Chapter 409 The loving father is also starting to get anxious! "You mean you encountered a lot of trouble when you landed?" Cun Yunsheng looked at the slightly anxious William in front of him, his expression remained calm, as if all this was expected by him. After all, landing on the British Isles seems to be a bold and strategic action on the surface, but it is actually full of countless unforeseen difficulties and challenges. "Yes." William's eyes were full of hope, staring closely at Cun Yunsheng, hoping to get some strong support or feasible solutions from him. In William's opinion, since Cun Yunsheng proposed this bold plan, he must have a way to deal with the current predicament. However, Cun Yunsheng slowly shook his head, which instantly dimmed the hope that had just been ignited in William's heart. "I don't have any good ideas. Your naval strength is still too weak. If you were stronger, you might be able to completely occupy the British Isles." Cun Yunsheng's words were straightforward and realistic. William could not refute this, because he was well aware of the relative weakness of the German navy in this war. Although the German army has demonstrated strong combat effectiveness on the European continent, the strength of the navy has always been their shortcoming. But what has happened is that it is almost impossible to significantly improve the strength of the navy in a short period of time. Germany can only find other ways to solve the current difficulties it faces.

"Cun, is there no other way?" William asked again expectantly, unwilling to be bound by the predicament like this. "Isn't your plan just to attract the attention of the Allies?" Cun Yunsheng frowned slightly and continued, "But the intensity is not enough, and the British army's performance is average." There was a hint of regret in his tone. If he were to direct this operation, he would definitely find a way to increase the intensity of the landing and create the illusion of a decisive battle with the British army. In this way, perhaps the Allies will consider deploying their main forces from other places to respond to Germany's offensive in the British Isles, thereby creating opportunities for Germany in other battlefields. "You mean to increase the intensity of landing?" William asked eagerly, as if he saw a glimmer of light in the darkness. However, he also knew that increasing the intensity of landing would not be easy. "However, landing operations and land operations are completely different things. The logistics consumption is too great. With our current capabilities, we may not be able to send more troops." William said helplessly. This is indeed the most embarrassing place for the German army right now. They know that increasing delivery efforts may bring better strategic results, but the difficulties in logistical support have become an obstacle that they cannot overcome. Landing operations require a large amount of material and equipment support, and the fragility of the logistical supply lines and the huge pressure on material transportation prevent Germany from easily increasing the size of the landing force. Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng could only sigh softly. He fully understands the difficulties of landing operations, which require not only strong military power, but also sufficient logistical support, precise combat plans, and coordination in all aspects. Every link is crucial, and a little carelessness may lead to the failure of the entire operation. Cun Yunsheng fell into deep thought. He was trying to think about whether there were other strategies that could help Germany break through the current predicament. However, in the current situation, there does not seem to be an easy solution. "Either try a paratrooper airdrop, or increase the intensity of the delivery to let the Allies see your determination." Cun Yunsheng thought for a while and came up with this only solution. Hearing this, William nodded. He also knew that there seemed to be no good solution except this. However, he still sent the ideas provided by Cun Yunsheng back to China to give the domestic generals a headache.

… At the same time, my loving father also had a headache. Yes, that's right. My loving father has indeed been having a rough time recently. The winter offensive was preceded by an elaborate summer offensive. The so-called Second Battle of Kharkov resulted in a disastrous defeat and heavy losses. After this period of rest, the troops have been replenished to a certain extent, but the lost morale is not so easy to recover quickly. Especially this time, the Soviet army planned a winter offensive, which they originally thought would have great results. As a result, the German troops on the eastern front were prepared, which weakened the Soviet offensive. No! It should be said that the German army's defense was very tenacious, which was completely different from the pre-planned plan. This completely frustrated the daughter-in-law's idea of ​​ending the war as soon as possible. They have been at war for two years and have lost nearly seven million people. Such huge casualties have reached the limit of their endurance. Thanks to the Soviet army's very strong organizational capabilities, if it were any other country, it would have collapsed long ago. It is precisely because of such heavy losses that the loving father is increasingly eager to end the war as soon as possible. Originally, according to his prediction, once the summer offensive was successful, the initiative on the battlefield would return to their hands. By that time, pressing all the troops and completely defeating the German army was just a matter of chance. As a result, the summer offensive failed miserably. Undeterred, he continued to raise troops and seek assistance, and finally accumulated another batch of supplies. This time he's going to take advantage of winter. However, the German army on the eastern front now received a large number of logistical supplements, making his so-called winter offensive a bit anticlimactic. The results were not as great as imagined. In other words, far lower than expected. Therefore, the loving father knew that it had become impossible to end the war quickly, and he could only rely on a war of attrition and slowly wear it out. Because of this, my loving father was having a very difficult time. I just hope that some good news can come back from the front line. At this time, my loving father was handling government affairs. How many weapons and ammunition the frontline needed every day had to be approved by him. At this moment, the secretary hurried in with a telegram. After seeing his loving father, he quickly said: "Great leader, according to our intelligence, the German army may need to concentrate more troops to completely capture the British Isles in one fell swoop."

"What?" The loving father was stunned for a moment. All along, he had thought that the German troops' landing on the British Isles was just an attack on the east and west, but who knew it would be true this time. The secretary didn't look like he was joking, which was unexpected. "What is going on?" the loving father asked quickly. "Great leader, according to the information passed back by intelligence personnel, the German army is organizing a new landing force, obviously to expand the scale of the landing." The secretary said quickly. Hearing this, the loving father put down the pipe in his hand, his expression full of disbelief. After a long time, the kind father who came back to his senses picked up his pipe again, took two steps back and forth, blew out a puff of smoke, and said slowly: "We must speed up the attack. Britain cannot be finished, otherwise we will face the Germans alone. ” "Tell Marshal Zhukov that we must increase our offensive intensity and defeat the German army as soon as possible no matter what the cost." At this moment, the loving father also knew that the British Isles must not fall. Otherwise, the impact will be chain-linked, and the Soviet army will be the first to bear it. Without the threat of the British Isles, the German army could mobilize a large part of its more than two million troops on the Western Front. Once this elite new force joins, the Soviet army will definitely have a difficult life, and may even be pushed to Moscow. This has an immeasurable impact on the entire world war situation. Therefore, the loving father must immediately launch an offensive no matter how great the difficulties Marshal Zhukov faced. "Yes, great leader." The secretary responded quickly. … On the German side, after in-depth discussions, Keitel and others believed that the parachute operation was a plan worth trying. They felt that compared with the huge cost of landing operations, the cost of parachuting was relatively low. Moreover, Student's paratroopers have regained their combat effectiveness after rest and can continue to play an important role on the battlefield. In the previous battle on the island of Malta, the paratroopers performed very well. So, this time Keitel's plan got everyone's approval. Therefore, after receiving the order, Student immediately led the paratrooper division to prepare for the airborne landing at Winchester. Winchester is an important transportation artery in the British Isles. If it can be captured here, it can cut off the British army's air transport of supplies to Winchester. The airborne process went very smoothly, and the German paratroopers, led by Stuart, successfully captured the traffic artery. However, due to limited strength, the paratroopers did not choose to continue to expand their results after taking Winchester. Instead, they quickly built temporary positions to resist the upcoming British counterattack. The British troops who came to counterattack were not the original local garrison regiments, but real elite troops. Among them, many soldiers are veterans who have returned from Dunkirk and have certain combat experience. This made it extremely difficult for the German paratroopers to defeat them in a short period of time, and they could only rely on the defense line to resist tenaciously. After two days of airborne replenishment, the paratroopers' combat capabilities have been greatly improved. "Major General, the casualties are too great." A British officer looked at the shocking casualty report in his hand, his brows furrowed and his face full of worry.

His voice trembled slightly, obviously shocked by the numbers on the report. The officer's eyes revealed his distress for the soldiers and concern for the current situation. The officer slowly raised his head and looked at the British Major General Steven on the side. Major General Steven also looked solemn at this moment. He took the casualty report handed over by the officer and his eyes stayed on the numbers on the report for a moment. His heart was also filled with heavy pressure. These casualty figures not only represented the loss of life of the soldiers, but also meant that the combat situation they faced was extremely severe. Major General Steven sighed deeply. He knew how difficult this battle was. Winchester, as an important transportation thoroughfare, was vital to the British army and they had to recapture it. However, the tenacious resistance and powerful firepower of the German paratroopers cost the British troops a heavy price. Major General Steven was silent for a while, and then said slowly: "I know, but Winchester is very important, and we must take it back." His tone was firm, and despite facing huge difficulties, he did not flinch at all. meaning. The officer looked at Major General Steven's determined expression with admiration and helplessness in his heart. He understood the determination of the major general, but he also knew that continuing to attack would face greater risks and casualties. The officer opened his mouth, as if he wanted to persuade him to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything. He knew that at this critical moment, Major General Steven's decision was carefully considered. They had no other choice but to go all out to execute the order. Major General Steven is a veteran who returned from Dunkirk. He was originally a lieutenant colonel. Due to his combat experience and the army's expansion in the past two years, he was promoted from colonel to major general and commanded an infantry division. "But..." The officer wanted to persuade, but Steven waved his hand to stop him. "Stop attacking first and rest for a long time." The officer reluctantly accepted the order: "Yes!" Steven knew in his heart that the morale of the troops had been greatly reduced at this time, and their fighting will was not high. We can only rest for half a day, wait for morale to recover a little, and then consider the next attack. Following Major General Steven's order, the retreat bugle sounded throughout the battlefield. The British troops who heard the trumpet breathed a sigh of relief and retreated alternately to cover each other, showing no signs of panic. The German paratroopers on the position were filled with emotion when they witnessed the scene of the British army retreating. A paratrooper watched this scene and couldn't help but said: "This British army still has some combat effectiveness. It has been able to fight us for three rounds." There was a hint of surprise and appreciation in his words. In previous battles, German paratroopers were often able to quickly defeat the British army, and the winner could be decided in one round. However, the British troops they faced this time showed tenacious resistance and fought with them for three rounds. This gave the German paratroopers a new understanding of the strength of the British troops. "Yes, we were able to defeat them in one round before, but now we can win three rounds in our hands, which shows that the training is good." Another paratrooper continued. He agreed with his companions and believed that the British army's performance in the battle reflected their good training. Compared with the past, the combat quality of this British army has been significantly improved, and it is no longer an easily defeated opponent. "Indeed, although the offensive ability is not very good, the retreat was very organized. I thought I could fight back." Another paratrooper expressed his opinion. He pointed out that although the British army's offensive performance was average, it showed a high degree of discipline and organization in its retreat. They took turns covering each other and retreated in an orderly manner, showing no signs of panic. This method of retreat surprised the German paratroopers, who originally thought that there might be chaos during the retreat of the British troops, thus providing them with an opportunity to counterattack. After hearing the discussion of the paratroopers, the lieutenant on the side said with a smile: "You really think that all British troops are trash. Looking at their flags, they are obviously elite troops, and they are troops who have withdrawn from Dunkirk. They still have a certain understanding of us and still have combat capability.” The lieutenant's words reminded the paratroopers that they should not underestimate any British unit.

This British army carried a clear flag, indicating that they were an elite force. Moreover, they withdrew from Dunkirk, experienced brutal battles, and had a certain understanding of the German army's tactics and strength. Therefore, they can exert a certain degree of combat effectiveness in battle, which poses a considerable challenge to the German paratroopers. (End of chapter)