Chapter 594 Surrender

In Le Havre, fierce fighting began. Hundreds of thousands of German troops invaded the city and began a fierce battle with the British Expeditionary Force.

However, the morale of the two warring parties is vastly different. The morale of the German army on one side was like a rainbow, while the British army on the other side had a collapsed will to fight and collapsed at the first touch.

This also made the German army invincible in the offensive. The resistance of the British army was so weak that it couldn't even stop the German army from attacking.

"Da da da!"

On a position of the British army, a heavy machine gun was firing. This kind of rapid-fire weapon should have been a sharp weapon for killing enemies in urban defense operations. However, even with these weapons, the British soldiers whose will to fight has almost dropped to freezing point cannot display their combat effectiveness!

"Mortar, aim at the British machine gun position, kill them!" A second lieutenant platoon leader of the German army ordered.

"boom!"

A 60mm mortar shell accurately hit the machine gun position. The bunker was blown up, and the machine gunner inside was also killed. However, the machine gun was not able to destroy it.

Originally, the German army thought it was necessary to continue shelling. But what is surprising is that the British soldiers stationed there fled directly after the machine gun firepower point was destroyed. The German army took this British position almost effortlessly.

Such scenes can be seen almost everywhere on the battlefield. Facing the German attack, most of the British soldiers did not have the courage to continue fighting. In the case of collapse at the touch of a button, the positions of the British Expeditionary Force continued to be lost. Their activity space in Le Havre has also been suppressed a lot. Judging from this situation, they simply can't last long.

By the evening of May 11, when the German army stopped attacking, almost half of the entire Le Havre city had fallen into the hands of the German army. General Crook and Lieutenant General Ludendorff are very satisfied with today's attack. The two even optimistically believed that perhaps by tomorrow night, the entire Le Havre would be completely in the hands of the German army. The British Expeditionary Force stationed here will be completely eliminated.

The battle situation became even more unfavorable for the British Expeditionary Force. It was almost a certainty that they would lose the war. But what should they do next? This has become a headache for the leadership of the British Expeditionary Force.

"Your Excellency, we have already lost half of Le Havre in this afternoon's battle. The loss of troops is not very great. The most important problem is that those soldiers no longer have the courage to fight the Germans. Yes. Often the Germans fired a few shells, and the soldiers lost their positions and fled in embarrassment. This made it impossible for us to continue in the city." Admiral Haig looked frustrated. There is no doubt that he has no confidence in the current situation.

"How long can we last in Le Havre?" asked Sir French.

"Your Excellency, it's hard to say. Maybe we can hold on until tomorrow night!" Admiral Goff said.

Sir French couldn't help but smiled bitterly: "We have at least 200,000 people in Le Havre. Can we only last for one day? Is the combat effectiveness of the expeditionary force already so weak? ?”

"Your Excellency, although there are still many troops, everyone has no courage to continue fighting. Under such circumstances, even if there are more troops, what is the use?" Admiral Haig said.

Sir French nodded helplessly. He also knew that he was powerless now.

"Everyone, this is the end of the matter, what do you think we should do next?" Sir French asked.

"Your Excellency, we have no other choice in this battle. If we continue to fight, it will only increase casualties. Therefore, I suggest that the soldiers surrender to the Germans. They have done their best in this war. There is no need to force them to continue fighting. In that case, it is no different from letting them go to death." Admiral Haig suggested.

"Surrender? If you surrender, you can save the lives of those boys. In this case, they can be regarded as saved. But what should we do? I don't want to go into a German prisoner-of-war camp." Sir French Said.

As the commander of the British Expeditionary Force, Sir French is undoubtedly a top figure belonging to the British Army. Had he been captured by the Germans, it would have dealt a major blow to his personal reputation. Even, it will have a serious adverse effect on the British Empire. Sir French did not want his honor to be sullied. When necessary, he would rather commit suicide than be captured by the Germans.

"The German fleet is cruising off the coast of Le Havre. Even if we want to evacuate Le Havre, I'm afraid we can't do it." Admiral Goff said. He understood what Sir French meant. If you can withdraw to the British mainland, even if you are a defeated general, it is obviously better than being captured.

Admiral Haig frowned, and after thinking for a while, he said: "Your Excellency, if we want to leave Le Havre, there is no way out. We may turn to the navy for help. Their submarines can secretly arrive in Le Havre." Well. We can return to the mainland by submarine. But, in this way, there will not be many evacuated people."

Sir French thought for a while, and then said, "That's better than everyone being captured by the Germans."

"Okay, sir, I understand." Admiral Haig had already understood Sir French's meaning.

The British Expeditionary Force Command secretly contacted the British Navy, and it happened that a submarine was operating not far from Le Havre. Their mission was originally to monitor the German fleet. Now it can come in handy.

The British War Department also learned of the predicament of the expeditionary force, and expressed understanding for the decision of Sir French and others. So, that night, the British submarine arrived in Le Havre secretly, and picked up Sir French, Admiral Haig and Admiral Gough and a few people.

The next day, after dawn, the officers and soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force discovered that several major commanders had slipped away. This feeling of being abandoned was even more unbearable for the officers and soldiers of the expeditionary army.

Therefore, when the German army launched an offensive, a large number of officers and soldiers of the expeditionary force surrendered directly to the German army. Many troops, even established units, surrendered.