Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 2468 Loyal accomplice
Britain does not need heavy tanks, but it does not mean that it does not need heavy tank technology.

The Matilda tank is nominally a heavy tank, with a total combat weight of only 26 tons. The engines are two Leland inline 6-cylinder diesel engines with a total power of only 190 horsepower. Would it be against the 700-horsepower HL230P45 of the "King Tiger"? V-shaped 12-cylinder water-cooled gasoline engine not tempted?
impossible.

Southern Africa doesn't matter. Yang Smozi completely lost interest in "King Tiger" after he learned that the maximum cross-country speed of "King Tiger" does not exceed 10 kilometers.

Southern African tanks can reduce defense, use 40mm tank guns, and even sacrifice air defense capabilities. The only thing that cannot move is mobility. The cross-country speed is less than 30 kilometers, and the procurement personnel of the Ministry of Defense will not even look at it.

Therefore, no matter how thick the "Tiger King"'s armor is, no matter how strong its attack power is, it is useless.

What's more, "Tiger King" is not so strong as to defy the sky.

When the Battle of Caen just broke out, the Battle of Lyon had come to an end.

The "Dragoon" operation was launched after the "Overlord" operation. After the "Overlord" operation was launched, the German army transferred all the elite troops from southern France to the Normandy area, which resulted in all the defensive troops around Lyon being second-line troops or servants. military.

The consequences are dire.

The combat power of the Southern African Expeditionary Force here in Caen already surpassed that of the British and American troops.

The cooperation between the Southern African army and the Free French army did not have as much intrigue as the British army and the American army.

Compared with the elite troops, the combat effectiveness of the second-line troops and servants of the German army has dropped by more than one level. In summary, the battle in Lyon is very easy. Patton even invested only one-third of the combat troops, and the second-line troops and servants on the opposite side The army was completely defeated.

In terms of fighting will, the slave army is much worse than the elite German troops, and the ratio of surrender far exceeds that of the dead. The servant division completely lost the will to fight and directly raised the white flag to surrender, which made Ba Xinlei, the commander of the 15th Armored Division, feel lost.

Ba Xinlei is Patton's cousin. He was born in 1901 and came to Southern Africa in 07. He received a complete modern education in Nyasaland and graduated from Nyasaland Army Academy. Like Patton, he is also a general of the new generation of southern Africa. of the best.

"I thought there would be a bloody battle, but I didn't expect that the biggest difficulty would be to take in the prisoners. Can't we leave this work to the Free French Army?" Ba Xinlei suffered from a splitting headache. Within 48 hours, the 15th The Panzer Division took nearly 1.3 prisoners, more than the total strength of the 15th Panzer Division.

After the North African campaign, Patton reorganized the North African and southern African troops. Each armored division had three tank battalions, one armored infantry battalion, and one self-propelled artillery battalion. Together with the divisional troops, the total strength was about 1.2.

"The Free French Army has already set off for Paris, and the Sixth Armored Division is less than 150 kilometers away from Paris!" Ding Binluo, chief of staff of the 15th Armored Division, worried that the actions of the Free French Sixth Armored Division were a bit risky and had already left the group army group If the army goes deep alone, it may be surrounded by German troops.

The elite troops of the German army are stationed around Paris, including the [-]th Armored Division of the SS who returned to France from the Russian battlefield. This armored division is equipped with No. [-] and No. [-] tanks, and there is also a company of "Tiger King" , Combat power should not be underestimated.

After the Sixth Armored Division ended the battle in Lyon, it continued to advance towards Paris without stopping. Patton could understand the urgency of the generals of the Free French Army to recover Paris, so he did not restrain the Sixth Armored Division.

The commander of the Sixth Armored Division must have received the order from Charles de Gaulle, so he broke away from the main force and went deep alone. Charles de Gaulle still had to give him face. He wanted to take back Paris with his own hands, and Patton would not steal the limelight.

In order to regain Paris as quickly as possible, the 15th Armored Division even left behind the slow-moving baggage units and advanced lightly. When the No.24 Armored Division was still cleaning the battlefield, the 70th Armored Division had already set off and advanced within [-] hours. [-] km.

Don't be too slow. With the roads severely damaged, 70 kilometers is already a super fast speed. After the Allied forces landed in Normandy, the average speed of advancing inland was only 1.5 kilometers per day.

"We have to stop and rest. The soldiers are getting more and more tired, and the machines also need maintenance. From yesterday to now, we have a total of 25 tanks that have broken down. This is not a good sign." Chief of Staff Luke Grote Very worried, the 230th Armored Division was only equipped with [-] tanks in total.

"What southern Africa gave us must be inferior goods. Why do the tanks of the southern African armored forces seldom break down?" Division commander Jacques de Broglie was dissatisfied, and what he said was also true.

The tanks sold to Free France in Southern Africa are all castrated versions for foreign trade, and it is not too much to describe them as "second-rate goods".

As far as the failure rate is concerned, this is really not a quality issue. Even if the tank engine is carefully maintained, it can only last for two to three hundred hours. If the maintenance is not in place, the probability of breaking down is naturally high.

The failure rate of German tanks is higher. Take the No. [-], which weighs more than [-] tons, as an example. Once a failure occurs on the battlefield, it is difficult to repair it. In many cases, the German army will simply give up.

For the tanks used by Southern Africa, the engines should be replaced when their service life is almost reached, so the failure rate is naturally very low.

Free France cannot produce tank engines and must purchase them from southern Africa. In the spirit of thrift, they will continue to use them as long as they can be converted.

"Our tanks drove all the way from Toulon to Lyon, and Southern Africa was towed by a trailer—" Luke didn't think Southern Africa would play tricks in this regard, the key is the way of use.

While Luke was chatting with De Broglie, another Algiers medium tank broke down next to the armored command vehicle.

De Broglie finally ordered the troops to camp and rest. If this continues, it is hard to say how many tanks will be able to reach Paris.

Free France is also a land power country. It also has a demand for heavy tanks. The total combat weight of Algiers tanks is only 32 tons, which can only be regarded as medium-sized according to the standards of southern Africa.

"Give me a battalion of lions, and I can hit Berlin in one go." De Broglie looked at Paris, full of hatred.

De Broglie's name should actually be De Broglie, who, like de Gaulle, is a descendant of the French aristocracy.

During the French campaign, de Broglie's army was stationed on the Maginot Line and played almost no role. After the French government stopped resisting, de Broglie became a prisoner of humiliation and was held in Germany.

After the establishment of Vichy France, de Broglie was released. He left the army disheartened and traveled to North Africa to join the Free France.

During this time in North Africa, De Broglie never forgot the shame of being a captive, let alone the fact that France stopped resisting. Like de Gaulle, he needed to prove himself again.

"We should be more cautious and not escape the protection of the air force." Luke reminded De Broglie that without air protection, the "Lion King" is also a living target.

The armored troops set up camp very quickly, and the tanks lined up around the camp was the strongest defensive position. Luke and De Broglie lived directly in the armored command vehicle, and the soldiers slept in the truck compartment. There were tents, but there were no tents. People, if you have that time, you might as well sleep a little longer.

Luke and de Broglie couldn't sleep, and the guerrillas came to them before the line of defense was set up, and offered to serve as guides to guide the troops to attack Paris.

"What's going on in Paris?" Luke needed more information about Paris.

"There are Germans everywhere, there are a lot of tanks, and there are planes. Paris is currently blocked, and you can only enter and cannot exit. It is said that there have been some conflicts between the German army and the French First Division. The specific situation is not clear." The intelligence of the guerrillas With limited capabilities, the conflict between the German army and the Vichy French army was quite surprising.

After the surrender of the French government, only 10 troops and 6 national gendarmerie remained, and these troops were called the Armistice Army.

After the French Navy took over, the German army took over southern France, and the Armistice Army was disbanded, leaving only the 33rd "Charlemagne" Armed Grenadier Division of the SS, the so-called First French Division, with a total of about 1.1 troops.

This army has won the trust of the Germans and has been stationed in Paris. It is said that it is unlikely to conflict with the Germans.

If the Axis powers were defeated, all officers and soldiers of the French [-]st Division would be liquidated.

"The real French will never turn Paris into a battlefield—" De Broglie is not surprised. Joining the French First Division does not mean that he has no affection for Paris. Maybe he is just like Pétain in curves to save the country. .

"The German defensive positions stretch for tens of kilometers. We have to wait for others to catch up. Maybe we can surround Paris and force the Germans to surrender." Luke frowned, and he didn't want Paris to be ravaged by war.

Then rest first.

There was also a small episode at night. A German reconnaissance unit found the camp of the Sixth Armored Division and threw a few rifle grenades into the camp. Although it did not cause any damage, it successfully affected the rest of the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Armored Division.

The situation at night was unclear, and Luke did not dare to send troops to attack, so he arranged for the tanks around the camp to be on guard, and fired a few shots into the surrounding wilderness every once in a while, which not only frightened the Germans, but also gave him courage.

There was nothing to say all night, after dawn, De Broglie had decided to set off immediately, but received an order from de Gaulle.

De Gaulle and Patton had not discussed a way to drive the Germans out of Paris before. Patton meant to fight first.

Now that the road between Lyon and Paris has been cleared, the coalition forces can attack Paris directly. If they can't think of a way, then the German army can really only fight an offensive and defensive battle in Paris.

There is no doubt that Paris, one of the most famous cities in the world, will be completely destroyed in the brutal city offensive and defensive battle.

"In the telegram from London, Marshal Pétain is communicating with the Germans, hoping that the Germans can evacuate from Paris on their own initiative." Barton smiled, and Britain is still making small moves.

Why did Britain and the United States not recognize Free France, but instead recognized the Vichy government?

The purpose is still for the distribution of benefits after the war. If Free France is recognized, then after the war is over, Free France will inherit all the power of France.

If the Vichy government is recognized, then after the defeat of the Axis powers, France will become a defeated country.

So in these years, the connection between Britain and Vichy France has never been interrupted.

Southern Africa also has connections with Vichy France, and Japan's repeated summaries are passed through Vichy France.

"Will the Germans agree?" The de Gaulles were conflicted. They hoped to defeat the German army and hoped that Paris would remain intact.

The Germans had better take the initiative to withdraw.

But de Gaulle didn't want to give Pétain the credit for "protecting Paris". This is a good opportunity to earn his reputation.

Petain was old, and it was useless to ask for prestige.

"I don't know yet. London also hopes that we can suspend the attack and give Marshal Pétain more time." Barton shook his head, pushing the unhappy things to the back of his mind. De Gaulle has been irritable these days.

As the largest city in southern France, Lyon has an urban population of more than 50. After the German occupation of southern France two years ago, Lyon has been the center of German rule in southern France.

The "Dragon Cavalry" operation progressed rapidly. When Lyon was restored, some French who held important official positions during the German occupation or cooperated with the German army did not even have time to escape. These people have been liquidated in recent days.

The attitude of the French towards traitors is very decisive, even if they are forced to cooperate, they will not let them go. During the German army stationed in Lyon, French women who had an affair with German officers and soldiers were cast aside by the whole society. These days, Lyon is on the way to Toulon There are many women whose yin and yang heads have been shaved. They can no longer live in their hometowns. This experience will become a stain that they cannot erase in their entire lives.

Yesterday alone, more than 100 "traitors" were executed, all their property was confiscated, and houses and cars were auctioned off.

None of these people had been tried by a formal court, and they were all lynched to death. It is inevitable that there will be various unjust, false and wrong cases. De Gaulle did not mean to interfere.

Patton had reason to suspect that de Gaulle simply raised military expenses in the name of liquidation.

Where is this, the confiscated money is long before the loan in southern Africa is paid off.

Unless de Gaulle has the ability to get French gold, which is now under the control of the Vichy government.

"If Marshal Pétain can persuade the German army to retreat voluntarily, then after the war, no matter how the court pronounces, I will sign an amnesty for Marshal Pétain." De Gaulle reciprocated.

Even without this, de Gaulle would have pardoned Pétain.

This was a tacit understanding between the two French leaders.

"I sent bombers to Paris—" Barton startled de Gaulle.

De Gaulle looked at Patton with puzzled eyes. Could it be that he wanted to bomb Paris in the same way he bombed Tokyo?
This is tantamount to a catastrophe for Paris.

"Don't worry, don't worry, it's not incendiary bombs on the plane, but leaflets—" Barton smiled, concentrating on his heart.

The propaganda work on both sides of the Allied forces and the Axis powers has never stopped. Both sides attach great importance to it, and the effect is not bad. The Allied forces have servants who surrendered without a fight, and the German army has harvested a large number of loyal accomplices.

(End of this chapter)