Chapter 995 Seizing the Mediterranean
"Two options." The Minister of Munitions spoke eloquently:
"The first one is to completely fall out with Ciel."
"This will allow us to quickly seize the initiative in the war, including the Army."
"We can take advantage of the French army's unpreparedness to launch a sudden attack, quickly occupy Dunkirk and other coastal cities, and prepare for a full-scale attack on France!"
The staff officer projected a projection on the wall at the right time, marking the location of Dunkirk in the light and shadow. It was very suitable for the British army to cross the channel, and a complete transportation chain had been established in recent years to ensure the delivery of supplies.
The Quartermaster General held a baton in his hand and pointed to the map to introduce:
"This plan is that Dunkirk will be our forward base."
"We will use at least five battleships to protect its safety, and we can increase it if necessary."
"With the battleships protecting it, it will become an impregnable city, even for the Charr's troops."
This was the coordinated sea and land tactics rehearsed by the Minister of Munitions.
It used the battleships' large-caliber naval guns to blast a barrage of bullets outside the Dunkirk defense circle.
He believed that no matter how many tanks the Shire had, they would be blown to pieces by naval guns if they dared to approach the city.
But General Winter didn't think so.
"That's not the case, Your Excellency." General Winter frowned.
"As we all know, the accuracy of nighttime artillery is very limited, especially naval artillery at sea. If Charles chooses to attack at night, we will be in a very passive position."
"If our army fails to defend Dunkirk, it will collapse completely, which will undoubtedly be a disaster."
"We can no longer afford such a failure!"
Dunkirk was easy to defend and difficult to attack because it was surrounded by a canal, but its biggest disadvantage was that there was no retreat. Once the defense line was breached by Charles, the only option was surrender.
Prime Minister George also expressed his concerns:
"Although I agree with going to war with France, it is obviously unwise to be so aggressive at the beginning."
"We need some reason other than suddenly launching an attack on our allies."
"This will put us in an extremely passive position politically and diplomatically."
Balfour agreed with the Prime Minister:
"Yes, if we do this, even the United States may not be on our side."
"No country will dare to be Britain's ally anymore."
"Because they will worry that Britain will launch a similar 'surprise attack' against them at any time!"
The Quartermaster General was speechless for a moment.
What he wanted to do most was actually this kind of "surprise attack" without declaring war.
They wouldn't understand, the Minister of Munitions thought, if such a "surprise attack" could destroy France or seriously injure it, then why would Britain need to care about what other countries would think?
The only country that could potentially compete with Britain is France. If it is defeated with thundering force, no one will be able to defend Britain's position, and no one will dare to speak a fair word. They will still be submissive under Britain's powerful military force as before.
However, the Minister of Munitions also understood that it would be impossible for him to carry out this risky plan since everyone was against it.
"Okay," he responded, "let's look at another plan."
He held the baton and drew a circle around the British Expeditionary Force's position: "Another plan requires us to withdraw the expeditionary force and abandon all land offensives."
Everyone exclaimed:
"Give up all land offensives?"
"Does that mean we give up?"
"If we withdraw our troops now, we will have no troops that can threaten Germany, and they will be even less likely to agree to reparations!"
…
The Minister of Munitions replied:
"I'm saving their lives, gentlemen."
"You know what Charles is good at. As long as the land borders France, there is no place he can't conquer."
"So, if we don't choose to engage in a full-scale war with them, we can only withdraw our troops to ensure the safety of the expeditionary force."
George asked, "So, what about the German reparations?"
The Minister of Munitions replied simply: "I don't think that's a problem, Mr. Prime Minister. As long as we defeat France, no matter how much compensation the Germans have to pay, they will not be able to refuse!"
The politicians calmed down and thought about it, and felt that what the Minister of Munitions said made sense.
The right to speak is always in the hands of the strong, so the most important thing is to defeat the Charles. As long as this is done, the world will still belong to Britain.
"So, what are your plans?" Balfour asked.
The Quartermaster General's headquarters pointed at several oceans on the map:
“Abandoning land allows us to focus our wars and resources on the ocean.”
"That way we can forget about the charr's terrifying tactics, equipment, and speed."
"And battles at sea require tonnage, technology, and heritage, which are exactly what the Shire does not have."
General Winter didn't quite understand: "But if that's the case, how can we defeat the Shire?"
The Minister of Munitions had a sly look on his face:
"Supply blockade, Winter."
"We believed the Germans were transporting supplies from France, so we had to exercise control over the supplies that were going to France."
"Although we are reluctant to do this, it is in the interests of the Allies."
George suddenly realized that the "control" mentioned by the Minister of Munitions was actually a blockade:
"Yes, France wishes to replace us."
"But if we blockade or restrict its trade from the sea on the pretext of war, it will suffer another setback just after it has recovered from the war."
“If it keeps going like this, there’s no way it’ll surpass us and become number one in the world.”
Balfour nodded and said, "It is not difficult to blockade the Mediterranean Sea. We can blockade the Suez Canal with the support of Egypt."
The Minister of Munitions shook his head and smiled:
"Blocking the Suez Canal is not enough."
"France can also trade with its African colonies, and that's enough for them."
"So, what we want to control is the entire Mediterranean!"
Everyone exclaimed:
"Control the Mediterranean? Can it be done?"
"Shire had already made plans there. They even built an airport in Malta."
"The main force of the French Navy is also in the Mediterranean, which means we are likely to have a naval battle with them!"
…
The Minister of Munitions nodded:
"Yes, gentlemen."
"You are right. We are likely to compete with the French Navy for control of the Mediterranean."
"That's why we're pulling the Army out."
"This is also a war with France, but we are avoiding the strengths of the French army and blockading it with the navy."
Prime Minister George nodded slightly: "This plan looks much better than the previous one."
"Yeah," Balfour agreed. "It gave us a good excuse. We didn't even do anything radical in the beginning."
Only General Winter was still worried: "Do you really think we can defeat Ciel? Even in a naval battle?"
Balfour replied, with a somewhat helpless tone: "If we can't defeat Charles at sea, then there is no hope!"
(End of this chapter)
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