Reborn as a police officer in South Africa

The 5th Mountain Division was formed after the complete failure of the "Sea Lion Project". It has the 85th Mountain Infantry Regiment, the 100th Mountain Infantry Regiment, the 95th Motorized Reconnaissance Battalion, the 95th Anti-Tank Battalion, the 95th Engineer Battalion and the 95th Engineer Battalion.

95th Communications Battalion, with a total strength of 14,000 troops.

In terms of pure strength, the Fifth Mountain Division is similar to the 143rd Division with a total strength of 15,000 troops. The difference is that the 143rd Division has an additional artillery regiment and has a more powerful attack capability.

As before, the battle first broke out in the air, with the Southern African Air Force and the Luftwaffe fighting for air supremacy.

The Southern African Air Force stationed on Crete went all out and sent nearly 150 fighter planes to provide air cover for the 143rd Division.

The Luftwaffe was also out in force. Although it was slightly inferior in terms of aircraft performance, it was clearly superior in terms of numbers.

The fighting was fierce, and the Southern African Air Force lost 14 fighter jets on the first day of the air battle.

German losses were 27 fighters and 6 bombers.

At the same time as the air battle broke out, the 5th Mountain Division launched a ground attack on the 143rd Division's positions.

The Fifth Mountain Division's equipment is quite good. The entire division is equipped with nearly 500 machine guns, more than 100 mortars, and 68 towed artillery pieces.

The crux of the problem is that most of the towed artillery equipped by the Fifth Mountain Division are light artillery, and there are only 16 heavy artillery pieces. This caused the Fifth Mountain Division to fall into the embarrassing situation of seriously insufficient firepower when attacking.

Except for the fact that the 143rd Division has no armor, the number of machine guns and artillery is basically the same as that of the local troops in southern Africa. The artillery equipped is basically large-caliber heavy artillery.

Starting at ten o'clock in the morning, the Fifth Mountain Division launched three consecutive attacks on the 143rd Division.

The 143rd Division had strong fortifications. All three attacks of the Fifth Mountain Division were repelled. Nearly 500 German soldiers were killed. The casualties of the 143rd Division were almost negligible.

The battle went smoothly, but Tao He and Yu Hong were worried.

After occupying western Crete, the Germans were looking for ways to send heavy weapons, including tanks, to Crete.

For light infantry, the 143rd Division is very easy.

If tanks are added, it will be very difficult for the 143rd Division to deal with it.

Of course, the difficulty is not very great. The 143rd Division has 75 anti-tank guns. If the German armored forces want to break the 143rd Division's position, they will probably have to pay a huge price.

"The key is not the front, but our flanks. Refer to the Germans' lightning tactics. They are very good at detours. Once our flanks are attacked, we may be in danger of being surrounded." In Pombia, Anthony Jones

He Lu Sheng looked solemn.

By June, all British troops on Crete had evacuated, leaving only the southern African troops still fighting.

From Heraklion to Pombia, the Southern African army deployed three lines of defense. It was not easy for the Germans to capture the entire island. The key was how determined the Germans were.

"Our engineering troops have destroyed all the bridges and roads in the mountains. It will not be easy for the Germans to make a detour. Even if the detour is successful, the Germans will still have to worry about being surrounded by us." Anthony Jones has the determination of a strong man to cut off his wrist. In Greece

Southern Africans had no scruples about fighting the Germans on their own territory.

The advancement of armored forces relies heavily on transportation. After the outbreak of the European War, both Poland and France were restrained when facing the German attack and did not carry out large-scale damage to infrastructure. As a result, the German army drove in.

There are no psychological barriers to this in southern Africa.

Just blow up the road and build it again.

The same goes for bridges.

The bridges built after the war will be more beautiful and stronger than those that were blown up before. If the old ones are not removed, the new ones will not come back.

Destroying infrastructure is only one aspect. The Southern African army implemented a thorough scorched-earth policy. When they evacuated from Heraklion, they took away all the materials they could and burned everything they could not take away. Not even a screw was left.

Leave it to the Germans.

Something like the complete defeat of the Greek army, which left all heavy weapons to the Germans, would never happen in southern Africa.

Germany's blitzkrieg also relied on war to support war. Otherwise, Germany's strength would not be able to support increasingly large military expenditures.

Do you know what the first thing Germany looted every time it occupied a new area?

Not grain, not steel, but gold.

Americans are still doing business with Germans.

However, Americans do not recognize the mark, nor the rand, nor the pound, only gold.

The Germans plundered gold and even dentures.

"It's already June, and we still have to hold on to Crete for at least three weeks." Lu Sheng resolutely carried out the command of the headquarters, one month at a time, not even one day less.

"No problem, we can easily complete this task." Anthony Jones is not worried, and the Southern African Union troops are not easy to bully.

It's really not easy to bully.

Although the infantry of the Southern African Union still uses Lee Enfield, light machine guns have been distributed to the squad level. Each company has an independent fire platoon. Before the war, a batch of heavy machine guns were added to the front line of the 143rd Division.

The density of machine guns in the position reached 8.5 per 100 meters, which was unprecedented.

The 114th Highland salient is located at the forefront of the 143rd Division position. The person responsible for the defense is Company B of the 1st Battalion of the Cabinda Rifle Regiment.

Captain Cruz of Company B is a southern African. He has served in the Umbrella Company for a long time and has rich combat experience. He participated in the Brazilian Civil War and switched to active duty after the outbreak of the European War.

Deputy Company Commander Hamilton is a Southern African born in Port Elizabeth. He just graduated from the Nyasaland Army Academy last year. In the entire B Company, only Cruz and Hamilton, as well as the firepower platoon leader Jerome, are Southern Africans.

During the morning battle, the Germans dropped at least a hundred corpses on Company B's position. Only one person in Company B was killed and six were injured.

The soldier who died was an observation post, and a shell directly hit his bunker. The bunker was not penetrated, and the soldier died on the spot.

"Is this how the Germans penetrated Europe?" Hamilton had just graduated when the European War broke out and did not understand the cruelty of war.

In Hamilton's view, the German army's combat effectiveness was really low, its tactics were dull, and its firepower was not strong enough.

The fighting will of the German soldiers is indeed not bad.

However, in many cases, fighting will is not the decisive factor, especially for the southern African army that emphasizes firepower superiority.

"It depends on who the German opponents are." Cruise's face was full of exhaustion. Since arriving at the defense line, Cruise had not had a proper rest and had only slept for six hours in three days.

There is never an easy victory.

Even though the 143rd Division had powerful firepower, sufficient logistics, and air force support, it was still meticulous when constructing its positions.

Cruise was also worried about his soldiers.

There is a saying among African soldiers that although they are obedient, hard-working and fearless of death, they still need the constant supervision of their officers.

Without the supervision of military officers, the efficiency of African soldiers digging foxholes is actually not much better than that of Indians.

Even if they know a decent foxhole, it will provide them with better protection when fighting breaks out.

This makes people very helpless.

The Southern African military tried every means to improve the combat effectiveness of the alliance troops. The logistics level of the alliance troops was almost the same as that of the local troops in Southern Africa. Before the battle broke out, the Mediterranean Theater even sent high-level dual-purpose machine guns to Company B, and also sent them

A total of three guns were given away, considering that Company B only has a total of more than 100 people.

The staff officers in the Mediterranean theater also sometimes lacked consideration.

Except for Jerome, no one in Company B knows how to use a dual-purpose machine gun, which is very embarrassing.

The more advanced the weapons, the higher the requirements for those who use them.

It is precisely in this respect that African soldiers are most lacking.

Just after chatting for a few words, the scream of artillery shells was heard in the air.

The routines of two light infantry battles are basically the same. After the artillery clears the ground, the infantry attacks. If it is counterattacked by strong firepower from the defenders, the infantry will immediately stop the attack and continue to call for fire support until all the firepower points on the defenders' position are destroyed.

Lose.

Do you expect soldiers to hold explosives and use their bodies to block the eye?

This does not exist in Europe.

Therefore, even if the generals in the European War learned many tactics, they would not be able to use them.

You cannot ask the soldiers who are interspersed to remain lurking and motionless with their iron will in the face of overwhelming artillery fire or even flamethrowers.

Nor can we require soldiers to maintain their combat posture even if they are frozen into ice sculptures after entering concealment.

Nor can we ask soldiers to use their bodies to block eye-catching sights, or to use their bodies as holders for explosive packs.

The soldiers didn't have that awareness either.

If an officer forces his soldiers to do that.

Maybe the soldiers would shoot directly at the officers.

So do the Germans.

The German army, which had slaughtered all sides in the European War and was hard to win, finally succeeded in defeating the enemy here in southern Africa.

boom

The violent explosion of the shells stirred up dust in the sky, and the lights in the tunnel flickered on and off. Hamilton immediately covered his teacup with his hand as he had just made a cup of tea.

Unless the tunnel is directly hit by a large-caliber artillery shell, the soldiers in the tunnel will not suffer a large number of casualties.

The 5th Infantry Division came a little slowly, giving the 143rd Division enough time to build a position. Opposite Company B's position, all obstacles had been cleared, and the machine gunners had an unobstructed view of the layout of the crossfire when shooting.

To ensure that there are no shooting dead spots in front of the position, the addition of the high-level dual-purpose machine gun effectively increases the firepower intensity of B Company. Unfortunately, since the machine gunners have just been trained and are not familiar with the operation of the high-level dual-purpose machine gun, the effect is not very good.

This is enough to defend against light infantry attacks.

The Germans are not stupid. If they find that the firepower points on the position have not been destroyed, they will immediately stop the attack. The human wave tactics used during the Battle of the Somme will no longer appear.

The 5th Mountain Division carried limited artillery shells, and the bombardment only lasted five minutes before stopping.

The Germans were very skilled in infantry-artillery coordination tactics. As soon as the shelling stopped, the German infantry had already rushed to the front of the position.

The officers and soldiers of Company B were also prepared. As soon as the explosion point of the artillery shell extended to the rear of the position, whistles sounded one after another on the position. The soldiers quickly rushed out of the bunker and entered the position. At this time, Lee Enfield was unable to use the grenade.

It's best to use it. Don't worry about whether the Germans are coming towards you or not. Just hit them with a round of grenades first.

The same goes for the Germans. The first round of attacks was also grenades.

So every time a battle started, countless grenades were flying over the position.

The Germans were obviously at a disadvantage. The officers and soldiers of the 143rd Division were protected by bunkers, but the Germans' bodies were all exposed to the range of the machine gun shooters.

The soldiers of the 143rd Division are also equipped with a certain proportion of Nyasaland rifles. General-purpose machine guns using bipods are the greatest threat to German soldiers. Usually, before a magazine is finished, the front of the position has been cleared.

Therefore, without the assistance of armored units, light infantry attacking such a well-equipped defensive position is a recipe for death.

Even if it were the legendary pinnacle of light infantry, it wouldn't work.

The German troops are still very effective.

The continuous attacks finally had an effect. A German soldier threw a grenade right into the heavy machine gun position of Company B. The machine gun suddenly misfired.

More than a dozen German soldiers took the opportunity to launch a charge and successfully broke into Company B's position, engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

This is again what southern African armies are best at.

The firepower of the Southern African army is not only reflected in various heavy weapons. Most Southern African soldiers choose to carry pistols. In the trenches, rifles are too long and inconvenient to use. Obviously, small and flexible pistols are better to use.

Not to mention the shotgun known as the "Trench Cleaner".

The German soldiers who invaded Company B's position wanted to completely defeat Company B through hand-to-hand combat.

However, the officers and soldiers of Company B did not give the German soldiers a chance to fight in hand-to-hand combat.

When a German soldier holding a sapper shovel jumped into the trench of Company B.

A B Company soldier pulled out the pistol from his waist with his backhand and shot the German soldier directly to the ground with two blasts.

Then there is the intensive "嘡嘡嘡"

The effective shooting range of most pistols does not exceed 50 meters.

But the attack range is much larger than that of the engineer shovel.

As a result, the aggressive German soldiers were unlucky. Even if they rushed into the southern African army's positions, they still faced crushing asymmetric battles.

From the 1st to the 3rd, the 5th Mountain Division launched more than 20 attacks on the 143rd Division's positions. The 143rd Division's positions were still not breached. The 5th Mountain Division suffered heavy casualties, with nearly 1,500 soldiers dead.

At this point in the battle, the 5th Mountain Division was unable to attack and had no idea how to break through the 143rd Division's position.

This is only the Southern African Union force, not the more powerfully equipped Southern African native force. Marshal William Lister should be very confused.

Since the outbreak of the Battle of Crete, the German army has suffered successive setbacks, and Marshal William Lister has been under great pressure.

"Plan Barbarossa" is imminent, and Mustache needs to end the Battle of Crete in the shortest possible time.

In fact, Mustache has postponed the time to attack Russia, and now the situation is getting more and more serious for the Germans.

The intelligence obtained by the German army shows that if Germany does not launch an attack on Russia before mid-June, then Russia will launch an attack on Germany.

The authenticity of this information has not been confirmed.

But Mustache didn’t dare to gamble.