The battle was brutal, with British pilots using tenacious perseverance to deal with German aircraft that were several times their size. Soon, the second batch of two squadrons of fighter jets flying from the British flag also joined the air battle. The sky west of Dunkirk was filled with the noise of battle. Shrapnel, gunpowder smoke, and fire filled the air. There was no trace of blue in the originally clear sky.
In this battle, the British Air Force finally defeated the Germans with tenacious actions, destroying and damaging 21 German aircraft, disrupting the German air attack plan. The arrogant Imperial German Air Force tasted the power of the British Air Force for the first time.
However, the Germans did not give up. They sent a more powerful fighter group to provide air cover for the bombing. On the morning of June 1, the air battle between Britain and Germany over Dunkirk almost never stopped and its scale continued to expand. The British Air Force dispatched almost all the aircraft at its disposal - Hurricanes, Spitfires, two-seat dreadnoughts with turrets, and even Hudson bombers, bi-wing Swordfish torpedo bombers and bulky Anson reconnaissance aircraft. Take off from the UK and take part in air combat. But despite this, the attack of the swarms of German planes was still not able to be completely stopped. Some German bombers escaped the interception of the British planes and bombed the port of Dunkirk.
In the afternoon, the Luftwaffe changed tactics. They took advantage of the large formation of British bombers leaving to refuel and launched the main attack. They used some fighter jets to pin down a small group of British aircraft on alert, while the bombers quickly flew over Dunkirk, attacked the ground from a higher altitude, and returned quickly after dropping bombs, causing the British aircraft to attack the air several times, while the fighter wing Taking turns patrolling the skies over Dunkirk, waiting for the arrival of the British Air Force fighter formations, Air Marshal Göring learned of the strength of the British Air Force's resistance and forgot himself with joy. If the Luftwaffe could share the victory in the Battle of Dunkirk and at the same time take out the Royal Air Force, no one would be able to refuse the pleasure. Therefore, Göring ordered the German Air Force, which considered itself the world's largest air force, to shoot down all British fighter jets that appeared over Dunkirk.
The battle in the sky lasted for a whole day. The German Air Force, which had an absolute superiority in numbers, fully let the British Air Force know what it meant to be unstoppable. For this battle, Goering specially sent troops stationed in Poland near the Soviet border who had participated in the blitz. Some of the fighter pilots from the Polish campaign were transferred to the skies above Dunkirk. Can it be said that Göring was in Hitt? In front of Le, he had already used all his strength to fulfill his promise. If the British Expeditionary Force still escapes under the cover of this air power, it will definitely not be the air force that will be blamed, but the Waffen SS and Wehrmacht as ground offensive forces.
After the surrender of the French First Army, only the four divisions of the French Army and the six divisions of the British Expeditionary Force that have not yet been withdrawn are still in the hands of Lord Gott. It is said that they have to deal with less than 200,000 people. The panicked British and French forces should not be able to deal with the armed SS now.
But now Lampard really doesn't dare to act rashly. Just when the armed SS is preparing to go all out to wipe out the British and French forces in the Dunkirk area, the British Royal Navy, which has been silent, finally can't stand it any longer. Elizabeth The 14-inch heavy guns on the Queen and Nelson battleships plowed the front line in front of the Waffen SS. Faced with an irresistible blow, Lampard had to order the armed SS to stop the attack and set the attack time at night. Facing the battleship's fearless attack with artillery fire, it was no different from committing suicide. .
As if there was a telepathy between the enemies, General Ramsey, who was in charge of the retreat, reported the day's losses to the British headquarters in the evening. He finally said: "Today, painful experience tells us that we cannot stop the German air attack. Retreating during the day is tantamount to self-destruction. The retreat should be carried out at night." Indeed, the British Air Force has done its best, and fighter squadrons have been dispatched in turns. The planes were dispatched as many as 35 times a day. Concerned about conserving air power for future operations, British headquarters agreed to General Ramsey's plan to withdraw at night.
Lampard also reported to Hitt the situation of British battleships participating in the battle in the Dunkirk area? Le. Soon, Lampard got Hit? Le's reply, in the telegram Hitt? In a rare display of disdain for the Royal Navy, as far as Lampard is aware, Hit? Le has always been wary of the powerful British Royal Navy. What made Hit? Le has changed like this. With such doubts, Lampard hurriedly read Hit? The telegram sent by Le was down to the last sentence; "The battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz in Hamburg set out last night!"
"Hiss..." Lampard took a breath and immediately burned the telegram.
"Things are getting bigger and bigger!" After reading the telegram, Lampard really didn't know what to think. Things deviated from the original track when the armored group of the Waffen SS started fighting. First, under his own influence, the armored clusters on the ground wrested direct action rights from Goering's air force, so Germany did not make a big mistake from the beginning. Furthermore, they spent all their money to prevent the British Royal Navy from rescuing people. Now the losses of Krupp Petrochemical Company have reached a point that they cannot bear. A total of 18,000 tons of oil have been poured into the sea. However, the results achieved are obvious. Most of the small ships were blocked by the flames and unable to dock.
Then, the Luftwaffe and the Royal Air Force staged a life-and-death battle over Dunkirk. The two countries' air forces were furious. If the occasional rainy weather had not prevented them, they would have fought to the death. Now even the naval battleships between the two countries have rushed out from the mainland to join in the fun. Things have reached a level that Lampard never imagined.
Lampard also understands Hitt now? Why do Le and Churchill care so much about the outcome of the Battle of Dunkirk? If you want to talk about the opinions of countries around the world on the war between Germany and Britain and France, before the war, all countries in the world thought that it would be like World War I, with both sides losing. However, the German armored group unexpectedly emerged from the Ardennes area, catching the British and French forces by surprise and shocking military observers around the world.
Then the German armored group advanced with great momentum, hitting the edge of the English Channel with overwhelming force. Just when countries around the world believed that the fate of the surrounded British and French coalition forces was doomed, Churchill, who refused to admit defeat, once again made John Bull's stubbornness known. , the British Royal Navy was ordered to dispatch to rescue the besieged troops in the Dunkirk area. From this moment on, the attention of world leaders focused on this port city in northern France. The Port of Dunkirk will become a judging point for countries around the world on the outcome of this war.
If Churchill's initial thought was how to evacuate the British Expeditionary Force that was surrounded by Dunkirk Port, then Churchill, who was now in a difficult position, must have a showdown with Germany here. When Britain dispatched the powerful Royal Navy, it was still unable to rescue the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk from the hands of the German army and air force. This in itself is the greatest irony for Britain.
When Churchill had implemented all the British means, Hit? Le's decision to order the German navy to dispatch obviously did not surprise Lampard. The Battle of Dunkirk was originally a contest between the armies of the two countries, but when the British could not defend in front of the German armored group, this war It has become not so simple. With the German army and air force plus the British Expeditionary Force and the British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, this simple battle has turned into a full-scale confrontation between Germany and Britain.
No one can lose, and no one can afford to lose, don’t think Hit? As a dictator, Hitler would not care about the people's attitude. In fact, Hitler? He is more afraid of people turning against him than most leaders of democratic countries. Don't forget Hit? Le also ascended to the throne of the German head of state through legal elections, and experienced the chaotic situation during the Weimar Republic, Hitt? LeBron knew what ordinary people would do if they were hungry.
Hit? Le is afraid that the people can be understood from another side. On the one hand, Hitt? Hitler hopes to use war to make Germany stronger. On the other hand, Hitler? Hitler has always been very concerned about the death toll in wars. Is this also the case with Hitt? Why did Le attach so much importance to Guderian's blitzkrieg, Hit? Hitler was afraid that the people would oppose him because of the pain of the war, so he kept promoting the invincibility of the German army internally, and adopted quick-war tactics externally. In fact, until the end, Hitt? Le still did not want to fully mobilize German forces, because that would make people at home feel the pain of war. Until 1943, when Germany's defeat was irreversible, Hitt? Lecai signed the order, and Germany launched a nationwide mobilization, and Hitt? Carrying out nationwide mobilization so late was contrary to Ludendorff's general war strategy.
The main ideological point of view of total war is that modern war is a war of the entire nation. Not only has the war expanded to the entire territory of the participating countries, but the people involved in the war have also expanded from the army to the entire population. In this case, "both war and politics should be subordinated to national survival, but war is the highest expression of the nation's will to survive. Therefore, politics should serve combat."
Hit? Germany under the leadership of Hitler can be said to have achieved almost all parts of the total war thinking, but the most important part, Hitt? Le really didn't dare to do it.
Is it Hitt who is under this kind of contradiction? Le, in the Eagle's Nest at the base camp, rejected the objections of Commander von Blomberg and insisted on arranging a showdown between the German Navy and the British Royal Navy. Hitt? Le believes that if Churchill, the head of the British war cabinet, does not give up rescuing hundreds of thousands of British and French troops surrounded by Dunkirk, that would be the best thing. Germany can take advantage of this opportunity to fight a decisive battle with Britain. , after defeating Britain in one fell swoop, France will no longer be Germany's opponent.
What about Hit? Le believes that the timing of the decisive battle in the Dunkirk area is very beneficial to Germany. Now the eyes of Britain and the world are staring at the Dunkirk area. The German navy dispatched at night will not be defeated by the powerful The British Royal Navy discovered that the air supremacy in the Dunkirk area was now in the hands of the German Air Force. If a decisive battle was fought here, the German Army in its heyday plus the Air Force, coupled with the overwhelming German Navy, would face Facing the panicked British and French coalition forces and the British Royal Air Force, whose total strength was less than half of Germany's, even with the powerful British Royal Navy, Germany still had a great chance of winning this decisive battle.
Hit? Through his superb eloquence, he persuaded the generals who had been opposing, and then sent a message to Marshal Raeder who was still in the naval headquarters in Berlin, ordering the German navy in Hamburg and other bases to dispatch all the troops and rush to Dunker at night. gram. Then he confidently said to the astonished Wehrmacht generals, "After this battle, Britain will not pose a threat to Germany, and Germany will be in control of Europe!"
Hit? Le's telegram, along with the radio signal, reached Berlin, the capital of Germany. In the hands of Marshal Redl.
Marshal Redel, who has been sitting at the Navy Headquarters, received Hit? Le's telegram, frowning and ordering, "Notify the people at the headquarters, I want to hear everyone's opinions!" As the commander-in-chief of the Navy, Marshal Redl cannot disobey Hit as the head of state? Le's order, but for this extremely risky plan, Redel still wanted to hear other people's opinions. After all, subconsciously, Marshal Redel also hoped to have a chance to completely defeat the British Royal Navy.
The empty conference room immediately became noisy with Marshal Redel's urgent summons. Everyone didn't know why Marshal had summoned them, so they were all whispering to each other.
Bang... With a rhythmic sound, Marshal Redel appeared in front of everyone. After sitting down, Marshal Redel simply said, "The head of state ordered that the entire German navy be dispatched to participate in the Battle of Dunkirk!" We will join our brothers in the Navy and Air Force to participate in this unprecedented war! We have the most powerful army in the world fighting side by side with us, and we have the most powerful air force in the world to provide us with cover. Our enemy is the most powerful navy in the world. Whether we can build up the prestige of the German navy in the first battle or sink it will depend on our performance this time!" Redel's pressure is not ordinary. Germany's resources are already limited. Not much, and many important resources rely on imports. However, Germany's military power is very strong, and resources and demand remain disproportionate. Goering of the Air Force was very dissatisfied with the Navy taking up such huge resources.
"Long live victory!" Participating in this kind of war itself shows the status of the German Navy. After all, against the dazzling glory of the Army and Air Force, the German Navy has also achieved great victory since the beginning of the war, but once the Army and Air Force In comparison, it pales in comparison. As a member of the German Navy, everyone here also hopes to participate in such a war to prove the strength of the German Navy.
Marshal Reidel pressed his hands and waited for everyone to calm down and said, "Of course we must obey the orders of the head of state, but our strength is still too weak compared to the British Royal Navy. Let's see how we can minimize the losses. In this case, severely damage our enemy the Royal Navy!"
"Your Majesty Marshal!" A young major general stood up and said, "What we lack is not advanced equipment, but the will to fight to the death. With all due respect, Marshal, we no longer have our father, General Scheer during World War I. The fighting will of the High Seas Fleet under our command, our fathers dared to challenge the world’s best navy, we have no reason to fear loss!”
"Wu Lanfu..." a general scolded. Marshal Redl stopped the general's scolding and continued, "Please continue!"
"Thank you, Your Excellency Marshal!" Wu Lanfu took a deep breath, "As Your Excellency Marshal said, since we have the most powerful air force in the world to provide cover, in the English Channel, within the combat radius of the aircraft, What do we have to fear in the region? Although I am not good at commanding fleet operations, I know that our Germany does not lack talents in this area. The Battle of Narvik some time ago has proved that our Germany can Challenging the British Navy was a victory we achieved face to face without relying on anyone's cover. But now in the Dunkirk area, we have an even more obvious advantage. It is completely within the range of our air force brothers. I really can't think of it. Come out, we have no reason to fail!”
Bang bang bang..., Redel took the lead in applauding and said in appreciation, "Major General Wu Lanfu, you are right, I really can't think of any reason for our failure. Maybe you are right, I was indeed beaten." The power that the British Royal Navy has built up over the past several hundred years is frightening! But don’t worry, I won’t do it now!” Marshal Raeder, who was relieved of his knot, said with confidence, “Order Kiel, Hamburg, etc. The battleships Bismarck, Tirpitz, battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and the heavy cruisers Admiral Hipper and Prinz Eugen, which are on standby at the naval base, are all dispatched! Target! Dunkirk, tomorrow the German army will be fighting in the Dunkirk area, and the German Navy will appear!"
"Long live victory!" Everyone at this time shouted from the bottom of their hearts. The German Navy, which has been on standby, was bored watching the performances of the Army and Air Force. Even when talking, the most talked about thing was war. The words are full of envy for the army and air force that are now able to fight, and some people are even ready to join the army.