The Third Reich: I Became Emperor

In Rome, Rommel officially entered Italy and integrated all the Italian Army.

Although the Italian Army was large in number, most of them were second-line and third-line troops with extremely low combat effectiveness. The first-line troops only added up to 200,000, and most of them were still thrown in the Tuscan Peninsula.

Looking at the organization table in his hand, Rommel sighed helplessly. He wanted to counterattack North Africa, but it was absolutely impossible to rely on the army in his hands.

"It is a miracle that such a force can hold out until now."Rommel said with emotion

"It's not easy for the logistics to last until now with such a bad situation."The chief of staff also echoed

"It seems that it is unlikely to counterattack North Africa, so we can only think of another way."Rommel sighed and said

"Has the Air Force arrived yet?"

Upon hearing Rommel's question, the Chief of Staff immediately said,"General Spelle, commander of the Third Air Corps, is on his way and will arrive soon."

In order to counterattack North Africa, August did his utmost to support it. The Air Force even sent an air corps - nearly 4,000 fighters, including two J-5 and IL-28 aviation divisions, totaling nearly 400 fighters, enough to ensure the safety of the entire Italian airspace.

"What about the navy?" Rommel asked again.

"With the cooperation of the navy, Army Group G has taken the Strait of Gibraltar and blocked the entrance and exit of the Mediterranean. Moreover, the navy is backed by the ports in southern France and can be resupplied at any time, which greatly improves its combat effectiveness."The chief of staff explained.

Hearing this, Rommel nodded and said,"In this way, the western Mediterranean is in our hands. The only trouble is Fleet H and the American Fleet."

"Marshal, the Supreme Command has an urgent message. At this time, the communications staff came quickly with a telegram and said.

Hearing the urgent message, Rommel's face changed and he immediately took the telegram. After reading it, his face turned pale.

"The intelligence department received information that the British and American allied forces were gathering large-scale troops to prepare to attack Pantelleria Island."After Rommel finished speaking the contents of the telegram, the chief of staff next to him changed his face drastically and said anxiously:"Your Excellency Marshal, there is only one regiment of troops on the island, only 30 fighter planes, and only two destroyers. It is absolutely impossible to hold on."

""I know everything you said, and once Pantelleria Island is occupied, the North African Corps trapped in the Tuscan Peninsula will surrender." Rommel said bitterly.

There are probably more than 200,000 troops there, all of whom are elite warriors who have experienced many battles. He wants to lead them to fight back all the time.

However, logistics does not allow him to do this at all.

Once he lands on the island, his retreat will be cut off, and what awaits him is annihilation.

Originally, the enemy wanted to wait for him to land on the island and then catch him in a trap, but now the German offensive is as fierce as a tiger, and the British mainland has been occupied. The US military, which is temporarily unable to open up a second battlefield, decided to start with Italy.

What's more, King Eli III of Italy sent them a telegram requesting to send troops to land in Italy. They decided to surrender and join the Allied forces.

This is a very good propaganda plan. If they succeed, it will completely hit Germany's arrogance.

Originally, Eisenhower wanted to land directly on Sicily, but was rejected. It was very close to attack Sicily from Malta. , but it also means that the North African Corps on the Tuscan Peninsula will get a chance to breathe.

Between the 200,000 North African Corps and Sicily, Eisenhower finally decided to annihilate the remnants of the North African Corps first.

If the Strait of Gibraltar had not been lost, Eisenhower would definitely choose to attack Sicily as soon as possible, and then turn back to deal with the North African Corps.

But now the Strait of Gibraltar is in the hands of the German and French fleets.

Once Sicily is attacked, Rommel might take this opportunity to transport the 200,000 North African Corps to Rome.

In that case, even if the landing is successful, the subsequent battle will be very cruel, and the combat effectiveness of the North African Corps that has been supplied will definitely be very strong.

Fortunately, there are not many defenders on the island of Pantelleria, and the landing operation should be much easier.

At this time, Eisenhower was filled with emotion.

With Malta in hand, it is equivalent to controlling the entire eastern Mediterranean.

"It's really a tough opponent. This move is vicious enough."Looking at the map, Rommel thought a lot in an instant.

"Marshal, what should we do next?"The chief of staff asked curiously.

"Reinforcement, dispatch two infantry divisions to the island, and have the air force speed up and provide support at any time"

"Send another telegram to the navy, asking them to send a fleet for support."

There was nothing to plan. Since he knew the enemy was going to land, he could only defend. The forces he could mobilize were very weak, and he didn't have a good counterattack plan. After all, the British and American allied forces here were almost over 500,000, and were still increasing.

If the 200,000 North African Corps could be rescued, Rommel might have formulated a counterattack plan, but it was completely impossible now. He could only defend Pantelleria Island first and wait for an opportunity to counterattack.

"Send a telegram to the Supreme Command, tell us all the information here, and request reinforcements."After a long while, Marshal Rommel added:

"yes!"

……

In Berlin, August frowned as he looked at the telegram. The problems on the Western Front were almost solved, and Rundstedt had to deal with the remaining remnants himself. During this period, troops had been gradually transferred from the Western Front to the Eastern Front.

Because after this period of replenishment, the S Army on the Eastern Front was ready to move again. According to the estimation of the General Staff, the Russian Bear would definitely launch a new campaign in half a month at most.

So during this period of time, he had been strengthening the strength of the Eastern Front troops. Now there were problems in Italy again, and the Allied forces were preparing to land on Pantelleria Island. This was not good news.

Once the landing was successful, the 200,000 North African Corps would be completely gone, and Country D could no longer withstand such a heavy loss.���

"Reinforcements? Reinforcements? Where can we get new troops from?" August muttered.

"Where is the navy?" August asked after taking a deep breath.

""We are resting in the port in southern France. The next step is to transport the infantry division to Arles." Marshal Keitel explained.

The purpose of sending the infantry division to Arles is to find the oil there. Since the oil there is close to the shore, once it is mined, it can be immediately transported to the mainland.

Since the British mainland and Gibraltar were occupied, the French troops in Arles decisively expressed their submission and opened the door to convenience.

"Let the navy prepare to support Pantelleria Island. We must show the navy's momentum."August said calmly.

At this time, Rommel was studying the defense of Pantelleria Island and Sicily Island. The chief of staff came over and said

"Marshal, our radar systems in Sicily and Pantelleria have detected a large number of enemy aircraft heading in these two directions."

Hearing this, Rommel asked nervously,"How many enemy aircraft are there and what types are they?""

"The exact number is unclear, but it should be no less than 500. As for the type, there is no detailed data yet, but now we can judge that most of them should be bombers, and they are attacking our two islands simultaneously in batches."The chief of staff explained.

"Have the Luftwaffe planes reached Sicily?" Rommel continued to ask.

"Five regiments have already arrived, and the rest will arrive one after another." The chief of staff paused and said.

Hearing this, Rommel thought for a while and said:"What about the navy, have they agreed to support?"

"The Navy has called back and said they are on their way to support us, but they need to transport an infantry division to Arlia first."

"Let the air force prepare, let the first five air force wings take off immediately to intercept the enemy planes, and make sure to destroy them all."

"Although the enemy aircraft are numerous, our aircraft are now very advanced, and I believe they will not let us down." Rommel thought for a while and immediately gave the order:

"Yes! Marshal!"

The chief of staff replied respectfully

"Also, tell the air force to be careful, because the enemy's planes are always ready to reinforce. If you are no longer able to defeat them, retreat immediately." Rommel still reminded.

As long as the air force can hold the enemy back, the rest will be left to the troops on the island.

"How is the anti-aircraft firepower deployment on the island? Can it cope with the large-scale bombing of enemy aircraft?"Rommel suddenly asked

"Pantelleria Island deployed hundreds of 88mm anti-aircraft guns, Sicily also deployed 200 88mm anti-aircraft guns, and there were also hundreds of 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns."

"With such an anti-aircraft firepower network, I believe we can definitely stop the enemy's large-scale bombing."The chief of staff said confidently.

"As long as we can hold out until the navy arrives, we will win this battle." Rommel said solemnly:"But the Italian troops on the island are a bit troublesome."

When it comes to the Italian army, even a tactical master like Rommel does not have much confidence.

"How is the collection of transport ships going?" Rommel asked

"We are collecting them, and we have collected almost a hundred cargo ships. In addition, the Italian Navy has also agreed to escort them, so there shouldn't be any problems."The chief of staff explained.

Collecting these cargo ships is to transport troops to Pantelleria Island and Sicily Island to strengthen the defense there, and to wait for the arrival of the navy fleet to cover the retreat of the North African Corps on the Tuscan Peninsula.

The current situation is unfavorable. If they are still on the Tuscan Peninsula, they will definitely not be able to hold on for a long time. If they surrender at that time, Rommel will really vomit blood.

So take this opportunity to let the navy cover the retreat, so that he will have an extra 200,000 elite troops in his hands. After Malta is in his hands, he can consider counterattacking.

For now, it is better to transport the remnants of the North African Corps back for rest and replenishment.

"That's good. I hope the navy can win back its reputation this time." Rommel muttered as he looked at the map.

……

On the other hand, in order to ensure the smooth progress of the landing operation, the M Army deployed more than a thousand fighter planes, including more than 500 B17 bombers and the rest were advanced fighter planes such as P-51, with very strong combat effectiveness.

"This time, we must teach those damned D countrymen a lesson."The M Army pilot said fiercely while driving a P-51.

"The D Army didn't have any advanced fighter planes, they were all cowards, they would just run away after fighting, and they didn't have the courage to fight at all."

Many P-51 Mustang fighter pilots despised the BF-109 fighter, they would just run away after fighting, and they wouldn't fight head-on.

This made them very helpless. Of course, there were some people who fought, and both sides won and lost half, but at this time the quality of the D Army pilots had seriously declined, and their strength was not that strong, so the P-51 fighter had a slight advantage.

"Sir, we should be there soon, right? Are we going to bomb Sicily or Pantelleria?"A pilot asked uncertainly.

"Not sure." Soon I heard the commander's voice:"Level 1 alert, all pilots, switch channels immediately, enemy spotted, prepare for battle"

"Sir, have you spotted the fighter planes of Army D?" Upon hearing that the enemy planes were spotted, a pilot shouted excitedly

"Listen to my orders, step on the throttle, the target is in the northeast direction, 20 kilometers away."The commander of the M army fighter said loudly

"At an altitude of 6,000 meters, they have discovered us and are climbing and attacking us."

The commander of the M Army was not so excited. According to intelligence, the D Army has a new type of jet aircraft that is very fast. Once encountered, there is no way to escape, so he must be careful.

"Damn it, another group of D-Force fighter planes were spotted in the southwest, about one wing, damn it, be careful"

"All fighters step up their throttles and prepare to fire. The bombers increase their altitude."

"Yes!"

In fact, the D-force fighters that came to intercept this time were all BF-109 and FW-190, as well as a smaller number of TA-152 fighters.

As for the J5 jet fighters, they did not appear, not because they did not come, but because they were undergoing maintenance.

During this period, the J5 fighters were fighting east and west, and many aircraft had malfunctions, especially the engines. Many of them had reached the end of their service life and needed to be replaced.

"Asshole, I didn't make it to the war this time."Looking at the J-5 fighter jet that was replacing the engine, the pilot next to him said with a depressed look on his face

"Come on, you can take off just by replacing the engine, but I need to overhaul it this time." Another pilot said unhappily

"It is excellent, but it is very easy to break down."The engineer in charge of maintenance also looked helpless.

Basically, every takeoff needs to be overhauled once, and sometimes it is a major overhaul. For example, the J-5 fighter in front of us needs a major overhaul, and many parts inside need to be replaced.