Cicada Moving

 May 10, 1940, 04:30.

Sunday.

As usual, after spending a pleasant Saturday night, while most Europeans were still resting in bed, the well-prepared German army suddenly began to attack.

The first to cross the border was the German Air Force, which carried out violent bombings on airports, railway hubs, heavy troop concentration areas and cities in France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

The air strike destroyed hundreds of aircraft from various countries that were still at the airport, fully gaining control of the air and laying the foundation for the subsequent victory.

At 05:30, German ground forces launched a large-scale attack on the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg on a front of more than 300 kilometers from the North Sea to the Maginot Line, kicking off the Western European campaign.

 Luxembourg surrendered on the same day.

 The Netherlands surrendered four days later.

 In less than a week, the rule of the Kingdom of Belgium was also on the verge of collapse.

 As a result, the German army opened a breakthrough in the Ardennes region, bypassed the Maginot Line, which had spent a huge amount of materials and money to build, and prepared to launch the second phase of the offensive into the interior of France.

 In fact, after the blitzkrieg of Poland in 1939, the Germans set their sights on France, which boasted the strongest army in Europe. They vowed to avenge the shame of the European War. The German high command also rushed to draft a battle plan to invade France.

 About this, Britain and France are naturally well aware of this and have made a lot of preparations for this.

For example, a large number of intelligence personnel were sent to investigate the movements of the German front-line troops, instigate rebellion, and infiltrate senior German officials, and achieved good results.

 According to various intelligence sources, the top leaders of the two countries agreed a few days before the war that after occupying the Netherlands, Germany's attack on France would pass through Belgium and the Netherlands and launch from the north, rather than in the extremely rugged Ardennes Mountains.

Countless distinguished generals stated that it was impossible for German tanks to pass through the complex local forests, and they dared to guarantee it with their lives.

Soon after the war started, the French army and the British Expeditionary Force abandoned the good positions they had built along the Franco-Belgian border and advanced toward the "predetermined" fighting area, completely falling into the trap set by the German army.

The Germans used a perfect strategic deception to trick their opponents into applause, and their newly revealed ferocious mechanized legions were sharpening their knives.

The result is obvious. The completely unprepared British and French armies collapsed at a stroke, a large number of effective forces were wiped out, and the German army's door to Paris was completely opened.

 In this battle, the French army performed so poorly that it was unbelievable that this was the strongest army in Europe that fought a **** battle with the Germans on the Somme.

 The well-equipped French soldiers chose to surrender directly in the face of the German attack, without any courage to resist. The battlefield was full of French organic troops with their hands raised.

The situation in Europe does not exist in isolation. The failure of Britain and France also affected the pattern of East Asia. Both China and Japan are full of hope for the future.

Seeing that Britain and France were so vulnerable, the Japanese naturally turned their coveted eyes to the two countries' colonies in Asia. They completely ignored the gap in national power and ran towards the abyss of monarchy.

Shancheng is also celebrating. Everyone knows that the alliance between Germany and Japan will be a matter of time, which means that Britain and France have become potential allies of the Republic of China.

The failure of the British-French war was simply because the Germans took the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. Once they calmed down, they would be able to give Germany a severe blow.

Once the opponent blocks the German attack, the Japanese who collude with it will become the second target, and the German army will naturally join the British and French camps.

With the help of the Western powers, it was only a matter of time before the government defeated the Japanese. The surrender argument permeating the government and the military was swept away, and the anti-Japanese hardliners gradually gained the upper hand.

 But what is shocking is that as early as the ninth day after the war began, that is, May 19, the French army and the British Expeditionary Force began to prepare to run away.

 The evacuation officially began on May 26 and ended on June 4. It lasted 9 days and a total of 340,000 people evacuated from Dunkirk to the United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom, France, Belgium and the Netherlands simultaneously mobilized more than 800 ships of various types, including small vessels such as fishing boats, passenger ships, yachts and lifeboats.

In just 10 days, this unprecedented "Dunkirk Fleet" rescued hundreds of thousands of troops from a death trap, finally leaving some capital for Britain and France to recover their capital.

 Finally, after 42 days of fighting, the French government surrendered to Germany on June 22 and declared Paris an undefended city.

 France, gone~

Those "strong generals" who were clamoring to fight to Tokyo were dumbfounded. Senior officials and the public began to discuss curves to save the country again. All kinds of capriciousness made people laugh.

 As for the rights and wrongs of the outside world, the military commander is very calm. Whether it is war or peace, intelligence work is always indispensable.

Rather than wasting energy studying wars thousands of miles away, it is better to take this opportunity to make repairs and wait for future wars.

One morning at the end of June, Dai Chunfeng and Zuo Zhong were sitting on the sofa, drinking tea and chatting, while listening to the German Haitong news report forwarded by the Central News Agency on the radio.

“On May 10th, perhaps the most memorable war in German history began, and within a few days we routed the enemy’s advance guard.

France has collapsed, Belgium and the Netherlands have been captured, and the remnants of the British Expeditionary Force have been expelled from the European continent, dragging their troops with them and fleeing. "

What came out of the loudspeaker was a speech given by a certain bearded man after the surrender of France. The text of the speech was translated into Chinese by the Central News Agency to allow listeners who did not understand German to understand the situation in Europe.

Zuo Zhong finished listening and remembered the discussion he had with Lao Dai after receiving the news on May 10. He put down his tea cup and pointed at the radio and said to him.

“Teacher, the student said when the war started that the French government’s surrender was faster than the German advance. Do you believe it now?

The French are dead men in the grave. The last war in Europe knocked out their **** courage and broke their bones. This result is normal. ” ˆ ˆ “Yes, who would have thought that the French army would be like this?”

Dai Chunfeng laughed bitterly, and then he, who was always serious about smiling, actually told Zuo Zhong a French joke.

“I’m afraid that the French have already raised their hands before the German shells hit the ground. Be careful, those who want to rely on Britain and France to defeat the Japanese will probably be disappointed.”

 “Yes, teacher, you are right.”

Hearing this, Zuo Chong leaned forward and backward with joy. He didn't realize that Lao Dai's mouth was quite damaged.

 Write it down, write it down, maybe I can compile a collection of French jokes in the future.

Dai Chunfeng himself laughed after saying this. After taking two sips of tea, he thought that the Germans suddenly stopped their pursuit, which gave the British and French troops a chance to escape.

He had always been a little confused about this matter and couldn't guess why the German army acted like this, so he asked Zuo Zhong for his opinion.

Zuo Zhong thought carefully for a moment. The German army did not launch the final blow when victory was about to happen. Later generations have many speculations about this, such as logistical pressure, interference by the fat marshal of the Luftwaffe, etc.

But if you think about it, you will know that these reasons are far-fetched. The German army that destroyed most of Europe cannot even support the last few dozen kilometers. This is impossible.

The big fat Marshal doesn't have the energy to decide the German army's overall combat plan. If he could really do it, he probably should meet the father of the Stormtroopers.

 As for the theory that British and French spies spread false information to make the Germans believe that a large number of troops were gathering in Britain, thus forcing the German army to stop their pursuit, it is even less credible.

  A battle has been accomplished and tens of thousands of people have died. The commander will not care about how many people died, he will only care about whether he achieved his goal. If a certain beard is determined to kill everyone, 10,000 pieces of false information will be useless.

What's more, it is more difficult than imagined to "create" a non-existent army out of thin air. Britain and France have this ability, and they have already held a celebration banquet in Berlin.

So, there is only one answer - a certain beard doesn’t want to.

The reason may be that the other side is afraid that the losses of Britain and France will be too great, which will overly stimulate the Americans and Red Russians.

Or perhaps he is worried that the frontline officer will be the leader because of his superior achievements. After all, he has not yet completely controlled the terrifying war machine of the German army.

This thing has happened a long time ago in history. Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty recalled Yue Fei with thirteen gold medals. Is it really because of something unfounded? Everyone understands.

 In short, the German army stopped advancing near Dunkirk. It could and could only be an order from a certain beard. There was no second possibility.

Zuo Zhong spoke out his analysis, and Dai Chunfeng nodded frequently.

This is similar to what he thinks. Politics is like a toilet. Everyone finds it dirty, but they can't live without it.

If he were the leader of Germany and saw his generals defeating their old enemy and making great achievements, he would probably be more anxious than the other party. No one can tolerate the power that belongs to them being taken away.

The two masters and apprentices just chatted for a few words. Zuo Zhong straightened his face and asked Dai Chunfeng how to arrange the peace talks preparatory team in Bai Mansion.

Shortly after Mark disappeared, the national government interrupted negotiations with the Japanese. This was related to the underground party giving someone a sad letter (ultimatum).

The northwest representative stationed in the mountain city warned the government that if the peace talks were not stopped, the matter would be made public to the whole country.

Someone had no choice but to agree and ordered Minister Song to terminate the negotiations and return to the country immediately. He pinched his nose and reiterated his determination to jointly resist Japan in the newspaper.

For this reason, Xu Wenzeng was called to the official residence several times and received several "instructions."

If the Germans had not attacked France and the negotiations with the Japanese were no longer important, Xu Enzeng would have been in real danger this time.

I have to say, this guy does have some luck.

 The peace talks were stopped, and the preparations for the rear were also suspended for many days. The preparatory staff ate and slept in Bai Mansion every day, and almost fell ill.

When Dai Chunfeng heard Zuo Zhong's request, he frowned and did not answer directly. He turned the topic to Zhongtong and Xu Enzeng.

“Shen Zhi, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has an unshirkable responsibility for the leakage of the news of the peace talks. However, Xu was lucky enough to encounter the war between Germany and France, so the Chairman did not go into details.

 You must complete the follow-up processing as soon as possible, and do not give excuses to those who criticize the leader. By the way, I would like to tell Xu Enzeng's people not to talk too much, as people cannot be lucky forever. "

There are three parties in the Bai Gongguan now, the military commander, the central commander and the peace talks preparatory group. Lao Dai did not mention the third party throughout the whole process, as if the other party did not exist at all.

  Sometimes, no attitude is just an attitude.

The meanings of these three key words, deal with, criticize leaders, and confess, are more obvious. Some people don’t want to see these people anymore and want them to “shut up.”

Zuo Zhong immediately understood the mystery, stood up and said goodbye respectfully, returned to his office to make some arrangements, and then took the car to Bai Mansion.

 (End of this chapter)