Chapter 558 The Battle Curtain of the Afrika Korps opens

"The world has begun to fall into madness and chaos, and time is not waiting for me!" Meng Xiang looked at the information submitted by Rat Er in his hand, and couldn't help but sigh that the world war was getting closer and closer

By the time the super-battleships on the ocean began to open up a competition, the scale of the flesh and blood battlefield on land had begun to grow in size. When the Italians lost in Africa, the German army began to land in Africa.

"The flames of war have really spread!" Fan Chong also sighed, this is where he admires Meng Xiang, and as a result, Meng Xiang had already roughly predicted all this very early.

"Although the Italians are in a difficult domestic economy and have poor logistics and equipment, the performance of this battlefield is also too poor, especially the willpower is too low!" After Fan Chong saw the information that the Italians were retreating step by step, he understood the meaning of the noodles that Meng Xiang said, and the Italian army was really a little too disappointing. Fan Chong bet that some of the Italians' statements at this time were not even comparable to the German armourers of the Central Army, let alone the vanguard army.

The Italians did not fight, the British triumphed all the way, invaded Libya, the Italian 10th Army was annihilated, 10 divisions were defeated, and 130,000 people were captured, seeing that Libya was about to fall into the hands of the British, and at this time East Africa also began to suffer from the British counterattack, the Mediterranean fleet also suffered a fatal impact, Mussolini could only acquiesce in the arrival of the Germans, promising direct assistance from the Germans.

Maybe it was Meng Xiang's subtle reminder effect, or maybe the Germans went more smoothly in the battle in Europe, this time Rommel came to North Africa not only ahead of schedule, but also brought a lot more troops.

Although the Germans had already begun to plan an attack on Soviet Russia, Hitler, aware of the importance of the Suez Canal to the British, still gave five divisions to the Afrika Korps. In the original history, Rommel only took a small number of the 15th Panzer Division and the 5th Light Division at the beginning, but this time there were 2 more motorized divisions and one more armored division. The 5th Panzer Division, which was adapted from the 21st Light Division, was unveiled in advance, and the 5th Light Division was still preserved.

The reason why Lao Xi sent so many is because he did see that the Suez Canal was a dead place for the British, and after occupying the Suez Canal, he could not only go to the Middle East to usurp the oil of Iran, Iraq and other places, but also go north from Iran to usurp the Caucasus oil fields of Soviet Russia, and even further cross the Middle East to India to pick up the British crown.

And the logistics problems of the German army, which he had been worried about before, were also largely solved by copycat companies. Shanzhai companies promise to deliver goods to their homes, solve the problems of weapons and ammunition, and even the problem of oil, and the copycat companies can also help solve the problem, and strategic materials such as food, tea, and tobacco can also help with the delivery of them.

The old man was overjoyed.

The reason why the Germans did not immediately instigate a war against Soviet Russia was because of the incompleteness of strategic materials. Ammunition and fuel need to be accumulated, and Lao Xi promised to send more personnel to North Africa this time, because the weapons and ammunition of these people can be directly provided by copycat companies.

As for the copycat company's statement that the price of military supplies might be raised, he selectively ignored it. During the war, the price of any war materials is rising, and it is good to be able to grab them. For example, oil, although the Germans swept half of Europe, they were able to obtain oil from France and other places, and for the time being, they had abundant oil savings. Otherwise, it was just a matter of fuel, and the German tanks would have stopped.

Even the troops sent to North Africa, at first, the Germans took into account the logistical difficulties, and did not make a final decision until the copycat company made a promise of support.

As for the question of wealth, Lao Xi did not think about it at all. In times of war, more strategic goods are needed, and those so-called riches can be claimed everywhere as long as the enemy is defeated. And the form of payment of the copycat company is also very simple, sometimes through the regulations of the tripartite cooperation of the vanguard army, the Germans only need to pay some machinery and technology, sometimes the copycat company only needs some German trophies, and even gold, silver and foreign exchange are not needed.

"I think our cooperation with Shanzhai is the wisest decision!" Lieutenant Colonel Siegfeld von Westphal, who was appointed Chief of Operations for the Afrika Korps, took a cup of fragrant coffee and tasted it gently, looking at the vastness of the North African desert under the sunset in the distance, and said comfortably. When the 5th Light Division, which was the vanguard of the Germans, had just arrived in Leba, Libya, there were already a large amount of military supplies waiting for them, and even the tropical military uniforms that they still lacked were provided.

Westphar was not new, he had already arrived in North Africa and watched the Italians retreat step by step. After the British defeated the Italian navy, they had already controlled most of the Mediterranean, which meant cutting off the supply lines for weapons and ammunition. After being stuck in the supply line by the British, the transportation of equipment and supplies, including those of daily necessities, was simply a nightmare. It is undoubtedly a kind of happiness to be able to enjoy a cup of fragrant coffee and quietly watch the sunset every day.

On the battlefields of North Africa, it is not only the opponent in the other camp that any army needs to defeat, but also the pervasive and despicable environment.

"This damn place!" The Chief of Intelligence, Major Friedrich von Melinzin, apparently knew more about the premises and apparently agreed with Westphal's words, "Thankfully, we have a good partner, not the lazy, incompetent Italians." ”

It should be fair to say that in history, although the Italians had some noodles in combat effectiveness, half of the credit for the Germans' achievements in North Africa should be credited to the Italians for their supplies.

At this time, the threat of logistics has a greater impact on the operation. In battle, the factor of logistics must be considered over the factor of combat, even without the enemy's guns, sandstorms, high temperatures, thirst, and disease can make an army fall halfway.

The Afrika Korps of the Germans was still under the banner of the Italians, under the Italian First Army, under the command of the Italian Commander-in-Chief in Libya, General Gary B. But Rommel saw the Italians above as an arrangement from the outset. As soon as he arrived in North Africa, he hurriedly reported to Gary Bdi's place for a walkaround, and then ran to see the tanks prepared for them by the copycat company.

"That's 150 tanks No. 3 and 100 tanks No. 4, and 10,000 tons of gasoline! Follow-up tanks will be delivered inexhaustibly. Room 51 said unhurriedly.

51 had spent the most time doing business with the Germans, but his number had changed by this time. As the number of spies gradually increased, the previous style of direct Arabic numerals was no longer suitable for the increasingly large espionage system. In order to make it easier to remember the growing number of unsung heroes, Meng Xiang renumbered them again, arranging them according to their circumstances and tasks.

In the numbering of a group of sub-Tokuma, Dayma, Meima, Yingma, etc., Room 51 is numbered as Mountain No. 3 because it is under the command of Shanzhai Company.

Of course, in the brain, their original numbers are still preserved.

Seeing that Rommel was just looking at the tanks carefully, Sanma 3 continued: "These are modified to adapt to the desert environment. ”

Equipped with a 50 mm tank, the No. 3 tank was more powerful than the British light tank, and more agile than the British heavy tank, which had proven its success in the original history, and Meng Xiang did not change it too much, only offering a combat modification in the tropical desert.

As long as there is oil, these are enough for the Germans to toss. The biggest dilemma for the German Afrika Korps in later generations was the fuel, not the embarrassment of tanks 3 and 4. Even if Meng Xiang matched the Germans with the Tiger King, it is doubtful how useful it would be in the desert area. In fact, the nimble No. 3 tank plus the more powerful No. 4 tank, at least for now, had an overwhelming advantage over the British.

Rommel looked at it for a long time, nodded his head, and looked at the yellow clouds rolled up by the wind and sand in the distance. After a long time, he said: "Order down, set up a defensive front in the eastern district, and make a plan for the attack!" ”

"Now?" Lieutenant General Alfred Goss, the chief adviser of the Afrika Korps, was a little suspicious, and as soon as the Germans arrived, they immediately began to attack, sometimes too early.

Zhao Yi, who followed Rommel's side, nodded secretly, his intelligence not only came from the Germans, but also from the self-reliance intelligence network of the vanguard army. At least he knew that the British seemed to be victorious, but because of the obvious lack of military strength, they had opened up a big gap. If you take advantage of this opportunity and use the mechanized army to fight a quick penetration, you will definitely catch the British by surprise.

"I think it's better to move this defense to the west!" General Gary said kindly. The Italians did not control the hastily planted front to be able to hold off the onslaught of the British.

"I choose the East!" Rommel took a hard line. Although the Afrika Korps was a combat unit of the Italian Legion, Rommel could appeal directly to Berlin if he was satisfied with the army's orders. With this sword, Rommel naturally needed to maintain the pride of the Germans. ro。 càizi9e is the fastest update