Iron Cross

"Dear Lucy, this is the happiest time I have lived since the end of the French campaign. This happiness even overwhelms the moment when I conquered Tobruk Fortress and was awarded the Marshal's Scepter.

Not only because I miraculously cleared away all the slander and slander and escaped from the basement of the Army Hospital, but also because I led the troops back to Alamein to fight - you know, I was drafted back from here.

You must have also learned from the newspapers that I led the troops to conquer most of the Middle East - a place as big as ten German mainlands. Of course, this honor cannot be entirely attributed to me. In fact, he should belong to everyone starting from the head of state. A person, and above all belongs to the Führer.

The head of state not only fulfilled the promise he made to me, but also gave me unimaginable support and trust - I firmly believe that his trust and love for me have never wavered, but sometimes my too willful behavior and actions made him a little bit agitated. Disappointed, but fortunately we understand each other now.

...I have never been so satisfied as I am today. In the past, when I commanded the African Army in combat, I always lacked this or that, but now the situation is reversed. Those who lacked everything have become the British and Indians, and they obviously do not have it now. Our original resilience - their soldiers and officers all showed expressions of relief after the surrender, with no desire to hold on. The combat effectiveness of the Indian troops is even more ridiculously low, almost to the point of dispersing. When we capture prisoners, we often capture them in large groups, which is a few points worse than the Italian troops, which I always think is relatively low. Once we A reconnaissance platoon of less than 30 people captured more than 1,000 prisoners. When they ordered the prisoners to line up and walk towards our position, there was not even a voice of objection. God knows what means the British Empire used to organize them. It's even less clear how they could rely on such troops to occupy such a vast colony - the head of state's policy of marching into the Middle East is so wise. The colonial system of the British Empire is like a house made of cardboard, which can be destroyed with just a slight push. It will be shaky.

Recently, I have been confused by all kinds of indigenous chiefs, kings, prime ministers, ministers and their representatives. Some want to give me territory and slaves, some give me boxes of diamonds, pearls and gold, and some give me boxes of diamonds, pearls and gold. Some wanted to give me a mining area with rich oil fields, and some were prepared to give me all kinds of exotic women. They even hypocritically said that according to their teachings, a man can marry four wives at the same time... These were all ignored by me. I refused, and since I really couldn’t refuse, I planned to give it to the Führer. I have to apologize to you, and you might like some of this, but I can't start it, I have a lot of officers watching me. I was thinking that this was probably how the soldiers of the British Empire were corrupted and degraded and quickly lost their combat effectiveness.

I can't tell you our exact location yet. The climate here is very dry, with only 20mm of rainfall in January. The locals told us that this is a rare rainy season of the year - thanks to the rainfall in the past few years. In war, we have sufficient experience in dealing with this kind of environment. Soldiers can always find water wells. Fortunately, it is winter and the temperature is not high. The average temperature has been maintained at 5-6 degrees, and the lowest temperature is only minus 3 to 4 degrees. Much better than North Africa.

I expect to face the Russians soon. Gauss reminds me that they will be a more difficult opponent, but I believe we can achieve the final victory...

Love you Erwin”

Several other people in the headquarters watched Rommel carefully finish writing a letter home. This dedicated commander took the time to write a letter to his wife every day, sometimes even two letters a day. This seemed to be his unique characteristic. With such aura, it is hard to imagine that a marshal who holds a high position, holds a large number of troops, and has to think about life and death, victory and defeat every day, would actually take the time to take the trouble to "report work" to his wife - perhaps, this is This is the unique charm of Marshal Rommel.

During this rare moment of relaxation, several generals took the time to drink a pot of coffee, take out cigarettes, or chat endlessly with their colleagues. Only Rommel sat in the corner and wrote hard. A few minutes later, the combat meeting was officially held.

After in-depth communication with Rommel, Balck finally understood the other party's idea: he would deploy the North Route Group with the Viking Division as the main force on the flank of the logistics line between Tabriz and Tehran, and at the same time deploy it south of Tehran. South Road Group. If the Red Army focuses on defending Tehran, it will attack Tabriz; if the Red Army focuses on defending Tabriz, it will attack Tehran; if the Red Army distributes its forces equally between Tehran and Tabriz, it will let the North Road Group cut off The connection between Tabriz and Tehran, then either the north and the south groups attack Tehran, or they pretend to attack Tehran, but target the reinforcements that Tabriz may send.

"The weakness of the Russians is that they have to hold on to two important cities, Tabriz and Tehran, which are more than 500 kilometers apart, and we are fine with fighting either one - so if they go defensive it means they will The initiative of the entire Persian war situation is given to us." Rommel asked with a smile, "If you were the commander of the Red Army to launch the attack, where would you choose to attack?"

"We definitely can't attack our right wing in a roundabout way from the south - this will be flanked by our two groups, the north and the south. We can only attack our left wing in a roundabout way from the north..." Balk said this and looked at the map carefully. Suddenly he shouted, "If the Russians borrow the passage from Turkey, they can easily attack and even directly threaten the Mosul oil fields."

"Haha..." Rommel laughed, "Borrowing the road is a good idea... What a pity, do the Turks think so?"

Balk thought for a long time and slowly shook his head: Turkey would not agree to such a request - if Turkey dared to agree to use the passage, the German army would be able to attack Istanbul from Bulgaria in less than two days, and the bombers deployed on the island of Cyprus would soon It will also find a use.

"Then...the only way is to forcefully borrow the road." As soon as he said the words, even Balke couldn't help laughing. "Forcing the road will definitely anger the Turks, which is equivalent to bringing Turkey into our arms. Litui. In that case, instead of 150,000 Russians attacking us, 500,000 Turks will attack Russia."

Rommel smiled and nodded: "My method will not work against the impatient and aggressive Red Army commanders. However, Tyulenev is a very cautious and careful commander. He will repeatedly consider the gains and losses, weigh the pros and cons, and finally get the 'correct' answer." 's conclusion. We must be good at using his caution to prevent him from doing extreme things. So you see, I don't start the next step continuously after performing an action, in order to leave time for him to think carefully and make judgments. , don’t take risks. We can also replenish supplies.”

“Isn’t there a way for him to keep both Tehran and Tabriz while still dealing with various challenges?”

"Yes, there is, but it is very difficult. For example, if he continues to increase his troops to more than 250,000, it will be difficult for us to attack either of these two places - the problem is, without the assistance of the Turks, how can he find a way? Can we provide logistical supply routes for 250,000 troops? Do you know why I would rather have a mountain infantry division like the Prince Eugen than an armored division like the Imperial Division? Just because our logistical support is almost at its limit - another armored force will It will collapse quickly, but it will not happen if it is replaced by a mountain infantry division," Rommel explained, "So he will not make such a mistake. If he really wants to do this, our bombers will be of great use. Moreover, If he really dares to deploy so many troops to fight in the Transcaucasus, how can he maintain the direction of the Black Sea and the Caucasus? General Kleist's troops can launch an attack. "

"Then you plan to keep confronting the Russians like this? When can we deal with them?"

"It's quick, and it will be easier than you think." Rommel lightly outlined two attack routes on the map. "To deal with the Red Army in Persia, we don't necessarily have to eliminate them head-on. As long as we start from the Turkish border, If we attack 200 kilometers to the northeast and capture Tbilisi in Georgia, we will close the passage to the Transcaucasus. If we attack 500 kilometers to the east, the Baku oil field will be firmly in our hands. The key to solving the Transcaucasus problem is. The key is not in our hands, but in Turkey. As long as Turkey turns to us, with the cooperation of our 1-2 armored divisions, the Turks can successfully lock in all the Red Army south of the Caucasus Mountains by dispatching 10-15 infantry divisions. In a cage - the Caspian Sea and the plateau are the best enclosures."

Balck and a group of staff carefully looked at the map and felt that Rommel's next strategy was very targeted and not difficult to achieve militarily. The biggest difficulty now is to convince the Turks to join the axis, but in view of the fact that Turkey opened the Black Sea Strait last time and received the equipment of two divisions, everyone believes that Turkey's joining the war is no longer out of reach.

Major General Gauss, chief of staff of the Middle East Army, listened and nodded happily: he felt that Marshal Rommel had become more mature and cautious after being "educated" by the treasonous group, and no longer ignored friendly troops and superiors as he did in the African Army era. He will rush forward just for the "victory" in his mind. He will consider the coordination and cooperation of the entire battle situation, and will think about the strategic policy that combines politics, diplomacy and military, which will no longer make people feel fearful.

What if the Desert Fox not only gained wit and cunning, but also gained sophistication and maturity? Gauss believed victory was imminent.