Chapter 288

"Look at these." Chamberlain, the new prime minister, threw a pile of photos to Churchill, the Navy Secretary. The photos were scattered on the table, but Churchill took a glance and knew that they were after the u-211 had returned.

There are group photos of submarine soldiers, positive photos of several major officers and playful photos during the dinner, two close-up pictures of u-211 submarine, some newspaper and document analysis, and of course, a copy of the document that bothered Churchill the most.

Churchill also read this document before coming to the prime minister's residence today. It is a summary of the nature of the report. In five days, Britain lost nine transport ships, and the loss of more than 70000 tons nearly made him a naval minister who vomited blood and fainted. In the long British Maritime transport line, it seems that there are always German submarines ambushing British transport ships. This kind of loss is more chilling than warships, because if Britain is compared to a person, then the damage of cutting arteries is greater for a person than cutting fingers.

"To be honest, Mr. prime minister, up to now, we seem to have been suppressed by the Germans. Our navy suffered heavy losses under the German sneak attack and almost lost the right to control the sea; Our air force has suffered heavy losses and has been unable to maintain the security over Europe. Now our transport fleet has also suffered losses, and the speed of the losses is amazing... All these make us unable to see the hope of winning. " Said Churchill, frowning after a long weighing. As he spoke, he took a look at the Secretary like man standing behind Chamberlain. Churchill, who had been on the battlefield, felt that this man was very dangerous.

But what he went on to say was his real idea: "but the most intolerable thing is that the sea power and hegemony of our British Empire have been challenged. We have to make a choice between waiting to die or continuing to be the master of the world in the future - I think it's not difficult to choose. We have to fight to the end! Give the Krauts a heavy blow and let them know how naive they are

Churchill was one of the core members of the main war faction, and Chamberlain, the Prime Minister of this term, was obviously not keen on fighting to the end with the German people. He preferred to conclude a peace treaty with one victory, and then restrict the development of the German army as after the first World War. So this time he brought Churchill, just to put pressure on the hardliners, so that the soldiers on the front line can quickly make a decent victory to force the Germans back to the negotiation table.

"Just this month, we lost tens of thousands of tons of steel raw materials, and even the ship full of agricultural products from Canada was sunk, which is not good news for our island country. On the other hand, just after you took over the Royal Navy, we had more than 70000 tons of warships sunk. His majesty has been very uneasy about this war, so I called you here to hear you tell the truth, not to hear you shout slogans to me. " Chamberlain's face was unfriendly. His eyebrows moved and he said angrily.

He pointed to the map behind him, stared at Churchill and continued: "just a few days ago, Japan invaded Shanghai, China. This terrible war destroyed our financial investment in Shanghai and our concession there. Hundreds of British people were killed, but we could not deploy our forces to put pressure on Japan, They haven't even given me a statement of apology up to now! "

"Mr. Prime Minister! The Far East issue is just a matter of interests! We have indeed suffered losses, but our international status will not be affected at all! But on the European continent, Germany is destroying the European order we have established! It's a devastating blow that Britain can't bear. You will naturally know which one is more important. Don't I have to say anything more? " Churchill said helplessly.

"Now let's talk about some topics that really concern the destiny of our country." Chamberlain pointed the table with his finger and said angrily, "Mr. Churchill! Would you like to tell me when your naval fleet will be able to get rid of the German Navy, just like in the first World War, and lock them in the harbor so that they can no longer pose a threat to our supply lines? "

Churchill knew that he could not answer this question. In order to make him speechless, Chamberlain would certainly ask this question which made him blush. But he had to answer, so Churchill had to weigh his words carefully and said, "Mr. prime minister, the fighting capacity of the Royal Navy has not been restored. We can't ensure that the offensive can win. Therefore, I suggest that we should shift the focus to escort."

"Yes! You allocated a total of 3 million pounds, enough to build a new battleship, to transform the existing battleships, and even to add some small caliber guns to these battleships! You've suspended the construction of four new cruisers for this renovation plan. " Chamberlain said indignantly: "is the German aircraft carrier fleet more terrible than their submarines?"

"Mr. prime minister, if I have no way to ensure the air safety of the whole fleet, then I can't make up my mind to fight a decisive battle. This makes it possible for the German naval fleet, that is, the aircraft carrier fleet, to attack our transport line at sea. This risk is very huge. Once the other aircraft carrier appears on the North Atlantic route, our transport line will collapse." Churchill obviously knew more about war than Chamberlain, who had never fought before. Especially when he became the Navy Secretary, he knew more about the difficulties of the Navy.

"How long do you expect to complete your renovation plan?" Chamberlain also knew that he couldn't take advantage of professional issues, so he immediately changed the topic and asked about other aspects“ Most of the Navy's air defense weapons are very old. In order to maintain the safety of the local waters, I can only arrange a few warships to be refitted at a time, so the progress will take at least six or nine months to complete. " Churchill has been able to guarantee the speed up for a year, but still feel guilty. Sure enough, even if chamberlain is a military idiot, he knows that time doesn't wait. In half a year, he will lose millions of tons of transport ships. This kind of disaster is enough to make Britain collapse completely“ We can't wait that long. We must fight back immediately! If the navy can't! Then we have to rely on the army. You must have known the air force's loss report. They are more humiliating than the Navy. They have lost 410 fighters in the European continent at one go. " It seems that Chamberlain's mind is spinning when he mentions these losses. Now he has a feeling of crying without tears. Why is it that when someone else was Prime Minister of the British Empire, there was good news of successful expansion everywhere, while when he became prime minister, every day he received news that he was defeated here and lost there. These bad news simply pushed him to the throne of the most unlucky British Prime Minister in a century“ Is the German head of state really a gift from God? How could a weak Germany become so intractable in just a few years? " Chamberlain thought of this, a desktop said chagrin. Hearing this, the man standing behind him focused his eyes for a moment, but there was still no other action“ I don't believe that this asshole akado has anything to do with God. He's just a speculator who runs errands for that Old Hickory! " Churchill can be said to be one of the people who have the most research on akkado in Britain, because the intelligence from Smith has given him a deeper understanding of Germany's war preparations. So he said to Chamberlain, "they didn't rise in just a few years. Under the leadership of hickett, akador participated in the secret development plan of the German army very early. The copy of project Hades we got was half true and lacked a lot of core content, which made us give up our guard against the German ambition."“ If Colonel Smith's analysis is correct, the Germans began to arm themselves secretly at the end of 1919. In 1925, because of our blind support, their speed accelerated. By 1930, their armed forces had surpassed the first World War. " Churchill narrowed his eyes and said, "so the illusion of their rapid rise is just a ridiculous cover up." When Churchill said that, the man behind Chamberlain raised his eyebrows, glanced at Churchill, and then stood still in silence. It seems that the conversation between the prime minister and the Admiralty has nothing to do with him“ It's no use saying anything now. " Chamberlain sighed and said, "we can only rely on the army to win the war, or we will be forced to accept the German conditions and turn ourselves into a running dog of the German."“ There's another way! Mr. prime minister. " Churchill thought about it, then said in a sad tone, "we sell part of our overseas interests, get some warships from the Americans, and enrich our navy."“ American? Are you sure you can do it? " Chamberlain seemed interested in the proposal and asked quickly“ It depends on whether we have enough chips. " Churchill said helplessly“ In this way, the plan can not be implemented easily Chamberlain shook his head and said, "your majesty and the cabinet will not agree to give up too many interests. We have to think of something else. "“ If, I mean if, Mr. prime minister, it seems that we can use some extraordinary means to change our passive situation. " The man behind Chamberlain, who had never spoken, finally spoke“ You? Are you sure? " Chamberlain looked at the man and asked“ I'm going to use my people, and even if it fails, there's no loss for Britain. " The man said in a voice. Chamberlain stared at the man for a few seconds, then nodded with satisfaction: "OK! I approved this operation! The Admiralty will help you with all his strength. "