Beiyang reactionaries

June 1942 is the most worthwhile year for China to study.Because during this month, many decisions made by China directly affected the world pattern after the end of World War II.

At this time, the time has come to July 1942, the world war is becoming more and more fierce, and all fronts are fighting inextricably.

On the Soviet-German battlefield, after the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, the third Battle of Kharkov broke out immediately.This was just the beginning, and Hitler was also very encouraged to see the great victory in the third Kharkov battle.

The defeat of the Battle of Stalingrad made Hitler very angry.This is because Germany gathered its own elite troops, and it really tried its best, but in the end it still failed to take Stalingrad.The situation on the Soviet-German battlefield has undergone tremendous changes.

Since the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, this is the first time that the German army has been passive.The failure of the Battle of Stalingrad caused the German Army Group A in the Caucasus to end the Caucasus battle ahead of schedule.

But Hitler was not reconciled.

At present, more troops are gathered to prepare for a major counterattack against the Soviet army and regain the initiative in the Soviet-German war.Therefore, Germany prepares to launch the Battle of Kursk.After the failure of the Battle of Stalingrad, the German army retreated too quickly, and the Soviet army pursued it closely, taking back a large number of places.At that time, how far the German army retreated, and how fast the Soviet army pursued it, you can see the distance from each city.

The distance from Stalingrad to Kharkov is more than 400 kilometers, reaching nearly 500 kilometers.Both sides are the actions of hundreds of thousands of troops and hundreds of divisions.But in less than half a month, the Soviet army pursued from Stalingrad to Kharkov, and finally occupied Kharkov.One can imagine how fast the armies of both sides moved.

Kursk was also occupied by the Soviet army at this time.

In the third battle of Kharkov, the German army pushed back the Soviet army, and the Soviet army suffered heavy losses.However, the Soviet army responded quickly, or the Soviet army also began to adapt to the German army's tactics.Therefore, although the frontline troops were defeated by Manstein, the Soviet army quickly reacted and organized a line of defense to prevent the German army from driving straight in.And at the forefront is Kursk.

Hitler began to form an army for the Battle of Kursk.

For the Battle of Kursk, Hitler sent the dismissed Guderian back to the front line to reorganize the front tank troops.Then recruits were sent to supplement the troops one after another.From the beginning of the year, Germany mobilized again, recruiting a million new recruits.During the Battle of Stalingrad, more than 40 recruits were dispatched to supplement the troops.However, these recruits were incorporated into the army and did not have time to fight the Battle of Stalingrad. Instead, they participated in the third Battle of Kharkov.

This time Hitler once again dispatched 50 recruits to strengthen the frontline troops.

At this time, Germany once again gathered more than 160 million troops on the front line, preparing for the Battle of Kursk.Of course, Germany suffered too many casualties in the Battle of Stalingrad. There are too many recruits this time, and a lot of logistical supplies are needed, so it is still in the stage of rectifying the army.Moreover, the time to reorganize the army will not be short, and it is impossible to complete it without three or four months.

But with so many troops gathered here, their goal is already obvious.

The Soviet Union also understood, so it also began to reorganize its troops, preparing for a decisive battle with the German army in Kursk.There are more recruits on the Soviet side, so more training is needed.And Stalingrad is in ruins, but Stalingrad is in a good location.Therefore, the Soviet Union wants to rebuild Stalingrad and make it the most important logistics base.

Both sides are gearing up, and the Kursk battle is imminent.

"Darlan is still resisting?"

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"Darlan's troops are still resisting?"

"Yes."

On June 1942, 6, the United Kingdom and the United States reached an agreement and officially decided to launch the "Torch" campaign, which is the North African landing campaign.The North African landing campaign was commanded by Lieutenant General Eisenhower of the US Army, and Admiral Cunningham of the British Navy was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.

The purpose of this North African landing campaign is to snatch the important ports in North Africa and break into Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.At present, most of these North African colonies of France support Vichy France.

In other words, the world still recognizes the legitimacy of the regime of Vichy France.

Even the people in France didn't like Vichy France, but they didn't like Charles de Gaulle who went to England to call for war.Because in the eyes of the French people, the Vichy French government established by Petain is a puppet government of Germany.Pétain, the French hero of the First World War, is now a German "dog", and he will not be safe at the end of the year.Similarly, de Gaulle, a small figure, who is currently calling for the fight against Germany, is nothing more than a British puppet, a British "dog".Especially after the establishment of Vichy France, the British raided the French fleet, causing heavy losses to the French naval fleet.

Although Britain and France were allies in the First World War and the Second World War, the relationship between the two countries has not been said to be very good, but has continued to be dirty.The opponent of the French Navy has never been Germany, but the British Navy.

But being beaten by the British suffered a lot, which was a shame in the eyes of the French.

At that time, people in France cursed Britain, and at the same time they cursed de Gaulle as a "legal traitor" supported by Britain.The result was French colonies, mostly under the orders of Vichy France, with only a few exceptions.

Among them, the Vichy French army in North Africa is the strongest.

Darlan, commander-in-chief of the North African Army, as the number two figure in Vichy France, controls more than 20 troops in North Africa, as well as the French navy.It is an important force in the Vichy French army.

In this "Torch Project", the United Kingdom and the United States mobilized 21 aircraft carriers alone, and of course they mainly focused on escorting aircraft carriers.As well as 10 battleships, 11 cruisers, and a large number of destroyers and escort destroyers, more than 1100 transport ships were mobilized, and the total number of troops preparing to land exceeded 27.Among them, the United States sent 15 troops and the British army sent 12 troops.

For this landing war, Britain and the United States really mobilized a large number of naval forces.Especially on the British side, in order to guarantee this landing operation, most of the navy is deployed here.

Under the cover of more than 2000 aircraft, a large-scale landing began in the dark.

Unexpectedly, the resistance of the French army was very fierce, causing great losses to the Allied forces.Everyone laughs at the French in World War II, but it doesn't mean that the French army is really ineffective.On the contrary, the combat effectiveness of the French army is still very strong, otherwise France would not have been able to dominate the European continent for so many years.

The reason why France surrendered quickly was because Germany's blitzkrieg was too fast and did not give France time to react.If France is given a little time to react, then with France's industrial strength and population size, it is absolutely impossible to surrender so soon.It will even become Germany's biggest opponent in continental Europe.

This time the Allied forces landed against the main force of France.

Landing operations are difficult.Especially when encountering resistance, the casualties will be very large.Not to mention that even the United Kingdom and the United States do not have enough experience in landing operations.

"If Darlan continues to resist, it will inevitably bring great resistance to our North African campaign."

Roosevelt frowned.

North Africa is a colony that France has operated for many years, and Darlan has been here for many years, and the troops in his hands are not weak.These French troops in North Africa, including the Foreign Legion, are very powerful and have good weapons and equipment.If the more than 20 North African troops resist fiercely, it will cause great casualties to the British and American coalition forces.It even directly affects the success or failure of this landing operation.

"There's been a lot of headwinds for us already."

, Marshall sighed, and said: "I just got the information. Our Second Army was hit by the heavy artillery units of the North African Army in Algiers, and the tank units counterattacked. The Second Army reported after sorting out the casualties. The Second Army of Seoul killed 2247 people, injured 3271, and captured more than 1700 people by the French army. And the 503rd Paratrooper Regiment was ambushed just after landing, and the entire army was wiped out. Not only our army, but also the British First Army The situation is also very bad. The Fifth Army of the British Army besieged Casablanca for three days, but failed to get Casablanca. As a result, the troops of the Fifth and Ninth Army of the British Army gathered around the periphery of Casablanca, and a large number of troops stagnated In port. Bombed by French air forces, over 2 casualties."

"Humph."

Roosevelt was very dissatisfied.

In the Quebec meeting, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Molotov reached many secret agreements.Under pressure from Britain and the United States, the Soviet Union disbanded the Communist International and stated that it would no longer export revolutions.At the same time, Churchill also reached an agreement with Roosevelt to send nuclear physicists from the UK to participate in the US atomic bomb program.

Therefore, the United States has also made a lot of concessions.

One of the contents is to send troops to participate in the North African campaign.However, they have not encountered the rightful owner, that is, they have not encountered the German army. The French army in North Africa has suffered such a large loss, which is really unacceptable.

The reason why the United States agreed to participate in the North African campaign was that North Africa is where Germany's partial division is located, not where Germany's main force is located.Roosevelt does not want to fight the main German army now, after all, the main German army is too strong.The United States is not the Soviet Union. It is impossible to accept the loss of hundreds of thousands of troops in a battle.

The reason why Roosevelt chose the strategy of "first Asia and then Europe" was because the United States suffered more and more casualties on the Pacific battlefield, which had reached a point that the United States could not tolerate.

"President, we have received news recently. Germany has already sent a large number of transport planes and began to send reinforcements to North Africa. The number of German troops in Tunisia has increased rapidly. If left alone, the German army will soon have 30 troops in Tunisia. This is It is very unfavorable for our North Africa campaign. Moreover, the German submarine force became active again and began to attack our combined fleet. According to the information we have received so far, within three days, we have lost two escort aircraft carriers, two battleships, and one Cruisers, twelve destroyers, more than [-] transport ships."

Marshall sighed.

Germany's submarine warfare is much better than that of the United States and Japan.If it weren't for Britain's rich experience in anti-submarine warfare, the German Navy has dispatched more than 200 submarines this time, and it is impossible to have only this result.

"What the hell does Darlan mean?"

Roosevelt didn't understand.

The United States and Vichy France have always maintained a relatively friendly relationship. The United States has not fully recognized Free France or the Charles de Gaulle government until now.Although Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the newly established anti-fascist alliance also declared war on Germany, including Vichy France.However, the United States still maintains contact with Vichy France through various channels.

Among them, Darlan, the No. [-] figure in Vichy France, who commanded the French navy and the North African army, had a closer relationship with the United States.So the United States has been sending people to do his work.

Darlan also believes that the United States is powerful.

In particular, the defeat of the German army in the Battle of Stalingrad made Darlan judge that it would be difficult for Germany to win this war.As a powerful figure in France, Darlan has a powerful French navy and more than 20 troops in North Africa.Therefore, even Hitler would not do anything unfavorable to Darlan.Of course, Darlan himself seldom returns to France, and has always lived in North Africa.

Sway between the Axis and the Anti-Fascist League.

At present, Darlan increasingly believes that it is difficult for the German army to win, so he is very happy about the contact with the United States.It also expressed a lot of goodwill towards the United States.But Roosevelt didn't understand why Darlan fought back so resolutely.