After rest and recuperation, the combat effectiveness of the four armies of German military returned to its peak state. Although the manpower gaps in some units have not been filled, the fatigue of the soldiers has been alleviated and a large number of weapons and ammunition have been replenished, and the combat effectiveness has been restored.
German military's losses among Battle of Canterbury were not large, so the decline in combat effectiveness caused by the shortage of soldiers was not serious. Regardless of morale or combat effectiveness, they are completely capable of crushing the British troops stationed at London.
The five small towns of Dartford, Sidcup, Bromley, Croydon and Epsom in the south of London are almost connected in a straight line. This caused the British troops defending London to deploy heavy troops in these small towns. And with the help of these small cities, a solid line of defense was built. I want to rely on this line of defense again to stop German military's attack on London. In other words, they want to use this line of defense to further consume German military's vitality.
The British army knows that with their current strength, it will be very difficult to defeat German military. Their only chance of winning lies in consuming as much of German military's vitality as possible among City Urban Warfare. Only in this way can German military pay a heavy price in the battle and win. Knowing that their combat power was seriously inferior to German military, the British army could only rely on the power of fortifications.
On the southern defense line, the British army originally deployed two armies, namely 12th Army Corps and 13th Army Corps. Later, the reorganized 1st Army Corps was added. General Haig, who retreated from the front line, was appointed as Commander of the southern defense line, with full authority to command the three armies here.
"General Haig, I hope you can lead the troops to hold on to the southern defense line for more than a month! In this way, we can not only use this time to further consolidate the defense line in London city, but also make the Germany people pay a greater price there, laying the foundation for London campaign's victory!" Richard Haldan said.
Although, General Haig is already considered defeated by German military. He has been defeated by German military many times. However, this does not prevent his abilities from being recognized. In Richard Haldan's opinion, General Haig has the ability, but he is just a little unlucky. Another reason is that German military is too strong. With such a huge disparity in strength between the two sides, no matter how strong General Haig's personal ability is, it is impossible to help Britain win.
"Your Excellency, this is probably very difficult. The combat effectiveness of 12th Army Corps and 13th Army Corps is inherently limited. Even 1st Army Corps is nothing more than the defeated troops of Southeast War Zone. Their fighting will has long been destroyed by Germany's people were destroyed. If they go to the battlefield, I'm afraid it won't have much effect. By then, as long as German military launches an attack, many people will definitely surrender to German military." General Haig looked worried. Obviously, he did not think that with these three armies, he could hold on to the southern defense line for a month.
"General Haig, let's do this. I don't set a time limit. Once you think you can't hold on anymore, you can choose to retreat. However, I hope to hold on as long as possible and cause as many casualties to the German army as possible. After all, the current situation is very unfavorable to us. Even if we want to abandon our homeland and retreat to Canada, we must further weaken the strength of the Germans. Otherwise, the Germans may attack us across the Atlantic at any time!" Richard Haldan said.
General Haig nodded. "Sir, I will try my best!"
The entire southern defense line is only more than 40 kilometers long. The British army has deployed 600,000 troops on this defense line, which is considered to be a very strong force. General Haig will use 1st Army Corps as a reserve team and deploy it to the north of the defense line. 12th Army Corps and 13th Army Corps are stationed on the defense line.
"1st Army Corps, attack Dartford, break through the British defense line, and attack London from here. 2nd Army Corps attack Bromley, break through and attack London from here. 3rd Army Corps enter Attack Croydon. 8th Army Corps attacks Epsom. After conquering, quickly advance to the northeast and cooperate with other troops to eliminate the troops deployed by Britain on this line of defense!" Feng Field Marshal Falkenhayn said, pointing to several cities on the map.
"Yes, Your Excellency!" Commander from several legions replied.
"At this juncture, the Britain people did not shrink their troops, but instead sent out such a large force. They are simply seeking death!" General Kluck said.
London is an international metropolis, deploying millions of troops, there is no problem at all. In that case, if German military wants to conquer London, it will have to launch an attack bit by bit and compete with the Britain people for every street and every house in the London city. In that case, it would not only be time-consuming and labor-intensive, but the casualties of the troops would not be too small. After all, in street fighting, you need to face sudden dangers at any time. Even veterans who have experienced hundreds of battles are very likely to lose their lives. However, now the British army has taken the initiative to deploy as many as 600,000 troops outside London city. Doesn't this give German military a chance to eliminate them? Once German military takes care of these 600,000 British troops. Then, there are not many British troops left in London city. By then, the difficulty for German military to win London will be greatly reduced.
"Who knows, maybe the Britain people haven't given up their dream of keeping London yet! They thought they could keep us out of London city to prevent their capital from turning into a ruin." General Bülow looked sarcastic.
Fighting in British mainland, German military can be said to have let go. In order to reduce the casualties of the troops, heavy artillery was used extensively. Anyway, the cities that were destroyed belong to Britain people and have nothing to do with Germany. But the Britain people don't seem to want to reduce their city to rubble. And this undoubtedly caused problems in their command, thus creating more opportunities for German military.
"No matter what the Britain people think. We just need to eliminate them and win this war!" General Hutier was very straightforward.
"Everyone, after solving the troops deployed by Britain outside the city, 1st Army Corps and 2nd Army Corps attacked London from the south. 3rd Army Corps detoured and entered from the west of London To attack, 8th Army Corps needs to cross River Thames and hit the north of London. I hope that the last remaining effective force of the British army can be annihilated in London!" Feng Field Marshal Falkenhayn continued.
"Yes, Your Excellency!" the generals all replied.