bookrandom Chapter 249: Changes in North Africa
Chapter 249: Changes in North Africa
In the summer of 1944, this originally brilliant day, the smoke of gunpowder from various battlefields turned the world into a furnace, and the temperature suddenly rose by dozens of degrees.
In North Africa, Rommel's North African Corps, once dominant, lost a significant number of its newest troops in a fierce clash with the Chinese at Gabes. The US and British navies, realizing the problem, decided to no longer allow the German and Italian navies in the Mediterranean to provide strong support for North Africa. After careful planning, the US and British navies defeated the German and Italian Mediterranean fleets near the Maltese Islands in the Mediterranean. Immediately, they began to intensify their efforts to blockade the Mediterranean shipping lanes.
The battle in Libya can be said to have dealt a heavy blow to the British Army. The British Army drew a large number of troops from India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, reorganized the 8th Army, and newly formed the 3rd Army. The US Army also transferred the 5th Army from its homeland. In this way, the US-UK coalition forces gathered in Tunisia reached four armies.
In southern Egypt, with the arrival of the 7th Army, the Chinese Second Front Army also concentrated the 3rd and 7th Army, plus some British and American troops, forming a powerful offensive force.
By this time, Rommel was clearly having a tough time. With the Mediterranean blockaded, Rommel's support was dwindling, and he was once again in trouble. There was also growing discontent within Germany over the year-long campaign in North Africa. Originally, the German army's involvement in the African campaign was due to the Axis alliance. Italy had been badly beaten by the British in North Africa, and to maintain this alliance, Rommel had been sent to participate with an army. Unexpectedly, Rommel's success in North Africa, coupled with his success against the Soviet Union, led the Führer to increase his investment in North Africa, aiming to defeat the US-British coalition forces in North Africa and then launch an offensive into the heart of the Middle East from Egypt.
Unexpectedly, Italy was a terrible teammate. After many battles, Rommel's African Corps became the main force in the North African war. Its strength exceeded that of an army group, and the input of tanks was like a bottomless pit. In the more than three years of fighting, the German army deployed an astonishing 1500 tanks and armored vehicles in North Africa. If they had been deployed to the Eastern Front, they might have captured Moscow.
By this point in the war, North Africa was a complete mess. Italy had lost its ambition, and the domestic situation was volatile, with anti-war sentiment growing and the Italian army becoming increasingly unstable. Germany had no choice but to send some troops to Italy to help Mussolini maintain his rule. The Führer had already planned to reduce the North African campaign, focusing on Turkey, forcing it to join and opening up the Middle East battlefield.
Following the new directive from headquarters, Rommel voluntarily abandoned western Libya and retreated to Benghazi, focusing on controlling the coastline corresponding to the Balkan Peninsula and northern Egypt. He then concentrated his forces and prepared to launch an attack from the Sinai Peninsula towards Jordan. By this time, Turkey had begun to weaken. The Turkish Chief of Staff, General Alayi, had been recruited by the Germans. The Turkish army was secretly moving towards the Syrian border controlled by the French Reformation. A German army group was stationed in the border area west of Istanbul, waiting for the Turkish army to open the border and enter Turkey, so that they could unite with the Turkish army and march into the Middle East.
The US and Britain had apparently not yet noticed Turkey's unusual behavior. They still believed that President İsmet İnönü was a wise man. As long as he remained neutral and did not join either side, the course of the war would remain manageable. The US and Britain still hoped to fight the German-Italian coalition in North Africa, even if they suffered several defeats. This would silence the Soviets and avoid the need for a second front, which would have allowed the Soviets to continue fighting Germany to the bitter end.
At this time, the SDL also saw through the intentions of the United States and Britain. The Soviet Union, which had recovered its breath, also adopted a strategy of fighting to support its troops. It did not engage in large-scale battles with the German army in the short term, but adopted uninterrupted small and medium-scale assaults. At the same time, it required the Chinese army to accelerate breakthroughs in the direction of Ukraine, cut off the Caucasus region, and force the German army to open up the Middle East battlefield as soon as possible.
Ahmeem, Kuang Zhengqi, and Wang YW sipped coffee, admiring the scenery along the Nile, seemingly at ease. After the integration, the troops' morale was high. The German-Italian coalition had fled without a fight, abandoning several towns in quick succession, allowing them to capture the vast area south of Tehta without a fight. Eisenhower's order gave Kuang Zhengqi and the others an excuse to stop there.
Wang YW didn't understand what was going on. He could have attacked northwards in one go. Even if he couldn't reach Cairo, at least occupying Asyut shouldn't have been a problem. But he inexplicably ordered a halt to the northward advance.
Kuang Zhengqi seemed nonchalant. He said to Wang, "General Wang, there's no need to rush. After all, we're working for the beautiful people. We can fight however they want. Honestly, Asyut isn't easy to fight. I suffered a lot there seven or eight months ago."
The so-called hardship Kuang Zhengqi suffered was due to the change in US and British strategy at the time. The Chinese army, without any supply support, was suddenly attacked by the German army, which almost completely destroyed Kuang Zhengqi's armor. He was forced to retreat in large strides, and finally stopped the decline at the Elment line.
Kuang Zhengqi continued, "General Wang, I believe Eisenhower's sudden halt to the northward advance must have a purpose. It's most likely that they're planning something else. I suspect he simply doesn't want to push Germany and Italy into a desperate situation."
Indeed, the Allied air force had detected a German concentration toward the Sinai Peninsula. The British had already reinforced their defenses in Jordan and engaged German reconnaissance forces, repelling them in one fell swoop. US and British intelligence analyzed that the Germans might launch an offensive against Jordan. This indicated a shift in the German offensive. After discussions with Eisenhower and Mountbatten, and considering the Germans' voluntary abandonment of Libya, they concluded that the German leadership no longer had any interest in continuing to entangle the US and UK in North Africa. Instead, they were shifting gears to attack Jordan and open a route to the Middle East.
To avoid further provoking Rommel, Eisenhower ordered Kuang Zhengqi's troops to temporarily halt their advance northward, a strategy of using static strategy to prevent the Germans' intentions from becoming known. British forces in Iraq had already begun mobilizing, and the British 16th Division in Sudan was secretly crossing the Red Sea into southern Jordan.
It seemed that this war was poised to expand into the Middle East. The most crucial issue now was Turkey's stance. If Turkey abandoned its neutrality and joined the Axis, then Syria, controlled by the Reformed French, would immediately become Axis territory. The already complex British control of the Middle East would immediately crumble. A German occupation of the Middle East would be disastrous for the Allies.