Chapter 275 Desperate Situation

The 180 fighters that the Royal Air Force urgently took off from the mainland had not yet reached Dunkirk when they encountered German fighters that came to intercept them over the sea.

A group of British rookie pilots were defeated by the German Air Force, whose fighters had better performance and pilots were of higher quality; 128 of the 180 fighters were shot down, and only more than 40 escaped back to the mainland (some crashed on the way back).

The German army only lost 68 planes, of which 32 pilots who fell into the sea were rescued by the seaplanes sent out, and the search and rescue team also captured 43 British pilots.

In other words, the German side only paid 68 planes and 36 pilots, which can be said to be a great victory.

The sky gradually darkened, and the German Army Air Force, which had been wreaking havoc over Dunkirk for a whole day, also withdrew from the battlefield.

The last batch of attack planes that arrived sent out leaflets and left.

The content of the leaflet was Yannick's handwritten letter (photocopy).

"To the respected soldiers of the British Empire and France.

I am the German Crown Prince Yannick Hohenzollern.

Please allow me to express my sincere respect for the British and French soldiers who fought bravely in this battle. You have fully demonstrated your glory with your actions. It's just that your bravery was used by some despicable politicians, who threw you into this war that should not have happened. You are trapped in this desperate situation where you can neither go up nor down.

Now, your retreat has been completely cut off, and the powerful German armored forces have surrounded you. Your war is actually over, and you have done your best for your motherland. Continuing to fight will only turn into a disgusting and meaningless massacre.

In order to stop this unnecessary massacre, I beg you here, please put down your weapons. You will definitely get the treatment you deserve, I I guarantee in my personal name that you will not be treated unfairly. After the war, you will be able to return to your family and loved ones in peace.

As for Viscount Gort, Commander Harold Alexander, and General Moline, what is your choice? Let the young soldiers die in the name of the motherland, and then find excuses for yourself to escape and live in shame and humiliation for the sake of the future?

If you still have the honor of a soldier in your heart, and still have a little patriotism, you should judge the situation and leave the chance of life to the young children.

It is your inability to shame their honor. Don't let your selfishness cause them to lose their lives.

I will give you one night to think about it. If you don't surrender before six o'clock tomorrow morning, our army will cover your army with ten times and a hundred times the firepower of today. I can't guarantee anything even if you are captured later. "

Viscount Gort stared blankly at the leaflet in his hand. The words "Your inability to shame their honor" cut his heart like a knife. If he had not made his own decision under the pretext of poor communication, and not to break out to the south, but to retreat to Dunkirk to the north, he might not have fallen into such a desperate situation.

Unfortunately, there is no regret medicine in the world. Even if he sighed and beat his chest, he could not change the current desperate situation.

Sighing again, he called the adjutant and asked. "Has the Prime Minister called back?"

The adjutant was also aware of the current situation, and there was despair in his voice. "The Prime Minister asked us to persist, and there will always be a way." What else can be done? Could it be that so many expeditionary forces can swim back?

Viscount Gort couldn't help but smile bitterly. "What about our food and ammunition?"

The adjutant's face darkened again. "Ammunition and supplies are almost used up. Although we have begun to ration the soldiers' food and ammunition, it can only last for two days at most. After two days, we will really run out of ammunition and food." They fled in a hurry all the way, and many ammunition and supplies were thrown on the way of escape.

I guess it is impossible for Sir Churchill to transport so many soldiers back in two days no matter how powerful he is. "Inform everyone to hold a meeting at the regimental level or above at 9 p.m." After saying that, Viscount Gort waved his hand with a tired face, signaling his adjutant to let him stay alone for a while.

Sergeant Ashton sat listlessly in the trench holding his rifle, staring at his bandaged arm in a daze, his dirty face full of fatigue.

A small piece of flesh was cut off by shrapnel on his arm, which was not considered a serious injury, so it was impossible for him to be evacuated back to the country as a wounded soldier.

However, he had no complaints about this. Although there was no definite news, he was very skeptical whether those transport ships could return to the country safely. After all, the German fighter planes raging in the sky were not blind, and it was impossible for them to evacuate safely, right? Britain, which has always claimed to be the world's number one navy, can't even protect their retreat now. What a great irony! !

It is said that the navy's losses have been one after another since the launch, and now almost half of its main battleships have been lost! As a member of the glorious British Empire Army, although he couldn't tell how many main battleships Britain had, he knew very well that the loss of more than half was quite serious!

What he couldn't understand was that the defeated Germans only took 20 years to rise again and become stronger than last time. Even the first power in Europe and the first navy in the world are no match for it!

Just when Ashton was full of random thoughts, Lieutenant Harrison came over and sat down next to him, sighing heavily. "It seems that we are bound to lose this battle."

The two of them were not only fellow villagers but also neighbors who talked about everything, so they spoke out without any scruples such complaints that would obviously affect military morale. Harrison shook the leaflet dropped by the German plane in his hand and continued to complain. "I think the German Crown Prince is right. There is no chance of winning this battle, but those politicians don't seem to see this at all. They will only stay in the safe rear and order us people to fight hard in the front and bleed dry." The last drop of blood. These damn bastards clearly want us to die!"

Seeing that he was getting more excited, angry and louder as he spoke, Ashton quickly touched him and told him to calm down. However, he also agreed with Harrison's words. After all, it was soldiers like them who died in the war, and the lives of those politicians would not be threatened, so the politicians kept asking for the war to continue.

"No, Lydia is still at home waiting for me to come back. I can't die here! No matter what, I have to live." Harrison murmured. As he kept repeating this sentence, his eyes became more determined.

"Harrison, don't you mean that?" After all, we have been friends since childhood, and you can tell what he wants to do just by looking at his eyes.

Harrison nodded firmly. "Ashton, think about Maggie and your children at home. How will they survive if you die here?"

"..." Ashton was silent. He didn't dare to think about Maggie's suffering of raising the child alone if he died. Maybe Maggie will choose to remarry, but other men are stepfathers to the children. What kind of injustice will the children suffer?

After being silent for a long time, Ashton gritted his teeth and nodded fiercely. "Then what should we do?" He had already fought and shed blood for his motherland, and now he had to think about his family and his children.