Chapter 390 Target

"Where else can they land?" General Strike said doubtfully: "If they don't land in Sicily, and the Tunisia Strait is under our blockade, then they... can only land in Greece!"

The officers at the command headquarters were startled and all turned their attention to Rommel.

Rommel thought about it, nodded slightly and said: "Landing in Greece is indeed an option. They occupied Crete, which is a good forward base. In addition, they also have King George II of Greece, who they can borrow George II called on the Greeks to rise up and support them in liberating Greece!”

"What's more important is that the Greeks hate the Italians!" Colonel Slain agreed: "And most of the people occupying Greece are Italians. The Greeks will eagerly hope that the king's troops will drive away the Italians. In addition to guerrillas, Outside the team.”

"How many troops do we have in Greece?" Rommel asked the staff beside him.

"Only three divisions, general!" the staff officer replied.

The officers were stunned when they heard this. This almost meant that Greece was an undefended country in front of the British army.

"Aren't the British worried about our oil?" Major General Strike said: "As mentioned before, the point is that we discovered oil. If the British land in Greece, they will not be able to cut off our supply lines. Of course, they will not be able to cut off our supply lines." It can’t stop us from developing the oil fields, can it?”

"They can!" Rommel pointed to the map and replied: "If they successfully occupy Greece, they can then use their sea and air superiority to enter the Adriatic Sea, and then they can use Greece as a sea and air base directly in Pescara, Italy. Land and then take the road straight to Rome, the capital of Italy..."

The officers couldn't help but nod. Pescara is only 210 kilometers away from Rome. With such a short distance and the Italian army defending it, the city of Rome can be reached in a few days.

In contrast, it would be nearly a thousand kilometers to land in Sicily and then fight north from southern Italy, and there would be mountains and rivers everywhere along the way. The complex terrain is not conducive to mechanized troops fighting. It is conceivable that it would be necessary to fight to Rome. longer.

"In fact, there is no need to fight at all!" General Strike said with a serious face: "As long as the Allied forces land in Pescara, the Italians may surrender. And once Italy surrenders, then Sicily, Sardinia and other islands will surrender. The main reason is that the important areas defended by the Italian army will soon fall into the hands of the Allies, so our supply lines..."

Needless to say, if the situation continues as planned, the British will occupy two countries on the opposite side of the Mediterranean, namely Greece and Italy, and then trap the African Legion on this side of the Mediterranean.

"What's more important!" Major General Voigt said: "To the north of Greece is Romania, which means... they may cut off another of our oil transportation lines!"

"So..." Rommel nodded: "This is the real purpose of the British! I should report this idea to the head of state..."

"No, General!" Qin Chuan stood up and said, "You shouldn't do this!"

"Why?" Rommel asked.

"Because if you do this, you will be fooled by the British!" Qin Chuan replied.

"What?" Rommel and the officers all looked at Qin Chuan in surprise.

"It's actually very simple!" Qin Chuan said: "The reason why the British exposed their strategic goals so easily, uncharacteristically, is because they want you to think so!"

"Captain!" Major General Voigt said, "You mean to say that all of us, including General Rommel, were deceived by the British?"

"Although I don't want to say that!" Qin Chuan glanced at Rommel and said, "But I'm sorry, General, I think it is indeed the case!"

"It doesn't matter, Captain!" Rommel replied: "You have embarrassed me more than once. What makes me even more angry is that you are right every time!"

The generals couldn't help but laugh, except for Major General Voigt, who had a hint of jealousy in his eyes.

What Major General Voigt said just now was obviously to drive a wedge between Rommel and Qinchuan, but he didn't expect that Rommel would use this attitude to face Qinchuan's doubts.

In fact, this is because Major General Voigt knew too little about the affairs between Qinchuan and Rommel. If it was a few months ago, Major General Voigt might have been useful, but in Qinchuan again and again After the suggestions made were proved to be correct, Rommel and even Colonel Slaine and others at this time formed an inertial trust in Qin Chuan.

"Then, Captain!" Rommel raised his hand towards Qin Chuan and motioned him to come to the map: "Tell us why we were deceived by the British!"

"Yes, General!" Qin Chuan walked to the map and said: "It is not impossible to land in Greece, and landing in Greece can indeed intimidate Italy and even cause it to collapse, but gentlemen... three-quarters of Greece has The area is mountainous, and such terrain is also not suitable for mechanized troops to fight. "

"Captain, you seem to have forgotten the many favorable conditions for the British to land in Greece that we just mentioned!" Major General Voigt interjected.

"Of course!" Qin Chuan replied: "These favorable conditions do exist, such as they have a king, and our troops in Greece are weak, but gentlemen, you seem to have forgotten one thing, we can build tunnels on the mountains in Greece... For an area where three-quarters of the territory is mountainous, tunnel tactics will definitely be a nightmare for the British. The British have tried this on the Gabes Line. Will they jump into the quagmire of Greece?"

In fact, the British and American troops have never been able to adapt to fighting in such a complex terrain...Historically, they landed in Sicily, then landed in Italy from Sicily and pushed north from the south.

Montgomery rashly thought that if the Italians surrendered, the Allies would liberate the entire Italy in a short time, so he named this operation the "Avalanche" plan, meaning that this battle would liberate the entire Italy as quickly and unstoppably as an "avalanche".

But the result surprised everyone... The war lasted for a full year and four months. With the Allied forces having an absolute advantage in manpower and equipment, it took a year and four months to liberate Italy.

It is conceivable that if the battlefield was moved to Greece, where the terrain was more complex, and the Germans also knew the tunnel defense tactics, then how long it would take for the Allies to occupy Greece would obviously be unknown. Greece might even become a quagmire for the Allies, just like the Vietnam War.

"So, Captain!" Rommel asked, "What do you think the British target is..."

"Sicily, General!" Qin Chuan replied, "It's always Sicily!"