Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 195: Question

The army photographer picked up the camera and took a valuable commemorative photo. With the tall Katba Castle as the background, the imperial head of state raised his right arm in return to the officers and soldiers. The sun was shining on the handsome face. The picture exudes a sacred atmosphere like a religious ceremony.

At that time, the military photographer took a lot of photos on the pier, but in the end only this photo survived. It became an important evidence for the head of the empire’s visit to Egypt and appeared in various historical books in later generations. in.

Xu Jun’s trip was a secret visit. Before the head of state announced to the public, all news about the head of state belonged to the category of state secrets. Except for a limited number of official organizations, the non-governmental news media had no knowledge, even What some sensitive transnational news agencies have felt, I am afraid it is difficult to detect the truth, because in today's European continent, any attempt to probe the whereabouts of the German head of state is dangerous and reckless.

Xu Jun didn't stay for long on the pier. After exchanging greetings with several reception officials, he got in a car arranged by the garrison and left the heavily guarded port. The British side is also very aware of the nature of the visit of the German head of state. At the time when the Peninsular War is in full swing, the sudden visit of the German head of state to Egypt will definitely attract the attention of many countries here. This is obviously for the plan implemented by Britain and Germany in the Middle East. It is quite unfavorable.

Therefore, the British side also imposed a strict news blockade on the matter. Except for the military personnel responsible for receiving and escorting, few people knew about the visit of the German head of state. Even the thief king of Egypt was also detained at this moment. In the dark. To be honest, the British were also sweating. They were really worried that after the German head of state met the thief, Farouk I suddenly got itchy and stole Reinhard von Steid’s wallet or medal. The possible consequences of that...British people have not dared to think about it.

"My head of state, you can rest in your residence after dinner." Weierle suggested. As soon as Xu Jun got into the car, he closed his eyes and calmed down. He got up too early in the morning and didn't sleep well on the plane.

"No, time is running out, we will rush to Cairo after dinner." Xu Jun opened his eyes, raised his hand and rubbed his cheeks.

"General, General Küchler has already set off from the front." Tysenhofen turned his head and explained to Weierle.

"I want to listen to his report in Cairo. The African Army is currently progressing very smoothly. It can be said that it has overfulfilled the plan of the command, but they are also facing many problems. If they cannot find a solution in time, wait for them. It may be a disaster." Xu Jun rubbed his eyebrows and took a deep breath.

Kucheler’s telegram was sent directly to the port of Taranto yesterday. In theory, this is a violation of military regulations and is an extremely serious leapfrog report. However, Küciler got permission from Xu Jun. He can use a special codebook, skip the army headquarters and the high command, and report directly to the head of state. Of course, this privilege is time-limited. After the war is over Will be taken back.

From this, we can also see how much the Führer attaches importance to the Peninsular War, because even when the British landed, none of the generals and marshals on the front had ever received this privilege. Out of communication security considerations, this telegram from Küciler is very brief, except that he will rush to Cairo immediately to report the current situation to the head of state.

The biggest difficulty facing the African Army at present is still in the aspect of supplies, which was predicted by the command before the war began. The Headquarters Operations Division estimated that the African Army would face logistical pressure, but it now appears that the impact of the local environment on the supply and transportation is still seriously underestimated.

The logistics capacity of the African Army is approaching its limit. With the high-speed advancement of the front-line troops, the logistics supply line is still rapidly extending. At present, the logistics troops of the African Army are almost unable to catch up with the assault troops. Everything is like the battle on the French front. The same happened again.

The desert towns on the Arabian Peninsula are far away from each other, because the first condition for being a human settlement is to have or be close to a water source, which also makes the troops have to carry a lot of supplies to be able to move between towns. Maneuver.

The African Army is a reorganized unit. It is formed using the armored grenadier division created by the head of state as an organization template. It is currently one of the most mechanized military-level units in the German Wehrmacht. Therefore, this peninsula war was also an actual test of the large-scale mobile combat capability of this new type of German army by the high command.

The German army has made several successful attempts before. For example, in the Battle of England, an experimental armored grenadier company was incorporated into the armored teaching battalion. Although the record is very impressive, the scale is really limited. Reflects the obvious gap with conventional motorized infantry units.

This attack by the African Army is the first time that the armored grenadier unit has entered the battle at the battalion level. Therefore, the actual combat data and the feedback from the officers and soldiers on the battlefield are particularly important. The bombing battalion sent observers to collect battlefield data and sort out the combat logs and reports of each unit.

Xu Jun believes that with the progress of the Middle East Peninsula war, the emergence of a new German organization will definitely attract the attention of potential enemies, and even try to imitate and form similar units. However, Xu Jun is not worried at all about the latter point. This unit has obvious advantages and also has obvious defects.

It is too dependent on logistical supplies. Once the supply of materials, such as fuel and repair parts, is cut off, the combat effectiveness of these troops will rapidly decline with the loss of vehicles. After losing the half-track troop carrier, the grenadiers can only rely on manpower to transport supplies and ammunition. Individual soldiers carry a limited amount of ammunition. As a result, the continuous combat capability is not even comparable to conventional light infantry units. This is something that has indeed happened in history. How could Xu Jun not know these weaknesses.

When formulating a campaign plan, one of the most important goals is to do everything possible to destroy the enemy's command and logistics supply units, while protecting the safety of our own supply lines. Now we must add as much as possible to control the air dominance of the battlefield, because in the area where air dominance is completely controlled by oneself, the armored grenadier can exert its greatest power, with the powerful armored force as the spearhead, the German mechanized infantry assault The tide will be a nightmare for all enemy defense units.

The African Army has achieved quite excellent results in the battle, but at the same time the problems that Xu Jun is worried about have also appeared one after another. Because of the special geographical environment of the Arabian Peninsula and the backward road infrastructure, the German logistics vehicles The loss is more serious than originally expected.

The ubiquitous fine sand and dust blocked the air filter, even mixed into the oil pipeline, and worn the engine cylinder wall. Due to the invasion of dust, various inexplicable problems began to occur in the on-board circuit. Standard military tires were often cut by sharp gravel. In just a few days, the spare tires of the African army's logistics reserves were almost exhausted.

At the moment, every bullet consumed by the African army needs to be transferred from material bases in Tunisia, even Italy and France, and then transported by cargo ships to ports in Egypt or Trans-Jordan, and then transported to Saudi Arabia through road and rail networks. After accounting and distribution, the German logistics stack at the border will be distributed by the logistics and transportation department of the African Army to every soldier who needs supplies.

It sounds like the whole process is very simple. Actually, it takes a lot of manpower and material resources in the replenishment process. There are countless coolies, crews, dock workers, logistics management personnel at all levels, and transport soldiers. Working **** the kilometer-long supply line, the progress of the African Army can be so smooth that the achievements of these people must not be missed.

The German army once again saw the need for the unification of European military equipment. Britain, France, and Italy all established military bases in the Middle East, but the German army could not get more help from them except food and daily necessities. Because of the difference in caliber and standard, the German army could only stare at the mountains of British, French, and Italian ammunition.

The African Army temporarily supplemented a batch of French 1906 type 65mm mountain cannons to enhance the firepower of the battalion company-level troops. This small cannon with a total weight of only 400 kilograms has a maximum range of six thousand five hundred. Meters, the German army was also equipped with this artillery seized in history, and gave it a GebK221 (F) equipment number. This mountain cannon can fire up to eighteen rounds per minute, which is quite powerful when used to bombard the fast-moving nomadic cavalry. However, because of the rapid consumption of shells, it also increases the logistical supply pressure.

"This war has exposed the shortcomings of our long-distance supply. In fact, the performance of the logistics system of the African Army has greatly exceeded my expectations." The head of state sat on a beautifully carved Arab high-backed chair, A telegram from the African Army Command was thrown on the table in front of him.

"The command can discuss these issues afterwards. The urgent need to solve the problem now is to find a way to replenish the frontline capacity as soon as possible, otherwise the African army may really be dragged down in the desert." I turned my face and looked at the farmland with the rows of paddles outside the train window, thinking about where to find a breakthrough~IndoMTL.com~My head of state, the British special envoy Sir Fay is waiting outside. He hopes to be met by you. "The door opened and Disenhofen walked in briskly.

"Sir Fay? I seem to have heard of this name." Xu Jun looked at Weierle.

"My head of state, this Sir is a member of the British House of Lords and one of our many collaborators within the British government."

"He is our person?"

"The same can be said, my head of state." Weierle scratched the bridge of his nose.

"Then invite him in, Eric." Xu Jun nodded and ordered.

"Yes, my head of state." The adjutant nodded respectfully, and turned and walked out of the carriage.

PS: Thank you for your understanding. Today’s update is here.

Unfortunately, there is something today, and I can't double-update it. I will try to make up the chapters I owe as soon as possible.