Chapter 400 This is definitely a smoke bomb!
Such a large-scale landing naturally could not be concealed from the British army.

Not long after, the secretary rushed into Churchill's office in a hurry.

"Prime Minister, our intelligence officers in France have sent urgent information that the German landing forces have already set sail from various ports."

Hearing this, Churchill stood up suddenly, walked to the map and looked at the circled landing site in front of him.

After a long time, he slowly turned his head and looked at the officer in front of him.

"Intelligence department, have you obtained the exact landing location?"

You know, until now they haven't obtained the exact landing location, which makes Churchill a little unsure.

He didn't know whether the Germans chose Dover or Brighton.

Or somewhere else?
Logically speaking, these two places are the only suitable places for landing.

Could it be some other place?

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

Churchill thought confidently.

"I don't know. The German army's confidentiality is too strict. Even the German army didn't know the landing site until just before departure. Even if our intelligence personnel obtained the intelligence, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to send it out." The secretary shook his head and then gave his own judgment.

"But it should be one of the two ports, Dover or Brighton, or perhaps both."

Hearing this, Churchill wanted to scold him. Isn't this just nonsense?

It's like saying nothing.

After pondering for a while, Churchill finally gritted his teeth and said based on his own judgment.

"Order: All troops cancel their leave immediately, and all officers must return to their combat posts within one hour."

"Also notify the Air Force to send reconnaissance planes to find the German transport fleet. Let the Navy prepare to attack their transport fleet and cut off their supply lines."

"Also, have the artillery on the coastline ready for level one combat readiness to welcome the German landing troops at any time."

"Tell General Dowding to take out all his wealth. The German army has begun to land. Don't hide it anymore. Whether the British Empire can defeat the German army depends on now."

Churchill spoke all the orders in one breath.

"Yes." The secretary responded, and then asked in confusion.

"Prime Minister, could this be just a smokescreen?"

"Smoke bomb?" Churchill was stunned, not quite understanding what he meant.

"Logically speaking, the large-scale landing would definitely not be hidden from our intelligence departments. After all, we have invested a lot of money in France over the years, and there has never been any problem with our intelligence." The secretary reminded again.

"But until now, we still don't know where the Germans actually landed, nor do we know how many Germans actually landed."

"We know nothing about these things. Could this be a trap?"

It’s no wonder he said that, this landing was really full of weirdness.

We don’t know the landing location or the number of enemy troops landing.

Moreover, the German army did not have any decent landing ships.

Some are just fishing boats.

It's obvious at first glance that it's a makeshift team.

Compared with the rigorous German army, this is unspeakably weird.

After hearing what his secretary said, Churchill was also a little confused.

Could it really be a smoke bomb?
and many more!

Maybe it's just a smokescreen.

Churchill stroked his chin and thought for a while, and felt that it might be true.

"So what is the purpose of the German army doing this? Do they want to delay us?" Churchill continued to think along this line.

"No, they probably want to distract us. It would be best if they could call back the Royal Fleet in the Mediterranean."

"Yes, that's for sure."

Suddenly, Churchill realized, as if he had discovered a new world, that the real significance of the German landing this time was just a smoke screen.

"You are right. This landing is just a smokescreen. The Germans are using it to confuse us and divert our attention."

"Humph, these cunning German soldiers."

"Tell the troops at the front not to worry too much. There shouldn't be many German landing troops."

"Yes." The secretary responded quickly.

Soon, the entire British Isles became busy.

Marshal Keitel, who was far away in Berlin, was not sleepy at all at this moment. He was smoking a cigar with great energy and blowing circles continuously.

Others in the conference room were also waiting anxiously.

"Relax, Marshal, we have done everything we can, and the rest is left to the soldiers on the front line." Seeing Marshal Keitel smoking one cigar after another nervously, Dönitz on the side advised.

"Yes, Marshal, don't be nervous. It's just a force of tens of thousands of people. Even if the landing fails, it won't have much impact on us." Others also followed suit.

Seeing how calm they were, Keitel's nervous heart relaxed a lot.

"You are right. Now it depends on the boys on the front line." Keitel also felt that there was no need to be too nervous. Even if an army of tens of thousands of people was wiped out, it would not have much impact on the current German army.

At most, you will completely give up the idea of ​​landing.

After all, there was the meat grinder on the Eastern Front, so tens of thousands of casualties were not too many.

.........

"Captain, what are you thinking? Why do you come here?" In an unknown town in Portsmouth Harbor, Pete looked at George, the company commander, and asked in confusion.

For him, there is no future here.

Especially in this small town, it is difficult to achieve merit.

Of course, this does not mean that the British army had no opportunity to make meritorious service.

On the contrary, the British army now has many opportunities to make meritorious service.

And as long as you have some military merits, you can get promoted quickly.

There was no way around it, as there were wars everywhere, especially in India, where the fighting was said to be very fierce.

A large number of veterans are needed. It can be said that as long as George applies to go to Tianzhu, he will at least be a battalion commander or even a regiment commander.

It’s because there are not many veterans with combat experience in India.

Not to mention, the British army had just suffered a disastrous defeat in North Africa and needed to be supplemented with a large number of experienced veterans.

But the British army now does not have many experienced veterans.

People like George who have fought in France are valuable talents.

You know, some people are like riding a rocket, they become the group leader after not seeing each other for two months.

In fact, he was just a squad leader before.

"It's safe here." George replied casually.

"No, George, something is wrong with you. This is not like you. You are not the kind of person who is afraid of death." Pete always felt that something was wrong.

"What's wrong? Do you still want to be bombed by the Germans?"

"Don't forget the last German bombing. If it weren't for our good luck, we would have gone to see God long ago. Now we are lucky to be alive." George shook his head and said.

"I just want to survive now. Whether the war is won or not has nothing to do with me. In other words, even if the war is lost, it doesn't matter."

"George, your idea is wrong. We can't lose. We must win. If we lose..." Pete thought about it and didn't know what to say.

Or maybe he didn't know what would happen to them if they lost the war. "What would happen if they lost? Wouldn't they just serve as soldiers, eat food and fight in the war? When they get old, they can retire, go home and find a job to support their families?" George saw it clearly.

In other words, his thoughts now were the same as those of the French: why should we fight this damn war.

Isn’t peace good?
Why do we have to fight?
Pete was speechless after hearing what George said and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Looking at George in front of him, he suddenly felt a little strange, and finally he mustered up the courage to ask.

"George, have you betrayed the British Empire?"

"Oh? Why do you ask?" George asked instead of answering.

"Because there's something wrong with you. It seems like you have no interest in anything." Pete thought for a moment and said.

"There's nothing wrong. Isn't life good now?" George asked back.

"There is no damn war. I think what the French did was right. This damn war should be kept away from us."

"I hate war."

"Okay, Pete, stop asking."

At this time, a soldier ran in hurriedly and said nervously.

"Sir, something has happened. A German landing force has been spotted on the beach."

Before George could speak, Pete on the side was stunned and yelled while grabbing the soldier's clothes.

"Wang Defa, what's going on?"

"It's the German landing force. We saw a large number of fishing boats heading this way, and they were flying German flags." The soldier explained quickly.

"Bastards, get ready for fight immediately." Pete roared, took out his pistol and prepared to fight.

As a result, I saw George standing aside looking very calm.

He originally thought that his boss would be panic-stricken, but unexpectedly, the other party was very calm and not panicked at all.

This surprised him why he seemed so calm.

"I understand. Go down and give up resistance." George said casually.

"Huh?" The soldier was confused. He thought there was something wrong with his ears. He looked at George in disbelief, then looked at Pete beside him.

It seems like asking whether one's boss has lost his mind.
Only Pete seemed to understand something and spoke up.

"Go ahead, leave this to me and make everyone give up resistance."

The soldier looked at George and then at Pete, making sure that the two men were not having a seizure before leaving.

"I thought you were going to arrest me?" George said with a smile on his face.

"Shit, if I really wanted to catch you, I would have drawn my gun long ago. But you are right, I have long lost patience with this shitty war. Fuck the war, I just want to live in peace now." Pete also gave up on himself.

The fact that the German troops landed here means that they are elite troops.

It is basically impossible for them, with only a hundred or eighty people, to defend the coastline.

Moreover, the British army did not expect that the German army would land here.

It can be said that there are basically no troops here.

He understood this after seeing George's performance.

The other party has completely given up resistance.

This damn war has already driven them crazy.

London, Downing Street.

The secretary hurried into Churchill's office and immediately said in the other's astonished eyes.

"Prime Minister, the German location has been determined."

"Are you sure? Where? Dover or Brighton?" Churchill asked, standing up.

"No, the German landing site was chosen to be Portsmouth."

"What did you say? The German army landed in Portsmouth?" Churchill looked at the secretary in disbelief, as if asking, are you kidding?
What is Portsmouth?
What's the point of landing there?
It's still a long way from London.

Even if they were landed, it would be useless as the British army could mobilize more troops to provide support.

"Are you sure? Have you discovered the German transport fleet?" Churchill asked repeatedly.

Hearing this, the secretary hurriedly explained.

"Yes, we have discovered the German transport fleet. They are landing. We have lost contact with the company of soldiers stationed there."

Is it true?
What is this operation?
For a moment, Churchill's head was buzzing. He had no idea what this meant.

Normally, it would be much more reliable for the German army to choose Dover and Brighton than Norwich.

The distance between two channels is the shortest, and anyone who is good at swimming can swim across.

The other one is very close to London, and as long as the landing is successful, it can capture London at the fastest speed.

Obviously these two are the best solutions, but in the end, a landing location was chosen that no one expected.

It really puzzled him.

"No, the real target of the German army should still be the port of Dover. Norwich should be just a decoy whose purpose is to attract our attention." Churchill pondered for a while and still insisted on his judgment.

In fact, the secretary also agreed with Churchill's judgment. He also believed that it was impossible for the German army to land in Portsmouth.

"Send two infantry divisions to encircle and suppress those German troops. They should just be feint attack troops. The purpose should be to attract our main force." Churchill thought about it and decided not to leave it alone, so he simply sent two infantry divisions to encircle and suppress them.

"Yes."

…………

On the other side, the British defenders in Portsmouth were also a little confused at this moment.

Originally, Portsmouth did not have many defensive troops.

It’s indeed not a lot, only about the strength of one division.

After all, the British army is short of manpower, and being able to mobilize a division is already a lot.

The veterans have been transferred to other battlefields, especially in North Africa, where the losses have been heavy recently and many veterans have been transferred again.

In addition, the German army's attention has been focused on the Eastern Front in the past two years.

There was basically no fighting on the Western Front.

Even if they wanted to defend, they would move their main forces to the Dover Port area.

In other words, it would be difficult for them to stop the German army now.

Because strictly speaking, they are only second-line troops and their fighting will is not strong.

Many veterans were even passive in fighting.

"Are they really landing here?" The British soldiers on the coastline looked at the German fleet appearing in the distance, their eyes filled with disbelief.

How can this be.

Absolutely impossible!
How could the German army land here?

This must be an illusion!

"This must be fake. Am I hallucinating?" someone murmured.

The others rubbed their eyes again and found that they were indeed German troops. Then a shrill alarm sounded.

"Send a telegram to Downing Street and tell him that the real landing site of the German army is Portsmouth." The British major general in charge of garrisoning Portsmouth shouted to his subordinates.

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)