Chapter 772： North Africa first battle (middle)

"This is the basic situation, what do you think?"

In his office, Antonescu explained his plan in one breath, and then sought the advice of Lieutenant General Messer.

After listening to him, Messer felt that this plan was completely unimaginable. "Really incredible, but this requires the cooperation of several aspects. Among them, the navy..."

"You come to coordinate."

Faced with Antonescu's words, Messer bypassed the topic.

"Then how do you plan to break through on the first line of defense? You have to know that there are three divisions, and they are completely on the first line, and there are 51 and 67 divisions on the second line. Although they are deployed at a larger interval, they are still quite equal. It's not easy to break through. In addition, there should be a reserve team in Katrou's hands. If you want to break through the French defense in one breath, it is really unrealistic to enter Ben Galdin in Tunisia."

Messer tried to dispel Antonescu's thoughts, because it was too risky. Antonescu tried to concentrate the armored forces of the two sides, and then took these armored forces to seek a breakthrough in the weak French defense line, and the target of the plan was Ben Galdán in Tunisia, here is the French transport Logistics base.

As long as this is achieved, more than 90,000 French troops will be surrounded by more than 100 kilometers from Tripoli to Bin Galdan.

At that time, there will be defenders in both east and west, with the sea to the north and mountains and deserts to the south. It can be said that it will be completely besieged. Unless the French army wants to die in the Sahara Desert, otherwise they have no choice but to choose between a breakout and a surrender.

However, on the way to Bengaldan, there is a point on the border between the two countries. This is called Abu Kema. The road is very dangerous and very conducive to defense. But before Italy defeated a big one, let the French army easily enter Libya.

Although Antonescu's plan is very profitable, and even if it is completed, it can penetrate Tunisia, but the danger is not small. If one is not good, the armored forces will fall into it. At that time, it is not a problem of repelling the French army, but a problem that Tripoli may fall.

Lieutenant General Messer could not take this risk.

Faced with Messer’s opposition, Antonescu certainly did not want to. This was a plan he carefully prepared after the investigation. If Messer disagrees, then relying on the troops currently landing in Tripoli will not have the opportunity to complete this combat plan. After all, the Romanian troops in Tripoli are only in the early ten thousandths and need the cooperation of the Italian army.

"Messer, listen to me. At present, the French army absolutely never thinks that we will do this, and it can be seen from their offensive that they are not ready for the offensive and defensive transition. If they continue to drag on, then the enemy will be improved. With its deployment, we will only be able to watch the loss of opportunity. This is definitely not what you and I want to see."

"War will inevitably involve risks, otherwise it is impossible to obtain such a high return. And even you did not expect us to attack, how could the other party think of it. In fact, before today, I had not thought about it like this myself.

And for this plan, I have seven levels of assurance, as long as we are united, we can come up with a beautiful result. You also want to come up with a beautiful record, let everyone see your talents, this is the best opportunity. Defeating the French army led by Catroux was definitely the most eye-catching performance. "

Faced with Antonescu's deceptive words, Messer was moved. There is nothing more enjoyable than defeating the enemy. Although the relationship between Italy and France is not considered an enemy, Italy has been an imaginary enemy for many years. From the northern territorial dispute to Tunisia being snatched by France, every Italian has enough reason. Express dissatisfaction.

"It's done!"

In the end, Messer, who could not resist the temptation, made a decision by gritting his teeth. And his words made Antonescu on the side laugh. He didn't misunderstand him. Messer is absolutely qualified, but sometimes he seems to suffer from gains and losses. At that time, this might have something to do with the excessive conservative forces in the Italian army. As a commander of a new type of arms, he would inevitably be cautious in his work if he wanted to get enough support.

So compared with Italy, Romania is much better in this respect. At least the military leaders have a high awareness of new things, and they can still get the support of His Majesty. You can simply envy your Italian colleagues, and you can envy your German colleagues before.

Now that both of them have agreed, it is natural to make preparations first.

Coordinating forces; currently a small part of the Rams Armored Division and most of the Brescia Infantry Division are on the front line, and they need to be gradually deployed from the front line.

Collect vehicles; according to the plan, nearly a thousand vehicles are needed, but currently there are only 600 vehicles in the hands of Antonescu, and the rest need to be coordinated by Lieutenant General Messer. Oil, ammunition (mainly Italian ammunition, Romanian ammunition is brought with them), contact the navy and air force for support, which kept the two busy.

While the two were busy, the French army's offensive continued.

As the commander of the French army, General Catroux set up his headquarters in Zawiye, 24 kilometers away from the front line. This is also the logistics distribution center of the frontline troops, so the defense work is done well, and the 21st Division will protect it strictly.

But for Katlu, he doesn't care at all now, because the offensive against the Italian army is what he cares most about.

"How was the result today?"

Katlu, who had just arrived at the headquarters, asked, and it was his old buddy and partner Chief of Staff General Denver that he was questioned. I saw him answer. "The current effect is not good. As we get closer to Tripoli, the resistance gets worse. Now all the troops are responding and their advancement is blocked."

After hearing the chief of staff's words, Katlu said to himself. "At present, we only have so many troops. The request for reinforcements to Paris is not approved. I don’t know what they think. Libya has oil. As long as we capture the port of Brega, we can cut off Libya’s oil. These Paris’s Masters should know the importance of oil."

In the face of Catrou’s complaints, Danlvo knew the reason why he did not agree. On the one hand, the government was unwilling to open another front to disperse the precious forces of the French army. On the other hand, the French Navy cannot guarantee the safety of Libyan waters. In fact, this is not only a guarantee, it is simply ignored. The French navy started from Cape Tunis, and the naval power in the east waters was almost nothing.

At present, the main navies of Italy and France are in Toulon and Genoa, which are close at hand, so that neither of the main navies dare to move. On the small and medium warships, the two countries fought more, and the Italian navy showed amazing combat effectiveness in this regard.

Therefore, the French navy started from the Tunisian Cape, and its control over the Mid-Mediterranean region decreased linearly. Had it not been for the transportation mission to the island of Malta, France would hardly be able to see anyone in the area.

The lack of naval cover will also extinguish most of the ambitions of capturing Libya. Although Katlu no longer imagined the situation of galloping in Libya, but the captured Tripoli can still be considered, because the Algerian governor asked General Reko to send two divisions of reinforcements is almost here. So he intends to take this opportunity to attack another wave, and if it fails, he will return to Tunisia and stick to it.

So he thought about it and ordered. "Let the 21st Division mobilize two regiments for reinforcements. If we can't attack, then we will turn to defense. Intelligence shows that Romanian troops have been transported to Tripoli. However, these Romanians have not been seen on the battlefield. Maybe they What are you planning to do."

Catlu paid enough attention to the Romanian reinforcements, because the Romanians have performed well in previous battlefields. In the past, Romania could be called the Prussia of the Balkans. Although this made him feel uncomfortable, he had to admit its combat effectiveness.