Chapter Thirty-Five In London

  The lull in the European war lasted only a month, and from July on, the German army launched probing bombings targeting British southern ports and ships sailing through the English Channel. The German military had two objectives: one was to understand the British air defense capabilities and to clarify the deployment of the British Air Force; the other was to lure British planes into battle and consume British strength in aerial combat. From July 10 to August 12, the German army dispatched over 5,000 aircraft sorties, dropping over 1,400 tons of bombs, sinking four British destroyers and 18 transport ships. The German air force lost more than 180 aircraft shot down and 135 damaged. The British lost 148 aircraft.

  But a greater disaster was looming. Germany had already planned to launch a massive bombing campaign against the British Isles, and "Eagle Day" began on August 13. Over the next week, German aircraft concentrated their attacks on southern England, attempting to wear down the British military in preparation for an attack on the Midlands. In addition to using fighter planes to escort bombers attacking British airfields, the Germans also formed groups of fighters to hunt out and engage British fighter planes in dogfights. On August 15, the attacks reached a climax as nearly all German aircraft were thrown into battle, with the Luftwaffe launching four waves of bombers against British airfields and factories. The British responded by deploying twenty-two squadrons of fighter planes, fighting desperately to defend their skies. This day was the most intense of the Battle of Britain so far, and became known as "Black Thursday".

  From the 19th to the 23rd, the sky above England was shrouded in thick fog. The weather that citizens were quite disgusted with had now become Britain's protective umbrella. The air force was busy repairing and maintaining, factories were rushing to produce planes, cities were busy flattening houses that had been bombed into ruins, and citizens could also take a breather.

  On the 23rd, early in the morning, National Government Envoy to the UK, Kuo Tai-chi, arrived at the British Foreign Office located in Whitehall, where he would meet with British Foreign Minister and famous Labour leader Ernest Bevin. Due to an urgent telegram from home, requesting him to report on the "Surprise Attack on Hankou" to the British side on the morning of the 23rd, he also carried an important secret mission.

  The robust Foreign Minister Bevin was astonished after reading the note provided by China. The National Government had not been very reputable in the past, often exaggerating its military achievements, but even if this report was exaggerated, the results were still astonishing.

  "Congratulations on your country's achievement. To be honest, it surprises me," said Bevin, looking up at Guo Taiqi.

  "The Chinese people are waging a heroic war against the Japanese invaders, and although our military and civilians lack weapons and supplies, their morale remains high. This victory is a testament to that. Of course, your government has also provided us with considerable support. In my eight years in office, I have striven to promote Sino-British friendship, so when reporting to my government, I always say that Britain will not betray me."

  Thinking of the still closed China-Burma Highway, Bai Wen's old face slightly reddened: "Please consider that our country is currently in a desperate struggle with Germany. At this time, it is indeed difficult to guarantee the safe passage of the China-Burma Highway, but didn't we reach an agreement earlier to give priority to the passage of medicines and emergency vehicles?"

  "Our country's urgently needed weapons and gasoline are piling up in Rangoon port. I request that you reconsider this strategy. According to intelligence received by our country, Germany, Italy, and Japan are secretly negotiating a military alliance treaty, which once signed, will form a tight military alliance between the three countries, greatly detrimental to your country's interests in the Far East."

  Guo Taiqi again brought up the matter of reopening the Burma Road, but this was not his main purpose today. The news from home indicated that this matter could be put off for now, which left Guo Taiqi perplexed.

  "I will convey what Ambassador Kuo said to the Prime Minister." Every time he met with Kuo Tai-chi, Bai Wen would have a headache over the Burma Road issue. In fact, Britain had also heard about the alliance between Germany, Italy and Japan, but Prime Minister Churchill still hoped to delay as much as possible to ensure the safety of its colonies in the Far East. It is worth noting that Britain was called the Empire on which the sun never sets precisely because it had these colonies. Now Britain needed to bear the full force of the German air force head-on and needed resources such as oil, rubber and iron ore from these colonies. Canada and Australia, two Commonwealth countries, even provided combat personnel to support their mother country's war effort.

  "I would like to request that your government carefully consider the matter of reopening the Burma Road. Today, I have come not only to deliver this note to you, but also to discuss with you the possibility of purchasing aircraft engines and obtaining production licenses. As you are aware, my country has suffered significant losses in air force equipment during our resistance against Japan, and recently the Japanese military has been equipped with new fighter planes, posing an even greater threat to our airspace. If this situation continues for a long time, it will be extremely unfavorable for our anti-Japanese efforts. Some domestic traitors are clamoring for surrender, and the puppet government of Wang Jingwei is constantly fawning on Japan. Therefore, my country hopes to import a batch of new fighter planes from your country, such as the Spitfire, to make up for the lack of air defense. However, considering that your country is currently engaged in fierce battles with Germany, an ally of Japan, we hope to first introduce some aircraft engines and obtain permission for our country to produce them domestically." Guo Taiqi finally revealed his true intentions, knowing that at this time, British engines were absolutely the best available. The Rolls-Royce Merlin liquid-cooled piston engine was not only used in the Hurricane and Spitfire, Britain's two main fighter planes, but later also licensed for production by the American Packard company for use in the P-51 Mustang, making it one of the best piston-engine aircraft of World War II. Although He Juncai had materials for this engine, obtaining production licenses and improved patents from the British would be more legitimate, especially since China currently lacked the machinery and technology to produce such engines. Therefore, the Military Commission, at the suggestion of the Air Force, asked Guo Taiqi to negotiate with Britain on the matter of importing these items, and prepared some conditions for exchange.

  "Of course, in order to support your country's fight against Germany's invasion, our country hopes to share intelligence and technology with your country. This is the intelligence gathered and drawn by our intelligence personnel on the German army's deployment in Europe, especially the air defense situation around Berlin, hoping it can be of help to your country." Guo Taiqi handed over a stack of photos sealed in a file bag. These photos were made by modern printers, not optical imaging photographs, so they looked more like carefully drawn documents. As for this batch of files, Guo Taiqi had put in a lot of effort. In order to receive these files, he had to stay in the suburbs of London on the 20th and 21st (just when the floating airbase was executing a surprise raid on Strasbourg, He Juncai and his staff hastily made a reconnaissance map and other materials, which were airdropped into the suburbs of London). Due to the nighttime curfew and blackout in London, he had to leave the city early to find the meeting point. Originally thinking someone would meet him, but after waiting for half a night, no one came, and instead, he was bitten by mosquitoes in the suburbs. Just before dawn, he heard a faint sound in the air, and under the moonlit night sky, a small plane lowered its altitude, rolled over, and dropped a package with a small parachute, which used traditional Chinese sealing methods. He opened it according to the telegram's requirements and obtained these materials.

  Bai Wen opened the file bag in front of Guo Taiqi, pulled out a few maps. Wow, this deployment map is really detailed! The airport, runway, high artillery positions are all marked, even the number of aircraft stationed at the airport is marked. Bai Wen swore he had never seen such a detailed deployment map before.

  "There's a famous saying in our country, 'Coming but not going is impolite.' I believe your country can make good use of these materials." Guo Taiqi had already seen these materials before, so he wasn't surprised at all by the look of astonishment on Beiweng's face. When he first saw them, he was also shocked by such detailed maps - this truly is knowing oneself and knowing others, a hundred battles without defeat.

  "I can foresee that these materials will be very useful for our country's air defense, I will hand it over to the Air Defense Committee. On behalf of the British government, I thank your country for its assistance." Although he was a diplomat, Bevin quickly measured out the value within. What the hell is going on today? How do the Chinese have such detailed intelligence? And today the Chinese ambassador also talked to him about introducing aircraft engines, he simply suspected that he had been confused by the big fog of the past few days.

  "It would be great if we could help your country, and in the process of resisting the Japanese invaders, we discovered that the Japanese bombers used a wireless electronic navigation device, which caused significant losses to our country during nighttime air raids. We have obtained intelligence on this aspect and can disrupt it through radio means. If your country needs it, we can share this technology. Additionally, some of our researchers have made progress in radar anti-interference technology, which can also be shared." Guo Taiqi threw out the second bait. British Foreign Minister Bevin felt that his originally larger brain capacity was somewhat insufficient, when did China possess such technology? It's really unbelievable. The two sides mechanically accepted the brief handed over by Ambassador Guo.

  "Lastly, authorized by the Military Commission of our country, I formally notify Your Excellency that our country can dispatch a volunteer air force to support your country's aerial warfare against Germany at the necessary time." Although Guo Taiqi also did not quite understand why the Military Commission would send an air force to Europe when the situation in the war against Japan was so tense, he still performed his duties very well.

  Bevin nodded mechanically and saw Ambassador Guo off. He felt he had to rush to 10 Downing Street immediately to report these things to Prime Minister Churchill.

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  Churchill's office was filled with smoke, he had been smoking his beloved cigar for some time in front of the window. Foreign Minister Bevin sat on the sofa drinking red tea sent from the colonies. The materials were placed on the coffee table. Earlier, Bevin had spent some time briefing Churchill on the results of his talks with the Chinese ambassador.

  He didn't know that Churchill was actually thinking of something else, and Churchill had another piece of secret intelligence in his hand. The logistics base set up by the German army in Strasbourg on the border between France and Germany after occupying northern France was attacked by a French resistance organization on the 20th, and all materials were destroyed at once. Intelligence obtained from within the German army showed that some materials had apparently been transported away, because those large armored weapons would not be blown up without leaving any trace. However, there were some non-German and French military equipment bullet heads found at the scene, and it was said that there was also a night fighter involved in blocking the approaching German army. Churchill didn't quite believe that this was done by the French resistance organization, which was still in its infancy at this time without the support of Britain and the United States, and couldn't have carried out such a large-scale operation. The surprise attack on Hankou delivered by China today made him somewhat understand what was going on. Was it a surprise attack by paratroopers? Then who did it? Italy, the Soviet Union, or those small countries in Northern Europe?

  As for the three decoys thrown out by the Chinese Air Force, Churchill is currently only interested in the first one. He does not trust the technology and pilots of the Chinese people, but the intelligence of the Chinese can be used, which can also be verified quickly.

  So Churchill made his own judgment, and he had Bevin send the materials to the Air Defence Command for evaluation, and maintain contact with the Chinese. As for aircraft engines and the Burma Road, Churchill felt that it was necessary to take a long-term view, and having a powerful ally in the Far East might not be a good thing for Britain.

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