Chapter 385: Tragic

“We can’t just sit here and wait to die. We should send out the navy and teach those self-righteous Frenchmen a lesson!” a British naval officer roared, pounding the table. “That world’s fourth-largest navy cannot be handed over to the Germans, or Britain is finished!”

An old officer, his eyelids lowered, but his tone was exactly the same. “The British Empire is now on the brink of life and death. Those bureaucrats, disregarding the safety of the country, are fanning the flames from behind, demanding that our navy go into battle as soon as possible to turn the tide of defeat… The high command of the navy is also on the verge of not being able to withstand the pressure. This time, we are going into battle. We have a problem fighting the German navy, but do we also have a problem fighting the French navy?”

Churchill, on the side, was also deeply in agreement with this. Since they couldn’t beat the German navy, then to launch a surprise attack on the French navy should be no problem, right? If they couldn’t even beat the French navy, then Britain wouldn’t have to struggle anymore. Just waiting to die would be the end of it.

Driven by this kind of thinking, Churchill was very much in favor of the plan to launch a surprise attack on the French navy and to prevent the French warships from falling into the hands of the Germans. Although this plan was now being questioned in the discussion by many naval generals and another group of politicians.

Now he, Churchill, could not just speak casually anymore, because the British Navy had almost lost its entire foundation under his leadership. So now, to order support for either side was completely a thankless task. The side he supported might not appreciate it, and the side he opposed would definitely be sarcastic. So Churchill felt that he should be a man like Jesus, just listening and never speaking.

Sure enough, before Churchill could speak, an opposing voice had spoken up. A general with considerable weight in the navy questioned, “We are now already struggling under the threat of the German navy. To go and attack a neutral French navy is an extremely unwise act! What if we push the French navy to the German side? Our days will really be difficult then.”

“But who dares to be sure that France’s declaration of naval neutrality is real? Who dares to say that it is real? What if the French navy uses a delaying tactic and, in the end, at the most critical moment, sides with Germany? Wouldn’t we be even more passive?”

“This is indeed a problem. Even if the French navy really only wants to remain neutral now, there is no guarantee that on some day in the future, due to changes in the situation, it will not side with the German navy,” a minister said with a nod. “This is not impossible, but it is certain!”

“Indeed. Although that old fox Pétain has betrayed France and has stood on the side of the Germans, I have to say that he has indeed created a huge problem for us in Britain,” another minister said with a nod. “He has made half of France almost withdraw from the war. Now we have to consider the future direction of this half of France.”

“We are at a disadvantage locally now, but overall, we still have some advantages. At a time like this, the French remaining neutral is definitely not good news. Once we are defeated again or suffer some small losses, these French forces will immediately react. This uncertainty is too fatal for us,” the old officer who had spoken second said, his tone still the same, but this time, what he said was a little less fiery.

“There’s no need to hesitate any longer. Since we don’t plan to accept any variables, then we will simplify the current situation,” the First Lord of the Admiralty said, glancing at Churchill, who had promoted him to his current position. He had no choice but to brace himself and speak on behalf of his superior. “Launch the navy. Launch a surprise attack on the French naval port. Sink the main force of the French navy in its harbor!”

George, who had watched the Malaya sink with his own eyes, stood on the deck of the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier Ark Royal, staring at the four Hurricane fighters that had just been supplemented to this carrier. He sighed and shook his head.

He had watched the Malaya sink with his own eyes, had watched the Eagle sink, had watched the Barham sink, had watched the Courageous sink, and a few days ago, he had watched the Hermes sink with his own eyes. He had become numb to the Royal Navy being played with like a stray dog by its opponent.

In the last battle, the Ark Royal had lost almost all of its Swordfish attack planes and had also lost more than half of its Roc fighters. It had only managed to flee back to the British mainland with its remnants. As a result, the loss of dozens of naval fighter pilots could not be replenished now, and the production of new fighters was completely unable to keep up.

The supplement of four planes was better than nothing, but at the same time, they had only managed to supplement with two pilots. The combat capability of the aircraft carrier Ark Royal was at most only about half of what it had been at its peak. If one were to think about the almost annihilated Swordfish attack plane units, then the Ark Royal was now equivalent to a warship with no offensive capability.

A few days ago, watching the battleship Revenge, which had been hit by German planes, return to port with thick smoke, George no longer had the same sorrowful feeling as before. He just watched as one corpse after another was carried off the warship, and one repairman after another went up. To prevent the warship’s ammunition magazine from cooking off, the Revenge had even flooded its own magazine to avoid the crisis of sinking.

If one were to also count the aircraft carrier Glorious, which had been lightly damaged by the German Navy, then in just this one Battle of the English Channel, the number of large capital ships that had been sunk or damaged was already close to ten. The number of ships that the British Navy could now field was only a handful of lucky ones.

This time, another combat mission had been issued. The entire harbor was busy again. Many of the warships were undergoing final repairs, including the battleship King George V, the battleship Valiant, the carrier Furious, and the carrier Ark Royal. All the main forces of the British Navy were to go into battle. This time, it could be said to be the first time since the last disastrous defeat that the British Navy had plucked up its courage and had sortied in full force.

The ship’s whistle was sounded. George also collected his thoughts and climbed up the bridge’s staircase, which made him a little afraid. The brightly polished leather shoes kicked on the openwork iron staircase, making a pleasant clanging sound. But in George’s heart, it was like an iron hammer striking his own heart, one blow after another.

Since when did I become afraid of going out to sea? Since when did the Royal Navy’s sorties carry a tragic air? Since when were the warships of the Royal Navy no longer invincible? Since when did dozens of warships sail out of the harbor, so stifled and so timid?

A hero in his twilight? Or is the tide already turned? George shook his head, driving the uneasy feeling from his mind. He pushed open the heavy armored door of the bridge, walked into the combat command room, and stood beside Captain Lawrence.

“George, I hear that fourteen of your men have applied for a transfer to the destroyer fleet?” Lawrence asked, his one hand stroking the high-powered binoculars hanging on his chest, his other hand resting on the chart table, and he said with a bitter smile.

“Yes,” George nodded, his reply concise. After all, he was already one of the important officers on the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, with the rank of commander. To say too much or to say something he shouldn’t would have many consequences. So he now spoke simply and clearly, a good habit that had once made Lawrence very satisfied.

But now Lawrence seemed to want to say a few more words. So he looked at George and said, “The world has changed. In the past, everyone scrambled to get on the big ships, because this was the best way to get promoted or to save one’s life. Compared to a destroyer, a battleship was stronger and less likely to sink…”

He sighed helplessly and, without waiting for George to speak, continued, “Now it’s different. Now everyone is trying to get transferred to destroyers or cruisers… because when the Germans aren’t sinking battleships and carriers, they rarely go after the destroyers. After every major battle, often only the destroyers come back.”

“General, we are on a surprise attack this time, and our opponent is the French. I’m sure there won’t be any more accidents, right?” George said, after a moment’s thought, trying to console him. “You know, the German Navy does not dare to go south into the French waters now. We will launch a surprise attack on the French port and then return to Liverpool…”

“The news just came in. Read it yourself,” Lawrence said, handing a document to George, his expression indescribably helpless. “We haven’t even started our operation, and the shadow of the Germans is already hanging over our heads.”

George took the document and looked at it carefully. His eyes immediately widened, because on the document was written in stark letters: Nearly a hundred German bombers have attacked Liverpool, destroying the port and the shipyards. The hull of an aircraft carrier under construction has been completely destroyed in the shipyard. Also destroyed was a cruiser that had not had time to dodge.

This was already the third consecutive day. Every day, nearly a hundred bombers had visited British airspace. Ever since Dunkirk and other areas had been taken over by the Germans, the fighter groups that had taken off from there could easily enter the London airspace, and Germany no longer had to use its limited strategic bombers to participate in the bombing of London.

Now, the German bombers that were carrying out the bombing of London and the nearby airport cities had been replaced by nearly 500 Do-217 medium bombers. Therefore, the bombing density was greater, the number of times was more, and the scale was also more terrifying. Now London was a sea of fire every day. Countless treasures of human architectural art had been destroyed, and Big Ben had collapsed in the bombing on February 1st. A member of the British royal family had been injured in the process of disaster relief.

Compared to the German Air Force, which was blossoming everywhere and was triumphant everywhere, the British Air Force’s bomber units were a byword for bad luck. Several bombing missions had been a journey of no return. The loss rate of bomber pilots was even higher than that of fighters, reaching a terrifying 97%. Intelligence sent back by British spies showed that the German air defense units were using a new type of equipment called radar, in coordination with anti-aircraft guns and fighters, and had almost formed an airtight air defense network over their home country. It was no wonder that the British Air Force had suffered such heavy losses.

It was against this background that the British Royal Navy’s Home Fleet had gone out to sea, heading slowly toward its target.