The decisive battle against the Third Reich

Later, Qin Chuan realized that what Waldo said was true.

This actually has something to do with Germany...Germany occupied northern France, leaving only the Vichy government to live in peace.

But Darlan was not willing to continue like this. He knew that if France wanted to protect itself, it would ultimately have to rely on its own armed forces... Wandering between Germany, Britain, and the United States would only prolong France's time.

However, the armistice agreement limits the French army to no more than 100,000, and this army has many restrictions on weapons and equipment. In addition, the German army keeps a close eye on this army, so it is basically impossible to rely on this army to protect itself. impossible.

Therefore, Darlan set his sights on colonial Algeria.

Algeria has at least several advantages:

First of all, Germany does not pay attention to the colonial army... This is caused by the Germans' concept of blood and race. They believe that only the best nations can unite to produce greater strength, and the inferior nations will be counterproductive if they are mixed in.

Therefore, the German army did not take the Zoav Corps seriously, which gave Darlan an opportunity.

Secondly, Algeria is separated from the French mainland by the Mediterranean Sea. At that time, the French Toulon fleet had not yet been captured by the German army. This terrain is very favorable for French defense.

Darlan's plan was that one day when Germany launched an attack from north to south, the French army would of course be unable to stop the German army's steely torrent of attack.

However, if the Toulon fleet can be used to transfer the French government to Algeria, and then the Toulon fleet can be used for sea defense based in the port of Algiers... we can avoid contact with the German army on land, because as we all know, the German navy has been defeated by the British The blockade was unable to move in the port.

Even if Germany borrows the power of the Italian navy to attack Algiers, the French navy will still be able to fight.

As a result, Darlan consciously shifted his focus to Algeria.

The most important thing is to make Algeria a self-sufficient region... To put it simply, it can produce both necessary daily necessities and weapons and equipment. Only in this way can it continue to confront Germany even if France is lost.

The production of daily necessities is obvious, which has also given Algeria a kind of abnormal prosperity... Before France surrendered, Algeria actually did not have so many factories, and at the same time, industry and commerce were not so developed. After the surrender of France, thanks to Darlan's conscious support and transfer, factories in Algeria sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

Germany had no doubts about this. They thought that France just needed more factories to exploit the labor force of the colonies, that is, Algerians, because the taxes were too heavy, so they just let it go.

The production of weapons and equipment is secret... Darlan transported the arsenal equipment from France and sold it to arms dealers, giving them production capabilities, and even brought many scientific researchers.

In this way, on the surface, Algeria does not have the ability to produce equipment. The weapons come from two channels: one is purchased from arms dealers, and the other is transported from France.

But in fact, as soon as a war starts, the equipment and production capacity scattered in the hands of arms dealers will be taken back by the government in minutes.

It should be said that Darlan's strategy was very correct. The only thing he had to worry about was that Germany would land in Libya from its ally, the Italian colony, and then invade Algeria from Tunisia... So Darlan built a horse road at the border. Trey's defense.

What Darlan didn't expect was that his painstaking efforts fell completely into the hands of the Germans before they had time to take effect, just like the "Maginot Line".

"What equipment can you produce?" Qin Chuan asked.

"Rifles, mortars, howitzers!" Waldo said: "In addition, we can also repair tanks. If you come later, we may even have the ability to produce tanks!"

"This is not of much use to us!" Qin Chuan said: "The rifle models are different, and the ammunition produced is also different. Our tanks are also different from your tanks..."

"Yes!" Waldo replied: "Of course I know this, but you captured the Toulon fleet, and we can produce the ammunition the fleet needs. At the same time, we can also provide you with some parts. In addition... we also have scientific researchers. , as long as you provide the drawings, I believe they can produce the rifle or other things you need!”

Qin Chuan's eyes couldn't help but light up after hearing this.

It is true that Germany did transport some arsenals from Germany to Crete, and then from Crete to Algeria's arsenals, but these arsenals were small in scale after all. The more serious problem was that there were not enough arsenals after leaving Crete. Skilled workers... Compared with the Greeks, many Algerians are illiterate, and it is very difficult to teach them to become qualified workers. This has kept the output of the German arsenal at a low level, and it even became rotten due to the negligence of the workers. Several accidents.

However, Waldo now clearly has many workers that the German army needs.

If these factories can be merged together...especially with scientific researchers from France, and with the support of Berlin, then there may not be a problem in producing enough equipment and ammunition for the African Corps.

Even with the establishment of a military industry system, with reasonable guidance or guidance from Qin Chuan, it is possible to produce advanced equipment beyond this era.

"No problem!" Thinking of this, Qin Chuan asked: "Then Mr. Waldo, your conditions for cooperation are..."

"There are a total of seven major arms dealers distributed in North Africa!" Waldo said: "There are two in Tunisia, two in Morocco, and three in Algeria... I am just one of them!"

This is also the cleverness of Darlan. He does not put the eggs in a cage, so that he can avoid being controlled by an arms dealer and raising prices.

Qin Chuan nodded and said, "Do you hope to gain the support of the German army and become their leader?"

"Yes!" Waldo nodded.

"Can I ask a question, Mr. Waldo?"

"Of course!" Waldo raised his chin.

"Give me a reason!" Qin Chuan leaned forward and asked seriously: "Why can't we arrest you all and take all the equipment for ourselves?"

"You won't do this!" Waldo replied: "Because you don't have enough manpower, because you need to get enough supplies as soon as possible, and because you are trying to win the support of the local people, including the Algiers government and even France! "

After a pause, Waldo asked again: "Am I right, Mr. Captain?"