Bab 135: Chapter 213 Bad News
The successor to the Prime Minister has been decided. Chamberlain, accompanied by Churchill, left 10 Downing Street and headed to Buckingham Palace to meet with King George VI.
"Your Majesty, this is Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty." Chamberlain briefly introduced Churchill to King George VI, indicating that he would be the new Prime Minister. "This time, the Conservative Party and the Labour Party will form a coalition government."
The appointment power of the British monarch is normally a ceremonial right, limited to "consent to appointment" and "signing the document", at most offering suggestions for appointments (restricted to cases where the Prime Minister consults the royal advice due to difficulties in appointment). The monarch does not have the right to specify or propose candidates. Therefore, this process is purely out of respect and loyalty to the monarchy.
King George VI nodded to Chamberlain. "You... have worked hard, Prime Minister Chamberlain, Your Excellency." Due to his speech impediment, he couldn't express a lengthy discourse like, "The Empire will not forget your contributions; you are the pride of the Empire." After a brief chat with Churchill, he asked, "This time... how long... will the war last?" During the last war, he was a young man in his twenties, even serving in the Royal Navy. He understood the brutality of war.
At that time, Germany, in an attempt to force Britain out of the war, launched the so-called "unrestricted submarine warfare". German submarines could sink any ship approaching British waters without warning, aiming to blockade Britain.
Initially, Britain and the other Allied nations underestimated the seriousness of unrestricted submarine warfare. Anti-submarine defense was still in its initial stages, and this warfare immediately caused serious losses to the Allies. The losses of Allied merchant ships increased from 300,000 tons in January 1917 to 400,000 tons in February, skyrocketing to 500,000 tons in March and reaching 850,000 tons in April. On average, every four British merchant ships at sea had one sunk.
According to later official statistics, by the end of the war, German submarines had sunk 2,566 Allied merchant ships, with a total tonnage of 5.73 million tons, of which British merchant ships accounted for three-fifths. The total tonnage of British shipbuilding that year was only 2.7 million tons. The rate at which Allied merchant ships were sunk was too fast, and there was not enough time to replenish and replace them. If this continued, it would lead to hunger and even surrender.
Given the increasingly dire situation, on April 27, 1917, British First Sea Lord John Jellicoe submitted a report to the Minister of the Navy, issuing a severe warning to the government: "History has shown that if a strategy is based on insecure transportation lines, the result is inevitably unfortunate. In this situation, defeat is inevitable, and our current policy is directly leading to defeat. If this is not considered, I firmly believe the war will be lost, and the British people will starve."
Jellicoe's warning had an effect, and the British government began to take the danger seriously. To deal with German submarines, Britain mobilized all its light forces and submarines, converting numerous small ships and fishing boats into minesweepers and escort vessels, intensifying the construction of new anti-submarine vessels.
In the latter half of 1917 alone, Britain deployed 227 fleet destroyers, 74 escort vessels and patrol boats, 65 submarines, 406 motor boats, 49 fast boats, 894 trawlers, 867 drift-net fishing boats, 24 paddle minesweepers, 77 camouflaged anti-submarine vessels, 50 airships, and 194 aircraft. To clear the mines laid by German submarines, more than 3,000 vessels were used for mine clearance in the fall of 1917, with 250,000 personnel.
King George VI felt that this war would be another long and protracted conflict. If the German navy launched unrestricted submarine warfare again, the British people were likely to endure severe shortages and difficulties once more.
Churchill replied confidently, "It's hard to say for now, but I can assure you that the British Empire will defeat the cruel and barbaric enemy on the European continent and achieve final victory!"
King George VI and Chamberlain sighed simultaneously, realizing the cost that would be paid. "Is... negotiation... possible?" King George VI, with a hint of weakness in his character, hoped that this war could be resolved at the negotiating table; that would be ideal for him.
"Your Majesty, this was originally an 'unnecessary war'." Churchill said, glancing at Chamberlain, who looked somewhat uneasy, and did not continue. If it weren't for the appeasement policies of Britain and France, allowing Germany to grow and develop, things wouldn't have escalated to this point. He used to preach about the German threat everywhere, but no one paid attention. Now, it had finally led to bitter consequences. "Negotiation cannot erode Germany's ambitions; it will only make them more inflated. Only by thoroughly defeating them, making sure they have no chance of recovery, can Europe achieve permanent peace!"
Hearing King George VI's silent nod, they discussed some other matters before Chamberlain and Churchill bid farewell to King George VI. Returning to 10 Downing Street, they were greeted with astonishing bad news.
The German forces had launched a surprise attack on the Eben-Emael Fortress, effortlessly capturing the nearby Froenhafen Bridge, Feldwezelt Bridge, and Cannie Bridge.
"What?!" Churchill and Chamberlain were shocked, as if hearing an unbelievable tale. "Didn't the Belgians claim the fortress was impregnable?! Were the people inside the fortress asleep?!" Even if it was a fortress the size of a pigsty, capturing over a thousand pigs would take some effort. How long had the German attack been underway? And it had already fallen?
"How was the fortress breached?! Could there be traitors among the garrison?" Even if there were traitors, without a significant number, the German forces couldn't have taken it so quickly. Did the people inside the fortress surrender at the mere sight of the Germans?
The reporting staff awkwardly shook their heads. "The specific details are not known at the moment."
Chamberlain furrowed his brow, muttering, "This is not good news."
The fall of the Eben-Emael Fortress meant that the defense along the Albert Canal-Liège line had been breached by the German forces. "These fools! Didn't they even prepare to blow up the bridges?" The most basic means of defending against enemy attacks was to destroy roads and blow up bridges. Even if it couldn't hold the enemy off for a long time, it would effectively delay their advance.
Now, these foolish Belgians had handed over three large bridges to the Germans. The main German forces would undoubtedly pour into the heart of Belgium continuously.
Cursing inwardly, Churchill spoke up, "Did the vanguard of the German forces capture the fortress and bridges? Can the nearby Belgian forces reclaim the fortress and bridges before the main German forces arrive? At the very least, they should blow up those bridges." Once the German forces passed Albert, the nearby Belgian forces would have to retreat hastily, and the consequence would likely be that the British and French forces might not arrive in time for a proper engagement.
But as he said this, Churchill realized that voicing these concerns here wouldn't change much. The Expeditionary Force Commander, Viscount Gort, and the French Army Commander, Gamelin, should have received the news and taken appropriate actions long ago.
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