Four Hundred and Forty Eight Harlow

"You mean those technicians who were under our firm control are gone?" Churchill hadn't been in a good mood these days. He had to hide in the dark basement, looking at the UK that no longer existed on the map. The troops were in a daze.

In fact, the commanders on the front line have ordered some dissatisfied divisions with only a few thousand people to be split up and incorporated into some real combat troops, so those troops with only names but no combat effectiveness on Churchill's map have actually disappeared. But some old-fashioned troops have been strengthened, and these troops have been ordered to guard several important passages to London.

Hearing Churchill's question, the head of the intelligence department wiped the sweat from his forehead, not knowing what to answer. His personnel did protect those important people, and the ones they sent out were veterans who were fairly alert, but in the end they were still killed by someone in their own hinterland Liverpool.

The German special forces were elusive, and they caused all kinds of trouble in London, which made him, the head of the intelligence department, very anxious. However, such a German force appeared in Liverpool again, which made him collapse. In fact, the emergence of the German special forces made the relevant British departments find that they did not have an organization that could compete with this special force.

Although traditional intelligence agencies can compete with these German special operations teams in terms of intelligence analysis and acquisition, they do not have enough strike force. Although the army can suppress these special forces, it cannot adapt to the rhythm of these special forces because of its slow action. The police are no match for these specially trained Germans...

Moreover, Britain was in chaos under the state of war, the people were displaced, and the supervision of the entire country by various departments in the past was lost. The refugees could not be counted, and strangers were everywhere.

"Mr. Prime Minister! The other party has dispatched a special force that can operate independently in the area occupied by our army. This force is different from previous espionage activities. It is not harassment. They have strong combat capabilities, and their purpose is clear and the intelligence is complete. No. Our department can deal with it..." As the saying goes, the responsibility is everyone's responsibility and only the credit is his own. If he doesn't shirk responsibility in this situation, he estimates that the head of his intelligence department will be done.

So he quickly pushed out the words he had prepared: "The navy's inspection is not comprehensive and perfect, and the army doesn't cooperate with our actions... Our intelligence department has nothing to do..."

When the admiral was found, the admiral's statement was: the air force has no way to provide cover, and neither can we.

When the air force general was found, the air force general's argument was: the army lost the front-line airport, and we have nothing to do.

When the general of the army was found, the general of the army said: the navy cannot defend the enemy from outside the country, and we have nothing to do.

Now the head of the intelligence department also said the same thing: the matter is the responsibility of the army and the navy,

We also have no choice.

For such a good-tempered person, he would burst into anger after hearing almost the same refusals of playing football with each other in the past few days? So Churchill became angry and lost his temper in front of the head of the intelligence department: "You can't do it? The army can't do it! The navy can't do it! The air force can't do it! Are you all waiting for me to find a way? Or do you actually think about it? Alright, are you ready to seek refuge with Chamberlain, the new owner?"

Seeing that the prime minister had turned his face, the head of the intelligence department knew that his official position might not be able to be kept, but he was not sad. At this moment, being an official is still a secondary issue, and whether he can save his life is the main issue.

So the head of the intelligence department quickly took out a written resignation letter from the inner pocket of his suit, put it on Churchill's desk, and said in a very embarrassed way: "Mr. If not satisfied, I am willing to resign."

What is shameless? That's it. The Germans are almost on the verge of attacking the city. You said that you resigned and are going to run away? Who will pick up the mess you left behind? Those scientists and engineers who have been lost are the hope of the future of the British Empire. If you say they are lost, they will be lost, and if they resign, it will be over?

"Have you packed your luggage? Are you going to Liverpool? Then take a boat to the United States? It's safe there, and you can still get a salary." Churchill sneered: "There are many people waiting for you there, and you can tell me a little British secret. You are living a good life. Each of you has thought about retirement for yourself, who thought about the British people? Who thought about the British Empire?"

I'm just resigning, don't worry about the future of the British Empire, do you? And the current fate of Britain is not caused by you big men? It's none of my business? The head of the intelligence department complained. However, he still didn't have the courage to say these words, so he could only silently express his disdain, or dissatisfaction.

"Prime Minister! Your telegram." At this time, a secretary walked into Churchill's office, which eased the awkward atmosphere to a certain extent, but Churchill just took a look at the telegram, and then lost his temper again.

"Are they pigs? Are they pigs? One division's troops can't defend a small town! That's a whole division's troops!" Churchill cursed loudly while waving the telegram in his hand. The head of the intelligence department didn't speak. , because he knew without looking, that Harlow had lost it.

After the German army consolidated its defensive forces in the north, it launched another offensive in the south. The British defenders were beaten by the 140mm caliber howitzers discarded by the northerners, and they retreated steadily until the city of Harlow.

Originally, Churchill hoped that Harlow could hold out for 10 days or even 10 days to buy more time for his London defense war, but what he never expected was that Harlow's defenders only lasted 5 hours, and they took down London. Portal Harlow lost to Rundstedt's Army Group A.

If as expected, at noon, the German cannons—to be precise, the cannons discarded by the British were able to hit the streets of London. His Churchill's plan to fight London with ten thousand Londoners to the death has not yet progressed, and it has become a complete joke. Before long he, Churchill, would be able to hear the sound of German cannon and the roar of machine guns, and he himself would become the first Prime Minister of the British Empire whose capital was attacked by enemy armies during his reign.

"Go out... let's all go out." Churchill sat back to his seat weakly, waved his hand helplessly and said, "Let me be quiet by myself."

The two people who had been pardoned hurriedly exited the prime minister's room and came to the spacious corridor of the underground air-raid shelter.

"Are we really finished?" The female secretary looked at the head of the intelligence department and asked, "Have the Germans reached Harlow?"

"I'm afraid it's true, miss." The head of the intelligence department sighed and said: "Although we defeated the Italian attack in North Africa a few days ago, our situation here is indeed very bad."

"If I'm willing to give you some reward, can you arrange for me to leave London? It's fine to go to the north or to the United States, or Canada." The female secretary asked softly.

Glancing at the enchanting figure of the female secretary, the person in charge of the intelligence department swallowed a mouthful of saliva: "What reward do you plan to give me?"

"At night, you wait for me at the exit of the air-raid shelter." The woman understood the man's thoughts when she saw the man's eyes, and said with a more enchanting smile.

"Okay, that's no problem. I will arrange for you to leave here and go to the United States, as long as you can get permission to leave." The man nodded.

"What if there is no permission?" The woman asked again.

The man was taken aback for a moment, and then nodded as before—who cares about that permission these days? Perhaps one day Churchill would find out that his female secretary had disappeared, but would he still be in the mood to find a missing woman by then?

Sure enough, at noon, the Germans began shelling London. More than a dozen shells landed in the urban area in the northeast corner of London, blowing up several intact buildings into ruins, killing dozens of civilians and injuring the Venerable Master.

The streets and alleys of London can no longer see any civilians walking around. Occasionally, I saw a few soldiers carrying ammunition boxes and guns running across the street in a hurry, and they all bent over. This place has become the front line, and this place has become a battlefield. .

In the afternoon, Churchill, his secretary and several staff members, accompanied by the Commander-in-Chief of the London Garrison, inspected the area bombarded by the German army, shook hands with several old people who were called temporarily, and left a message for the accompanying reporters. After taking a few photos, the Prime Minister hurriedly withdrew to his basement.

In the evening, the British defenders temporarily launched a counterattack against the Harlow area. The two sides fought fiercely for a whole night, but they could not tell the winner. The two teams fought repeatedly among the ruins. As a result, the British recaptured the southern city of Harlow, but paid a heavy price of 5,000 people. Unlike the British recruits who had stuck to Harlow, this time the British defenders lost veterans drawn from all corners, so the British did not take advantage of the war this time.

The battle between the two sides continued on the second day. The southern part of Harlow controlled by the British was repeatedly visited by German bombers. In the end, the British gave up here and retreated to the suburbs of London. The battle for Harlow ended with a German victory.

Lundstedt, commander of the German Army Group A, sent a telegram to Berlin that night. The content of the telegram was concise and to the point: I have occupied Harlow, and the offensive and defensive battle for London will begin tomorrow. Long live the head of state Arkado? Rudolf!