Iron Cross

On the island of Crete, the docks, military ports, and airports were full of troops waiting for orders to attack. They were fully prepared for this day. Regarding the preparations, Hoffman nodded with satisfaction and asked Rommel: "Have the emergency plans been drawn up? Have any possible situations been foreseen to the greatest extent?"

"Yes, Head of State." Rommel said respectfully, "Under General Gauss's planning and in-depth discussions, we used 3 months to prepare 6 sets of main plans and 37 subdivided plans to maximize our thinking. The relevant emergencies are sufficient to deal with all possible accidents. These plans are all stored in the chief of staff's mind - this is safer and more reliable than being recorded in any document. "

Hoffman nodded with satisfaction: "This puts me at ease. Once the battle begins, you will be the supreme commander, and we will all be bystanders and will not interfere with your command."

"Thank you, the head of state, for your trust." Rommel looked at the time. "It's almost time. Do you want to say something to the soldiers who are about to set off? Encourage them and inspire them to move forward bravely. We have set up the broadcast."

The iconic sound rang out on the island of Crete, and the soldiers were all excited - the head of state! It's the head of state! The Führer is coming to the front! The Führer is watching us!

"Dear soldiers of the Kungunir Group Army and fellow German warriors:

Today, we want to send out our strongest cry and carry out the strongest resistance to Egypt, this stubborn fortress of traditional British imperialism, because this is not only a strategic location for the enemy, but also a key noose to block us. Since the last war, From the beginning, the British used their superior navy and colonies to blockade us, and used all their strength and all bad tricks to deal with us, leaving us without means of production for our operations and our people's lives without means of subsistence... This situation is ours. , is intolerable to all Germans! After careful preparation and planning, today we will launch the most violent attack and stab the enemy's heart with Odin's eternal spear - I am convinced that all the German people will be proud of you.

... Of course, this battle will not be smooth sailing. The moody waves and the enemy's omnipresent defense will bring you troubles. But I believe that in the face of the brave soldiers fighting hard, no hardships can withstand us. The German iron fist will certainly be able to withstand us. Crush the enemy's stubborn resistance, overcome various difficulties, and achieve final victory!

... Even if we all die in battle, Germany will still live on! "

"Long live the Führer! Long live Germany"

Hoffman waved his hand: "German warriors! Attack towards the final victory!"

The first batch of landing army troops boarded various warships, transport ships, and landing craft bravely and proudly. 50 minutes later, the huge landing fleet began to move south, and everyone watched them leave.

In Hoffmann's original plan, the landing was to be carried out without naval escort, which frightened everyone half to death at the time. Neither Keitel, Yodl nor Zeitzler dared to make such a landing. Determined and opposed to such a risk as Hoffmann, even if the head of state promised to mobilize considerable landing craft and S-boats.

After successfully receiving the French warships and forming the Mediterranean Squadron, although the navy was still too weak to compete head-on with the British, everyone finally felt relieved. In order to dispel the suspicions of the British and American sides, the substantive purpose of landing in North Africa was concealed. , the German Mediterranean Fleet also went to the Black Sea to participate in the battle against the Soviet Union. It not only cooperated with the naval aviation to annihilate the main force of the Red Navy's Black Sea Fleet, but also pretended to land in the Caucasus, forcing the Red Army's Caucasus Group Army to not dare to act rashly and effectively restrained The battle in the direction of the Don River laid the foundation for the smooth advancement of the war in the Dahe Bend.

A few days ago, the German Mediterranean Fleet returned to Romania and returned through the Bosporus and Dardanelles after quickly completing various supplies. Judging from the course, it seemed to be returning to Italy, but on December 8 In the middle of the night, it suddenly changed direction and started sailing towards Crete. By this afternoon, it happened to be at the location of the landing fleet, and it could set off directly without stopping at all - perfectly deceiving Britain and the United States.

The sky gradually darkened, and as the sun set, the second attack wave set off: multi-engine Ju-52 transport planes and Ar-232 transport planes took off from the air force bases of three major airports in Malta and flew south. Go directly to the coast of North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea in two hours. Then they made a gentle and skillful half-arc and turned to fly southeast. The plane finally reached the predetermined position. The pilot lowered the altitude, slowed down the speed, and dropped one white parachute after another from the cabin.

Although they set off later, it was the first step of Kungunil's plan: to use paratroopers to take the lead in controlling the airport in the direction of Alamein and prepare to receive the arrival of the large force.

Major Harman is a veteran who participated in the Battle of Crete. This time he was also selected to assume the command task. He slowly pulled the parachute rope and descended to the dry sand. Then he flexibly released the parachute rope while carefully Observe what's going on around you. Although the reconnaissance intelligence showed that there were no enemy troops nearby, past experience told him that he could not be careless at any time. But there were no surprises this time. Soon he used the compass to find the direction and understood his location by comparing it with the map. It was certain that the parachute landing point was still a little away from the planned position. Wind and airflow would cause deviations, and he was not worried about this.

He took out his water bottle and drank a few sips of water, then started to work. He buried the parachute under the surrounding sand dunes, quickly hid himself in a large red willow bush, and then completed the assembly of all the weapons. After a long period of observation to confirm that there was no abnormality, he made a partridge call - this was the scheduled contact signal. Soon, this call became more frequent, and one team member after another gathered around him, and the entire commando team began to take shape.

All the soldiers completed the preparations like him. While they were searching for weapons and ammunition that came down with the large parachute, they were also carefully looking for desert trails and camel dung - only by following this path would they not get lost in the desert. He had received comprehensive training in this area and was now an expert. Compared with the Battle of Crete, the paratroopers changed their weapons and no longer used the expensive and unreliable FG42 paratrooper rifles. Instead, they used the STG43 rifles, plus an Iron Fist No. 1 - this was the only anti-armor force they could rely on. The boxes dropped with the large parachutes were particularly important. They contained not only MG42 machine guns and mortars, but also related ammunition and medicine supplies. They were the key to the success of the entire operation. .

The parachute operation went smoothly. There were a total of 240 commandos, 227 of whom were successfully assembled together. 90% of the weapons, ammunition and supplies for the parachute were also harvested. The most critical radio station was also received and assembled. At 3 o'clock in the morning, everything was ready for the attack.

"Now check the watch. According to the plan, the first batch of planes will arrive at 7:30. We must clear the enemies at the airport before 7:15, and at the same time leave some time to clean up the airport and runway."

"Yes!"

"Let's go."

The team of more than 200 people acted quickly. The target they were going to attack was still more than 10 kilometers away.

"Führer, officers, the operation was successful... We received the signal sent back by the paratroopers." At 6:30 in the morning, Hoffman, who had just woken up, heard the good news.

"So fast?" Rommel looked at his watch and asked suspiciously, "It's not even 6:30 yet, an hour earlier than expected... There won't be any problems, right?"

"This..." Gauss was speechless, Keitel, Zeitzler and others did not dare to jump to conclusions, and even Hoffman was not easy to comment on. If this telegram was false - for example, the paratroopers were captured by the enemy and forced to send it, there should be some clues.

"What's wrong with the telegraph signal?"

"Nothing unusual..." Gauss was a little distressed, "It shouldn't be a problem, but it's a little weird - it's too smooth."

Since Hoffman had already said he would not interfere with the command, he naturally had to listen to Rommel's decision. The latter frowned and thought for more than ten seconds before making up his mind and said: "Tell the fleet to be careful. Maybe our action is very smooth, or there is a fraud on the ground. It's too late and impractical to verify it now... We can only believe the report of the paratrooper commander. Maybe the enemy is really vulnerable?"

Colonel Schroeder, who was in charge of the air, was also very distressed, but he still ordered: "Let the fighters speed up and leave the fleet, control the surrounding situation first, land after confirming safety, and then let the transport plane land."

Lieutenant Love hesitated to observe the situation on the airport. This was his third time flying over the airport. To be honest, he now felt that it was very likely a trap. The people below were desperately waving white flags - this was a predetermined signal, suggesting that he could land. But the problem was that there was not only no trace of fierce fighting around, but there were even a row of trucks and armored vehicles parked on the field next to it, which was simply unbelievable.

However, military orders were as heavy as a mountain. There were planes of his own squadron following him more than 100 kilometers behind him, and his fuel was almost at its limit. If he didn't land, he would have to return. He made the sign of the cross and prayed silently, preparing tragically for sacrifice or capture. He pressed the nose of the plane down and rushed down towards the runway. He held the intercom to his lips and reported the situation in real time while landing, hoping that the air commander could hear his voice: "Report, No. 01 is preparing to land."

"Agreed, please pay attention to the surrounding situation and report immediately if there is any abnormality..."