At this time, an alarm came from the French side: a German mechanized division had arrived in Toulon. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The Germans were very good at playing the gradual set, just like they had sent troops to Tunisia before, in Toulon, in order to stabilize the Toulon fleet and prevent them from having too much resistance, the Germans first reached an agreement with the French army, according to this agreement, the German army set up a free zone around the port of Toulon, which was defended by the French army, and the German army did not enter this free zone, and the French army had self-control.

The German officers even said to the French navy: We are here to help the French, you know, the British have occupied Algeria, and we cannot sit idly by and watch you being bullied by the British.

It should be said that this excuse was used very cleverly, because it was exploiting the hatred of the French people against Britain to remove the French navy's vigilance against the Germans.

But the commander of the Toulon fleet, Jean. Admiral de la Bode, however, would not have believed the Germans so easily, and in a telegram to Darlan he said: "I know that this is a precursor to their move, and we are ready to sink ourselves, they will not succeed!" ”

At this time, there was no plan in the Algiers command.

Darlan couldn't help but walk anxiously around his desk.

"General, what are you worried about?" Zhang Chi asked.

In fact, this battle was not very difficult...... It is not difficult to rescue a fleet with air supremacy, the question is only how many ships to rescue, because the ships may have to deal with German bombardment and shore defense artillery.

Darlang couldn't help but stop, and after being stunned for a moment, he replied, "You know! ”

Zhang Chi did know that, like the letter of appointment, Darlan was worried about whether Algiers would become a puppet government of the United States in the future.

This may have nothing to do with the navy, but Darlan, as an admiral, is well aware that the navy must rely on air supremacy to survive, and the air power of the Algiers government is not worth mentioning.

In this case, it is perhaps worse to have a navy than not to have one, because after having a navy...... Britain and the United States may put forward one condition after another to Algiers on the grounds of "ensuring the security of the Algiers navy."

To put it simply, it means that there is a handle in the hands of others.

So Darlan was still hesitating, he was weighing whether he would lose more political capital by saving the Toulon fleet.

"If it were you, what would you do?" Darlang asked.

"Of course I'll choose to get them out!" Zhang Chi replied: "As for the political aspects, believe me, if the British and Americans knew that you would rather let the fleet be sunk by the Germans than give in, they would not ask you again!" ”

Darlan was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

Both the British and the Americans are very practical, and if they are convinced that they will not get anything out of it, then they will choose to give up, so the key is whether Darlan can hold the line when dealing with them.

Facts also proved that Zhang Chi was right, and Darlan guessed accurately, and soon because some issues were not discussed, the United States even withdrew fighters from Algiers to threaten it.

But Darlan remained unmoved, even when the port and fleet were bombed by the Germans and Italians.

He told the Americans: "I'll assume they've sunk in the port of Toulon, and now at least the Germans have to expend some fuel and bombs to sink them!" ”

Later, Murphy, the U.S. ambassador to French Algeria, offered Darlan the following price: "I was particularly impressed by the fact that Darlan had successfully defended France's national interests. Although he was in a weak position to negotiate with two of the most powerful countries in the world at the time. But no negotiator could get the Allies to make more concessions for the benefit of France, except for Darlan. ”

So Darlang no longer hesitated, and immediately sent the word "crocodile" to the American side.

"Crocodile" was the code name for the operation, and it also represented the fact that the French fleet, which had always remained neutral, was about to be launched again as a beast of prey like a long-dormant crocodile.

The Americans breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they received this code name, and before that they had also received the news that the German army had entered the vicinity of the port of Toulon, they were more worried that Darlan would not be able to figure out how to sink the French fleet at the last moment...... This will undoubtedly cost the Allies a new force in vain.

Then the order was quickly communicated, and dozens of bombers took off under the cover of the fighters.

Almost at the same time, American spies also spread a fake message to the Germans...... The American side, fearing that the Germans would capture the Toulon fleet, decided to bomb the port of Toulon and sink the Toulon fleet to the bottom of the sea.

The Germans were convinced of this, partly because something similar had happened before...... Britain pursued the French fleet fiercely.

On the other hand, it was because the Germans had already surrounded the port of Toulon at this time, and the Germans believed that the British and American sides had a sense of crisis and urgency, so they decided to launch an air attack at a time when the command of the Toulon fleet was still unclear.

Even the Germans immediately told the commander of the Toulon fleet about this.

Of course, the commander of the Toulon fleet Derabard knew the inside story, but he still pretended to be surprised and said: "The Americans are going to bomb my fleet?!" ”

"Yes!" Major General Hans of the German army said anxiously: "And we have reason to believe that their bombers are already on their way here!" ”

"So what are we going to do?" Drabard said anxiously, "My fleet ...... They are so dense that there will be big casualties if they are bombed! ”

"I suggest you evacuate immediately!" Major General Hans's tone sounded even more anxious than Derabeard's: "And get your soldiers in position and prepare for air defense!" I'll ask for Air Force support! ”

"Okay, I'll get ready right away!" Drabard replied.

As a result, the French Navy openly organized the crews to board the ships and sailed the warships out of the harbor one by one under the noses of the Germans......

Of course, they did not send all the warships, such as submarines, transport ships and oil tankers, which would not be useful in air defense operations.

More than an hour later, the US bombers flew over Toulon, and the piercing air defense sirens soon sounded.

Rear Admiral Hans stood on the roof of the building with a telescope and looked out to sea, wanting to see how the French Navy fought against the American planes.

But......

He saw the American warplanes whizzing over the French ship group, not a single dive, let alone a bomb, the French fleet did open fire, but the target of the shells was the coastal defense guns controlled by the Germans.

"Damn it!" Major General Hans couldn't help but scold: "We have been deceived by these despicable Frenchmen!" ”