Chapter 787： Fall of Damascus

Latakia is the second largest port in Greater Syria, but because trade activities are mainly concentrated in Beirut, Latakia does not have the momentum of the second largest port at all.

But today is a bit unusual. A large number of soldiers in military uniforms appeared in the port. These are Romanian soldiers who landed. They quickly occupied the city under the leadership of the local Arabs.

Why is there no defender in this city? In fact, when Beirut fell to the ground, the defenders stationed here put on backpacks and left. Because of the fall of Beirut, Latakia is no longer important, and the city is located in the northern part of Syria. In the current situation, only Damascus is connected to it.

The defenders were ordered when the Romanian army landed in Beirut. As long as Beirut fell, they would immediately retreat to Damascus with their troops, because if Damascus also fell, the French Czechs in other areas would be in a semi-siege state. Only to evacuate to Iraq along the Euphrates River, which of course did not meet the expectations of the French army.

Therefore, the defenders of Latakia would withdraw as soon as Beirut fell.

It's not just the Latakia defenders doing this.

In Aleppo, the hundreds of French soldiers left behind had already packed up and set off. They rushed towards Damascus with the collected horses.

The only remaining area is the area south of Damascus, but because Damascus is in southern Syria. It can be said that the French army has given up most of the area and concentrated its limited forces in Damascus.

Of course, General Xinlai, who was the commander of the French army, certainly did not think that the French army could resist the offensive of the Romanian army. Especially after Hoffman risked the deployment of troops to organize troops to assault eastward, the defensive French troops felt the pressure even more.

But now General Xinlai has no soldiers on his hands, and those who can go to the front line are basically transferred to the front line. Even the British and Indian brigade that came to the reinforcements was transferred to the front line without even breathing. Now he has only two disabled divisions withdrawn from Beirut, plus one and a half divisions of French troops gathered from various places, but most of this one and a half divisions can't be counted on, they are still on their way.

So now General Xinlai has only two options, one is to continue to ask for help from the British commander-in-chief of General Wavell, and the other is to train the defeated French army to the battlefield as soon as possible.

Some people may ask, why didn't the French army, which was gathering from all over the country, say?

Speaking of frustration, the French troops who have withdrawn from various places will not be able to reach Damascus for a while. Because the French air force in Syria has suffered huge losses one after another, the aircraft it can use at present can be counted with two hands, so the skies in Syria are now completely dominated by the Romanian air force, although the current air force is mainly focused on the British army Body, but still will not let the French army go.

Not to mention the French army that withdrew from Latakia, the force of a division has become the focus of care. So this also caused the troop to move slowly. According to the report of the division commander Alske, it is estimated that it will take about a week before they arrive in Damascus.

Wait another week, Romanians should celebrate in the city.

Therefore, for General Xinlai, it is more realistic to ask for help and rectify the defeated troops.

Of course, in order to defend the Black Gate Mountains, Xinlai needs to do both at the same time. Of course, the first thing to do is to ask for help. In the telegram to Wavell, Xinlai puts himself completely in the position of subordinates and asks for the British army. The reinforcements of the team are completely foreign versions of the brothers.

Of course, he also knew that relying on the British army was not insurable. For this reason, he specially recruited the former Beirut commander, General Mendelek, and asked him to integrate the defeated troops who had retreated to Damascus, and reinforce the previous regiment after forming one regiment.

Xinlai also gave his hand to defend Damascus. Of course, he would not put all his hopes on this point. In private, he was also quietly hoarding transportation vehicles, planning for the worst outcome. In addition, on the main road south of Damascus, the garrison troops were not adjusted at all, and even secretly strengthened.

On the other side, Wavell, who is the commander-in-chief of the British army in the Middle East, also has some headaches. Of course, it is not just the general Xinlai's request for help that gives him a headache.

"Damn, what does this take me here. This is also a request for help, and that is also a request for help. Isn't there any good news?"

I just saw an Admiral Wavell who sent a telegram from London and couldn't help complaining.

"let me see."

General Smith, who was the chief of staff, pushed the door in after hearing the complaint from his partner, and took the telegram and read it.

"There is no need to be angry. London is also starting from a strategic point of view."

Smith's reassuring words didn't make Wavell's heart down, and saw him continue to complain. "What's all this? I made the proposal to integrate the two armies before, but the French didn't agree to it and they were still working for that point. I had said that Beirut needed heavy defense, and the Romanians would definitely look forward to it. Now it's lost. Constantly calling for help, how many troops I have to take to rescue them now, it's completely nonsense."

Faced with Wavell's complaints against the French army, only his partner Smith knew, and his dissatisfaction with London was also venting here. It's just hard to say, otherwise he, the commander-in-chief of the British Army in the Middle East, would be in danger.

In fact, Smith knew well about Wavell's abilities. This general is definitely the best general for this position at the moment. It is not only good at training troops, but also has a keen insight into the situation of the war.

After the attack on Alexandria, he said that Romania's next target must be the Suez Canal, and Greece could not stop the Romanians for long. For the British troops in the Middle East, the most important issue at the moment is that Romanians cannot be allowed to go ashore. Because of its superior navy and air force, it is basically impossible to drive away as long as the opponent goes ashore.

In addition, his attitude towards the Mediterranean islands is that he can hold on to it, or drag it if he can't hold it, until the sea and air power changes.

But his idea did not get the support of London. In London's view, hundreds of years of glory did not allow him to easily declare that certain places were at a strategic disadvantage. They could also use the power of many allies to consume the power of the Romani. , To gain time for the Middle East.

Therefore, under the guidance of London, the British army successively sent troops and equipment to help Greece, but the results were disappointing. Under the offensive of the Romanians, the Greeks did not hold on for a month, and the whole territory fell.

Moreover, he fully saw the idea of ​​London, and even more non-stop won the island of Cyprus and won the victory at the outpost. Wavell was also surprised that the Romanians used large-scale paratroopers to airborne and cooperated with the landing forces to seize the island.

He had never thought that paratroopers could use this way before. In his opinion, paratroopers could only infiltrate operations on a small scale because of equipment problems.

Of course, this is also the most mainstream view in the world.

However, after seeing the Romanian operations on the island of Cyprus, other countries have also begun to try to form division-level paratroopers. The United States began experimenting with its own paratroopers, and the Soviet Union was also acting. France, an ally, is also urgently forming a paratrooper. The mainland is no exception. According to the news he received, there is already a regiment-level paratrooper in the process of being formed.

Of course, this did not help him in the current situation, but he was dissatisfied with London's frequent intervention in his own deployment. In his opinion, the current rescue of Damascus can only support the retreat of the French army, and he has no interest in helping the French army to hold Damascus at all.

If you look at the distance between Damascus and Beirut, you know that even if you spend huge casualties to defend, the cost of frequent Romanian Air Force attacks is still not affordable by the current British forces in Egypt.

Now if you ask Wavell what he wants most, his answer must be the Spitfire. Because the current battle damage ratio of the air force in the Middle East is too poor, many experienced pilots drive old fighters and face the enemy with new fighters that far exceed their own performance. They are simply using their lives to support an air defense line for him.

Although swearing can calm down, things still have to be done.

After taking a look at the telegram again, Wavell called a telegraph staff. "Now send a report to the Australian 3rd Infantry Division and the New Zealand 1st Infantry Division, asking them to set off to Damascus to reinforce the local French army.

After sending away the telecommunications staff, Wavell told the chief of staff next to him. "Smith, you will send another secret telegram in person, asking the two divisions to make full preparations before setting off."

Faced with the meaning of his partner, how could Smith, as the chief of staff, fail to understand, he immediately nodded and replied. "Okay, I understand, I will convey the meaning."

This time Wavell intends to secretly resist the order from London.

And the two divisions who received the secret order played a lot of work on grinding foreigners. First, they asked for supplies. After the slow supply of supplies, the marching speed was so fast, basically you could walk 30 kilometers and never walk 50 kilometers, and when there was wind and grass, immediately be on guard. In this short distance of more than two hundred kilometers, they just let them walk for six days, just after the Montenegrin line of defense was breached, they rushed to Damascus.

In the face of the British reinforcements that had only arrived now, General Sinlay didn't know what to say. But now he has to rely on the help of this new force to take away the defeated army.

Therefore, these British soldiers are still very welcome, although it is obvious.

After this support army repelled the attacking vanguard on the outskirts of Damascus, it quickly left, making the Romanian troops who wanted to outflank them rushed into the air.

The British reinforcements that got rid of the Romanian army trot all the way with the defeated French army and returned to Jordan. And the Syrian area, where all the troops had been deployed, was even more affected by the Romanian forces and descended.

So far, the Romanian army basically fulfilled Hoffman's requirements, and the remnants of the French army were also preserved. Only less than 20,000 French troops withdrew to Jordan were left, and more than 40,000 were left on the land of Syria.

It is also worth mentioning that His Excellency Abdullah, the leader of this Arab riot, appeared publicly in Damascus to welcome the arrival of the Romanians.

This made Britain and France gritted their teeth for this, and the intelligence agencies of the two countries in the Middle East were reprimanded from their homeland.

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