Churchill's Awakening

  The German propaganda minister Goebbels' English-language broadcast was not to be missed. The broadcasts, which began on April 10, 1939, featured two announcers who called themselves "Lord Haw-Haw" and used a pure Oxford English accent to deliver their messages. Initially, the programs described the idyllic British countryside, the character of the British people, and other positive aspects of Britain. However, they soon incorporated descriptions of German culture and scenery, interspersed with jokes and witty remarks. The broadcasts quickly gained popularity among the British public, who were looking for a release from the high-pressure life before the war. By the outbreak of World War II, 18 million radios in Britain were tuned into the "Lord Haw-Haw" broadcast, which had a profound impact on British morale during the war, often causing listeners to feel extremely low-spirited when they heard unusual sounds, an effect that the German army, navy, and air force could not achieve.

  Here is the translation:

  A few days ago, during negotiations on British Expeditionary Force prisoners of war, 'Ha Ha Sir' said in a broadcast: "Although we Germans captured tens of thousands of British soldiers at Dunkirk, we Germans also love peace. Our envoy has arrived in neutral Spain to negotiate with the Churchill government on the issue of British Expeditionary Force prisoners of war. Those listening to the radio, do you have relatives serving in the British Expeditionary Force who are still alive? If so, please pray for them, pray that your sons, husbands, brothers, and fathers will return home soon." He then sang a British folk song, which meant that people who had been away from home for a long time were returning to their hometowns, and their loved ones were overjoyed. However, when the German Propaganda Minister Goebbels ordered him to loudly publicize Britain's behavior during the Gibraltar incident in his broadcasts to England, 'Ha Ha Sir' immediately changed his tone on the radio. 'Ha Ha Sir' accused the British of sacrificing local interests in order to maintain their position overseas. He also brought up the huge harm that Britain had inflicted on local people when it opened up its colonies overseas. Finally, 'Ha Ha Sir' concluded: "The current British Prime Minister Churchill's thinking is still stuck in the 19th century, believing that everyone in this world should listen to Britain's orders. If anyone dares not to obey Britain's commands, Mr. Churchill will send troops to attack them."

  "The British, although they were the first to implement constitutional monarchy and passed the Declaration of Human Rights, actually believe in their high-level thinking that the British are emperors of other countries. They do not think that people from other countries have the same rights as the British. They believe that the British should be superior to others, which shows that the British rulers fundamentally do not recognize the Declaration of Human Rights they compiled, and think it is just a facade to deceive others. What do you think about such a hypocritical government, British people?"

  British Prime Minister Churchill has been feeling terrible these past few days. First, he was deceived by the Germans during the Dunkirk evacuation and trusted the intelligence provided by so-called high-ranking German anti-Nazis, placing his British Royal Navy's home fleet in Spitsbergen Bay and near Iceland to await a non-existent German attack. As a result, the Germans launched two attacks on the rescue ships of the British Expeditionary Force and the reinforcement troops sent by the navy. Churchill and his subordinates, due to their preconceived notions about the Germans, divided their fleet into several parts to launch an attack. However, in the final Anglo-German naval battle, the Germans used submarines with dense torpedoes to disrupt the formation of the British fleet's gunboats. The German High Seas Fleet then took advantage of this and unleashed its firepower, destroying the British fleet. What is even more detestable is that the Germans seem to have had an ulterior motive beyond just destroying his fleet - they appear to want to use his warships for themselves. According to intelligence reports, the Germans are repairing the captured British warships in their shipyards and may soon put them back into service as part of the German Navy. Meanwhile, most of Churchill's remaining battleships and battlecruisers have been severely damaged, leaving only a few old battleships intact. His new battleship, the 'King George V' class, has only had two ships launched so far, with three more still under construction. It is uncertain whether these new warships will be able to withstand the Germans' firepower. Churchill had already questioned the firepower of his new battleships during their development, as they were outgunned by those of his competitors at the time. Even if all of them are launched and put into service, it is unlikely that they will have an advantage over the German Navy in terms of either quantity or quality.

  If the German Navy were to challenge outside its own ports, it would not dare send out its naval forces either. Wanting to hang a flag of neutrality, it's now unthinkable not to rely on the Americans to win this war, despite looking down on the American military, but valuing America's powerful production capacity.

  The negotiations in Spain were also a concern for British Prime Minister Churchill, and as expected, the Germans seemed to want to perform in front of the whole world, trying to make a good impression for themselves, but without any sincerity in negotiating. Just look at the conditions they put forward for negotiation: daily living expenses per person, medical treatment fees for the wounded, mobilization fees for German troops, compensation for losses and damages of weapons and materials, compensation for German casualties and disabled personnel... What are these things? Not to mention that Britain has not yet failed, but even in history, defeated nations have never encountered such demands from the victorious nation. These Germans really thought of it. I've really opened my eyes.

  While my representative slightly expressed dissatisfaction with the German plan, the chief German representative, Gottfried von Prien, stormed off and has been making excuses to delay the resumption of negotiations until now. It seems that my speculation was correct, and the Germans came to negotiate mainly just for show. But what's most puzzling is why the normally calm local people in Gibraltar have started rioting. I only understood after receiving a report from the British Governor of Gibraltar that someone had been using counterfeit high-denomination British pound notes at some shops, restaurants, and bars run by locals. However, the governor's report did not specify whether this was done by individual Britons or someone impersonating them.

  Let's put this detail aside for now and analyze who would be the biggest beneficiary if a major disturbance were to occur in the Gibraltar region. The Gibraltar region was taken by the British ruler's fleet in 1704, while Spain's invincible armada disappeared after the Anglo-Spanish War. After that, although Spain tried to regain its maritime dominance of the 16th century, it lost its overseas colonies one by one and thus lost its lifeline for resources from abroad, and no strong power emerged domestically, leading to an unstoppable decline. When the British army invaded Gibraltar and established a military base there, Spain, due to its declining national strength, was shocked but did not dare say anything. A few years later, it signed a treaty with Britain, ceding Gibraltar to the British. However, there has always been a strong voice within Spain demanding the recovery of sovereignty over Gibraltar.

  As World War I came to an end, Britain's power had somewhat declined. The rise of Franco in Spain was after the abdication of the Spanish king in 1931 and the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic. By 1936, he followed General Sanjurjo, who was stationed in Morocco, to launch a rebellion, with the support of Germany and Italy, he took the position of head of state of Spain. Now, will the riots that have occurred in the Gibraltar area be related to Spain? Spain has always wanted to recover sovereignty over this region. However, it has never been able to resist Britain's military power. But now Franco, who came to power with the help of Germany and Italy, is likely to ask for their assistance in recovering Gibraltar's sovereignty, especially Italy, whose ambition for the Mediterranean region is "a heart that is known to all". Italy may have played a shameful role in this event, and what about Germany? They are currently at war with themselves, of course, they would want to cut off their own maritime lifeline as soon as possible. The other end of the Mediterranean is the Suez Canal, Britain's closest connection to Asia and Oceania. The Germans cannot ignore this point, so they may also join in. To cut off Britain's sea transportation line, they will assist Franco, if the Gibraltar area is re-controlled by Spain, the control of the Strait of Gibraltar can be said to be indirectly controlled by Germany and Italy. Will the Germans allow British transport ships to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar smoothly at that time?

  In the war on the European continent, France's defeat seems to be inevitable. If Germany controls France and also controls the Strait of Gibraltar, what will happen to Britain in the direct war between Britain and Germany that is about to begin? Even a child can probably guess. Germany joined, Churchill suddenly thought, why did the Germans choose Spain as the place for negotiations with Britain on British expeditionary force prisoners of war. It turns out that he didn't understand why this was the case. Now it's clear that it's very likely that the Germans were also involved in the riots in the Gibraltar area, otherwise it would be hard to explain why German newspapers got the news on the second day when the British authorities strongly suppressed the riots in the Gibraltar area. The reason why Germany chose Spain as the place for negotiations with Britain on British expeditionary force prisoners of war is likely that Germany deliberately chose it to coordinate its actions with Spain in the Gibraltar area.

  Damn it, these German pigs really didn't see that they are so cunning and have so many tricks up their sleeves. They actually designed such a large conspiracy, and I didn't even notice at the beginning. However, in my impression, the current leaders of Germany don't seem capable of plotting such a thing. So is this the work of Günter Prien, the former German U-boat ace who has recently risen to prominence? If it's him, then he would be one of the most difficult Germans I've ever encountered.

  Intelligence personnel dispatched to Spain have sent back reports that they discovered an unusual wireless signal near a small coastal town in Spain. After on-site investigation by the intelligence personnel, it was found that the wireless signal was not a daily external communication signal from a new command post set up by Franco's army in the area, as there were no signs of Spanish troops nearby. Therefore, it can be said that this wireless signal may have been sent out by a secret German communication station established in Spain, and its purpose may not be simply to support Spain's recovery of sovereignty over Gibraltar. There may be other actions involved, although specific details are still unknown, but possibly targeting the Mediterranean region. Evidence includes British agents discovering Germany's chief negotiator, G?rtz, entering and exiting the secret communication station, with records of overnight stays. Moreover, British agents were delighted to find that the Germans had weak defenses for this secret communication station, possibly due to not wanting to deploy large numbers of guards on Spanish territory, which might attract attention from others. The Germans may have believed that having Spanish cover was sufficient to guarantee the safety of the secret communication station, and they may not have anticipated a British attack on their territory in Spain.

  So now this so-called German chief negotiator in Spain may have a dual identity, and the other identity of the negotiator is likely to be the commander of Germany's secret operations in the Mediterranean. This can also explain why he has been looking for excuses to postpone the resumption of negotiations with Britain several times, and it is likely that he is planning and deploying new actions, and after he has planned and deployed them, the negotiations will begin, and he may adjust the pace of the negotiations according to the specific implementation of the action.

  After realizing this, British Prime Minister Churchill let out a sigh of relief and finally understood the German conspiracy. Previously, the Germans had fooled the British, but now that they saw through the German plot, it was time for them to take action. The British special forces 'Commando' unit, which was sent to cooperate with the head of the British Naval Intelligence Bureau, Godfrey, although one submarine sank during transportation (the British still didn't understand why the submarine carrying the 'Commando' unit sank, but most believed it was due to mechanical failure rather than encountering a German warship. The British Admiralty believed that the main force of the German High Seas Fleet had returned to German ports for repairs after the Battle of Dunkirk, leaving only necessary patrol vessels at sea).

  They were unaware that the German High Seas Fleet was already deployed in the southern French waters. However, the remaining British Special Forces 'Commando' troops secretly arrived in Spain were enough to carry out a secret abduction of the German Chief Negotiator, Herr Prien, back to Britain for this simple task. But before carrying out this task, he had to deal with the crisis brought to Britain by the massacre of local people in Gibraltar during the riots in the region where British troops were stationed.

  I have already written many letters by hand to countries with diplomatic relations with the UK. The Governor of Gibraltar has also been recalled, and the British military officer who gave the order to fire will be court-martialed (although all this is just for show, the poor officer will soon be secretly released and sent to Asia for duty). After all, it was the first time that British troops in Europe encountered civilians who dared to throw stones at them - if I were there, I would have given the order to retaliate too. Compensation is also being prepared for local people injured or killed in the riots in Gibraltar. Now Britain will try its best to cover up this incident, otherwise it won't be able to cope with Germany's increasingly fierce attacks.

  British Prime Minister Churchill stood up from the sofa, rubbing his temples which were aching from thinking, and pressed the summoning bell to call in his secretary to inform British intelligence agencies and senior military officers to come to the prime minister's office for a meeting to discuss how to carry out the secret abduction of German chief negotiator Gort. Prior returned to Britain with this simple action.