Iron Cross

"What are you talking about? The RB and the Germans are attacking Ceylon? Is it going to be undefendable?"

On June 26, when he saw the urgent telegram sent by Mountbatten, the famous fat man, Prime Minister of the British Empire, felt dizzy, and the hand holding the telegram trembled non-stop, as if he was suffering from acute Parkinson's syndrome.

Mountbatten actually delayed reporting the situation for two days. Initially, he hoped to rely on the local defenders and related reinforcements to secure the island of Ceylon. However, when the German Marine Brigade that landed ashore was fully deployed, Army Commander Hawkins was forced to lead his troops. After surrendering, he finally knew that something was wrong. The British Empire was about to lose Ceylon, and India was also in great danger in the next step. For the British Empire, which had lost control of the sea, the entire Indian subcontinent was full of loopholes for landing. He could not and did not dare to take this responsibility, so he could only send the telegram to London quickly.

In the telegram, he involuntarily exaggerated the number of landing German troops: thinking that they had at least 3 armored divisions, the RB people dispatched a division-level marine force, and of course included the entire main force of the Combined Fleet, and then picked out the ones at dawn. Raid... Generally speaking, I have tried my best, and London will take care of the follow-up.

In the conference room, everyone who heard the news was like a bolt from the blue. They were so shocked that they were speechless for a long time. Everyone knew that India might be attacked, but no one expected it to happen so quickly. Unexpectedly, the RB people could not wait to attack on their way back home, and they did not expect that the Germans would actually take a hand.

"Can we send reinforcements to India?" Churchill turned to Chief of General Staff Marshal Brooke. "After the Japanese army occupied Ceylon, the next step must be the Indian interior. The British Empire must not lose it under any circumstances."

Marshal Brooke said painfully: "Although I hate to admit it, I must say that there is currently no way to mobilize reinforcements to India. The existing strength of the Royal Navy is not enough to break through the blockade of the Japanese fleet. If we mobilize reinforcements from the mainland, we will at least reach India. It will take 3 months..."

Pound nodded and admitted that the Royal Navy was no match for the Combined Fleet now, but said that if it received assistance from the main force of the U.S. Navy, there would still be a chance.

"The problem is that the main force of the Atlantic Fleet is now returning from the direction of South America, preparing to deal with the German fleet that broke diplomatic relations in the North Atlantic. Because of their appearance, we lost an entire merchant fleet, and another seven fleets are stranded in Canada. The mainland has not received any supplies for nearly half a month, and fuel and food are being consumed at a rapid rate. If this breaking fleet is not dealt with, the mainland will be completely blocked. "

"How many days will it take for the Atlantic Fleet to arrive?"

"It's about a week away."

"Prepare the reinforcements first, and wait for the Atlantic Fleet to repel the break-up fleet in a week before escorting the reinforcements to India; Lord Mountbatten still has more than 300,000 troops, which can deal with the enemy for a long time, enough to support the arrival of reinforcements " Churchill was anxious and sent a telegram to the Australian and New Zealand governments to ask for their assistance. "

"I suggest that you directly request assistance from President Roosevelt. Only the U.S. government has the strength to help us now." Deputy Prime Minister Attlee pondered for a moment and then said, "Once India is lost, the blow to the United Kingdom will of course be profound, but the impact on the United States will be profound. The interests are as harmful as the overall strategic deployment. I hope everyone can think of ways to defend India."

"We can also ask the Chinese army to support us, and we can ask the US government to put pressure on the Chiang regime to send 300,000 troops to help us defend India..."

After listening to everyone's chatter, Churchill's chubby round face forced a smile that was uglier than crying: "Gentlemen, this is the second quagmire the Japanese army has fallen into after falling into the quagmire of China. , the Chinese can withstand it for so long, I believe we can support it for longer, this will be the turning point of this war, the turning point of the RB empire's final demise..."

Turning points have been Churchill's mantra recently, and Attlee and others are almost tired of hearing it: every time he talks about turning points, the situation worsens day by day, and it seems that even India can hardly save it.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, if, I mean if..." Attlee spoke with difficulty, "We unfortunately lost India, what should we do in the future?"

Everyone's eyes turned to Churchill, and he was stunned, as if he had never thought of this outcome. After a long time, he weakly spoke: "We can't give in. I don't believe that India will fall. What if it happens?" Unexpected consequences, I hope that the government and the king can move to Canada. We will continue to fight on the North American continent and continue to fight against the axis of evil. Now, please formulate a plan to assist India as soon as possible according to the division of responsibilities."

The meeting dispersed quickly, and everyone was preoccupied.

When leaving, Foreign Secretary Eden, who had always been in the two parties with Attlee, got into Attlee's car this time, but no one else took it seriously - the government currently strictly implements the fuel rationing system, and domestic civilian cars can The amount of gasoline they received was so pitiful that even cabinet ministers set an example and started "carpooling" to save fuel.

"What do you think of today's incident?"

"Do I need to praise the Prime Minister for his determination to fight to the end?"

"Stop being ridiculous..." Aiden frowned, "You know I'm not in the mood to joke with you, I'm serious."

"I'm serious too. The Prime Minister's indomitable fighting spirit deserves our recognition and learning, but..." Attlee looked around, for fear of someone eavesdropping, and then lowered his voice and said, "This is a path that will lead the British Empire to a dead end. road.”

"You don't agree?"

"No! I agree!"

"Then you still?" Aiden was about to get angry, but suddenly realized, "You mean, he can leave, but His Majesty can't?"

Attlee asked: "Which Majesty are you talking about?"

"Which Majesty?" Aiden was confused by what he said. He suddenly woke up and showed a horrified look. He couldn't help but cover his mouth with his hands and said, "Duke of Windsor?"

The Duke of Windsor is the famous Edward VIII. This British king, who is famous for "loving beauty but not country", had conflicts with the government and the church due to his marriage to Mrs. Simpson. He was forced to abdicate in 1936 and was replaced by his brother George VI. After succeeding to the throne, he changed his title to Duke of Windsor in 1937. During World War II, he served as a British military representative in France. After being accused of sympathizing with the Third Reich, he went to the Bahamas to serve as governor in 1940.

"Love beauty but not country" is of course a popular view. At the level of Eden and Attlee, they know very clearly that the reason why the Duke of Windsor was forced to abdicate was that the marriage issue was just an excuse. The essence was because he sympathized with the Third Reich and He had a good personal relationship with Hitler. When he went to Germany for a private visit after abdicating the throne in 1937, he was warmly received by the head of state, and the specifications were as for the current king. What is even more unbelievable is that in the second month after the start of World War II, he visited France. In addition to gathering French defense intelligence for Britain, he also handed over the intelligence he collected on the French front to Hitler, and Germany modified and The French campaign plan was improved.

The Duke of Windsor is obviously pro-German, and has even been advocating negotiations between Britain and Germany to jointly dominate the world. The theoretical basis is that "Britain has a navy and Germany has an army, and it can be invincible in the world." And the reason why he is willing to cooperate with Germany is obviously not out of the motive of betraying the country - he has become the king, what additional benefits will he get from betraying his country? The final analysis is that when he was the Prince of Wales, he was deeply worried about the living conditions of the working class under the economic crisis, and advocated social reform to alleviate this plight, which was at odds with the conservative political views of George V.

Germany's "National Socialist" path coincided with Edward's ideas. He hoped to transform Britain according to this vision. When his brother George VI reminded him that communism threatened Europe, he blurted out: "Then Hitler and National Socialism will Liberate Europe!"

"I have not had any contact with the Germans or the Duke of Windsor, but I think that the current situation in the British Empire cannot continue... If reconciliation between Britain and Germany is to be implemented, the Duke of Windsor will be an important part, oh, And Deputy Führer Hess in prison.”

"But we can still hold on, Hitler can't get to Britain, he can't defeat us."

"The Germans don't need to land, they can destroy us with siege and starvation." Attlee said sarcastically, "The people are getting thinner day by day, and Mr. Prime Minister is probably the only fat man we see so far. There is no oil. , millions of troops cannot fight; there is no food, tens of millions of people are hungry... To be honest, the British people who are resolutely resisting now are far worse than the French people who surrendered. "

Aiden wanted to object to this statement, but after thinking about it, he found that it was not convincing. What he was most dissatisfied with Churchill was that he followed the Americans all day long, ruining the Royal Navy and wasting the good situation.

"What are you going to do? File a motion of no confidence?"

"Changing people without changing the route will not solve the problem. If we want to fight to the end, it is better to let the Prime Minister continue." Attlee said with a wry smile, "The Americans said that they can regain maritime superiority next year, or the year after next at the latest. Do you believe "?"

"this……"

"Whether you believe it or not, I don't believe it! So what if it's true? Can we survive until 1945 or 1946? Starve to death millions of people like Stalin and do nothing? I can't do that kind of thing - say After all, I am a working-class politician, not an aristocratic gentleman.”

"Do you think the Government and His Majesty can go to Canada and continue the resistance, continue to call upon the colonies and dominions around the world in the name of the United Kingdom, while the homeland is re-ruled by the Duke of Windsor and another set of governments and an understanding with Germany is achieved?"

"This is the only way to solve the people's suffering at present, and it is also the reason why I greeted you and asked you to discuss it together. I don't want to talk to him, he has gone crazy."

"You have to let me think about this. It's useless just for me to agree. It must be agreed by the majority of people..."