Only a few limited ports such as Calais and Dunkirk are still in the hands of the British and French forces. The offensive force of the fifteen divisions of General Bock's Army Group B was constantly pressing from the east, and was surrounded by the defense lines of the British and French allied forces here. In this small encirclement, from northeast to southwest, there are fifteen divisions of the Belgian army, twenty-four divisions of the French army and the British Expeditionary Force. A total of 700,000 coalition troops have not laid down their arms and surrendered. So it's too early to talk about victory. The question before General Bock, commander-in-chief of Army Group B, is how to break the deadlock and tear apart the defenses of the three armies of Britain, France and Belgium, so as to achieve a decisive victory here, and then return to the south to attack France.
Brussels, the current capital of Belgium, has been occupied by German troops. The temporary headquarters of Army Group B is now located in the Grand Place in the center of Brussels. The square is dominated by churches, chapels, and bell towers, and God is regarded as the owner of the square. This Grand Place in Brussels was built in the 13th century. Except for the city hall and the palace of Louis XIV, which is now the headquarters of Army Group B, the other buildings are club and office buildings for various industries in the 17th century. .
The beautiful scenery of the Grand Place in Brussels cannot be enjoyed by the German troops stationed here for the time being, because although the Belgian army and the British and French coalition forces have lost control of most of the Belgian territory. In the Louis XIV Palace, which was set up as a temporary headquarters, General Bock, commander-in-chief of Army Group B, Reichenau, commander of Sixth Army, and Kuechler, commander of Eighteenth Army, were discussing how to defeat the enemy in front of them and completely eliminate the enemies surrounded. Nearly 700,000 coalition troops in the area surrounding Dunkirk.
"Currently, Belgium, France, and Britain and France are in front of us and are deploying defenses in the northeast, middle, and southeast. Among them, the British Expeditionary Force is in the middle of the Belgian army and the French army~" General Bock, commander-in-chief of Army Group B, said, "According to the Air Force The intelligence shows that the British Navy on the other side of the English Channel is making unusual moves, but I think we should ignore the British Royal Navy. It is actually impossible to evacuate hundreds of thousands of troops from the sea! So we are currently most What needs to be solved is how to tear apart the defense line in front of us, the French army, the British Expeditionary Force and the Belgian army, who should we choose to strike first!"
After General Bock finished his introduction, he remained silent and waited for everyone's suggestions. General Kuechler first put forward his own opinion, "General Bock, our main enemy has always been France, so we should first attack from the defense line area responsible for the French army. After defeating France in one fell swoop, we will continue to fight on the European continent." There is no opponent! So I propose that the main offensive force should be placed on the front of the French army!" Kuechler's words aroused the approval of many officers in the conference room. Many officers here still remember the tragedy of the last war. First defeating the French Army, which was fighting Germany head-on, is undoubtedly a huge temptation for the people here.
General Kuechler's words resonated with many people, especially the words that after defeating the French army, Germany would have no rivals on the European continent, which made people's blood boil. But there was one person who didn't see it that way. This person was Reichenau, the commander of the Sixth Army. The biggest difference between General Reichenau and others is that General Reichenau is a member of the National Socialist Party who currently holds the highest position in the German army, except Marshal Goering.
Because of this, although General Reichenau was ostracized to a certain extent in the traditional Wehrmacht, General Reichenau considered the issue more politically. Because of Deep Hit? The difference between General Reichenau, whom Lechenau trusted, and ordinary soldiers was that he had witnessed Britain's powerful national power and colonies all over the world, and he also knew, Hit? Le is not afraid of France, but Britain is in Hit? There is always a thorn in Le's heart.
Based on these points, General Reichenau raised objections, "I do not agree with General Kuechler's opinion. I think the first and most important thing we need to solve is the British Expeditionary Force!"
"Oh?" Commander-in-chief General Bock said in surprise, "General Reichenau, please tell everyone what you think!"
"Yes, General Bock." General Reichenau clarified his thoughts and said, "I know that everyone still remembers the tenacity of the French army in the last war, so everyone is very happy with General Kuechler's proposal. This is understandable. But we can count on about 24 divisions of British and French troops and 15 divisions of Belgian troops to complete their concentration north of Namur. In order to cope with this situation, my Sixth Army has There are 15 divisions, and there are 6 divisions in reserve. What if we add General Kuechler's 18th Army? I believe we have enough power to repel any enemy attack. There is no need to deploy more troops. South of Namur the enemy was weaker, about half our strength, and the outcome of the attack on the Meuse would determine whether, when and where we could exploit this advantage. Behind this front, the enemy does not have a force worth mentioning. I believe you have discovered when fighting the French army this time that the current French army no longer has the same desire for revenge as in the last war. This is actually It’s very simple, because in the last war, the battlefield was in France, and it can be said that France paid a price no less than us for that war, so I think the French are no longer our main opponents.”
After getting the approval of the Commander-in-Chief General Bock, General Reichenau continued, "On the contrary, I think the current British Expeditionary Force is our real opponent. Although the British Expeditionary Force is not large in number, it is the British Army The best part of the war. They are the only troops that Britain can fight. Although they can be expanded depending on the war situation, just like the last war. But based on our current progress, I think Churchill’s more consideration should be how to Protect this force. The British side is mobilizing warships and ships just for the British Expeditionary Force. Of course, I do not think they can succeed, but we cannot fight the British Expeditionary Force under the nose of British warships. That is Not responsible for the lives of those German servicemen. So I think the British Expeditionary Force should be annihilated as early as possible. Once they are annihilated, the British warships mobilized on the mainland will disband themselves. It should be done sooner rather than later, otherwise. Once the British ship mobilization is completed. We wonder if it would be easy to annihilate them."
The commander-in-chief, General Bock, was caught in a deep contradiction. On the one hand, General Bock believed that General Reichenau's words were reasonable. On the other hand, General Bock also hoped to completely annihilate the French army and avenge his previous humiliation. Therefore, we have to carefully consider the words of General Kuechler and General Reichenau.
"Dong dong dong..."
"Come in!" General Bock said casually.
"Sorry, General Bock, I was outside following the orders of the head of state to establish order in the occupied area, so I'm late!" Lin Wei came in and said embarrassedly.
"It's okay, Lampard!" General Bock waved his hand and said, "We are now discussing the next combat action. General Reichenau and General Kuechler just finished expressing their opinions. I want to know, are you What do you think?" After speaking, General Bock told Lin Wei about the opinions of the two generals. Lin Wei's eyes lit up after hearing General Reichenau's opinion. I didn't expect that this general of the National Socialist Party would have such high opinions. Among German soldiers, there are really not many generals who can think about things politically. No wonder Hit? Ler trusted Reichenau so much.
"General, do you want to hear my opinion?" Lin Wei asked.
"That's right, Lampard, maybe you, a young man, have some different opinions than us old guys!" General Bock said with a smile.
General Bock's words caused a round of good-natured laughter. Lin Wei was very embarrassed, but he quickly adjusted his emotions, because Lin Wei knew that this was not the time to make fun of him. Every decision here affects the lives of thousands of German soldiers.
In principle, Lin Wei agreed with General Reichenau's opinion, but in this situation Lin Wei would not say it. So Lin Wei said, "Actually, what the two generals said makes sense, but I think the most important thing to solve the problem at hand is the Belgian army. Among the three countries, Belgium is the weakest, but they are very tenacious. The reason why I think Belgium should be solved first is because we have just occupied Belgium, and the Belgians still have illusions about their own country's army. We hope that the Belgian army can fight back, and we must stop the Belgians' illusions. Furthermore In the defense line jointly deployed by the three countries' armies, the Belgian army is also the weakest link. Whether it is the British Expeditionary Force or the French army, they can let it go first. Defeating the Belgian army and forcing Belgium to surrender is the prerequisite for encircling and annihilating the British and French coalition forces."
General Bock nodded and said, "Yes, solving the Belgian problem first is a prerequisite for encircling and annihilating the British and French coalition forces! But what should the future progress be like?"
Lin Wei confidently replied, "The order of solving the armies of the three countries should be Belgium, Britain, and France! Among the three countries, Belgium is the weakest, and the French army has the highest combat effectiveness. However, the British are willing to retreat from the sea. This possibility is How old, we won't talk about it for now, but it would be a very stupid thing to fight the British Expeditionary Force in the harbor under the nose of the British Navy!"