Imperial Overlord

The British moved many anti-aircraft guns to the outskirts of London, where they built a solid line of defense to stop the German attack.

Because of the lack of anti-tank weapons, the British had to use their anti-aircraft guns to attack German tanks.

The anti-tank power of large-caliber anti-aircraft guns can be clearly understood by looking at the German 88mm caliber artillery.

It's a pity that this is completely drinking poison to quench thirst, because the firepower of London's anti-aircraft artillery is weakened, and the German planes are even more reckless.

That night, at least 100 Luftwaffe JU-88 bombers visited London, dropping more bombs on the still burning city.

Tracer bullets kept rushing into the sky, but such a counter-attack still could not stop the German aircraft from flirting with no one.

But on the night of February 16, the British navy made an impressive little climax.

More than 30 torpedo boats and gunboats rushed into the waters where the German transport ships were docked, sinking more than 40 large and small ships in one go, and then flew away.

The huge losses caused the German transport force to decline on February 17, and Portsmouth and its nearby concealed small ship bunkers became a major concern for the German sea crossing forces.

Unfortunately, no matter what method is used, there is no way to eradicate this scourge in a short period of time.

Therefore, the German executives can only endure such huge losses, pretending to be okay, and continue to take risks to rush supplies to the British mainland.

On the morning of the 17th, the German army attacked the main force, and the troops of the 1st SS Corps pushed the front line to a place 12 kilometers away from the suburbs of London.

At noon, the British 2nd Armoured Division, which was worried that it would be encircled, had to abandon Chatham, which had been guarding for two days, and retreated to Rochester.

And Rochester is only 20 kilometers away from London. Herman, commander of the 112th Division of the Western Front Expeditionary Force, finally achieved the goal he should have achieved yesterday.

The tragic advance on the ground was no longer a simple fight. The British were reluctant to take a step back, but could only barely stop the German attack.

Casualties are the price. In order to protect their capital, British troops often used several times of losses to force the Germans to give up the attack.

Dietrich signed the death list of more than 700 soldiers in one day, and he would have withdrawn from the front if not for recruits.

Even so, in the afternoon, after the German army advanced 2 kilometers forward, they had to really stop and start to consolidate their defensive positions.

"From the map, we are only about 10 kilometers away from London. How about, try to let the British guys taste our power?" The chief of staff stood beside Dietrich, pointing to the map. his superior suggested.

Hearing the words of his chief of staff, Dietrich also realized his current position and could find a way to create some pressure on London.

So he turned his head with a smile, and ordered the officers who were on standby not far away: "Didn't we send 12 150mm howitzers today? Find a place, shoot a few shells to London, and tell them I'm here. !"

The officer's eyes lit up after hearing the order, as excited as a urchin who went to set off firecrackers in the cowshed with the permission of his parents.

After a day's hard work, the German army managed to transport 12 large-caliber support artillery in the true sense.

Each of these artillery pieces is a treasure. If Dietrich was not in charge of attacking the direction of London, the enemy's defense was too strong, and Liszt would not be willing to support him with all these artillery pieces.

Now, these 12 SFH-18s with a caliber of 150 mm are next to the Dietrich headquarters, and the range of 13 kilometers is just enough to hit the shells into the urban area of ​​London.

"Card!" The German artillerymen who received the order opened their breech blocks and pushed a shell and a propellant barrel into the cannon's medicine chamber.

After closing the breech block, the soldier in charge of adjusting the angle of the cannon shook the handle, and soon the muzzle of the cannon was pointed obliquely towards the sky.

With an order, the gunner pulled the firing device, and the entire cannon let out a deafening roar: "Boom!"

Then the second gun followed suit, followed by the third and fourth. After the 12 artillery pieces all fired a shell, the previous calm was restored on the position.

When these shells fell into the city of London, the chaos caused really alarmed many people. The garrison's observation post saw the explosion in the city, and the hapless suburban civilians who were still laughing at the city center couldn't laugh this time.

"I heard an explosion in the southeast corner of the city. Can you confirm what happened?" On the phone, the commander of the Third Army asked.

He was responsible for the defense of the entire London city and was also responsible for the British Expeditionary Force. That's right, he was John Verrick, Viscount Gort.

He had resigned from the British Expeditionary Force in 1940, but when the 3rd Army was formed, Sir Deere reintroduced the veteran.

After all, compared to those new faces, this Viscount Gott has seen the battlefield anyway. It is precisely because of his ability that the 3rd Army Group formed later was given the task of defending Gyeonggi.

Now, right in his defence zone, London was under shelling, much to the dismay of Viscount Gott.

The 1st Army in front was playing passively, and he had no good way to take over. After all, most of his hands are light infantry, and there is no way to fight the Germans in the wild.

"Sir! I also heard the sound of an explosion... But I can only see thick smoke here. The sound should be a large-caliber artillery, and the anti-aircraft alarm did not sound, which proves that the Air Force has not found a target." In the headquarters of an infantry division, a division commander reported to Viscount Gott.

"The Germans are bombarding London with large calibers or artillery..." John Verrick said to Churchill, who was irritated beside him, clutching the receiver.

He snatched the phone, and Churchill said with a dark face to the teacher on the other side of the phone: "I'm Churchill! Go and see for yourself what happened! I'm here waiting for your report! Immediately, immediately go!"

Hearing the order, the division commander hurriedly promised: "Follow the order." Then he took his subordinates out of his headquarters and rushed to the place where the explosion sounded.

Dozens of German shells fell, destroying buildings in several London suburbs. Most of the shells fell on the streets, because the Germans really had no ability to aim correction.

Even with the means of aiming correction, the accuracy of the artillery cannot be guaranteed at the extreme range. After a few casual shots, Dietrich didn't intend to waste the shells like this.

He was just showing off, showing off that his troops were close to London. He was just intimidating, intimidating everyone in the city of London.

By the time the unfortunate division commander arrived near the blast site, the German shelling had stopped. It is full of smoking craters and suburban residents fleeing with luggage.

London had been bombed before, and few bombs had reached the less affluent suburbs. Therefore, the people here are too lazy to migrate, and most of them are still in their own homes.

Now, the war has spread here, and the shells have ruthlessly destroyed the building. Without their homes, people whose lives are threatened will of course choose to leave, and everyone leaves along the road with tenderness.

Soldiers with weapons on their backs stood on both sides of the road and saw their division commanders standing at attention and salute. The car stopped beside a small crater. The division commander stood in front of the crater and looked at the half-collapsed house in the distance.

Unlike the tall buildings in central London, the houses in the suburbs are relatively short. The shells didn't destroy much, just the confidence of the people who lived here.

The war has spread to his doorstep, London has become a dangerous place, and that's enough.

"It's probably a 200mm cannon." An officer walked up and reported to his division commander.

The division commander had seen the German artillery, so he shook his head and said, "This is the German 150mm caliber artillery, I have seen it in Dunkirk."

Of course he had seen it, not so much as a year ago, just across the strait in Dunker, and what he was most afraid of hearing was the screeching of Stuka dive bombers and the roar of such artillery.

He can still clearly recall the appearance of the cannonball falling on the beach, and the moment it flew with the stumps and broken arms of his comrades after the explosion was still his lingering nightmare.

"My God... is the enemy so close to us?" a young soldier with his rifle on his back blurted out in surprise.

The teacher looked at this immature face, and UUkanshu www.uukanshu.com slumped and encouraged: "Don't be afraid, face the invaders with the weapons in your hand! We can defeat them and defend our capital!"

The young soldier heard the division commander's encouragement. He was very embarrassed at first. Hearing that, he finally mustered up his courage. He stood at attention and replied, "Yes!"

"I will fight with you all! Set up defensive positions and use everything that can be used to strengthen the defense! Once the enemy arrives here, we must not let them go any further." After the division commander finished speaking, he led the officers behind him. , go back to call and reinstate.

Churchill waited for the confirmed news. The chief of staff of the 1st Army reported that the position was broken by the enemy. The German army was now only 10 kilometers away from London.

At the same time, news came from the 3rd Army that the Germans used large-caliber artillery to attack the suburbs of London. Although the casualties were not large, the panic that could be caused had already spread.

"Viscount Gott... You shoulder the safety of the capital of the empire! You can't take a step back even if you die!" Churchill commanded through gritted teeth, looking at his subordinates. —

If there is no accident, tomorrow Longling will start to make up and repay the debt.