The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1169 - 878: The Great Retreat of Dunkirk_3

The choice made by the German Chancellor cannot be simply labeled as right or wrong.

But history is often filled with such coincidences. It just so happened that the British and French forces were at their most critical moment, with the French defenders in Lille already at the brink of existence, unable to hold out for many more days.

If the armored troops had not been withdrawn, although they might have sustained greater losses, it was very possible that they could complete their planned offensive and prevent the British and French forces from evacuating from Dunkirk.

Yet the Germans did withdraw their armored troops, which gave the British and French forces on the entire front line a huge sigh of relief.

Although the Air Force was also bombing Dunkirk constantly, such bombing was destined not to be maintained all day; there were inevitably breaks at night.

Taking the opportunity that the Germans had created for them, the British and French forces lived up to expectations by evacuating an average of over 45,000 people per day, nearly 140,000 people over a three-day period.

In the summer, the air humidity in the Dunkirk area was quite high. The high humidity created a dense fog which not only enveloped the entire beach but also this not-so-large urban harbor city.

If it were armored troops, the impact of the fog could have been negligible. But at this time, the Air Force, which was assisting the army, is greatly affected by the fog.

In foggy weather, it is difficult for the Air Force to carry out combat plans smoothly, and casualties due to the foggy weather are inevitable.

In such weather conditions, the German Air Force naturally canceled their operations, also giving the United Kingdom the greatest opportunity.

On July 9, taking advantage of the fog, a total of nearly 57,000 people were evacuated throughout the day, setting a new evacuation record.

Although thousands were unfortunately killed or wounded by the bombs of German airplanes taking a chance with their luck, compared to the number of evacuees, it was already negligible.

But this also meant that the evacuation of the British forces had been exposed. With the significant reduction of the British and French forces within the front line, the German Army naturally felt that something was amiss.

By July 9, the British and French forces had evacuated over 220,000 troops in just 10 days, a figure that was already exceedingly remarkable.

Although the German Army discovered the British and French operations, the evacuation was nearing its end, and the German forces were unable to stop the momentum.

On July 10, the German Air Force, having realized what was happening, engaged in fierce aerial combat with the British and French Air Forces in the skies above Dunkirk.

The German Air Force Commander Göring was extremely angry at this moment. He had previously boasted to the Chancellor, solemnly promising that the Air Force alone could carry out the attack on Dunkirk and annihilate the 400,000-strong British and French forces.

However, the reality now gave Göring a resounding slap in the face. Under his watch, the British and French had evacuated the majority of their forces, and even if the Air Force could help the army capture Dunkirk, for the British and French it would mean only the loss of two uninhabited cities, with not much real military casualty.

Imagining the angry eyes of the Chancellor, Göring shivered and hurriedly ordered the Air Force to launch a full-scale attack on Dunkirk to disrupt the evacuation operation of the British and French forces.

At least at this point, there were still nearly 200,000 British and French forces along the line from Dunkirk to Lille, and these forces simply could not be allowed to escape to the United Kingdom.

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If all these forces were to get away, Göring's position as Commander of the German Air Force might no longer be secure.

Under the command of an irate Air Force Marshal Göring, the German Air Force almost emptied their nests, deploying over 1,800 airplanes to engage in fierce combat with the 1,500 airplanes formed by the British and French forces.

The Air Forces of the British and French, seeking to protect the evacuation of the fleet, were effectively fighting on two fronts.

This resulted in the Germans gaining the upper hand in direct aerial combat, achieving victory in the air, and managing to shoot down at least 200 British and French airplanes, sinking over 21 large vessels, and severely damaging at least seven British destroyers, causing tens of thousands to perish at sea.

The evacuation operation that day suffered unparalleled interception, and of the 46,000 British and French soldiers who boarded ships, fewer than half, to be precise, only about 21,000, managed to escape to the United Kingdom.