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Volume One Chapter 1,028 The War Situation in Europe

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    The German airborne attack was planned in three areas: Iraclin in the east, Rethymnon, Souda, and Yunia in the center, and most importantly, Marim in the west.  Before launching the attack, Nazi heavy bombers first used bombs weighing 1,000 pounds to intensively bomb the ground and air defense facilities for an hour.  Then, the main force descended from the sky in gliders or parachute landings.  Then came the reinforcements carried by transport aircraft.  In their entire combat plan, the key move was to capture Malim Airport.  This is not only for the landing of the plane, but also for the plane to take off again.

    Only with the help of multiple round-trip flights were they able to transport the large number of troops on which their entire plan was based.  Judging from many aspects of the battle, the Battle of Crete is unparalleled in ancient and modern times. It was an unprecedented battle.  This was the first offensive in the history of warfare to use large-scale airborne troops, and the Luftwaffe Corps demonstrated the fanaticism of the Hitler Youth movement.  Their "Teutonic spirit" to avenge their defeat in 1918 was embodied in these fierce, rigorously trained and loyal Nazi parachute troops.  They are determined to dedicate their lives on the altar of "Nazi glory" and world hegemony.

    In order to carry out this battle, the Germans devoted all the forces they could mobilize.  The fighting began on the morning of May 20.

    ¡°Never in the history of German attacks has it been so desperate and ruthless as this time.  Their first goal was to capture Malim Airfield.  Within an hour, enemy aircraft carried out the most intense bombing and machine-gun fire on positions around the airfield with an intensity never seen before.  Almost instantly, most of the Allied anti-aircraft guns were rendered useless.  Before the bombing ceased, gliders began landing southwest of Malim Airfield.

    At 8 o'clock in the morning, German planes dropped a large number of paratroopers from an altitude of 300 to 100 feet to the area between Malim and Chania. The German planes flew back and forth in a steady stream and dropped a regiment of four battalions in the morning.  Another regiment was dropped in the afternoon.  German gliders or troop transports landed or crashed on beaches, in the jungle or on blazing airfields.

    On the first day, more than 5,000 German paratroopers landed in or near Malim and Chania.  They suffered heavy losses under the artillery fire of the New Zealand Army and in desperate hand-to-hand combat.

    In the Allied defense zone, almost all German paratroopers who landed were dead, mostly shot to death.  Before nightfall that day, the defenders still maintained the airfield.

    In the morning, German planes carried out massive air raids on Rethymnon and Iraclin, and then in the afternoon they dropped paratroopers, dropping two battalions and four battalions respectively in the two places.  Fierce fighting began immediately, but by evening, the Allies still held on to the two airfields. Smaller airborne troops were still landing at Rethymnon and Iraclin. The fighting was fierce and the Germans suffered heavy casualties.

    "However, for the German army, the results on the first day were still considerable.  Groups of heavily armed German troops were now able to roam freely in various areas.

    The power of the German offensive far exceeded the British command's predictions.  The following is the report of General Freiberg, commander of the garrison, to General Wavell at 10 pm on May 20:

    "It has been a tough day today. Our troops are under great pressure. I believe we are still holding the airfields and two ports at Rethymnon, Iraclin and Marim. There is little hope of holding these places."  I would be wrong to say that the situation was optimistic. The fighting was fierce and we killed a large number of German troops. Transportation was extremely difficult and the air raids on Chania were very severe. Everyone here realized that this was a life-or-death battle. We  Will fight to the end.¡±

    The next day, May 21, the German army continued to attack, and military transport planes appeared over the island again.  Although Malim Airfield was still under intense British artillery and mortar fire, enemy troop transport aircraft continued to land at the airfield and on the uneven ground to its east.  The German High Command seemed to ignore losses. In this area, at least 100 aircraft crashed on the ground.  Despite this, the planes kept coming.

    By the third day, the Germans had effectively used Malim Airfield.  Troop transport aircraft continued to fly in, with more than 20 sorties per hour.  What was even more decisive was that at this time the German planes were able to fly back to continue carrying reinforcements.

    According to estimates by the British Army Command, more than 600 troop transport aircraft landed at this airport in the past few days and the following days, and some were crashed during landing.

    After May 20, the German High Command ordered to stop attacking Rethymnon and Iraclin, and concentrate its main forces on attacking the Souda Bay area.

    A powerful fleet under the command of British Rear Admiral Rawlings, including the battleships "Worspelt" and "Valiant", covered by 8 destroyers, was deployed to the west of Crete for surveillance  Mussolini's fleet was expected to join the battle!Ziani is a scheming pharaoh general.  Although he won the crown of conquering Abyssinia, was commended and applauded by the "leader", and was promoted to marshal, this time he was full of worries. He thought: The British recently retreated without fighting and ran away as soon as they hit.  .  Could be a trap.  Therefore, no matter how Mussolini reprimanded and insulted him, he still did not act rashly.

    However, while Graziani hesitated, the British completed preparations for the "Compass" campaign as quickly as possible.

    Before the war began, General Wavell, the British Commander-in-Chief in the Middle East, personally inspected combat readiness and made a brief and powerful mobilization for the soldiers.  He said:

    "Although we are outnumbered by the enemy, we are highly trained, well-equipped, accustomed to desert warfare, have a great glorious tradition, and are full of perseverance. This is the guarantee of our invincible victory.  .¡±

    Before the start of a major operation, the days were like a year. All the generals were in high spirits and determined to win the war to boost morale and teach Mussolini a lesson.  On December 6, 1940, about 25,000 British troops with fully mechanized equipment, thin bodies, dark faces, and trained in the desert, advanced for more than 40 miles, and crouched motionless in the desert wilderness the next day.  Among them, Mussolini's air force was not discovered.

    On December 8, they moved forward again, and the troops were informed that night that this was not an exercise in the desert, but "a real war."  At dawn on the 9th, the Battle of Sidi Barani began.

    After a burst of fierce artillery fire, the British and Indian coalition forces launched an offensive.  In just a few minutes, 25 Italian tanks were paralyzed.

    At that time, the Italian army fighting in Nibeva, south of Sidi Barani, put up a tenacious resistance. General Maliti, the commander of the Italian division, was killed as soon as he came out of the trench.

    After more than an hour of fierce fighting, the British army captured the city.  The attack on Tumar Barracks began at 1:30 in the afternoon. By evening, almost the entire barracks area was occupied by the British army, and most of the defenders were captured.

    Meanwhile, the 7th Armored Division cut off the road along the Mediterranean to the west, thus isolating Sidi Barani.  The troops stationed at Port Matruh were also ready to attack.

    As soon as dawn broke on the 10th, under the cover of powerful firepower from warships, they stormed the Italian positions in front.  The battle lasted all day, and by 10 o'clock, the Colstream Guard Command reported that there were too many prisoners to count, and that the captured soldiers and officers occupied an area of ??about 200 acres.

    Since December 11, 1940, the British Seventh Armored Division, followed by the British Sixteenth Infantry Motorized Brigade and the Australian Sixth Division, continued to pursue the victory.

    A few days later, the entire seaside area around Booker Puk and Sidi Barani fell into Allied hands.

    At that time, Churchill learned from the front line that at least three divisions of Mussolini's elite had either been annihilated or captured.

    When the victory of Sidi Barani was finalized, that is, on December 12, General Wavell took the initiative to take a wise and bold decision.

    Instead of leaving the newly replaced 4th British and Indian Division on the battlefield as a general reserve, he immediately transferred it to Eritrea to join the 5th British and Indian Division in Abisi under the command of General Platt.  Battle of Nia.  Part of the division went to Port Sudan by sea, and the other part took a train and then changed to a ship to go up the Nile River!

    ¡°Some of them were driven almost directly from the Sidi Barani front line to where they boarded the ship.

    After they arrived at the battlefield 700 miles away, they quickly went into battle again.  Without General Wavell's foresighted decision, not only would the victory in the Battle of Abyssinian Fortress Karen be unguaranteed, but the liberation of Abyssinia would also be far away.

    Churchill was delighted with the victory on the North African front. He hurriedly congratulated the soldiers on the front and urged them to spare no effort to encircle and annihilate the enemy.

    He said in a telegram to Wavell on December 13, 1940:

    "I sincerely congratulate you on your glorious victory, which has fulfilled our highest hopes. When I told the House of Commons what skilful staff work was required and how bravely the Army performed this difficult task, the hall roared with joy. The poet Walter.  Whitman said that every fruit of success, no matter how satisfactory, will bring with it some problems that require a greater battle to solve. Naturally, the pursuit of the enemy takes precedence in your thoughts. When victory is achieved,  The day when the loser is exhausted is when the greatest compensation can be obtained from the loser.

    Nothing made Mussolini tremble more than the failure in Libya!  "

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