This is one of the reasons why Palermo has not been attacked by the enemy since it was occupied by Zhang Chi. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

In fact, there were two divisions of Italian troops about ten kilometers from Palermo, but they turned a blind eye to the loss of Palermo...... Some Italian officers even ordered Italian soldiers not to shoot at the Allies.

From this, we can also see the aspirations of the Italian people.

So, when the 3rd Regiment outside the city marched into the city at dawn, the road was crowded with Italians waving flags and chanting "Down with Mussolini!" Long live the French! slogan...... This slogan made Zhang Chi feel a little surprised and ironic.

The surprise was because he did not expect that the Italian people would welcome them as liberators.

The irony is that there are not many French in this team at all.

Then the people threw a lot of flowers on the road where the Zoaf soldiers passed, just as the ancient Romans welcomed the triumphant return of the Roman soldiers, and brought out a lot of lemons and watermelons...... Sicily is rich in these fruits.

If Mussolini had seen this scene, he would have vomited blood in anger.

Because Mussolini's dream was to get such an honor, that is, to revive the glory of the Roman Empire and rebuild the so-called "new Roman Empire", but now the Italian people use this honor to welcome Italy's enemies, those "invaders" who Mussolini saw as enemies.

Due to the cooperation of the Italian people and the captives, Zhang Chi's preparations in Palermo went smoothly.

The main work was to build a complete defense system in the city, and the people consciously gave up their houses for the Zoaf soldiers to build fortifications and fortresses...... The Italians were smart, because they knew that if they didn't "realize", the next step would be to use coercion by the Zoaf soldiers.

The war did not take too much care of the feelings of the people, especially since Italy was still an enemy of the Allies, and it was not an exaggeration that the Zoaf soldiers would do some coercive measures in Palermo.

This was followed by the laying of mines outside the city...... The warehouses in Palermo contain a large number of unopened mines, which were originally used for the defense of the German and Italian armies, but are now being used in Palermo.

Soon from the city of Palermo, it stretched to ten miles away, whether it was a major road or a small road, mines were heavily planted, and explosives were even planted in some dangerous places, just waiting for the Germans to come with a "boom" sound......

So this journey was enough for the Germans to toss for a while.

A considerable part of this work was even done by Italian prisoners of war.

The commander of the Italian army, Marshal Azo, said to Zhang Chi: "We are willing to do this, because the Germans always lay mines behind us, and now it is time for them to taste it!" ”

"The Germans are laying mines behind you?" Zhang Chi was puzzled by this.

"Yes!" Marshal Azo replied: "In order not to let our troops escape, it is also a kind of intimidation!" ”

"Oh!" Zhang Chi couldn't help but suddenly realize.

At this time, Zhang Chi was somewhat sympathetic to those Germans...... The Germans certainly didn't want to do this, but the Italians were too easy to break down and run away, and if they didn't, they were afraid that there would be no one to fight at the front line!

"General!" Cooky looked at the map worriedly and said, "Although we have made these preparations, I don't think this will be enough to stop the Germans!" ”

"Of course!" Zhang Chi replied.

Kukyi was right, those were the two elite divisions of the German army, and if they could be stopped by just laying mines and fighting in the streets, then the Germans would not be able to cross Europe and non-battlefields.

"Then ......" Cook was a little incomprehensible.

It's not that Cook is afraid of death, but he looks at Zhang Chi's expression, which doesn't look like he wants to fight to the death with the Germans, and he, like Patton, really can't think of any other choice or "way to live", so he is puzzled by Zhang Chi.

"What we need to do is overcome the German mentality, understand?"

"Psychological?" Cook looked more and more confused.

"Yes, it's psychological!" Zhang Chi nodded, then pointed to the map and said, "The Germans reinforced two divisions to build a defensive line around Messina, the purpose is to ensure that there is a port to retreat, right?" ”

"Of course!" Cook nodded.

"And then on that basis...... "they just thought about whether they could recover Palermo, but they actually didn't have much hope of recovering Palermo, right?" ”

"Yes!" "Because," agreed Kukyi, "as a matter of fact, they had little hope of keeping up with the Germans' two divisions all the way behind...... But the Americans have now disengaged from the Germans, the situation has changed, and the Germans now have a good chance of recovering Palermo! ”

"We know why!" Zhang Chi smiled: "From our standpoint, we know very well that the reason why the American army did not do this was because it was obstructed by the British. But the Germans don't know why, and even the Americans don't know why......"

It is true that American GIs do not know why, because it is a military secret. So there are many American officers who are baffled by this order.

"Oh!" Hearing this, Kukyi somewhat understood what Zhang Chi meant: "So, the Germans will guess whether this is a trap set for them by the Allies?" ”

"Yes!" Zhang Chi nodded: "So, these two elite divisions in Germany ...... They may seem to be powerful, but they are in fact frightened birds, and at the slightest hint of wind and grass they will abandon Palermo and turn in the direction of the port of Messina. Because that is the place where they will be able to ensure that their withdrawal from Sicily will not be besieged and annihilated! ”

Zhang Chi was right, at this time, Kesselring was puzzled by the behavior of the American army not chasing behind the German army...... This is an act against military common sense, and isn't the US military giving up Palermo to the German army in doing so?

But people are like that sometimes, and the easier things are to go, the more they can't believe that they are true, and this is the case with Kesselring, who thinks over and over again, "Why are the Allies doing this?" What are their intentions? What kind of danger was there likely to be for the German army? ”

Therefore, the mechanized troops of the German army actually rushed to the outskirts of Palermo in only one day, but they did not dare to attack Palermo easily.

In the end, Zhang Chi concluded: "What we want is to give this 'frightened bird' a little 'wind and grass'!" ”

"Wind and grass?" Cook looked at Zhang Chi in confusion.

He did not understand what kind of "wind and grass" could scare the Germans away, but he did...... This Chinese major general must have a way to do it.