Iron Cross

Berlin gradually quieted down after nightfall. Thanks to the strengthening of anti-air raid efforts and the heroic guarding of the night fighter unit, the people of Berlin had not heard the air defense alarm for half a month. However, no one dared to take it lightly. The blackout order was strictly enforced. The sparse light made people feel like they were in the suburbs.

At the intersection of Vossstrasse and Wilhelmstrasse, the strict guards and a large number of vehicles outside the towering Reich Chancellery showed that a high-level meeting was being held here. Under the marble relief of the Imperial Eagle holding the swastika wreath were guardsmen who were performing security checks. Only with their approval could they enter smoothly.

A grand awarding ceremony will be held here today. The head of the empire will personally award medals to the war heroes who have emerged in recent times. The most eye-catching one is the awarding of the highest honor of the empire, the Knight's Cross with Diamonds, Oak Leaves and Swords (theoretically, the Grand Iron Cross is the highest level, but because this medal has only been issued once and the recipient is the fallen Hermann Goering, the Propaganda Department has downplayed it). This medal has only been awarded three times since its establishment. Coincidentally, the first three times were awarded to air force officers and soldiers, and the two medals to be awarded today also belong to the air force. The two winners are fighter pilots, and even their ranks are exactly the same - both are air force lieutenants. With the vigorous propaganda of the Propaganda Department, they have long become household heroes in the empire.

One of them is Hans-Joachim-Marseille, an air force hero in the North African battlefield, and the other is Hermann-Graf, an air force hero in the Eastern Front. These two are currently the only record holders of 200 shot down in the Imperial Air Force, and there is only the slightest difference between their records - 1. In addition to these two highest-level winners, a group of air force fighter and bomber heroes have won secondary honors such as the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

The commanders of the wings where these air force heroes belong are very considerate. Considering that they have to return to their country to receive medals and take vacations, they simply assign them the task of serving as reserve pilot training instructors in their own wings to give them enough time to handle various personal affairs. A large number of ace pilots gathered together to exchange their experiences and insights on air combat while quickly improving the combat skills of reserve pilots, which made General Jeschonnek, the Air Force Chief of Staff who presided over the training, very happy.

Since the recipients were mainly members of the Air Force and the Battle of El Alamein, the ceremony was presided over by Field Marshal Kesselring, the first deputy commander of the Air Force and commander-in-chief of the Southern Front, who had just returned from Italy. Hoffmann was accompanied by high-ranking officials of the Empire such as Bormann, Goebbels, and Keitel.

Before the ceremony began, looking at so many air force heroes participating in the awarding ceremony, Field Marshal Kesselring could not help but sigh to Hoffman: "The Air Force is indeed a strong bastion of National Socialism. These achievements are entirely achieved under the wise leadership of the Führer."

"Marshal Kesselring, don't keep saying things that are not what you mean. I know you also envy this medal." Hoffman looked at the Air Force Marshal who was reluctant to part with the exquisite medal in his hand, and teased, "As long as you manage the southern line for me, then you and Guderian will also have such a medal."

"Uh..." Field Marshal Kesselring, whose mind was seen through, made a big face, his face "brush" red, and several people around him laughed.

"How is the situation on the southern line? Is there any problem with Guderian? How perfect is the Tobruk defense system?"

"Thanks to the Führer's concern, the situation in North Africa is normal." Kesselring introduced the recent actions of the African Army.

After returning to Tobruk, Guderian made drastic adjustments to the troops. First, with Hoffman's consent, he dismantled the 90th Light Division, which Rommel had originally established due to insufficient weapons and equipment, and assigned its armored units to the 15th and 21st Armored Divisions, and the infantry units to the 164th Infantry Division. Except for the division commander who was transferred to the Italian Southern Front Command, the rest of the division staff were gradually assigned to relevant departments of the African Army. After this batch of new forces were added, Guderian's staff and logistics team became more complete. In addition, Marshal Kesselring continued to replenish troops and equipment for the front line, and finally the troops were reorganized and replenished to a relatively ideal state.

The Italian remnants rescued by Guderian on the coastal highway returned to their homeland one after another. Only the complete Italian paratrooper brigade was left on the Tobruk front. This brigade was completely trained by German instructors, and some German instructors still serve as officers in it. Most of the soldiers are members of the fascists, with strong combat effectiveness and fighting spirit. In addition, the paratroopers have always been under the jurisdiction of the Air Force, which is much stronger than the general Italian army. Guderian regarded them as an important force and left them. Then the 4th Armored Division also received good news. Marshal Manstein, commander of the Southern Army Group, sent out all the captured vehicles on the southern line for more than a year. After being improved and refreshed by the Armament Department, 78 T-34s were transported to Tobruk in one go. So the American intelligence was very accurate. The African Army had 200 T-34s, or 221 in total to be exact.

Now Guderian finally has more troops. After a series of reorganizations and additions, the African Army currently includes 3 complete armored divisions (4th, 15th, 21st) and a complete armored brigade (Flying Fortress Armored brigade), an infantry division (164th Infantry Division) and an Italian paratrooper brigade, plus some remaining troops and air force, the total strength has returned to nearly 100,000, with 800 tanks and 5 air force wings of nearly 900 aircraft The aircraft are much better than the embarrassment when he first took over. Although the number of troops is still smaller, the combat effectiveness and technical equipment are completely different - it can be called the strongest moment in the history of the African Army.

"Montgomery is still bickering with Churchill?" Although the intelligence department did not know the specific contents of the telegram, it was aware of the extremely frequent exchange of telegrams between Egypt, North Africa, and the London Triangle, so Hoffman had this guess.

"I don't know how to coordinate between North Africa and London. Now Montgomery is leading the main force of the 8th Army to move westward, but he is very cautious. The large units are grouped together, with more than 50,000 troops in each direction, and he is not impatient to advance. Alas From Man to Cairo, many troops have been deployed to protect the logistics line. They seem to be adding troops and equipment, and there is currently no sign of launching an attack on our army. The African Army itself is busy making adjustments and will not be able to make use of it in the short term. An decided to wait and see if there was a chance to pounce on him and take a bite."

"Montgomery cannot be allowed to live too comfortably. We must find an opportunity to beat him up." Hoffman said, "If we can find an opportunity to eat up another 1-2 armored divisions from him, he will be mobilized by the troops behind him due to his cautious attitude. Come up."

"He may also have been frightened and backed away."

"No, this is absolutely impossible. Churchill boasted in the world media that he won the Battle of El Alamein. How could he be allowed to retreat so easily?"

"I understand what you mean. I will convey it to General Guderian when I return."

"How is our old friend Mussolini feeling? He called me three times in a row and accused Guderian of sacrificing his troops at will. If he could give the order, Guderian's head would probably be lost." After listening to the briefing about the African Army, Hoffman changed the topic and asked about the situation in Italy.

"He also complained to me, but I ignored him." Kesselin raised his brows, with a look of contempt in his eyes, "I was about to report a joke about Rome to you."

As soon as Kesselring was about to tell a joke, the attention of others was attracted. Goebbels, Bormann, and Keitel all pricked up their ears to listen, lest they miss the gossip about the Italian leader.

"Führer, do you know? There was a grand celebration ceremony in Rome two days ago. Prime Minister Mussolini gave a public speech. He declared that in the Battle of El Alamein, the Italian army 'annihilated 3 British brigades and routed 2 A British armored division captured at least 5,000 people, as well as hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles, and hundreds of cannons... The recent attack was only 30 kilometers away from Montgomery's headquarters. If the strength comparison was not too disparate, maybe it would have been The British general has been captured alive', and of course in the end he shyly admitted that 'Italy's sacrifice was also huge, and we faithfully fulfilled the covenant with our blood and lives.'"

"What?" Hoffman was stunned and speechless. It was really embarrassing to be so thick-skinned. Others were also dumbfounded. They had no idea that the battle report of the Battle of El Alamein could be written like this.

"He took all the outdated arms we gave him and displayed them on the street. He claimed that they were trophies captured by the Italian troops. He also took the British prisoners of war and paraded them through the streets." Kesselring added, "We gave them to The iron cross logo on his equipment is still retained. When a Spanish reporter asked why, he plausibly said that the British captured the German equipment and were defeated and captured by the Italians. Otherwise, how could the German equipment appear here? The reporter checked with me, but I was too lazy to expose him and just dealt with it vaguely. "

"Ha!" Everyone laughed, and Bowman gave a thumbs up and praised: "Brilliant! Brilliant! This explanation is really great, more witty than all the speakers."

Hoffman nodded and agreed to hand over all British prisoners, some unused British equipment (such as British rifles, machine guns, those 7 Brothers coffins) and the No. 2 tanks that the African Army did not want to the Italian side in order to save the Italians. At the same time, it gave Mussolini some comfort to prevent him from always holding on to Guderian's problems, but he didn't expect that the other party would "learn and apply" in such a way. He really didn't expect it.

"The funnier things are yet to come..." Marshal Kesselring told the second story vividly. After listening to it, everyone burst into laughter. Bowman, who laughed the most exaggeratedly, almost shed tears.