Iron Cross

Murata Shigeharu's attack echelon, which was the last to set out, was skeptical and hung up torpedoes to bomb Socotra Island. However, Ryunosuke Kusaka guessed it right and actually discovered a merchant ship formation on the sea along the way. , a total of 14 ships, the route is all the way to the northwest, probably from India to deliver supplies to Egypt and the Middle East. There are only 4 old destroyers serving as escort missions, less than 200 nautical miles away from the center of the fleet, and the speed is only a pitiful 11 ​​knots. , on the one hand, he urgently called the fleet destroyers to come and capture, on the other hand, he gave the order to sink the escort ships without hesitation.

Even Cunningham's fast column could not withstand a full blow from carrier-based aircraft, not to mention these S-class destroyers, which had long been outdated. In less than 4 minutes, all four destroyers were sent to the bottom of the sea by aircraft. Afterwards, he sent a coded telegram to the merchant ships below, asking them to immediately adjust their course to the south. He then left three Zeros and four Ninety-Sevens in the air to closely monitor the sea surface. It was obvious that if any ship dared to If instructions are not followed, they will be sunk immediately.

The method of using airplanes to capture merchant ships was not something Murata Shigeharu could think of. Due to the threat of Japanese aircraft overhead, the merchant fleet could only obey the instructions, while Murata himself led a fleet of aircrafts roaring towards Socotra Island. After releasing all its attack power, only a few water patrol planes were left on the island, basically waiting for death. Under the indiscriminate bombing by dozens of Japanese planes, the airport, base, and warehouse were reduced to ruins.

"Sir, what are we going to do next? Are we really going to stay here for the full 35 days as agreed?" After the major victory, the commander tower of the Musashi was filled with joy. Everyone had a relaxed and happy expression on their faces. Kusaka Ren was nervous. I felt completely relaxed.

"Yes, the mission is completed, and I don't know what to do next." Horikichi smiled, "This situation is just like the situation when Pearl Harbor was won and the army swept through Southeast Asia and I didn't know what to do."

"This..." Kusaka Renichi showed an embarrassed look: What Horikichi said was true. After the overwhelming victory in the early stages of the war, the combined fleet suddenly didn't know what to do. Yamamoto Isoroku and his huge battleship The echelon hid in the Zhudao anchorage. Faced with a fierce debate between "advance eastward" and "advance south" (to capture Australia), the military headquarters finally chose to avoid the contradiction and advance westward - and then there was the Battle of Ceylon. As a result, the mistakes made in the Battle of Ceylon were made again at Midway, but the latter time was not as lucky as the Battle of Ceylon.

"But this time is different. The Nanyang defenders and the senior military command department are probably eagerly waiting for the fleet to return - now the news must have spread, and the US military will attack even more frantically knowing that the main force of the fleet is not in Nanyang."

"The U.S. military is gaining momentum, and it would be extremely unwise to go back and fight with it now." Horikichi looked at Kusuka Renyi, who was about to speak, and waved his hand to stop him from speaking, "Don't be anxious, let me think about it carefully, first Let’s send the battle report to the German side.”

At 18:00 in the evening, the combined fleet sent a telegram to the German combat headquarters in Alexandria:

Today, our combined fleet successfully completed the scheduled combat objectives, annihilating the British and American reinforcement fleets, destroying a total of 1 enemy aircraft carrier, 5 battleships, 6 light and heavy cruisers, 12 destroyers, transport ships, etc., and no enemy battleships slipped through the net. Now The army officers and soldiers abandoned their baggage and equipment, landed on the beach and fled. Our fleet is using various means to pursue and annihilate them. This fleet promises to clear all enemy ships within the combat range of carrier-based aircraft and ensure absolute sea control in the Arabian Sea and the North Indian Ocean. We look forward to an early and successful rendezvous with your army.

"Good! Very good!"

In Alexandria Port, at the invitation of Rommel, Hoffmann and Mussolini each arrived at the port with a large entourage and held a grand dinner. After receiving the victory telegram from Japan, the atmosphere of the banquet reached an even higher level. At the climax, everyone stood up and applauded.

"I propose..." Hoffman held up his glass, "Cheers to the great victory of the Three Kingdoms Axis!"

"Cheers!" The Italian leader's face was also glowing, and he was so happy that he didn't know what to say.

For the sake of such a major victory, Rommel and Guderian's "abuse and wronging" of the Italian troops were lightly let go by the leader. Not only did they severely reprimand the generals in the prisoner of war camp with a straight face, They were ordered to apologize to Rommel, and with smiling faces, award the Order of the Kingdom, which represents Italy's highest honor, to Rommel and Guderian in recognition of their outstanding contributions in defending Libya and rescuing captured Italian soldiers - the leader's The little abacus was very smart, and he also expected the Germans to help him deal with the British in Ethiopia.

Of course, Hoffman would not make Mussolini look too bad. He also counted on the Italian Navy to fight hard, so he not only distributed all the equipment and supplies to the Italian troops, but also promised to give them a batch of captured equipment - Guderian Africa The armored vehicles captured by the army, Valentine and Crusader tanks, a large number of artillery and ammunition were all ready to be dumped on the Italians. The heavy oil stored in Alexandria was also promised to be allocated to the Italian Navy. 150,000 tons were also agreed to be allocated to Italy from the mainland. The Bf-109 is used to enhance air defense capabilities. As for the remuneration promised to Japan, Germany also agreed to bear all of it. It also stated that it would send troops to "clean up" the British in Ethiopia...

This series of generous actions made the leader so happy that he didn't know what to say. He expressed his gratitude repeatedly and drank a large glass of wine in one go. The scene of the German-Italian alliance seemed particularly intimate!

After the banquet, Hoffmann, who kept a high level of calm, refused Mussolini's invitation for a night tour of Alexandria on the grounds of physical exhaustion. He summoned Rommel and Gauss, together with Keitel, Kesselring, Zeitzler, and Jodl. Let’s discuss the next battle plan together.

"What are your thoughts on dealing with the British army in Cairo?"

"Offensive may not be a good idea. I suggest focusing on political solutions." Rommel explained. "If the results provided by Japan are true, then the hope of the British army in Cairo to receive reinforcements will be completely shattered, although they still have a group of troops in Mozambique. Coastal, but the overwhelming naval power of the three countries is an insurmountable mountain. Now there are only three ways in front of the British army in Cairo. The first is to hold on to Cairo and fight to the end; the second is to abandon Cairo immediately and break out; the third is to abandon Cairo immediately. , the whole surrendered to our army.”

"The result is fine, we have observers on the ship." Hoffman first dispelled their concerns, "Which one do you think they will choose?"

"Neither option is a good choice. Although Cairo's defense system is good, holding on is a dead end - when Heinz's troops arrive, our army will have more than twice the strength advantage over the British army in Cairo, and we won't even need to fight at all. They can be trapped and starved to death; there are not many directions they can choose on the second road. Now that our army controls the canal zone and the fleet is patrolling in the Red Sea, the British army cannot break out eastward and has no choice but to go south. Retreat into Upper Egypt and East Africa, but as soon as they leave the strong fortifications, they will be easily pursued and eliminated by our army; the third article is very difficult to implement, but in the past two days, I have been contacted by leading figures in Egypt, and they are firmly opposed to Cairo is at war in the hope that the problem can be resolved decently, and if we can respect the interests of Egypt's indigenous forces, it may be easier to control the country."

"Albert..." Hoffman turned his head to Marshal Kesselring, "Egypt's nationalist sentiment is relatively strong. The Wafd Party is very powerful in Egypt and has repeatedly opposed British colonial rule. It is a political force that can be contacted. I hope you will shoulder the burden of solving the Egyptian problem politically."

"Yes, what are our goals and bottom line?"

"To establish a new government that is generally supported by the Egyptian people, the regime must support and join the axis, and in exchange some interest adjustments can be made. For example, Sudan is currently a British-Egyptian condominium. I plan to directly annex northern Sudan to Egypt and separate southern Sudan. Give Libya and Ethiopia - I promised the Italians that Libya and Ethiopia would be territorially bordered. Also, we must firmly control the Suez Canal and the associated canal zone, and at least enjoy the same level of treatment as the British."

Keitel was indignant: "What contribution has Italy made to get so many benefits? We helped them secure Libya, we defeated Egypt, and they still expect us to fight Ethiopia - we paid so much, but let them go in vain." Got the benefit.”

"Taking a long-term view, if Italy takes Sudan and Ethiopia, it will definitely have to exchange other territories with us." Hoffman pointed at the map, "I am interested in the former French Somaliland, British Somalia and Italian Somalia. We hope to connect this area, eat Kenya, and restore our status in Tanganyika (it was a German colony during World War I, and German colonies at that time also included Cameroon, Togo, etc.) to form a new German East African territory.”

As soon as they heard about the plans for a larger German East Africa, everyone's eyes lit up and they became interested. They followed Hoffman's fingers from the Red Sea to the Mozambique Channel, their eyes full of enthusiasm.

"This is the long-term goal. There are three main things to do in the near future. The first is to completely control Egypt. Militarily, Erwin is in charge, and politically, Albert is in charge. The second is to occupy the island of Cyprus and impose pressure on Turkey. Under pressure, General Zeitzler drew up a plan, and Marshal Keitel and Ribbentrop went to contact the Turks; the third thing was to draw up combat plans for Syria and Iraq, especially the two oil fields in Mosul and Basra as soon as possible Seize it and minimize the damage caused by the British - whether we have enough fuel for our aircraft, tanks and warships in the second half of next year depends on this, Yoder, you are responsible for this plan. "

"I'm afraid there are not enough troops in East Africa and the Middle East. Even if Heinz comes up, they are weak. Can the head of state give some more support?" Rommel pleaded, "Don't be Italians. I've really had enough of them. "

Everyone burst into laughter.

"First transfer an armored division." Hoffman said with a smile, "Send the 7th Armored Division to you. They have completed reinforcements on the mainland and can be dispatched. The navy can also cooperate with you."

As soon as he heard that the old troops were coming, Rommel happily accepted.