Shadow Spy

Chapter 313 Analysis of war situation and talent

On May 5, Churchill attended the House of Commons meeting for the first time as Prime Minister and delivered a speech: "I have nothing but blood, toil, tears and sweat to offer to you. You ask: What is our purpose? I can use one Words to answer: Victory, victory at all costs, victory no matter how terrible, victory no matter how long and difficult the road, because without victory there is no way to survive.”

Because of his speech, the House of Commons finally expressed its support for the Churchill government by an absolute majority of 381 votes to 0, confirming Britain's policy of fighting to the end against Germany.

When Li Junhao saw the content of the new prime minister's speech, it was already that night. He smiled and said to his subordinates: "To be honest, I really admire this kind of person. His speech can really inspire people. I'm afraid this It’s an essential quality for a good politician! There’s just one thing. You can’t win a war with words alone. In the end, you have to rely on military power and national strength to finally solve the problem...

"At this point, the new prime minister is very smart. He knows that as long as he persists, we in the United States will eventually enter the war, just like the previous war!
"You think, when will our country join the war?"

In the War Situation Analysis Room, in addition to everyone in the staff office, several main commanders were also present. When they heard his words, they all laughed - they felt the same way when they saw this report, but they didn't know what to do. How to express it, Chief Pan Sen's words made it clear.

"Commander, do you think the British and French forces can win this time when Germany attacks France?" Colonel Rupp of the 15th Infantry Regiment asked.

"Can't win!" Li Junhao said with certainty. Of course he was sure of this. The current Germany is not like the one during World War I. It does not have the conditions for turmoil in the rear, so it will not lose as cowardly as it did during World War I. This time It must be fought to the end, and in the early stages, the German army was simply invincible.

"However, I look at the armaments of various European countries. Germany's current army is 300 million, while France, even without the British Expeditionary Force, exceeds 500 million..." a staff officer said at this time.

Li Junhao looked at the people present and found that many people also seemed to agree with this point of view. Only Chief of Staff Yang Shixiong was pondering and said with a smile: "Let us listen to Chief of Staff Yang's opinion!"

Yang Shixiong nodded and said: "Although France has far more troops than Germany, its tactical thinking and equipment level have lagged behind, especially in terms of armor strength. There is a huge gap with the German army, so France cannot win! Even if France adds Not even joining the British Expeditionary Force."

Colonel Cole, commander of the Fourth Marine and Land Regiment, was a little unconvinced. He pointed to the French-German border on the sand table and said: "Chief of Staff Yang, France has the Maginot Line! It is not easy for the Germans to break through this solid defense line. Is it something?"

The Maginot Line is a fortification defense system built by France in its northeastern border area after World War I. Construction began in 1928 and was basically completed in 1940, costing 50 billion francs.The main body of the defense line is 390 kilometers long. Due to the high cost and the relationship between France and Belgium, it is only planned to be located on the French-German border. As for the Belgian border, it will be backed up by the British and French coalition forces.

The defense line is made of reinforced concrete and is very strong. It has various cannons, trenches, fortresses, kitchens, power stations, hospitals, factories, etc. inside. The passages extend in all directions, and there are even tram passages.

Yang Shixiong shook his head and said: "No matter how strong the defense line is, it is still dead. The key still depends on strategy and tactics..." He vaguely thought of some key points, but he had not yet formed a complete idea, so it was difficult to express it.

Colonel Cole insisted: "No matter how good the tactics are, it is impossible to bypass this strong line of defense, right?" Many people nodded in agreement with this view.

"Why can't you go around it?" Li Junhao looked at them and said, "Why do you think Germany attacked the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg first?" Huh?When everyone heard this, they all started thinking...

A staff officer first reacted: "Germany wants to bypass the Maginot Line from the direction of the Netherlands and Belgium!"

Another staff officer continued: "But in that case, the German army will run into the main force of the British and French forces behind the Dutch-Belgian border!"

At this time, Yang Shixiong, who was looking at the sand table, suddenly had his eyes gleaming. He turned to look at Li Junhao, who was above him, and asked, "Commander, is this the Ardennes Highlands?"

"It's the Ardennes!" Li Junhao gave him an approving look.

"I understand!" Yang Shixiong breathed a long sigh of relief and figured out the whole thing.

The conversation between the two of them was heard by others, but it was a bit unclear...

Colonel Rupp, who was the first to figure it out, looked at the terrain on the sand table and frowned: "If the German army wants to quickly defeat the British and French coalition forces, they will definitely adopt the blitzkrieg mode, using armored forces dominated by tanks to quickly advance and defeat them. , to divide the enemy...but it will be difficult for the armored troops to pass through the dense forests of the Ardennes?"

The Ardennes Highlands, located on the left flank of the Maginot Line and on the Franco-Belgian border, has rugged terrain and dense forests. It is not suitable for advanced armored forces at all, and it is even more difficult to conduct mobile warfare. Because of this terrain, and Belgium opposes the construction of a defense line on the Franco-Belgian border, Therefore, the French army did not take much precautions here.

Yang Shixiong shook his head and said: "Colonel Rupp, the Ardennes Highlands are not impenetrable. As long as there are enough engineering troops, a road can be opened in the forest for armored troops to move..."

Xie Jinyuan, who was next to him, also understood and immediately took over, pointing to the terrain on the sand table and saying: "That's right. Now the main force of the British and French coalition forces is deployed behind the borders of the Netherlands and Belgium, preparing to attack the German army. However, the German armored forces suddenly came from If you break out of the Ardennes at the junction of southeastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg, you can copy the rear route of the main force of the British and French coalition forces to the north, and insert yourself into the back of the Maginot Line to the south, and you can completely seize the initiative on the battlefield..."

Everyone present stood up and looked at the sand table seriously. The more they looked, the more shocked they became. As a result, the battlefield situation became completely different!But is this what Germany’s plan will look like?

Looking at everyone's performance, Li Junhao smiled and nodded, not too stupid!Among them, Yang Shixiong performed best, followed by Xie Jinyuan, who was worthy of training and reuse; Rupu and several staff officers were also qualified, but Cole's performance was a bit poor. It seems that he has reached his peak as a Marine Corps leader. !

(End of this chapter)