Chapter 823

There was a first time for everything. As the first real aerial battle in human history, the British paid a high price with their strength.

Adding fuel to the fire was only suitable for specific occasions. Playing this way in an aerial battle was obviously a suicide mission.

Unfortunately, Britannia had never had aerial combat experience. After the attack, the Government of the United Kingdom's first reaction was to send out air forces to intercept. They did not even consider the issue of assembling.

Because of the different distances and different reaction speeds, the British fighter jets that took off from various airports eventually arrived at the frontline in batches.

The aerial battle continued. After paying a heavy price, the British Air Force finally assembled a three-digit number of fighter jets. Although they were still at a disadvantage, the battle was no longer one-sided.

The Shinra Air Force that participated in the battle had changed. Because of the limited flight time, the first batch of fighter jets had returned to rest after completing their mission.

Unlike the first wave of bombers, almost all of the Shinra fighter jets in the sky were fighter jets.

If it was in the future, everyone would know that today's bombing was over. Now, they were targeting the main force of the British Air Force.

Since they could not win in a head-on battle, the most important thing now was to preserve their strength. Even if they had to fight with their lives on the line, they had to change to a more advantageous battlefield.

Below them was London. Every time a plane crashed, it was a giant bomb that was more lethal than any bomb in the world.

To put it bluntly, the damage caused by the bombing to London was less than one-tenth of the damage caused by the plane crashes in the air battle.

Obviously, the Government of the United Kingdom did not think too much. At this moment, they only had one thought, and that was to assemble more fighter jets to keep the enemy here and wash away today's humiliation.

As for the "losses" caused by this, the big shots, whose minds were filled with rage, couldn't care less about it.

The battle was so intense that it made people feel irritated. The aerial battle did not stop for a moment. Everyone could only stay in the bomb shelter.

The order in London was out of control. Although the cabinet government had repeatedly ordered to calm the people, it was still too difficult for the bureaucrats to work under the enemy's fire.

Someone had to take responsibility for such a big thing. The battle in the sky was not over yet. The senior officials of the Government of the United Kingdom had begun to think about how to deal with the aftermath.

"Prime Minister, something bad has happened!"

The secretary's voice interrupted everyone's thoughts. Prime Minister Campbell, who was frowning, hurriedly asked, "Our air force has been defeated?"

The flames of war had already spread to London, and the situation was already bad. If there was worse news, it must be that the air force had been defeated in the air battle.

The enemy was the world's most powerful air force. As a qualified politician, he naturally had to prepare for the worst.

The defeat of the Air Force was the worst outcome that everyone had expected. There was no other alternative.

The defeat of the air force was the worst outcome that everyone had expected.

After answering habitually, the secretary hurriedly explained, "The battle in the sky is still going on. Although there are some losses, our fighter jets are coming in continuously. It is only a matter of time before the enemy is expelled.

"The air battle" was answered. "The battle" was still ongoing. Prime Minister Campbell quickly recovered.

Prime Minister Campbell's nervousness eased a little when he heard "the aerial battle is still ongoing", but he immediately tensed up again.

With the Royal Navy as the dominant force, the British Air Force was only slightly better than the Army. The Government of the United Kingdom, which had never experienced an air battle, did not expect this to happen.

If it were not for the Holy Roman Empire's investment in the air force, "I want what the enemy has," there would be no air force at all.

It started late, and the domestic manufacturing industry fell behind in the Second Industrial Revolution. The air force, which followed the trend, was naturally inferior to Shinra's air force.

If it were not for the advantage of fighting on land, the air battle would have been lost. The current situation was not much better. The fighters who participated in the battle did not escape because they could not escape at all.

The overall performance of the aircraft could not keep up. After close contact, they could not shake off the enemy. They could only bite the bullet and fight.

It just so happened that the military had issued a death order. The people below did not understand the situation in the sky. They just thought that the air force was fighting bravely.

These problems did not affect Campbell's decision. London and Liverpool were attacked at the same time. The British air force was unable to take care of both battlefields at the same time. It was self-evident which side to focus on first.

After a little thought, Prime Minister Campbell said in an artistic tone, "Tell the Liverpool garrison to organize their own air defense first. Reinforcements will arrive in the shortest time possible."

After a little thought, Prime Minister Campbell said in an artistic tone, "Tell the Liverpool garrison to organize their own air defense first. Reinforcements will arrive in the shortest time possible."

But it happened to be applicable to the current situation in Britannia. If the people below were not given enough confidence, maybe those guys who were in a panic would even forget to organize resistance.

Even though it was difficult to defend against the limited anti-air firepower, it was still better than nothing. Even if only one enemy fighter was shot down, it would still be a victory.

After sending the secretary away, Prime Minister Campbell reflected. The Prime Minister personally commanding the military battle seemed to have gone astray.

Not every British Prime Minister was Mr. Churchill, keen to participate in military command. At least, Campbell was not interested in commanding the army in battle.

Unlike any previous war, the current war required the cooperation of the land, sea, and air forces.

The first time for anything was always a synonym for trouble. This time was no exception. In addition to military command, political balance had to be considered at the same time.

It could be said that except for Edward VII himself, anyone serving as the commander of the land, sea, and air forces would attract criticism.

The problem was that as a king, Edward VII, even if he was a king with real power, was at most in name. It was impossible for him to personally coordinate the joint operations of the three armed forces.

If it was a favorable battle, it would be fine if he could gain political achievements. It was estimated that Edward VII would have jumped out and taken over the command of the three armed forces.

Unfortunately, the war had just begun, and Britannia ushered in its darkest day, which deeply damaged everyone's confidence in winning the war.

In a situation where there was no certainty, the shrewd Edward VII would naturally not appear. Anyway, the daily work was presided over by the cabinet. Now that there was a problem, it was also the cabinet's fault, the kind that could not be shaken off.

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Prime Minister Campbell immediately decided to speed up the construction of the command system. After all, it was better to leave the war to the professionals.

…

Port of Liverpool. When the order from the Government of London arrived, the bombardment from the sky also ended.

Major General Winston, who looked at the telegram, felt his heart crumble. Perhaps it was because he found his conscience, or to shirk responsibility, the news of the air defense warning finally came.

It came a little later than the order from the Government of London to organize resistance on the spot. Apart from greeting all the relatives of the relevant bureaucrats in his heart, Major General Winston could do nothing now.

Their reaction speed was already very fast. According to normal procedures, it would take at least a week to go through the process. If it was a little slower, it could drag on for half a year.

Following procedures was the consistent code of conduct of British civil servants, and they were not subject to any moral or legal criticism.

Although the bombardment was over, the big shots in the Port of Liverpool still did not appear. Perhaps it was because they were too busy with work, or perhaps it was because they were too selfless, the military and political dignitaries all signaled their subordinates to report to Major General Winston.

Major General Winston, who had not yet reacted, became the supreme commander of Liverpool on the surface in a daze.

Not only did he have to command the army, but he also had to restore order in the city and organize people to save themselves … All the work of cleaning up the mess became his job.

Don't think that this was a good thing. If nothing unexpected happened, the people's anger and the first person responsible for the air attack on Liverpool would also be him, the unlucky Major General on duty.

At this point, it was too late to refuse. From the moment the first self-help order was issued, Major General Winston became the scapegoat that everyone chose.

There was no other way. Liverpool was not only a commercial port, but it was also one of the most important military ports in Britannia. As the military officer on duty, Major General Winston himself had an unshirkable responsibility for the air attack.

It was no longer a burden to be in more debt. Anyway, his career was finished, so it was not a big deal to take the blame for everyone.

In essence, everyone was just unlucky. There were so many cities in Britannia that Shinra's air force did not go, but they chose Liverpool. How could anyone explain this?

Fortunately, London was there to accompany them. London, which had a large number of troops, had suffered heavy losses, so it was reasonable for Liverpool, which had a weak military force, to suffer heavy losses.

If they really wanted to pursue responsibility, the first to bear the brunt would be the Government of the United Kingdom. In this context, the final result would most likely be "raised high and gently lowered."

Major General Winston dutifully asked, "Have the damage figures been calculated?"

The officer in charge of summarizing replied, "Right now, this is only a preliminary calculation of the losses of personnel, warships, shipyards, and port buildings. The other losses are still being calculated.

If everything goes well, the statistics will be completed in two days. The specific loss figures are as follows:

The total number of deaths was 1,287, including 49 officers and 757 soldiers, and the total number of injuries was 5,176, including 276 officers and 1,186 soldiers.

Most of the casualties were concentrated in the navy, mainly because warships were the focus of the enemy's attack. Although we had left the port in time, the damage caused by the early attack was still great.

The warships that sank included two cruisers, three destroyers, four torpedo boats, and seven auxiliary warships. More were damaged, including the two dreadnoughts, and more than half of the warships suffered varying degrees of damage.

The shipyards suffered even greater losses. Many of the docks were heavily damaged, and the three dreadnoughts that were under construction in the docks were all destroyed. The damage to various kinds of infrastructure was also uncountable.

Most of the civilian casualties occurred in the shipyards. When the bombing broke out, the shipyards happened to be under construction. Many people did not have time to react before they were buried in the collapsed factories.

… "

Even though he was mentally prepared, Major General Winston still fell silent after hearing the specific loss figures.

The Royal Navy's losses were all comparable to that of a large battle. Although there were only a few warships that sank, there were many warships that were injured!

It took time to repair the warships, especially when the shipyards were seriously damaged. If they wanted to repair it, they would have to go to other areas.

Based on his own professional accomplishments, Major General Winston made a judgment. The Royal Navy fleet that had stopped in Liverpool would need at least half a year to recover.

There was no need to mention the shipyards. The warships could still escape, but they had to stay in place and let the enemy bully them. It would probably take several months just to clean up the ruins.

In contrast, the damage to other infrastructure was not that great. It could be seen that the enemy had long been prepared. They had even chosen the target of attack in advance.

After calming down, Major General Winston said coldly, "Sort out the losses as soon as possible and send them to the Government of London. By the way, ask us if we have an air defense warning system. "

Being the scapegoat was one thing, but he still had to do anything that could lighten his responsibility.

Encountering an enemy air attack and not getting any warning in advance was the best excuse to shirk responsibility.

Even if they had gotten a warning, it would not change the final result. But this did not prevent Major General Winston from bringing it up.

…

After the war, Liverpool was desolate. The damage brought about by the war was far from being able to be summed up by a few cold sets of numbers on paper.

Moreover, the bureaucrats had always had a tradition of artistic processing. The bombing had only ended a few hours ago. How could they accurately calculate all the losses?

In addition to the warships and shipyards that were the focus of attention, the station overpass, platform, and railway tracks were blown to pieces. The ground was full of charred and mutilated corpses.

On the dock, Tom, who had luckily escaped, wiped the nervous sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. He looked up at the red sun shining on the red land. It was so bright that he could not open his eyes.

What the war left behind was blood, loneliness, the destruction of homes, and the pain that could never be made up for.

The workmates who had been chatting just a moment ago were now broken walls and severed limbs all over the ground. Painful moans could be heard from time to time.

Tom did not pay attention to them. It was not that he was unsympathetic, but his ability was limited and he could not help at all.

He had to admit that people were divided into different classes. The big shots were precious. Even if they only had a scratch, there would be a large group of medical staff following them. On the other hand, the lives of the people at the bottom were like grass. Even if they were seriously injured and on the verge of death, no one cared about them.

Don't ask why. Just ask: we have done our best. There are not enough medical resources, and even the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice.

After confirming that it was safe, Tom got up from the ground and looked in the direction of the voice. The person yelling in pain was John, who was just chatting with him.

At this moment, John no longer had his previous elegance. The collapsed goods had smashed heavily on his lower body, and the ground was already a bloody mess.

After a moment of hesitation, Tom retracted his steps and rushed home.

It was not that Tom was cold and heartless. He could not even take care of his own family, so he did not have the capital to meddle in other people's business.

Although John's lower limbs were injured, as long as he was rescued in time and sent to the hospital for treatment, it would not be difficult to save his life.

However, for the dock workers at the bottom, a common cold and fever could make life difficult, not to mention a serious injury.

The expensive medical expenses were enough to crush an ordinary family. John could not afford it, and neither could Tom.

If he really saved John, it might not be a good thing for John's family. Either his family was destroyed, or he witnessed the ugliness of human nature.

For the people at the bottom, it was better to have a quick death when they encountered such a thing.