The decisive battle against the Third Reich

So things seem to have returned to the starting point: attack or recuperate.

But this does not seem strange. Rommel always wants to attack whenever he has the chance, just like Kesselring could not persuade Rommel before.

Rommel is a stubborn person. If he has made up his mind, I am afraid that even Hitler cannot change his mind. Moreover, Rommel has a self-proclaimed perfect offensive plan at this time.

"General!" Qin Chuan asked: "You actually have a plan a long time ago, right?"

General Strike and others also looked at Rommel.

"Yes!" Rommel replied.

After a pause, Rommel pointed to the map on the table and said, "I plan to have three Italian infantry divisions stationed on the coast of Crete and maintain law and order on Crete. The First Infantry Regiment will be stationed at the Iraq Airport, and the two parachute regiments of the Italian "Lightning Division" will be stationed at the Maleme Airport and Rethymnon Airport respectively. The 90th Light Division will be transferred to North Africa and incorporated into the African Corps!"

General Strike and others looked at each other. There seemed to be no problem with this arrangement. One regiment was enough to garrison one airport, and the combat effectiveness of the Italian "Lightning Division" was not weak.

"Then..." Colonel Slaine asked, "Does it mean exchanging the First Infantry Regiment for the 90th Light Division?"

This means that the Germans on Crete only have the First Infantry Regiment, which seems a little less.

However, Qin Chuan knew that this was not the point. The point was that the airborne troops stationed at the airport were all airborne troops, so this was not actually a defense, but a preparation for an attack.

Sure enough, Rommel said to Qin Chuan: "Second Lieutenant, didn't you say that we couldn't break through the British defense line? What would happen if a large number of paratroopers suddenly landed on the British defense line when our three armored divisions were attacking the British defense line with all their strength?" Then everyone understood that Rommel arranged the First Infantry Regiment and the Italian "Lightning Division" to defend Crete on the surface, but in fact he asked them to prepare for another airdrop, and this time it was to the rear of the British defense line. "But our range is insufficient!" Colonel Slaine said, "This plan seems difficult to implement!"

"We can!" General Strike said, "The range of Italian transport planes is more than 1,300 kilometers, which is just enough to go back and forth between Crete and Port Said!"

"I'm talking about fighters!" Colonel Slaine said, "Italian transport planes are as slow as snails. Without fighter escorts, they will only be slaughtered!"

"Our fighters don't take off from Crete!" General Strike said, "They take off from Alexandria to escort the transport planes, so they can also perform their missions!"

Colonel Slaine couldn't help but say "Oh", and then stopped talking.

This is indeed a good plan. Rommel obviously calculated the flight route and range accurately.

In this way, when the German and British armies are fighting on the front line, suddenly a division plus a regiment will be airdropped to Port Said. Once Port Said falls into the hands of the Germans, the British will lose all their sources of supply. This is a move to cut off the source of firewood.

"What do you say, Lieutenant?" Rommel looked at Qin Chuan with a smile on his face, as if he was very satisfied with his ability to defeat Qin Chuan.

"This is a good plan, General!" Qin Chuan had to admit this first. If there was really no other way, this plan was indeed worth a try.

"But..." Qin Chuan asked a question: "We just used airborne means to capture Crete. Will the British be prepared for airborne operations?"

"Maybe they will be prepared!" Rommel said: "But there are always risks in war, right?"

"You are right, General!" Qin Chuan said: "But wouldn't it be too risky for us to do this? Because as we know, paratroopers mostly carry light equipment, and they need more favorable terrain cover, but there is a lack of such terrain in the desert. They can easily collapse under the attack of the enemy's mechanized forces, not to mention that airborne operations in desert areas are very difficult, because airdrops must also be accompanied by drinking water."

"Yes!" Colonel Slaine agreed: "The combat effectiveness of paratroopers in the desert will also be reduced exponentially. They can't even fight in a dispersed manner because they must find a water source, and the enemy can wait for us at the water source!"

"In addition, the British also have air superiority. "Although they have many fighters trapped in Malta, they will soon realize that Malta is meaningless, so they will try to transfer the fighters to Port Said!"

"In this way!" Qin Chuan said: "Airdrops to Port Said or behind the British defense line will not be as easy as airdrops to Crete... The British radar will detect our fleet and take off to intercept. Their warships will wait for us on the route. Even if we can fly over Port Said, I am afraid there will not be many troops left. Even before we airdrop, there will be enemy mechanized troops waiting for us on the ground!"

"These will not happen!" Rommel objected: "Then we will launch a fierce attack on the defense line to attract the attention of the British. They will focus most of their attention and air power on our attack!"

"Even so!" Qin Chuan said: "I believe the British will have enough reaction time!"

"Yes, General!" General Strike said: "According to our intelligence department's understanding, the British Type 11 radar can detect high-altitude targets 90 kilometers away and low-altitude targets 40 kilometers away."

"We even captured a British air defense radar on Crete!" Colonel Slain said: "It was just because the British thought those were their own fighter planes that were diverting to Malta, so they did not issue a warning! "

"No, they don't even need radar!" Qin Chuan said, "Because their spies are everywhere on Crete. As soon as our transport plane sets off, the British will know about it!"

There is no doubt about this. The Greek National People's Liberation Army will actively provide intelligence to the British army.

"Our transport planes can't even avoid it!" Qin Chuan continued: "Because Crete is 610 kilometers away from Port Said, the Caproni transport plane's flight range is exactly one round trip, which means... once the fleet is discovered, it will have no choice but to wait for death. !”

"Okay, Second Lieutenant!" Rommel spread his hands and said, "Do you have any better suggestions? Or should you stick to your idea, give up the attack and wait for death?"

"Giving up the attack does not mean waiting for death!" Qin Chuan replied.