Chapter 640： Delay

Stepping on the gangway, Colonel Holland stepped on the Dunkirk battleship. He looked at the pale sky in the east, but a kind of anxiety emerged in his heart.

After waiting for a few hours, I finally waited until now, let General Sur invite himself to come, but why always feel uneasy?

He stepped on the gangway, onto the bridge, and in a small meeting room, he saw General Jean Sur.

Even a 10,000-ton-class warship has a very narrow interior. Many sailors sleep in a three-storey bunk. Even the captain has only one small room. On the entire warship, there is only such a small meeting room.

At this moment, the meeting room was filled with smoke. Obviously, someone was already smoking a lot.

"General Sur, my old friend." Holland looked at the person sitting in the chair in front of him, calming down.

The purpose of his trip was to resolve this contradiction, that is, to persuade the people in front of him to hand over the French navy ships to Britain. He came for peace.

If his conversation fails, it is obvious that one's own warships will not keep this French fleet to Germany, and they will surely sink all these warships.

In this case, it is a tragedy.

A good friend turned into an enemy in the end. This is the most embarrassing thing, and now Colonel Holland feels like this in his heart.

"I've already seen this agreement. In other words, our French Navy has no choice?" General Sur looked at Colonel Holland and said.

Although Holland was invited to come up, General Suer was still sick when thinking of the other party’s intentions. In the past, the two used to fight and train together. They were once the most intimate beach ball combination. But now, the two People stand on opposite sides for their respective countries.

"My old friend, I'm sorry about this, I just want to say, please see clearly that France has been sold by those shameful politicians of Petain! As a proud French navy, how could it stand by France has fallen into German control? You must have this idea in your hearts, right?"

Colonel Holland had prepared a lot of words, but now, when he saw General Jean Sur, his mind was confused. He didn't know where to start. He also felt that these words were inappropriate.

"We may be able to find a better way to solve the current problem." Holland continued: "We came with sincerity. As an old friend, I very much hope that with our efforts, we can resolve this issue. crisis."

Holland is not a qualified lobbyist.

At the same time, in the distance, ten nautical miles away, the British fleet was waiting for Colonel Holland's results.

In fact, Lieutenant General Somerville was unwilling to go that far. In any case, this matter seemed a bit shameful.

After a few hours in the dark, after dawn, Colonel Holland finally got on the ship. He breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that Colonel Holland could persuade each other, so everyone was happy.

On the side of the fleet, from the front of the battleship Warrior, the lookout post is also dedicated to its duty, observing the French fleet in the distance.

"Their chimney seems to be smoking." The lookout post shouted, his two eyes staring closely at the large-magnification marine telescope in front of him, looking at the distant harbor.

There is a breakwater in the port of Milskbild, and there is a hill on the landing site of this breakwater connection. From this direction, the hill blocks their sight, so that they can't see part of the French warships at all, and they can't see the outline. , Can only see the opponent's mast.

But now, you can see thick black smoke appearing next to the mast, which shows that the other party is starting a fire!

After World War I, almost all warships eliminated coal-burning boilers and adopted heavy oil boilers. After all, when replenishing, solid particulate coal is more difficult to replenish than liquid heavy oil.

However, heavy oil cannot be directly ignited. Therefore, when the boiler is ignited, it is not heavy oil, but diesel. The diesel is sprayed into the boiler, lit, and then sprayed into the heavy oil. In the middle, it will appear. Severe incomplete combustion.

In this way, black smoke comes out, and when the warship is sailing normally, the black smoke is not big.

Now, seeing the black smoke on the opposite side of Boti, the lookout sent a report on the situation, and by radio, the news gathered on the Eagle carrier.

Upon receiving this news, Lieutenant General Somerville was taken aback. The opponent was starting to fire, indicating that he wanted to start. Then, what is the purpose of the opponent?

It can be guessed that there will be two. One is that Holland has persuaded them that their fleet intends to join their own formation and set sail, and the other is that the other party intends to escape, or is to fight with their own side!

How to do? At this time, if the judgment is wrong, the consequences are quite serious.

"Quickly, contact Colonel Holland immediately!" Lieutenant General Somerville shouted.

Contact Holland and see what the other person is saying! However, Holland has already gone up, and there is no contact at all!

Here, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"General, London intercepted and deciphered the French telegram." At this moment, another news came: "General Darlan ordered the 6 Glorious class light cruisers stationed in Algiers to set sail at full speed for Mir. Skebir, at the same time, ordered Oran's submarine to leave the port and prepare to occupy the attack position. The French fleet in the Port of Toulon is preparing to set sail."

Hearing this, Lieutenant General Somerville immediately clenched his fists. What was he afraid of, what was coming, did he really want to fire on the French warship?

The situation is already obvious The French are here, holding on to their side, while at the same time mobilizing other navies to encircle their own fleet!

Are they here to surrender and go to England together? This is of course impossible. If the French had this mind, how could General Suer make Holland wait for several hours to meet him?

The French do not intend to agree to their request. If this is the case, the ballista operation can only carry out another backup plan!

Although Lieutenant General Somerville has been resisting and hesitating after receiving this order, but now, after he really reached this point, he knew that he had no choice.

As a soldier, obeying orders is your bounden duty, and defeating your opponents is your top priority. Even friends in the past are now enemies!

"Attention, I am Lieutenant General Somerville. Now, I give the order to attack the French fleet with all my strength and destroy all French warships!" Holding the microphone, he finally gave the order.

When firing at a friend of the past, there will definitely be some hesitation. At this time, he must stand up and at the same time bear all the psychological pressure.