Imperial Overlord

Sometimes, it's just such a coincidence that Churchill is also roaring in his office when Mussolini is sitting in his office scolding the street.

He was so angry because he had high hopes and ordered Montgomery, who had stabilized the situation in the Middle East, to send him a telegram.

The content of the telegram is very simple, that is, as the commander-in-chief of the Middle East, Montgomery is ready to withdraw 20,000 British soldiers from the Balkans!

Montgomery was not Auchinleck after all, and in the end he did not have the courage to completely abandon Churchill and go his own way.

However, he did not have the courage to abandon the 40,000 British Commonwealth troops who fought hard in the Balkans, and did not dare to bear the infamy of betraying his allies.

So, the wise Montgomery chose a compromise. He is going to use various pretexts to bring back 20,000 soldiers from Greece to strengthen his defenses in the Middle East.

As for whether the Greek side will object, or whether Churchill has an opinion, that is something that needs to be considered later.

"Auchinleck! Auchinleck disobeyed my orders when he was in North Africa and retreated from the front without authorization!" Churchill patted the table and shouted to Admiral John Greerdeer.

"Your troop commander has made his own decisions again and again, even ignoring my orders. Who will be responsible for the consequences? Ah?" Churchill felt powerless and was losing control over everything.

Auchinleck's private retreat in North Africa became an important excuse for Churchill to shirk his responsibility for losing North Africa.

Although everyone at the top knows that there is still a fighting force in the Middle East, it is because of the retreat of Auchinleck that the last fire was preserved!

But Churchill did not understand this kind of retreat, because this kind of retreat made him lose a lot of political support, and also lost a large number of important cities in Egypt, which made him more passive in the situation.

So this time, Montgomery revisited the old story and hoped to retreat from the Balkans, and Churchill was furious again!

He had a hunch that this time he retreated, he would lose Greece as an ally and make Britain in this war unprecedentedly isolated—the suppression of public opinion was enough to produce immeasurable variables. Churchill did not like such a change.

Admiral Deere is the chief of staff of the British Army. He is currently mainly responsible for the defense of the German landing in the homeland.

In fact, Admiral Deere is already well aware of the problems that have arisen in the Middle East. He actually supported Auchinleck and General Montgomery's decision. He also believed that in the Balkans, the British had no chance of winning.

Based on the lessons learned from France and North Africa, Admiral Diehl believes that it is very irrational to engage the German armored forces head-on.

The Balkans are too close to Germany's rear, and Germany has no logistical problems, and the combat effectiveness of its troops is not comparable to the Italians.

Now that Germany has not entered the Balkans, it can only be said that it is the luck of the British and Greek troops. Once the Germans started to enter the Balkans from the north, the Greek and British troops were not enough along the entire line of defense.

Don't look at the fact that the British and the Greeks have beaten the Italians so badly that they can't even take a step forward. But this victory was based entirely on the defense against the Germans in the north, and on the basis of singing an empty city plan.

If the Germans attack, the northern direction will collapse in an instant, and the Greek defenders and British troops on the Italian border will be surrounded and eventually defeated as well.

Greece, which has lost its main force, is simply unable to maintain its defense line. By that time, the 40,000 British Expeditionary Force would have no alternative but to go to German prisoner-of-war camps for hard labor.

"Mr. Prime Minister! Although it is not a good choice to retreat from the Balkans. However, we have no extra troops to waste there!" Admiral Deere said, admonishing the angry Churchill.

His meaning was obvious in the words that followed: "If we can't reinforce the Balkans and fight a war there that is enough to slow the German offensive, we will lose the Balkans sooner or later, sir!"

Of course, Churchill could not continue to reinforce the Balkans, and the only way to get reinforcements there now was to transport troops from the Middle East, through Crete and the Aegean Sea, and into Greece.

It is a pity that the generals who advocated retreat are Montgomery and Auchinleck in the Middle East, so it is impossible to count on them to reinforce the Balkans.

On the other hand, any reasonable military person knows that in the face of Rommel's aggressiveness, the Middle East has almost been hollowed out.

At this time, it is absolutely impossible to dispatch troops to fight in distant Greece. Greece does not have a decent military background, and its weapons and ammunition must rely on assistance. How can the UK have the strength to put countless ammunition and weapons into the Balkans?

"If Greece is defeated, we will be completely driven out of the Mediterranean... Can you bear the responsibility here?" Churchill looked at Admiral Dill and asked.

Britain has run the Mediterranean since Victorian times. Including areas such as the Strait of Gibraltar and Egypt. As a result, now that the United Kingdom is about to be kicked out of the Mediterranean, who dares to say that this responsibility is on its own?

"Mr. Prime Minister! Our army has been defeated. In this case, whether you and His Majesty the King are willing or not, we have to bear the responsibility of losing some areas." Dill looked at Churchill and said helplessly.

From the beginning of the war to the present, all the way to the present, it is no longer the responsibility of one person in this situation.

The strong rise of Germany, combined with a series of dazzling victories, has taken the entire European situation out of British control. The defeat on the battlefield, of course, has to pay for countless land and the blood and sweat of the predecessors.

"Twenty thousand people?" I don't know if he was asking Admiral Dill, or he was asking himself, Churchill said this to himself.

"Twenty thousand people!" Admiral Deere also did not know whether he was answering Churchill's question or confirming to himself, and repeated the same sentence.

In the end, Churchill closed his eyes and said, "Since you have decided to retreat, don't hide it any longer! You can withdraw as much as you can!"

Churchill also saw that things had come to this point. Constraining each other, in the end, no doubt it can only be cheaper for the Germans. At this time, it would be better for him to take a step back and meet the requirements of the army more realistically.

At least next time, he will have more chips to bargain with his army generals.

Hearing Churchill's decision, Chief Dier was obviously stunned for a moment. However, he recovered quickly and agreed: "Your decision can save the lives of more soldiers!"

Churchill, who participated in the First World War, sneered, looked at Admiral Dill, and said sarcastically: "It is inevitable for soldiers to fight and die for their country! I can save their lives, if they have the shame,

, the next time they should use their lives to save their motherland! "

Admiral Dill was embarrassed, but he didn't care. He had already achieved the results he wanted, and even exceeded his expectations, so there was no point in arguing with Churchill.

Churchill didn't really want to poke his mouth, he just wanted to lay a foreshadowing here, and when the army made another request next time, he would use this foreshadowing to restrain the generals.

"Withdraw as many troops from the Balkans as possible! Make it a second Dunkirk! Not only our soldiers, but also the Greek soldiers!" After the decision was made , Churchill ordered to Dill.

His order gave Dill a headache, because in the Mediterranean, there were not many transport ships in the British army.

You must know that the Suez Canal has now become a battlefield, and it is impossible for ships to pass through there. The vast Mediterranean Sea was blocked on one side of the exit, and it became a pool of stagnant water.

In this sea area, the British side only left a small number of ships to be responsible for transporting supplies and personnel from Greece to the Middle East.

The remaining ships were either sunk in the Mediterranean Sea by the Italian Navy~www.wuxiaspot.com~ or evacuated from this sea area with the Mediterranean Fleet.

Relying on the existing ships, rushing out 20,000 or even 30,000 people is already very difficult to do. Churchill also had to help rush out some of the Greek troops, which was a bit difficult for a strongman.

"Mr. Prime Minister, we don't have many ships there, and the navy has nothing to do. Your request may not be fulfilled." Dill knew more or less about the problems in the Middle East and complained.

Churchill also knew that his request was too much, nodded in agreement and said, "Do your best, find a way to do it! Carry forward the spirit of the Dunkirk retreat and surprise the Germans!"

After speaking, Churchill had no interest in continuing the discussion and ended this meeting. Because later, the special envoy sent by the President of the United States has something to interview Churchill alone.

I don't know what's going on. The other party is very mysterious. Only after seeing the Prime Minister can he be willing to open his mouth and express his purpose of coming.

Churchill also wanted to request more assistance from the US government through this special envoy, so he gave the other party the opportunity to meet individually.

He made a huge list, including 3,000 tanks and 5,000 planes of various types - I don't know how much the Americans would give, but as long as the other side continued to give it, Churchill was willing to accept it.

After all, Americans wanted Churchill to stand on stage and continue to fight Germany's horrific expansion in Europe...