Chapter 342 Preparation

The officers looked at each other in surprise. This battle plan was a bit ambitious, because if the Allies occupied Gafsa, they would definitely use the main armored forces to move along the highway in order to divide and encircle Tunisia, but Qin Chuan planned to encircle them in Tunisia.

"That is to say, we have to withdraw all the gasoline along this road!" Rommel said, "and we have to defend the Port of Besiktas and Tunisia!"

"Yes!" Qin Chuan nodded.

Port of Besiktas and Tunisia are the naval base and air force base respectively, where fuel is stored.

"It's almost impossible, Lieutenant!" Major General Voigt said, "If the enemy occupies Gafsa, they will station troops there, and you will be attacked from both sides by the enemy!"

"At the same time, they will be attacked from several sides by us!" Qin Chuan said, "Because there will be ambushes on every high ground!"

Rommel was silent after hearing this. This can be said to be a risk, but the risk seems to be worth it, because it is very likely to defeat the main force of the enemy's armored division, and before that, the German army even wanted to destroy a few enemy "Sherman" tanks.

After thinking about it, Rommel asked, "Are the tunnel fortifications ready?"

"Ready, General!" Qin Chuan replied.

"How long will the supplies last in there?" Rommel asked.

"One week, maybe even longer!" Qin Chuan said, "If the rationing system is implemented!"

"Yeah!" Rommel nodded, and then asked again: "Are the soldiers ready? I mean...living in the tunnel for a week!"

Qin Chuan replied helplessly: "This may be a problem, General, because no one has tried to stay in it for a week!"

After a moment of silence, Rommel ordered the staff: "Let General Neumann come here immediately!"

"Yes, General!"

About twenty minutes later, Major General Neumann stood in Rommel's command vehicle.

"Are your people ready?" Rommel asked as soon as they met.

"Of course, General!" Neumann answered without thinking.

"You seem to answer too quickly!" Rommel said, "When I say preparation, I mean whether your soldiers can stay in the tunnel for a week!"

Major General Neumann was stunned when he heard this, and asked with an incredible expression: "One week?"

"Yes!" Rommel said, "One week, or even longer!"

Major General Neumann was silent for a while, then gritted his teeth as if he had made up his mind, and stood up and answered: "No problem, General!"

"Very good!" Rommel nodded, then turned his eyes to Colonel Slaine and said, "Although I don't want to put the First Infantry Regiment in this position, but... whether this plan succeeds or not is directly related to the life and death of the African Corps!"

"I understand, General!" Colonel Slaine really understood, and so did Qin Chuan.

The First Infantry Regiment is actually not suitable for participating in this kind of defensive battle, because they are elite, the mechanical infantry regiment of the armored division, and they are also infantry regiments that have received parachute training and can be used as airborne soldiers.

Arranging this unit to conduct conventional operations on high ground or even hiding in tunnels... That is undoubtedly a waste.

However, as Rommel said, this plan is too important, especially in the highlands around Gafsa, which requires an elite force to be stationed.

"Very good!" Rommel patted Colonel Slaine on the shoulder and said, "Now, it's time to discuss the detailed battle plan!"

The detailed plan is actually very simple.

Rommel placed an armored division on the left wing of Gafsa, which is the western section of the Gabes Line of Defense, and an armored division on the eastern section of the Gabes Line of Defense.

This is the standard defense method of the German army... Just like the previous defense of the Alexander Line, the infantry defends on the first line, and the armored division is on standby on the second or third line. Once the enemy breaks through from somewhere, the armored division will launch a counterattack against the enemy pouring in from the breakthrough.

This seems to be fine on the surface, but in fact it intentionally exposes the important town of Gafsa in the central part.

The remaining armored division is stationed in Tunisia.

Tunisia has two airports, one military and one civilian.

The airport is the top priority of defense... This is somewhat similar to island defense, and is also determined by the strong air power of Britain and the United States. Once the Allies occupy the airport and use transport planes to unload soldiers and supplies from the airport in large numbers, it will be a nightmare for the German army.

More importantly, once Tunisia is lost, the nearby port of Besiktas will not be saved. In this way, the Tunisian Strait has actually been opened by the Allies, and the whole war has lost its meaning.

An infantry regiment was drawn from the armored division to garrison the Gafsa Highway.

Finally, Rommel also transferred the 36th Infantry Division in Algiers to the border between Algeria and Tunisia as a reserve.

The 36th Infantry Division is a motorized infantry division that can quickly reinforce the battlefield. At the same time, they are outside the Matre defense line on the Algerian-Tunisian border, so there is no need to worry about being attacked by the Allied armored division... The Matre defense line is built on the mountains and is not suitable for mechanized troops to fight.

At this time, Montgomery had moved his headquarters to Tripoli.

This was undoubtedly a glorious victory for the Allies...Tripoli is the capital of Libya. The Italian army once launched the North African War from here, and the German troops also started from here to drive the British army all the way back to Egypt.

Now, the British army has captured this city, which symbolizes Libya's politics and military, for the first time. All the soldiers are cheering, and the victory is widely reported in Britain and even internationally.

But only Montgomery and Eisenhower know that this is not a victory worth praising, because the Germans' strength has not weakened but has become stronger.

"We originally only needed to deal with three armored divisions, but now we have three more infantry divisions!" Montgomery said: "What's more terrifying is that there is also a fleet, and this fleet inexplicably has a strong air defense capability!"

Montgomery was talking about the German army, of course. When discussing the enemy's strength, he often automatically ignores the Italian troops.

Of course, the "Lightning Division" is an exception... But strictly speaking, the "Lightning Division" is not Italian.

"We are afraid that it will be difficult to raid Tunisia (city name)!" Eisenhower said holding a telegram: "We just received intelligence that they transferred the 90th Light Division to Tunisia!"

(Note: The capital of the Republic of Tunisia has the same name as the country. Please use your imagination to make up for the confusion before)

"Then!" Montgomery looked at the map and said: "We can only raid Gafsa!"