The Rise of the Third Reich

At midnight on May 12, 1940, Toulon, the home port of the French High Seas Fleet, burst into flames. The desperate battle between British torpedo bombers and the French fleet continued. After the British first assault wave left, the second assault wave, also composed of 36 "Swordfish" aircraft, roared in!

An oil depot storing aviation fuel in the Port of Toulon was accurately hit by a bomb dropped by the British, causing an explosion and fire. Another oil depot storing heavy oil was also bombed, and a large amount of fuel leaked into the sea.

There were also five battleships on the sea that were hit and caught fire, namely the "Richelieu", the "Bretagne", the "Gourba", the "Dunkirk" and the "Strasbourg" Number.

Although the three battleships except the "Brittany" and the "Groba" were not seriously damaged, there was no possibility of sinking. However, the fire caused by the explosion could not be extinguished for a while due to the lack of manpower on the ship, turning these battleships into floating torches, pointing the way for the British second assault wave.

"torpedo!"

"Anti-impact, prepare."

"Boom, boom..."

Two more black barracuda-like shadows slammed into the burly body of the "Richelieu" from under the sea. Huge waves crashed onto the deck, and the nearly 50,000-ton hull was shaking violently.

"Report damage..."

Before his body could regain his balance, Captain Henry had already grabbed the ship's phone and started asking loudly.

"Two mines hit the mine protection compartment amidships, no serious damage..."

The "Richelieu" battleship is a cutting-edge battleship built only 40 years ago. It has a very strong mine protection design and the mine protection compartment is very deep, so it will naturally not be seriously injured by aviation torpedoes.

However, Admiral Darlan was very worried about the fleet's flagship "Bretagne", "Provence" and "Groba" and several other old ships launched before World War I. Although they have also undergone modern modifications, the outdated foundation is there, and it is impossible to reinvent themselves.

"Your Excellency, Admiral," the communications officer on the Richelieu suddenly shouted, "Admiral Lapolde ordered our ship to move closer to the Brittany, and the commander's flag is to be transferred to our ship..."

The Brittany is doomed!

Upon hearing this order, Darlan knew what was happening... The flagship "Bretagne" must not be able to withstand it and was about to sink. He gritted his teeth and thought: The British are so abominable. France should immediately form an alliance with Germany and declare war on the perfidious British!

"Admiral, the Guba was severely damaged, the engine room was ruptured, all power was lost, the deck tilted 10 degrees, and water is being filled!"

"Admiral, the port side of the 'Provence' is flooded, the stern rudder is damaged, and it is tilted 5 degrees. Water is being filled!"

Then two more bad news came. In the low and depressed voice of the communications staff, the hearts of Admiral Darlan and everyone were bleeding.

Not far away, the deck of the French High Seas Fleet flagship "Brittany" had deflected nearly 30 degrees, and even a small part of the bottom of the ship was exposed. This battleship with a standard displacement of more than 20,000 tons is very likely to sink! The "Provence" and the "Guba", which were just named by the communications staff, were also seriously damaged!

In addition, the two cutting-edge battleships "Richelieu" and "Strasbourg" also suffered a certain amount of trauma. It is unlikely that they will sink, but they will inevitably require several months to a year of overhaul.

And these battleships are the bargaining capital of France and Germany! Now that it has been bombed by the British, its capital has devalued, and France may have to accept more stringent peace conditions... This is all the fault of the British!

At this moment, the communications officer on the ship shouted again: "Admiral, we received a clear telegram from the Germans. They sent three squadrons of night fighters to support us!"

"What?" Admiral Darlan was stunned again and again. What is this? The French fleet was bombed by British aircraft, and German aircraft arrived to support the bombed French fleet...

Who are France's allies and who are France's enemies?

…

The sunshine on May 13 slowly rose from the eastern horizon, illuminating Tours, the temporary residence of the French government, and penetrated through the glass window into the conference room of the temporary Prime Minister's Office.

The voice of Chief of General Staff General Wei Gang was trembling, as if he was suppressing anger. Looking at the corners of his lips, everyone was surrounded by feelings of anger and disappointment.

"The flagship battleship Bretagne was sunk, the battleship Colbert was sunk, the battleship Provence was severely damaged, the battleship Paris was moderately damaged, the battleship Oceania was moderately damaged, the battleships Dunkirk, Strasbourg and Riche The remaining battleships were all slightly damaged..."

Wei Gang put the telegram on the table. He knew what this meant. Not only was the peace negotiation capital in France's hands depreciating, but even if France was willing to endure humiliation, it would be impossible to get real peace. Because France’s original ally, the British Empire, did not allow it!

His voice trembled even more: "Admiral Darlan said in the telegram that the Dunkirk, which was the least injured, also needs two months of repairs, and it will take at least 12 months to repair all the injured warships, that is to say us……"

"We have lost the bargaining power, and... the whole of Europe may be blocked by the UK because of this!"

Before Wei Gang finished speaking, he was interrupted by a sound that seemed to be made by Petain gritting his teeth.

If you include the Richelieu, France had a total of 9 usable battleships and 1 aircraft carrier before its defeat. If the Germans get them, not to mention occupying the British Isles, the Mediterranean can always be taken successfully. But now, the Lorraine and the Bainya (France's only aircraft carrier was detained by the British army on the way to transport aircraft) were detained by the British, the Brittany and the Lombard were sunk by the British, and the remaining 6 The battleships were also all wounded. In the next few months, France will not even be able to produce a single intact battleship and aircraft carrier!

Under such circumstances, why should France bargain with Germany? Moreover, even if the Germans are more talkative and are still willing to treat France generously, without the participation of French battleships, Germany and Italy will be at a disadvantage in the Mediterranean in the next few months or even twelve months. And Britain will definitely make the most of this opportunity to deal a fatal blow to the useless Italians.

Once the Italian Navy is destroyed, even if Germany obtains a few French battleships twelve months later, it will not change Germany's disadvantage in the Mediterranean...

If Germany cannot win in the Mediterranean, then Germany will not be able to completely solve the problem of insufficient supply of resources (mainly oil resources). Even if the European Community is formed, it will be plunged into poverty and lack because of the British blockade!

It seems that France must reconsider its post-armistice stance...

Pétain sighed: "Inform the Germans of the losses and tell them that the French High Seas Fleet has lost its combat capability. I am afraid that the fleet cannot be used to offset the compensation..."

"Prime Minister." Before Petain could finish his words, his secretary had opened the door and interrupted him.

"What's going on?" Looking at the secretary of the Prime Minister's Office, everyone suddenly felt palpitations. Something big must have happened. The bombing of Toulon Port was probably just the beginning!

The secretary said with a sad face: "Prime Minister, there is a telegram from Tokyo (Hanoi) in Indochina. The Japanese army suddenly attacked and occupied Haiphong!"

"Japan, the Japanese...are countries like Japan now going to bully France?" Marshal Pétain murmured.

"Marshal, the British must be behind Japan's command," General Weygand said angrily, "The British are going to attack France's overseas empire!" He looked at Pétain, "Marshal, how should we deal with it?"

"What else can I do?" Pétain sighed, "I will go to Geneva in person tomorrow, and I will do my best to fight for the most beneficial peace for France."

…

"The British did something stupid!"

In the high command conference room at No. 73 William Street, Adolf Hitler's first reaction after hearing about the attack on Toulon Port was that he was happy. "There is no doubt that the French will be on our side. The Toulon Port incident will make the French see the true face of Britain! If a vote is held now for France to join the European Community, it will definitely be passed."

"French public opinion will definitely change. After all, what the British have done is too despicable." Hessmann smiled and said to Hitler, "But these useless French people will not only hate the British for this, but also fear the British for this... I think joining the European Customs Union and the European Monetary Union can be passed through a referendum (French referendum), but joining the European Community is difficult to say unless we can prove to the French that we will definitely win the war. Otherwise, those cowardly Frances. People will not join the Community and hand over the fleet to us."

There is a difference between a customs union, a monetary union and a community. The first two are economic integration, while the community is the integration of politics, diplomacy and military. If France joins the Community, it will have to fight Britain alongside Germany.

"We will definitely win!" Hitler said confidently, "Even without the French fleet, we can still defeat the British!"

Hersman shrugged and smiled: "Leader, we need the French fleet...especially the 'Richelieu', the 'Jean Bart', the 'Dunkirk' and the 'Strasbourg' 'These four cutting-edge battleships."

"Then how are we going to get them?" Defense Minister Schleicher frowned slightly.

"Of course it proves that we will win!"

Hersman smiled and said: "Of these four ships, the Jean Bart is only 75% complete, the Richelieu is only 95% complete and is still injured, the Dunkirk and Strasbourg The ships were also damaged... I think it will take the French 6-12 months to repair those ships. By then, we will definitely show the French that Germany will win, so we can allow France to do so during the Geneva peace talks. We will not join the European Community for the time being, nor will we surrender the fleet. However, the fleet must remain in Toulon, and all damaged battleships must be docked for repairs under the supervision of German engineers and refitted according to our requirements.”