Iron Cross

"General Ramsden, although we are enemies, there is one thing I want to remind you." Hoffman said to the still angry Ramsden, "General Montgomery died of suicide and was not killed by us. In fact, we gave him enough courtesy and all treatment appropriate to his status. No one treated prisoners of war better than us. In fact, you also know that General Montgomery is fully capable of escaping from the encirclement. He stayed not because there was no opportunity, nor because he was greedy for life, but because he had greater and more responsibilities on his shoulders. Although General Montgomery had to bear his own responsibility for the failure of this battle, the greater responsibility was London. Those politicians and the arrogant Churchill should be blamed. I am not afraid to tell you our true strength. We have less than 160,000 troops in Africa, and the 8th Army is far stronger than us. If he gets another 5. We can't defeat the reinforcements of 5 armored divisions no matter what, but the suicide note is very clear - when he urgently needed the reinforcements of 5 armored divisions, London ignored his reasonable request because you couldn't provide 5 armored divisions. Master? No! You have transferred him to other places. What are those idiots in the cabinet doing? They are planning to land in Northwest Africa and prepare to seize the French colonies..."

Lumsden listened to the translator speaking to him sentence by sentence. At first, he was angry, but later there was no anger, only sadness. He knew the inside story better than Hoffman.

"The British Empire's history and practices of doing whatever they wanted in the colonies over the past hundreds of years have profoundly educated them. Look at Egypt. Are there any Egyptian soldiers willing to help you fight us? Are there any Egyptians who can inform you? Look at Iraq. You formed the Iraqi army, appointed high-ranking officers and tried to control them, only to have them turn back and save their own gasoline for us to use. You tried to blow up the oil fields, but you turned out to be the most docile and weak people in the world. The local workers you bullied are also resisting you. Now that your troops are still entrenched in Persia, how many Persians do you think sincerely support your rule? "

Mussolini seemed very proud, but he did not forget to ridicule his old rival: "General Ramsden, I'm sorry to meet you on such an occasion. To be honest, how did you drive us out of here two years ago?" Arrogant and arrogant, now..."

Ramsden didn't bother to talk to Mussolini and just asked: "What are you going to do with General Montgomery? Can you let me take him back to Britain?"

"I'm afraid this won't work. Too much time is not good for the preservation of the remains, and it is also disrespectful to General Montgomery." Kesselring took a step forward and said, "We will choose a beautiful, quiet and peaceful cemetery in Cairo to bury him, and at the same time A memorial ceremony will be arranged for him, and a memorial ceremony will be arranged for him in the prison camp in Italy - we respect and admire this general from the bottom of our hearts. He did everything he could for his country and his subordinates. , is a real hero.”

"The Italian leader and I are here to pay our respects to this hero."

Ramsden stared blankly at the church. Hoffmann and Mussolini stood at the front of the procession and bowed their heads first. All senior German and Italian officers spontaneously lined up in order of military rank, and then followed the instructions of the master of ceremonies to pay tribute to Mongolia's body. Three bows are made to express condolences.

"Today, we are here to mourn a general. Although he was our sworn enemy, although he brought us a lot of trouble and pain, and although he failed in the end, he is still a hero. This Heroes fought fiercely with us on the battlefield. After exhaustion and failure, they did not hesitate to give up their own escape opportunities to protect their subordinates and soldiers. They exchanged their status, power, and glory for their survival. This is the most worthy of our admiration... "Hoffman ended the entire mourning ceremony with a brief speech.

"Führer, will this arrangement work for you?"

"Of course this is for the British, to let them know which is a good general and which is a bad general - so that they will not be deceived by politicians, and what I say is the truth, isn't it?"

"But..." Keitel was still confused, "What's the point? The British won't reconcile with us just because we respect their heroes."

"Reconciliation is impossible, but at least it will leave a mark on their hearts. They will realize that the enemy is not a demon, but a human being with flesh and blood and normal emotions. This will have a subtle impact on them." Hoffman smiled slightly, "Besides, Who was responsible for selecting and appointing the brave generals?"

"You mean Churchill." Keitel's eyes lit up, "If we can get rid of this warmonger, we will save a lot of trouble."

"It's difficult." Hoffman pondered for a moment, "but at least it can shake his prestige and threaten his ruling status."

"Then Dr. Goebbels will be very busy."

While Germany and Italy were busy holding grand ceremonies and military parades in Cairo, in the southern Indian Ocean, the First Guerrilla Detachment of the Combined Fleet, which had completed its combat mission, was quietly returning north.

"Sir, I received a report from Chief Horikichi that the German military supplies and aircraft supply ship arrived at Socotra Island today. The remaining three ships are currently receiving equipment and starting training. It is said that the performance is very excellent and is better than our carrier-based aircraft. ”

"That's great." Tsukahara Er4san took the telegram from Kusaka Ryuunosuke and read it excitedly.

"Sir, urgent telegram..." The confidential staff officer was swept into the command tower like a wind. "Early this morning, the German submarine reported that the British and American transport fleet was leaving the port and returning south. Chief Horikichi ordered us to change course and prepare to intercept."

"Intercept?" Tsukahara 243 thought for a moment, "Our troops don't have a big advantage, so the losses may be considerable."

"Sir..." Ryunosuke Kusaka read the telegram carefully and suddenly laughed, "God help me, the enemy only has one aircraft carrier accompanying him."

“Are Americans crazy?”

"It's not that they are crazy, but the Americans have diverted aircraft carrier-based aircraft into transport aircraft to urgently transport supplies to rescue the army, so there is only one aircraft carrier accompanying them."

"Using carrier-based aircraft as transport aircraft?" Tsukahara 243 was completely speechless, his eyes widened and he couldn't believe his ears, "Who came up with this trick? Could it be that Germany had spies mixed in among the top brass of the US military? "

"Sir, give the order." Ryunosuke Kusaka said excitedly, "How can you not eat the fat sheep delivered to your door?"

"Oh well."

Are Americans crazy? Of course not, but it’s almost as if the Americans are not crazy - because the German armored forces appeared in Port Sudan and have captured the city of Cairo, this shows that the Germans have enough troops to attack south. Now Germany, Italy and Japan control the Indian Ocean The premise of sea control means that it is easy for them to conduct amphibious landing operations-for example, the next landing in Somalia.

If Patton had not lost his remaining troops and lost all his supplies, the German amphibious landings would not be scary. The Second Armored Division and the British 78th Infantry Division were enough to give the Germans a headache, but now these two have basically become pure infantry. At a time when even the rations of the unit were in crisis, they could not stop the German attack at all. How could they be allowed to use their flesh and blood to resist the German army? Thinking of this horrific scene, Eisenhower, who was still in Mountbatten, Kenya, could not sleep all night long.

The British soldiers who retreated from Aswan and also lost their supplies and heavy equipment also made him despair - now he is the supreme commander of the entire African theater, and he cannot only consider the Americans, but also the British and those who The Colonial Guard, who was theoretically responsible for all Allied military forces, had only two options before him:

The first one is to let Patton and his remaining defeated troops retreat to Mogadishu as soon as possible, and then he will send a fleet to meet the troops returning south;

Second, he transported enough supplies and arms to Patton to enable them to hold on in Somalia, or simply retreat from the interior back to Kenya.

The first option is faster and more convenient, but unfortunately, with the "Northern Indian Ocean Blockade Statement" issued by the Japanese Navy in front of it, Ike dare not send the fleet into the tiger's mouth; the second option is more secure, and the premise is to get the supplies Send it up.

Sending supplies via the colonial roads in East Africa is out of the question and can only be delivered by air. Therefore, these days, all Kenyan aircraft, including carrier-based aircraft, have become transport aircraft. They are either airdropping or airborne, transporting all supplies, equipment and even jeeps to Somalia, and the Somali colonial forces are also desperately searching for them. The vehicle is for use by Patton and others - you must know that American young soldiers cannot walk for more than 5 kilometers. If they really go all the way from Somalia to Kenya, it is unknown whether they will survive.

As a result, Kenyan aircraft, large and small, were transformed into transport aircraft, and the Allies carried out transportation regardless of cost. Even the gasoline for the aircraft to return from Somalia had to be transported from Kenya first, which was called the second hump. The only advantage of the route over the Hump Route is that there are no insurmountable geographical obstacles on the route, and there are no Axis aircraft to interfere with the route. Therefore, Patton's troops can still receive sufficient supplies, and the wounded and sick in the troops are also carried on board. I flew back to Kenya for treatment.

The 2nd Armored Division and the 78th Infantry Division now combine to form the Allied African Army. The few vehicles are loaded with supplies and munitions. All officers, including Patton, consciously walk, leading these miserable soldiers one step at a time. The footprints began the long march south to Mogadishu.

The American officers and soldiers, who are extremely optimistic and good at self-mockery, told various jokes to encourage each other. The most famous one is:

"...When Washington led the Continental Army to fight the Revolutionary War, he walked on two legs. It is said that he even lacked shoes, and the British were not much better. Now we have returned to the era of walking with the British. Damn it, we are actually allies this time..."