While Edel was digging holes for the upcoming Soviet-Finnish war, on the North African battlefield, the unusually long-lost victory filled everyone with smiles.
Yes, this victory has indeed been a long time coming. To be precise, it is the first victory Italy has won in Africa since the war began. It is really pitiful. Italy, one of the most powerful countries, has a very ugly record after entering the war. This time it finally got a redemption.
The battle of face.
Antonescu and Messe, who were in Bengardan, also received the news. They had already expected this news, because the three French divisions in front of them were becoming increasingly weak in attack. Even in
There was no attack at all today, which does not meet the requirements of rescue at all.
So when the telegram that the besieged French army planned to surrender was placed in front of them, the two of them were not surprised at all, but the content of the telegram surprised them a little. In fact, it was nothing. This time the besieged French army commanded
General Catlu, the official, specified that his guns and sabers need to be handed over to the generals who break through his position. Aren't these the two people mentioned.
So in the face of this situation, it is of course impossible to say that the two of them are unwilling. Who can not be tempted by receiving such attention from their opponent?
But to accept the surrender, one of the two must stay, because they still have enemies in front of them, and they cannot both leave.
"Let's do this. You go and accept the surrender. I'll stay and watch the troops."
Messe was the first to speak up about the solution. In fact, he believed that Antonescu's role was crucial in forcing the French army to surrender this time. He not only proposed the entire plan, but also commanded the battle and executed the plan.
.It can be said that he and the Romanian army led by him accounted for half of the role in encircling the French army and forcing it to surrender, so it was absolutely well-deserved for him to accept the surrender.
However, in the face of Messe's kindness, Antonescu refused without hesitation. "Messe, you should accept the surrender this time, and I will be in charge of the remaining troops."
Antonescu's words made Messe feel a little incredible, but he was not willing to accept it just like that. "It should be up to you. Everyone knows that you will basically implement this battle plan. If you don't go
It will make me feel guilty."
"Messe, listen to me."
Antonescu admired Messe's sincere attitude very much, but this time he did not use polite words.
"Listen to Messe, I'm not being polite this time, I really need you to go this time. Do you remember what I said before, my plan for the war in Tunisia."
Needless to say, Messe clearly understood Antonescu's intentions, and he said with surprise, "Do you want to start a war against Tunisia next?"
"Yes."
Antonescu said without politeness. "This time we eliminated nearly 100,000 French troops. Although the number of French troops in North Africa is still nearly 300,000, their quality can no longer be guaranteed. Rape before
Isn’t it shown that the current French army in North Africa is mainly composed of locally recruited troops. Against these troops, can’t you deal with them?”
Antonescu's words made Messe's vision much broader. Everyone knows the difference between the colonial army and the local army. If the local French army has 300,000, there is nothing to say. Just be prepared for a defensive war.
But if it were an army composed of North Africans, then they would be willing to use force against them.
It’s just that the current strength is not enough for the Italian-Romanian coalition to launch a campaign against Tunisia. The Romanian-Italian Army is currently most in need of additional troops. It is impossible to complete this task with the Romanian North African Army alone. It must rely on the help of Italy. Who can
With Romania's North African Army less than 100,000 strong, it would be impossible to accomplish anything without relying on the Italians.
And there is no better way to show Italy its results than Messe's surrender. At this time, Antonescu couldn't help but think of his meeting with Mussolini in Rome, although he was very fond of the Italian.
The prime minister's senses are not very good (he talks in long and whiny speeches), but he feels the ambition of the Italian prime minister.
If you want the prime minister to support the Tunisian campaign, you need to let him see the results of the battle, and this battle in Tripoli is a good start. It would be better if an Italian general accepted the surrender of the French commander.
.
In fact, Antonescu thought too much. Tunisia was a fatal temptation for Italy. The first stop for Italian colonization was Tunisia, but France succeeded first. For this reason, Italy joined the Three Emperors Alliance in anger.
And look at the location of Tunisia. It is only more than 200 kilometers away from the Italian island of Sicily. As long as Italy controls Tunisia, it will completely dominate the central Mediterranean. Tunisia has a lot of arable land, which can also effectively release its domestic population pressure. So for
Italy is definitely very willing to seize Tunisia.
Messe stopped talking after hearing Antonescu's words. In fact, he was very willing to capture Tunisia.
The next day Messe and a group of Italian generals came to a small town on the front line called Valuille, which was the place where the French army surrendered.
Mesai came around by boat because this area of sea is currently under the control of the Italian navy.
Catlu looked at Messe and said, "You must be General Messe who broke through my position. Why didn't you see General Antonescu?"
It seemed that the French commander had studied them before.
"General Antonescu needs to be busy with new plans, so he asked me to come."
Messe was not an idiot, so he just responded to Catlu's clichés and let him guess slowly.
Seeing that his words had caused Messe to misunderstand, Catlu just shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't want to inquire about your military plan, it was just out of curiosity."
Catroux, who felt that his words might have been misunderstood, no longer dwelled on the topic. He took off the pistol and command knife from his body and handed them to Messe.
"On behalf of the 21st French Army to which I belong, I surrender to you. We demand the treatment we deserve under the Geneva Treaty."
Messer took his command knife and pistol and replied, "Don't worry, General Catroux. We will abide by the agreement in Geneva and give you the treatment you deserve. Of course, you must also abide by its corresponding obligations."
"We know this and will definitely abide by it."
The actions of the two men represented the formal surrender of the besieged French army, so the Italian side naturally did not intend to let this important moment go. Several reporters with permission took photos of it with their cameras. Then they would rush back to the country without stopping.
, the photos he took will appear on newspaper headlines early the next morning.
The result was not unexpected, and the news was published on the headlines of all major newspapers the next day. Although there were still doubts in Italy about joining the war, the arrival of good news can make people happy, and those who sincerely support joining the war
There will also be more, which is very important to the Italian government.
Because the number of people supporting the war in Italy was the lowest among the three countries. If it were not for the promotion of the *** party headed by Mussolini, Italy might not necessarily join the war.
In addition to the reason of national strength, the final result of the last war was too hurtful to the hearts of the Italian people. No one wants to experience this again, but fortunately, Italy no longer sides with Britain and France.
