Different from the artillery-filled Russian battlefield, the vast land of the Mediterranean and North Africa seemed quite peaceful. After the Republican Army entered Morocco, it stopped at the Sebou River and the Middle Atlas Mountains. The US-British coalition forces have been on the defensive in Morocco. Due to the obstacles of the Sahara Desert, Morocco is not a defensive w¨¨izhi.
Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the Allied Forces in North Africa, was working hard to adjust the deployment of military forces. The combat effectiveness of the British Army was the most troublesome problem for him, and rongyi had not yet accepted the deployment. ""Please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!" Due to poor coordination, Eisenhower set his headquarters in Freetown. On the Moroccan front, there was only the Second Army commanded by Lieutenant General Bradley with less than 250,000 men.
In fact, it was difficult for Eisenhower to command the British army according to his own intentions. General Wavell, the commander-in-chief of the British forces in North Africa, was his deputy commander, but he had nearly 900,000 army troops with low combat effectiveness under his command. These British people wanted to let the Chinese fight I'm scared and need to be re-armed and trained. The commander-in-chief of the navy is the British Admiral Alan Cunningham. He seems to have been paying attention to preserving his strength. A month ago, he allowed a German fleet to smoothly enter the Mediterranean from Gibraltar, but failed to dispatch the fleet. Interception.
Since the 3rd Army, which was originally scheduled to support North Africa, was sent to the Southwest Pacific battlefield due to the tight war situation in Australia, Eisenhower's North African counterattack plan also aborted, and the entire North African battlefield seemed quite calm.
The entire second half of 1942 was indeed a pleasant leisure time for the combat troops on the Eastern Front of North Africa of the Republican Army, except for some small-scale battles in the Atlas Mountains where the two sides fought for some favorable strategic positions. . Most of the troops are in a state of rest.
As the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front, General Zhang Yi'an took a flight back to Malta, where the North African Theater Headquarters is located. The climate in Malta in October is pleasant, which is much cooler than in Morocco.
Lieutenant General Fang Minghao, who was wearing a navy uniform, received him. The wide golden bars on his sleeves representing naval officers were shining. "Please wait a moment. The Commander-in-Chief is meeting with Foreign Minister Ciano. General Zhang asked me to go first." Let me inform you of the situation!"
"I heard that the Military Command Department has a transfer order about me?" Zhang Yi'an asked.
"It's like this. The Military Committee decided to form the Ukrainian Front Army in North Africa, with you as the commander-in-chief." Fang Minghao said: "The headquarters believes that the Germans will suffer a fatal defeat in Russia this winter, and Hitler will definitely ask us for help. This It¡¯s our chance to get into Eastern Europe.¡±
"Then why don't we just cross the Ural Mountains directly? Aren't those Russians in Siberia clamoring for restoration of the country all day long?" Zhang Yi'an said.
"The highest level believes that a weakened Soviet Russia exists in our interests. What we need is for the Germans and Russians to reach an armistice agreement." Fang Minghao said, "The Ukrainian front forces will land in Ukraine on the Black Sea, and we will not cross Ukraine¡¯s border with Russia.¡±
"The purpose of this is shime? To control Eastern Europe?!"
"Yes. We need to establish a new international order after the war. Of course there are market and economic considerations. We will withdraw from North Africa. Leave it to the Italians and the French, but the entire Indian Ocean region must be under our control . Domestic investment will focus on East and Southeast Africa, and the Suez Canal will be under our control. Regarding Australia, we can accept a ceasefire at the current line of control. We may even make some concessions. In Africa, we will support local People establish governments and develop education and production at the same time.¡±
"The Americans have now strengthened their power in the UK, and they can launch a counterattack in France at any time." Zhang Nian said, "I still advocate strengthening their power in Africa."
"This is our opportunity to enter France. The African theater will not be weakened, but will be strengthened. The Ukrainian front troops are mainly drawn from the troops stationed in Central Asia and India." Fang Minghao gestured to Zhang Yi'an on the large shiji¨¨ map behind him Depending on the overall deployment of the General Staff, the Republican Army currently occupies approximately one-third of the area and controls nearly half of the population. At present, the total number of the Republican Army is close to 22 million, of which about 15.5 million are in the army and army aviation. However, there are only 7 million front-line combat troops, and most of the rest are performing logistics or maintaining public security tasks.
In terms of soldiers and labor resources, Republican China has a natural advantage in this regard compared to the United States, Britain, Germany, Russia and Italy. As the war progressed, Republican China did not have an impact on industrial and agricultural production due to labor problems. Due to the impact of the war, the total industrial and agricultural production value of the areas controlled by Republican China exceeded that of the United States and Britain. As the country's strength increases, the Republican Army has gradually shifted towards large-scale mechanization and armoring in terms of military equipment.?, and the capability of large-scale mobilization and transfer has gradually increased.
"The question is to what extent will the German army be weakened?" Zhang Yi'an said. The Republican Army has conducted many war games on the situation on the Russian battlefield, and basically concluded that the German army will be defeated. If Hitler does not shrink the defense line, he will reluctantly launch Attacking will inevitably result in heavy losses.
"The headquarters' estimate is 500,000 to 600,000, but we should still be able to hold the line of defense. Our reinforcements should not be a big problem!" Fang Minghao said. The intention of the military committee is to contain the actions of the German army after the Republican Army enters Ukraine. Hitler was finally forced to accept the mediation of peace talks.
At this time, the bell on the table rang twice, "The commander-in-chief is calling us!" Fang Minghao said.
The North African Command building was heavily guarded, and occasionally some officers were walking around in the corridor. The two entered General Zhang Tingfu's office. There were some documents scattered messily on the desk of the commander-in-chief of the North African Army. Zhang Nian walked into the office. General Zhang¡¯s tired face showed a happy look, "Hi, Ng, how are you doing in Morocco?"
"It's hard to be idle. I'm planning to drive all the enemies into the desert. Now the troops are resting!" Zhang Yi'an said.
"This is the arrangement of the Military Commission. Military operations must serve political purposes, right?!" General Zhang motioned for them to sit on the sofa together and asked the adjutant to bring two cups of tea.
"Has Lieutenant General Fang Yijing introduced the situation?" Zhang Tingfu said after the adjutant exited and closed the door.
"I understand the general situation, but I don't know how many people I will send?" Zhang Yi'an nodded and asked.
"The first batch of 7 armies, totaling 650,000 people. In addition, Italy will send 2 armies with 150,000 people, including the Italian 8th Army in Russia. We will take joint actions, with you as the supreme commander, and Joe General Wani Messe will serve as deputy commander-in-chief of the Chinese-Italian coalition forces. Lieutenant General Linazi will take over as commander of the 8th Army of the Russian Army. You have cooperated on the battlefield in Somalia."
"Well, fortunately, these two are one of the few outstanding generals in the Italian Army. I was worried that Mussolini would send me a fool." Zhang Yian said with a smile.
"The Expeditionary Force is Mussolini's face, why would he send out the best generals?" Zhang Tingfu said, "In addition, the Navy has placed the 9th Cruiser Fleet under your command, and the aviation force is the commander of the 9th Air Force. Department." The 9th Aviation Command has more than 3,000 combat aircraft, which was originally affiliated with the Northwest Theater Command. Together with the Ukrainian Front of the Army Aviation Division under the jurisdiction of each group army, the Ruguo should have more than 5,000 combat aircraft, which is enough to reverse the situation on the battlefield.
However, such a large-scale military mobilization would never be completed within a few months. In other words, before the spring of 1943, the Republican Army was not prepared to invest in the Russian battlefield. (To be continued.)