flstandardbreds Chapter 1013 1013: Politicians and the Military
Chapter 1013 1013: Politicians and the Military
Although the elite members of the command are quite dissatisfied with the Minister of Military Supplies, they also know that now is not the time to hold anyone accountable.
The war is still ongoing, and everyone's collective effort is still needed.
The Minister of Military Supplies has some command experience in the navy and air forces, so it doesn't seem wise to oust him from the command system at this point.
Moreover, this is a battle plan drawn up by the Minister of Military Supplies, and he might have more ideas.
After a moment of silence, Prime Minister George had his orderly bring up coffee, a cup for each person.
He hoped to use this to ease the atmosphere and allow everyone to start anew, as well as to resolve any past grievances and unite to solve the problem at hand.
Prime Minister George wanted to say a few words in defense of the Minister of Military Supplies, but he found himself unable to speak them out loud.
The Minister of Military Supplies was indeed blameworthy, both in terms of cause and command.
"The difficulty remains right before us." Prime Minister George raised his coffee cup:
"General Winter's squadron has surrendered, which is regrettable. We appointed a coward as the fleet commander."
"The current issue is that our main fleet is still attacking Malta Island."
"The strategic goals we initially set are evidently unattainable. What should we do now?"
The Minister of the Navy had a look of fear in his eyes: "I think we should withdraw the fleet, Prime Minister, immediately!"
"Yes." Major General Trunchard agreed: "If we don't pull the fleet back, they might very likely be trapped in the Mediterranean."
Prime Minister George turned his gaze to the Minister of Military Supplies.
At this time, the Minister of Military Supplies had completely returned to normal, seemingly forgetting about the recent failure, and he didn't care about the odd looks from others.
"Withdraw? Withdraw to where?" the Minister of Military Supplies asked: "Greece? Egypt? Or England?"
"Of course, England." The Minister of the Navy looked incredulously at the Minister of Military Supplies:
"The battle in Greece has already started, sir. Supplies at Egypt's Suez Port have been blocked by guerillas, and chaos is everywhere."
"There is no safe harbor for us to dock in the Mediterranean."
Major General Trunchard agreed: "Yes, and there's also the activity of French aircraft carriers in that sea area. Once Suez Port is attacked, the Suez Canal will be blockaded."
As a staff officer of the Royal Flying Corps, Major General Trunchard knew that the French aircraft carriers could easily blockade the Suez Canal.
The French Army doesn't even need to engage the British Mediterranean Fleet.
As long as there is a ship navigating the canal, French aircraft carriers can launch planes to sink it, and then the sea route will be blocked.
Then, all the French Army needs to do is wait for the Mediterranean Fleet to run out of fuel, ammunition, and food, and ultimately surrender.
However, the Minister of Military Supplies did not see it that way.
"If we withdraw, everything will be finished, gentlemen!" the Minister of Military Supplies said gravely:
"It's not just Egypt, but the whole of Africa, as well as Canada, Australia..."
"The entire world will see the weakness of England, see the British Royal Navy defeated and fleeing in panic."
"What do you think those colonies would do?"
The command headquarters fell silent in an instant.
The cost of this was too great; if England, as the world's current foremost power, lost its colonies, it would immediately become a second-rate or even third-rate nation.
Prime Minister George nodded slightly.
Militarily speaking, it might be necessary to pull the fleet back, but politically, it was not permissible to do so.
"But what else can we do?" the Minister of the Navy asked: "Should we have the fleet return to Suez Port to suppress the rebellion?"
This was the only option he thought available.
Malta Island couldn't be taken down, Greece was never part of England, and there, the enemy facing the British Army included the French Army, Greek Army, and "International League" Army, with little chance of victory.
Only Egypt was England's colony, and dealing with the guerrillas there was obviously much easier.
But the Minister of Military Supplies shook his head: "No, we can't afford it in Egypt."
Prime Minister George voiced agreement; although the Egyptian guerrillas were easy to deal with, their goal was not to fight the British Army, but to sabotage and blockade supplies, which was hard to guard against.
The Minister of Military Supplies pointed to the map confidently and said: "Gentlemen, our only chance is to continue the attack."
Everyone gasped in amazement: "Continue attacking Malta?"
The Minister of Military Supplies made a sound of agreement: "In fact, the attack is not on Malta, but on blocking the French aircraft carriers."
"What do you mean?" Prime Minister George asked.
"Prime Minister, sir." The Minister of Military Supplies addressed the nautical chart:
"What we know is that French aircraft carriers are to the east of Malta."
"If we can capture Malta and use it as a base to block the Tunis Strait, we can split the French Fleet in two."
(The above map shows the location of Malta Island; it is very suitable for blocking the Tunis Strait)
Major General Trunchard exclaimed: "Oh:"
"Once we achieve that, France's three aircraft carriers can only remain to the east of the Tunis Strait."
"And the French Navy's main forces west of the Tunis Strait will be in a state without aircraft carriers."
"We can go all out to defeat the French Navy, or even capture Toulon Port."
The Minister of Military Supplies nodded:
"This is what I am trying to say. We cannot lose, gentlemen."
"We must defeat France; only then can we prove that the British Royal Navy is the most formidable force in the world, only then can we keep our colonies, and only then can we protect our interests."
"Therefore, we should dispatch a fleet to reinforce and give everything to destroy the main forces of the French Navy!"
Prime Minister George did not speak.
Politically, this was indeed the case; the Minister of Military Supplies was completely correct.
But Prime Minister George found the issue with the Minister of Military Supplies: He was always a politician, considering the matter more from political needs, while whether it was achievable militarily, was beyond his capability!
Just as Prime Minister George was hesitating, his staff delivered a telegram: "Prime Minister, sir, General Winter is persuading Major General Avis to surrender."
"What?" Everyone gasped in unison.
"No." The Minister of Military Supplies made an immediate decision: "Order Major General Avis to reject the telegram from General Winter."
But the staff officer added: "Sir, French bombers are bombing the 'Duncan'."
The Minister of Military Supplies realized immediately that things were going wrong; this is the French aircraft carrier pressuring Major General Avis.
Persuasion coupled with bombing, attempting to break Major General Avis's psychological defense through both internal and external forces.
The Minister of Military Supplies turned his gaze to Prime Minister George.
Prime Minister George understood the Minister of Military Supplies' intention; now was the time for a decision.
Continuing in this manner would only lead to Major General Avis surrendering with the Mediterranean Fleet.
To avoid this, Major General Avis needed to be given hope and a way out:
Either order Admiral Avis to break through and return to England.
Or, as the Minister of Military Supplies suggested, attack Malta Island and deploy reinforcements.