Chapter 492 Dover

If a war breaks out between the United States and Germany in the future, with the range and speed of this "flying bomb", won't the United States only be beaten?

But these 500 tons of gold are too exaggerated, and it hurts to think about it.

And it's impossible for Congress to agree to this expenditure.

Once a US House Speaker said shamelessly: "Without my consent, the president can't spend a penny." Although this statement is exaggerated, Congress, which holds the "money bag", does play a leading role in government spending. The US Constitution stipulates that no funds may be withdrawn from the treasury except for appropriations in accordance with the law. The appropriation power held by Congress is commonly known as the "money bag power". Madison, the drafter of the Constitution, pointed out that the "money bag power" is the most complete and effective weapon that the Constitution can equip people's representatives with.

"How about letting Lucas bargain?"

Caudle shook his head. "Salazar refused to bargain, otherwise the British would not have been deadlocked until now. Salazar said that the risk of this deal was too high. If the Germans found out, it might bring disaster to Spain. So the price would not be reduced by a penny."

"..." It seems to be true.

Admiral Long Lacy said. "Can we develop it ourselves?"

Marshall shrugged. "I think it should be no problem. But how much time and money will it take to make it? Who knows?" If it takes several years and hundreds of millions or even billions of funds, it is better to buy it now. Don't say it's bought, even if you want to develop it yourself, Congress may not approve this huge amount of money.

Just as everyone sighed depressedly, the landing battle in the Calais area also started.

As mentioned earlier, the White Cliffs of Dover is a natural barrier of Dover and a symbol of England. This cliff formed about 1 million years ago is composed of fine-grained limestone. The highest point of the cliff is at the top of the beach, where the chalk layer has risen more than 150 meters from the beach below after millions of years of deposition.

Unfortunately, the weather was not good, and this huge wall with a length of more than 30 kilometers was not a complete barrier.

There was a gap in this natural wall near Dover.

The British naturally would not leave this gap alone, and built countless fortifications near the gap over the long years. Permanent, semi-permanent, temporary, and anti-tank obstacles added in the last decade.

In addition, in recent years, the enemy's air force attacks have been taken into consideration, and many newly built firepower points are embedded in the inner side of the cliff, and even the Stuka's precision bombing can do nothing to them.

The barbed wire and minefields are densely arranged at the front of the position, turning this place into an iron barrel fortress that is not worthy of the name.

If the invading enemy wants to attack this fortress with the flesh of the soldiers alone, then this place will definitely become a veritable meat grinder, and as many as come will die.

In the eyes of the British, if they want to break through here, the best way is to bombard this fortress with large-caliber naval guns and blast a way out.

So although the Germans tried their best to hinder the British mine-laying operations by various means, the British still laid several huge minefields in the English Channel. Because of the existence of these mines, the German fleet could not rashly enter the channel, after all, it was very dangerous.

The British thought they had successfully blocked the German warships and cannons, and Dover's defense was foolproof, but Yannick prepared enough cover for Dover's landing troops.

As mentioned earlier, the closest port to France, Calais, is only 34 kilometers away. At this time, a full 22 K5 railway guns with a range of up to 62 kilometers were deployed in the Calais area. These 22 railway guns fired 283 mm caliber 255 kg shells at the British fortress at a speed of 4 rounds per minute (some say the firing rate of the K5 railway gun is 8 rounds per hour, and some say 15 rounds per hour. Here is a compromise of 11 rounds per hour.). In addition, the British bunker group is fixed and can only be beaten stupidly, without any counterattack power.

Although the British also deployed more than 300mm railway guns and coastal guns on the opposite side, it was a pity that they had been completely wiped out by the German Luhun Air Force. Even if they were intact, they could not reach K5 with their range, and could only take the beating.

Of course, the useful method would not be used only once. The Calais landing force also sent out "fishing" landing craft.

The British defenders, who did not know the situation, also greeted these landing craft with fierce firepower. It seemed that they wanted to show the Germans how fierce their firepower was, enough to repel the German attack.

"Haha, these Germans are so scared that they dare not get off the boat." In a bunker, the machine gunner kept shaking the muzzle and shouted excitedly.

"Then let them continue to be soft eggs. Anyway, we have plenty of ammunition here." The company commander who came to inspect said, picked up the phone in the bunker and reported the battle situation to the regiment commander. "Sir! We beat the Germans into shrinking turtles, and they dare not get off the boats and go ashore."

These bunkers are equipped with many Maxim machine guns from the last World War, and the bullets are countless; it will take a month to use up all these bullets.

"I saw it, the boys did a great job. Don't let a single German set foot on the shore, remember that behind you is London!" I felt a little strange when I said this. Behind them was indeed London, but London was being bombarded day and night and was almost turned into ruins.

At this time, the machine gunner shouted in surprise. "Retreat, they retreat!"

"We won!" Everyone shouted excitedly.

"Wait, what did you say? Sir, the Germans retreated! We repelled the German attack!!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Hearing the joyful report from the phone, the regiment commander was stunned. The Germans retreated? Sure enough, Dover was feinting? But this feint was too bad. Just turn around the beach and then retreat? Are you fooling around? !

But then he heard a deafening explosion. And this explosion was not a single one, there were dozens of them, and the ground was shaking like an earthquake.

"What's going on? Hello! Hello!" No matter how he shouted, the other party never responded. The regiment commander dialed several numbers in a row before contacting a bunker. "What happened there? What's the matter with this explosion?"

A voice full of fear came from the receiver. "Sir, we are under attack from German heavy artillery! At least 20 heavy artillery pieces with a caliber of at least 300 mm are firing at us!" He had just seen with his own eyes that a bunker across the street suddenly exploded. That was a solid bunker made of reinforced concrete, but it was blown into pieces and then blown up to tens of meters in the air by the explosion, causing several bunkers around it to collapse.

The regiment commander hurriedly reported the situation to the commander of the garrison, who was also shocked when he heard the news. "What? Is it a German battleship?! Did the German Navy drive the warship into the channel?"

"Report to the commander, no large German warships were found in the channel! The shells seem to have been fired from Calais!!"

"What?!" The commander of the garrison was shocked when he heard it. Could it be the German V3 cannon? No, although the V3 cannon has a long range, its caliber is only about 150MM. It should be the German's new railway gun, right?

The commander of the garrison was no stranger to railway guns. After all, the concept of railway guns originated in the 1850s, when it was proposed by the British Anderson in his work "National Defense". It can be said that the British are the ancestors of railway guns.

"Quick! Connect London to me! Tell the Prime Minister that the Germans' main attack direction is Dover! I need reinforcements!!" It was easy for 20 heavy artillery pieces to bombard those immobile bunkers concentrated in a narrow area. In less than an hour, the German army could "wash" out an unobstructed passage in the pass! !

Churchill was in complete chaos. Dover and Norwich sent him urgent telegrams at the same time, saying that it was the main attack direction of the Germans, and the Germans were about to break through their defensive positions and urgently needed reinforcements! !

"How is it possible?! How is it possible?!"

"This must be a German conspiracy. They can't land in three places at the same time. Even our British Empire doesn't have this ability. Send a telegram to Dover and Norwich. Never take a step back. Persistence is victory. The Germans are just bluffing. If it doesn't work, agree to let them destroy the port." He firmly believed that no matter how strong the German troops in those areas were, they would be driven into the sea by the British second-line troops after their supplies were exhausted.

He was worried that once the troops supporting Plymouth were weakened, they would be unable to cope with the fierce attack of the German army.

In his opinion, ordinary coastlines can be taken back no matter how much they are lost, but important coastal cities such as ports cannot be lost!