Chapter 782

"Your Excellency, I personally agree with a major battle with the Germans at Canterbury. We will indeed have a lot of advantages in a battle with the Germans here. At least we can gather five armies to deal with the two armies of the Germans." Add two marine divisions. The 3rd and 8th armies can retreat further to Maidstone to deal with the Germans with one corps and one marine division. No matter which battlefield we are on, we have a large number of troops Great advantage. If we play well, we are still very sure of defeating the Germans!" Admiral Haig said.

"Even if we gather five armies in Canterbury, there are less than one million people. But the Germans' 1st and 2nd Army Corps, plus two Marine Divisions, have a total of nearly 700,000 people. Our strength advantage , is also very limited. The 3rd Army and the 8th Army now have less than 400,000 troops, and the German 3rd Army plus a Marine Division also has more than 200,000 troops. The 1.4 million people to deal with With more than 900,000 German troops, will our chances of winning really be great?" Admiral Benson raised doubts about this.

Admiral Hamilton nodded: "It is true that our advantage does not seem to be great. However, we are fighting on the mainland and can receive reinforcements at any time. The Germans have to cross the Channel. In the battle with the Germans at Canterbury, we still have to Reinforcements from London troops can be obtained at any time. If necessary, I will mobilize London troops to reinforce us. At that time, the Germans will definitely be defeated!"

"Your Excellency Commander, if this is the case, then I suggest that two elite armies be secretly dispatched from London to cooperate with the 3rd Army and the 8th Army to eliminate the German 3rd Army and the 3rd Marine Division. Then Gather the main force and attack the 1st and 2nd Army Corps of the Germans and the 1st and 2nd Divisions of the Marine Corps. In this case, our chances of winning will be much greater." Admiral Gough suggested.

General Hamilton shook his head: "There are only two elite army groups in London. In order to stabilize the situation there, we cannot easily transfer those two army groups away. Your Excellency the Prime Minister and the Minister of War will not agree easily. If we transfer all our troops to the southeast theater, if the Germans directly send troops across the North Sea to attack London, what will we have to resist? At that time, I am afraid it will cause a complete defeat.”

A hint of unwillingness flashed across Admiral Goff's eyes, but he knew that Admiral Hamilton's consideration was also reasonable. As the capital of the British Empire, London's safety is also very important. Once London is attacked, the consequences will be very serious. It can even cause problems for troops on the front lines.

"For the time being, we can only use the 7 armies in our hands to deal with the Germans' three corps and three marine divisions. The strength advantage of close to half a million people is already considered good. Although, I have to admit that the Germans are very powerful. However, I believe that the soldiers of the British Empire, inspired by the spirit of defending our country, our troops will not be inferior to the Germans. In addition, I have ordered the tank troops stationed in London to come to reinforce us In this battle, our odds of winning are still very high!" said Admiral Hamilton.

Although Admiral Hamilton seemed very confident, Admiral Haig and others did not take it seriously. Compared with the German Army, the elite group armies of the British Army still have a big gap, let alone other troops. Defending the country can indeed inspire soldiers' fighting spirit, but it is very difficult to say whether it will work on the battlefield, or whether it will have an effect that satisfies them.

However, they are not good at dampening the confidence of Admiral Hamilton. Otherwise, the next battle will be even more difficult.

After confirming the battle with the German army at Canterbury, Admiral Hamilton rushed back to London and personally presented his battle plan to Prime Minister Churchill and Minister of War Richard Haldane.

Both Churchill and Richard Haldane recognized Admiral Hamilton's battle plan. They also very much hope to defeat the Germans in one fell swoop in the southeastern theater. It would be best if the fighting could not spread to London. Churchill said that if the battle situation was tense, he would order the troops in London to reinforce the southeast theater. In addition, he will also order the Air Force to fully cooperate with the Southeast Theater to ensure that it can gain air supremacy on the battlefield and further reduce the pressure on the ground forces.

Churchill's guarantee made Hamilton full of fighting spirit. After he returned to Canterbury non-stop, he ordered the armies to start shrinking their defenses and prepare for the battle.

Under the orders of Admiral Hamilton, the 1st and 6th Armies of the British Continental Army withdrew from Margate to Canterbury. The 2nd Army and 7th Army of the Continental Army also withdrew from Dover to Canterbury. The 3rd and 8th Armies of the Continental Army withdrew from Folkestone to Maidstone. The Ninth Army of the Continental Army was originally stationed in Canterbury.

So far, the British Continental Army has assembled five armies in Canterbury and two armies in Maidstone, for a total of seven armies with nearly 1.4 million troops.

This is already the entire force of the British Continental Forces South-East Theater. Hamilton ordered these troops to assemble at Canterbury and Maidstone, it was a desperate idea, and he wanted to fight the Germans to decide the fate.

When the British army was withdrawing from the coastal area, the German 1st Army, 2nd Army, and 3rd Army were withdrawing in an orderly manner. For the movements of the British army, the reconnaissance planes of the German Army Air Force have a complete grasp. However, apart from sending planes to bomb the retreating British troops, the Germans did nothing else.

The retreat of the British army was a great thing for the German army. Their main force just needed enough time to land in England. If the British army continued to attack and harass them to land, it would cost them more. However, now that the British are taking the initiative to retreat, the problem is much smaller.

German engineers built simple docks at sea for soldiers and equipment to disembark. In order to help heavy equipment disembark, the engineers specially reinforced the dock with steel plates, so that those tanks, armored vehicles and heavy artillery can be loaded and unloaded smoothly. These have greatly accelerated the speed at which the main force of the German army landed in the UK.

On August 27, the main forces of the German 1st Army, 2nd Army, and 3rd Army all landed on the British mainland.