"Your Excellency Commander, I personally agree with having a big battle with German military at Canterbury. We will indeed have a lot of advantages in fighting German military here. At least, we can assemble 5 armies to deal with the two armies of Germany plus two Marine Division. 3rd Army Corps and 8th Army Corps can retreat further to Maidstone and deal with one legion of Germany and one Marine Division. No matter which battlefield we are on, we will have a great advantage in strength. If we play well, we will be very sure of defeating Germany!" General Haig said.
"Even if we gather five armies in Canterbury, we only have less than one million people. But the 1st Army Corps and 2nd Army Corps of the Germany people, plus the two Marine Division, total nearly 700,000 people. Our troop advantage is also very limited. And 3rd Army Corps and 8th Army Corps, now with less than 400,000 troops, 3rd Army Corps of Germany plus one Marine Division, there are more than 200,000 people. With 1.4 million people against more than 900,000 German military, will our chances of winning really be great?" General Benson raised doubts about this.
General Hamilton nodded. "Indeed, our advantage does not seem to be very big. However, we are fighting on the mainland and can receive reinforcements at any time. The Germany people have to cross the strait. Between Canterbury and When Germany people fight, we can also get reinforcements from London's troops at any time. If necessary, I will mobilize London's troops to reinforce us. By then, we will definitely defeat the Germany people!"
"Your Excellency Commander, if this is the case, then I suggest that you secretly mobilize two elite armies from London to cooperate with 3rd Army Corps and 8th Army Corps to deal with the 3rd Army Corps and 3rd Marine Division of the Germany people. Then gather the main force and attack the 1st Army Corps and 2nd Army Corps of the Germany people, as well as 1st Marine Division and the 2nd Division. In this case, our chances of winning will be much greater." General Gough suggested.
General Hamilton shook his head. "London There are only two elite group armies in total. In order to stabilize the situation there, we cannot easily transfer those two group armies. Prime Minister and Minister of War will not agree easily. Yes. If we move all our troops to Southeast War Zone, if the Germany people directly send troops across the North Sea to attack London, what will we do to resist it? It will probably lead to a complete rout."
A trace of unwillingness flashed in General Gough's eyes, but he knew that General Hamilton's considerations were also reasonable. London As capital of the British Empire, safety is also very important. Once London is attacked, the consequences will be very serious. It can even cause problems for troops on the front line.
"For the time being, we only have seven armies in hand to deal with the three legions of the Germany people plus three Marine Division. The strength advantage of nearly half a million people is already considered good. Although, I have to admit that the combat effectiveness of the Germany people is very strong. However, I believe that The soldiers of the British Empire are inspired by the spirit of protecting their homeland and the country. The combat effectiveness of our troops will not be worse than that of Germany. In addition, I have ordered the tank troops of London to come to reinforce us. In this battle, our chances of winning are still very high!" General Hamilton said.
Although General Hamilton seemed to be very confident, General Haig and others did not think so. Compared with the German Army, the elite group armies of the British Army are far behind, let alone other troops. Defending the homeland and the country can indeed boost the fighting spirit of soldiers, but it is very difficult to say whether this will be effective on the battlefield, or whether it can have an effect that satisfies them.
However, they are not good at destroying General Hamilton's confidence. Otherwise, the next battle will be even more difficult to fight.
After confirming the battle between Canterbury and German military, General Hamilton rushed back to London and personally presented his battle plan to Prime Minister Churchill and Minister of War Richard Haldan.
Churchill and Richard Haldan both agree with General Hamilton's combat plan. They also very much hope to defeat the Germany people in Southeast War Zone. It would undoubtedly be best if the battle could not spread to London. Churchill said that if the war situation becomes tense, he will order London's troops to reinforce Southeast War Zone. In addition, he will also order the Air Force to fully cooperate with Southeast War Zone to ensure that it can obtain air superiority on the battlefield and further reduce the pressure on the ground forces.
Churchill's guarantee made Hamilton full of fighting spirit. After he returned to Canterbury without stopping, he ordered the armies to begin to shrink their defense lines and prepare for battle.
Under the order of General Hamilton, British mainland Army 1st Army Corps and 6th Army Corps, withdrew from Margate to Canterbury. The local army 2nd Army Corps and 7th Army Corps also withdrew from Dover to Canterbury. The local army 3rd Army Corps and 8th Army Corps withdrew from Folkestone to Maidstone. The local army 9th Army Corps was originally stationed at Canterbury.
So far, the British mainland Army has assembled five armies in Canterbury and two armies in Maidstone, for a total of seven armies with a strength of nearly 1.4 million people.
This is already the entire force of British mainland force Southeast War Zone. Hamilton ordered these troops to gather at Canterbury and Maidstone. It was a completely desperate idea to decide the outcome in a battle with German military.
When the British army was evacuating the coastal areas, German 1st Army Corps, 2nd Army Corps and 3rd Army Corps were evacuating in an orderly manner. German Army Air Corps's Reconnaissance Aircraft has complete control over the movements of the British army. However, apart from sending planes to bomb the retreating British troops, German military did nothing else.
The retreat of the British army is a good thing for German military. Their main force needs enough time to landing in Britain. If the British army continues to launch attacks and harass them to land, it will cost them more. However, now that the Britain people have taken the initiative to retreat, the problem will be much smaller.
German military engineers built a simple dock at sea for soldiers and equipment to disembark. In order to help heavy equipment get off the ship, engineers specially reinforced the dock with steel plates so that tanks, armored vehicles, and heavy artillery can be loaded and unloaded smoothly. These have greatly accelerated the speed of German military's main force landing in Britain.
On August 27, the main players German 1st Army Corps, 2nd Army Corps and 3rd Army Corps all logged into British mainland.