On June 5, 1940, the final phase of the Battle of France began. This time, Germany did not execute any breathtaking flanking maneuvers. France had deployed 850,000 troops along the Somme and Aisne rivers to form the Weygand Line, stretching approximately 300 miles from east to west, while leaving 17 divisions to guard the Maginot Line.

During World War I, France’s army of millions had established a defensive line in roughly the same area. Now, with the addition of the Maginot Line—which the German army had consistently failed to breach—the defensive posture was far superior to that of the Great War.

However, this time France was facing entirely new military concepts and equipment. Starting June 5, 4,000 German fighters crossed the Weygand Line, launching sustained attacks on the defensive positions and the deep rear. Simultaneously, German Army Groups A and B began their river crossing offensives.

Even at this stage, the French army demonstrated incomparably tenacious resolve. On June 5, facing a fierce assault by nearly 2,000 tanks, French defenders skillfully used concentrated artillery fire to destroy over 100 German tanks.

But the German objective was to force the French artillery positions to reveal themselves. Once discovered, the overwhelming German air force skillfully executed their tactical missions, unleashing ferocious bombardments on the exposed batteries.

At this point, only fewer than 800 French fighters and 200 Chinese Volunteer fighters remained in the sky to protect these artillery positions.

The German military understood clearly that compared to the million French troops on the ground, the combined French and Chinese air force of under 1,000 planes was the final obstacle preventing a German victory. As long as these air forces existed, Germany could not destroy French artillery and armored units at will. Once France's last air power was annihilated, the ground forces would be nothing more than a meal on a plate.

Therefore, the moment French or Chinese fighters were spotted, the mass of German fighters already airborne would swarm like vultures, launching fierce attacks with two-to-one or even three-to-one numerical superiority.

In the past 23 days, the Chinese Volunteer Air Force had lost only 100 fighters. But from June 5 to June 7, they lost another 100 planes in just two days. Twenty-seven pilots were killed in action, and 73 parachuted to safety. Of the 800 French planes, nearly 500 were shot down in those two days, while the Germans lost fewer than 300 fighters.

France's air power was exhausted, while Germany's aerial advantage grew rapidly. On June 8, French frontline artillery suffered massive losses, and German armored units broke through the defensive lines. Immediately, the French 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions, along with the replenished 4th Armored Division, launched a counterattack against the German panzers. Within hours, all three French armored divisions were completely annihilated under intense German aerial bombardment.

German armored units then began to race across the flat French countryside, initiating the rapid advance later mockingly referred to by future generations as the "Tour de France."

Senior Colonel Feng Chengzhi, commander of the Volunteer Air Force, received a stern order from the Chinese European Command: "Your unit is forbidden from engaging in combat again. Transfer immediately to Britain."

At the European Command aboard the Sino-Japanese Joint Carrier Formation, the new commander, Vice Admiral Li Haotian, waited anxiously for Colonel Feng's reply. The Chinese Volunteer Air Force originally had 320 pilots. Now, 81 had been killed and 33 seriously wounded. The remaining 216 pilots each had over 60 sorties and had participated in an average of over 100 aerial battles. Almost every pilot had shot down a German fighter, and five aces had emerged among them.

By World War I standards, shooting down five enemy aircraft qualified one as an ace. These 320 pilots were already the elite of the Chinese Air Force, and those who had survived such intense air combat were now its most precious resource. No matter how much combat training was conducted domestically, it still fell far short of actual warfare. Since France was beyond saving, these battle-hardened elites had to return to disseminate their combat experience throughout the Chinese Air Force. Even before their return, several Chinese aviation academies had already sent telegrams demanding personnel. The five ace pilots, in particular, were the core targets of this competition.

Yet the Military Commission had ordered the pilots to transfer to Britain, a decision Vice Admiral Li Haotian found difficult to understand. Of course, the immediate problem was whether the red-eyed Colonel Feng Chengzhi would accept the order and abandon the French airmen with whom he had forged bonds of comradeship. Chinese people valued loyalty and sentiment; if Feng and his young pilots couldn't bear to leave and insisted on fighting until France surrendered, there really would be no way to stop them.

The lack of a reply caused growing anxiety at the European Command. By June 10, the French government announced its evacuation from Paris. Finally, the Chinese Volunteers sent a message: "Preparations for transfer to Britain are complete."

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately contacted the UK, and the British Ministry of Defence expressed its welcome. At 5:00 PM on June 10, the Royal Air Force met the transferring Chinese air units over the English Channel and escorted them to land at airfields near London.

Upon landing, the Chinese Volunteers were immediately welcomed by British officials, including the Chinese Ambassador to the UK. The Chinese Embassy promptly collected the 33 pilots and 25 wounded personnel on their list. These 33 pilots alone had shot down a combined total of 102 German aircraft of various types. Eight of the 33 seriously wounded were too injured to fly and remained under the protection of Chinese Embassy staff in France, traveling south to hospitals in Marseille. The remaining 25 would receive treatment in Britain and return to China once their condition improved.

Accompanying the Chinese Air Force were a number of French officers. The next afternoon, Senior Colonel Feng Chengzhi brought a French general to the Chinese Embassy. Ambassador Li Lei personally met with them. Feng introduced him: "Ambassador, this is General Charles de Gaulle, commander of the French 4th Armored Division."

Li Lei immediately stepped forward. "I have heard of you, General de Gaulle. You are a pioneer of French armored warfare."

De Gaulle was in low spirits. Facing the ambassador's praise, he shook his head. "That military research was only completed with the support of Marshal Pétain."

Li Lei invited them to sit. Outside, rolling thunder was followed moments later by the sound of pouring rain. The electric lights in the reception room were already on, brightly illuminating the space. After tea was served, Li Lei asked, "General, do you believe France will continue to fight?"

The question was rhetorical. De Gaulle was a staunch advocate of resistance; if the French government intended to fight to the end, he would be in France preparing for war, not in Britain. But De Gaulle was in no mood to parse diplomatic rhetoric and missed Li Lei's subtle implication. He lifted his teacup, then set it down again, offering no answer.

Feng Chengzhi broke the silence. "Before I led the squadron away, the mood within the French army was already leaning toward surrender. I heard from some French comrades that Marshal Pétain intends to choose peace."

Hearing Feng mention Pétain, De Gaulle stood up abruptly, saying unhappily, "I do not believe Marshal Pétain would do such a thing."

Li Lei watched De Gaulle's display of impotent anger, born of a guilty conscience, and sipped his tea slowly. The Foreign Ministry had given him new instructions yesterday: "France is likely to surrender. After the announcement, seek out reputable figures in the French military willing to continue resistance."

Although De Gaulle was the commander of the 4th Armored Division and had fought bravely, he was only a brigadier general, promoted just before the war. If De Gaulle had any claim to fame, it was his 1936 pamphlet, *Towards a Professional Army*, written when he was a colonel. It argued for the creation of ten independent armored divisions and a fully professional standing army to resist the German threat.

The French cabinet had been in chaos at the time, and the political world was extremely wary of military dictatorship. Seeing a mere colonel preaching the "German threat" to justify expanding a professional army enraged them. The upper echelons knew De Gaulle was merely the frontman for World War I veterans like Pétain. Since they couldn't touch Pétain, they made an example of De Gaulle. He was severely criticized in parliament, with some even demanding he be stripped of his commission for interfering in politics.

French politics had been messy for so long that this incident didn't make De Gaulle a household name. With the French defeat in the current war, a defeated general had no platform to speak of bravery. To Li Lei, De Gaulle was simply one option.

As the saying goes, it never rains but it pours. The next piece of news delivered a fresh shock to the already fragile Anglo-French relationship. The British government demanded France fight to the end, while the French government demanded British aid. Prime Minister Churchill did not mention aid but instead offered a suggestion: "If Britain and France form a federal union, then France's affairs become Britain's affairs. Only then can Britain fully support France and continue the war."

Ambassador Li Lei couldn't quite grasp the circuitry of Churchill's brain. If viewed as sarcasm, the proposal scored full marks. But from a geopolitical realist perspective, Churchill had delivered a severe insult to France, effectively slamming the door on any continued cooperation.

The day after Churchill's diplomatic response, the Sino-Japanese Joint Fleet began transporting large numbers of Chinese and French civilians south. Although the fleet hadn't started its return voyage, this movement signaled that the Chinese fleet perceived a heightened threat. If France surrendered, Germany would likely use airfields in southern France to attack the Chinese carrier group. And now, the threats to the Joint Fleet came not only from France and the United States—even Britain was becoming unreliable.

Had the French government not evacuated Paris, causing indecisive French experts to finally resolve to go to China—forcing the Chinese fleet to wait in the south to pick them up—the Joint Fleet would likely have already begun its return.

In Beijing, the British Ambassador to China, acting as a special representative, issued a request to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "His Majesty's Government hopes China will dispatch volunteer forces to resist German aggression alongside Britain."

Hearing this, Foreign Minister Li Shiguang couldn't help the corners of his mouth twitching upward. But as a veteran diplomat, he immediately controlled his expression, keeping his face calm. Still, seeing the damn British finally bow their heads to China gave him a secret thrill.

Even in defeat during the Anglo-Chinese War, Britain hadn't truly bowed. Losing colonies was a minor issue for them; the greatest humiliation there had been the loss of their American colony. But now, asking China to send troops to protect Britain itself—that was a true bowing of the head.

After seeing off the British ambassador, Li Shiguang immediately reported to He Rui. He Rui appeared perfectly calm, showing no sign of making an immediate decision. Li Shiguang asked, "Chairman, are you waiting for France to surrender?"

At the British Foreign Office, the Foreign Secretary was assessing the world's reaction. The defeat had shaken Britain to its core, so much so that Churchill frankly stated in a speech, "The situation has become so dire that the government must use language as a tool to assure the British people that His Majesty's Government has the ability to protect them. We face the possibility of full-scale invasion. We shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!"

Churchill's speech inspired the British people. In the current world, Britain seemed to have no allies. Germany hadn't stopped at Western Europe; Nazi forces had also invaded Northern Europe. Denmark and Norway had surrendered, establishing pro-German governments. Sweden, while neutral, was effectively under German control.

Britain had a reasonably rational view of its global image. During its era of global hegemony, it had fought wars with almost every country on earth. It had failed to build an international organization centered on itself. Now, among the Great Powers, the United States hoped for the end of British hegemony, as did the Soviet Union.

As for the Chinese leader He Rui, he had foreseen the war during the Munich Conference two years ago and had tried his utmost to prevent the Munich Agreement. How could a leader with such far-reaching vision not covet Britain's vast colonies?

Apart from itself, Britain could count on no one. Let alone distant Great Powers, even neighboring Ireland was currently in a state of jubilation. Britain's pain was the source of Ireland's joy. British intelligence knew Nazi Germany had promised that if Ireland attacked Northern Ireland during a German invasion of Britain, a victorious Germany would return the region to Ireland, unifying the island.

Prime Minister Churchill had always been a war hawk, advocating war to maintain Britain's status. But facing this situation, there was a widespread expectation within the government for a dignified peace with Germany. Hitler continued to signal goodwill, indicating Germany had no desire to topple Britain's colonial empire or naval hegemony, seeking only dominance on the European continent.

The peace faction held significant influence in the government, and the British public had little desire to continue fighting. France wasn't the only nation to lose a generation in World War I; Britain had also suffered over a million casualties. Anti-war sentiment had soared when Britain failed to win the Anglo-Chinese War despite maintaining a million troops in India, leading to a swift end to that conflict.

Synthesizing these factors, the British Foreign Office concluded: "Requesting Chinese volunteer forces to fight in Britain is highly advantageous. Cooperating against the Nazis would strengthen Sino-British relations. It would also provide Britain with more leverage in any potential peace negotiations with Germany.

"Britain's most important diplomatic task now is to suggest Germany attack the Soviet Union. Once the Soviet-German War breaks out, Britain will be freed from its isolation.

"Although the Chinese government cannot actively declare war on Germany, given China's relations with France and the Soviet Union, once a Soviet-German war begins, China is very likely to choose to declare war on Germany. Germany lacks the strength to simultaneously fight an anti-fascist coalition of Britain, the Soviet Union, and China.

"Looking at US policy, once an anti-fascist alliance of Britain, the Soviet Union, and China is realized, the United States will inevitably be forced to join. Forced into the camp, the US would be unable to blackmail Britain.

"Therefore, the first step is to win over China."

On June 17, the Pétain government announced that France would cease fighting on June 18 and seek a peaceful resolution. The German government immediately responded, halting its offensive and preparing for negotiations.

On June 18, with Churchill's approval, De Gaulle broadcast an appeal for resistance via the BBC. Newspapers reprinted it the next day, and announcers read it again.

That night, De Gaulle was filled with mixed emotions. He had once revered Marshal Pétain, who had mentored and promoted him. This made it all the harder to accept Pétain leading France into surrender. Moreover, by declaring resistance from Britain, De Gaulle knew that in the eyes of the French people, he was essentially committing treason.

De Gaulle could only numb his nerves with alcohol, quickly finishing most of a bottle of whiskey. Just then, his doorbell rang. De Gaulle stood up unsteadily and went to the door. A thought crossed his mind: if it were an assassin, what would he do?

Before he could decide how to deal with an assassin, he opened the door. The London sky hadn't been clear for the last 200 years. In the rainy night, De Gaulle saw Chinese Ambassador Li Lei standing there. He froze.

Li Lei spoke with a serious expression: "General, I come on behalf of the Chinese government to tell you one thing. If the Pétain government surrenders, and you are willing to lead the French people to continue fighting the Nazis and seek the true liberation of France, the Chinese government will firmly support your cause."