The moment he received the news of Italy's attack in North Africa, Reinhard already knew the outcome.
Mussolini, after all, launched this battle that he thought was a sure win.
"It's a pity that our Italian ally will soon fall in front of the whole world." Reinhard said speechlessly to Rommel who was beside him.
"Why, does the Führer think that the Italians will definitely fail?" Rommel was obviously a little surprised.
Although he had seen Reinhard's talent for predicting the accuracy of his shots, Rommel still found it a bit incredible.
After all, Italy has more than 200,000 troops in North Africa. If the Italian army in East Africa is included, the total number reaches more than 500,000.
As an ally of Italy, and with the additional intelligence provided by Reinhardt in private, the entire top brass of the Third Reich now knew almost everything about Italy's military strength in Africa.
Of course, this is also due to the fact that the Italians do not intend to cover up their military superiority.
In contrast, Reinhardt's assertion that the total number of British troops in Africa did not exceed 100,000, and that the British army in North Africa only had 30,000, also made many high-level officials in Germany quite optimistic about Italy's North African operations.
"I remember that during World War I, you fought against the Italians." Reinhard smiled and asked humorously: "Didn't you capture an Italian division with 600 people at that time?
?”
In fact, this was the second time Reinhardt said this.
The last time he mentioned this matter was just after he was beaten by Rommel.
Rommel seemed to have recalled the last time he talked about this topic.
At that time, Reinhard took all the responsibility for the fight, and exposed Rommel's amazing achievements, so that Rommel, who beat Reinhard violently, was exempted from responsibility.
Thinking about it this way, Rommel was really a little embarrassed. At that time, he didn't expect that Reinhard would become the head of state, so he seemed to be a bit cruel.
However, Reinhardt's biggest advantage before time travel was that he was very resistant to beatings. Fortunately, he retained this advantage, so nothing happened after a while.
Seeing that Rommel was a little embarrassed, Reinhard quickly thought of what had happened before.
So he immediately patted Rommel generously on the shoulder and said: "I mean, the Italians are not very resistant to fighting. You were able to capture an Italian division with 600 people back then. How can the British army have tens of thousands this time?"
Isn’t it time to capture every Italian officer who owns an acre of land?”
The battle that defeated Italy was still fresh in Rommel's memory.
He always regarded the Iron Cross he received after the war as his greatest honor and pinned it on the front of his collar.
With 600 soldiers carrying light weapons, they wiped out a fully equipped Italian division. Every time he thought about that battle, Rommel would have endless aftertaste.
If all the battles in this world were so easy to fight, wouldn't it be a great blessing in life?
As a general, who doesn't love to play this kind of "training mode" where the difficulty of the battle is almost 0?
"Indeed, the combat effectiveness of the Italian army is really not optimistic." Rommel now felt that it was completely reasonable for Italy to fail.
"In the end, in the end, we still have to rely on our people to help them stabilize their position." Reinhardt shook his head helplessly and said: "If they can win by themselves, it will be much easier for us. It's a pity that we are counting on Italy.
If we can handle the war on our own, it is better to hope that the British in North Africa will suffer from collective food poisoning."
Rommel felt that it was impossible for the British troops in North Africa to suffer collective food poisoning. If Reinhard really thought that the above two small-probability incidents were possible, Rommel would not have allowed him to train the troops and simulate combat operations in Africa.
Ready.
"Führer, my troops are ready and ready to go to Africa to fight at any time." Rommel assured Reinhardt very confidently.
In fact, he came here today hoping to go to Africa to fight as soon as possible.
However, when he came, he was worried that the Italians had defeated the British army, leaving his troops without a fight.
But now, Rommel was worried that the Italians had been defeated by the British army, and his own people had no allies to rely on in the past.
Although the British military strength in Africa is weak, including the colonial troops, there are still nearly 100,000 troops.
However, the troops Rommel was assigned now only consisted of two divisions, with about 30,000 men.
If the Italian allies were completely wiped out, it would be very difficult for Rommel's troops to fight one against three.
In fact, after Reinhardt's suggestions, Rommel almost felt that it was entirely possible for the Italians to surrender as a unit.
Not to mention how incredible this group of losers lost on the Southern Front of France where they had the upper hand.
Take for example the incident in World War I when Rommel led 600 soldiers to sneak attack an Italian division. In that battle, he just wanted to contain the Italian division facing him, but he did not expect that the Italians simply surrendered.
Under Rommel's influence, the Italians were procrastinating when attacking, but when they surrendered, they were not procrastinating at all.
Because Italy is an ally, it was not easy for Rommel to complain about the Italian soldiers who came to make fun of him.
But just as Mussolini's close confidant Ciano despised the rigor and seriousness of the Germans, Rommel, a close confidant of Reinhardt, also looked down upon the so-called romance and superiority of the Italians.
In Rommel's eyes, most Italians are stupid and frivolous fools. They waste most of their lives on flashy things. They claim to be the holy land of art, whether it is architecture, art, music or
Their military bases are all known for their dazzling splendor and complexity.
These Italians never seem to understand that the flowers that bloom on cold mountain peaks, in narrow rock crevices, and in the harsher environments are more valuable than flowers grown in greenhouses or gardens.
beauty.
They will never understand what real art is, the art of war!
Like Rommel, Reinhardt, who understood the nature of the Italian Army, also had a mocking attitude towards their combat effectiveness.
However, Reinhard is not like Rommel after all. He is not a simple officer. He has to consider larger political issues.
In North Africa, Italy will definitely lose and the British will definitely win. Unfortunately, even if Reinhard told Mussolini this, he would never listen to his advice.
For Mussolini, the arrogant but ambitious Italian leader, he would never accept Germany or the aid sent by Reinhard until he was desperate...