Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

Chapter 298: Operation Ballista (End)

What's funny is that the British learned about the destruction of Fleet H through the German radio.

Because according to plan, Fleet H arrived at the entrance of Oran Harbor at 6:20 in the morning, and then gave the French an ultimatum. Wait for five or six hours, and the results would not be heard until at least three or four in the afternoon, but at eight o'clock in the morning At the same time, the German radio station broke the shocking news.

The radio station first used extremely sharp words to satirize the shameless behavior of the British who killed their yesterday's allies, and then vigorously promoted how Germany and France combined their intelligence to crush the British conspiracy and achieved brilliant results. victory. Then he criticized de Gaulle and others as traitors who colluded with foreign invaders to harm their compatriots. Finally, he paid the highest respect to the unknown heroes such as "duke", "marquis", "count" and "viscount" who fought in the heart of the enemy.

Vichy French radio stations then broadcast similar content. The French first thanked the Germans for their selfless help, which saved them from the disaster. Then there was a serious protest against the British, strongly condemning them for not only detaining the allies' ships for no reason, but also dared to attack their fleet. The British were required to immediately return the seized ships and personnel and compensate for various losses. If not, France would not only sever diplomatic relations with the British government, but would even consider declaring war on it. Finally, de Gaulle was also scolded, saying that he leaked the secret of the French fleet port to the British, which attracted the British.

Number 10 Downing Street, UK.

The fat-headed and big-eared Churchill was pacing back and forth anxiously in the office, looking at the door frequently every few seconds.

While he was waiting impatiently, there was finally a knock on the door. Churchill took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down before speaking. "Come in!" But he could still hear his voice trembling slightly.

A sullen-looking First Sea Lord, Charles Forbes, entered.

"How's it going? Have you contacted Fleet H?" Churchill asked hurriedly without waiting for the First Sea Lord. Although the voice sounded very calm, an ominous premonition was already welling up in his heart. This unknown feeling seemed to be like a solid brick blocking his heart, making him feel an inexplicable depression and eager to know the answer.

In fact, the ugly face of Charles Forbes said it all, but Churchill just didn't want to believe this terrible result. He even expected that the usually serious Sea Lord would suddenly shout "surprise!" with a playful smile in the next second. , and then told him that the German broadcasts were all nonsense, and that Fleet H was safe and on its way back.

Charles stared down at a corner of the office, with an expression on his face as if there was some ferocious beast hiding there. When Churchill couldn't bear it anymore and was about to urge him loudly, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice. "The Germans did not lie, our H fleet is gone..."

"Fleet H, is it really gone?" After finally confirming the bad news, Churchill's face turned pale, he staggered back two steps, his butt hit the desk, and even the cigar sandwiched between his fingers fell weakly. On to the ground.

The strength of the British Empire is based on a strong navy, but now its own battleships are being sunk one after another, but not even one of the enemy's battleships has been sunk, which is enough to collapse the British navy. . And once the navy collapses, the end of the British Empire will not be far away!

Seeing Churchill's frighteningly pale face, Charles suddenly became nervous and shouted at the door. "Come here!! Call the doctor quickly, the Prime Minister is not feeling well!!"

"No, I'm fine." Churchill raised a hand with some difficulty and waved it. Now that the fate of the British Empire was counting down, it was not the time for him to see a doctor. "I have to hold an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures."

"But Mr. Prime Minister, I think you need to rest for a while." Looking at Churchill with a cold sweat on his face, Charles was really worried that his body could not support it. Once the war-minded prime minister falls, who can take over the responsibility and continue to lead the UK?

"England?expects?that?every?man?will?do?his?duty! (England requires everyone to abide by their duties!)" Churchill gritted his teeth and said the famous saying of Horatio Nelson, a household name in Britain. , dragging his heavy body towards the door, leaving Charles' admiring eyes behind him.

Soon a group of senior executives gathered in the conference room.

"Everyone knows that the British Empire is now in a real critical moment. Only by cooperating sincerely and uniting together can we defeat the Germans. If you have anything to say, it doesn't hurt to say it."

Imperial Chief of Staff William Edmund Ironside said coldly. "I want to know how the Germans learned about our 'ballista plan'. The time and place of the plan were clearly known, as if someone handed a copy of the plan to the desk of the German Crown Prince. We Are all the intelligence departments in the intelligence department just doing nothing?! If they don’t do anything, then they might as well go to the front line to kill the enemy. No matter how useless they are, they can still waste some German ammunition, right?”

These words were already very unpleasant to hear. Lord Menzies, the director of the British Military Intelligence Agency, turned red and black. He wanted to wipe his face off and put it in his pocket to hide it.

Churchill took a few puffs of his cigar with a gloomy face, suddenly thought of something, and asked. "Lord Menzies, not long ago you reported that all the spies planted in Germany were exposed, right?"

"Yes." Overnight, all the spies placed in the German army, government agencies, schools, hospitals... and even selling vegetables in the vegetable market were all exposed without exception, and they were all thrown into German concentration camps. Here, life and death are still unknown.

Churchill exhaled a puff of smoke and continued to ask. "I asked you to investigate this matter thoroughly. After so many days, do you have any clues?"

Lord Menzies tremblingly took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his forehead, shaking his head. "Sorry, Prime Minister, we have tried our best, but there is no clue." The Germans' intelligence and counter-intelligence capabilities have improved by more than one level compared to the last war. So far, the British intelligence agencies have not been able to decipher the Germans. communication password.

Churchill said coldly. "It appears that Lord Menzies is no longer suitable for intelligence work. From now on the Directorate of Military Intelligence will be headed by Lord Adams."

Lord Adams, deputy director of the Military Intelligence Agency, looked very depressed when Lord Menzies secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If his ability was better than Lord Menzies, would he still need to stay in the second-in-command position? He knew very well that it was not that Lord Menzies was incompetent, but that once he wanted to investigate high-level figures, the relationships involved were too complicated, and the investigation could not be carried out at all.

He doesn't want to continue to be trapped in this complicated network of interpersonal relationships. Extraordinary times require extraordinary means. "Your Excellency Prime Minister, what if someone does not cooperate with the investigation?"

Churchill said firmly. "Arrest!! This kind of behavior is treason!! Whoever dares not to cooperate with the investigation at this time is the number one suspect. I will investigate to the end!! I will bear any consequences!!"

Lord Adams asked again. "What if some suspects involve the royal family?" To be disrespectful, the royal family cannot rule out suspicion. Including Churchill and some senior officials knew that until the outbreak of the war, the German Crown Prince and the British royal family had close correspondence.

As for the content of the letter? Each time it was delivered personally to Buckingham Palace by the German Ambassador to the UK, and few people knew what was in the letter.

"..." Churchill was silent. Although the British royal family is more often like a mascot, this country nominally belongs to the royal family. Now when it comes to whether this country can continue, His Majesty the King raised his arms and shouted, I'm afraid they all have to get out.

After being silent for a long time, Churchill spoke again. "If it involves the royal family, please make a list first, and I will go to His Majesty the King to discuss it."

the Foreign Secretary asked towards the end of the meeting, which lasted more than three hours. “Your Excellency, Prime Minister, how should we respond to the protests from the Pétain government?”

"Let that puppet government protest. We only recognize the orthodox free French government of Charles de Gaulle." Churchill waved his hand tiredly. He already seemed to be breaking the pot. Just protest. What else does a traitorous government want? ? How many more French people can support it?

But what Churchill didn't know was that the French media reports caused an uproar in France. What was most unacceptable to the French was that the Germans who defeated them only took away one battleship and a few unfinished battleships, and allowed them to keep them. own navy. But the British, their allies who had been fighting alongside each other a few weeks ago, wanted to kill the French.

The phrase "the British are treacherous" soon became a mantra in the streets of France. The extremely angry French soldiers used even razors to scrape off the word "Alliance" tattooed on their bodies. The people who were preparing to go to the UK to join De Gaulle's camp also cursed De Gaulle, almost turning themselves into shameful traitors.

Although his determination to fight to the end remained unchanged, even Churchill felt that to defeat the powerful Germany, there seemed to be no hope for the British Empire alone, and he had to find foreign help.

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