Chapter 205: The Destruction of the Empire (1)
As the German troops penetrated into the city of London, the situation in the city became increasingly strange. The German troops did not know what words to use to describe the current situation, and the commanders began to frequently ask each other about the progress of their troops on the radio.
"This is not occupation, this is invasion. Some citizens stood by the street to welcome us. They threw paper scraps and petals at my soldiers." A captain from the 27th Infantry Regiment reported to his superiors. Obviously, the officer, like his soldiers, did not dream of seeing this kind of scene.
In fact, every German unit entering the slums of London was treated almost the same, and German soldiers were inexplicably regarded as liberators and were warmly welcomed by the lower-class residents.
London is a huge city. Even though some children and elderly citizens have been evacuated, the city still retains no less than six million residents. Because there are many factories and government agencies here, it requires a large number of workers and staff to operate normally. Especially in the industrial area in the lower Thames, millions of workers work hard here, such as the Royal Ordnance Factory, where workers work 24 hours a day. Even when German troops are at the city, these workshops are still producing scarce cannons, tanks and rifles for the British Army.
The working class in London was already unable to bear Churchill's wartime policy. They believed that this was a bloody squeeze, but it was a grand patriotic name. They needed to work more than twelve hours a day, but they received only a bunch of worthless promises from senior executives and an extra half a pound of flour on the supply card. The problem was that many workers were not single, and they had family members to support them. They could not watch their relatives starve every day.
The food rations of the lower-level residents have been cut to an infuriating level. Many citizens have begun to sell the legacy left by their ancestors and go to the black market to buy the crude food they didn't even look at before to satisfy their hunger. In this case, people found that the nobles and wealthy men could still spend time and money in the restaurants of high-end hotels.
The citizens were unable to express their anger because all the violent machines were standing on the side of the rich. So when some distorted remarks began to spread secretly, no matter how absurd the rumors were, they were all sought after by angry people.
At this time, the various classes in London had been divided into several parts, and the bottom layer was exactly the most crowded part. At this time, London was actually like a powder barrel with a lead. As long as a spark was ignited, it would immediately turn the world.
The British upper class could not see this crisis, but the general trend had already begun. Although politicians were willing, they were powerless to do anything about it. What made London MPs, politicians, officials and wealthy people even more unexpected was that those invaders who made them hate deeply eventually became saviors for all of them by chance.
However, the above happened in several poor residential areas, and the German troops entering the south and west of London had completely different experiences.
"Where is this place, where are we on the map?" Lieutenant Shackett sat in the back seat of the bucket car, holding a map of London in his hand. He asked an English officer in the passenger seat to point out the position of the troops again.
"That's Ruskin Park. We follow this road. Go straight to Camberwell Road and turn to Walworth Road, you can reach the National War Museum, and then go south. It's the Thames." The leader was a British major, who was tireless to explain to the captain of the Storm Commando. This was not only because of completing the tasks assigned to him by his superiors, but also because of the SS sign on the other party's seal and the rumor that this unit had a direct way to the highest level of the German army.
"We are going to reach the banks of the Thames before the 25th Armored Regiment, well, keep moving forward." Shacket waved to the troops behind him, and the convoy of the Seventy-Seventh Storm Commando restarted and began to advance along the road guided by British officials to the most prosperous area on the south bank of London.
Gradually, the houses on both sides of the street began to change their appearance, and the previous three-story apartments became solid buildings with five or even six floors. Although most buildings still have Victorian style, they have many decorative sculptures and brightly colored exterior coatings, and many of them use expensive stone veneers. The glory and wealth of the British Empire were everywhere.
This is close to the core area of London, with a large number of government agencies, museums, hospitals, banks and large enterprises stationed. Of course, there are also many residential houses here. The identities of residents are different, but most of them belong to the upper class, with completely different economic conditions and personal cultivation from those of the civilian class.
It can be said that these people were the ones who were the most intense in resistance at the beginning and were most keen to fight to the death with Germany. Now these noble people are timidly curled up in their respective windows, secretly observing the invaders who are swaying from the streets through the gaps in the curtains.
Their previous boiling blood had long been poured out by continuous failures. Most of them had become completely defeatists. They were addicted to bars and restaurant dance halls all night, trying to find various stimuli, and anesthetize their nerves with alcohol and drugs, because only in this way can they forget their fear and no longer worry about the future of the country and their future.
"Oh my God, it's SS, it's S." Someone exclaimed behind the curtains.
Newspapers and magazines once spent a lot of pages to introduce this unique German army. In order to let British readers understand the brutality and evil of this army, the uncrowned kings and writers of Fleet Street played out their extraordinary imagination. Most of the stories are mixed with many "details" descriptions. Anyway, it is the kind of thing that a decent family will never let children read, but at that time it was very in line with the appetite of ordinary British readers and received unanimous praise.
The Nazi SS was a machine without personal thoughts. The loyal dogs of German dictators were all formed by thugs and hooligans. In order to achieve their goals, they did not hesitate to kill innocent civilians, even babies and pregnant women would not let go... This cruel image has been deeply rooted in the minds of the British. Therefore, when people see the white double lightning signs painted on the car doors, they can imagine how panic they will be.
Some people quickly retreated from the window and pulled the curtains hard, as if this would be isolated from the terrible army outside. But some people made another reaction. They opened the window and hung pieces of white sheets out of the window. These people received the so-called "internal news". As long as they hung out the white sheets to indicate compliance, the Germans would not disturb you.
"Is this a British custom?" Shacket tilted his head and looked at the white cloth floating on the windowsills of the buildings on both sides.
"You know, the French would look for a white flag when they surrender, but I have also seen people in white pajamas, which was near Orleans...what is that called?"
"Neono." The driver reminded with a smile.
"Yes, Neono, a beautiful little village where the French defenders searched through the village but found no white cloth. Finally, they found a white pajama from a widow's house. When they saw the French swaying the thing, the whole group was stunned."
"Yes, I still remember General Manstein's expression at that time." The driver echoed.
"This is a high-level community. Since the morning, we have notified the citizens to stay in their rooms. I think they have prepared for today." Official Ying* changed the topic. Although he was ready, he still felt uncomfortable when he saw the scene in front of him.
At this time, the convoy approached a very strong sandbag barricade. The four-wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicle that opened the road slowed down and began to slowly approach the fortification. Although the British promised that they would not encounter resistance from defenders along the way, the Germans did not dare to be careless at all. Who knows if any British soldier wanted to fight to the end, secretly ambushed in the fortifications to save the Germans and their lives.
"No problem." The commander of the reconnaissance vehicle leaned out of the machine gun tower and waved to the rear team. The 222 armored vehicle bypassed the barricade and began to move forward.
As Shacket's barrel cart drove past the barricade, the armed SS lieutenant stood up and watched the barricade. The semicircular bunker was now empty, and the ammunition assigned to the fortifications was neatly placed against the wall.
"The troops responsible for this barricade are now on standby in the barracks, waiting for your people to come and receive surrender." The British official explained.
"Lieutenant, it is Colonel Nicholas of the combat office. He asks to speak to you." The communication soldier sitting next to Shacket reported loudly, and he handed the headphones in his hand to Shacket.
"I'm Shacket." The SS lieutenant quickly took the headphones and put them on his head.
"We are going well now, near Walworth Road... I understand, I know, Colonel... But... there is such a thing, I know it's not that simple. Okay, I will stop and wait for the Twenty-Fifth Armored Regiment, obey the order, Colonel. No problem, Colonel... It's all for the Head of the World!... Okay, the call is over, Hi! Reinhart!" Shacket took off his headphones and handed them to the communications officer.
"Notify the cars in front to stop, stop all of them." Schalke said to the correspondent, then he stood up and waved his arms at the vehicles behind him, signaling to stop.
"What happened, captain." The convoy stopped in the middle of the road, and the captains of each team came up to ask what happened.
"There was a problem with the British. Their marshals and generals were unable to convince the royal guards loyal to the royal family. Now these troops have launched a mutiny. They have controlled the Westminster District and occupied the defense lines on both sides of the Thames. They are ready to fight us to the end. The superiors ordered us to stop moving forward for the time being and wait to meet with the Twenty-Five Armored Regiment." Shacket got out of the car, and he whipped his trouser legs with gloves. This new situation excited him.
"Royal Guard Division?" The SS lieutenant looked disdainful.
"There is nothing great, we failed to catch up with the Battle of Dunkirk. This time we have to let everyone know that the SS is the strongest guard."
Please give me a monthly vote, please give me a recommendation vote, thank you for your support. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!