Reborn as a police officer in South Africa

The 7th Armored Division is preparing to attack Russia in East Prussia. It will definitely not have time to come to Crete to rescue the paratroopers and airborne troops who are in desperate situation.

But there was a turning point.

The Allied forces in Crete were not just southern African armies.

The German airborne landings on Crete were not limited to Heraklion. Marama and Rethymnon, which also had airports, were also targets of German paratroopers.

Before the Battle of Crete was launched, there were only three airports on the island.

Among them, Heraklion Airport has the best conditions and can take off and land various aircraft.

The conditions at Marama Airport are slightly worse, and only fighter jets can take off and land.

The airport in Rethymnon is still under construction and has not been put into use.

Just because it is not put into use does not mean that it cannot take off and land fighter jets.

As mentioned many times before, fighter jets of this era have very low requirements for airports, and even only need a flat piece of grass to take off smoothly.

Therefore, when arranging defense, the focus is very obvious.

Heraklion Airport, which has the best conditions, is defended by the Southern African Army.

Marama Airport, which can only take off and land fighter jets, is defended by the Australian army.

Rethymnon Airport, which has not yet been put into use, is defended by the Greek 5th Infantry Division.

During the second phase of the Greek campaign, most of the Greek 5th Infantry Division was transferred to the Greek mainland to fight. The three regiments that remained on Crete were all newly formed, and some of the soldiers did not even have weapons.

However, considering that Rethymnon Airport has not yet been put into use and the possibility of being attacked by the Germans is low, the Alliance Command still leaves this "important task" to the Greek 5th Division.

The problem arises at Rethymnon Airport.

On the 22nd, when the German army airdropped paratroopers to Heraklion, they also airdropped some paratroopers to Rethymnon Airport.

Like the defenders of Heraklion Airport, the defenders of Rethymnon Airport dispersed before the German paratroopers landed.

The difference is that the defenders of Heraklion Airport deliberately showed weakness to attract more German airborne troops to land at Heraklion Airport.

The defenders of Rethymnon Airport were truly defeated. During the airdrop of German paratroopers, the Germans of the Greek 5th Infantry Division may not have killed as many German paratroopers as the locals of Crete holding hoes. This is

It was indeed in line with the Germans' pre-war vision of the Crete campaign.

Before the Crete campaign was launched, Wilhelm Canaris, the director of the German Military Intelligence Service, vowed that there were no southern African troops or British troops on the island, only about 5,000 Greek troops.

Moreover, the Cretans do not like the Greek king, but rather have a favorable impression of the Germans. Therefore, according to Canaris' prediction, as long as the German paratroopers parachute to Crete, the Cretans may eat pots of milk to welcome them.

Master Wang.

Canaris's intelligence was actually correct, but it was from a month ago. The Military Intelligence Bureau did not update their intelligence system in a timely manner, which resulted in the German paratroopers suffering unprecedented losses.

While the German paratroopers and airborne troops suffered unprecedented losses in Heraklion, the progress at Rethymnon Airport was very smooth.

Although Rethymnon Airport has not yet been put into use, the airport runway is almost completed, and fighter jets can take off and land smoothly without any problems.

After landing, the German paratroopers worked overnight. By the 24th, in just two days, Rethymnon Airport had the ability to take off and land transport aircraft. This was far beyond Anthony Jones's expectation.

"This is not surprising. The people responsible for building Rethymnon Airport are Indians. With their efficiency, it will take at least one and a half months for Rethymnon Airport to be put into use." The loss of Rethymnon Airport has left many people from New Zealand

General Bernard Freiberg was caught off guard.

Bernard Freyberg was the commander-in-chief of the British forces in Crete.

"So, the Germans completed within 48 hours what it took the Indians one and a half months to complete. Are the Germans' efficiency already so high?" Anthony Jones now finally understands why Rock keeps saying: Don't be afraid.

God-like opponents are afraid of pig-like teammates.

Freiberg pursed his lips and spread his hands and shrugged. Isn't it very reasonable for this kind of thing to happen to Indians?

"You swore before the war that the Germans would not target Rethymnon Airport, but the Germans showed up immediately, so you cannot blame our Fifth Infantry Division." Manola, who has just served as the commander of the Fifth Infantry Division, said

Si was very innocent. He didn't even have time to identify the staff of the Fifth Division headquarters before the Germans came.

The former commander of the 5th Infantry Division had already surrendered to the Germans with the First Greek Army. Manolas parachuted into the 5th Division and was indeed caught off guard.

But this does not mean that the Fifth Infantry Division had no reason to resist when the Germans airborne.

Even the defeat of the 5th Infantry Division would not have much impact on the coalition forces.

The key is that when the Fifth Infantry Division was defeated, all the heavy weapons assigned to the Fifth Infantry Division by the Allied Forces Command were left to the Germans. This was their biggest mistake.

In the first stage of the North African campaign, British troops captured a large number of Italian weapons in North Africa, including hundreds of tanks and nearly 2,000 artillery pieces.

These Italian weapons did not match the British army's weapon system. After receiving continuous support from southern Africa, the British army also looked down upon these Italian weapons, so they sent these Italian weapons to the Greeks as aid.

As the only remaining Greek unit, the 5th Infantry Division is equipped with a high proportion of heavy weapons. It has nearly 60 artillery pieces with a caliber of 120 mm or more. In terms of large-caliber artillery, it is almost the same as the ordinary infantry divisions of the Southern African Defense Forces.

As a result, when the Fifth Division was defeated, these artillery pieces were not even destroyed and were left intact to the Germans.

As emphasized many times before, German paratroopers and airborne troops seriously lacked heavy weapons.

Anthony Jones never expected that a Greek would become the German transport captain.

"You can't blame me. My mission is to keep my children alive as much as possible. They are all young people who have just joined the army. You can't ask too much of them." Manolas is confident that the British army is in Greece.

During the defeat, didn't they also abandon almost all their heavy weapons?

Push forward a month, when Rommel counterattacked, the British North African Army also left almost all its heavy weapons to the Germans in order to run faster.

So in Manolas' view, Anthony Jones and Freiberg have no position to accuse him.

"Even if he has just joined the army for a day, he is still a soldier. I don't need to remind you what soldiers should do in war!" Anthony Jones was enveloped in a deep sense of powerlessness. He vowed never to fight with the Southern African Army again.

fight alongside any of the Allies.

There are too many unexpected factors that affect the outcome of the battle.

"Okay gentlemen, what we should consider now is how to drive the Germans into the sea to feed the fishes." Freiberg said it nicely, but he was actually withdrawing the British troops in batches.

This is really not something Freiberg is afraid of.

Before the invasion of Crete, the British troops on the island were withdrawn from mainland Greece to Crete.

This part of the British army abandoned all their heavy weapons when they retreated, and some of the soldiers didn't even have rifles.

When the Battle of Crete began, one-third of the 30,000 British troops on the island had no weapons.

Therefore, before the Battle of Crete began, Freiberg applied to the British War Department, hoping to withdraw this part of the British army that did not even have rifles to Egypt.

Now the situation is getting more serious, and the German army has stabilized its foothold in Rethymnon.

This time, without Freiberg's urging, the British War Office accelerated its retreat.

"We have to find a way to take back the airport." Anthony Jones didn't want to retreat. The word retreat did not exist in the dictionary of southern African soldiers.

"It's hard to do," Freiberg said with a sad look on his face.

The terrain of Crete is complex. The mountains on the island are oriented east-west and the rivers are oriented north-south. The transportation on the island is very inconvenient. Rethymnon is 60 kilometers away from Heraklion.

Closer to Rethymnon was the British army led by Freiberg.

However, the British positions are now also under attack by German paratroopers.

Compared with the Greeks, the Australian army still has combat effectiveness. At least the Australians have not lost their position yet.

However, the position was not far away from being lost. As the German army continued to provide support from Ace Rethymnon, once the German troops with heavy artillery began to attack the Australian troops, it would be difficult for the Australians to hold their position.

To put it bluntly, the purpose of the Battle of Crete was not to fight the Germans, but to delay the Germans' move north as much as possible.

The latest situation is that the second wave of troops airborne on Crete is no longer paratroopers and airborne troops, but the German 5th Mountain Division, which is good at mountain warfare.

The 5th Mountain Division is composed of the 100th Regiment of the 1st Mountain Division and part of the 10th Infantry Division.

This is the first time that the 5th Mountain Division has participated in combat since its formation.

"Which army is closest to Rethymnon?" Anthony Jones decided to do it himself.

Then Anthony Jones noticed that Major General Lu Sheng, who was in charge of coalition coordination, shook his head slightly.

Anthony Jones wakes up instantly.

That's right, the positions lost by the Greek army have nothing to do with the 35th Division.

Only by allowing the Germans to gain a foothold in Rethymnon can reinforcements from Germany continue to arrive on Crete, and the withdrawal of the Allied forces will be a matter of course.

Otherwise, the intensity of the attack the 35th Division had given to the German paratroopers and airborne troops in Heraklion would probably have knocked the Germans out of their confidence.

If this affects the Germans' determination to go to war with the Russians, there will be big trouble.

After the meeting, when we returned to Lu Sheng's office, Lu Sheng took the initiative to make tea for Anthony.

"Calm down, calm down, our mission is to hold the Germans back, not to annihilate them." Lu Sheng was very clear-headed and never forgot the mission of the Allied forces.

"I'm really unwilling to fight like this!" Anthony sighed sadly.

"If we can sacrifice the lives of millions of southern Africans in exchange for the victory of this war, do you agree?" Lu Sheng would not be unwilling. Even if the Europeans are stupid, what does it have to do with southern Africa?

"Why?" Anthony immediately exploded. All the southern African soldiers in the Mediterranean theater combined amounted to less than one million.

If it were true that millions of southern African soldiers died in the world war, then every household would have to wear filial piety, and Rock would have to consider whether it was worth it.

"Isn't this the end?" Lu Sheng didn't care about immediate success or failure. Although it was enjoyable to fight all the way to Berlin, it was not in the interests of southern Africa.

Anthony turned around and could only vent his anger on the German paratroopers and airborne troops around Heraklion.

Schmitz and Hoffman are not stupid either. Heraklion Airport has been almost destroyed by artillery in southern Africa. The runway of the airport has been blown up like a muddy pond after a heavy rain. The transport plane has lost the possibility of landing. Naturally, Schmitz and Hoffman

This will prevent paratroopers and airborne troops from being left at the airport to be beaten passively.

If you can't fight, can you still escape?

As long as you give up the airport, the sea and the sky will be brighter.

There is a lot of potential in the vast world.

But it's not that easy to evacuate.

In just one day and one night, more than half of the 6,000 paratroopers and airborne troops who parachuted into Heraklion Airport suffered casualties, and fewer than 3,000 soldiers were left to continue fighting.

The evacuation of the paratroopers and airborne troops from the airport meant that all nearly 2,000 wounded soldiers had to be abandoned.

It was impossible to retreat with the wounded soldiers, not to mention the speed would be slowed down, most of the wounded were in urgent need of treatment, and the paratroopers and airborne troops lacked medical capabilities, so even if they were to retreat with the wounded soldiers, they would eventually die.

The Southern African army has a strong medical force.

The key Southern African army has never had a tradition of mistreating prisoners, which was proven in the last world war.

Then retreat, leave the wounded at Heraklion Airport, and hope that the Southern Africans will abide by the International Covenant.

Schmitz voluntarily stayed and took full responsibility.

"The paratroopers suffered unprecedented losses. The main responsibility lies with me. I must be with my troops." Schmitz looked numb. Since the outbreak of the European War, no German general has surrendered directly to the Allies.

Quite a few died in the battle.

Just yesterday, the glider on which Major General Sussmann, commander of the German 7th Airborne Division, crashed when landing in Heraklion. Major General Sussmann and all the division staff were killed.

Otherwise the 7th Airborne Division would not have performed so poorly.

"Schmitz, there is absolutely no need for you to do this." Hoffman hoped that Schmitz could withdraw together.

"Hoffman, don't try to persuade me, someone has to be responsible for all this." Schmitz was already prepared for the worst.

Paratroopers and airborne troops suffered unprecedented losses in Crete, and someone must be held accountable for this, which may even have an impact on the way Germany uses paratroopers in the future.

In another time and space, after the Battle of Crete, Germany never organized large-scale airborne operations. Since then, elite German paratroopers have been used as "chasers" and as infantry units.

This time and space is even worse. After the Battle of Crete, it is hard to say whether Germany will still have a paratrooper formation.

At least in Heraklion, the paratroopers had been lost to the point of being disbanded.