Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 2149 Operation Ballista
Southern Africa doesn't bother to hedge its bets.

France and Belgium are betting on both sides because they are unable to dominate the direction of the war, so they can only lie flat and let it go. Even if they become victorious countries in the end, the gains will be limited.

Roque hoped that Southern Africa would replace Britain and France and formulate the post-war international order, so Roque would firmly choose allies and would rather not make money from the Germans.

Doesn't Winston know that the United States has both sides?

Don't the British hate the hedging bets like France and Belgium?

The British in another time and space had no choice, and eventually became a vassal of the United States step by step.

There is southern Africa in this time and space, no matter what Winston does, he will never hug the thigh of an American.

Southern Africa, at least, never abandoned the United Kingdom during the two world wars.

The 35th Division is located on the outskirts of Sicape, less than 20 kilometers from the port of Sicape. If the Germans or Italians break through the defense of the Cyprus Squadron and land in Sicape, the 35th Division is fully capable of sending the landing troops wiped out on the beach.

Of course, this possibility is very small.

Even if the Germans or Italians break through the defense of the Cyprus Squadron, they will still face the attack of the Cyprus Air Force.

For the protection of Cyprus airspace, Air Force Commander Major General Summerfield is equally confident.

The 15 aviation groups in southern Africa include 9 fighter groups, [-] torpedo bomber groups, and [-] long-range bomber group.

It can be seen from the configuration that the Cyprus Air Force is mainly defensive and has certain ground-to-sea attack capabilities. Don’t forget that the Cyprus Squadron also has an aircraft carrier converted from a supply ship. All the planes are sent over, and Cyprus can withstand it.

The Italian Air Force still has a certain strength.

This "certain" fully demonstrates the level of strength of the Italian Air Force.

"The Italians lack landing ships, and it is difficult to send tanks ashore. Germany and Italy also have no amphibious tanks. They only send light infantry to land. Facing our 'Leopard' tanks is courting death." Anthony hoped that the Italians would come. Well, it's a pity that most Italians don't have this strength.

Even without the blessing of the "Leopard" tank, it would be difficult for the Italian army to defeat the 35th Division.

The rifles equipped by the 35th Division are all semi-automatic Nyasaran rifles. Light machine guns and individual grenade launchers are assigned to the squad level, and heavy machine guns and mortars are assigned to the company level. For shooters, unless the Italians bring their anti-tank guns ashore, the anti-tank rifles that are now popular in Europe can only pose a threat to the "Alligator" armored vehicles of the 35th Division at close range.

Don't think about the "Leopard" tank, even if you shoot at close range, the anti-tank rifle cannot penetrate the armor of the "Leopard" tank.

"We need to hoard more reserves." Arthur was also worried.

Anthony's expression was wonderful.

Arthur, the Viscount of Cyprus, stood behind Roque, Stoudemire, and Ada, the finance minister of southern Africa.

Nyasaland Company and Rhodesia Company, one focuses on heavy industry and the other focuses on light industry. Coupled with the deployment of Ada, Cyprus is now hoarding reserves, enough to meet the needs of the Cyprus garrison and the consumption of Cypriots for more than a year.

Anthony only found out after he came to Cyprus that there are countless combat readiness warehouses inside the Troodos Mountains in southern Cyprus, and the sides of many mountains have even been completely hollowed out. As far as Anthony knows, the combat readiness warehouses used to store oil alone are There are six, and those who don't know don't know how many there are.

In this regard, Arthur perfectly replicated Roque's prudence, hoarding as many combat supplies as possible.

Cyprus is originally the bridgehead of major companies in southern Africa in the Mediterranean Sea. Many materials sold from southern Africa to Europe are transferred through Cyprus, so it is not easy to obtain various materials.

"Is the morale of the troops okay?" Arthur didn't forget that he came to express condolences.

"Very good!" Anthony was very satisfied, and good is not enough to describe it.

In front of Arthur and Anthony, a football match was going on, and the hundreds of officers and soldiers of the 35th Division watching the game had no position, cheering for whichever side fell behind.

They are all from our own people, so there is no need to distinguish them too clearly. Southern Africans actually prefer more competitive sports, but now they are in a wartime state. In order to avoid injuries, football has become the best choice.

There are many more intense sports than football, such as rugby, boxing, and racing, which are very popular in southern Africa.

The soldiers of the 35th Division have enough fine food, and the logistical treatment is completely in accordance with the wartime standards of the Southern African Defense Forces. There is no limit to the supply of various materials. Cyprus has beautiful scenery. than travel.

While the 35th Division was playing football, the Germans had taken Paris.

On June 6, the French government declared Paris an undefended city. On the 13th, on the same day that Petain announced that France had stopped resisting, the German army occupied Paris.

Before the Germans occupied Paris, there had been a bitter quarrel between Winston and Weygand.

Winston hoped that France would fight to the end.

In the Spanish Civil War that broke out four years ago, facing the superior army of the Falangists and Italy, the citizens of Madrid united as one and fought an arduous defense of Madrid. Couldn’t the Parisians follow the example of the Madrid people and also defend Paris?
Weygand obviously didn't want to do that.

At that time Petain had not yet announced the cessation of French resistance.

However, Weygand had lost his command of the troops and was disheartened about the prospects of France.

Winston emphasized: Even if France surrenders, Britain will fight to the end.

Wei Gang smiled bitterly: You British have a good anti-tank trench.

By "anti-tank trenches" Weygand meant the English Channel.

No matter how many German tanks there are, it is impossible to cross the English Channel. This is where the British have confidence.

After Germany occupied Paris, Winston proposed to send the air force to bomb the German army in Paris.

Weygand likewise declined the offer.

The reason is that they don't want to cause more harm to Paris residents.

The Parisians also went too far.

When the news spread that the British Air Force was about to bomb the Paris airport, the Parisians actually parked their cars on the tarmac of the Paris airport to prevent the British Air Force from bombing the Paris airport. After Winston knew about it, he could only do nothing.

At this time, the Parisians are quite united.

Weygand had equally good reasons.

According to Wei Gang, the current sporadic military operations have been unable to stop the advance of the German army.

Since the start of the war, Germany has formed 55 new divisions and produced 4000 to 5000 heavy tanks. The Allied forces have basically lost the ability to fight the German army.

Winston expressed serious doubts about the number of 4000 to 5000 heavy tanks. The Germans do not have such industrial capabilities. less than one-tenth of the total.

Weygand's weakness doesn't stop there.

After the start of Operation Sickle, about 400 German pilots were captured by the Allies, and until the French stopped resisting, these pilots were guarded by the French.

After Operation Dynamo, in order to prevent these German pilots from returning to Germany, Winston suggested that these pilots should be handed over to British guards.

Wei had just begun to agree to Winston's request.

But soon, Petain came to power, Weygand left, and these German pilots returned to active duty. Many of them will participate in the upcoming British air battle.

After Petain announced that France had stopped resisting, Winston was completely disappointed in France and turned his hopes to southern Africa and the United States.

Almost every day, Winston would talk to Roque and US President Roosevelt, hoping that there would be war between southern Africa and the United States as soon as possible.

Roque has promised that southern Africa will join the war as soon as possible and is actively preparing for it.

Roosevelt's attitude was ambiguous. He himself was inclined to join the war. However, the U.S. government had little influence on U.S. capital. U.S. companies increased their trade with Germany under the slogan of "free trade", which made Winston very annoyed .

Some French are still holding on.

De Gaulle did not surrender, neither did Paul Reynaud, nor did Admiral François Darlan.

On the 18th, Petain announced that France would stop resisting. On the same day, Charles de Gaulle formed Free France in London and called on the French to continue fighting the Germans.

On the 22nd, Germany and France signed an armistice agreement, and the Vichy government was established.

At this time, both the Free France and the Maintenance of France hope to get the support of Francois Darlan, so that they can get a complete French fleet.

At this time, the French Navy had an aircraft carrier, three battleships, seven battlecruisers, 12 cruisers, more than 50 destroyers, and 101 submarines. It was the most powerful fleet in the Mediterranean.

In other words, whoever gets the French navy will control the Mediterranean.

Therefore, the Free France led by Charles de Gaulle and the Vichy government led by Pétain showed their favor to François Darlan.

Among them, the sincerity of the Vichy government is even greater.

De Gaulle's telegram to Darlan was heavily influenced by the Royal Navy. De Gaulle hoped that the French Navy could fight side by side with the Royal Navy against Germany.

In order to better coordinate operations, de Gaulle hoped that the French Navy could accept the command of the Royal Navy.

This is not in line with Francois Darlan's request.

De Gaulle still didn't know Darlan well enough. Darlan didn't have a good impression of Britain. It could even be described as disgusting. Darlan would never accept the command of the Royal Navy.

Relatively speaking, the Vichy government's proposal is more in line with the interests of the French navy.

In order to win Darlan, Mustache promised to respect the neutrality of the French navy and would not annex the French navy.

At this time, intellectually, Darlan had already begun to lean towards the Vichy government.

It was against this background that the H fleet of the British Navy approached the French Navy's military port in North Africa, Mels-Al-Kebir, and was ready to use force at any time to eliminate the potential threat of the French Navy.

The operation was named "Operation Ballista".

(End of this chapter)