Four Hundred and Thirty-Two Chess Pieces

Now Montgomery finally knew what it was like to be caught in a street fight. His troops fought hard all afternoon in Norwich, leaving 3,000 bodies on the outskirts of the city, but failed to penetrate the city.

Only at this time did he know how terrifying the German army's powerful combat effectiveness in the first fortified battle of Norwich was. It took him an entire afternoon to break through the outer line of defense that the German army had snatched from the British army last time. It only took 1 hour and 23 minutes.

Suddenly he had an urge to curse, to yell at the intelligence officers who were in charge of evaluating the combat effectiveness of the German army! He really wanted to arrest and kick those officials and gentlemen, and then ask them why they connived at the rearmament of the German army in the first place!

Along with the impulse to curse and the idea of ​​hitting someone, there was also a hint of admiration in his mind. He even admired that de Gaulle who had already boarded the ship to the United States, and admired him for daring to take the initiative to fight back against such a German army so many times.

Of course, if you go deeper into his heart, you can even find the emotion of envy. He envied those who had this kind of troops, and longed to sit in the command headquarters like Rundstedt, so that such a powerful army could destroy the city and pull out the walls, invincible and invincible.

Soon the two sides fought fiercely again at night. The British army fought fiercely with the German army all night. As a result, when the next day dawned, the British army still had nothing to gain in Norwich.

Naturally, the German Army Group A will not sit still. The reinforcements mobilized by Rundstedt began to gather near Norwich. At 8:15 in the morning, the German troops on both wings took the lead in launching a counterattack, encircling the British army and cutting into Norwich. The troops on the outskirts of the city, about 7,000 British soldiers surrendered at noon, and the British attempt to attack Norwich was completely bankrupt.

The British were not in vain though, and later in the day the Germans abandoned Great Yarmouth under strong pressure, and the city became the first British city to be recaptured from German control by the British defenders. This move made the British government regain a little bit of confidence. Prime Minister Churchill also delivered a famous speech "From Bungie to Great Yarmouth", which became famous all over the world.

"General, the German army counterattacked in Norwich, and our army collapsed across the board. We are now on our way back to Bungie. If the Great Yarmouth troops don't shrink back to the Lowestoft area, there may be problems." The adjutant stared at Map said anxiously.

Montgomery shook his head and sighed: "You are wrong. It's not that there may be problems, but there will inevitably be problems. Now they can hold on there. Once the weather improves, the German army will dispatch the air force to cover their ground forces to surround Lowestoft. Once Lowestoft Foot is under siege, can Great Yarmouth's army survive alone?"

"Then... General, we should let Great Yarmouth's troops retreat back to the Lowestoft area! At least we can strengthen the defense of Lowestoft..." The adjutant hurriedly advised, "Otherwise we will lose Lowestoft." Ford's.

"

"If we do this, then we will not only lose Lowestoft, but also Bungie, Ipswich Town, Aldeburgh, and Bury St Edmunds!" Montgomery smiled wryly. Said.

The adjutant was taken aback, then looked at Montgomery: "How is this possible?"

"The king has just commended and awarded me the newly customized War Medal of the British Empire... Mr. Prime Minister delivered a speech "From Bungie to Great Yarmouth" on the streets of London. They regarded this counterattack victory as an inspiration An important milestone for the people to continue to resist, if we withdraw from Great Yarmouth when they have just shouted that Britain must win, will I still be able to keep my position as commander-in-chief at the front?"

He pointed to the map and said: "Once they drive me away, no matter which idiot is in office, he will be forced to attack across the board under the double pressure of the prime minister and the king. At that time, we are really finished!"

"They still want to do this at this time? Joking about the future of the British Empire?" The adjutant couldn't believe his ears, they were fighting desperately in front, and the group of bigwigs in the back were still making a fuss about their face. The situation on the front line has worsened, what is the reason for this?

"The reason is very simple! The first is to call the United States, so that aid and support can continue; the second is to call the colonies, so that India and Canada can feel at ease; the third is to call the people, so that the native British people can understand I am more confident in war." Montgomery stretched out three fingers, and he saw these three points as a general, and the calculations in the minds of the adults behind will only be more serious, and the troops on the front line will lose 30,000 to 50,000 people , for those high-ranking gentlemen, it is just a number.

The sad thing is, like those soldiers who fought bloody battles on the front line, I am just a chess piece, but those soldiers are chess pieces that can be sacrificed at any time, and my own chess piece has a greater role, allowing those who play Chess players can't bear to give up easily. And if you want to continue not to be regarded as abandoned children, you have to send all the troops you have trained to the front line to die against your conscience.

"Then what do we do now? We can't think of a way to withdraw Great Yarmouth's troops? That's a total of 20,000 people!" the adjutant asked distressedly.

Montgomery waved his hand irritably: "If I want to secure my position, not only will I not withdraw those troops, but I will fill in another 20,000 people! It's better to make Great Yarmouth into the second Norwich, that's it Perfect."

"General!" The adjutant was stunned, and blurted out: "You can't do this."

"Yes, I know I can't do this. If I do this, the 7th Army will be completely finished. If the 7th Army is finished, our situation will be even more difficult." Montgomery seemed to be talking to himself: "But What do I have to do to keep Great Yarmouth alive for more than three days?"

Silence, all that was left in British front command was terrible silence.

...

Several British soldiers who raised their hands stared blankly at the two fallen former comrades-in-arms, and then at the young German platoon leader with scars on his face and an assault rifle in both hands.

"Enough! You guys, send these surrendered British soldiers to the prisoner-of-war camp behind!" Opening the hatch of the assault gun, the commander of the assault gun named Lard lifted the hatch, The young platoon leader shouted loudly.

A few German soldiers hurriedly moved to escort the British soldiers who lost their weapons and were frightened to the rear. About dozens of British prisoners, dejected, lined up in a row, passing by the young platoon leader who was still holding an assault rifle.

"Smoking?" Lard reopened a pack of French cigarettes, took out one and handed it to the young comrade. The platoon leader put the assault rifle behind his back, and then took the old friend's cigarette and put it in his mouth.

"I brought 14 people, count me 15. They killed my men and still dare to laugh at me..." the young platoon leader muttered, lit the cigarette and found a big stone to sit on go down. At this time, among the dozen or so soldiers he brought, the remaining seven surrounded him and formed a half circle around him. .

"Smoking!" Lard didn't talk nonsense, he took his own cigarettes and started to circulate them. Each of the seven people took one, and two of them had the cheek to take two. Soon these soldiers who survived by chance in the battlefield began to squat together and smoke, and after a few minutes, they forgot about their comrades who died in battle, and began to laugh and celebrate their victory.

Lard walked back to his assault gun, looked at the gunner who stuck his head out to help him guard his surroundings, then climbed onto the low assault gun and got into the narrow command cabin. He sat in the commander's seat, and then looked at his subordinates: "Drive, go back to the battalion headquarters to replenish ammunition. I heard that the British have suspended their attack. I don't know what the hell they are thinking."

"We are not the generals above. It is enough to fight every encounter." The gunner said with a smile. Their assault guns came here on a temporary basis to take a look, and then played a role in turning the tide. This is not accidental, but the reason why elite troops can be called elite troops.

These soldiers have integrated how to fight into their souls. They can smell danger by sniffing their noses, and they can feel the direction of the enemy's attack by squinting their eyes. Therefore, this assault gun gave up the simple task of shelling. After communicating with the troops on the front line, they rushed here and fought a beautiful blocking battle.

Then the shocking news came from the headquarters of Army Group A. The British attacking force was surrounded by armored forces on both wings of the German army. Thousands of troops surrendered.

If Rundstedt does not order a counterattack at this time, he will be the commander of the army group. Army A immediately launched a counterattack. Later that afternoon, he surrounded the British troops attacking Great Yarmouth, but Due to the weather, the Luftwaffe on this day still had no way to dispatch their own fighter planes, and could only watch their army troops fighting bloody battles on the front line.

However, Army Group A did not disappoint Akado, nor did they disappoint Lundstedt. They held on to most of their defensive positions, and only lost one town in the rainy days—Great Yarmouth .

On this day, the British Navy HMS Queen Elizabeth bombarded the artificial pier of the German pontoon bridge, causing the sinking of two German requisitioned civilian fishing boats and destroying several German coastal defense positions in the southern area of ​​Bakton. And damaged a French heavy cruiser, causing 11 Vichy French Navy deaths, and these 11 people became the first batch of soldiers killed in Vichy France in World War II, and they will be recorded in history forever.