The Rise of the Third Reich

April 27, 1940, 10:45 am. As a French officer walked through the front line of the fighting in Dunkirk with a white flag, the Arras-Dunkirk Battle, which lasted for nearly a week, ended. Nearly 200,000 French troops in the Dunkirk encirclement laid down their weapons and surrendered to the German 1st Panzer Army!

On the 26th, most of the Belgian army (about 30,000 Belgian soldiers refused to obey the king's orders and pledged allegiance to the exiled Belgian government) also laid down their weapons and surrendered one after another.

The Allied Forces in Belgium, which had 700,000 troops (more than 400,000 British and French troops and nearly 300,000 Belgian troops) a dozen days ago, now only have about 130,000 British troops and 30,000 Belgian troops, and the defense zone has quickly shrunk to the vicinity of Ostend, desperately waiting for the end of the world!

"Admiral," Major General Harold Alexander, who had just assumed the post of commander of the 1st Army of the British Expeditionary Force, dragged his heavy steps into the British Expeditionary Force headquarters in the port of Ostend, and saluted Admiral Verrick, who was slumped in an armchair and looked completely collapsed. "Just received news that the 1st French Army Group surrendered to the Germans... They will be disarmed within 12 hours."

This news was expected by Admiral Verrick. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and he squeezed out a bitter smile, "Harold, we are finished, right?"

Major General Alexander nodded slightly. It seems that the British Expeditionary Force is finished! This is very obvious. Now 160,000 exhausted British and Belgians are surrounded by 1 million high-spirited German supermen, and those damn German supermen are still attacking tirelessly. The collapse of the entire line is just a matter of two days.

"Admiral, the troops can hold out for up to 48 hours..." As Major General Alexander spoke, dull artillery sounds continued to come from outside the headquarters. This was the German army bombarding the outer positions of Ostend.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

"Admiral, I suggest that the expeditionary force headquarters be withdrawn to the battleship Rodney at sea." Major General Alexander said, "It is enough to have the 1st Army headquarters command in Ostend."

Because Germany had always claimed to "bomb Paris flat", misleading the British and French Supreme Command, the number of British Expeditionary Forces was not as large as in history.

As of April 10, the expeditionary force had only 2 armies, 10 divisions and some auxiliary forces, with a total number of only 218,000 people (nearly 100,000 less than in history, which means that the British mainland army had 100,000 more than in the original history). In the past ten days of fighting, the British Expeditionary Force lost more than 63,000 people (killed, wounded and missing), but at the same time added 35,000 reserve soldiers (until the 19th, there were still soldiers added to the British Expeditionary Force).

There are still 120,000 British troops in the Ostend encirclement, which means that 70,000 people have successfully evacuated in the six and a half days from the 21st to now, including the headquarters of the 2nd Army of the Expeditionary Force and its direct troops. The British Expeditionary Force that remained in Belgium was all incorporated into the 1st Army commanded by Major General Alexander.

"How many people can be evacuated in 48 hours?" Admiral Verrick asked.

"It depends on the weather," Alexander said, "If there is heavy fog or rain, it is possible to evacuate more than 80,000. If the weather is good, then at most 50,000 to 60,000 people can be evacuated."

Because the German army is now attacking fiercely, the number of troops to be withdrawn is 80,000, which is the upper limit. If there are more, there will not be enough troops to maintain the integrity of the front line.

"Then make a plan based on 80,000 people first," Admiral Verrick whispered, "Arrange as many senior non-commissioned officers and officers as possible to retreat, we still need them to surround the empire. Harold, you retreat after 36 hours, and I will take care of the rest... As the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, I should be responsible for the failure, and you still have a bright future, and you can lead the war against Europe in the future!" Harold Alexander said nothing more, but silently saluted Admiral Verrick, and turned to leave the building where the expeditionary force headquarters was located. This building was the customs building of the original Ostend Port, facing the English Channel. Standing on the steps outside the main entrance of the building, Alexander saw an extremely tragic war scene. In the sky, Spitfires, Hurricanes, H-75s and other fighters flying from the British mainland were struggling to prevent the German bomber groups from approaching the British fleet on the sea. The fighter planes were tumbling up and down, fighting each other, and from time to time, the hit planes would fall from the sky with long smoke! The sea was full of British transport ships and warships of all sizes. Some ships were fully loaded with soldiers and were speeding towards the other side of the channel; some were docked on the beach or beside the mostly destroyed docks, waiting for the empty-handed British soldiers to board; others were doing their best to fire at the German planes in the sky to cover the ships of the retreating troops.

The beach and the dock were crowded with British officers and soldiers waiting to retreat. Although they were all very tired and their morale was not high, they were not desperate, and the order was still good. Even though the German bombs and shells rained down, there was no chaos at all. Under the command of the officers, these brave soldiers either sat on the ground and waited quietly, or lined up to wade towards the waiting ships on the sea.

They are very good soldiers, better than the French, and with the right equipment and training, they will perform even better than the German soldiers! While Alexander was praising the British soldiers who had just defeated the battle in his mind, he slowly walked towards a deck chair placed on the beach. Then he sat on it calmly and watched calmly as the troops boarded the ship in an orderly manner. His adjutant also handed him an apple. The major general took the apple and gnawed it, regardless of the roar of planes in the sky and the artillery fire on the ground. After eating the apple, he saw one of his division commanders, Major General Bernard Montgomery, walking quickly.

"Commander, I just received the order to evacuate. What's going on?" Major General Montgomery asked Alexander loudly.

"I gave the order." Alexander stood up from the deck chair and walked gracefully on the beach. "Your third division has withdrawn one-third of its personnel. Now it is your turn as the division commander."

According to Alexander's plan, all besieged British troops must first withdraw one-third of their personnel, including the commander. With these personnel, the force could be quickly re-established on British soil.

"But I am a division commander, how can I abandon two-thirds of my men and run for my life?" Montgomery shook his head. "Please let me stay and fight with my soldiers!"

"No," Alexander smiled, "Bernard, you are an excellent division commander, but you can't play any role in the German prisoner of war camp. Your mission is to return to the homeland, rebuild the army, and then fight back to liberate France and Belgium, and then invade the German mainland and occupy Berlin! "

"Occupy Berlin?" Montgomery looked at Alexander, "Do you really think this day will happen?"

"There is no doubt about it!" Alexander laughed. "Victory will be ours, because the Germans are building an empire they cannot feed. The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force will collapse their economy, and then we will counterattack. Believe me, this day will not be too far away!”

…

"April 30 at the latest," Hessmann handed the report from the Western Front headquarters to Hitler and Schleicher, and said with a smile, "Ostend will be captured on April 30, and on May 1 We can march to Paris."

After sitting down in the headquarters conference room, Hessmann added: "The German 18th Army is now responsible for attacking Ostend. In addition, the 16th Army and Army Group C are responsible for encircling the Maginot Line. Other ground forces The troops are adjusting and resting. They can launch the offensive again on May 1st and implement the 'red plan', and they should be able to capture Paris around May 10th."

His tone was very relaxed, because the "red plan" had no chance of failure. The main force of the French army was either destroyed in the Battle of Arras-Dunkirk or was surrounded by the Maginot Line. Most of the troops that can be used to encircle Paris are new troops without combat effectiveness.

"Italy will also join the war on May 1st and declare war on Britain and France!" Hitler also said good news, "The victory of this war will undoubtedly belong to us!"

Hitler obviously overestimated the Italian army. As a military layman, it is not surprising that he made such a mistake.

The German leader smiled and asked Hessmann, "Has General Halder set off?"

According to the recommendations of the Grand General Staff, Germany's operational focus will shift to the Mediterranean in the next stage, so a southern headquarters will be established. According to the agreement reached between Hitler and Mussolini, the headquarters of the German Army's Southern Front would be in Rome, and the German Army on the Southern Front would also cooperate with the Italian army. At the appropriate time, a Mediterranean Theater will also be established to unite the German and Italian armies. General Halder was appointed commander-in-chief of the German Army on the Southern Front on the recommendation of Hessmann, and this morning he left for Rome with a capable headquarters.

"It has already set off, and we should be able to arrive in Rome tonight." Hersman said, "The southern headquarters will be established by May 10."

"So... we really don't need to negotiate with the British?" Hitler asked thoughtfully, "If they lose North Africa and the Middle East, they should seriously consider obeying the leadership of the German Empire."

Hersman shrugged, "Leader, I think we can have peace talks through the League of Nations."

"League of Nations?" Hitler was stunned for a moment. "Marshal, what do you think?"

Hessmann smiled coldly: "The League of Nations should pass a resolution declaring the abolition of the Treaty of Versailles, the Treaty of Saint-Germain, the Treaty of Trianon, the Treaty of Sèvres, and the Treaty of Lausanne."