Chapter 1012: Convincing them to surrender is the best solution
"Is everything okay, Winter?" Charles contacted General Winter via radio.
At this time, General Winter had been transferred to the battleship "Prince of Wales". His face was blackened by gunpowder smoke, half of his eyebrow was burnt, and his right hand was bandaged and hung around his neck.
That was the injury he suffered when he was evacuated from the "Canada". The fire and the white high-temperature gas spewing out of the steam pipe made visibility very low, and it took a while to find the gangway on the side of the ship.
"Very well, Charles," General Winter replied, but his expression said otherwise.
"I warned you," said Charles, "you would not succeed."
"Yes, I lost, Charles." General Winter's expression was complicated, and his tone was filled with anger.
"So, stop saying these useless words."
"Can we just be frank and tell me what you want?"
"I mean, what are you going to do to us?"
Charles smiled:
"What do you think I'm going to do to you? Throw you into the sea? Or shoot you in the head?"
"No, Winter."
"I will treat the prisoners well. This is my usual practice."
General Winter said, "Hmm," and said, "You'd better keep your word."
General Winter was like a wounded beast at this moment.
It's not a physical injury, it's a psychological one.
Charles's excellence completely shattered all of General Winter's pride and arrogance, and even made him feel ashamed of himself.
But that's how people are. The more inferior they are, the more they show self-esteem.
Therefore, General Winter's words in the telegram were not very polite.
"If that's the case, we have nothing more to say." General Winter wanted to end this conversation: "Remember your promise, Lieutenant General."
Just as he was about to turn around and leave, a French guard stood in front of General Winter.
He placed his right hand on the holster at his waist and said politely, "Please continue this conversation, General, until Lieutenant General Charles agrees to end it!"
General Winter gritted his teeth and returned to the radio.
"Don't worry, Winter." The signalman handed the translated telegram to General Winter:
"It's like this, you surrender, and I can guarantee your safety."
"But don't you consider other people's problems?"
General Winter immediately guessed Charles' intention:
"You want me to persuade my troops to surrender?"
"Don't dream, Ciel, I wouldn't be that stupid."
"They will fight to the bitter end, they will achieve final victory by destroying the Malta airport, and then the port of Toulon..."
General Winter talked a lot, boasting and expressing unrealistic ideas, as if he was venting his emotions.
Charles didn't reply, but waited quietly for his telegrams to come one after another.
It wasn't until General Winter ran out of words a few minutes later that Charles replied:
"Do you know our losses in this naval battle?"
"There are two pilots in total."
"One died in an accident when landing and fell into the sea. The other fighter plane had a malfunction on the way back, but he was successfully rescued after parachuting out."
General Winter collapsed instantly.
His fleet lost two of the most advanced battlecruisers of the period.
(Note: During World War I, it was generally believed that the most advanced warship was the dreadnought, and the next most advanced was the battlecruiser used to hunt enemy ships)
The flagship was paralyzed, killing over 2,000 crew members, and nearly 20 ships in the entire fleet surrendered, yet Charles's carrier only lost two planes and one pilot?!
While General Winter was silent, Charles's telegram arrived again:
"So, you think there's still meaning in continuing this battle?"
"You're a target, Winter. If this were the Atlantic or the North Sea, I might have some reservations, but this is the Mediterranean."
"Do you know why?"
The French guards handed General Winter a map and spread it out in front of him.
Charles continued:
"My aircraft carriers can't come and go freely in the Atlantic or the North Sea."
"Because we might have to go through the English Channel, which would be a graveyard for aircraft carriers."
General Winter agreed.
The advantage of an aircraft carrier is that it uses bombers to carry out long-range strikes. Entering the English Channel is tantamount to seeking death.
"We also need to worry about fighter jets taking off from the UK mainland."
General Winter nodded again.
He knew the fragility of aircraft carriers. Once bombed by the enemy, even if only the runway was damaged, they could lose their combat effectiveness.
"But in the Mediterranean, I can be sure that no matter how many warships come in, even the entire Royal Navy, none of them will return."
General Winter laughed:
"You forget we still have Egypt, Lieutenant General."
"In addition, we have Greece, and both of these places will become our ports and bases."
"Even if our fleet does not return to the mainland, it can still compete with the French Navy in the Mediterranean."
Ciel simply replied with two words: "Really?"
Then he stopped talking.
General Winter waited for a long time but saw no movement. He looked around in confusion: "What do you mean?"
Just as General Winter was wondering what Charles was up to, a French staff officer walked into the communications room. He took out two documents from his briefcase and handed them to General Winter. "General, this is our next battle plan."
"Battle plan?" General Winter took the document doubtfully, and his face turned pale after taking a look.
The two documents are the Greek Operational Plan and the Egyptian Operational Plan.
General Winter flipped through the documents in disbelief.
So, all of this was planned by Ciel?
At this moment Charles's telegram arrived:
"You know that Britain will not have the initiative in Greece. The French army has over 200,000 troops there, and they have the support of the Greek military and civilians."
"As for Egypt. They will get news of the British fleet's defeat tomorrow."
"Do you think that it, having been oppressed by Britain for so long, will seize this golden opportunity to seek independence?"
Cold sweat instantly broke out on General Winter's forehead.
The reason why Britain was able to control these colonies was because it had the strongest navy in the world.
Now that the navy has been completely defeated by Charles, Egypt will certainly take advantage of the situation.
And it’s not just Egypt, it’s also Africa, Canada, and Australia…
"Give it up!" Charles continued.
"There's no point in continuing, except to increase casualties."
"I will block the Strait of Tunisia using the ports of Toulon and Malta, rely on the Greek port of Piraeus to supply aircraft carriers, and attack the Egyptian port of Said."
"You are trapped in the Mediterranean with no way out."
(The picture above shows the location of Port Said in Egypt, which is at the exit of the Suez Canal)
Finally, Charles said coldly, "Convincing them to surrender is the best solution!"
(End of this chapter)
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