The Italians have begun to contact the Allies, but have not really made up their mind yet.
The battle in Pombia basically ended after the Italian army surrendered. The Italians did not damage the dock. After landing, the field troops quickly advanced towards Heraklion and cut off the Crete defenders from the middle according to the pre-war plan.
This tactic was similar to what the Germans did when they attacked Crete, but the southern African troops encountered much less difficulties.
During the last Battle of Crete, the area between Heraklion and Pombia became the main battlefield. Fierce fighting broke out between the Allied forces and the Germans, which lasted for a full month.
Now it was the turn of the Southern African Army to attack. The defenders were replaced by Italian troops. The intensity of the fighting was much smaller than that of Heraklion. The Italian Army did not organize an effective defense. When the "Leopard" tanks of the Southern African Army rushed to the position, the battle intensity was much smaller than that of Heraklion.
Some Italian troops surrendered voluntarily, and some fled into the nearby mountains. There were only a few Italians who resisted.
If you look at it this way, Italians are indeed quite peace-loving.
When the field troops advanced towards Heraklion, the battle for Heraklion was still in progress.
The German pilots were tenacious in fighting, but they were still defeated by the southern African fighters with better technology and greater numbers.
Like the Panzer IV, the Germans have been improving the BF109. The Germans in Crete used the BF109E model.
During the Battle of Britain, the Southern African Air Force had many battles with this model of BF109, and was very familiar with the performance of the BF109.
This model of BF109 is produced in large quantities. The armament system is usually a 15mm or 20mm cannon mounted on the central axis, and two 7.92mm MG17s are installed on each wing. The combat bomber BF109 can be mounted on the center line of the belly.
A 250kg bomb.
Fighters in Southern Africa are also constantly improving. The latest models of "Cheetah" and "Goshawk" are equipped with more powerful engines, a 20mm cannon on the central axis, and two 12.7mm aviation machine guns on both wings.
The firepower is still one level higher than that of BF109.
The most advanced BF109 currently produced by the Germans is the G-type nicknamed "Gustav". The latest G-5 engine has a power of up to 1,800 horsepower. The pilot's cockpit is also a pressurized cockpit like the southern African fighter jet, which can carry out high-altitude combat.
However, the current production of the G-type BF109 is limited and is only used to fight Russia. Crete is far less important to the German army than Russia.
On the second day of the battle, the Southern African Air Force gradually gained air superiority over Heraklion, and the balance of victory began to tilt toward Southern Africa.
At this time, the Southern African Army fighting in Heraklion, in addition to the 5th Airborne Division, also had two brigades of Marines. The German control area was constantly shrinking, and the airborne troops and Marines were advancing steadily.
Controlled most of Heraklion.
At this time, Major General Leslie, commander of the 5th Airborne Division, took the initiative to send people to the German positions, hoping that the Germans would give up resistance and not cause more unnecessary casualties.
"Mountain soldiers can accept the fate of death in battle, but will never accept humiliating surrender." Von Kamann, commander of the German 5th Mountain Division, had a firm attitude. He was ready to sacrifice his life.
"Your Majesty General, I can understand your feelings of fighting for honor, and please understand the soldiers' desire to survive. They are also victims of this war, and their families are waiting for them to go home." Lieutenant Colonel Li Min, combat staff officer of the 5th Airborne Division.
He could understand von Kármán's mood sincerely.
With "Feng" in his name, Kaman was probably from the Junker aristocracy.
Before the last world war, the Junker aristocracy had always controlled the German political power, especially the military power. Bismarck was the representative of the Junker aristocracy.
In the last world war, the Junker aristocracy suffered heavy losses and gradually declined, but it still has a very strong influence in Germany.
After Mustache came to power, he reached a compromise with the Junkers aristocracy. Members of the Junkers aristocracy joined the military, but they were not loyal to Mustache, but to Germany. Mustache's die-hard loyalty was to the SS, which was different from the German Wehrmacht.
.
The 5th Mountain Division belongs to the German Wehrmacht. Although it fought against the southern African army in the Battle of Crete, there was no blood feud, at least not to the level of Russia and Germany.
Von Kaman himself could die for his country, but what he was really worried about was that the surrendered officers and soldiers of the 5th Mountain Division would not receive treatment commensurate with their status.
To put it bluntly, they were afraid of retaliation from the southern African army.
"Don't be optimistic so early. You haven't won yet, and we haven't lost yet." Von Kármán admitted that the current situation was unfavorable to the German army, but he did not admit defeat.
"The reason why we haven't won yet is because we don't want to cause too many unnecessary casualties - the reason why you haven't lost yet is because we haven't used all our attack methods. In the next four hours, we will
Temporarily stop the attack. If the fighting continues after four hours, then we will use all attack methods to end the war as quickly as possible." Li Min is here to persuade us to surrender, not to declare a challenge.
Von Kamann said nothing, and his adjutant sent Li Min back to the Allied position.
Regardless of whether the two countries are at war or not, von Kamann must ensure Li Min's safety. This is a tacit understanding among soldiers.
There will definitely be situations where these unspoken rules are not followed, and in the end most of the time the party that doesn't follow the rules will be severely punished.
If von Kamann dared to hurt Li Min, then after the battle, the captured soldiers of the German 5th Mountain Division would be retaliated by the southern African army. No rational person would do this.
After Li Min left, von Karman's headquarters was silent, and everyone was waiting for von Karman's decision.
Von Kaman could see in the eyes of the officers their desire for survival. This was a hopeless battle. The Southern African army had surrounded Heraklion, and the Fifth Mountain Division had no way to retreat.
The mountain division is best at fighting in the mountains, but not at urban street fighting.
The airborne troops were born to be surrounded, and the Marine Corps was born to attack port cities. Both arms are very good at urban combat. The Southern African army also has equipment advantages, coupled with a steady stream of reinforcements, the sea surface
All were warships in southern Africa. Von Kármán could actually escape on a submarine, but he didn't want to do that.
There is a German submarine in the port of Heraklion, ready to assist von Kaman in evacuation. The German base camp has also sent a telegram to von Kaman, hoping that von Kaman can voluntarily evacuate to avoid being captured by the southern African army.
This reason is the same as MacArthur's escape from the Philippines.
However, not everyone runs away like MacArthur. The education Von Kármán received since childhood is that honor is above all else, including life.
The submarine's position was limited, and von Kármán could move, but most of the officers and soldiers of the 5th Mountain Division could only accept the fate of death in battle or surrender.
In the last world war, the German troops who surrendered to the southern African army received treatment commensurate with their status. This is well known in Germany.
Therefore, most Germans can accept the outcome of surrendering to the southern African army.
"Do you want me to do what the Southern Africans want?" von Kármán asked proactively.
Gu Yi
No one among the dozen or so officers present spoke, and they had different thoughts. Even if someone wanted to surrender, they would definitely remain silent under such circumstances.
After a long silence, von Kamann's chief of staff Tim Schultz took the initiative to speak.
"General, no matter what you do, we will support you unconditionally."
This attitude made it even more difficult for von Kármán.
It would be better if the officers had a firm attitude. Whether they fought to the end or gave up resistance and surrendered, von Kármán could maintain his honor.
Tim Schultz's words left the life choices of the remaining officers and soldiers of the 5th Mountain Division to von Kamann, which made von Kamann feel extremely heavy.
At this time, the adjutant who sent Li Min back came back but stopped talking.
Von Kármán asked with his eyes.
"The southern Africans have stopped attacking and are gathering their forces -" the adjutant's expression was ugly.
Von Kármán went to the window and picked up the telescope.
At this time, the fierce sound of gunfire was gradually subsided. There were still close ground support aircraft from Southern Africa circling in the sky. The bombs under the wings and belly of the aircraft were clearly visible. These close ground support aircraft had caused a lot of damage to the 5th Mountain Division in the past two days.
The officers and soldiers suffered a great deal.
Fighters in southern Africa can also carry bombs to carry out bombing missions when performing emergency missions, but to be professional, they must be close ground support aircraft, a similar model within the German army, the Stuka.
The Stuka was finalized in 1935 and equipped with troops in batches in 1937. It became the main bomber of the German army. Because of its good performance and crazy dispatch frequency, it showed its talents in the early days of the war.
In order to increase the psychological attack power, the early Stukas were specially equipped with a sounding air horn on the landing gear, which would produce a terrifying high-pitched scream when diving, which became a nightmare for German opponents.
In fact, whistles were also fired on bombers in southern Africa, and their functions and effects were similar.
During the Battle of Britain, the Stuka, which was showing its prowess on the European battlefield, encountered southern African fighters with more advanced capabilities.
The speed of the Southern African fighter jets is much faster than that of the Stuka. The whistle will affect the speed of the Stuka, causing the Stuka's survival rate to be greatly reduced when facing the Southern African fighter jets. The Stuka has to remove the whistle, and the aura gradually decreases.
weaken.
The Southern African army has controlled the air superiority of Heraklion. The German anti-aircraft weapons suffered huge losses in the two days of fighting. Close ground support aircraft in Southern Africa began to dispatch frequently. High-performance aerial bombs and incendiary bombs allowed the German army to
After suffering enough, when the scream of the close ground support aircraft sounds, the German soldiers with the strongest will to fight will flee in all directions.
After all, fire and water have no mercy.
Through the telescope, von Kármán could clearly see that the Marines wearing four-color navy camouflage and the airborne troops wearing four-color air force camouflage were breaking away from the German troops.
A large amount of thick smoke appeared in the distance and continued to gather. This was the assembly of armored forces in southern Africa.
The German army is currently only equipped with anti-tank guns and not rocket launchers, seriously lacking anti-tank capabilities.
This situation would soon improve. After the British surrender in Tobruk, Rommel captured a batch of rocket launchers from southern Africa.
Rommel's troops also lacked anti-tank capabilities and quickly sent the rocket launchers back to Germany. It is estimated that after some time, Germany will begin to equip its troops with rocket launchers.
Don't underestimate the German army's copycat capabilities. The Germans were famous for their "copycats" ten years ago.
If it were just a confrontation between infantry, von Kamann was confident that the German mountain troops would not fear anyone, including the airborne troops and marines in southern Africa.
The addition of armored forces broke this balance. The armored forces in Southern Africa are very strong, technologically advanced and numerous in number. They do not use the "Tiger" and "Leopard" equipped by the Army. The light tanks of the Marine Corps are not capable of mountain infantry.
coping.
The mountain soldiers are not stupid either.
Although the southern African army had stopped attacking, when more than a dozen amphibious tanks and armored vehicles entered the battlefield, many mountain soldiers immediately retreated from their positions. They did not want to become victims under the tracks of the tanks.
Street fighting mainly relies on houses, especially some houses with strong structures, which will become the best bunkers for soldiers.
No matter how solid the structure of a house is, it will be a piece of paper in front of a steel monster with power that can easily reach thousands of horsepower.
Although the total combat weight of an amphibious tank is only a dozen tons, it is also made of high-strength steel welded together. When facing a residential building, there is no need to fire at all, just hit it at full power. All obstacles are the same to the tank.
Walking on flat ground.
Otherwise, the engine power will become larger and larger.
As the number of tanks and armored vehicles increased, von Kármán's eyes finally dimmed.
This battle is unwinnable. The number of tanks and armored vehicles that von Kármán can see now has exceeded 50, and more tanks and armored vehicles are still gathering.
The southern Africans were very insidious. On the surface, they gave von Kaman four hours to make his own decision. In fact, they took the opportunity to adjust the allocation of troops. After four hours, the mountain soldiers no longer faced
A body of flesh and blood, but a steel monster.
The tank crews in Southern Africa are also disgusting. They all have obsessive-compulsive disorder. When the tanks are lined up, there are people directing them to ensure that all the tanks are on the same level and the height of the gun barrels is the same.
After the tank came to a stop, the tank crews did not shut down the engine and kept slamming the accelerator. Large plumes of black smoke spewed out of the exhaust pipe, like bulls that kept pawing the ground with their hooves.
Damn, the people in southern Africa are not short of fuel. Tank crews can build whatever they want. If the German Wehrmacht had such abundant logistics, they should have penetrated Russia by now.
When the idea emerged from von Kaman's mind, von Kaman suddenly realized that Germany had lost the war. No matter how tenacious the German army's fighting will was, it could only delay the time of defeat.
will change the final result.
After understanding this, von Kármán put down the telescope in his hand, straightened the military cap on his head, buttoned all the buttons on his general uniform, and sighed deeply.
The Junker aristocracy, which values honor more than life, is no longer suitable for this era.
