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Text Chapter 986 Churchill¡¯s Victory

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    Although Churchill is recognized by everyone as the least talented strategist, he is indeed the leader best at boosting morale, and of course the politician who knows how to benefit himself at the expense of others.  He can be keenly aware of what the public and the military think and need, and can solve it in the simplest way.

    So as soon as the news of Franco's death arrived, he knew that the opportunity had come.

    After these enthusiastic and encouraging words, the generals were all mobilized and showed amazing enthusiasm.  Relying on the phone in the conference room and the inaccurate information at hand, the entire login plan was produced in just three hours.  The plan was to first use Gibraltar's air force to raid Spanish airports such as Madrid.  After destroying the Spanish Air Force, the Y-5 transport aircraft purchased from China before the war and the American DC-3 transport aircraft were used to send the first battalion of paratroopers who had just completed training.  Then, using the superior naval power, the two infantry divisions that were supposed to be sent to North Africa were divided into three groups to land at the same time from Gibraltar, the White Coast and the Balianan Islands.

    But he was still dissatisfied with the plan. He frowned and turned to his Air Force Chief of Staff, Charles Porter: "Charles, do you have any relatives in France?"

    Charles was stunned when he was asked: "Prime Minister, I was born in Hungerford." The surrounding generals and Attlee and other officials also looked at him in surprise.  You know, Charles is the father of British strategic bombing and pioneered large-scale night bombing. Even China's "Rainbow Bombing" drew on his experience and tactics.  So everyone is puzzled, what kind of trouble is the old Sir Alex causing?  Charles has done a good job. Do you want to evacuate him?

    Churchill ignored his gaze and stood up. He chewed his cigar and made a row of deep tooth marks. He pointed at the railway network in southern France with his carrot-thick fingers: "The train station, the dispatch room, the railway tracksall of them."  Destroy! And here, here! Every passage into the Pyrenees must be completely destroyed, and let the German tanks climb the mountain!!"

    The generals are fine.  But when Attlee heard that he wanted the air force to send out bombings of the railway network in southern France, he was immediately shocked: "Prime Minister, this will affect the relationship between France and us."

    "Relationship? Humph!" Churchill disagreed.  He doesn't care about British-French relations now. Let's wait until victory is in sight to talk about those nonsense.  So he shook his hand: "Attlee, do you think we can get along well with Philippe (Philippe P¨¦tain, President of Vichy France) now?" Everyone shook their heads. The trebuchet operation has torn Britain and France apart.  How many knives does it matter?  But Attlee was still worried: "But what about General de Gaulle and the Free French?"

    "I will explain it to him personally." Churchill said decisively: "Charles, before the Germans come, go blow them up!"

    "Compared with Hitler, Churchill this time was shockingly straightforward. He didn't even communicate with Roosevelt first.  It's not that he is arrogant and thinks that Britain can defend Spain on its own, but he knows that Spain is a cesspool!  If the British army does not take action, the US military will definitely delay. Only by taking action himself will Roosevelt be ruthless enough to fight.  After all, if Gibraltar is lost.  The American nouveau riche can only pack up and go home empty-handed.

    In the early morning of April 4th, Ribbentrop arrived in Vichy with Hitler's instructions to start so-called "transit negotiations" with French President P¨¦tain.  While the negotiations were ongoing, the Spanish operation code-named "Lynx" officially began.  Two aircraft carriers in the Bay of Biscay and more than two hundred British Spitfires and bombers departing from Gibraltar.  Sudden air raids hit nine airports, including Madrid, and more than a dozen Spanish military camps.  The entire air attack was very neat, and in only half an hour, the Spanish Air Force was completely destroyed.  Before the Spaniards could understand what was going on, 3,700 British paratroopers who had just finished training arrived.  Take more than two hundred transport planes and quickly land at Madrid Airport.

    At the same time, the British battleships Prince of Wales and George V led five light and heavy cruisers to block the port of San Fernando.  Eleven warships of the Spanish Navy, including the Canarias heavy cruiser and two Alfonso-class light cruisers, were blocked in the harbor and ordered to disarm immediately.

    By 1 o'clock in the afternoon, the British army not only controlled three airports including Madrid, but also occupied the Spanish Air Force munitions warehouse next to the airport, and important facilities including the Prime Minister's Palace and the Parliament Building in Madrid were also occupied.  Subsequently, transport planes and bombers also distributed five million leaflets to more than ten cities, including Madrid, saying "Franco was assassinated and killed by German spies, the German army is coming, and the British army will temporarily take over Spain."  The British army's raid and the news of Franco's death plunged the whole of Spain into chaos. The opposition groups that had been suppressed celebrated wildly, but the Nazi organizations and government forces led by the Falang Party thought it was a rumor and began to organize troops.  Trying to take back control of Madrid.  By evening, the number of British troops in Madrid had increased to 5,300, and transport planes had also delivered more than 200 artillery and anti-tank guns.

      While raiding Madrid, the British Royal Navy stationed in Gibraltar also packed 2,200 army vanguard troops into destroyers and torpedo boats, and landed at the same time on Mallorca and Menorca in the Balianan Islands later that day.  , and shelled the airport.  By the afternoon of the next day, with the support of the follow-up 6,000 army troops, the important facilities and airports on the two islands had been completely controlled.  In order to prevent the German Air Force stationed in Italy, the British Air Force also dispatched more than 60 Spitfire fighter jets from the North African battlefield and stationed them in Mallorca immediately, cutting off the sea route from Italy to Spain.

    This series of rapid raids stunned Hitler, who was still waiting for the outcome of the negotiations. It was not until his favorite Balianan Islands were lost that he realized that he had made a serious mistake!  So he called on the pro-his Falange and government forces in Spain to launch an attack on the British army, and asked Guderian to set off immediately. Finally, he ordered Rommel to turn around and attack Algeria.  The German general staff was annoyed that he had bypassed them in issuing orders, but due to expediency, they could only order the German troops stationed in France to set off immediately.  But the German military train had not moved far. At 8 o'clock in the evening, Charles Porter dispatched more than 600 bombers and launched a fierce air attack on railway hubs and bridges in southern France.  Since the German air force was all in Paris, by the time the fighter jets arrived, the British bombers had already left with the record of destroying more than a hundred hubs.  In the following days, the British Air Force set off from the mainland and Mallorca regardless of losses, day and night.  Churchill continued to sabotage railways and bridges along the Western-French border in southern France and the Pyrenees. Churchill also used his nephew to provide support as bait, allowing Catalan and other guerrillas active in northern Spain to attack all roads into Spain.  Massive destruction was carried out on railways and railways, more than 40 bridges and railway bridges of various types were blown up, and landmines were laid on main roads.

    The sudden bombing by the British army caught Hitler off guard, and it also overwhelmed the Vichy French government.  Without warning or preparation, at least more than a thousand French people were killed and more than 200 train stations and more than 40 bridges were damaged in several days of high-intensity air raids.  Hundreds of facilities including train maintenance plants and coal filling stations were destroyed.  Even de Gaulle and the Free French were very angry when they learned that the bombing had caused a large number of civilian casualties.  In the end, under Churchill's explanation, he had to pretend to be deaf and dumb in order to win the final victory.

    Of course, the British army's actions were not smooth sailing. Armed forces loyal to Franco and the Nazi Falangists continued to launch attacks on the British army. Even the Blue Division, which was being formed and had not yet been completed, was involved, causing heavy casualties to the British army.  But these did not shake Churchill and the British government's determination to seize Spain, and they gritted their teeth and ordered more troops!  Increase troops!  More troops!  Churchill explains to Parliament the necessity of sending troops to Spain.  It even used the term "Europe's last line of defense" to emphasize to all the British public and soldiers that it was either failure!  Either keep Spain!

    No matter how much losses the British army suffered, Operation "Lynx" can be regarded as the war to this day.  The most perfect military operation of the British army on the European continent, it was also a major personal victory for Churchill!  It completely dispelled the doubts and uneasiness of the British people and government in opening up a new battlefield.  In just five days, not only did he successfully enter Spain.  It also successfully destroyed the southern French railway and blocked Guderian's army outside the Pyrenees.  Seeing the British troops pouring into Spain, his own troops were struggling.  The furious Hitler then tore off his disguise and ordered the postponement of his plan to attack Greece on the pretext of "protecting France" and ordered more than one million German troops stationed in France to advance south.  As German troops continued to advance into the south, the Vichy government existed in name only, and France once again entered a period of turmoil.

    When the Spanish War was about to break out, the atmosphere in the manor outside Washington was still quiet and comfortable.

    Roosevelt sat at the window, with a thick cashmere blanket on his knees, wearing glasses, listening to Hull and Marshall's reports, and kept writing with his pen.

    At this time, the United States has gradually entered the rhythm of war. Factories closed due to the economic crisis and recession have returned to life. Orders from the military and the government have made arms tycoons and capitalists smile.  The strong industrial manufacturing capabilities finally showed their strong strength in the fifth month after the declaration of war. Tanks, trucks, ships, aircraft, guns, ammunition, etc., were continuously rolled off the production line and delivered to millions of people fighting for revenge and war.  Instigated by slogans such as "liberating Europe", young people put down their jobs and put on military uniforms.

    "This is the latest statistics. All factories have begun to expand their capacity to cope with more orders. As of now, they can manufacture 3,200 aircraft, 400 tanks/armored vehicles, 4,000 cannons per month,  100,000 rifles, 20 ships We made a statistical table. Judging from the growth rate of the manufacturing industry after the conversion, it is expected to return to the level before the stock market crash (1929) by the end of this year.  , we can enter the peak in October next year, when we can manufacture at least 50 ships and 8,000 aircraft per month."

    "This is the recruitment progress. Four million people have joined the army.There are 750,000 pilots in the navy and 15,000 pilots holding civilian pilot licenses are undergoing training.  The Raider aircraft carrier was delivered in two weeks, and the Long Island escort carrier was delivered in one week.  The five Archer-class escort aircraft carriers refitted for the British Navy in December last year can be launched one after another in four weeks. Our own 24 Borg-class escort aircraft carriers have also entered the slipway construction, and the first one will be delivered in October at the latest.    The patent drawings and six prototypes of the Storm fighter purchased from China have all been sent to the factory. Ron told me that there are no problems with the drawings and prototypes, and pre-production can be arranged in four weeks.  "The thriving industrial scene made the Secretary of State slowly raise his lips. As more and more warships and escort aircraft carriers boarded the slipway, the shadow of Wake Island seemed to have begun to dissipate. But Roosevelt knew very well that more than 10,000 outstanding people  The loss of naval personnel is the most fatal. Without one or two years of training, it will be difficult for the U.S. Navy to return to its previous level.

    And now, in front of him, there is another battle similar to Wake Island, a battle that he does not want to fight but must fight!  "Do you know?" Roosevelt took off his glasses and rubbed the corners of his sore eyes and said, "What was my reaction when I received the call from Churchill? I was thinking that there is probably no purer politician in the world than him!  Even Yang Qiu can't do his method of lifting things lightly."

    Hull and Marshall both slightly glanced at the corners of their mouths. The current situation is almost exactly the same as Wake Island.  Previously, after Yang Qiu captured Mariana, he launched a forceful attack on the Ryukyu Islands, forcing Japan to fight to the death to ensure that it would not be attacked.  Now Hitler's army is pressing on the Iberian Peninsula, and the Strait of Gibraltar may be cut off at any time. Churchill deliberately acted early, forcing them to follow the footsteps of the British army and send troops to Spain.

    So, will the result be the same?

    "I have ordered the second batch of reinforcements to go directly to Gibraltar, and the navy has also begun to speed up the delivery, so that together with the British army, we have twenty-three divisions, totaling about 650,000 troops. As long as we can hold on until the end of August, the first  A batch of 30 new divisions can be put into Europe," Marshall said.

    "Helping him also helps ourselves. So George! Gibraltar and Spain must be defended! No matter the cost!"

    "Yes, President, I know very well." Marshall nodded.

    Roosevelt turned around to continue working, but suddenly raised his head: "Can you tell me what Yang Qiu is doing?"

    "Colonel Stilwell said that China is accelerating the mobilization of troops and supplies to the southeast coast, preparing to attack the Ryukyu Islands and open the southern gate to Japan." Marshall said: "One more thing, Nimitz told me in the morning that they were  The Marshallese fleet has captured Kwajalein Atoll and Orr Island, and began its attack on Majuro Atoll last night"

    Roosevelt was silent for a while, then finally picked up the pen and asked calmly: "By the way, do you have anyone to choose who will go to Spain?"

    "General MacArthur, he hopes to go to Spain.".

    (To be continued)
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