The Third Reich in Desperation

For this reason, the British home fleet used their fleet that had been severely damaged by the German army to specially deploy and form a special operation fleet, including the Bravery and the Resolute, the two remaining battleships of the British home fleet, and 2 cruisers, 11 destroyers and a HMS Ark Royal aircraft carrier with insufficient carrier aircraft.

Although the Germans "coincidentally" destroyed the port where the Forbes fleet was going back, cutting off their retreat.

However, the current Forbes fleet is also ready to launch.No matter what happens in the rear, they must first settle the matter in front of them.

Things have already been done, so there is no need to stop!

So soon, Sir Forbes ordered a broadcast to the fleet in the French port. This broadcast is very simple: join us and stand with us on the united front.

The specific way of joining is to hand over all the French warships and let the British navy take them away.

Darlan naturally refused to answer the British request.

He believed that since France had declared an armistice and remained neutral, it should not join either side.

In addition, the governments of France and Germany also jointly promised not to use the French fleet for military purposes.

But even so, it is particularly shameful that the British are still pushing each other hard.

Therefore, Darlan, the French naval commander who accused Churchill of treachery, refused to make any reply.

In desperation, the British officer had no choice but to get on a motorboat, drive into the port, and hand over the ultimatum to the French.

After all, Forbes still hopes to avoid fighting as much as possible, otherwise, the Royal Navy will appear too shameless.

However, although Forbes wanted a peaceful settlement, he was pressured by Churchill. In this ultimatum, he gave the French 4 options, all of which were non-negotiable!

1. Follow us out of port and continue to fight for victory in the war.

2. With reduced crew, sail to English ports under our supervision.

3. Hand over the warship to the US government for safekeeping until the end of the war.

4. If none of the above 3 points are acceptable, please scuttle all warships by yourself within 6 hours.

Finally, the Englishman wrote, If you fail to act in the above manner, I shall be obliged, by the orders of His Majesty's Government, to use all necessary force to prevent your fleet from falling into the hands of Germany or Italy.

After all, Sir Forbes' orders were to secure the handover, surrender, or destruction of the French ships at Oran and Mirskbirr so that they would not fall into German hands, and that they also release all French ships anchored off the French mainland. arming of the French fleet.

Churchill did not give them room to ease, so they followed orders and did not give the French room to bargain.

However, Darlan is not a vegetarian.

As a commander who is deeply respected by the officers and soldiers of the French navy, what he immediately thought of was not to confirm the facts with the British navy to avoid misunderstandings, but to order the entire army to be on first-level alert directly and resolutely to avoid being slaughtered!

The move of the French army to readiness for combat caused great panic among the British.They saw the smoke rising from the French ship and it was ready to fire. At the port, the nearby army units under Belante's command received the news, and even dispatched a group of field artillery to support Darlan.

The forts and coastal forts around Port of Oran were also condescending, aiming their gun barrels at the British fleet in the distance.

At the same time, although extremely annoyed, Darlan calmed down and made repeated promises to the British fleet on the radio: "The French fleet will not surrender to him and the Allies, but they will not surrender to the British ultimatum either."

Of course, Darlan swallowed his anger and explained to the British fleet at this moment that it was not because of weakness.

On the contrary, Darlan just wanted to delay a little bit of time.At the same time, he has mobilized the French squadrons from several nearby ports to support the port of Oran.

Once the reinforcements arrive, Darlan will be able to cooperate with them inside and out to flank the British army!

Thus, Commander Darlan and Sir Forbes fought with swords and swords for a full 5 hours.

Until 12:10 noon, Sir Forbes, the commander of the British fleet, received a warning from Churchill himself: "solve the problem as soon as possible, otherwise you will encounter the French reinforcements transferred by Darlan!"

Body 4 Chapter [-] I don't want to admit (please subscribe, ask for recommendation, ask for reward)

Can't wait any longer!

At 12:40, Sir Forbes issued a final warning to Darlan: If you still do not accept any of our proposals before 1 o'clock, we can only sink your warship!

At the same time, Darlan, who received the warning, just smiled lightly, crumpled up the telegram from the British, and threw it into the waste paper bin next to him.

This time, he did not continue to reply to the British, because there is no need for that anymore!

Outside the port of Oran, the British sailors entered a state of readiness for war one after another, pushing and loading their bombs, while the officers stood on the podium gesticulating, ready to go.

On the British flagship "Ark Royal" aircraft carrier, the torpedo attack plane has already started to activate the piston, and the battle is imminent.

Of course, Darlan's beloved French warships are not vegetarian, they are the fifth strongest navy in the world, and they responded immediately when facing the attack of the British fleet.

The French battleship Provence faced the powerful firepower of the British warships. With its strong defense and indomitable fighting spirit, it was evenly matched with the British warships.The severely damaged French ship Dunkirk had to withdraw from the battle, but was hit by the British fleet's Bravery halfway, and lost its combat effectiveness after catching fire.

The Bravery showed no mercy to its opponent, and the heavy artillery fire made the Dunkirk crumbling.

At the same time, the Resolute also turned its bow and fired at the Dunkirk, attacking fiercely with its four 305mm main guns with shooting angles.

The Dunkirk is in urgent need!

The poor Dunkirk was hit by two armor-piercing shells in a very short period of time.

Among them, an armor-piercing projectile drilled into the depths of the hull from its No. [-] funnel.

The engine room and steam water pipes under the No. [-] chimney were completely destroyed, and thick smoke, fire and white water vapor from the explosion rose into the sky.

Before the French sailors could react, another armor-piercing projectile fired by the British side's full turret and half-cannon roared in. The heavy metal warhead easily penetrated the main armor of the Dunkirk's waterline belt and the coal bunker that also served as a defensive function. The coal bunkers were ignited, creating a huge cloud of smoke and heat, which also spread to the ammunition depot, which ignited and produced a huge explosion that nearly split the Dunkirk in two.

As a result, the French soldiers on the Dunkirk abandoned the ship and escaped. However, due to the leakage of fuel oil and the spread of sparks, the fuel oil at sea was ignited.Even if they jumped into the sea, many French soldiers were dying of pain in the sea of ​​fire.

Perhaps the French should be thankful, because their Provence suffered almost no losses. On the contrary, when the British attacked the Dunkirk, the Provence also attacked some British ships, with great results.

However, the deck of the Provence was also penetrated, and the seawater surged in along the hole dug by the armor-piercing projectile. The crew on the Provence immediately turned on the water pump to discharge the seawater entering the hull. The leaky tank was plugged, and the sea water was quickly drained, and the Provence continued to fight.

At this time, a cloud of smoke suddenly burst into the sky on the brave ship, and the flames were looming in the smoke.

Immediately afterwards, the cheers of the French sailors soared into the sky like a dream.

It turned out that the heavy artillery on the French Provence penetrated the deck of the British Bravery, and the ammunition directly ignited his ammunition room. A raging fire ignited in the ammunition room, which soon caused a big explosion. All were killed in the explosion.The Bravery itself also lost almost all of its combat effectiveness.

"Is this God's gift to the French?" The lack of understanding of the British's surprise attack, poor preparations, and unclear combat strategy have been at a disadvantage since the fleet was attacked by the Royal Navy in the Port of Oran.

Who would have thought that under such circumstances, the French army could still fight back?

The violent explosion sounded suddenly in the direction of the brave, and the Ark Royal, where Sir Forbes was located, was also affected by the shock.

"What happened to the brave?" Sir Forbes asked several staff officers in horror.

"Sir, the Bravery appears to have been sunk."

"What?!" Sir Forbes was extremely shocked. He really didn't expect that the French navy in this situation could have such strength.

In fact, this is indeed the hard power of the French Navy.