2280 The reserve team that has no chance to be dispatched at all
Japan’s biggest problem is that it does not have the life of the British, but suffers from the British disease.
Even Britain began to implement strategic contraction after entering the new century, while Japan went further and further on the road of crazy military expansion.
After all, Japan does not have the power of Britain. It is very difficult to build a combined fleet with all the strength of the country. At the same time, it still retains a considerable army force. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as militaristic.
Before the outbreak of World War II, Japan had 17 standing A divisions with a total strength of nearly 500,000, which was larger than the standing army in southern Africa.
It's just that there are a lot of people. Due to Japan's limited industrial strength, the level of equipment will naturally not improve.
The situation in Japan is getting more and more difficult now.
After interrupting trade with the United States, Japan relied entirely on external plunder to obtain resources.
It is right to use war to support war, but in reality it cannot be done. After all, the resources in East Asia are limited, at least not comparable to the areas controlled by the Allies. Even if the Japanese army took away all the iron pots and kitchen knives in the occupied areas, there would be no
Not a few battleships.
Now the Japanese government is in a dilemma.
If we continue to develop the navy, the combined fleet will not be able to regain the initiative on the battlefield, which is a pure waste of resources.
If more resources are allocated to the Army, the technology accumulation is insufficient. The Russians started researching the T34 in 1938 and only started equipping the troops last year. Even if Japan is now starting to research tanks that can compete with the "Leopard", let's not say whether it can be done.
If the research and development is successful and there is no ability to mass-produce it, even if all the conditions are met, it will still have to wait two years before it can be commissioned into the army.
Two years later, all the large, medium and small cities in Japan have been raided several times by Allied bombers. Even if they have technology and resources, they will be in trouble without factories and skilled workers.
Tanks are not airplanes, and heavy castings place high demands on factories. The DIY model of small workshops is not feasible.
As the East Asian battlefield continued to advance north, the Allied forces in North Africa also began to launch attacks on the German and Italian coalition forces.
After the Battle of El Alamein, there were only 78,000 North African troops left in the North African Army led by Rommel, including about 30,000 German troops and only 130 tanks left.
Montgomery took advantage of the victory to pursue the victory and led his troops to recapture Tobruk and Benghazi one after another.
Rommel fought and retreated until he retreated to the vicinity of Tripoli before stabilizing the defense line.
Then there was a conflict between Rommel and Arnim.
After the failure of the Battle of El Alamein, Mustache lost patience with Rommel and appointed Arnim as commander-in-chief of the 5th Armored Army, replacing Rommel.
After Rommel arrived in Tunisia, Arnim followed Mustache's orders and asked Rommel to return home to recuperate.
Rommel was not sick at all, and the so-called "recuperation" was just a way of saving face. Strictly speaking, the failure of El Alamein was not Rommel's fault, but the fact that Mustache gave Rommel insufficient support.
After the failure of the Battle of Volgograd, Mustache finally realized that it was impossible to conquer Russia in a short time. The importance of the North African battlefield was once again highlighted. If the Axis powers failed in North Africa, the Allies could easily launch a landing at any point along the Mediterranean coast.
This is something the Axis powers cannot afford.
While appointing Arnim to replace Rommel, Mustache increased his support for North Africa.
Taking advantage of the brief opportunity when the U.S. Second Army suffered heavy losses and the Allies adjusted their supply deployment, Mustache frantically increased troops to North Africa. Arnim's Fifth Armored Group Army had now expanded to nearly 300,000 people, of which more than 100,000 were German troops alone.
One hundred thousand people.
This made Rommel extremely envious.
If Rommel had 400,000 troops before the Battle of El Alamein, it would be impossible for Montgomery to defeat Rommel.
Rommel might even have a chance to invade Egypt again, and maybe even cut off the Suez Canal, completing the strategic goal of the German-Italian Army in North Africa.
Now Arnim has replaced Rommel and has strong support from Mustache. He is his biological son. Compared with Arnim, Rommel is not even a grandson.
Unwilling to leave North Africa with the humiliation of defeat, Rommel took the initiative to suggest to Arnim that he mobilize troops to launch a counterattack against the British Eighth Army led by Montgomery.
After winning the Battle of El Alamein, the Eighth Army advanced rapidly, advancing 1,500 kilometers in half a month. The front was too long and disconnected from the front and rear. Although supplies could be obtained from the sea, the troops did not establish a solid defensive position. If the German army did this,
If you counterattack in time, you will indeed have a great chance of repelling the British army.
After repelling the British, it will be much easier to turn around and deal with the Allied forces in French North Africa. Even if the Allied forces in French North Africa are powerful, it is not impossible to win.
Anim has his own ideas.
Marshal Messer, who had just arrived in North Africa from the Russian battlefield, also had his own ideas. They were not convinced of Rommel's plan and had doubts about Rommel's ability.
The selection of the most outstanding generals during World War II by later generations is based on post-war review. To put it bluntly, it is all hindsight.
If there is a way, literature is not the best, martial arts is not the second.
Rommel's performance in North Africa was at least not extraordinary, otherwise he would not have been fighting the British for two years without a winner.
Even the British and Indian troops in the British army were able to fight back and forth with the German troops. This fully shows that Rommel was not capable.
Unlike Rommel's plan, Arnim hoped to concentrate his forces to attack the Allied forces in French North Africa first.
Anim's reasons are also very good.
Although the number of Allied forces in French North Africa is large, they belong to Southern Africa, the United States, and France. Each has its own command system, and there are big problems with cooperation between them, and they are not as strong as they appear on the surface.
After all, the aggressive U.S. Second Army had just suffered a heavy loss at the hands of the Germans.
Messe was very dissatisfied with the position of the Italian army in the German-Italian coalition.
Under Rommel, the Italian army had always been in a subordinate position, equivalent to a servant army of the German army.
This is really unacceptable to Messi.
In Russia, the German army squeezed the Italian army many times, not only taking away the few tanks of the Italian army, but also grabbing gasoline and other supplies, causing the cars equipped by the Italian army to run out of gas. Otherwise, Massey would be able to lead more Italians.
People broke out from the Russian encirclement.
After finally leaving Russia and coming to North Africa, the situation has not improved at all.
In the just-concluded Battle of El Alamein, the Italian army once again served as the rear guard, covering the German retreat, and the 10th Army was completely wiped out.
Including the Italian troops under Rommel, the Italian troops in North Africa exceeded 250,000.
Arnim's military rank is general, and Mesai's military rank is marshal. However, in Mustache's latest appointment, Arnim is the head coach of the German-Italian Army in North Africa, and Mesai is the deputy commander.
This makes Messi feel so embarrassed.
After being rejected by Arnim, Rommel took the initiative to send a telegram to Mustache, hoping to get Mustache's support.
Not only did Mustache not support Rommel's plan, but he ordered Rommel to return to Germany immediately to recuperate.
On December 24, the day before Christmas, Rommel took a plane back to Germany and sadly left North Africa.
Little Button was extremely disappointed when he learned the news.
Patton Jr. had always hoped to fight Rommel.
Now that Rommel has been transferred, Patton Jr. has lost the chance to fight Rommel.
"Don't worry, we will land in Europe sooner or later, and you and Rommel still have a chance to fight." General Patton comforted Patton Jr., Germany still has the strength now, and the war still needs to be fought.
The failure of the Battle of Volgograd was not the end of Germany. The troops that Mustache could mobilize still exceeded 5 million. The Axis forces still occupied a large area of Russia. After the French navy sank, Germany had completely occupied the U.S.
In France, the territory has expanded again, and the Italians are half-hearted and have not really made up their minds.
"I hope to defeat Rommel in his prime, not Rommel in despair." Little Patton was sad and disappointed. Unlike Eisenhower and MacArthur, he was a pure soldier.
The American generals during World War II had their own characteristics. MacArthur was very happy with his achievements, and Eisenhower was more like a politician. Compared with them, Patton Jr. did not have much ambition. He just wanted to fight against the strongest people, and he would be happy even if he failed.
"George, you are wrong. A soldier's duty is to win, win at all costs." General Patton said earnestly, Rommel in his prime?
Beautiful thought!
With the development of war methods, the role of commanders has been infinitely reduced, and everyone performs their own duties. The once invincible Mongolian cavalry could not defeat the British and Indian troops equipped with machine guns and cannons.
The British and Indian troops are not without their merits. If it is just a positional battle, the performance of the British and Indian troops is outstanding. It is no problem to fight for a year at a distance of one kilometer.
It was because the Japanese discovered this that they took the initiative to fight hand-to-hand with the British and Indian troops.
This was the weakness of the British and Indian troops. The Indians' legs began to weaken when they saw the Japanese bayonets. They did not have the courage to fight the Japanese bayonets and collapsed at the first touch.
There is no doubt about Rommel's ability. If it had been anyone else, he probably wouldn't have been able to last so long in the North African battlefield.
Even if Anim and Messe are not convinced, you will know when they fight the Allies. The Russians are strong enough and worthy of being a fighting nation. They have two completely different fighting styles from the Southern African army, which is armed to the teeth.
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Admiral Patton had some things that were difficult to say to his face.
If the troops are about the same strength, the equipment level is about the same, and the logistics are sufficient.
Little Patton probably couldn't defeat Rommel.
After all, one has theory while the other has rich experience.
It's useless to say this now. Rommel has been transferred. It will definitely be easier to defeat Arnim and Messe than Rommel.
On January 1, the first day of the New Year, the Free French Allied Forces launched a full-scale attack on Italian North Africa.
Patton dispatched a total of 19 divisions. The first wave of attack troops was composed of 5 divisions, including 3 armored divisions. The 17th Armored Division first launched an attack on the Italian army led by Marshal Massey.
Prior to this, Mustache ordered the German-Italian forces under Rommel to be reorganized into the First Italian Army, with Massey as commander-in-chief.
Massey had just taken over the command, and when he learned about the situation of the troops, his heart dropped.
The First Army had just suffered a disastrous defeat at El Alamein, with low morale and heavy losses. It lost a large amount of heavy equipment during the retreat.
Although the First Army still has 130 tanks, it is seriously short of fuel and ammunition. After a long journey, it is in urgent need of maintenance and many parts need to be replaced. There are less than 100 tanks that can be used for combat.
Taking into account the strength of the British Eighth Army in front of the First Army, Messer proposed to Arnim that a part of the Italian army be transferred to the First Army, so as to overcome the strength of the First Army.
Arnim agreed to Massey's request and assigned three Italian divisions to the First Army, including the Italian 54th Infantry Division and the 57th Semi-Motorized Infantry Division in front of the 17th Armored Division.
Motorized infantry divisions refer to units that use vehicles to maneuver and conduct operations on foot.
Semi-motorcycle means that the number of vehicles equipped by the army is insufficient to carry all the soldiers, so it is called semi-motorcycle, which means that the motorization is half completed.
The 17th Division is a standard armored division, equipped with a three-regiment armored brigade, including a heavy tank regiment equipped with "Tiger" tanks, and two medium tank regiments equipped with "Leopard" tanks.
In addition to the armored units, the 17th Division is also equipped with an armored infantry regiment equipped with "Alligator" armored vehicles, an armored artillery regiment equipped with self-propelled howitzers, and an armored reconnaissance battalion equipped with light tanks, armored vehicles, and reconnaissance vehicles.
In the recent Battle of Volgograd, the Russians mostly used infantry-tank coordination. Tank units were not used intensively, and their attack power was not strong enough.
The 17th Division was equipped with 370 tanks and about 150 armored vehicles. Since the infantry accompanying them had all been armored, the troops' attack speed was very fast. The 54th Infantry Division had no time to react, and the 17th Armored Division broke through the defense line.
"What did you say? The Southern Africans have broken through our forward defense line?" Gallinari, commander of the 54th Infantry Division, was surprised. He had just received a report of an attack by the Southern African army ten minutes ago and had not yet had time to organize a fire attack.
, the forward position was breached.
This is incredible.
Under normal circumstances, before the troops launch an attack again, they must conduct a fire strike. The length of the fire strike depends on the scale of the battle. The fire strike in large-scale battles sometimes lasts for half a month.
Fire strikes in small-scale battles should take at least half an hour.
Considering the large number of artillery in southern Africa, this time should be longer.
Gallinari, like Mesai, had just arrived in North Africa from Russia. His understanding of the war was still in Russia last year, and he lacked understanding of the fighting methods of the southern African army.
"Yes, General, the Southern Africans have broken through our frontline positions. Please evacuate from the headquarters immediately, otherwise it will be too late -" Gallinari's adjutant was worried, sir, run away -
"No, it's impossible. We have to withstand the attack of the southern African army and organize a counterattack. I still have a reserve team-" Gallinari did not admit defeat, he had not played out all his cards yet.
However, Gallinari didn't even have a chance to play his cards. Before he sent out the order to dispatch the reserve team, the "Leopard" tanks from Southern Africa hit the door and blocked Gallinari in the headquarters.
