The 15th Division, the leading Italian army, successively captured the French garrison in central and southern Tunisia in a short period of time, making people aware of the strength of the Italian army and the weakness of the French colonial troops.
As the commander of the French army in Tunisia, Lieutenant General Achinault was looking at a telegram at this time. This was a telegram from Bordeaux, which rejected his request for more supplies and troops. French Commander-in-Chief Nivelle personally
Send him a telegram, saying that there is currently no way to send supplies and supplies to others, and that everything must take priority over the Battle of Paris.
The most important thing for France at the moment is to recapture Paris, so everything must be prioritized to ensure the French offensive in Paris.
Now the front lines in Paris are almost losing their minds. Although the British and French troops are attacking fiercely, the German army is also receiving continuous reinforcements from the country.
The two sides are currently fighting fiercely on the front lines of Bonterlu and Sery, and the battlefield is bleeding like a river. At this time, both sides are trying to win this battle, so they want to invest in the Paris area first with whatever cards they have in their hands.
For example, Britain and France will draw troops from their colonies and other places, while Germany will draw troops from the Eastern Front and reserves. So now all needs must be based on the Battle of Paris, and Admiral Neville also emphasized that at the end of the Battle of Paris
Finally, limited personnel and materials will be deployed for it.
Although there was a promise from the French Commander-in-Chief, Aquino knew that this promise was just a castle in the air and completely unrealistic. His opponent, the Italian Eighth Army, was already close at hand, and he had to wait for the end of the Battle of Paris.
In his opinion, the Battle of Paris cannot be completed within two or three months. After the Battle of Paris, whether his troops will still be in Tunisia or not will be a question.
"Lieutenant General, what's the news from Bordeaux?"
At this time, his chief of staff, Major General Mosley, started asking.
"Take a look."
As he said this, Aquino handed the telegram to the chief of staff, and Major General Mosley read it carefully.
"Why don't Bordeaux just give us reinforcements and not even supplies? How can we defend Tunisia? What does the enemy's Eighth Army look like? Isn't it clear to Bordeaux that they are planning to abandon this place?"
At this time, Major General Mosley, the chief of staff, vented his inner dissatisfaction.
Regarding the Chief of Staff's dissatisfaction, Aquino, who was originally dissatisfied, had no choice but to defend himself. "This is the result of careful consideration by the Army Department, and we can only accept it."
"I know that seizing Paris is the unanimous wish of France, but this doesn't mean that Tunisia is unimportant, right? Look at our enemy, the Crown Prince's Army is so powerful in combat. It doesn't matter if they don't give us personnel or supplies.
Well, our current air defense problem is so serious that Bordeaux will not allocate more air defense weapons to us."
It is obvious that the chief of staff's dissatisfaction has accumulated to a certain extent. Think about it, the colonial army does not have enough strength to defend against the attack of the Italian elite army. How should we fight this battle?
He and his staff dug their scalps and struggled to formulate a battle plan. They were not even willing to provide supplies. It was too difficult.
At this time, Aquino's words completely calmed the chief of staff.
"Perhaps the enemy we face is too powerful, which is one of the reasons why Bordeaux is unwilling to allocate personnel and materials."
In fact, there is another reason for Achino's conjecture, which he does not want to say out loud. That is that Tunisia's strategic status has now been reduced. Instead of using a large number of personnel and materials to fight with the Italians here, it is better to let the other side get it.
After Tunisia, let him go to Egypt to fight with the British.
This may not be a small thing, but it definitely cannot be said. As for whether the Italians will continue to peek at Algeria after getting Tunisia. There is no need to worry about this. The Italians' desire for Egypt can be heard even across the Mediterranean.
It's seen.
Not to mention that Egypt is the key to blocking it from its East African colonies. If they dare to continue attacking Algeria, then he will doubt the ability of the Italian military.
"Then how should we fight the Italians in Tunisia?" Major General Mosley asked at this time.
"Then let's have a fierce fight with the Italians and prevent them from easily occupying Tunisia."
At this time, Aquino was talking about his thoughts. Although he guessed that Bordeaux had the idea of giving up on Tunisia, the more this happened, the more necessary it was to have a good fight. Otherwise, there would be no way to explain to his teammates. You must know that the British ally is now
Helping them capture Paris.
While the two commanders of the French Tunisian Army were discussing, most of the Eighth Army in Sfax had also arrived in Sfax.
At this time, Sfax was like a large barracks, filled with Italian officers and soldiers. And as an important material port for the Eighth Army, the port of Sfax had changed from before.
At this time, in addition to the original wharf, the port also has steel structure temporary wharf. Now these wharfs are extremely busy, and a large number of navy and army officers and soldiers are unloading various materials. Pier 1, which is the main wharf, is now extremely busy.
The large wooden boxes are being lifted down one by one, and the cables are tightened to a sufficient degree. What is being unloaded is the 280mm howitzer.
The gun was equipped with the army in 1905. Its main duty is to attack enemy fortresses. Its main target is France to build fortresses and fortresses on the Italian-French border. The gun is 3.36 meters long, weighs 15.6 tons, and has a maximum muzzle velocity of 412 meters.
/ second, its maximum range is 11,200 meters, and its shells are divided into four categories and three types. Its heaviest shell is 315 kilograms, which is used to deal with fortresses protected by heavy reinforced concrete.
In addition, the gun can be disassembled into 4 large parts: barrel, hydraulic recoil equipment, gun mount and base, and the gun mantlet can be installed or not. There are two ways to transport the gun, tractor pulling and horse pulling. From all aspects
, this gun is definitely a weapon with top performance, and even Krupp has introduced the technology of this gun for its own product development.
At this time, as the two commanders of the group army, Crown Prince Vittorio was also on a high ground with Lieutenant General Brazo, watching the officers and soldiers unload the gun.
"Lieutenant General Brasso, we will not need to fight the battle of Tunis until we attack the port of Sousse. Why do you ask the navy to transport the siege artillery here now? As far as I know, the transportation of siege artillery is more convenient by sea.
, why not wait until Sousse is captured and transport from this port, which is nearly 150 kilometers away from Sfax?”
Faced with the Crown Prince's inquiry, Lieutenant General Brasso immediately explained. "Your Highness, unloading the gun in Sfax will make it easier for us to use it. In addition, the situation at the port in Sousse is very bad, and the defenders there have begun to destroy the port.
facility."
"What the enemy did after they found out we were using the port for supplies?"
"Yes, Your Highness, there are some reasons."
"Lieutenant General Brazeau, you are so considerate. It is a great honor to work with you."
