Iron Cross

Even the mustache-wearing General Galland was excited about the attack on Guderian. He couldn't wait to make a big move, because his troops also received a lot of new equipment in this supply. In addition to the usual Fw-190 and Bf-109G supplies, Messerschmitt also gave him 24 modified Bf-219trop (tropical type). After the test flight, he believed that the absolute speed and high-altitude capabilities of this batch of aircraft were not as good as those of Bf-109 and Fw-190, but the mid- and low-altitude hovering and rolling capabilities were particularly outstanding, and the air time was very long. After adding auxiliary fuel tanks, it easily broke through 5 hours or 2,000 kilometers, perfectly overcoming the shortcomings of Bf-109. This was exactly what he wanted - almost the best help to deal with British bombers. As for British fighters, he handed them over to Fw-190.

In order to better tap the potential of the new aircraft, Garand issued a clear order: only the aces who shot down more than 20 enemy aircraft in the fighter wings of the North African Air Force were eligible for priority use. General Mustache used his power for personal gain and kept one for himself, and also prepared special aviation gasoline with a mark of 100. However, no one said anything about this behavior, after all, he was also an excellent pilot with more than 100 records of shooting down.

In addition to testing the new aircraft, he also planned to see the effect and command ability of the new organization of the troops. Hoffman initiated the adjustment of the troop organization in an all-round way. The army was a typical "disarmament and expansion of divisions", while the air force experienced a similar expansion method, and even went a little more radical - after the two-level institutions of the air force and the division were abolished, the air force directly governed the combat wings, and at the same time greatly expanded the wing's strength.

According to the previous organization rules, the flight wing was a regiment-level unit, which only undertook tactical tasks, but now the wing level has been upgraded to a level similar to the army division. Taking the JG27 fighter wing where Marseille is as an example, a squadron is composed of 4 aircraft formations (2 two-aircraft formations), and a senior second lieutenant serves as the squad leader. 4 squadrons form a squadron, each squadron has 16 aircraft, and the squadron leader is a senior lieutenant or captain. 4 squadrons form a brigade, and the brigade headquarters itself has 4 aircraft. The strength of such a brigade is 64+4 aircraft. The brigade leader is usually a major or lieutenant colonel (the fighter brigade has a lieutenant colonel because of the large number of combat aircraft, and the rest of the wings have majors); 4 battalions and the wing headquarters (about the size of a squadron) form a wing. The latest wing has 288 aircraft at full strength, plus 12 reserve aircraft, a total of 300 aircraft. The wing commander is mostly a colonel, and at the same time, staff, logistics, intelligence and other departments are set up, which are headed by officers with the rank of lieutenant colonel. The number of aircraft in a bomber wing is generally less than that in a fighter wing. For example, Stuka usually consists of three aircraft in a squadron, so the total number of combat aircraft in the wing is only 228.

After the new organization was promoted, the brigade became a typical tactical unit with an independent airport, and the wing was promoted to a campaign unit, responsible for combat targets in one direction. Usually, the organization of the wing is stipulated, but the air force to which the wing belongs is variable. There are many benefits to expanding the organization of the wing and canceling the organization at the army and division level. The most intuitive feeling is that a lot of useless personnel in the Air Force have been cleared out. In the past, the army and division levels did not actually have combat troops but only commanded subordinate wings, but the wing itself had a bunch of officers. The army and division levels only acted as second-hand, which not only reduced efficiency but also often caused the order to be distorted. In order to protect these idle officers, a large-scale guard force must be prepared. When Goering was in power, the Air Force would never let the army bear the security responsibility. After Hoffman's adjustment, the redundant personnel were pulled to Marshal Milch to guard the prisoners of war, and the security personnel who were cleared out were directly sent to the army as supplementary troops. The ratio of personnel to aircraft in the Air Force dropped rapidly from 300:1 in 1941 (1 combat aircraft corresponds to 300 air force troops), and it was expected to reach 190:1 by the end of the year, and Hoffman's requirement was to reduce it to 100:1 - according to his target planning, the Air Force should reach a scale of 20,000 aircraft by the end of 1943, and the force should not exceed 2 million.

Facts have proved that the transfer of excess personnel in the Air Force to guard the prisoners did a good job. They were neither full of ideological hatred like the SS, nor had direct combat experience with prisoners of war like the Wehrmacht Army. The overall attitude towards prisoners of war was civilized and gentle, and the death rate in the prisoner-of-war camps was reduced to one-tenth of the previous one, and escape, sabotage and resistance were greatly reduced.

The expansion of the wing size this time was only the first part of Hoffman's plan. He originally wanted to organize the wing into a mixed combat force and cooperate with the aviation base. In that way, the same wing would have both fighter units and other units such as bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. The overall combat capability would be more prominent and the coordination would be better. Unfortunately, this idea was opposed by many people. The reason was obvious - the wing commanders of the German Air Force were usually promoted from front-line pilots. There was a lack of commanders who could perform mixed aircraft types and multi-formation tasks. In that case, the command requirements for them were too high, and the air force commander could not be downgraded to the wing commander. Senior officers like Garand who came from fighters were typical. He was good at commanding fighter units, but if he was asked to coordinate and command bombers and other units, he would be at a loss. But this direction was undoubtedly correct - the aviation commander on the aircraft carrier had to command all the formations. There was no aircraft carrier formation that was said to carry a single-mission flight formation.

Just when he was thinking about how to attack and provide air cover for the attack, what Guderian said stunned him, because the other party clearly said: "...according to the weather display, two days later, that is, November 30 The entire Cyrenaica area will usher in heavy rain, which is quite heavy and may last for two to three days. I am prepared to use this opportunity to launch an attack..."

"What?" Everyone was shocked. Everyone knew that an attack would be imminent after receiving supplies, but they didn't expect to pick such a time.

"Do you think my timing was bad?"

"This..." Many people have troubled expressions. Although the sight is blocked on rainy days, it can cause the greatest suddenness of the attack, but this impact is a double-edged sword, which will also affect the development and advancement of the team.

"If it rains, the Air Force will not be able to provide air cover." Garland advised him. "The presence of air cover is crucial to whether the gap can be opened quickly."

"No! My point of view is exactly the opposite of yours." Guderian smiled. "Judging from the Battle of El Alamein and the tug-of-war that lasted more than a month, the balance of tactical capabilities and strength between the enemy and ourselves is very clear. Although we are generally We have fewer troops than our opponents, but our combat capabilities, equipment level, and coordination are stronger than our opponents. As long as we concentrate our forces on the assault, we can relatively easily repel Montgomery's layout on the outer defense line with or without the intervention of Tiger tanks. But equally, the British can calmly mobilize their reserves to fill the gap by virtue of their strength advantage. In addition, they have more air force aircraft than we do. Under the threat of air power, once the ground gap is opened, it will be difficult to expand, let alone consolidate. So the first step is to find an opportunity to eliminate the opponent’s air superiority.”

Although Garland wanted to say that his fighter force could eliminate the enemy's advantage, after thinking about it, he felt that it was unreliable - this guarantee could not be ignored, otherwise people would be killed.

"Sir, if this happens, the road will also become muddy. Will it cause inconvenience to the movement?" Chief of Staff Bayerlein reminded, "I am worried that we will fall into a similar dilemma as on the Eastern Front."

Bayerlein was an old subordinate of Guderian, known as "Scud Heinz" during the Eastern Front Campaign, and deeply complained about the road conditions on the Eastern Front that turned into mud in the spring.

"The inconvenience is obvious - but it is inconvenient for us, and naturally it will not be too inconvenient for the British. As long as we find the direction of the attack and gather in advance, the inconvenience is all on their side - they cannot stop the troops who are going to be attacked. The rear troops they can reinforce cannot break through quickly. This is a good opportunity for us. It depends on whether we can seize it." Guderian explained while dispelling the concerns of his subordinates. "I was originally most worried about the maneuverability of a heavy tank like the Tiger, but experiments have shown that the Tiger can withstand this test..."

Now everyone understands why Guderian couldn't wait to let them perform on the muddy ground just after receiving the new tanks that day. He originally thought he wanted to see the maneuverability of the new tanks, but now it seems that he has already planned this step. It’s chess.

"As for the plane..." He smiled and reassured Garland, "Don't worry, the rain in the desert doesn't last long. It's very rare to have two days. Two days later will be the critical moment for us to expand the gap and consolidate our position. I I hope the air force can withstand the attack of the Desert Air Force - I don't need the bombers to cooperate with us to open the gap and hinder the British follow-up reinforcements, but I ask the fighter jets to control the situation and not let the other side hinder us. You don't want the head of state Xin. The hard-fought new tank was sent into the sky by a 500-pound aerial bomb, right?”

"Of course!" Garland promised, patting his chest, "As long as the weather permits, we will do our best."

"Now, do you two battalions still have problems? Can you be the first to go out to fight?" Guderian turned his attention to Major Rudel and Major Merkel.

"No, we have fully adapted. The whole battalion has high morale and complete equipment, and can be dispatched as soon as possible!"

"Then, the heavy armored battalion will be responsible for opening the gap, and the rest of the troops will quickly follow up. Our goal this time is..." Guderian tapped lightly on the map and quickly drew a circle, "Yes This division!”

After everyone saw it clearly, they were greatly surprised, and then fell into deep thought - the commander wanted to use surprise to the end!