouble with money, especially for the current French people, everything is fake and money is real. Perhaps this is also the true thought of all those present at the meeting.
Afterwards, a group of people started secret discussions and finally came up with a specific action plan before dawn, deciding to start taking action when Laborde returned to Toamasina Port. After taking control of Laborde, in the name of Fleet Command,
, mobilized troops and generals to lure the British Navy and the Japanese Navy into a fight, and then the main force of the fleet quietly transferred from Mauritius to the Chagos Islands and headed north to the South Asian subcontinent.
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