On the outskirts of Tripoli, North Africa, June 1, 1941
This is a large, desolate desert, as desolate as most places in Tripoli. But today, from early morning until noon, this area has been shrouded in thick smoke and dust, and people are neighing and horses are screaming. , the mechanical roar was so terrifying that if it weren't for the colonial army of the Noodle Country maintaining order in the city, some people would probably think that the British were coming again.
The newly appointed Governor of the Noodle Country and Commander of the North African Army, General Ettore Bastico, had an unnatural smile on his face. The reason was because of the unusually grand military parade being held here, the military parade of the Foreign Division of the Hans North African Army. , the Hans actually recruited a full ten divisions of indigenous divisions under their noses, with a total strength of more than 120,000, including infantry, artillery, armor, and even aviation. A handful of country F equipment, just from In terms of equipment level, it is even more elite than the troops in his hands, especially the tanks and artillery. They are almost crushed, okay?
As for training? It is certainly incomparable to the local troops in his hands, but compared to the majority of the colonial troops in his hands, it is definitely better. If you add the Hans 7th Armored Division and the attached The Air Force, this force can already play with the British, F people, and noodle people at the card table.
Admiral Ettore Bastico discovered very sadly that among the parties on the card table, he seemed to have the least capital. Regardless of how many people he boasted about in the North African Army, in fact he could mobilize more troops. It only costs about 130,000 to 40,000, and most of them are colonial troops with terrible equipment and training. For example, the Ethiopian colonial army is equipped with a lot of Martinis and Mauser 1971s, and machine guns with crank handles. , just ask if you dare to think about it? But even that kind of machine gun was included in the number of technical weapons.
"Lieutenant General, your country has promised to cooperate with our troops to counterattack the Pharaohs. I don't know how long it will take?" Admiral Ettore Bastico asked Rommel next to him with a serious face, because the navy and air force are huge. Victory, the British no longer have the ability to continue launching ground attacks, and are now desperately building their so-called "western barrier" to block their attack.
How can it be? Having already gained overwhelming sea and air superiority, the Romans who naturally want to pursue the victory are looking forward to a military parade in Alexandria. But here comes the problem again. The capitalists in Rome are very happy to carve up the oil interests in North Africa, but they are silent about sending more troops here. In fact, they cannot be entirely blamed. The sea and air war in the Mediterranean has already drained the government's finances. He was on the verge of bankruptcy, so how could he still be able to support him?
But if we don't make good use of the current situation, the British people will suffer heavy losses, but their family is rich. If they can't seize the opportunity, it won't be long before they can recover. Not to mention other places, just one Tianzhu can do it. Continuously provide the British with an inexhaustible supply of troops.
"Your Excellency, it will be ready within this month. I am also waiting for supplies. Parts, ammunition, spare parts, medicines, almost everything is in short supply." Rommel was still only an army lieutenant general, so to Ettore Bass Admiral Tico naturally needs the most basic respect, and what he said is not entirely an excuse. Although he seems to have strong troops now, the 7th Armored Division and the Air Force are not so wealthy, especially the Air Force. These few The frequency of monthly dispatches is too high, and various parts and components are in short supply. Even the aircraft that can fly are mostly in a sick state, and the main structures of many aircraft have suffered from metal fatigue.
And Hans was about to launch a larger-scale offensive. Before that, Rommel really didn't want to cause trouble. Everything had to wait until Eastern Europe started. As for the British? What are you afraid of? As long as the plan to "drain fuel from the bottom of the cauldron" can be implemented, it is not certain whether the Tianzhu troops in North Africa will listen to the British.
There are also people from country F. The navy and air force of country F have obviously taken action, but the army has been coy and reluctant to let the hundreds of thousands of troops in North Africa move. This always makes Rommel feel anxious. Unsure, the old marshal secretly visited North Africa last month, so he couldn't help but think about it.
Rommel had always suggested that the Prime Minister's Office continue to put pressure on the F people, but the higher-ups obviously had other ideas. He probably wanted to drag them together to participate in combat operations in Eastern Europe.
"We can't wait any longer. If the construction of the British 'Western Barrier' is completed, our losses will be much greater." Admiral Ettore Bastico said worriedly. There was no way, the ammunition and ammunition in his hands were The means of delivery are insufficient, and it is very difficult to break through the permanent fortifications of concrete rails poured by the British.
He doesn't have much capital at hand, so he naturally has to be careful. He also wants to rely on the hundreds of thousands of troops in his hand to fight all the way to West Asia. At that time, it is best to directly threaten Tianzhu from there and completely eliminate the possibility of a British counterattack. Of course, This is only the best result, and it certainly cannot be achieved with the few troops he has in hand.
"Your Excellency, some of our 'friends' hope to obtain a certain political status. Do you think we can arrange some colonial positions for them?" Rommel asked, pointing to the tribal leaders riding camels in the distance. He could He gave these natives money, weapons, food, and even precious medicines, but he was unable to give them equal political status. As for the promised British land, it was almost meaningless after all.
"Lieutenant General, this is against the rules." Admiral Ettore Bastico said in a pretense of difficulty. As a governor, arranging some colonial duties is not a problem at all, but he will definitely not do anything that is not beneficial. . As an army general in a noodle country, you still need to be at least reserved.
"Five thousand tons of bald eagle flour, the highest quality, I believe it will make the boys feel at home." Rommel smiled. The air marshal helped the North African Army contact a large number of supplies, the biggest of which was grain. He used Almost all the people who come to buy local indigenous people are this kind of bald eagle flour.
"You have 'Roma' instant noodles in your hand, right?" General Ettore Bastico nodded slightly, agreeing. It was a lot, enough to feed his troops for several months.
"Sir, I have one million bags left in my hand. They are all made of black pepper beef. Do you think that's okay?" Rommel smiled. Five thousand tons of flour have been spent, so what does one million bags of instant noodles mean? The key is He was really tired of eating that stuff.
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