Four hundred and ninetieth chapters eager to fight
Berante waved his hand in good faith, interrupted Alphonse's worries with a smile and said: "I, Berante, personally stationed in Algeria, did not do it to let the country lose this big oil field."
Realizing that he was speaking quickly, Alphonse also smiled and said: "I made a slip of the tongue, what I actually meant was..."
Berante shook his head and said with a smile: "Governor Alphonse, there is no need to explain it to me. I understand, and what you said makes sense."
Outside the door, the staff officer knocked on the door and came in, bringing double the amount of coffee that Berante had asked for. After taking the hot coffee, Berante picked up the white sugar on his table, poured it into the cup, and said to Ah
Fangs asked, "Would you like some?"
Waving his right hand, Alphonse waved his hand and said: "No, coffee and I have never been used to adding sugar."
It must be said that at this time, Berante was more like a governor in charge than when he first came to Africa. While retaining his military temperament, he gradually adapted to his new identity as governor.
Without letting Alphonse wait too long, Berante continued: "I think Marshal Pétain's purpose in taking in the Italians is just to show goodwill to the Allies and strive for a better status in the future. As for these Italians,
Regarding the arrangements for the soldiers, I don’t think Marshal Pétain wants us to squander this generous gift left to the Allies as cannon fodder. What’s more, we have no shortage of these troops without combat effectiveness.”
Glancing at Alphonse, who was already a little impressed, Berante paused and continued: "In terms of military strength, we are still much larger than the African Commonwealth Army. Moreover, the one who defeated Italy with 100,000 people
In my eyes, General Wavell, who has an army of 500,000, is not as arrogant as the British boasted."
If someone else had said this, it might have been suspected of bragging. But to someone like Berante, who had used 50,000 men to defeat the 320,000 Italian main force, it was not excessive at all.
Not to mention that the proportion of troops in Berante's battle was more severe than the situation faced by Wavell. Just take the Italian troops he defeated, they were all the main Italian troops, unlike the 500,000 that Wavell defeated.
The Italian army was mixed with a lot of water and filled with a huge number of local African colonial troops.
"However, the British army in Africa can continuously replenish troops and equipment from their colonies, their allies, and Commonwealth countries around the world. But if we want to replenish anything, apart from self-sufficiency, we can only find
The economic situation is already very dangerous. I believe you can tell at a glance which side of us has an easier time replenishing its combat power."
"What does the British army lack? Compared to us, they lack almost nothing! Whether it is military resources, weapons and equipment, economic strength, domestic political situation and morale, they are far better than France today!"
Alphonse listened quietly, with a trace of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
Although it was three full years longer than the world in which Berante was governor, his vision was still too small and was limited to North Africa. He had also considered what Berante said, but it was definitely not the same as Berante's.
Thinking so thoroughly.
This is not something you can learn sitting in an office!
Berante's vision stems from the training he experienced at Verdun, on the Polish battlefield, on the Weygand Line, and in the Alps. A large number of battles gave this famous French general a practical experience that was not available in the military academy.
, and control of the overall situation.
After Berante finished his cup of coffee, he stood up slowly, walked to the wall of his headquarters, used a telescopic rod to point to the Libyan area on the map of North Africa beside the wall for Alphonse, and said: "Second
A question. The British army has occupied and controlled 90% of Libya's areas, and has every advantage in the confrontation with us. Have you ever thought about why they continue to mobilize troops and concentrate their forces in Libya without any concealment?
"
"It's nothing more than wanting to attack our African colonies." Alphonse saw this very clearly. He was convinced: "With the British methods, they should launch a surprise attack on our oil fields soon.
Let’s move forward. Half of the oil fields we are developing in Algeria are located in the border area not far from the Libyan border, which is really very dangerous.”
Berante nodded and said: "Yes, that's why we couldn't retreat from the beginning, because there was not much buffer area left for us. Even if the British army did not defeat our main force, they only needed to destroy our oil fields. In this battle,
We also lost."
Berante looked at Alphonse, who was frowning tightly, and said with a smile: "This is also the reason why I don't send Italians to garrison the border area. Even if the losses are destined to be huge, we have to send our people in the first border battle.
Defense. The British will probably not use their British troops as the first round of offensive force, but will use their Commonwealth allies' troops to test our depth. It just so happens that we also use our own colonial local troops to deal with the British allies.
Army. When the British general named Wavell mobilizes the British army to implement a breakthrough, I will immediately lead the French army in my hands to confront him tit for tat!"
Although Alphonse did not have as much combat experience as Berante, he was not an inexperienced young general after all. After hearing this, he immediately realized: "So you might as well put the gathered Italian army last,
Put the colonial army and your own French army on the first and second lines so that a decisive battle can begin from the beginning! However, in this way, we will still be inferior to the British army in terms of combat effectiveness, and you will probably suffer a loss?"
Berante sighed, Alphonse was not stupid, it was just his long-term position that caused him to develop a fatal flaw.
Although the official position of the Governor-General of Morocco is the same as that of Berante, the Governor-General of Algeria, the power in his hands is relatively weak after all.
Alphonse has been operating in Morocco for more than three years, and then he expanded the initial French infantry regiment to an additional 30,000 local African soldiers recruited from Morocco and surrounding areas. This is already a very good result!
Unfortunately, this power is still too weak in the turbulent Africa. Therefore, Alphonse has developed the habit of being cautious and careful everywhere.
As a commander, caution is a must, but if excessive caution leads to fear of moving forward, it will be counterproductive and miss many good fighter opportunities.
Berante said earnestly: "Suffering is certain, after all, we are the inferior side. But just like the British army only needs to destroy our oil fields, we also only need to defeat their British troops as the core force, and immediately achieve the strategic goal
In this battle, we don’t need to destroy the entire opponent’s army, so comparing the entire combat power of both sides is actually unnecessary. As long as we can fight the loss, even a huge loss, and use our military advantage,
If you replace the core British troops at a ratio of two to one or even three to one and destroy their offensive capabilities, everything will be worth it!"
"Besides..." Berlant said with a sly smile: "I also want to fight against Wavell, the most popular British general. Let's see who is better, their British general or me.
