Chapter 132 Chapter 22 Even the winner is destroyed by victory (Dryden) (2)

Within 24 hours, the man who had made the decision was wavering again.He issued two directives, one calling for a swift conquest of Britain and the other expressing doubts about the feasibility of such a move.The first instruction began with confidence: "In order to create the necessary conditions for the final surrender of Britain, I hope that the naval amphibious warfare to the British mainland will be strengthened." The Luftwaffe must conquer the Royal Air Force as soon as possible, and then raise the "sea lions" Recharge. "I reserve the right to make the decision: to carry out a terrorist attack as a means of retaliation," he noted.

The second order was issued by Keitel in the name of the Führer.It ordered that the preparations for the "Sea Lion" must be completed by mid-September.It went on to say: "Fourteen days after the air raids on Britain which began on August 5, the Führer will decide whether to invade Britain this year: his decision will depend largely on the results of the air raids." Although Keitel issued the order, he still sensed the ambivalence of the head of state. "On the surface, the Führer seems to be very enthusiastic and fully committed to the preparations. For this reason, he has asked that the preparations be improved at any time in order to speed up the process. However, I have the impression that once it is actually implemented When it comes to this plan, he doubts again and he hesitates. He is very aware of the huge risks to be taken and the weight of responsibilities on his shoulders." Keitel also felt that, most importantly, the Führer was "unwilling to lose the power of diplomacy." A last chance to find a solution to the war with Great Britain. That, I believe, is what he would have liked." It never occurred to Keitel that this was nothing more than a swing show.Hitler used the preparations for the "Sea Lion" as a cover, but it was Russia that was really attacked.

Hitler also did not expect that the main content of the two orders on August 1 had been deciphered by "super" secrets.These telegrams convinced Churchill that he had indeed mastered the German code.Not long after, the "super" secret sent Goering's instructions: set August 13 as the start of the "Battle of the Eagles" (that is, a full-scale air strike against Britain).This convinced Churchill completely. The air raid began as scheduled, but due to increasingly severe weather conditions, only the Third Air Force Group participated in the air raid.The number of air strikes was as high as more than 500 times. However, due to the excellent British radar, coupled with the timely warning of "super" secret interception and deciphering of enemy radio waves, British losses were slight, while German losses were heavy: Luftwaffe folded 45 , the Royal Air Force lost only 13 aircraft.Goering was equally disappointed by the next day's results. On the 15th, all three brigades of the German Air Force were dispatched.This time, the "super" secrets learned exactly what force Goering would use and where.Thanks to this intelligence, the RAF was able to concentrate its limited fighter groups and send them to precise locations and altitudes, effectively dividing the German fleet, each of which was subject to the most staunch resistance.In the largest air battle to date, the Royal Air Force shot down 75 enemy planes and lost 34 of its own. The "Battle of the Eagles" became a bottle of sour wine: on the 17th, the loss ratio of the two sides was 70:25.On this day, Göring did not allow the slow-flying Stuka dive bombers that had decimated France to enter the battle because they were no Spitfire-style opponents.

On the 19th, the weather was still bad, so that the Luftwaffe could not leave the ground for the next 4 days.Goering took advantage of this respite and called a meeting of the generals.The bombing of aircraft factories or similar targets, which had been carried out during the day, was now carried out at night.Goering also took the opportunity to berate the pilots of the single-engine and twin-engine fighters for their poor performance. "No matter what kind of fighter plane is, it is not allowed to fail to complete the escort mission due to bad weather," he ordered, and anyone who left his post without authorization would be subject to court-martial.

On August 23, the weather cleared.That night, German planes flew across the strait and carried out large-scale air strikes.A group of bombers got lost and dropped the bombs that were planned to be dropped on aircraft factories and oil depots outside London, but instead dropped into the city. Eight citizens were killed.The British Air Force believed that the Luftwaffe had done it on purpose, so they bombed Berlin the next night in retaliation.Although the loss was small, the Berliners were shocked. "They didn't expect to be bombed," Shirer wrote in his diary. "At the beginning of the war, Goering assured them that Berlin would not be bombed... They believed him. So, they The awakening is even greater today. You can measure it just by looking at their faces."

Three days later, at night, British planes came to strike again, killing 7 citizens and injuring 29.Hitler was furious because the German plane bombing London was originally caused by a wrong course.But he still refused to allow German planes to bomb the British capital.Berlin was bombed twice more.Hitler was pissed off. On the afternoon of September 4, he made an impromptu speech at the gymnasium, threatening revenge.The women social workers and nurses in the audience cheered when they heard that Churchill was going to be surpassed. "If the British Aircraft dropped 2,000, 3,000, or 4,000 kilograms of bombs," he said, "then we would drop 150,000 kilograms, or 230,000 kilograms, or 400,000 kilograms overnight!" , he had to pause. "If they announce an increased attack on our city, we will burn their city to the ground. We must stop what these air robbers are doing, God bless! One of our two countries will be smashed to pieces, but This will never be a National Socialist Germany!"

The audience responded with frantic shouts: "No! No!"