Chapter 104: Learning How to Strike Back My Allies
Zhu Qizhen sighed and said depressedly:

"I can only lead 500,000 Ming troops to fight against the Oirat Mongols."

"Hey, five hundred thousand, it's really boring to fight for so little."

"The army is almost assembled now. After I destroy the Oirat, which direction will we attack?"

"Spread the influence of my Ming Dynasty to West Asia?"

"Should we first clear out the island nations in the east, and then use them as a stepping stone to colonize America?"

"Forget it, let's see how the British fight first."

Amid the collective confusion of modern ancient audiences, Tianmu began to tell the story.

This is a forgotten battle.

[In this battle, the British army killed 1,300 enemy soldiers and injured hundreds of them, with a total of about 2,000 casualties, with only two pilots injured.]

[But this battle has been handled in a low-key manner until now. ]

[Even after such a great victory, the British army did not award any medals for this battle.]

[This battle, which the British chose to handle in a low-key manner, was a naval battle. ]

[The Battle of Mers-el-Kebir! A great sea battle! ]

【From Operation Ballista. 】

[It is said that in June 1940, after the surrender of France, the only country in Western Europe that was still resisting was Britain.]

[The British had previously demonstrated openly that they only had 13 divisions, which put France under great pressure.]

【Now France is at 20, and it’s Britain’s turn, and the pressure is suddenly on. 】

[The British navy is very powerful and can theoretically protect the safety of its own British Isles.]

[Although the German navy is average, the air force is strong! ]

[If the German Air Force continues to have air superiority, then even Germany's third-rate navy will have a chance to cross the English Channel! ]

[As soon as the German army lands, Britain will be finished. ]

[In order to ensure its national security, Britain must do everything it can to ensure its naval and air force superiority. ]

[Needless to say, the Air Force.]

[In terms of the navy, Britain’s biggest concern was not the German fleet, but France.]

【Britain is a maritime power.】

【Germany is a land power. 】

【France wants to do both things well and grasp both ends! 】

[Before World War II, a large part of France's military expenditure was spent on the navy.]

[Although theoretically, the French fleet is far inferior to the British fleet. ]

[In fact, it is far inferior. ]

[But the French fleet had just recently completed an upgrade at great expense, and is now highly modernized.]

[Strong combat capability. ]

[The number of battleships, the main force of the war, is more than that of the Axis powers Germany and Italy combined! ]

[It can be said to be very powerful. 】

……

Tianmu was telling the story seriously.

The ancients were also watching it carefully.

Everyone wants to learn how to eliminate more than a thousand enemies with only two casualties on our side?
But when I saw here.

Everyone noticed something was wrong.

Shouldn't this scene be about how the British destroyed their enemies?
Why does it always end up in France?
Aren't France and Britain allies?

What do you mean?
Beat up my teammates? Not really?
But there is no need to think too much about it, the ancients were not stupid.

After complaining in my heart, I also understood the current situation.

Qin Dynasty.

Fusu looked at the sky and shook his head.

"Ah, it's really miserable for France in later generations to have Britain as an ally."

"When facing the crisis of national extinction, the country that claims to be the world's most powerful country dispatched thirteen divisions, which is less than the number of troops of Belgium."

"Now France can't bear it anymore and surrenders."

"Is Britain ready to strike back at its former ally right away?"

The Three Kingdoms. Sun Quan looked at the sky curtain.

Also analyzing the situation.

Sun Quan was originally a master of politics.

In addition, Dongwu also relied on its navy for its survival, so it was very aware of the importance of ensuring naval superiority.

"I can understand the British and I admire them."

"We must ensure naval superiority!"

"Don't even mention Vichy France, which has become half of the enemy."

"Even if they are my allies, if their navy poses a threat to me, I must deal with them with swift force!"

Tianmu continued to tell the story.

【In the eyes of Britain, the French fleet is a huge threat to itself. 】

[Especially after the surrender of France, if the German Air Force cooperated with the French Navy, it would be entirely possible to seize control of the English Channel and allow the German army to land in Britain.]

[Even if they don't go directly to the island, using the French Navy and cooperating with the Italian Navy to dominate the Mediterranean and then threaten North Africa and even Egypt and the Middle East, that is a very real threat! ]

[Britain said: France has no navy, which is very important to me. ]

【So Britain had to do everything it could to restrict the French navy. 】

【The situation at that time was that the French navy's attitude was unclear. 】

[The navy was very tough and was not directly controlled by Germany. ]

[Although Germany coveted the French Navy, it was not easy to intervene completely, so it had to announce that the French Navy had not been defeated by Germany, so Germany would not take over the French Navy.]

[The French Navy did not listen to Germany, but did not declare its independence from the Vichy French government.]

[In theory, the French Navy belongs to Vichy France, and Vichy France obeys Germany.]

【Under this circumstance, Britain decided to betray its ally France once again. 】

[Although Vichy France still maintained an alliance with Britain at this time, Britain already regarded them as enemies. ]

[In fact, before France surrendered.]

[Britain and the United States have already begun to worry about the French fleet. ]

[France has also made a promise. ]

[French Navy Commander-in-Chief Darlan said: No matter what happens in the future, the fleet will not be handed over to the Germans. ]

【France made a commitment.】

【But the British and American sides obviously don’t believe it. 】

[On the one hand, they froze French assets, and on the other hand, they were preparing to take action against the French fleet.]

[Britain develops a ballista program.]

[The plan was also very simple, that is, as long as the British could get in touch with the French fleet, they would seize control of it, severely damage it, or even destroy it directly.]

[First, the two dreadnought-class battleships anchored in Portsmouth, England, were disarmed on the spot.]

[The French battleship Lorraine, which was docked in Egypt, was also controlled at the first moment of the ballista operation.]

[There is also the French aircraft carrier Béarn. ]

[The mission of this aircraft carrier is to send France's gold to the United States for storage, and to purchase fighter jets from the United States to support the war in France.]

[However, on the way to completing the mission, France surrendered, so the Béarn temporarily stopped in the French Caribbean Islands. ]

[In addition, in the port of Dakar in West Africa, there is a basically completed Richelieu, which is also a very advanced and powerful battleship. ]

[The Richelieu was almost completed, but was hit by a British torpedo in the harbor and lost its threat.]

[The main French navy was now anchored in the port of Algeria, a French colony.]

[Mainly including Dunkirk and Strasbourg, which are the two absolute main forces. ]

[Also includes a series of large surface ships such as the Brittany and Provence. ]

【英国海军H舰队，由胡德号带队，包括1艘战列巡洋舰、2艘战列舰、1艘航母、2艘轻巡洋舰和11艘驱逐舰。】

[We have arrived outside the port of Algeria.]

[They presented the option to the French Navy.]

[The first option is for the French Navy to break away from Vichy France and join the British Navy to continue fighting.]

[The second option is to sail the fleet to Britain to disarm and wait for the war to end.]

[The third option is that if they do not want to come to Britain, they can also sail the fleet to the Caribbean Islands under the rule of the United States or France, disarm there, and wait for the war to end. ]

[There is another option that is not an option: let the French fleet in the port sink collectively, and everyone goes back to their own homes. ]

(End of this chapter)