The Rise of the Third Reich

"woo woo woo woo……"

Sirens began blaring over Limburg Airport in Heinsberg County, signaling the pilots to dispatch.

Lieutenant Heinz Bahr heard the sound and immediately put out his cigarette in the ashtray, then stood up and shouted: "All the 2nd Squadron of the 3rd Group are dispatched!"

At the same time, several other squadron commanders of the 3rd Brigade also issued the same order.

When the pilots heard the order to attack, they all stood up from their chairs. Hersmann's eldest son, Rudolf Hersmann, jumped up from his chair, his face full of nervousness and excitement, and ran out as fast as he could. His good friend Nowotny and the new prince also looked similar to him, like two evil wolves eager to catch prey, howling and rushing out.

Lieutenant Heinz Barr and the "veterans" in the 3rd Group laughed out loud when they saw the performance of these newcomers. Today's mission is boring escort and air cover - first escorting dozens of Ju52 transport aircraft and H-flying aircraft, and then battlefield air superiority. And it can't fly very far. As long as it flies dozens of kilometers away and hovers in the air near the Eben-Emel Fortress for a few hours, and doesn't let the Belgian and British and French planes get close, the mission is completed.

In the eyes of "veterans", such a task is completely useless. The Belgian Air Force was not large in scale, and it was also attacked suddenly. Even if it had a few good planes, most of them were blown up on the airport. As for the French and British aircraft - their airports are currently 2-300 kilometers away, and the "Spitfire" has short legs. It's time to go home after showing up at the Eben-Emel Fortress. It really doesn't matter. usefulness.

As for Ms.406 and hurricanes, they will bring death if they come! Today, there are more than one group of Fokker Zeros responsible for escort and air cover tasks, and there are also the same number of BF-109 fighter jets!

…

"Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Prime Minister!"

Paul Reynaud was staring at a blank piece of paper in a daze, wondering if he should write something to Stalin, the fatherly leader of the Soviet Union, to express that France had no intention of invading Soviet territory. One of his secretaries suddenly opened the office door and rushed in.

"François," Paul Reno frowned as he looked at his secret secretary who was usually quite calm in all situations, "What happened?"

"Belgium!" the secretary named Francois said in a trembling voice, "The Germans declared war on Belgium, just an hour ago! In addition, they also issued an ultimatum to Luxembourg!"

"Damn it!" Paul Renault cursed in a low voice, "Now the German is really going to fight!"

He stood up suddenly, suddenly felt a pain in his head, and his body shook. François hurriedly stepped forward to support him.

"Prime Minister, are you okay?"

Paul Reno waved his hand, "It's okay...I'm fine, I'm just a little tired."

At this time, he vaguely heard the sound of "The Internationale" again, and the protests outside the Matignon Palace continued!

"François, go and tell Daladier and Bloom (left) about Germany's declaration of war on Belgium and Luxembourg." Paul Reno waved his hand and asked his secretary to leave, and then sat back in his chair. His eyes were closed tightly.

After a while, he opened his eyes again, then picked up the phone on his desk and dialed the Allied Forces Headquarters in Wansen. Soon, the hoarse voice of the 72-year-old General Gamelin came from the phone receiver. the sound of.

"Is it Mr. Prime Minister?"

"The Germans have declared war on Belgium and Luxembourg," Renault said. "It seems to be a replica of the last war."

"This has long been expected by us." Gamelin said in a relaxed tone, "Our 'Dale River' plan is to deal with this situation."

"Then do it as soon as possible," Paul Reynold said. "I will summon the ambassadors of Belgium and Luxembourg immediately. I think Belgium will invite us in this morning. When can the 1st Army Group be dispatched?"

Britain, France and the Belgian government have long had a secret agreement that once Germany invades, Belgium will immediately invite the main force of the British and French coalition forces to station. Moreover, the Belgian army had already launched targeted defensive deployments as early as the early days of Germany's restoration of armaments. It deployed defenses along the Albert Canal and the Dyer River, built a large number of solid fortresses and permanent fortifications, and also organized An elite army with 22 divisions was formed.

According to the secret agreement between Britain, France and Belgium, the Belgians will rely on the defense line built before the war to delay Germany on the line of the Dyer River, thus preserving the most elite part of their country. More than thirty divisions of the British and French coalition forces will march into Belgium immediately after the German attack and fight alongside the Belgian army.

"Except for the 9th Army, the rest of the troops can be dispatched immediately." Gan Molin's tone was slightly excited. "I will strengthen the 1st Reserve Armored Division to the 1st Army Group, so that the 1st Army Group will have enough armor to fight the Germans."

"Can the 1st Army Group move to Belgium under German air attacks?" Paul Reno asked with some worry.

After several months of attrition, the strength of the French Air Force's fighter force is now much weaker than before. There are only more than 300 Ms.406 and H-75 capable of combat. The excellent D.520 has just been put into active service, and the number is insignificant. Including the British fighter jets stationed in France, there are less than 600 advanced fighter jets that can compete with the BF-109 and Fokker Zero. With this little air force, it was impossible to deal with the German Air Force, which had an absolute numerical advantage.

"Mr. Prime Minister, we already have a corresponding plan." Gamelin said, "The troops will be launched tonight, and some of the British Spitfires will be transferred to the airports in Dunkirk and Calais. This will ensure the safe entry of troops into Belgium."

"Okay, that's great." Renault nodded. The Spitfire is a fighter that can really fight against the BF-109 and Fokker Zero. However, the British refused to mobilize a large number of Spitfires to the Royal Navy under the pretext of covering the Royal Navy. France, the fighters sent to France were mainly Hurricanes with poor performance.

Renault asked again, "Has the commander of the 4th Reserve Armored Division been selected?"

"Not yet," Gamelin said. "Prime Minister, do you have anyone to recommend?"

"Let Charles de Gaulle do it." Reynaud recommended De Gaulle - in fact, this was not a recommendation, but an order. Because Renault also served as the Minister of Defense and was originally in charge of the military regime, General Gamelin was theoretically only his chief staff officer.

"Good!" Gamelin said, "He is indeed a suitable candidate. I hope he can lead the 4th Reserve Armored Division to achieve meritorious service when we advance to Berlin in a few months!"

…

"It's actually this time!"

Neville Chamberlain also received the news that Germany had declared war on Belgium and Luxembourg (in fact, Luxembourg had surrendered) at 4:20 a.m. (GMT). The person who brought him the news was the Foreign Secretary, Viscount Halifax, and Churchill arrived with Viscount Halifax.

Churchill did not come to No. 10 Downing Street just after learning the news. He came to the Prime Minister's residence to discuss with Chamberlain who should take over as Prime Minister.

It turns out that Chamberlain's government is being hit by a no-confidence motion! The cause was the "Batum Incident" not long ago. Chamberlain cleverly kept Britain out of the matter, but some Conservative MPs believed that the government was being cunning about the "Batum incident" and might lose the trust of France. So they defected in the no-confidence vote, leaving Chamberlain's cabinet without a vote.

There are only two options before Chamberlain. One is to dissolve the House of Commons and hold an early election; the other is to resign from the cabinet.

The mentally exhausted Chamberlain had no intention of staying as Prime Minister, so he hoped to be succeeded by Churchill or Viscount Halifax. Since the Conservative Party is still the largest party in the House of Commons, if a wartime coalition government is formed again, the Prime Minister should still be a conservative. Party members take office.

"What do you think?" Chamberlain looked at Viscount Halifax and Churchill.

"We must defend Belgium!" Churchill said without hesitation, "otherwise Germany will get the best stronghold that threatens the empire's homeland and lifeline, and then we will pay a much heavier price."

The closest distance between Belgium and the British mainland is less than 100 kilometers, and 1,000 kilometers west from Belgium is the Atlantic Ocean!

Viscount Halifax also nodded and agreed with Churchill's opinion.

"So what if the Allied forces are defeated in Belgium?" Chamberlain asked, "What will we do?"

His eyes slowly swept across the faces of Churchill and Viscount Halifax, "Are we going to continue fighting?"

"Of course!" Churchill replied without hesitation, "The Empire must fight and must win, because the price of failure to win will be so heavy that the British Empire cannot bear it!"

Viscount Halifax hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly, "We must fight."

Chamberlain asked again: "Then which of you will be the prime minister?" He looked at Viscount Halifax, as if he wanted him to be the prime minister.

But the viscount shook his head and said: "Without the support of the public, as a member of the House of Lords, you cannot successfully manage a war cabinet under any circumstances."

Churchill was an elected member of the House of Commons, while Viscount Halifax was a member of the House of Lords (the House of Lords). But this is not the main reason why he cannot become prime minister, but just an excuse. The reason he didn't take over as Prime Minister was that he really didn't know how to lead the British Empire to victory.

"Okay!" Churchill stood up, nodded towards Chamberlain, and said in an extremely solemn tone, "Let me be the prime minister. I will lead the British Empire to fight to the end until victory!"