Chapter 488: How Dare They Counter-attack?

Akado found an excuse to end his breakfast early and hurried to the Army General Staff headquarters. There, in the largest conference room, he personally presided over a solemn ceremony. Before the envious eyes of all the officers, the third Field Marshal of Germany was created. This man was Rundstedt, who had received his marshal’s baton for the capture of London.

The decision to grant him the rank of Field Marshal had long been approved by Akado, and he had privately communicated this to Rundstedt himself. However, the stubborn old general believed that one must achieve the most glorious victory to receive such a glorious honor.

The German military held the rank of Field Marshal in very high esteem. They insisted that anyone who received this rank must have achievements to match it. This was the main reason why Hitler’s mass promotion of field marshals after the invasion of France had drawn the ire of the army. The generals had criticized Hitler for insulting the rank, sarcastically referring to the new glut of army field marshals.

Therefore, in this timeline, Akado was very cautious about bestowing the rank of Field Marshal on his generals. Brauchitsch’s promotion was due to the overwhelming support within the Wehrmacht and as a thank you for completing the Wehrmacht’s “Operation Pluto” in Akado’s stead. Raeder was promoted to Field Marshal for defeating the British Navy, which had won Germany an opportunity to expand its navy into the far oceans; another reason, of course, was that he was Akado’s mouthpiece in the military. Now, with the victorious conclusion of the war on the British mainland, Rundstedt was promoted to Field Marshal, and no one raised any objections. After all, Rundstedt had participated in the victories of both the French and British campaigns, and his contributions were undeniable.

Amidst the music, Akado personally walked onto the stage, patted the arm of the old General Rundstedt, who had rushed back to Berlin from London, travel-worn, and smiled, intending to shake his hand. However, Rundstedt did not extend his own hand. Instead, he snapped to attention, raised his right arm, and gave the Führer a standard German salute. “Long live the Führer, Akado Rudolph!”

Countless cameras recorded this moment: the newly promoted Field Marshal Rundstedt saluting the Führer, his eyes filled with adoration and joy.

“Welcome back to Berlin, Field Marshal Rundstedt,” Akado said with a smile, extending his hand once again. Only then did Rundstedt timidly extend his own hand. The two men shook hands, then stood together and posed for the reporters.

“My Führer, thank you for your trust and support. I have lived up to expectations and have planted our national flag over the city of London,” Rundstedt said. He was a typical Prussian officer, rigorous in his style and not given to smiling. But like all traditional Prussian officers, he possessed an unparalleled loyalty and reliability.

“You’ve worked hard. But you must return to London as soon as possible to stabilize the situation there and begin the subsequent reconstruction work. According to the agreement, we will be building military airfields in Ireland and Northern Britain. These airfields will be under Kesselring’s command. You will be responsible for the coastal defense of the British Isles. I need a relatively stable western defensive line, and I need you to accomplish this,” Akado said to Rundstedt after the photos had been taken.

Rundstedt nodded and replied to Akado, “My Führer, I will immediately begin to set up the defensive system. As long as there are no problems with the Imperial Navy, I can assure you that the British Isles will be impregnable.”

“To the new Field Marshal of the Third Reich! Cheers!” Akado said with a smile, picking up a wine glass from the table and raising his arm to toast his beloved general.

“To the Atlantic Wall! Cheers!” Rundstedt followed, raising his glass. “I will return to London tomorrow. My Führer, please take care of yourself.”

“General Rommel wins great victory in Libya! 20,000 British troops annihilated!” a newsboy shouted, waving a newspaper on the street. The papers had been selling very well this past year, so his own life had become much more comfortable.

After all, in this year of 1938, the Führer had appointed Speer to integrate the Reich’s industry and reorganize the White Orchid Group; they had landed in Britain and occupied the capital, London; then the German-Soviet War had broken out, and Germany had won a victory on the border and was counter-attacking. Now there was a victory in North Africa. It was simply a dazzling array of events.

The people were still jubilant, still discussing the situation in North Africa and the strategic materials being shipped back from Italy—this was part of the price for Germany’s intervention in North Africa. These materials included flour and butter, as well as Italian laborers. The German people were now discovering that war was not unacceptable, as long as they could continue to receive these benefits…

Rommel’s victory made the people cheer, but it threw the Army General Staff into chaos. Brauchitsch was currently supervising the war on the Eastern Front, so the man in charge here was the veteran General von Bock, commander-in-chief of Army Group N and Deputy Chief of the General Staff, who had just returned from the East.

An hour ago, he had informed Akado of the news from the North African front by phone, and Akado had just now arrived at the General Staff office. The moment he saw von Bock, Akado eagerly asked about the situation in North Africa.

“Bock, how bad is the situation?” Akado asked, frowning as he looked at a report in his hand.

“My Führer, the number of transport ships the Italians can provide is very limited. Coupled with the recent troop rotation plan, the other infantry corps that was scheduled to be sent to North Africa is still in Italy,” von Bock said, pointing to the map. “They are still waiting for their ships in the ports here and here.”

Akado looked at the map, then at the report in his hand. The situation seemed to be even worse than he had thought. Half of the Afrika Korps was either reorganizing or still on its way. All Rommel had was the 7th Panzer Corps and the 7th Infantry Corps, which had been fighting continuously for over a dozen days, and the rest of his forces were second-rate Italian troops. To advance on Tobruk at this time was no different from suicide.

“Have you sent a telegram to Rommel? Order him to halt his advance!” Akado said, throwing the document down. He walked to the map of North Africa and tapped the blue arrow representing Rommel’s main force with his finger, asking General von Bock.

Von Bock shook his head helplessly. “My Führer, the Battle of Libya was fought against the High Command’s strict orders for General Rommel to defend. He ignored the orders and launched an offensive, and has been fighting his way to Tobruk ever since. Do you think an order to halt his advance at this time will be obeyed?”

“…” Akado fell silent. As his trusted favorite, he knew Rommel’s temperament better than anyone. At this point, only a direct order from Akado himself to halt the attack would work. Otherwise, even a handwritten order from Field Marshal von Brauchitsch would likely have its execution greatly compromised by the time it reached North Africa.

“I will give the order myself! Telegraph operator! Record: This is Akado Rudolph. I order you to temporarily halt your advance and await new orders from the High Command,” Akado said, summoning a telegraph operator and issuing the supreme command of the German military.

Von Bock watched the telegraph operator hurry away, then stood up and handed another report to Akado. “The Italian logistical supply is in a complete mess. General Rommel is probably out of ammunition and supplies by now. So we should prepare to receive the routed Afrika Korps.”

“Will he really be defeated? Is it unavoidable?” Akado asked his subordinate, a hint of wishful thinking in his voice.

Von Bock gave a wry smile, then found another intelligence report and placed it in front of Akado. “Because of the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Libya, the British supreme commander in North Africa died of a heart attack and could not be saved. The British King, out of necessity, had the deputy commander in North Africa take over. This commander is an old acquaintance of ours, which is why I feel that General Rommel’s chances are slim this time.”

“It can’t be… Montgomery, can it?” Akado was stunned, then suddenly remembered that the intelligence did indeed show that the deputy commander of the British forces in North Africa was Montgomery, the famous general who had almost driven the superior Rundstedt into the sea on the British mainland.

“Indeed, it is Montgomery. The composure he showed on the British mainland was impressive. This general has appeared near Tobruk with a unit we have never seen before, designated as the British Eighth Army. We have not been able to confirm the specific details yet.”

Hearing that it was indeed Montgomery, Akado sighed. It seemed he would have to restrain Rommel. After all, in his previous life, the duel between him and Montgomery had ended in the Desert Fox’s defeat, a defeat that was a pity and filled with infinite regret and melancholy.

One must mention the tragic “Desert Fox” here. He had commanded a series of dazzling offensive operations in North Africa, but at the most critical moment, he had returned to Germany to recuperate from a stomach ailment. Then he was appointed as the supreme commander of the German Atlantic Wall, only to miss the Battle of Normandy because he was at his wife’s birthday party. If a student skips class only twice in a semester and gets called on by the teacher both times, you can only say it’s tragic. So for Rommel, as a general, to miss two important battles was indeed very tragic.

“Prepare supplies for Rommel on his way back. Set them up wherever you can to receive him and get him back to a safe area. He has the main force of the Reich under his command. We must ensure the safety of the 7th Panzer Division and the 7th Infantry Corps.”

“Safety? My Führer, after more than ten days of continuous combat, it will be a miracle if even half of the 7th Panzer Division’s tanks can make it to the front to fight. Rommel has been lucky this time. At most, he has two panzer battalions and about a division of infantry. Montgomery’s counter-attack will certainly succeed, but our losses will not be too great,” General von Bock, who understood the battlefield better than Akado, said, pointing out that Akado’s worries were unnecessary. “If the 7th Panzer Division and the 7th Infantry Corps were to appear at Tobruk at full strength, how would Montgomery dare to counter-attack…”

Published: 2025-08-29T02:43:56.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2025-11-27T13:43:54.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c488-how-137601086

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