The decisive battle against the Third Reich

It is understandable that Montgomery is so eager to attack the German fleet. The outcome of the battle in North Africa actually depends largely on the balance of naval power.

Prior to this, the British Mediterranean Fleet had always been the overlord of the Mediterranean... The Italian fleet was unable to fight back, and the French Toulon fleet had always remained neutral. As a result, the British fleet could come and go freely in the Mediterranean, which gave the British army Great initiative, for example, you can block the German and Italian transportation lines while ensuring your own transportation, you can even drive a nail in the Italian waters, and occasionally send a troop to go around the rear by sea to assassinate the Germans. , Italian military and political figures.

But now it's different.

The fall of the Toulon Fleet into the hands of Germany completely changed the dominance of the British Mediterranean Fleet. It is even possible for the German Navy to unite with the Italian Navy to completely overwhelm the British Mediterranean Fleet.

This is what Montgomery never wants to see, because it not only means that it is difficult for the Allied forces to achieve further victory, but also means that the Allied forces cannot target Italy, Greece and other Mediterranean countries... Once a landing operation is launched in Europe, It will inevitably face a situation where the German navy is attacked from both sides.

This is also what Qin Chuan considered.

Qin Chuan stared at the map and fell into deep thought... The reason why Mussolini collapsed in history was that from a subjective point of view, Mussolini lost the hearts of the people and even lost the support of the party (Mussolini even lost the support of the fascist party) . Objectively speaking, it was because the Allied forces captured Sicily and used Sicily as a springboard to land in southern Italy.

The Italians have some weird thinking. They can accept that the war occurs in other countries, such as Egypt, Greece, and Libya. Although they also need to send troops, as long as the war does not occur in Italy, they can continue to anesthetize themselves, such as Promote at home how brave the Italian army is and what victories it has achieved outside.

Even when the British army chased the Italian army all the way to Tripoli in the first battle, Italy was still reporting on the victory of the Italian army.

but……

Once the Allied forces directly land in Italy, all lies will be self-defeating, and of course the people will not give up. Therefore, the Mussolini government has to face various parades and demonstrations by the people when there are powerful enemies outside... In the end, the fascist party could only abandon Mussolini by cutting off its tail to survive.

Now, as long as there is a German fleet and the superiority of the German fleet in the Mediterranean is guaranteed, the Allies will not be able to break through the Tunisian Strait. If they cannot break through the Tunisian Strait, they will not be able to land in Sicily, because this will cause their landing troops to be attacked by the invaders. Attacked from several sides in Nicaea and even at sea.

The inability of the Allied forces to land in Sicily means that Italy will not surrender. At the same time, the Afrika Korps can also defend in Algeria, so that the war in North Africa will stabilize and not collapse like history...

"Lieutenant!" While Qin Chuan was meditating, Darlan walked into the headquarters.

"General!" Qin Chuan couldn't help but be surprised when he saw it was Darlan.

Because after the German fleet defeated the British Air Force's attack, Darlan returned to the cabin alone and did not show up.

Qin Chuan can understand this. This is an absolute shame for the French Navy and even Darlan... The Toulon fleet is just a decoration in the hands of the French Navy. They were defeated by the British in the "Ballista Plan". Although they fought back, these same warships displayed unexpected combat effectiveness in the hands of the Germans. This has no other explanation other than the quality of French naval officers and soldiers.

"Oh, General Darlan!" Marshal Leder said with a mocking tone when he saw Darlan: "Sorry, we let you down and failed to let you see the French warship sink to the bottom of the sea under the British plane. !”

Marshal Redl's pun made the naval officers and soldiers in the headquarters burst into laughter.

Darlan ignored them. He walked up to Qin Chuan and said seriously, "Can I talk to you?"

Marshal Redl made another sarcastic comment from the side: "General Darlan, if you want to take the lieutenant under your command, you can say it loudly and we won't care. But I'm afraid you also need General Rommel's Agreed, because I have failed!”

The naval officers and soldiers couldn't help but burst into laughter again.

Qin Chuan asked Colonel Slaine for instructions, and after receiving the agreement, he walked aside with Darlan.

"General Darlan!" Qin Chuan said, "I can understand your mood, but I must do this!"

"No, no..." Darlan replied: "I know, and I won't talk to you about this matter. This is too stupid!"

"Then..." Qin Chuan didn't understand what Darlan wanted to talk to him. If there was anything, he should talk to Colonel Slaine or Marshal Redl.

"Lieutenant!" Darlan looked at Qin Chuan and said, "I have a strong feeling that you are the mastermind of all this, right?"

"General!" Qin Chuan replied: "I just accidentally thought of this kind of air defense method..."

"No, I'm not just talking about this!" Darlan stared at Qin Chuan closely, as if trying to see through him.

"Then...what could it be?"

"The strategic retreat of the Afrika Korps, the German army's entry and airborne capture of Algeria, and even the capture of the Toulon fleet, etc.!" Darlan said: "As well as supporting the independence of Africa... all of this was actually done by you, right? "

Hearing this, Qin Zhong was shocked.

Darlan was right. On the surface, Qinchuan seemed to be giving Rommel suggestions to resolve the crisis, but in fact, he was completing a strategic layout in Africa step by step.

Others may have been "in it" without realizing it, but Darlan, an outsider, discovered something.

"How can you do it?" Darlan asked: "Have such foresight that you can seem to guess what is going to happen and prepare in advance?"

"No, General Darlan!" Qin Chuan said with a smile, "I'm just a lieutenant..."

"You are indeed just a lieutenant!" Darlan said: "But you have done what even Hitler couldn't do. You have changed the entire North African war situation!"

Darlan is right. Historically, Hitler failed to change the outcome of the defeat in North Africa. It can even be said that Hitler was one of the reasons for the defeat in North Africa... Hitler considered himself a war genius and arrogantly believed Rommel's words and canceled the The plan to attack Malta and even the transfer of the 24th Air Wing when war broke out on the Eastern Front were the reasons for the failure of the Afrika Korps.