Chapter 564 Britain Will Fight to the End

London, King Charles Street, Wartime Cabinet Headquarters.

The British Empire's civil and military officials sat in a state of silence, no one spoke, and everyone stared at a battle report in front of them in a daze. Winston Churchill turned his back to them, smoking a cigar while looking at the huge map hanging on the wall, motionless.

The lights in the underground conference room were very dim, and the air was filled with the smell of cigars and coffee, as well as a faint smell of mold. It seemed to indicate that under the glamorous surface of the invincible British Empire, there was actually an old, corrupt, and moldy country.

And that battle report ruthlessly tore the last disguise of the British Empire to pieces!

The content of the inspiring speech delivered by Prime Minister Churchill when the British Expeditionary Force withdrew from France in June 1940 will soon become a reality. Because the Royal Navy, which has been defending the British mainland from foreign invasion for hundreds of years, lost four precious Glorious-class aircraft carriers in the battle that just ended!

In addition, the flagship of the Home Fleet, the King George V, was also severely damaged and was barely sailing towards the Firth of Clyde.

The German fleet may have lost an aircraft carrier, but all other ships were intact and were now heading towards the Denmark Strait. In the Atlantic, it should be said that there is no naval force in the world that can stop them, not even the US Navy! The only force that can compete with the European Combined Fleet with the German Navy as the core is the Japanese Combined Fleet, but unfortunately, Japan is an ally of Germany.

Therefore, the British mainland will soon be invaded, which is a certain prospect, unless Britain is willing to surrender before then. Of course, this is impossible!

So the British people now really need to prepare to fight to the end... The battle in France and the battle on the sea have been lost, and the battle in the air is also greatly disadvantageous to Britain. Next, the British people must be full of confidence and defend the homeland at any cost.

Just as Churchill told everyone more than a year ago: We will fight on the beaches! Fight at the enemy landing site! Fight in the fields and streets! Fight in the mountains! We will never surrender at any time. Even if this island or most of it were occupied by the enemy and starved, our overseas empire, armed and protected by the British fleet, would continue to fight.

Although in 1940, when Churchill said this in a national radio address, the whole empire cheered him.

But at that time, all British people did not think that the invasion would happen... because the Royal Navy was still very powerful at that time, and the German Navy could only do some work of breaking diplomatic relations and could not threaten the British mainland at all.

But now... the German Nazis, armed to the teeth, seem to be really coming to Britain. Are the British people ready to defend their decadent and declining world empire at all costs?

Just when everyone was unsure, Churchill slowly turned his fat body and looked at everyone with a firm and confident look.

The British Prime Minister said: "We must fight to the end and must win, because without victory, the empire will no longer exist."

"Mr. Prime Minister, we..." First Sea Lord Dudley Pound said with a sad face. "Our Royal Navy no longer has the strength to defend the homeland."

Having lost four Glorious-class aircraft carriers, the King George V-class was severely damaged and lost its combat capability. Now the Royal Navy's aircraft carrier force has almost lost its combat effectiveness. Although there are still some battleships, Cunningham has reported the matter of wire-controlled glide bombs by telegram!

60 P.108 heavy bombers dropped more than 290 500 kg wire-controlled glide bombs! 72 of them hit (after increasing the altitude, the hit rate also dropped a little), and the four aircraft carriers were hit by more than 10 Hs293 bombs. The Glorious was hit by 14 bombs, and finally it was completely blown up and sank because the fire got out of control and spread to the ammunition depot. The Victory was hit by 15 bombs, 12 of which were detonated, causing a fire and burning the aircraft carrier into a floating shell. The Formidable sank into the water after only 10 bombs, and lost all power and could not be saved, so it had to be abandoned. Because the Indomitable seemed very durable at one time, it was hit by the most bombs, and was blown to pieces by 18 Hs293 bombs. The King George V was hit by 15 bombs, and it was a miracle that it did not sink.

But the wire-controlled glide bombs used by the Germans and Italians were obviously a greater miracle. Its appearance has completely changed the pattern of naval warfare. Now the overlord of the sea is not even aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft, but shore-based aviation with long-range high-altitude heavy bombers. At least in the sea area covered by the combat radius of shore-based aviation, the surface fleet has become unprecedentedly vulnerable.

And can the remaining battleships of the British Empire still play a role in the battle to defend the British mainland in the face of such remote-controlled glide bombs? The answer seems to be no.

"The Royal Navy will have more important tasks in the future," Churchill waved his left hand holding a cigar, "so now we must preserve the strength of the fleet."

Future? The Royal Navy actually has a future?

When the cabinet members who had long been pessimistic and disappointed with the prospects of the British Empire heard this, they all stared at their never-say-die prime minister.

"The British Empire is a worldwide empire!" Churchill said sternly, "Our territories are all over the world. Even if our homeland is occupied by the enemy, the British Empire still has vast overseas territories that can support us in continuing to fight. From now on, the mission of the Royal Navy is Defend our most important overseas territories. At the same time, we must transport important personnel and materials to Canada. Canada will be the base for our counterattack in Europe and the starting point for the revival of the British Empire.”

Not to mention, Churchill is still capable. The fact that such a thing as escaping came out of his mouth can make the listeners stand in awe.

"Mr. Prime Minister, His Majesty the King..." Deputy Prime Minister Attlee frowned. He did not want the government to move to Canada.

The reason is simple. He is the leader of the Labor Party, and it was the votes of the British working class that brought him to power. If the government wants to abdicate in Canada, there are many people among the elites that the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party rely on who can run away with them, and Canada has long had semicolons of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. Therefore, when Conservatives and Liberals come to Canada, they will always have a foothold in the political arena. The British working class does not have the conditions to flee to Canada. Even if some of them can cross the ocean, they will go to work in the industrially developed United States and will not stay in Canada, a large rural area. Therefore, Attlee, the leader of the Labor Party, had no choice but to retire from politics and retire in Canada.

But he didn't dare to say no to Churchill now. These were extraordinary times, and it would be terrible if Fatty Qiu was labeled a traitor. Therefore, Attlee could only bring His Majesty the King to speak out.

"Of course His Majesty the King will not surrender to Germany!" Churchill said with certainty.

Attlee had some doubts. Where was His Majesty's heir to the throne, Princess Elizabeth, now? I heard that this little girl is on a blind date with her cousin Prince Friedrich of Germany in the Netherlands! Is this a sign of resistance to the end? This is obviously about surrendering and losing half the battle...

Churchill glanced at Attlee, who had a suspicious expression on his face, and said: "The king's intention is very obvious, which is to fight Germany to the end and at the same time protect the interests of the British Empire as much as possible! Everything he did was for Our empire!"

This is actually telling Attlee: As a lawyer from a working-class background, you should not try to figure out the thoughts of the almighty king. You don't understand this kind of thing at all.

Having said this, Churchill nodded to the officials and soldiers present, "Well, that's the end of today's meeting. I'm going to Buckingham Palace to see His Majesty now... to report to him the current extremely serious situation. "

…

After Churchill left the underground headquarters in King Charles Street, he went straight to Buckingham Palace. King George VI also knew that there was a decisive battle at sea today, so Fatty Qiu immediately summoned him as soon as he arrived. As soon as he met Fatty Qiu, he said: "Your Majesty, I'm sorry, I have some bad news to report to you."

"Again, defeated again?" The British king in military uniform sighed softly.

"Yes, we were defeated." Fatty Qiu said, "The navy lost four aircraft carriers, and the King George V class was also severely damaged and lost its combat effectiveness... Your Majesty, the cabinet believes that now is the time to consider defending Canada and Australia."

Defend Canada? But who wants to invade there?

However, the British King was not surprised at all when he heard Churchill's proposal. Instead, he nodded and said: "Yes, we must defend Canada and Australia... at least keep Canada from being occupied by other countries."

Churchill said: "Then the War Cabinet began to formulate a plan to defend Canada. At the same time, the War Cabinet also believed that part of the population of the British mainland needed to be evacuated. Her Royal Highnesses, the Queen and Princess Margaret, had better go to Canada immediately. Your Majesty... …Please also be prepared to leave your home country and go to Canada at any time.”

The old fat prime minister paused and told the king in a very serious tone: "Your Majesty, it is enough for the British people to have Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth... There will be no problems in the homeland. The homeland will always be the United Kingdom and will not become Germany. A free state. But the situation in Canada is complicated. There must be a leader with sufficient prestige to ensure that this rich land will always belong to the United Kingdom. Therefore, all members of the cabinet hope that you can become the monarch of Canada in the future!"