Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 2316 No way to escape

Darlan's clean-up operation was not thorough. Some people in the French Navy still had illusions about Germany, and even Darlan and Labode's attitudes were not firm.

From Darlan's point of view, his biggest purpose is to preserve the fire for the French navy, which determines Darlan's hesitation in this matter.

On the surface, the Allies now have the upper hand in the Mediterranean, but no one can guarantee that the Allies will win the final victory.

So the question arises, what if Germany wins in the end?

Nadal Ronco took the French Navy to its grave with his own hands.

Lapoud's attitude depends entirely on this last fleet.

The British and Germans have said many times that they would rather see the French navy completely wiped out than see the French navy join the opposing camp.

In 1940, both Pétain and Darlan issued similar orders: Once the most critical moment is reached, the French navy would rather scuttle all warships than surrender this fleet to others.

Now is the most critical juncture. La Bode must be prepared with both hands. Once the fleet cannot escape the port of Toulon, all warships must be scuttled in accordance with the orders of Pétain and Darlan.

Not everyone was willing to do this, so when Lapod's order was issued, some naval officers and soldiers were unwilling to carry out Lapod's order, and the conflict broke out.

Just when the internal strife broke out in the French Navy, a support fleet composed of 20 capital ships, 3 transport ships, 2 cruisers and 4 destroyers was sailing to the port of Toulon on the sea 15 kilometers away.

"General, we have received a telegram that internal strife broke out in the French navy and fierce conflict broke out in the port of Toulon. Admiral Labode hopes that we can reach Toulon as quickly as possible."

"Has Marshal Darlan left Toulon?" Rear Admiral O'Neill, captain of the battleship "Resolution" of the Mediterranean Fleet, is the commander in chief of this operation.

The three capital ships supporting the fleet, except for the "Resolution", the other two are aircraft carriers from the Cyprus Squadron.

"Yes, Marshal Darlan has boarded the transport plane and is on his way to Algiers." The communications officer smiled with obvious mockery. The "Resolution" is an old opponent of the French Navy and is attacking the "Richelieu". In the battle of , the "Resolution" was seriously damaged, and the British has not forgotten it.

"Richelieu" is now ready to serve at any time, and the "Resolution" probably has no chance of revenge.

But O'Neill was very happy to see the French admiral in such a mess.

As long as the French are unlucky, the British are happy.

During the Battle of Britain, many French were looking forward to the defeat of Britain.

That way, France would no longer be the only major country to stop resisting.

"Very well, order the fleet to advance at full speed, we must do our best to give our allies the greatest help—" O'Neill smiled brightly, from allies to opponents to allies, things are really changing.

Before O'Neill's words fell, the destroyer "Hound Dog" at the forefront of the support fleet seemed to be hit by a torpedo or a mine, and suddenly exploded violently.

"What the hell is going on?" O'Neill, who was smiling brightly just a moment ago, was full of surprise. The fleet had already entered a state of combat. As long as German submarines dared to appear, they would definitely not be able to escape the siege of destroyers.

Then there is only one possibility left. The "Hound Dog" touched a mine laid by a German submarine.

Knowing this, the surrounding waters were suddenly in danger.

As powerful as the "Resolution", if it is hit by a mine, it will also be severely damaged.

Not to mention cruisers and destroyers with a smaller tonnage, the consequences of being hit by a mine are like the "Hound Dog", which disappeared from the sea in just 2 minutes.

The aircraft carrier of the Cyprus Squadron is also thin-skinned and the waterline armor is weak. If it is hit by a mine, it will also not escape the bad luck of being sunk.

"Order the troops to stop and send minesweepers—" O'Neill suddenly remembered that the support fleet was not equipped with minesweepers.

The German submarine's mine-laying operation was carried out in secret, even the French Navy did not know about it, and the Allied Forces also did not grasp this situation.

The support fleet never considered this possibility at all when they set off, so naturally they would not bring minesweepers with them.

"The cruisers and destroyers of the Cyprus Squadron have certain mine-sweeping capabilities, but the efficiency will not be too high." Colonel John Wood, the first officer, was worried. Now the support fleet has broken into the minefield and may hit mines at any time. This situation is not for everyone. willing to face.

"Then what are you waiting for, start acting immediately." O'Neill could no longer care about the French Navy at this time, and how to bring the support fleet back safely as much as possible is more important.

John Wood looked sad. Not all Britons wanted to see French jokes.

While the supporting fleet struggled to save itself, the fighting in the port of Toulon raged.

After the French troops stationed in the port of Toulon withdrew, the safety of the port of Toulon was taken care of by the French navy. The sailors who went ashore to perform tasks did not know what happened.

After the battle broke out in the port, Admiral Malki dispatched troops into the port to support, but when the troops arrived, they did not know which side to help.

The troops fighting in the port are all French naval officers and soldiers, and their purpose is to protect the last French fleet.

This is the last essence of the French Navy, a total of 3 capital ships, 8 cruisers, 18 destroyers, 17 torpedo boats, 19 submarines, 7 communication ships, 3 reconnaissance ships, and more than 60 transport ships, oil tankers, dredgers boats and tugboats.

Although "Richelieu" and "Jean Bart" are stronger, after all, they have not yet served, and no one knows how they will perform on the battlefield.

For this French fleet, the naval officers and soldiers are still very affectionate. Some naval officers and soldiers would rather accept the command of the Italians than scuttle the warship.

For the same reason, although the battle in the port was fierce, the actual casualties were not large. The vast majority of naval officers and soldiers were unwilling to point their guns at their former comrades-in-arms. Although their positions were different, their goals were the same.

"Order the troops to move quickly. We must not leave any warship to the Germans." Admiral Labode was determined. His purpose was not to rush out of the port at all, but to scuttle all the warships.

Admiral Labode did not like the British, nor did he like Darlane, and he did not want to cooperate with the Allies at all, even if the leaders of the Free France promised that the French Navy would not accept the command of the Royal Fleet.

Even if it is not accepted, the French Navy will become a vassal of the Royal Fleet, which is absolutely unacceptable to La Bode.

After "Operation Ballista", Admiral La Bode hated the British deeply, and now he only wanted to scuttle all the warships.

"General, if we scuttle all the warships, then we will be angered by the Germans, and we will be completely worthless." Admiral Malki's expression was tangled. Determination.

In another time and space, after the German troops arrived in Toulon, Admiral Marchy was captured by the Germans on his bed, which was a shame for Marchy, who was the commander of the port defense.

"So what do you want to do? Let the sailors return to their posts and drive the warship out of the port? You may not know it, but the Germans have laid mines outside the port, and we have nowhere to escape." Rapo The German general smiled bitterly. After all, the port of Toulon is French territory, and it is impossible for the Germans to completely hide everyone's actions.

But even knowing that the Germans were laying mines, Admiral La Bode did not take any action.

Even if the actions of the Germans are prevented, what will happen.

Labode does not want any form of cooperation with the British. If Darlan decides to maintain "neutrality", then Lapoud will give Darlan the respect he deserves.

Now that Darlan has decided to join the Allied Forces, Labode has been completely disappointed in Darlan.

So even if this fleet rushes out of Toulon Port, it has nowhere to go.

"Laying mines? How could the Germans do this?" Malki was inexplicably horrified. Just now, after joining the Allied Forces, Malki was still fantasizing that he could continue to be an admiral of his own navy.

Now everything is over, without the fleet, Marchi and the French navy generals will not be able to advance. With Marchi's ability, even if Marchi fled to North Africa, he is not qualified to serve as "Richelieu" and "Jean" Barr's captain.

"The Germans are our enemies as much as the British. Of course they will do this, and we will do the same if we change it." Admiral Labode is tired, destroy it.

"We can use unimportant auxiliary ships to fight a bloody path." Malki did everything possible. If some unimportant auxiliary ships can be discarded to preserve the main battleship, then the result is not bad.

Of course, this is definitely not good news for the officers and soldiers on the auxiliary ships.

"Can you say this in front of the sailors who are supporting the ships?" Admiral La Bode sneered, this is not to ignore human life, but to let people die directly.

Malki had an ugly expression on his face. If he dared to issue such an order, he would be torn to pieces by the sailors in minutes.

"General, the officers want to see you—" Admiral La Bode's adjutant hurried to report.

"Let them in—" Admiral La Bode did not evacuate by plane with Darlan, but chose to stay in Toulon and live and die with the fleet. This behavior allowed Admiral La Bode to win the trust of the officers.

Soon a large group of generals and officers swarmed in. They did not understand why Labode issued such an order.

"Two years ago, Marshal Pétain and Marshal Darlan issued the same order successively. If someone tries to take away this fleet, then we will show our attitude with actions. There will always be some French who will never give in—" Admiral Labode's expression was serious, France stopped resisting, and the most unacceptable group was the soldiers.

In the last World War, France and Germany fought for four years.

This time, after only 38 days of fighting, the French lost the war in a daze.

Especially for the French navy, they had to accept the fate of defeat and surrender without firing a single shot. The fifth strongest fleet in the world has become the biggest joke in the world.

Nominally, the French Navy and the Italian Navy are tied for third tier.

The first tier is undoubtedly the United Kingdom, the United States, and Southern Africa, in no particular order.

The second gear is Japan.

"General, let's rush out and fight the enemy to the death!" Commodore Dornon, who has a violent personality, will never give in. Whether it is self-sinking or surrender, Commodore Dornon does not want to accept it.

"Who will you fight to the death?" Labode said with a blank expression.

Commodore Dornon was momentarily confused.

Yes, who will fight to the death?

Before today, the attitude of the French navy was neutral, and it did not participate in the war at all. Where did the enemy come from?

But who is the friend of the French Navy?

Certainly not the British, nor the Germans, nor the Italians. The United States and southern Africa are too far away. Only then did Dornon realize that the world is so big that there is no place for the French navy.

That's right, there is no complete egg under the overturned nest. In troubled times, even "neutrality" is a luxury.

"Execute the order, install explosives on all warships, and open the drain valve at the same time. If anyone dares to approach the warship, shoot directly. At least we must let the whole world know that the French navy never surrenders!" Labode's voice Low and full of grief.

Most of the officers bowed their heads, they could not accept this result.

"Go, carry out the general's order, which is also the order of the president and the marshal—" Commodore Robin, the chief of staff, was also full of grief. After saying this, he directly pulled off his epaulets and collar.

Without the French Navy, he, the chief of naval staff, would have no meaning of existence.

After today, there should be no French navy.

"If any of you want to continue to serve, you can go to North Africa. We still have two powerful battleships in North Africa. The French Navy has not disappeared, and will continue to exist." Labode himself will definitely not go to North Africa, he wants Stand up for the last post.

The officers were in different moods, some were disheartened, while others clenched their fists. Free France was still fighting, and France still had hope.

After the establishment of the Free France, many French who were unwilling to submit to Germany went to North Africa to join the Free France and continue to resist.

Not many people in the French Navy went to North Africa.

The last French fleet is in Toulon, and even if the naval officers go to North Africa, they will not be able to play a role. At least there is hope in Toulon.

Now hope is completely shattered, everyone has to fend for themselves, and going to North Africa is a good choice.

"We—" Malki still refused to give up.

"Shut up!" Admiral Labode said sternly, not giving Malki any chance.

A little later, the battleship "Strasbourg", Admiral Labode's flagship, first opened the submarine water saving valve and sank in the port of Toulon.

While opening the water saving valve, Labode also ordered the detonation of the explosives on the "Strasbourg", completely blowing up the main gun and engine room, and at the same time igniting the remaining fuel on the ship.

This was because they were worried that the Germans would salvage the "Strasbourg", so they completely destroyed the "Strasbourg".

Admiral Labode chose to sink with the "Strasbourg".

(End of this chapter)