Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 2132 Finding a Needle in a Haystack
Since the end of the Second Boer War, Britain has gradually sold overseas assets, and southern Africa is the biggest beneficiary.

Port Elizabeth, Halifax Naval Base, Changi Naval Base, and the Chagos Islands were actually bought with money from southern Africa, and this is where Rock's nickname "Golden Hand" comes from.

These overseas territories purchased by Southern Africa, the Halifax and Changi naval bases were voluntarily given up by the British, Port Elizabeth and the Chagos Islands, which produced almost no value during the period of British control, were purchased in Southern Africa, and the value It was gradually realized, and Rock was nicknamed the "Golden Hand" because of this, and was considered to have the ability to "turn a stone into gold".

Who would have thought that under the barren desert of Port Elizabeth, there is an endless amount of massive oil.

Who would have thought that with the advancement of navigation technology, the deserted Chagos Islands (Diego Garcia) would gradually become the most important port and military base in the Indian Ocean region.

As for the Halifax and Changi naval bases, they have extremely important strategic positions in themselves, and the United Kingdom actually gave up, and southern Africa was naturally happy to accept them.

For a short time, Britain and France are safe.

Because the Germans need time to digest the results of 1939, whether it is Austria, Czechoslovakia, or Poland, there are frequent rebels in the territory, and the Germans need time to complete the conquest of the locals. At least until next spring, Germany has no ability Launch an attack on the British and French allied forces.

Of course, there is not much time left for the British and French. Even people who are not sensitive to the situation know that once Germany has digested it, the appetite of the German war behemoth will expand even more.

Winston really wanted to save money for the Royal Navy, but the increasingly severe situation did not leave Winston any chance.

On November 11, the 20-ton passenger ship "Athena" was torpedoed by a German submarine, killing 13500 people, including 120 Americans.

Regarding the sinking of "Athena", Britain and Germany disagree.

Britain insisted that "Athena" was sunk by German submarines.

The Germans insisted that the "Athena" was sunk by the British themselves in order to destroy the relationship between Germany and the United States.

This statement is very strange.

But it's not impossible.

In this regard, the Anglo-Saxons have a criminal record. For example, the "Maine" that led to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, more and more evidence shows that it was bombed and sunk by the Americans themselves.

Now that "Athena" has sunk, maybe the British directed and performed it themselves.

Although this statement is weird, it is very popular in Europe today.

It's not over, it's just the beginning.

On November 11, 21, and 23, the "Bosnia", "Imperial Power", and "Leo Claro" were sunk off the coast of Spain. This fully proves that the German submarines have broken through the English Channel and are Unscrupulous attacks on British merchant ships.

In addition to attacking merchant ships, Germany also dropped a large number of magnetic mines on the British coastline.

The magnetic mine is a new type of weapon that Germany has just successfully developed. It can be detonated with its own non-triggering fuze without contact with the target.

The Germans initially laid magnetic mines in the waters from the Thames Estuary to Hambel. From October to December, a total of 17 ships were sunk by magnetic mines, with a total tonnage of 56000 tons.

The British knew nothing about the performance of magnetic mines, and conducted minesweeping in relevant waters many times, but found nothing.

During this period, the newly commissioned cruiser "Belfast" and the symbol of the Royal Navy, one of the powerful BIG7 battleship "Admiral Nelson", were both damaged by German torpedoes. Morale, a huge blow.

The turning point of the matter happened on November 11. Someone saw a German plane throwing something with a parachute into the sea near Huopolinas.

At that time, the sea tide was high, the pilot misjudged, and the location was too close to the coast. As a result, after the sea tide ebbed, a magnetic torpedo appeared on the beach, and the Germans' secret was exposed.

When German submarines attacked British merchant ships, the British were not idle.

Like the last World War, after Britain declared war on Germany, all German merchant ships docking at British ports were seized by the Royal Navy, and ships bound for Germany were also intercepted by the Royal Navy. If the ships were loaded with contraband, Then it will also be detained by the Royal Navy.

By December, more than 12 German merchant ships totaling 600 million tons were seized by the Royal Navy.

Also in December, after a long and bitter war of words, Winston and Roque finally reached an agreement that Rand Bank would undertake a £12 million bond issued by the British government to purchase light cruisers and ships from southern Africa. Destroyer, strengthening the anti-submarine and escort forces of the Royal Navy.

According to the agreement, Southern Africa will sell to the UK 23 "Durban" class light cruisers, 19 "Tiger" class destroyers, 21 "Lion" class destroyers, and some smaller tonnage frigates that also have anti-submarine capabilities.

Rock and Winston were both pleased with the result.

With these light cruisers and destroyers, the Royal Navy's escort capabilities and anti-submarine capabilities have been greatly enhanced, and Winston's status in the British wartime cabinet has soared.

The Southern African Navy took the opportunity to sell the old warships to the British. Compared with dismantling, the price must be too beautiful.

As a result, An Qi was extremely inflated. In the latest shipbuilding plan of the Southern African Navy, the destroyer An Qi was almost despised, and the light cruiser would completely replace the destroyer.

Another interesting thing happened in December.

Britain and France knew next to nothing about Germany's next steps, which worried the British and French governments very much.

Everyone knows that after Germany annexed Poland, its next step would be to attack France.

When and how Germany will attack has become the most worrying issue for the British and French allied forces.

The British government and the French government spent a lot of effort on this, trying to get the next step of the German army's combat plan.

This wish is difficult to realize. Germany is different from Britain and France. It is difficult for Britain and France to infiltrate Germany, while London and Paris are infiltrated by the Germans into a sieve.

On December 12th, a German staff officer prepared to take the train to Cologne with the No. 15 instruction issued by the commander of the German Second Air Force Furmi to the commanders and headquarters of the corps. When the staff officer arrived at the train station, Only to find that the train tickets were all sold out, so the staff officer changed to a plane.

In 1939, all the excellent pilots in Germany were in the army, and the pilots of civil aviation were not very skilled.

The plane on which the hapless staff officer was flying had a poor pilot's skills.

Shortly after the plane took off, the pilot lost his way. The plane flew westward, flew over the Derby border, entered Belgian airspace, and finally made an emergency landing in Belgium.

When the plane was found to have made an emergency landing at an airport in Belgium, the staff officer tried to destroy the documents he carried with him, but was stopped by the airport security personnel, and the "Yelou Project" was accidentally exposed.

This is really hard to find, and it takes no effort to get it.

The British government and the French government were ecstatic. Through the "Yelou Project", all the next actions of the German army are under control, and the British and French allied forces will completely control the initiative on the battlefield.

The British and the French rejoiced too early.

The leak of the "Yelou Project" caused great controversy because the process was too miraculous. Some people believed that the Germans deliberately leaked the "Yelou Project" to the British and French allied forces, thus laying a huge trap.

After the staff officer carrying the "Yelou Project" was arrested, Mustache soon knew that the plan had been leaked.

So the Germans used their tricks to modify the "Yelou Project" and directed a big drama for it.

The original content of the "Yelou Plan" was: to pass through the center of Belgium on the right wing of the front, then turn to the southwest, and direct the main assault in the direction of Paris.

After realizing that the content of the "Yelou Project" was leaked, Mustache adjusted his main attack direction from central Belgium to the Ardennes region, from the Ardennes region through Luxembourg to Sedan, then to the northwest, and then turned to the Calais region to carry out a deep division assault. Split the Northern Group of the Anglo-French forces.

The complacent British and French were unaware that the Germans had revised their plans.

Even when the Germans knew that the phone was being tapped, they still gave orders in accordance with the content of the "Yelou Project".

These are all smoke bombs. At this time, in addition to the original "Plan A", the German army also has a "Plan B".

The Anglo-French forces knew nothing about it.

Throughout the winter, the Germans made no further moves.

The British and French allied forces did not launch an attack on Germany, and the sit-in war continued.

The confrontation at sea is becoming more and more intense.

The Royal Navy intercepted German merchant ships all over the world. No matter what was on board, as long as they were of German nationality, they would all be detained.

The German captains did not yield.

Many German merchant ships, after being intercepted by the Royal Navy, transferred all personnel to small boats, and then scuttled the ship directly. They would rather lose all the ships and their cargo than the British.

After the German ships were seized by the Royal Navy, the goods on the ship would naturally belong to the British. After the war, the ships would be returned, but the goods on the ship would be forgotten. This is what the Royal Navy did during the last World War .

Although German submarines are attacking British merchant ships unscrupulously, generally speaking, the advantage is still on the British side.

The strength of the Royal Navy is indeed strong.

In order to break the British naval blockade, on November 11, two German pocket battleships "Deutschland" and "Admiral Graf Spee" secretly set off from their home port into the Atlantic Ocean, trying to threaten the British Atlantic trade routes.

The Royal Navy was ecstatic as if it was facing an enemy.

The German warships finally went to sea, and the opportunity for the Royal Navy came. Winston dispatched 28 warships to form 9 search fleets, looking for the "Deutschland" and "Admiral Graf Spee".

This is really a needle in a haystack.

(End of this chapter)