Brave the attacks of German aircraft, submarines and cannons, shuttle back and forth between the straits, and sending batches of coalition officers and soldiers back to the British. The British army used all forces on the ground, sea and air to support this retreat,

On June 28, the bad weather in the Dunkirk area prevented the German air raid, and nearly 17,000 people were able to evacuate. After the retreat began, the German army strengthened ground attacks and attacked the British and French transport fleets from the air and sea. The British army tried their best to defend its east and west fronts to maintain a passage to retreat along the strait, and stepped up the troops' boarding work. Various small boats acted as ferries and sank trucks into the sea as boarding treks that extended the beach into the sea.

The power of bombs dropped by the German army on the beach was greatly reduced. On June 29, 47,000 people were withdrawn, and an estimated 2,000 non-commissioned officers were sent off the French coast every hour. On June 30, the fog caused a decrease in visibility and once again prevented the German air strikes. The coalition withdrew nearly 50,000 people. On June 31, the number of people retreated reached 68,000.

The encirclement in Dunkirk gradually narrowed, but the German army could not stop the coalition from withdrawing troops from the sea. In order to cover the ground retreat, the British Air Force dispatched a total of 2,739 fighter jets for air cover, with an average of 300 aircraft a day, effectively resisting the German air strikes. Despite heavy losses under the attack of the Luftwaffe, more than 60,000 people still withdrew on June 1.

Due to German air strikes and artillery fire approaching Dunkirk Beach, the retreat began to be carried out on June 2 and took advantage of the night. The coalition forces used the cover of dark night to withdraw 26,000 people to Britain every day. On June 4, the German army captured Dunkirk, and the 40,000 French teams that had no time to evacuate were captured.

The retreat started on June 26 and ended on June 4, which lasted for 9 days. A total of 338,226 troops were withdrawn from Dunkirk to Britain, with about 96,000 French troops. Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands simultaneously used 1,861 ships of various types, including small ships such as fishing boats, passenger ships, yachts and lifeboats. In just 10 days, this unprecedented "Dunkirk fleet" rescued 340,000 troops from the death crisis, preserving a large number of living combat power for the Allied forces' future counterattack, and creating a huge miracle in the history of World War II.

...

After understanding the causes and consequences of the matter, Li Mo determined that Britain could not negotiate with Germany, and Hitler's wish was wishful thinking. When Britain lost a large number of elite troops, Li Mo was sure that Britain's war potential would be reduced by a large margin. The British population was tens of millions, and it was possible to organize millions of new troops. However, it is really an unknown number of new recruits without veterans.

People in later generations also exaggerated the argument that Britain would be unable to resist the German offensive after losing 300,000 Dunkirk's army. This statement is one-sided and incomplete. As the number one colonial country, Britain also has a population of 47 million. In addition, the population of the colonies is 400 million, a large number of colonies, American aid, etc. Li Mo is sure that even if Britain loses 300,000 Dunkirk's elite, it will also choose to resist and will also arm a large number of troops in a very short period of time. With the support of the United States, Britain has this strength. This is beyond doubt.

It is now June 23rd. According to the meteorological department's notice, starting from the 28th of this month, the English Channel will experience bad weather. At that time, all aircraft will not be able to take off due to bad weather. If there is no attack at this time, all British ships will appear in Dunkirk port in five days.

It was only five days, and now the strength of British aircraft is not weak. Previously, due to various reasons, the air force of the British and French forces did not play a big role. Now all the aircraft of the British and French forces will be concentrated in the Dunkirk area. In this way, the air strength of the British and French forces will be greatly strengthened, not because of the previous dispersed use. With the strong support of the United States, the air force of the British and French forces is much stronger than the Soviet Union. At this time, the various aircraft owned by Britain and France reached more than 3,000, while German aircraft only went for more than 2,800 due to some losses from the war.

Of course, Germany's BF109 is more advanced than the aircraft of these two countries, but the US jet p38 and the UK's Spitfire are also very good, while Germany's aircraft replenishment speed is less than one-fifth of that of these three countries.

Under such circumstances, Li Mo also understood Hitler's painstaking efforts. If he wanted to fight the British and French coalition forces surrounded by Dunkirk, it meant that Germany had to put more than 2,800 of its air force into the Dunkirk region and the British and French air forces at one time to carry out a strategic decisive battle. At the same time, all tanks, armored vehicles and infantry launched a comprehensive attack on the Dunkirk region at the same time, and annihilated all British and French coalition forces in the Dunkirk region in one fell swoop.

That is how much the loss will be, this is the key, because Hitler ordered Li Mo not to fight Dunkirk.

As the commander of the front enemy, Li Mo decided to fight, just to directly resist Hitler's orders. Anyway, Li Mo was not the first to disobey. If Li Mo won and paid very little, Li Mo would not have any trouble. In addition, Li Mo suffered heavy losses. Whether he won or lost, Li Mo would not have a good life. Taking advantage of the situation is the strength of the grandsons in the commander-in-chief.

It is impossible for Li Mo to not fight. On the morning of June 23, Li Mo, who had not slept all night, sent a telegram to Hitler:

"The great and sacred head of state, Li Mo, commander-in-chief of the Western Front, reported that the Ministry of State decided to launch a final devastating battle against the British and French coalition forces in the Dunkirk area on June 23, 1940. If it is not victorious or suffers a great loss, the Ministry of State is willing to resign.

Long live Germany, long live the head of state.”

Hitler was furious when he saw Li Mo's telegram. This kid could not understand himself. This kid seemed to be unable to reflect his great military achievements without disobeying. Li Mo's telegram Hitler did not reply. The meaning was very obvious. Do whatever you want. I can't protect you even if something happens.

...

At 8 a.m. on June 23, the German Western Front troops, except for the troops used to guard other directions, had a total of 500,000 troops, more than 2,400 tanks and more than 1,000 aircraft launched a full-scale attack on Dunkirk.

The air force and infantry basically launched an attack at the same time. Catherine divided her fleet into three groups and continued to attack and bombard the Dunkirk area. The other two groups were resting and taking on alert tasks at the same time. When the first wave of attack was completed, the second wave began.

The British and French coalition forces were not to be outdone. They gathered all the fighter jets from the two countries that could participate in the war. The bombers launched a counterattack on Germany's air and ground, thus breaking out the largest air battle in world history. More than 5,000 aircraft from both sides held a fierce air showdown within a region of hundreds of kilometers around Dunkirk.

...r1152
Chapter completed!