0p0 Third Reich Episode 311
Third Reich Episode 311
It can be seen that the morale of the Italian army at this time is low. After just experiencing the defeat of Sibairani, this is also a reasonable thing.
There are three fires for the new officer to take office. General Garibaldi first gave a morale-boosting pre-war mobilization and an inauguration speech to the Italian officers in North Africa.
I have to say that the third governor of Libya does look like that, at least his speech will not sound as twisted as Mussolini's.
"The 30 troops in East Africa have set out from Ethiopia and Eritrea, and they will join us in Cairo...We must believe in the decision of the leader Mussolini, and believe that we have the ability to unify Africa and complete the leader's mission." A vision for a new Roman Empire!"
All the officers and soldiers present gave thunderous applause, as if they were revived and full of vitality.
It can be seen that Garibaldi's strategy is correct, and the Italian army seems to be full of vitality again under his guidance.
In addition, Mussolini recently ordered the transfer of a new type of tank destroyer to Africa, that is, the hunter tank destroyer he imported at a high price from Germany.
At this time, Garibaldi was fully confident in resisting the attack of the British army in Benghazi until the Italian army in East Africa attacked Somalia and Sudan, thereby relieving the pressure on the Italian army in North Africa.
In fact, the reason why Graziani lost all his body before was largely due to the pitiful tanks equipped by the Italian armored forces. These Italian mini-tanks weighing only a few tons, faced the heavy main battle tanks of tens of tons of the British army. When it comes to tanks, not to mention not having the slightest advantage, on the contrary, they have been chased and beaten by the British army.
Garibaldi now has 50 German-made stalkers, and his anti-tank capabilities have risen several levels immediately.
Not to mention that the Stalker is a powerful weapon against any tank before 1943.
In terms of the characteristics of this tank alone, it is even more suitable for the African battlefield than the Leopard tank that the German army used as a secret weapon.
After all, in North Africa, the harsh environment and flying sand are more terrifying than enemy shells.
In the original historical time and space, whether it was the German tanks [-] to [-], or the British Crusaders and Matilda tanks, the turret and even the internal structure of the car body would be severely worn out due to the raging wind and sand in North Africa. .
For ordinary tanks in the deserts of North Africa, the worn turret will be very difficult to rotate, and there is only constant maintenance, maintenance, and maintenance.
Open-top weapons like the British Archer anti-tank will basically suffer huge turret loss.
But the Stalker tank destroyer is like a sealed soap box, and there is no turret at all, so there is no need to worry about the wear and tear of wind and sand.
In addition, its front armor can almost ignore most of the anti-tank weapons, and the machine gun above the head can make it easier for your own soldiers to climb up and manipulate the machine gun to kill the enemy.
The low body and desert-colored camouflage paint make it difficult to spot them in the desert.
It's just...these 50 stalkers have just been delivered to Italy by Germany, and they are still parked in China, waiting to be shipped and transported. It is estimated that they will have to wait about half a month before they can all be delivered to North Africa.
Moreover, their drivers are all SS armored soldiers gifted by Reinhardt in friendship.
On the surface, it seems that this is Reinhardt's concern that the Italians are not familiar with using it and cannot quickly make the sent stalkers into combat power.
But in fact, Reinhardt sent the SS armored soldiers to drive the stalker, entirely out of concern that the stalker would be captured by the British.
After all, judging from the combat effectiveness of the Stalker, not to mention the British Matilda and Crusader tanks, even the Germans' own Leopard tanks, and even the Soviet KV tanks will also be threatened.
If the British seized the stalker imitated by the German army, it is estimated that Reinhardt would have to cry in the toilet.
Therefore, the hunters sent by Reinhardt only allowed the Italians to control the top machine guns, but they were not allowed to act as drivers.In the event of an accident, those fanatical SS soldiers driving the Stalker will naturally blast the cluster grenade from the inside to destroy the Stalker tank destroyer.
All in all, this stalker anti-tank unit is the trump card in Garibaldi's deck, but he has not yet drawn it into his hand.
Before drawing this card, he still has to use the defensive tactics.
At the same time, the Italian commander in East Africa, General Auster, was leading the 30 Italian troops in East Africa on the orders of Mussolini himself, launching an offensive according to Garibaldi's plan.
In Eritrea and Ethiopia, 30 Italian troops assembled in Tessene and Hirabbo respectively, preparing to attack the British troops stationed in Somalia and Sudan respectively.
The Italian forces in Eritrea have successfully attacked Kassala westward from Tessane, and then mastered the north-south road route through Sudan.
His vanguard has now advanced northward along the road, aiming directly at Port Sudan, an important port city for the British army in Africa.
As long as the Italian army controls Port Sudan, it will be able to control the Red Sea, and then control the southern gate of the Suez Canal, so that all British ships passing through the Suez Canal will be exposed to the artillery fire of the Italian army.
In other words, mastering Port Sudan is like controlling the rear supply line of the British army. The Italian army can cut off the British supply in North Africa from the rear at any time, and indirectly support the Italian army in the Benghazi area on the North African front.
And even if the British commander Wavell ordered the redeployment of troops, the offensive troops were withdrawn from the Benghazi front and returned to Port Sudan.The siege of North Africa will also be untied, and the 20 Italian troops in North Africa will be able to reorganize and restore their combat effectiveness.
In fact, the Italian army attacking Port Sudan was only half of the 30 Italian troops in East Africa.
The remaining 15 Italian troops are heading south to Beledweyne via Hirab, and attacking Buloburti, Jowhar and Baalad in turn along the north-south highway in central Somalia, and then realize their opposition. The encirclement of the capital Mogadishu.
If Italy occupies Port Sudan and Mogadishu, two strategically important cities, then the non-British army will be in a desperate situation of encouragement and helplessness.
The British commander, Admiral Wavell, knew very well that if Italy's offensive in East Africa succeeds, even if he wins the entire North Africa, wipes out all 23 Italian troops in Libya, and loses the British army in the rear, it is impossible to win the final victory up.
Fortunately, the [-]th Infantry Division and the [-]th Infantry Division sent by Australia have already landed in the Middle East and will soon be able to enter the African battlefield to fight.And Wavell did not send back the British division that should have been replaced by the two Australian divisions.
Therefore, the strength of Wavell's troops is far from exhausted.
At the same time, relying on the imminent arrival of reinforcements from two Australian divisions, the fighting will of the frontline British troops was also greatly encouraged.
Text Chapter 481 Tobruk
In contrast, General Oster, the Italian commander in East Africa, saw that his troops would pay a heavy price for every step forward in British Somalia, and he was very suspicious.
He thought to himself: "What happened to these British people? They used less than one-fifth of our troops to resist our attack. This is simply unimaginable! It is this group of British people. Crazy, or do they have something to rely on?"
After a full three days of advancement, the Italian army has only advanced 30 miles on the Somali battlefield, and it is still 50 miles away from Beledwin, the first key city of the Somali battlefield.
The situation is similar in the Sudanese battlefield to the north, where the Italian army has just occupied Kassala.
Fortunately, after General Garibaldi learned of the situation in the East African battlefield, he immediately called General Oster.
He analyzed on the phone: "General Oster, I suggest that your troops go straight in and only attack the big cities occupied by the British, and ignore the harassment of small British troops, so that your department can carry out strategic advances as soon as possible. Achieve the two strategic effects of conquering East Africa and supporting North Africa."
After hearing Garibaldi's words, Oster suddenly felt enlightened.
It turns out that not every place, big or small, has to be captured. In this barren land in East Africa, it is only necessary to occupy important large cities to achieve the purpose of occupying the surrounding areas based on this city.
As a result, Oster, who found the trick, conquered the two large cities in central Somalia, Beledwin and Buloburti, on the Somali battlefield for a while.
Soon, the Italian army on the Sudanese battlefield also made effective progress, captured Kassala and Haiya, and approached Port Sudan.
However, because the equipment level of the Italian army is far inferior to that of the British army, even with the advantages of numbers and firepower, the losses are still heavy, and the battle loss ratio of the British army is always maintained at 1:2.
Even so, it was a proud victory for the Italian army, which was five times stronger than the British army.
........
News of the staged victory of the Italian Army in Africa quickly reached Mussolini's ears.
Mussolini, who was sitting on the hospital bed, jumped out of the hospital bed happily after hearing the news of the victory, and excitedly said to his secretary: "I knew I didn't choose the wrong person. Look, this General Garibaldi Not long after I took office, such great news came. I think in a few days, the British will have to get out of Africa. By then, the Mediterranean Sea will be the inner lake of my new Roman Empire!"
After all, Mussolini happily hummed a ditty again.
Unexpectedly, Mussolini's confidential secretary, who had been silent just now, suddenly felt a violent palpitation!