Chapter 462: The Opponent Has Arrived

Akado stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the map of Britain. He did not rush to the German-Soviet front, because he knew that there were more detailed operational plans in place there, sufficient to hold the line until he had stabilized the situation on the Western Front.

The war had not proceeded entirely according to his plan. Although the Soviet Red Army was not fully prepared for war, Stalin’s arrogance had led him to decide to launch a reckless attack at a time when the Germans were also not fully prepared. Stalin believed that the German army did not have the capacity to defend its Eastern Front while attacking Britain, and that the moment the war began, the Soviet Union could easily plant the red flag of victory on the roof of the Führer’s residence in Berlin.

Akado, however, was in no hurry to launch a full-scale counter-attack against the Soviet Union at this time. His plan from the very beginning was to capture the British Isles and establish an absolutely secure Atlantic Wall, to completely strangle any American attempt to attack Europe.

While God had given the United States a uniquely advantageous defensive environment, He had also dug a huge pit for it that made it inconvenient to attack. Akado did not believe that the United States would dare to launch a counter-attack across the Atlantic and fight a landing war with Germany on the British Isles. Therefore, as long as he conquered the British mainland, even if the United States wanted to stab him in the back in the future, it would be impossible for them to bring the flames of war directly to the European continent. Then, Germany could truly keep its enemies at bay.

At that point, the main battlefields would be North Africa and the Eastern Front. Akado was confident that he could use Rommel to achieve a different outcome in North Africa. As long as he could withstand the pressure from the Soviets, Akado could concentrate his forces and sweep away the remnants of the British forces in North Africa… When the German panzer forces entered Cairo, the restored Jews, the powerful Germans, the Italians, the Turks—these forces would be enough to turn the Middle East into a complete mess. The Suez Canal and the resources of North Africa would all fall into Akado’s hands. At that point, what would America matter?

A powerful industry? Germany had that too! World resources? It would simply be Eurasia and Africa against the Americas! So Akado knew better than anyone that the seemingly chaotic world situation was actually clear. As long as he took North Africa and held the Eastern Front to defeat the Red Army, Germany would be the undisputed hegemon of the world.

Why? The reason was simple: at that point, Germany would be a continental power with unlimited expansion space and partners. In contrast, the United States’ enviable geographical advantage would become a fatal limitation. In terms of forming alliances and expanding after the dust had settled, it would certainly be no match for a Germany that spanned Asia, Europe, and Africa.

So, in Akado’s view, as long as he won two wars, his path to hegemony would be smooth. However, he also knew that winning the war in North Africa and defeating the Red Army were two huge problems that were not as easy as they seemed. Because the outcomes of these two battlefields were clearly unknown, the Americans could easily intervene and turn them into the kind of stalemate the Germans did not want to see.

Of course, considering North Africa and the Eastern Front seemed a bit premature at the moment, because the war on the British mainland was not yet over. The battle for London was raging fiercely. The intense fighting, which had already lasted for a month, was still ongoing. The news that the Soviet Union had declared war on Germany and Italy had encouraged the desperate Churchill, strengthening his resolve to defend London to the death.

“You’ve been to Africa. How did it feel?” Akado suddenly asked. He was speaking to his trusted favorite, Rommel, who had been standing silently behind him.

“My Führer, there are many Italian troops in North Africa, but their combat effectiveness is not very good. These troops have wasted a large amount of supplies and are limiting the scale of the forces we can commit to Africa in the future.”

Akado nodded. What Rommel said was all known to him. The force Italy had committed to North Africa was not insignificant, and to be fair, their combat effectiveness was still acceptable. These troops had helped the German army a great deal in the past; at the very least, without them, the German Afrika Korps would not have been able to establish a foothold in North Africa.

But he still said, “Erwin, I know you look down on the combat ability of these Italian troops, but at least they have a numerical advantage. We must also rely on the Italian troops as the main force in North Africa, because the war on the Eastern Front has already begun, and we really cannot spare many troops to support you.”

“In that case, I really don’t have much confidence. The troops under my command might not even be able to reach Tobruk,” Rommel said, clearly not satisfied with the number of troops at his disposal. After all, he was now responsible for an offensive in one direction, and the numerical disadvantage made him feel a little uneasy.

He pointed to the map and continued, “Right now, only a part of the 7th Panzer Division and two infantry divisions have been transported to North Africa. I think I will only have a chance of winning if we wait for the entire 7th Panzer Division to arrive.”

“Oh? Not waiting for the follow-on forces? A direct counter-attack?” Akado asked with a smile, raising an eyebrow.

“No need. As long as the 7th Panzer Division arrives, I am confident of defeating the British forces here and here, and launching a counter-attack along this line,” Rommel replied confidently.

To deceive the British forces, he had ordered his subordinates to drive empty trucks past the reviewing stand over and over, to be inspected by the Italian officers in North Africa. He then used wooden sticks, tents, and other materials to disguise bushes, successfully making British reconnaissance planes overestimate the size of the German armored force by a full two times. The main reason the British army, which was facing the retreating Italian forces, had not launched a full-scale assault was because they had overestimated the strength of the German Afrika Korps.

Rommel had used his delaying tactics to make the British voluntarily give up their attack, stopping the British plan to occupy Libya with a force of less than a panzer corps and without firing a single shot. Of course, the large-scale appearance of the German air force in North Africa was also an important reason for the British to halt their attack. After all, losing local air superiority was not good news for any general.

While Akado and Rommel were talking, on the front lines in North Africa, Montgomery, who had just recently arrived, was also trying to persuade his own superior. “General, the Germans are definitely not as strong as they seem. We should push the Italians into the sea in one go!”

“Oh? You’re saying the reconnaissance intelligence provided by the air force is fake? On what grounds?” the old general asked faintly, clearly unwilling to take the risk.

“Although the Italian Me-109C fighters are not as powerful as the Fw-190Ds the Germans use, they are more than adequate for air defense operations in North Africa. Our own fighters can’t even gain an advantage, let alone reconnaissance planes!” Montgomery said, pointing to the intelligence on the table.

The old general waved his hand, still unwilling to believe his deputy. After all, this subordinate, who had fought against the Germans, had not achieved any victories but had been sent to North Africa to replace his old partner.

He seriously suspected that this General Montgomery had been scared out of his wits by the Germans and had even lost the fearless spirit that a British general should possess. So he now had no enthusiasm for Montgomery’s plan to attack the Italian forces before the Germans arrived. “General Montgomery, the Italian defensive line has already been strengthened by the Germans. This is the intelligence provided by the air force. You cannot overthrow this evidence simply because of your own subjective suspicions.”

“In that stack of intelligence, there is an analysis of the Italian logistical supply, and a report on their transport capacity. These can all prove that the German forces simply cannot have appeared in North Africa in such large numbers so quickly!” Montgomery was about to be driven mad by this old stubborn mule above him. He was just unwilling to take action, and there was nothing he could do about it.

It was clear that the credit for defeating the Italian army in North Africa was enough for this old general to enjoy for a while, so he was in no hurry to achieve a greater victory to secure his title as the commander-in-chief of the British forces in North Africa. But Montgomery could guess that the Germans were rushing troops to North Africa.

Britain now had about 250,000 troops stockpiled in North Africa, but it could not push all of them to the front. After all, it still had to defend Egypt, Somalia, and other regions. So the British forces at the front were actually fewer than the Italians, only a little over 160,000, and most of them were local troops.

It could be said that this force was more than enough to fight the 350,000 Italian troops. After all, as mentioned before, the actual combat effectiveness of the 350,000 North African Italian troops was at most only 130,000. The remaining rabble, in Rommel’s eyes, were basically just garbage that wasted food. Of course, garbage had its uses; these troops could still accomplish the task of guarding the rear for the main force.

Because more and more German air force planes had appeared over North Africa these past few days, and there were even instances of German dive bombers attacking British supply bases in droves, Montgomery was becoming more and more anxious about the situation in North Africa. The main reason was that Montgomery knew very well that as long as more than 100,000 German soldiers and one armored unit arrived here, the British soldiers at the front would be in danger of being completely annihilated.

So he had recently been doing everything in his power to strengthen the defenses of the Tobruk fortress, hoping to use this fortress to stop the German offensive in the future and save the British expeditionary force in North Africa. And he himself had rushed to the front, hoping to persuade his superior to launch an attack before the Germans were ready and disrupt the enemy’s strategic deployment.

But he had clearly failed.

“Intelligence shows that the German army has already appeared in North Africa. We have not been able to stop the German naval forces,” the old general said, pointing to the map. “A few hours ago, we intercepted a telegram. It was a message from the Germans to the Italian high command in North Africa, using an Italian code we have already broken.”

“Oh? What did it say?” Montgomery asked quickly.

“It was an appointment letter for an Italian officer. Erwin Rommel has been appointed as the supreme commander of the Italian forces in North Africa and the German Afrika Korps,” the old general replied. “Our opponent has arrived.”

Published: 2025-08-27T04:17:00.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2025-11-17T05:29:24.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c462-has-137441281

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