Chapter 871 Helpless
The news reached London soon. Churchill stared at the telegram for a while and asked, "Is this possible?"
This question is about Menzies.
Because Menzies is not only a pure intelligence officer, he also participated in the First World War and commanded the battle.
In the current situation, Churchill would like to briefly understand the feasibility of this proposal.
"I mean, use amphibious landing ships to land in Africa?" Churchill added.
Menzies thought for a while, then nodded and said: "I think this is indeed feasible, Your Excellency Prime Minister!"
Speaking of which, Menzies walked to the map, pointed to the location of the island of Malta and said: "Our difficulty in the island of Malta is mainly that it has been bombed by the enemy all the time. We need to continue to fight against the German and Italian troops while also Blocking the sea lines of communication, which makes us unable to land in Africa to attack its logistics supply line. But the amphibious landing ship can solve this problem... because we only need a few supply ships and a few reconnaissance aircraft to navigate and make a large-scale landing Africa and guarantee the supply of the landing force..."
"I don't think that's the case!" David interrupted Menzies' words: "These amphibious landing ships have no defense capabilities at all, and they have no defense against the enemy's air force! That is to say, we need a large number of fighter jets." convoy!"
Churchill turned his attention to Menzies. He also knew something about amphibious landing craft and knew that David was right.
Even not long ago, Churchill laughed at the amphibious landing ships of the Soviet Union that went to war: "Oh, they put propellers on cars? Next, I think they should put wheels on ships!"
Churchill and other British people are not optimistic about this kind of amphibious landing ship. This may be related to the character of the British: old-fashioned, conservative, arrogant, and stubborn. Most people are still immersed in the glory of the empire when the sun never sets. They despise anything invented by others, even though the amphibious landing craft has passed the test of actual combat and made countless achievements.
"Yes, it is vulnerable to enemy air power!" Menzies did not deny this: "But, David... I think you should look at the situation of the German African Army. Because the island of Malta blocked the enemy's Coastline, Rommel only had enough gasoline to drive his tanks into our trenches! They are still fighting until now because they keep taking what they need from us! In this case, Africa The Legion simply doesn't have enough air power to prevent us from landing on the coast of Africa!"
This made David a little embarrassed, because as the director of MI6, he didn't know this.
But this does not seem surprising, because David is responsible for espionage rather than military intelligence.
However, Menzies is also an intelligence officer, and he knows this, so David is firmly compared.
"In addition." Menzies continued: "The Mediterranean Sea is an inland sea, and usually the wind and waves are small, which is very suitable for small boats like amphibious landing ships. All we have to do is to understand the weather conditions and be prepared!"
Churchill nodded in agreement.
After a moment of silence, Churchill asked, "How many amphibious landing ships do we need?"
"That depends on how many people we plan to send to land!" Menzies said.
Churchill thought for a while, and said: "The first batch...at least one regiment, they need to open up the situation in Africa and gain a firm foothold!"
"In this case, we need at least 300 ships!" Menzies replied: "150 ships are used to transport personnel, and another 150 ships are used to transport supplies! I mean at least, because there are losses , as well as battlefield use! As you know, Your Excellency, this amphibious landing craft is a very good piece of equipment. When it goes ashore, it becomes a car, and our troops need cars. Get in a car!"
This is a bit of a slap in the face to Churchill, but Churchill can't say anything now, because he can't deny it.
"You say a number, Menzies, be specific!" Churchill said.
"Five hundred!" Menzies estimated.
Churchill frowned, five hundred ships is not a small number, and he asked the Soviets for equipment... This also involves a matter of face.
You must know that when the Soviets asked the British for equipment and supplies, the British were still arrogant, and even a few old-fashioned planes deliberately competed with the Soviets for a long time.
I didn't expect that the feng shui will turn now, and the UK will ask the Soviet Union for equipment.
"Can't we produce it ourselves?" Churchill said unwillingly: "We can produce it in India and then urgently ship it to the island of Malta!"
India is not far from Africa, and most of the materials and equipment of the British army are produced in India...India is a British colony and has a large population, so the British squeezed India's blood and sweat as much as possible during the war, and this situation was even worse after the war did not stop.
The reason is simple: the war time was a difficult time for Britain, and the Indians needed to be squeezed. After the war, Britain needed to restore its economy, and it also needed to squeeze Indians.
This directly led to several major famines in India from 1942 to 1946. The most serious one was that tens of millions of people starved to death in 1946.
And Churchill completely ignored the famine in India, and still imposed heavy taxes on India without frowning.
There are many jokes on the Internet that the non-violent non-cooperation movement in India can force the British to quit because of the "kindness" of the British... This is just a big joke. The British have never been kind to India. They quit because of violence Movements have sprung up like mushrooms after the rain. The British knew that they had no strength to control India, so they used the "non-violent non-cooperation" movement to step down.
As the British, of course they most hope that all colonies can adopt the "non-violent non-cooperation" method like India: If you don't withdraw, I will starve myself to death on hunger strike!
Thus, the "non-violent non-cooperation" movement was promoted to the altar.
"I believe we can!" Menzies shook his head, and replied helplessly: "The problem is that it takes time to produce this thing, it needs to be tested, and there are still a lot of them... When we produce enough and ship them to the island of Malta By that time, I am afraid that the Germans have broken through the Alamein defense line, and we will be powerless!"
Churchill nodded and said, "Okay! I'll talk to them about it! Also, David... tell that 'breakout hero' that his advice is good, but don't reveal it! If necessary , have the money to shut his mouth!"
(end of this chapter)
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