Chapter 699: Truly Enviable

“I’ll have no chance to meet this Führer you speak of,” Montgomery said with a bitter smile. As a defeated general, let alone meeting the enemy’s supreme leader, he could no longer even control whether he would return to his homeland alive.

He looked out at the sea beyond the military port of Alexandria, at the calm Mediterranean, and sighed. “Sigh… If it weren’t for those bureaucrats playing some kind of balancing act that we don’t understand, perhaps you would just be a weak country right now.”

Those countries that the British, or the French, or even the Soviets had considered their mortal enemies had now all been defeated by Germany. Those once-great world powers that had dominated Europe were now part of the German map. It could be said that if the British hadn’t always been trying to screw over the French, then Germany would not have developed in the cracks. It could be said that if France and Britain hadn’t tried to screw over the Soviets, Germany would not have had the time and opportunity to rearm.

Perhaps if that had been the case, Germany would still just be a weak follower of Britain and France. Akado, or rather, the Hitler of the previous life, would not have ascended to the Führer’s throne. The German army would still be weak, and the world war would not have broken out again. But alas, history has no “ifs.” Now Britain was defeated, defeated without any ability to fight back.

“Actually, the opinion of the High Command is for you to take up a post in the occupied territories in southern Britain, and to accept our protection along the way,” Rommel said, raising his hand to signal the reporters opposite to stop taking pictures, ending this grand barrage of cameras. These photos would be sent to Berlin within ten days and then printed in newspapers and distributed everywhere. The whole world would know that this Desert Fox, Rommel, had once again achieved an unprecedented victory.

Montgomery saw Rommel walk into the distance and followed behind him with his hands behind his back. He shook his head and said in a very calm tone, “I myself know that even if you promise to let me return to the British Isles, you will not be at ease with me. If you are really not at ease, it’s actually not a bad thing for me to go to Germany.”

“In fact, it’s not as good as you think. Because you surrendered to me here, your family has been detained by the British royal family. And you will be sent back to the government of Northern Britain. I hear that Prime Minister Chamberlain of Northern Britain is in need of a military expert,” Rommel said as he walked. “But for now, at least you are my, Rommel’s, guest of honor. What would you like to drink? I still have half a bottle of whiskey. Interested?”

“You plan to send me back to Northern Britain? Aren’t you afraid I’ll find a chance to escape?” Montgomery was taken aback when he heard the German high command’s decision on how to deal with him, and then he immediately asked.

Rommel laughed heartily before answering his question. “Mr. Montgomery, just a few days ago, it seems it wouldn’t have been a difficult matter for you to leave Alexandria by submarine. You didn’t escape then, so it’s even more impossible for you to escape now. You should know that the methods of your exiled puppet regime are not clean. If you go back, you will most likely be imprisoned or even hanged.”

Rommel looked at his watch, then said something to his aide beside him, before turning back to Montgomery. “Let’s watch our victory parade first, Your Excellency. If you haven’t forgotten the fate of Dr. Einstein, who defected from Britain, then you’d better forget about escaping. For you now, there is no safer place than the Third Reich.”

A dozen minutes later, the German army began to march through Alexandria. Tank after tank rumbled past. The Panther tank amazed Montgomery. It was the first time he had seen this advanced medium tank up close. It could be said that this tank perfectly balanced mobility, protection, and firepower, a powerful weapon that all commanders dreamed of.

The tracks of the Panther tank rolled over the sandy road, section by section. The pale yellow desert camouflage was already cracked and peeling in many places due to the rush, but these crystals of industrial manufacturing could still maintain a very high readiness rate, much stronger than the hastily produced M4 Sherman tank of the British and Americans.

That long-barreled 75mm cannon was an even more pleasing thing. Montgomery even reached out and touched the gun barrel, which was covered in white rings marking its kills, and then praised the crew of this Panther tank, which had been ordered to stop.

Following the Panther tanks into the city were 40 Tiger tanks. These advanced tanks, with their more ferocious appearance and thicker armor, were even more memorable to the British than the Panthers. Both were heavy tanks, but the so-called British heavy tank, the Matilda, was no different from an infant in front of the Tiger, often being penetrated by a single shot from a well-trained German crew at a distance of about 1,000 meters.

“Were these tanks all personally designed by your Führer?” Montgomery had, of course, studied a lot about Akado and knew very well that around 1925, the Germans had launched a large number of what could be called classic weapon manufacturing projects. An even more shocking inside story was that Akado, who had not yet become the German Führer at the time, had personally presided over the research and development of a series of weapons. And these weapons had undoubtedly become evergreens on the battlefield today, deeply loved by all the soldiers who had used them.

“You could say that,” Rommel nodded proudly. “At that time, I was still a cavalry officer. I even felt in despair that my country was completely finished. Now it seems that when the Führer found me back then, it really changed my whole life.”

Montgomery remained silent, watching the steel torrent of eight-wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicles and half-track transport vehicles speed past him. The degree of mechanization in the current German army was already very high. At least the units used for show could definitely be compared to the fully mechanized counterparts of many years later.

In the middle row of armored cars, the commanders’ bodies were exposed from the vehicles. They extended their arms to Rommel, who was reviewing them, and shouted “General Rommel” as they passed his car. And on both sides of these armored cars, one after another, were BMW motorcycles. The German reconnaissance soldiers on them, with their weapons on their backs, sped into the distance.

The silent Montgomery only came back to his senses after a long while. He gave Rommel an apologetic smile, then repeatedly murmured with resentment, “A man like that, why wasn’t he born in Britain? A man like that, why wasn’t he born in Britain?”

In fact, the individual weapons of the German infantry in North Africa were very average. Most German soldiers were using the Mauser 98k rifle as their weapon. Due to considerations of saving transport burden, a large number of automatic weapons were not transported to North Africa but were left on the Eastern Front. However, this North African army could still be said to be one of Germany’s few elite forces. They had fought their way from Tunis to Tripoli, then from Tripoli to Benghazi, then from Benghazi to capture Tobruk, and then from Tobruk to the present Alexandria.

“Capture Cairo! Take the Suez!” As square after square of German infantry marched through the streets of Alexandria with their weapons on their shoulders, they let out their roar. This slogan, which might have been just a dream a few months ago, was now just a close-at-hand campaign objective for the German and Italian armies.

The neat steps, the rifles carried on their shoulders forming a neat forest, swaying slightly from side to side as the men marched forward. They could proudly declare themselves the most powerful infantry in the world, because apart from the Japanese who were swaggering in the Asia-Pacific region, they had already fought the infantry of all the major military powers in the world—and had never been defeated.

The artillery units of the Afrika Korps were actually not very well-equipped. Some were even captured American 155mm howitzers and British 140mm cannons. Only a small number of Friedrich rocket launchers and some towed 150mm cannons were genuinely German-made. The most numerous pieces were actually Italian cannons, a full generation behind American artillery in terms of performance.

On the simple, open-topped Kübelwagens, each carried six soldiers. The soldier in the passenger seat held a P-38 submachine gun, which was already very rare in the homeland. The four members in the back all used Mauser 98k rifles. If one had to choose a unit to compare with the German army of another timeline, then the infantry of this Afrika Korps was definitely the closest in terms of historical equipment level.

“I truly envy you, to have the opportunity to command such an elite force.” As the saying goes, the expert sees the technique, the layman watches the excitement. As an expert in leading troops, Montgomery could see at a glance the terrifying aspect of this unit. Although their clothes were covered in sand and dust, although their leather boots were dull and worn, the eyes of every one of these German soldiers revealed a calm expression. It was an indifference that had seen through life and death. It was the look of a man who had killed. Such soldiers were absolutely among the elite of the elite.

Coupled with those first-class tanks and armored cars, the combat effectiveness of this unit was unexpectedly formidable. Montgomery had fought this unit for half a year and, of course, knew how terrifying this opponent was.

“Now, this force is here to protect you and your country. Doesn’t it suddenly feel very relaxing? We are no longer enemies, but neighbors. You are a general of Northern Britain, and I am a general of the Third Reich. We will have many opportunities to sit together, drink coffee, and listen to music,” Rommel said, looking at this Afrika Korps under his command and speaking proudly to Montgomery beside him. “Tomorrow I will head south to attack Cairo. I won’t be able to see you off to the port of Matruh!”

Published: 2025-09-19T07:05:18.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-02-28T21:54:27.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c699-truly-139242221

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