The combat effectiveness of the German army in North Africa is far from that on the Russian battlefield.
Russia is a life-and-death situation. Even if you surrender, you will not be able to survive in the prisoner of war camp, and it is the most tragic way to die. Therefore, both sides know it very well and will not retreat until they fight to the death.
The tragedy of the North African battlefield was less than one-tenth that of Russia. The British officers surrendered to the Italian army. The Italian officers would take the initiative to apologize to the British officers for failing to provide them with a dinner worthy of their status as British officers.
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The Italian army surrendered to the British army. After being rejected by the British army, the Italian army actually taught the British a lesson. After winning the battle, they surrendered. There must be no reason to refuse this time.
The same goes for the German Army in North Africa. In the Allied prisoner-of-war camps in North Africa, there have never been scandals such as prisoner abuse. The guards and prisoners were harmonious and respectful to each other. Neither the Germans nor the British were so resistant to surrender.
Han Kai's car crew consisted of five people and captured 470 German officers and soldiers.
Afterwards, The Times interviewed Han Kai, who was still frightened.
"It is no exaggeration to say that we ourselves were frightened. Originally we only planned to defend where we were because we didn't know where the nearest Allied troops were. When we were counting the prisoners, Frank's legs were shaking. I pretended to be very nervous.
With a calm look, I chatted with a German major. God knows what we talked about, because I didn't know German, and the major didn't know Chinese or English. We could both feel each other's nervousness." Han Kai was awarded the title of "Southern Africa" at the same time after the war.
The Order of Heroes and the Order of the British Empire.
During the entire Tunisian campaign, a total of about 180,000 German troops and 250,000 Italian troops surrendered. The fighting lasted until the end of February.
The entire North African campaign lasted for a total of 2 years and 8 months. Both the Allied and Axis forces suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties. This victory was of great significance to the Allies. After the North African campaign, the Allied forces finally cleared the
Without worries, you can launch landing operations at any point in the surrounding areas of the Mediterranean Sea.
This is also the victory that the Russians are most looking forward to.
Winston has been delaying the opening of a second battlefield in Europe on the grounds that the North African campaign has not yet ended.
Although Southern Africa launched several successful landing operations in the eastern Mediterranean and occupied the Twelve Islands and Crete, it did not invest much troops and made limited progress.
The bearded man knew very well that the purpose of delaying the opening of the second battlefield in Britain and southern Africa was to consume the effective forces of Germany and Russia.
It is one thing to know, but the bearded man is unable to change the status quo. Germany and Russia have already beaten their brains out. The war will not end until one side completely falls.
It's just a possibility. Since the end of World War I, Russia has become an object of rejection by European countries. Big Beard himself cannot guarantee that after the Allied forces defeat Germany, they will not take Russia with them.
Therefore, Big Beard's strategy is also very clear: to use war to build an army that is feared by the Allies, so that it is possible to ensure a relatively balanced stability after the war.
At the same time as the North African campaign was launched, Winston proposed that allied leaders hold a meeting in London to discuss matters related to opening a second battlefield in Europe.
With the end of the North African campaign, the Allies had no reason to delay, and the opening of a second battlefield was put on the agenda.
In order to maximize coordination, Winston sent invitations to Roosevelt, Roark, Bearded Man, and De Gaulle.
What Winston didn't expect was that Big Beard refused to go to London for the first time, on the grounds that the war between Russia and Germany had entered the most critical stage, and Big Beard could not leave.
Roosevelt also had opinions. He opposed inviting de Gaulle to the meeting, believing that Giraud was more qualified to represent Free France.
Roque had no problem with whom to invite, but he had a problem with holding the conference in London. London was too far from southern Africa. Roque proposed that the conference be held somewhere between southern Africa and Britain, such as the Saarland, or French North Africa.
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Winston may not care about Roosevelt and the Beard, but he cannot ignore Rock's advice.
The last Allied Conference was held in Saarland, so this time it will be in French North Africa.
Considering that Algiers was too close to the front line, the meeting was held in Casablanca, French North Africa.
Casablanca is one of the largest cities in French North Africa. It was founded in the 12th century. In 1770, the King of Morocco named it Dalbeida, which means "white house".
At the end of the 18th century, the Spaniards obtained Dalbeda's trading privileges and renamed it Casablanca. In Spanish, "Casablanca" also means "White House".
Roque arrived in Casablanca on February 17. At this time, the North African campaign was basically over. Only sporadic German troops were still resisting. Their resistance was doomed to be in vain and they could not escape the fate of defeat. The North African Allied Forces Command had ordered that in February
Axis troops who surrender after the 15th will no longer enjoy normal prisoner treatment.
This is not because Patton is cruel, but because the Russians asked for it.
Compared with the prisoners of war on the Russian battlefield, the prisoners of war on the North African battlefield are simply in paradise. So far, more than 400,000 Axis troops have surrendered to the Allies. The Allies have to consume massive amounts of supplies every day to meet the living needs of these prisoners.
In the words of Big Beard, the supplies consumed by these prisoners might as well be used to support Russia, and the prisoners were left to fend for themselves.
Or humane destruction will do.
Patton also lost patience with the resistance of the remnants of the North African Army.
An obvious fact is that since you can enjoy the treatment of normal prisoners if you surrender, then surrendering early or surrendering later is the same. The difference is active and forced.
Taking the initiative to be a prisoner is a sign of weakness.
If you are really unable to defeat someone and are forced to surrender, you are a hero.
"President Roosevelt will arrive tomorrow. Should we invite General de Gaulle or Marshal Giraud?" Winston was undecided. He himself was leaning towards de Gaulle.
"General de Gaulle is the president of Free France, and Marshal Giraud is the commander-in-chief. Is there any doubt about this?" Roque supports de Gaulle. Giraud is also a legend, but he cannot be compared with de Gaulle.
De Gaulle in another time and space became the most sober person in Europe after the end of World War II. He did not accept the American baton, advocated "moderation and cooperation" between the East and the West, advocated trade and cultural exchanges with countries in the opposing camp, and withdrew from
NATO is completely different from Britain, which is completely flat, and Germany, which is unable to resist.
In this time and space, Roque does not want to see Europe become monolithic after the war. Someone must take the initiative to break the balance, and de Gaulle is the best candidate.
"Then it's Charles." Winston and Locke reached an agreement first, and Roosevelt was easy to deal with: "We won the North African campaign. This is good news and bad news."
Winston felt a little regretful. In his opinion, Russia and Germany had not yet reached the point where both sides would suffer.
"The United States has increased its assistance to Russia. This is the real bad news." Roque saw more clearly. Americans have never given up their ambition to return to Europe.
In both world wars, the United States fanned the flames and profited from them, and this has not changed until the 21st century.
For Europe now, the influence of the United States is far less than that of the United Kingdom and Russia, and even inferior to southern Africa and France. Rock knows how to mix sand into Europe, and the same goes for the United States.
The difference is that Roque chose France, while the United States chose Russia.
Since the end of last year, the United States has increased its assistance to Russia. All kinds of weapons, ammunition and strategic materials are sent to Russia for free, ship by ship.
After experiencing the industrial transfer in the early stages of the Russo-German war, Russia had restored its production capacity by the end of last year, and it was even better than before. Intelligence showed that Russia could now produce 2,000 tanks per month. This was the reason why Russia could win the Battle of Volgograd.
the root cause.
During the Moscow Defense War, Russia only had 17 combined armies of all arms participating, and no organized armored forces.
During the Battle of Volgograd, the number of participating troops increased to 14 combined armies of various arms, including one tank army and several tank corps.
With Russia's current production capacity, a tank army can be formed every month.
If battlefield consumption is not considered, the number of tanks equipped by the Russian army will reach more than 20,000 by the end of the year.
This is a frightening number, and it is certainly not the final scale. When the Russo-German War broke out, Russia had more than 20,000 tanks. If Russia regains its strength, this force can easily flatten Europe after the war.
With the bearded character, I really don’t know what will happen when the time comes.
Under such circumstances, the Americans are still increasing their assistance to the Russians, which is indeed unkind.
What makes Rock and Winston uncomfortable is that the United States, under the pretext of aiding its allies, has no reason for the United Kingdom or southern Africa to object.
"The Americans want to cultivate a strong Russia, but they will definitely burn themselves in the end." Winston still doesn't know how big the American chessboard is.
If there was no threat from Russia in another time and space, there would be no NATO, no later North Atlantic Iron Curtain, and no Cold War.
Everyone knows exactly how many threats there are, which have been hyped up by the Americans.
"Patton submitted a battle plan, and Eisenhower hoped that the Allied forces in North Africa would launch a landing operation in Sicily in April." Rock knew how urgent the Americans were.
American soldiers crossed the Atlantic under the banner of "saving Europe."
As a result, after arriving in North Africa, we spent every day sunbathing and fishing, and saved a lot of women who had lost their feet.
In Europe now, if Americans want to gain the gratitude of Europeans, they must open a second battlefield as soon as possible, and the US military must be the main force, otherwise they will be making wedding dresses for others.
"I had a phone call with President Roosevelt the day before yesterday. President Roosevelt hopes that we can launch a landing campaign in France and give the Germans a heavy blow from behind." Winston sneered. Americans have a huge appetite and are not afraid of dying.
"France?" Roque was not surprised. This was probably Giraud's hope.
After contacting Roosevelt, he suggested inviting Giraud to the meeting. There was also a close relationship between the two men.
This is normal. De Gaulle turned his back on southern Africa, and the Americans had no choice but to start over again.
France's influence in Europe cannot be underestimated.
"Yes, the Americans even chose the landing site for us, right at Dunkirk." Winston's expression was gloomy, which was opening up the scars and adding a pinch of salt.
Don't listen to the British boasting. The Dunkerton Retreat was a complete failure for the British and French forces, and there is no dispute.
As for preserving our strength for future counterattacks,
Without Russia's restraint, the Germans would have landed on the British mainland long ago even in small boats. What a hell to counterattack.
"It's better to be in Saint Roque. At least we are familiar with the terrain of Saint Roque." Roque curled his lips. He rarely showed his emotions like this now.
Landing operations cannot be launched just anywhere.
This is not a small-scale infiltration, but a large-scale landing operation with hundreds of thousands of troops. Such a large number of soldiers and weapons and equipment must have suitable docks so that they can be sent ashore as quickly as possible.
Otherwise, the landing troops will be waiting to be pushed into the sea by the German armored forces.
"It's impossible. At least within 1943, we won't be able to launch a landing operation in France." Winston was very clear on this issue. Whether we can land in France depends on the trend of the Russian battlefield.
The French mainland is different from Sicily. Sicily is far away from Germany, and the Italian army's combat effectiveness is far inferior to the German army. The Allied forces will encounter far less difficulties when they land in Sicily than in the French mainland.
Everyone knows the character of the Italians, they are just a bunch of people who can adapt to the changing circumstances and help whoever wins.
If the Allied forces land in Sicily, Italy might just stop resisting like France, and then the Allied forces will be able to move north unimpeded.
Of course this is the Italy that Americans think of.
Rock doesn't think so.
"Then let the Americans go to Sicily and try it." Rock wanted to see how strong the Americans' heads were.
The U.S.-Brazilian coalition suffered a complete defeat in the Brazilian Civil War.
During the Battle of the Philippines, the U.S.-Philippine coalition forces were forced to march to the Bataan Death March.
Considering the disastrous defeat of the U.S. Second Army in North Africa a month ago, Rock didn't even know where the Americans' confidence came from.
I am really addicted to food.
"This can't work, what if the Americans can win?" Winston looked down on the Americans, and even more on the Italians.
"It's impossible. The Italian army fighting at home and the Italian army fighting away from home are two completely different armies." Roque was confident. Looking at the performance of the Italian army in Russia, it was impossible for the Americans to defeat the Italians fighting at home.
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Winston nodded his head. The Italian army on the Russian battlefield was indeed impressive.
Roosevelt arrived in Casablanca on the 18th. Although the bearded man himself did not come, he sent Foreign Minister Molotov.
Yes, it was Molotov who was responsible for secret contacts with the Germans.
