Chapter 400128Chapter NaN

August 24, 1940

Southern Britain, Gloucestershire

“General de Gaulle is the new Napoleon! With him, we will be victorious!”

“Advance! Long live France!”

The French Army, having perfectly defended against the British offensive, was greatly inspired by the major victory, and De Gaulle launched an immediate offensive without even waiting for orders from his home country.

The sacrifice of 80,000 out of 400,000 British troops was a more serious loss than the numbers suggested.

The British Army, whose standing army was greatly reduced by disarmament, had few proper soldiers who could stand at the vanguard of an offensive, and most of those 80,000 were from that very standing army.

The majority of the surviving British forces were now Home Guards mobilized after the war started, and though their morale was high, armed with anger towards France and patriotism, they could not hold on without skilled soldiers to anchor them.

“Run!”

Unlike in the past, when courage and vigor could accomplish anything, modern warfare had changed to the point where a single well-trained and well-equipped platoon could annihilate hundreds of brave soldiers.

The Home Guard, who had fought reasonably well against the French Army from the trench positions already established by Montgomery alongside veteran soldiers, were pushed back in an instant when they launched a half-hearted offensive and were counterattacked.

Amidst the chaos, General Alan Brooke quickly rallied the remaining troops and barely established a defense line before London to stop the enemy from advancing on the capital, but de Gaulle once again chose to bypass London.

Having learned from one trial and error and improved upon it, and with their vigor boosted by victory, the British army that had left its established defenses to launch an offensive began to crumble miserably under the French counterattack.

“Advance, advance! The cavalry tanks need not worry about cities or towns! Focus only on cutting off London!”

“Leave the breakthrough to the cavalry tanks! We will annihilate the enemies remaining in the rear!”

The combination of Charles de Gaulle, his close friend Alphonse Juin, and his subordinate Philippe de Hauteclocque, who had studied maneuver warfare while observing German battles, was now perfected after one trial and error.

When de Gaulle and his generals found themselves short on radios, they managed to execute maneuver warfare by using light tanks equipped with command vehicle radios as 'messenger tanks' as a last resort.

Alan Brooke, who had already lost most of his tanks, which were inferior to the French in performance anyway, had no way to counter this, and de Gaulle's French army succeeded in cutting off London and central Britain by repeating breakthroughs and annihilations, just like the German army's.

A week to launch the offensive, and another week to be counterattacked again.

The time it took for Britain, which had put up a decent fight on the southern England defense line despite the surprise attack, to fall into crisis again was a mere two weeks.

The southern England offensive, forced by politicians concerned with public opinion, dealt an unimaginable critical blow to Britain.

---

August 30, 1940

London, the capital of Britain, the War Office

“A complete failure.”

That was the first thing Winston Churchill said after a long silence, seated before the War Cabinet and his generals.

During these two weeks of battle, Churchill had aged ten years.

France had turned the completely failed offensive into a counterattack before Britain could even prepare, isolating London from the rest of the country, and Britain's ambitious 400,000-strong army had dwindled to less than 300,000.

The fact that the standing army accounted for most of those losses added to Britain's despair.

The British Army's only merit was its elite troops operated under a volunteer system, despite its small numbers, and they had lost them.

Even if more troops were mobilized, there was no way to recover this loss.

First Sea Lord Admiral Dudley Pound, whose face had been beaming after the great victory in the Battle of Malta, was now also filled with worry.

“The French Navy has begun a commerce raiding operation off the coast of London.”

As Charles de Gaulle cut off the land routes to London, the French Navy blatantly began a commerce raiding operation to starve the capital while Force H was away in the Mediterranean Sea.

The British Navy, whose only remaining main force in the home waters were the battlecruiser Hood, the old Revenge-class battleship Ramillies, and the aircraft carriers Ark Royal and Courageous, had no way to stop the French Navy with its eight battleships, especially with air superiority also being contested.

“Can’t we recall Force H?”

“The Mediterranean Fleet was virtually annihilated in the last Battle of Malta.

We can't ignore the possibility of France deploying battleships to the Mediterranean, so we must consider Force H as the Mediterranean Fleet, and without them, the fleet can't even stop the Italian Navy, which has lost all its battleships.”

Warspite, which had barely survived the fierce engagement, would take months to repair, and Malaya's damage was so severe that there was talk of using it as a fixed battery in Alexandria.

Although the Battle of Malta was a victory, Britain had fought against overwhelming odds and suffered greater losses in auxiliary ships, so this was a natural result.

“Ugh…”

Churchill groaned.

London was a metropolis, a massive one at that. With more than half of the British mainland army gathered to defend it, without proper sea supplies, both the residents and the military were on the verge of starvation.

“Shouldn’t we inform the people of this fact?”

“…No, not yet.”

Churchill shook his head at General Ismay's question.

If the people learned the full war situation, they would fall into uncontrollable chaos, and that would be the end for Britain.

“Parliament is also in an uproar, Prime Minister.

What are you going to do?”

“Those damn gentlemen…”

Churchill muttered gloomily. It was the members of the House of Commons who had pushed the unwanted Prime Ministership onto him at the worst moment in British history and had sung for an offensive to retake the homeland.

Of course, Churchill himself had been eager to launch an offensive, but those same gentlemen who had clamored for it were now only thinking of pinning all the blame on him.

‘Why, you think I don't know you're preparing to blame me again if we get involved in the war and fail this time? I still remember what you did to John Fisher!’

Churchill closed his eyes, recalling Halifax's still vivid shout.

But if Churchill took the fall here, the stability of the state, already in the worst situation, would hit rock bottom.

Not only was there no one in the Conservative Party willing to take over as Prime Minister, but Churchill himself did not want to think about stepping down from the premiership he had so arduously obtained without achieving anything.

Churchill frowned as he looked at a telegram that had just arrived from the front.

It was from General Bernard Law Montgomery.

It stated that although he had suggested the use of paratroopers, other generals' influence had been significant in the planning process, and that he had opposed continuing the offensive to save the paratroopers.

With a cynical sneer, Churchill looked at the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Ironside, with tired eyes.

“I believe the one most responsible for this defeat is General Alan Brooke, who continued the offensive to rescue the paratroopers and misjudged that the French Army would launch a counterattack on London. Do you not agree?”

Ironside looked like he desperately wanted to protest, but he spoke indirectly instead.

“Prime Minister. If I were in his position, I would have made the same judgment.

If I could have avoided launching an offensive, I would have.”

Everyone knew the chances of success were low, but it was a necessary offensive to show the people, whose homeland had been occupied, that the British Army was doing its best.

No one wanted to pin the disgrace of an incompetent general on a man who had rebuilt the capital's defenses to avoid the worst, even as that offensive failed miserably and was met with a counterattack.

Instead of refuting Ironside’s words, Churchill nodded.

“I suppose so. But he is the one in that position now, and someone has to take responsibility.”

Montgomery's behavior was utterly infuriating, but his rank was too low to pin the blame for such a massive defeat on him for just mentioning paratroopers, and it was right after the media had been praising him as the hero who had defeated the last offensive.

“…A hero who gave hope to the people must remain a hero.”

Ironside let out a deep sigh but offered no further argument, and Churchill turned his gaze to Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden.

“Foreign Minister, tell Germany.

We will pay the full price we promised, so please help us urgently. As you know, London will not hold for long.”

“Understood, Prime Minister.”

Having spoken, Churchill raised a hand and covered his eyes with a weary face.

The European front was perilous, but from Singapore, desperate reports of being unable to hold on any longer arrived daily, and the civil unrest in India was rapidly spreading throughout the country.

In the end, the gamble he had wagered as the last hope to protect the British Empire had failed, shedding the blood of countless young men.

Perhaps Halifax was right, at least about the British Empire crumbling.

After a long silence, he spoke.

“Let's request the Dominions to enter the war on the condition that we guarantee their independence.”

---

September 2, 1940

Northern Germany, Berlin - Government Building

I was spending a pleasant time at home with Claudia on my birthday, August 15th, of all days, when I received the unwanted birthday gift of news that Britain had launched an offensive.

Unsurprisingly, the two-week battle ended in Britain's crushing defeat.

Thanks to that, we called an emergency meeting on the very next Monday.

“Britain is finally asking us to dispatch troops, saying they'll give us all the promised funds.”

My father looked quite amused.

Ah, he really has a bad personality.

“The problem is, the request is not simply for the army to land, but to break the blockade of London.”

Weizsäcker's statement presented us with a dilemma.

Our original plan was to go around through the North Sea and land General Rommel's unit in east-central England, or Scotland if need be.

This route was safer from the threat of the French Navy due to the long distance, but it would take just as long.

That would prolong the blockade of London, and Churchill's request was to fight a naval battle, secure sea control, and land in eastern England.

“They’re asking us to clean up the mess they made. Isn’t that absurd?”

As expected, Ludwig Beck, who never particularly liked Britain, was negative.

“But the bulk of Britain's forces are trapped in London. If the blockade drags on, their combat power will drop significantly, and there’s a great risk that General Rommel's troops could fail to lift the blockade even after they arrive.”

Director Canaris, on the other hand, had arranged contacts with Britain since the time of the Black Orchestra and had been a double agent against the Nazis, so he was rather favorable towards Britain.

Certainly, Canaris's opinion had a point.

The unit led by General Rommel is just a detachment. At most, it's four divisions, 90,000 troops.

It includes some elite armored units, so from Britain's perspective, they'd be grateful for even this, but would they be able to break through de Gaulle's French forces fighting alongside the British Army, which consists of conscripts and Home Guards outside of the troops trapped in London?

My father stroked his chin, lost in thought, then spoke.

“We’ll have to ask for a higher price.”

Ah, so that's your conclusion…

Having received such thunderous news while I was enjoying my birthday with Claudia, I didn't feel like defending Churchill either.

The problem was, with India and Singapore under attack, the Mediterranean Fleet having suffered enormous damage, and London under blockade, does Britain really have the money to spare?

“Even if we have to demand other conditions if they can’t, we have to help Britain now.”

My father's brow furrowed slightly at my words, but I added on.

“If London falls, not only does the money they owe us disappear, but it will be difficult to protect the trade route with America.

If we can't receive the money immediately, we should demand government bonds, or even form an alliance and make Britain provide proper help in the war against the Soviet Union.”

“Hmph.

I'll keep that in mind, Vice-Minister.”

My father acknowledged my point, albeit with a displeased look on his face.

This means it's finally time for the Reichsmarine to shine, but honestly, our navy is very worrisome. Is this even possible?

Force H is out in the Mediterranean, and in the Reichsmarine, realistically, there are no ships other than the Bismarck that can properly face French battleships.

I thought for a moment, then spoke.

“We have to help, but realistically, there’s no guarantee that the British Home Fleet and the Reichsmarine alone can defeat the French Navy.”

“Then what do you propose? To detour through the North Sea?”

“No, not that. We can’t delay any longer…”

The Italian Front Army is advancing according to Manstein's plan, having captured Venice and crossed the river, now preparing for the next advance.

The Italian Air Force is practically annihilated—

“Let’s send the Luftwaffe to London. Shouldn’t we teach the French Air Force, which is brawling with a surprised Royal Air Force, what a real air force is?”

It’s a tradition of modern warfare to call in the air force when things go wrong.

Let's start a reverse Battle of Britain.