Chapter 406: Onna Plateau (5th Update, Please Give Me Your Monthly Votes!

The 2nd Infantry Division arrived outside Algiers two days later.

They did not enter the city because they did not want anyone to see the more familiar faces of the 2nd Infantry Regiment returning to the city... such as the soldiers of the French Battalion.

This would undoubtedly give the spies room for imagination and speculation.

Therefore, Qin Chuan did not have the opportunity to meet Vignette.

They were not gathered until nine o'clock in the middle of the night, and then all the trunks were covered tightly with canvas, and they went straight to the port from the camp.

At this time, a dock had been cleared out of the port, and many German soldiers stood around the dock with guns in hand, blocking any idlers who wanted to approach the dock.

After being inspected, the car drove into a warehouse, and then went directly to the ship from a passage covered with black cloth... This dock was obviously built specifically for the concealed transportation of people and materials to Sicily. The people inside had no idea what was outside, and of course the outsiders could not see what was being loaded onto the ship.

The cabin was dark and depressing, with a strong smell of mold and gasoline, especially when the transport ship started, making people feel dizzy and disoriented.

It was not until then that Colonel Slaine turned on the flashlight and announced: "Gentlemen, we are going to Sicily. I think you must have heard of it!"

"Sicily? Isn't that a place for Italians?" a soldier asked.

"Yes!" Colonel Slaine replied, "But it doesn't mean we can't go! As for what to do there, you will know when you get there!"

"Colonel!" A soldier asked, "Can you ask them to turn on the lights?"

"If you want to be discovered by a British submarine and torpedo us, then no problem!" Colonel Slaine said, and then his tone suddenly became serious: "Now, shut up, if we are lucky, we will reach Sicily in two days!"

"God!" Werner complained, "We have to stay in this broken place for two days!"

"Nothing bad!" The baker replied, "It's better here than the tunnel, isn't it?"

"The tunnel is not so shaky!" Werner objected, "And you can light up the tunnel, walk around, and play with scorpions when you are bored! What is there here?"

Qin Chuan replied, "There are cockroaches and rats, Werner, there are even enough of them to form a baseball team!"

"Great!" Werner rolled his eyes.

Everyone around laughed.

Later, Qin Chuan realized that it was a lie that Colonel Slaine said the journey was so dangerous. The main purpose was to make the soldiers not care about the bad environment in the cabin under the threat of life.

In fact, this transport ship is very safe.

First of all, there are not many British submarines active in this end of the Tunisian Strait. Even if there are, they are only responsible for some reconnaissance missions. Because several transport ships were sunk two days ago, the German Navy has strengthened patrols here.

Secondly, the transport ship that the Second Infantry Regiment took has a speed of 15 knots... Speed ​​is very important for transport ships because British submarines generally have an underwater speed of about 10 knots. (Note: The British S-class submarine has an underwater speed of 10 knots and a surface speed of 13.7 knots).

There are two ways for submarines to ambush targets:

One is to be faster than the target, so that you can track, chase and ambush before the target.

The other is to be slower than the target. In this case, you can only see the target from a distance, estimate its route and prepare near its route.

But in either case, the faster the target is, the less likely it is to be ambushed.

A few days ago, the transport ship of the 200th Infantry Division was ambushed at a speed of only 11 knots, which was lower than the surface speed of the submarine of 13.7 knots. Therefore, the British submarine sailed on the surface and passed the transport ship, risking being discovered, and was ready to wait for it.

Needless to say, the transport ship was hit by a torpedo in the moonlight, and because it was sailing secretly, no ship nearby could come to rescue in time, which caused most of the personnel of one regiment to be killed or injured.

As for the transport ship Qin Chuan was on, Rommel specifically instructed to use a transport ship with a speed of 15 knots... This speed would leave the British submarine far behind, and even if the second ambush method was used, there would only be a short preparation time and ambush opportunity.

So it was very safe, and Rommel even asked two destroyers to search the route in advance.

Sure enough, the voyage was safe, and except for a small storm that made the people in the cabin vomit, there were no other difficulties.

However, when the soldiers got off the boat and walked onto the dock, they still staggered like they were drunk.

"God!" Werner said, "If there was a group of British standing in front of us right now, I would immediately raise my hands and surrender, because I couldn't even hold my gun steady!"

Then the soldiers were loaded onto the car again, with canvas tightly covered at the back, and sent to the front line like cargo.

No pauses or rests were allowed along the way, and all urination and defecation were required to be solved on the spot in the car.

"Resolve it in all possible spaces!" Colonel Slain said, "Don't worry about dirtying the car and yourself, or relieve yourself in the helmet, just like on the battlefield. Don't worry about dirtying the car or yourself, because you will soon get even dirtier!"

Colonel Slain's words were still a lie, because Sicily has abundant groundwater and there are many springs on the highlands.

When the soldiers arrived at the garrison called "Onna Heights", what appeared in front of them was a stream formed by spring water.

After the soldiers received the order to disperse, almost everyone cheered and then stripped naked and jumped into the creek to bathe.

Colonel Slaine did not stop them, because it was also a good thing for the soldiers. Cleaning themselves up would make them more comfortable, and they would be more energetic when fighting.

Qin Chuan was also one of them. He was naked and lying in the stream, letting the stream wash away the unpleasant smell on his body.

But the relief was short-lived.

"There are only two hours until dawn!" Colonel Slain said: "You must hide yourself before dawn, otherwise, you will wait for the enemy's plane to drop bombs on your heads!"

"Colonel!" Kuhn asked, "What is our mission here?"

"Build a tunnel!" Colonel Slaine replied, "Just like you did at the Gabes Line!"

"Oh, God!" Alfredo couldn't help but screamed: "It's a tunnel again. I miss the days when I was in the Armored Division!"