The decisive battle against the Third Reich

Although the military uniforms were in disrepair and the paratrooper helmets were too ugly to look at, the German soldiers still lined up in neat formation and walked towards the airport with their heads held high.

Colonel Smith and a group of officers waited outside the wall with a depressed expression.

Major Sliman stepped forward and saluted each other with Colonel Smith, and said: "I accept your surrender, Colonel, and we will give you the treatment you deserve!"

Colonel Smith nodded and replied with some embarrassment: "I have to admit that you fought well, Major. As a soldier, I salute you!"

As Colonel Smith spoke, several German officers saluted and shook hands with each other. Then, with an order, British soldiers and Greek soldiers walked out of the airport in groups and placed piles of equipment on the ground.

This is the first time Qin Chuan has seen someone being captured in this way... usually he is beaten to death and then surrenders with his hands raised on the battlefield.

But this is not surprising, because Crete is an island with no escape route. The defeated British soldiers and Greek soldiers had no other choice but to surrender.

The German army took over the airport smoothly, and the British did not even destroy the equipment in the airport and the supplies in the warehouse, which surprised Major Kleiman.

"The British still have some grace!" Major Clayman said after reading the supply list.

"I don't think that's demeanor!" Qin Chuan said: "They are just worried about our wrath after blowing up supplies and equipment!"

"Uh-huh!" Major Clayman had never thought about this.

Qinchuan was no stranger to this matter. The British often did this when facing the Japanese on the Burma battlefield, and their main armored force, the 7th Armored Brigade, was a unit transferred from the 7th Armored Division.

The German soldiers were very busy when receiving the airport. Rommel's headquarters on the other side burst into cheers immediately after hearing the news. Several staff officers even threw a lot of documents into the air and let them look like snowflakes. Generally floating downward.

Rommel looked very calm on the surface, but inside he was surging with excitement, because he knew what this meant... The victory in Crete not only represented the reconstruction of the German supply line, but also the foreseeable reduction of the supplies and logistics of the Afrika Korps. Many pressures have compressed the British army's living space and even posed a threat to their supply lines.

Of course, the German army still cannot use Crete as a base to blockade Port Said... The German fighter planes have a short range and cannot travel between Port Said and Crete, but at least they can make the British army uncomfortable.

"General!" the staff reminded Rommel at the right time: "Is it time for you to send a telegram to the Führer?"

"Oh, yes!" Rommel finally woke up.

Rommel straightened his military uniform, walked to the radio station and said with high spirits: "Dear head of state, first of all, I must apologize for my previous concealment. I only did this in order to achieve the suddenness of the battle. I believe you can understand, If our plans were known to the Italians in advance, they would soon be on the British desks, so I had to do it.

Now, we are victorious!

Yes, we successfully captured Crete at a very small cost.

I believe this will affect the war situation in Africa. Maybe soon, I will be able to send you a telegram from Cairo to report the results of the war! "

As Rommel expected, Hitler would not mind Rommel's previous "concealment" in the face of this victory. Hitler even said that this was the informal characteristic of a "genius commander", and even opened fire joked: "I'm looking forward to hiding something like this next time, because it will bring me dozens of times more victory!"

(Note: Crete is more than thirty times larger than Malta)

Of course, if the German and Italian troops failed to capture Crete this time, it would be another matter.

Then Rommel picked up the general's hat from the hanger, put it on and buckled his armed belt.

"Where are you going, General?" the staff officer asked doubtfully.

"Crete!" Rommel said: "I can't wait to go there and see it!"

"But General!" the staff officer said, "The battle has just ended, and there are even British fighter planes in the sky!"

"That's just right!" Rommel said: "I just wanted to see how they shot down the British fighter planes!"

So Rommel's plane landed at Iraq Airport more than an hour later. At this time, the runway at Iraq Airport had just been repaired.

"Well done, soldiers!" After getting off the plane, Rommel gave an impromptu speech to the soldiers as usual: "I have never been more confident about victory than now. This is not because we captured Crete and the situation improved. , not because of how many enemies we have destroyed and how much land we have occupied, but because of you, you make me believe that all obstacles in front of us will be crushed. You are the elite of the empire, the pride of Germany, and the victors on the battlefield. !”

The German and Italian soldiers couldn't help but cheer loudly.

Major Kleiman welcomed Rommel into the headquarters. Rommel saw the bandage on Qin Chuan's left arm at a glance. He pretended to be shocked: "Second Lieutenant, you surprise me. There are actually people who can Let you get hurt?"

The officers and soldiers in the headquarters couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"How is it?" Rommel patted Qin Chuan on the shoulder: "The injury is not serious!"

"No, general!" Qin Chuan replied: "The medical soldier said it will only take a few weeks to return to normal!"

"Very good!" Rommel said, "I don't want to lose a think tank. There will be many battlefields that need you in the future, Lieutenant!"

"Yes, General!"

Qin Chuan noticed that the officers around him cast envious eyes at him.

Qin Chuan knew what they were thinking... Rommel was a popular person around Hitler, and Qin Chuan was valued by Rommel, which was indeed a great thing.

But Qin Chuan didn't think there was anything to be proud of, because his vision was completely different from those officers... They were thinking about making achievements, while Qin Chuan was thinking about how to win this almost impossible battle (if he didn't win this battle, Qin Chuan, as a German soldier, would be almost finished).

So, Qin Chuan didn't care about the appreciation of Rommel or any other generals. From Qin Chuan's point of view, Rommel was just a chess piece, even Hitler...and Qin Chuan was the one who played chess, that is, the one who could change something, but others didn't know it.

"Well, gentlemen!" Rommel sat down on the chair, leaned back and crossed his legs with a little pride: "Now, it's time to discuss how to manage Crete!"