"Of course!" Montgomery replied: "Of course I know that the port of Messina is the most fearful of the Germans, but ...... What does this have to do with the Eighth Army? ”

Montgomery apparently didn't understand what Zhang Chi meant. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

"There's a saying that 'care is chaos'!" Zhang Chi explained: "Because they are most worried about Messina, so Messina is also their soft threat!" ”

"Uh-huh!" Montgomery seemed to understand a little: "Major General, what do you mean...... Attacking Messina to force the Germans to come back with reinforcements? But the Germans have built a defensive line around Mount Etna and surrounded the port of Messina, and we can't find a breakthrough! ”

"I didn't say attacking from land!" Zhang Chi said.

Montgomery's mouth opened wide when he heard this, and he finally understood what Zhang Chi meant, this is indeed a good way, two German divisions surrounded by Etna to protect the port of Messina, but the sea is empty...... As soon as the Allies were ready to attack or even land on the port of Messina from the sea, the Germans were in trouble.

Montgomery held the telegram and froze in place, and after a long time he let out a long sigh.

The staff officer next to him looked at Montgomery's expression and thought that the matter had not been resolved, so they all looked at each other and lost their minds.

What the staff officers didn't know was that Montgomery's sigh was not caused by not solving the problem, in fact, Montgomery believed that Zhang Chi's method could completely solve the problem.

The reason why Montgomery sighed was that he felt that there was always a gap between himself and Zhang Chi...... In fact, Montgomery knew in his heart that there was not only a gap between them, but also a big gap.

At this time, Montgomery hoped that the Chinese would be better if it had never been in his sight, even if the British army would have lost the battle because of it...... Proud and conceited and fond of chasing fame and fortune, Montgomery was unwilling to submit himself to others, especially in the commanding wisdom that Montgomery was proud of.

In fact, objectively speaking, Montgomery did not have much command wisdom, and if you want to say that Montgomery has the credit in history, it is that his conservative tactics at a glance made the Commonwealth army know what they should do.

Such tactics and strategies could not have won against Rommel in the first place, and the reason why Rommel lost in the end ...... A large part of the reason is that the island of Malta has blocked the Afrika Korps lines of communication, resulting in a situation where "it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice". On the other hand, Montgomery received a large amount of American aid, including 300 "Sherman" tanks.

With a huge gap in strength and supplies, it would be strange for the British not to win.

But outsiders who don't know the inside story don't think about these gaps, they only know that others were beaten to the ground by Rommel on the African battlefield, and Montgomery went to Africa for only a few months and turned defeat into victory, is this not Montgomery's credit or whose credit?!

This is especially true for the British people and the government...... Desperate to unearth a hero to boost morale and convince people that the war was on its way for the better, Montgomery became a role model.

But now, Zhang Chi is challenging Montgomery's authority, and this may happen in the future, so of course Montgomery will not be better.

Having said that, Montgomery knew what was most important at the moment, and immediately asked his staff to draw up a plan, a plan to "attack" the port of Messina.

Montgomery's expression was embarrassed when he drew up this plan, because although he didn't say it, he knew in his heart that the plan actually came from Zhang Chi's hands, and his staff officers also knew about it.

The plan was not complicated, Montgomery ordered the American troops not to go east to rescue the British troops, because it was completely too late to do so, and when the American troops arrived, they were afraid that all they could get was the corpses of the British soldiers.

The order was to continue to advance north as originally planned, targeting the port of Palermo.

On the other hand, Montgomery ordered the 1st Division of the Zoaf Corps, also led by Zhang Chi, to rebuild the airport and port in Palermo...... The job was not difficult, as the airport and port of Palermo fell almost intact into the hands of Zhang Chi, who even kept most of the staff in their posts.

The reason for this was first of all because the Italians were so cooperative, they did not look like prisoners, but more like innocent people liberated by the Allies who had been "oppressed by fascism". As a result, their work attitude and motivation are even better than before.

Secondly, Zhang Chi will not be able to find so many staff to replace them for a while, and Zhang Chi needs ports and airports to maintain good operating conditions.

When everything was in order, U.S. warplanes, transport planes, and warships sailed to Palermo in droves, and the British did the same in the port of Siracutz...... A large number of troops, transport planes and warships were assembled.

This was still difficult for the British army, because their main force was besieged in Catania, so they did not have so many forces to build momentum, so Montgomery even used reserves and even guards.

These actions of the Allies soon reached the German command...... After all, Sicily was the territory of the German and Italian armies not long ago, and every move of the Allies could not escape the ears and eyes of the German and Italian armies.

Kesselring sighed at the map with small flags representing the positions of our troops and said, "Gentlemen, I think we have to retreat!" ”

This statement quickly aroused the opposition of General Ludwig.

This was not at all surprising to Kesselring, for Ludwig was a staunch supporter of the Führer, and like the great Führer, he believed that with enough will he could overcome all odds, so he always hoped to defeat the Allies in Sicily.

"Marshal, we can't retreat at this time!" Ludwig said: "The situation is now moving in our favor, isn't it? Our army is encircling the British Eighth Army, and the British Eighth Army has suffered heavy casualties for a few more days...... We can defeat them. And once the British Eighth Army is defeated by us, Syracutz will not be a problem, and the American army will be alone, and we will still stand firmly on Sicily! ”

Kesselring waited quietly for General Ludwig to finish, and then asked rhetorically: "Don't you see?" The British and Americans are preparing a two-sided attack on the port of Messina? I mean, the port of Messina is likely to face an attack from the sea and from the air, including enemy troops landing from the sea and parachuting! ”