Four Hundred and Forty-Seven Is Not Sloppy

A man wearing the uniform of a German major jumped off the ship's hanging ladder, took a deep breath of fresh air, and closed his eyes feeling very satisfied. Behind him were two officers, a captain and a second lieutenant.

Not far away, a field vehicle painted desert yellow was being transferred off the ship by a group of shirtless Italian soldiers. Although it was only the middle of the month, the ancient and mysterious African continent was still extremely hot.

"I heard that General Keitel's Army Group B is moving to the Netherlands. The head of state has made up his mind to support Army Group A in Rundstedt?" the major asked, putting on leather gloves to avoid sunburn.

The second lieutenant nodded: "Britain is not an opponent that a group army can conquer, not to mention we have already been drawn out."

Two Italian officers walked over, their clothes covered with yellow sand and dust, looking a bit embarrassed. But it can be seen that they just came back from the desert in the distance, and they didn't lose the battle.

"Going to Africa, General Rommel... In order to deceive the British intelligence agencies, I have no choice but to let you come here in the uniform of a major." The Italian officer in charge of the reception stretched out his hand to shake Rommel's hand and said with a smile.

Rommel walked to the car he had just put down with his hands behind his back. He seemed very satisfied with the old Mercedes-Benz car that had followed him for many years, and said with a smile on his face: "It doesn't matter how you got here, the key depends on how you get there. .”

As he spoke, he pointed in the direction of the distance: "The head of state told me that, as promised to General Rundstedt, when I take down Cairo, I will give me the marshal's scepter."

Speaking of this, he smiled slightly, and then said: "But my troops are still on the way. This time your failure made the head of state very angry. The surrender of the British that was already negotiating was terminated because of your defeat."

"General, the oil imports from the Middle East have been cut off by the British since the start of the war. Now Italy's fuel reserves can't withstand consumption at all. We in North Africa are Italy's only hope...but the British are obviously more prepared than us. , they have very elite infantry," explained the Italian officer.

"These are all your problems. I'm only here for tourism this time." Rommel got into the convertible car with the canvas roof removed, the second lieutenant had already started the car, and the captain sat in the co-pilot's seat superior.

Rommel said to the Italian officer who stood aside and didn't know what to say: "If you are really in a hurry, then drive the train faster so that my troops can reach the port quickly. Another thing is to tell you Mr. Leader, prepare fuel and ensure the smooth transportation of ammunition..."

Italy's logistics supply system has become a muddy mess due to the early start of the war.

No one knows when the Italian army will be ready for war, but everyone knows that the Italian army in Japan is almost the most capable army in the entire Kingdom of Italy, but it is a pity that it still lost to the Not as good as their British North African defenders.

Most of the British navy that had lost its command over the Mediterranean Sea either retreated into Egypt or directly entered the Indian Ocean, but the Italian navy was unable to pursue the British navy due to lack of fuel and war preparations. Although it controlled and basically cut off the British transportation line in the Mediterranean Sea, the Italian Navy failed to control the Suez Canal, and the only shelling of Egypt was sunk by the British Air Force.

As for the Italian Air Force, which can be described as shabby compared with the German Air Force, it has radiated its youth in North Africa. The performance of Italian aircraft is very average, but they are large in number and durable, which is very suitable for use in a vast area like North Africa.

Of course, the most elite batch of Italian Air Force fighter units now use me-type fighters, with as many as 300 of them, and Italy has purchased the production license for this type of aircraft. Still going up.

The new L Army under Rommel's command is not an Italian army. This regular German main army has 4 infantry corps and the German 7th Armored Army under its jurisdiction, with a total strength of more than 300,000. The entire group army has as many as 1,400 vehicles, and the 7th Armored Army has 3 tank divisions after strengthening, with as many as 800 tanks.

It is conceivable how much food and oil such a behemoth needs to consume every day. With the addition of ammunition and worn parts needed for combat, the logistical aspect is enough to make people have a splitting headache.

Therefore, since Italy was defeated by the British army in North Africa and had to ask the Germans for help, Italian leader Morini personally inspected the logistical preparations of the Italian army for combat in North Africa. The logistics work such as transporting supplies was well prepared, and even a part of the supplies of the Italian army was transferred, so that the logistics supplies of the German L Army reached 90% of the level.

This logistics supply level is already very high. You must know that the German army's own logistics supplies are only about 85% of the level, and the transportation and distribution of some secondary items will be delayed for a few days. However, this achievement of the German army has made Italy, which is in a mess of supplies, ashamed.

The supplies of Italian troops can basically only be maintained at a level of 60%. This fragile supply rate allows Italian troops to only play 50% or even 40% of their own combat capabilities. If we calculate that the combat level of the Italian army itself is only 80% of the combat level of the British army, then the actual combat effectiveness of the Italian army can be easily converted-only about one-third of the British army.

"Two months later, I will launch a counterattack here." Standing on the seat of the car, Rommel looked at the barbed wire fence and the defensive positions of the Italian defenders in the distance with a telescope, and muttered to himself: "Counting the Italian troops, I will have about 600,000 combat troops in my hands, twice as many as the British. If there is enough fuel, ammunition, and food, can we hit Tobruk in one go? Will it be soon?"

A gust of wind and sand hit the windshield of the car, making a crackling sound, and everyone subconsciously covered their eyes. The second lieutenant leaned over the steering wheel, cursing the weather he had never seen before.

"In the flat desert, there are only hills and vast flat terrain." Rommel excitedly ignored the yellow sand and shouted loudly: "This is a paradise for armored forces! Give me 1,000 tanks here and I will be able to sweep everything! Haha! After defeating the British, I will be the German Marshal!"

Shouting, his voice changed. After the wind and sand passed, he spit out a mouth full of sand. Then I found that my mouth was still astringent, and I could still feel the creaking sound of sand rubbing against my teeth.

From then on, he will stay away from the main battlefield in Europe and create his own sky here. He is the supreme commander here, commanding everything and being responsible for all operations. If he wins, he will win the same honor as Brauchitsch; if he fails, he will die in this sand.

His German Air Force fighter unit has been modified by mechanics in Italy, installing special air filters and other equipment to adapt Jingui's fighter jets to the desert climate of North Africa, a total of 300 fighter jets and 00 old Stukas And 150 -217s were assigned to his command to ensure air supremacy over his regiment.

It has to be said that since the new Stuka 2 attack aircraft, the German attack aircraft force is gradually eliminating Stukas, so this time Catherine of the Air Force can generously take out 200 Stukas to support Rommel, more with the mentality of using old things rather than reluctantly giving up. Of course, these aircraft are more than a little more advanced than the fighter jets used by the British in North Africa, but there is no doubt about this.

Of course, German tanks and armored vehicles are also being painted with desert yellow camouflage. At the same time, they are also intensively installing air filtration systems suitable for use in desert areas, temporarily distributing sleeping bags and windproof tents to troops, and dozens of seawater desalination machines. The system was also transported to an Italian port, ready to be sent to the United States.

The gray classic German army uniforms can no longer be used, and replaced by the same style of German army uniforms produced with light yellow fabric produced by a cloth factory in Italy. In some places, appropriate improvements have been made according to the desert geographical environment. For example, the neckline is designed as a tightenable style.

According to the previous investigation and expert suggestions, Rommel's L Army also temporarily ordered 3,000 goggles in Italy, and distributed them to tank commanders and drivers, reconnaissance troops and car drivers. All kinds of survival training in the camp, including camping in the wild and how to avoid sandstorms.

Another problem that plagued Rommel was that Italy's transport capacity could not guarantee that all his troops would be in place, and it was impossible for all of his troops to be in place. Italy claimed that they could only transport about 30,000 people and equipment to Africa at the same time, while the Rommel himself knew that the Group L Army, which claims to be a 350,000-strong army, actually only has 150,000 people, and the other 200,000 people are still being trained and recruited.

"Let's see how good the British in Africa are." Rommel finally spit out the sand in his mouth, and sat back in the car with a wry smile to see that the suit on his body had been blown away by the yellow sand. The major's uniform in black: "It seems that the Italian military officer was not so sloppy. I lived here for a few days, and I probably looked like that."