Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 2358
The interests of Leonard Cape and Southern Africa have been deeply bound. In addition to interpersonal relationships, what is more important is interests. If there are no major accidents, Leonard Cape will definitely be the first choice.

Of course, due to the principle of not putting all eggs in one basket, there must be backup options.

The resignation of the fat bald head does not mean that Italy will join the allies immediately. Italy has not even withdrawn from the war. In Marshal Badoglio's foreign statement, Italy will continue to fight side by side with Germany and continue to safeguard the interests of the Kingdom of Italy until The war is completely over.

This statement is intriguing.

Fighting side by side with Germany is to safeguard the interests of the Kingdom of Italy.

Joining the allies in the future is also to safeguard the interests of the Kingdom of Italy.

The new government led by Badoglio is also swinging left and right.

This is annoying.

At the same time, it is also very helpless.

The world is not black and white. The vast majority of countries do not have the power to decide their own destiny and can only follow the trend.

Fat Bald's downfall did not have an immediate impact on the war effort.

The Russian battlefield is still bloody. The Luftwaffe and the Russian Air Force are still fighting fiercely in the Caucasus region. The combined losses of the two sides exceed 1500 aircraft.

Although Russia lost more aircraft, the loss can be made up for because the Allied Forces strengthened their assistance to Russia after the Casablanca Conference.

The problems of the Germans were getting worse, and the lost aircraft could not be replaced in time, and the loss of pilots was particularly serious.

The Germans still maintain an advantage in the number of ace pilots. Erich Hartmann has now shot down more than 80 aircraft, breaking the record created by the Red Baron Manfred von Richthofen in World War I. Shoot down records.

The fighting in Sicily continued, and Patton and Montgomery finally stopped their stupid airborne operations and focused on ground advancement.

The effect was immediate, and the Italian army was no match for the powerful armored forces of the Allies in ground combat.

The number of German armored forces was too small to counter the swarming Allied tanks.

In mid-May, Mustache became increasingly dissatisfied with the performance of the German commander-in-chief on the southern front, Kesselring, so he thought of Rommel who was "recovering" in Berlin.

Rommel brought a new force equipped with the new "Tiger" tank, and asked to replace the commander-in-chief of the German army in Sicily with the battle-tested armored general Hans Valentin Huber.

Huber participated in the First World War. After the war, he continued to serve in the German Army as one of the [-] retained elites. During the Battle of Volgograd, Huber left by plane at the last minute and was just promoted to general of the armored forces.

The former commander-in-chief of the German army in Sicily was Stachel. He was an air force general and he was not familiar with the command of armored forces. Armored soldiers, go to the beach and shoot at the Allied fleet. This is the famous "Tiger Tank vs. Battleship" in the legend.

The "Tiger" type is Germany's most advanced heavy tank, with a total combat weight of 56 tons.

The displacement of battleships is tens of thousands of tons, and the weight of the main guns reaches thousands of tons. The "Tiger" type and battleships are just a joke. The real situation is a cruiser, and it is a light cruiser.

Even a light cruiser is not something the "Tiger" can resist.

以美国的克利夫兰级轻巡洋舰为例, 全舰共有12门152毫米舰炮，外加12门127毫米高平两用炮, 还有28门40毫米和10门20毫米高炮，一艘战舰的火力投送能力，大概相当于德国一个坦克营。

The 88mm gun of the "Tiger" tank has a shell weight of only 10 kilograms, which is just tickling when hit on a cruiser.

The shell of the 152 naval gun, the weight of the warhead alone reaches nearly 60 kilograms, and if it falls on the "Tiger" tank, even if it does not explode, it can flatten the "Tiger".

With such a big gap in strength, the result must be miserable.

Of the 17 "Tiger" vehicles that participated in the battle, only one escaped, and the rest were wiped out.

There is no data on the casualties of the Allied forces, and there is a high probability that there are no casualties, because where is the range? The "Tiger" type cannot hit the warship, but the warship can stop at a safe distance, and the "Tiger" type is called one by one.

Obviously, the next battle will be dominated by armored forces, so Kesselring agreed to Rommel's request and appointed Huber as the commander-in-chief of the German army in Sicily.

Huber was cautious and pragmatic. He made a correct battle plan based on the specific situation of the battle and the terrain of Sicily, and ordered the troops to rely on Mount Etna in the northeast corner of Sicily to deploy five lines of defense to block the Allied attack.

These five lines of defense are interlocking, and as the terrain shrinks, the frontal defense area of ​​each line of defense is decreasing.

This means that the defense of the German army will continue to increase, while the armored forces of the British and American armies will be greatly restricted in the mountainous environment, which allows Huber to easily organize defenses.

Patton and Montgomery did not know at this time that the German army had changed coaches.

As more and more Allied troops landed, it seemed to Patton and Montgomery that victory was upon them.

So occupying Messina became the ultimate goal of Patton and Montgomery. The two armies were racing, and whoever captured Messina first would be the biggest beneficiary of this battle.

In this case, the Anglo-American coalition forces knocked down Huber's carefully arranged serial defense line.

At this time, the troops in Huber's hands included the 15th Panzergrenadier Division and the 29th Panzergrenadier Division in addition to the "Göring" Division.

The Panzergrenadier is a special unit formed by Germany with special functions and to perform special combat missions. In addition to conventional weapons, it will also be equipped with heavy equipment such as tanks, armored vehicles, and rocket launchers.

It can also be seen from this point that Mustache really spared no effort to support Italy.

Mustache himself has a very contradictory attitude towards Italy. On the one hand, he is supporting Italy and keeping Italy in the Axis camp.

On the other hand, they ordered Kesselring and Rommel to withdraw to the Apennine Peninsula through the Strait of Messina if the situation is unfavorable.

This order is secret, not only the Italians don't know, Mustache also asked to block the news from the German army, so as to avoid disturbing the morale of the army.

What Mustache doesn't know is that the German army in Sicily has lost morale due to the defeat in the Russian battlefield. Many German officers and soldiers are worried that in Sicily, they will encounter the same fate as the Volgograd German army.

Huber did not carry out Mustache's order. He had personally experienced the Battle of Volgograd and knew the importance of hope to morale. Therefore, after Huber took office, he immediately held a military meeting and announced to his generals that the German army was about to leave Sicily. The news of the evacuation of the island effectively boosted the morale of the German army.

The Anglo-American coalition forces collided head-on in this situation, and the battle first broke out in the small town of Troina.

Troina is the traffic artery in the northwest of Sicily, with Mount Etna behind it. If the Allied forces want to attack Messina from land, they must take Troina.

Huber was well aware of the importance of Troina, so he deployed the "Göring" division with the strongest combat effectiveness of the German army in Troina.

The "Göring" division is an airborne division in name, but it is actually a standard armored division. Although the number of tanks equipped is not as advanced as the Russian battlefield, the number is not too large, but it also has a No. 45 tank battalion and a No. 45 tank battalion. And an assault gun battalion, equipped with a total of 45 Panzer III tanks, [-] Panzer IV tanks, and [-] Panzer III G assault guns.

Before the outbreak of the Battle of Sicily, the "Goring" division received reinforcements from Germany, and the "Tiger" tank company that Stachel lost on the beach came from the "Goring" division.

After Rommel took office, the "Göring" division got 18 "Tiger" tanks again, which greatly increased its strength. Patton and Montgomery did not grasp this situation.

The first to arrive at Troina was the U.S. Second Army led by Patton. The First Army did not participate in the Sicily landing campaign due to heavy losses in the final battle in North Africa.

After the reorganization of the Second Army, the shotgun has been replaced with a new look. In addition to the "Sherman" tanks produced in the United States, there are also some "Leopard" tanks from southern Africa.

After the outbreak of the Battle of Sicily, the Second Army progressed smoothly and did not encounter strong resistance early. Patton was so confident that he decided to capture Messina before Montgomery and win the first victory.

The defense of the "Göring" division relied on Mount Etna. Huber had rich experience and implemented a scorched-earth policy during the retreat of the German army, destroying all roads, bridges, and towns along the way. The advance of the Second Army created great trouble.

The No. [-] and No. [-] tanks equipped by the "Göring" division are not opponents of the "Sherman" and "Leopard".

However, the German army used the terrain to arrange their positions skillfully, did not fight directly with the Second Army, and made full use of various anti-tank rifles and anti-tank artillery. The Second Army was caught off guard and suffered heavy losses.

When the news was sent back to Algiers, Marshal Patton, who had been following the Sicily campaign, was quite critical.

"The Germans are organizing the fleet to retreat through the Strait of Messina. Why haven't Eisenhower and Alexander cut off the Strait of Messina?" At this level of the battle, Patton was also speechless.

Don't listen to the British and Americans bragging about the Battle of Sicily. This is actually a typical failure case of hasty organization, full of loopholes in the process, lack of cooperation, and even unclear strategic goals.

According to the design of Eisenhower and Alexander, the purpose of the Battle of Sicily was to cooperate with the Russian battlefield, continue to attack the Axis forces, force Italy to surrender, or withdraw from the war, and fully demonstrate the strength of the Allies.

This does not include the complete annihilation of the Sicilian defenders.

According to the habits of the southern African army, attacking a certain area and annihilating the enemy's defenders are just a matter of beating rabbits without delay, and there is no need to deliberately bring it up.

When Eisenhower and Alexander were making plans, they did not consider blocking the Strait of Messina at all, which led to Kesselring and Rommel being able to organize a fleet to retreat calmly through the Strait of Messina.

So far, Kesselring and Rommel have transported nearly [-] Italian troops, [-] vehicles, and hundreds of thousands of tons of various materials through the Strait of Messina.

"We reminded the British and the Americans respectively, and they didn't seem to care." De Gaulle was also speechless.

"Is it possible that the British and Americans don't want to cut off the strait at all—" Oscar, the Chief of Staff of the Third Army, said directly, otherwise there is no way to explain it.

Barton and De Gaulle looked at each other, and immediately looked away.

Oscar's speculation is extremely likely.

Some things cannot be said too straightforwardly.

"Let's discuss the new Italian government. Marshal Badoglio still disagrees with handing someone over to us?" Barton took the initiative to change the subject.

The fat bald head is now under house arrest by the new Italian government. It is said that the location of the house arrest should be kept secret, but the Italians are not worried about leaking the news. arrive.

Italy, as Germany's most important ally, mustache will certainly not sit back and watch the fat and bald head be overthrown.

So the Germans may have a plan against the fat bald head now. As long as the fat bald head can be rescued, then with the degree of German penetration into Italy, it is easy to establish a puppet government completely controlled by Germany.

Victor Emmanuel III and Marshal Badoglio are at the same time. They don't want to take responsibility for the war. Instead, they want to go both ways. This kind of behavior at both ends of the head is not pleasing to both ends, and they will be punished in the future of.

After the fat bald head stepped down, Patton was most worried about this issue, so he hoped that the new Italian government could hand over the fat bald head to the Allied forces, so that it could completely cut off the hope of Mustache's "restoration" in Italy.

The new Italian government refuses to accept it. After all, the fat and bald head was once the Italian prime minister, and the new government is not willing to completely offend Mustache. If the cooperation with the Allies fails to be negotiated, as long as Mustache is in hand, Italy can still repair its relationship with Germany. .

"The new government agrees in principle, but we must promise the safety of the fat and bald head, and accept Italy, and guarantee the status of the king and the new government in Italy." Oscar sneered, and the Italians also opened their mouths like a lion, not understanding the situation.

"Very good, find out where the fat bald head is being held, and find a way to get the fat bald head." Barton was not used to the Italians, so he came straight to the point.

"This is not good." Oscar worried that he would offend the Italians.

"There's nothing wrong with it. The Italians are always like this. You have to teach them a real lesson before they face reality." De Gaulle was positive, and he was the one who most opposed Italy's joining the Allies.

As an old opponent of the Italians in the Mediterranean, the French hope that Italy, like Germany after the end of the last world war, will never stand up.

In the last world war, Italy escaped, and de Gaulle always regretted it.

Twenty years ago, de Gaulle people had no right to speak.

Now that de Gaulle is the president of Free France, his words still carry weight.

(End of this chapter)