Iron Cross

Kesselin wanted to say no directly to the hopes and conditions put forward by the Iraqis, but in the end he sighed helplessly and promised to send the relevant note to the head of state as soon as possible to ask him for a final decision. On the one hand, Rashid continuously supplies crude oil to Germany, and on the other hand, he collects a large amount of oil and food in the country to provide emergency supplies for the African Army. He also dispatches engineers and construction troops to build frontline airports for the German army. He is full of enthusiasm. In Rommel’s words, “5 times more than the Italians!”

Rashid's ambitions were great, but he also used favorable conditions to lock in Germany - he believed that it was impossible for the Germans not to be tempted.

1. Assist Germany in undertaking the construction of oil pipelines in Iraq;

2. In addition to meeting its own needs, all crude oil production in Iraq will be supplied to Germany or countries designated by Germany at a 20% discount on the market price, and Germany will pay for it with arms, equipment, industrial technology, etc.;

3. Arm the Iraqi army and hire German instructors and consultants to assist the German army in fighting in the Middle East.

The first few items were negotiated at the beginning. Regarding the territorial dispute with Saudi Arabia, Iraq made three proposals;

First, Germany assists Iraq in acquiring land of no less than 100,000 square kilometers that borders Iraq’s existing territory;

Second, this area is a special economic area, which is owned by Iraq and fully leased to Germany. Germany can station troops and colonize, while Iraq only dispatches some government officials to perform civil management;

Third, all minerals in the leased land are allowed to be developed by Germany. The interests will be fully occupied by Germany in the first 50 years. Starting from the 51st year, Germany will transfer the corresponding output to Iraq at an annual increase of 2%.

These conditions seem to be more stringent than the leased land and sphere of influence, but don't forget that this is not separated from Iraq itself, but directly taken from Saudi Arabia. What's more, the premise of allowing Germany to mine and occupy resources will inevitably require Germany compensated Iraq with better land - the interests of both parties were tied together.

On the other hand, Kesselring also communicated with the Saudis. I don’t know if the Saudis were out of their minds or something. Although the territory was surrounded on all sides and the German troops were overwhelming, they expressed "cooperation" to Germany. In good faith, he released more than 800 Italians and 25 German sailors who fled across the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia when the Italians were defeated in East Africa. However, this attitude seemed to Kesselin to be quite perfunctory, not to mention the degree of flattery with the Iraqis. Not as good as, or even worse than, the attitude of the Egyptian authorities. Not only has it repeatedly stated that it "strictly adheres to" neutrality and will not join the Axis Group, it is even unwilling to hand over the relevant properties and development blocks of Mobil Oil Company to Germany, and only agreed to give Germany three exploration areas for free.

From Abdul Aziz's point of view, he chose this answer obviously as a last resort. Before the Battle of El Alamein, he had declared on many occasions that the Germans could not win and must fight with the British and The Americans stood together and at the same time granted Mobil huge mining rights and collected money. Therefore, if he changes his words now, he may not be able to gain "understanding" from Germany. Instead, he may lose the support of Britain and the United States. He is not like Rashid. He is a pro-German politician. He has always been pro-British, and this position cannot be shaken.

The second factor in judging his decision is that although the Axis is now very strong in the Indian Ocean, he believes that the Japanese combined fleet cannot always stay in the Indian Ocean. The naval power of Germany and Italy is still weaker than that of Britain and the United States. Therefore, this advantage It was only temporary. Once Britain and the United States were free to counterattack, he believed that Germany would not be able to withstand it at all. He had an instinctive fear of the might of American industrial power.

The last point is that it has only been more than 10 years since he completed the unification of Saudi Arabia, and the forces in various places are still ready to move. If he shows timidity or fear, he will be attacked by the crowd. Even if it is to stabilize the internal situation, he can only make such remarks temporarily. He was making a bet: before Germany solved all the problems in Persia and the Middle East, he still had time - this period of time could be delayed until the British and American counterattacks began. And he received news from secret channels that the Soviet Union would send 150,000 troops to invade Persia. He believed that it was still unclear who would win in the entire Middle East.

Kesselring wanted to teach this king who knew nothing about the sky and the earth, but the reality was cruel. The German army was insufficient in the Middle East. Even Rommel, who had always been famous for his boldness, had no choice but to tell him that the main spearhead of the army in a short period of time could only be against British troops in Persia.

The British did not know Rommel's pain, and he also used the power in his hands to the maximum. Starting from crossing the Sinai Peninsula, the Grossdeutschland Division fought more than 1,500 kilometers in more than half a month, almost reaching its limit. Although The spirit was extremely high, but the equipment and supplies were at their extreme. If they hadn't captured Baghdad and obtained a batch of fuel and supplies, and then captured the British supplies in Basra, even the mighty Grossdeutschland Division would have been unable to withstand it. Otherwise, Now it is not a confrontation with the 10th Army in Ahvaz but a direct capture.

If General Wilson now has a force like the 1st or 7th Armored Division as the core to launch a counterattack, it is entirely possible to push the German army back to Iraq. It's a pity that he currently has only one local division, not to mention the armored division, and the other Indian divisions have long been trembling with fear when they heard the name of the Grossdeutschland Division that swept across the Middle East. In order to supplement the frontline force needs, Rommel had no choice but to reach out to Guderian for reinforcements. At least the latter's troops rested under Cairo for several days. Under Kesselring's coordination, Guderian agreed to give him the 15th Armored Division, and let the 7th Armored Division, which was about to arrive in Egypt and be commanded by Major General Manteuffel, take the place of the 15th Armored Division and join the African Army.

Speaking of which, before the appointment of a new division commander for the 7th Armored Division, which had been resting and replenishing in France, there were many lieutenant generals and even generals vying for the position of commander of this prestigious unit, but in the end, with the final decision of Hoffman, he was Colonel Manteuffel, who was the most junior and generally considered the most unlikely, was appointed to this position after being promoted one level. Manteuffel happily took office with the dizziness of being hit in the head by a happy apple. .

According to the old rules, he was to go to Rommel's account to obey orders, but in this case, he was transferred to Guderian's staff, and the previous combat plan and analysis could only be invalidated, but he was not discouraged - because Obviously, Guderian faced more and more difficult enemies. He hoped to fight a few outstanding battles, so as not to lose his reputation as a "ghost master" and to prove himself to all aspects.

Faced with the difficulty of lacking major generals on the front line, Hoffman could not remain indifferent to this. After discussing with Zeitzler and Keitel, he decided to adjust the force again: in view of the fact that the war in Libya has ended, British prisoners are also continuing to be transported to Italy. , the 164th Infantry Division left behind in the direction of Tobruk can be liberated. In addition to leaving an infantry regiment to continue to guard the fortress and supervise the remaining prisoners, the two Italian divisions that have been restored to form in Egypt can go to Libya to set up camp. Anyway, no matter Gudri Neither An nor Rommel wanted to see these Italians, so they stationed the 164th Division in Alexandria and the 20th Motorized Infantry Division in Cairo. They then mobilized the increasing SS Imperial Division from France to support Africa and requested that they arrive before the end of January. , and at the same time, let the Air Force mobilize one fighter wing, one bomber wing and two transport aircraft wings from China to go to the Middle East to obey orders.

It's not that Hoffman didn't want to mobilize more troops, but the front line in the Middle East was stretched too long, and it was very troublesome to replenish materials, supplies, equipment, etc., forcing him to invest in the most prestigious troops of the Third Reich in order to expect these Troops can be used to maximum effect. But as a result, the Imperial Division, which was originally planned to be transformed according to the 1943 type, was in trouble again. The relevant adaptation tasks were postponed again, and the relevant equipment was first used for the adaptation and supplementation of other armored divisions.

After receiving Kesselring's notification about the conditions in Iraq, Hoffman thought for three hours, and finally he made a decision: Since Saudi Arabia is so ignorant of praise and occupies such an important position - in this world Only he understands what lies beneath the Saudi soil, and he can only retaliate with thunderous wrath by occupying and dismembering the country. This has nothing to do with right or wrong, only interests. Now Germany really needs to establish its authority in the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia is the target of this goal.

"Reply: As we have received, the current Saudi regime can be defined as a biased Anglo-American country and must be destroyed. It agrees with Iraq's proposal and will settle the matter after the war in Persia. Now the Iraqi army can be ordered to cross the border to provoke and cause trouble. At the same time, , contact the internal forces in Saudi Arabia and prepare for political changes.”

After sending the telegram, he looked at the map blankly, thinking a little crazy: There are so many oil fields, which one should be the best to start? He needs to think carefully.

Kesselring smiled meaningfully after receiving the telegram. Without friction or conflict, how could the German army have an excuse to intervene?

Rashid signed the agreement readily. In his opinion, the Iraqi troops may not be able to defeat the Saudi troops, but the Germans are right next to them. If I take action, will Saudi Arabia fight back or tolerate it?

Just as the grand chess game between Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Persia is being promoted in full swing, due to the dramatic changes in the situation in the Middle East, the issue of Turkey's position has once again become the focus of public opinion and political attention in this country. Related inferences, discussions, and gossip are flying all over the world, and participation in the war Topics such as non-participation in the war, alliances and the axis were repeatedly discussed. In this atmosphere, envoys from Germany and the United States came to Istanbul one after another with almost different missions.

As Germany was close to the waterfront, two high-level representatives went there, one was Marshal Keitel and the other was Foreign Minister Ribbentrop.