Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 2200 Defending the Homeland
Arthur and Mike Tolland have been following the progress of the Greek campaign.

Long before the German-Italian coalition launched its offensive, Arthur, in the name of the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean theater, sent a telegram to the British commander in Greece, General Henry Maitland Wilson, reminding him to pay attention to the changes in the strength of the German-Italian coalition.

Compared with the first stage, the German-Italian coalition has a powerful air force, which is enough to form an overwhelming advantage over the Allied air force. If it is not taken seriously, the Allied forces may suffer heavy losses.

Wilson did not strengthen preparations for shorting because of Arthur's reminder.

This is mainly because Britain's victory in the "Air Battle of Britain" gave Wilson great confidence. Wilson had reason to believe that the Luftwaffe suffered heavy losses in the "Air Battle of Britain" and could not recover its strength in a short time.

What's more, Germany has to prepare for the implementation of the "Barbarossa Plan", and it is impossible to give too much assistance to the Italians.

The combination of various reasons caused the Allied forces to collapse thousands of miles after the war broke out again.

When the time came to May, the situation became even more unfavorable for the Allies.

In order to annihilate more Allied troops, the German paratroopers dispatched again, and the [-]th Paratrooper Division parachuted to capture the bridge over the Collins Canal, cutting off the main channel for the evacuation of the Allied forces.

At the same time, the German 16th Armored Division invaded the Peloponnese, the Australian 17th and 8000th Infantry Regiments were surrounded, and about [-] soldiers surrendered three days later.

At this time, the British army could only withdraw to Crete by sea, and the Cyprus Squadron sent a transport ship to assist the Mediterranean Fleet to evacuate the Allied forces trapped in the Peloponnese Peninsula.

The Luftwaffe attacked frantically, 26 troop carriers were destroyed, and about 900 people were killed during the evacuation.

On May 5, King George II of Greece, other members of the Greek royal family, and senior officials of the Greek government flew to Cyprus by plane, and Arthur went to the airport to greet them.

At the airport, Arthur and King George II shook hands, and the two were relatively silent.

Back to six months ago, no one expected that the Greek battlefield would collapse to such an extent.

If George II could have predicted that the scene in front of him would happen, then George II might really give Crete to southern Africa in order to win the full assistance of southern Africa.

In the car leaving the airport, Arthur took the initiative to talk to George II about the deployment of the Mediterranean theater.

"Next, we will focus our main force on the defense of Crete. We hope that the Allied forces retreating to Crete can participate in the defense of Crete, if they can still fight." Arthur worried The morale of the allied forces, the current allied forces are a hodgepodge, how to coordinate operations is the biggest problem.

During the first phase of the Greek campaign, only the Greek army participated in the battle.

Now the composition of the Allied Forces is very complicated, British, Australians, New Zealanders, Greeks, Yugoslavs, Egyptians, Indians, and southern Africans——

How to condense these forces together and work together to deal with the German attack is a big problem for Wilson and Mike Tolan.

"We have lost the best time to win the war. It's up to you next. I hope Crete can become the grave of the Germans." George II was disheartened, and he is now forced into exile The king of subjugation no longer has the right to speak.

Whoever has the most strength has the right to speak.

If you look at it this way, then within the current scope of the Mediterranean Sea, Arthur's right to speak is undoubtedly the greatest.

Next up should be Mike Tolan.

But Mike Tolan is also in trouble now.

When George II flew to Cyprus, Mike Tolan had already landed on Crete to organize the defense.

After days of fighting by the Mediterranean Fleet and the Cyprus Squadron, about 52000 Allied forces have withdrawn to Crete.

Mike Tolan hopes that more than 5 people can stay in Crete to participate in the defense.

Wilson disagreed.

"After days of hard work, my soldiers need rest now. Your Cyprus squadron did not participate in this stage of operations. Now is the time for you to show your strength." Wilson has no intention of staying in Crete, hoping to continue the Allied forces Withdraw to Egypt.

Crete is too close to the Greek mainland and may be attacked by the Luftwaffe at any time.

Egypt is far away from Greece, with Cyprus in the middle, and it is a safe rear.

"It's not because of us that we didn't participate in the battle, but because you are too confident—" Mike Tolan didn't take the blame. If the Greeks were not so confident half a year ago, the situation would not be so bad now.

At least with the participation of the Southern African Air Force, the Luftwaffe would not be so rampant.

"It is meaningless to say these things now. Our soldiers withdrew from Albania to Crete in just a month. Ritter Island continues to fight the Germans, so maybe it will cause a mutiny, can you bear this responsibility?" Wilson's worry is not unreasonable, don't forget that a mutiny broke out in the French Foreign Legion just now.

"If we lost Crete and failed to complete the task of delaying the German army, we would also not be able to bear the responsibility." Mike Tolan was blunt, and Wilson was also very clear about the plans of the Allied forces.

"That's about your Cyprus squadron, it has nothing to do with us!" Wilson ignored it and insisted on withdrawing to Egypt.

Just when the quarrel broke out between Wilson and Mike Tolan, Pombia in Crete had become the busiest port in Crete.

The larger ports on Crete are concentrated on the north side of the island, while the south side is seriously underdeveloped, and there are no ports suitable for large ships to enter and exit.

After Rock ordered the Mediterranean Fleet to strengthen the defense of Crete, Arthur sent troops to build an improvised pier and a field airport in Pombia. Pombia became the only port in the south of Crete, and all the troops in the Mediterranean theater were sent to Crete. All the materials on the island need to be landed from Pumbia.

In order to strengthen the defense of Crete, the Fifth Army sent out all the best troops. There were three divisions in the first batch of landing troops, including the 35th Division that had been stationed in Cyprus since the outbreak of the European War.

"If your transport ship can't take my soldiers away by the way, then please give up some berths. My children want to leave this damn place as soon as possible." General Breme, the commander of the Australian Third Division, hoped that the Third Division Soldiers, can leave Crete on transport ships from Southern Africa.

Although the Fifth Army is not a heavy mechanized force, it still has a lot of heavy equipment.

The temporary simple dock does not have large-scale equipment such as gantry cranes, and the speed of landing heavy equipment is a bit slow.

Moreover, there are very few berths on the pier, and only two transport ships can be docked at the same time. Now these two berths are all occupied by the transport ships of the Cyprus Squadron, and the transport ships sent by the Mediterranean Fleet to evacuate the troops can only line up outside the port.

"Listen to what you said. The war is still going on. My soldiers are going to the battlefield, but your soldiers are fleeing from the battlefield. What about the courage and honor of being a soldier?" Anthony Jones, the commander of the 35th Division, was annoyed. Want to leave Crete on a transport ship from Southern Africa, dream!
"Where were you when we were fighting in North Africa? Where were you when we were fighting in Albania? Where were you when we were fighting in Athens?" Breme was also angry. The Allied forces fought bloody battles for more than a month. At that time, the Cyprus Squadron and the Fifth Army were all watching.

"We want to participate in the battle, do you dare to let us participate?" Anthony was furious, and the bad debt is now unclear.

Breme looked at Anthony angrily.

Anthony opened his eyes angrily, and his eyes were full of anger.

"I say gentlemen—" General Kalinic from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia wanted to speak.

"Shut up!" Breme and Anthony scolded at the same time.

"The Kingdom of Yugoslavia is also part of the Allied Forces, don't go too far!" General Kalinic felt humiliated.

"Well, there are two berths in total, one berth is reserved for the Cyprus Squadron, and one berth is reserved for the Mediterranean Fleet—" Greek General Perkis, as a landlord, thought he had the right to speak.

"This is the pier built by our Cyprus Squadron. If you want to use it, build it yourself!" Anthony sneered. Before the officers and men of the 35th Division and all their equipment landed, any ship of the Mediterranean Squadron should not even try to use Pumbia. berth.

As for whether it can be used in the future, it depends on whether the generals of the follow-up troops are willing to let it go.

"The Indian army also participated in the construction of this pier, so why can't we use it?" Bremey said confidently, since India is part of the United Kingdom.

Indian Army!

Well, almost forgot about the Indian Army.

However, in the Mediterranean and North Africa, the Indian army can only undertake some tasks such as repairs, and it is only auxiliary.

"The Indian army is involved, but it's not involved in the construction, but it's involved in the consumption of our supplies. We can complete the work in one day. Your Indian army needs to work for half a month for a regiment. When working, even women You can’t even compare it, you can eat better than pigs when you eat, let the Indian army build the port for you alone.” Bremen didn’t mention India, and Anthony was not so angry yet.

The joke about the Indian army can be opened as a separate book.

Like the status and role of the Italians in the Axis powers, the Indians have sent 200 million people to participate in the world war. The biggest role is not defense or offense, but consumption of materials.

Therefore, Anthony is very suspicious that India is using the increase in troops to reduce the pressure of the disaster in India.

According to the latest situation, in the first four months of 1941, an average of 100 million people starved to death in India every month.

This makes people very puzzled. Why do so many people starve to death every year in India, a place where three crops are cooked every year?

"In any case, my soldiers must leave this damned place as soon as possible!" Breme emphasized.

"Impossible, don't even think about it!" Anthony was tough.

"Damn Anthony, can you speed up your troops? My troops have been waiting at sea for two hours—" General Mayo, the commander of the 91st Division, rushed in angrily. Ritter Island.

"Oh, I'm afraid you have to wait. They asked us to give up a berth for the transport ships of the Mediterranean Fleet so that they can escape—" Anthony couldn't choose what to say.

"Bastard, what are you talking about—"

"Bastard, who wants to run away!" Breme and Mayo cursed at the same time.

Anthony is triumphant, you should have a fight.

Kalicini and Percas hid in a corner and shivered, the gods fought, and mortals couldn't intervene.

"Gentlemen, healthy soldiers can stay in Crete temporarily. At least let our wounded soldiers board the ship and leave first. They need to receive treatment as soon as possible." Paul Carmen, a liaison officer sent by the British government, couldn't help but said. To be fair, it doesn't matter if you are arguing here, the lives of wounded soldiers are being lost.

Bremen and Mayo, who were about to have a big fight, shut up at the same time.

This is not a problem that can be resolved by a dispute of will.

It is very frustrating to say that the current Allied forces, still only the southern African army, have a relatively complete medical system, and other countries, including the United Kingdom, cannot do it.

After the Allied forces withdrew to Crete, the Mediterranean theater was out of humanitarian considerations, and medical personnel had been dispatched to treat the wounded Allied soldiers.

This still cannot solve the problem. Crete lacks comprehensive medical facilities, and many wounded soldiers cannot be operated on. The Mediterranean theater sent the only medical ship over while building a field hospital in Pompia, but it still failed. Meet the needs.

"Wounded soldier, okay—the wounded soldier can take our transport ship and leave here first." Anthony made a concession, but he still couldn't be hard-hearted after all.

Breme was silent for a long time, and finally said to Anthony with great difficulty: "Thank you!"

Disagreements within the Allied forces were temporarily eliminated, but new problems emerged one after another.

Since the end of the last world war, the outlets of the Black Sea, including the Dardanelles, have been under the control of the international coalition forces mainly composed of southern African troops.

After Japan withdrew from the League of Nations, all the Japanese troops in the League of Nations troops were withdrawn. The current League of Nations troops, except for a company of British troops and a company of French troops, are all southern African troops.

The French troops in the League of Nations are also very smart. When Vichy France was founded, the French troops did not choose to join Vichy France.

After the establishment of Charles de Gaulle's Free France, the French troops in the League of Nations immediately announced to join the Free France.

In view of the combat effectiveness of the French army, this French company, together with the British company, was deployed in the Dardanelles.

After the German-Italian allied forces invaded Greece, the outlet of the Black Sea was seriously threatened, and the Germans could pass through Greece at any time to launch an attack on the outlet of the Black Sea.

On May 5, the League of Nations issued an order to the Allied Forces of Nations, requiring the Allied Forces of Nationality to abandon the Black Sea outlet and withdraw to Cyprus.

The League of Nations troops refused to carry out the order.

It has been 20 years since the end of the last World War. Many families of the officers and soldiers of the League of Nations troops have come to the Garibaldi Peninsula with the army and settled in the Garibaldi Peninsula. Therefore, Major General Lewis, the current commander of the League of Nations troops, decided that the League of Nations troops may not The Black Sea estuary, but we must resolutely defend our homeland.

(End of this chapter)