Chapter 846: Good Things Come in Pairs

While Akado’s amorous hands were roaming over Anna’s full chest, an inopportune knock sounded at the door. The two of them quickly straightened their clothes and tidied their slightly disheveled hair. Anna, blushing, stood by Akado’s desk, while Akado, feigning composure, sat on a sofa a little further away and picked up a document.

“Come in.” Only after the two of them had struck their poses, as if on a stage, did Akado call out the command he should have given earlier. For a moment, he even thought that he and Anna should be in the movies; they would be absolutely brilliant.

At a time like this, apart from Fanny and Cindra, no one else would knock on Akado’s office door. This was also the reason why Akado and Anna had been so unrestrained just now: in a time when basically no one would come, a little self-indulgence was harmless, wasn’t it?

“My Führer!” Cindra, wearing a pair of very exquisite-looking glasses, walked up to Akado, stood at attention, and saluted. “The latest news from the front.”

“News from the front? Is there news from Smolensk?” The place Akado was most concerned about now was the battle situation in the Smolensk region. As long as they could win a beautiful battle of annihilation at Smolensk, then the German army’s supplies could be smoothly transported south, allowing the southern German forces to have a more flexible operational plan.

Cindra stole a glance at Anna, who was standing there, lost in thought, and then withdrew her gaze. “Yes, Führer. A battle report just came back from Rundstedt. The troops of Army Group A have already entered Smolensk. The last nail of the Soviet army behind our lines has also been pulled out.”

“Whew!” Akado let out a breath, a weight lifted from his mind. The Battle of Smolensk was an important part of Germany’s foreign wars. Now that this link had been successfully taken, it was time to see the final hammer blow of the Battle of the Caucasus. After the German army had occupied Smolensk, there would be no more obstacles to an attack on Moscow. Whether it was Stalin or Zhukov, they would have to carefully consider whether the German army’s next operational plan was aimed at Moscow or Stalingrad.

“Is there any news from Rommel?” Having dealt with Smolensk, Akado was in a very good mood. He picked up the half-empty cup of coffee on the coffee table and took another sip before asking.

The news from the Afrika Korps had not been a strategic priority for the Wehrmacht for a long time. Ever since the capture of Cairo, Mussolini’s interest in attacking the Middle East had waned. He had recently been exchanging glances with a secret American representative, hoping that the Axis and the United States could reach a mutual understanding and restore true world peace.

Due to his disappointment with the Italian army, he had transformed from a supporter of foreign expansion and aggressive warfare to someone who hoped to gain greater benefits through diplomatic means. He was more inclined to take advantage of the situation created by the German army’s invincibility, to find a suitable tipping point, and to make peace with the United States, ending the war. The secret envoy sent by the United States had given Mussolini quite a few hints, making him feel that the United States was weak and could be bullied, and that Italy could obtain massive oil exploitation rights in the Middle East through diplomatic blackmail.

The discovery of large oil reserves in Libya had also made Mussolini think of withdrawing from the war. After all, the resources he desperately needed had been largely satisfied. The war had lost most of its meaning for Italy, so Mussolini’s support for North Africa had become slow and sluggish.

Having lost Italy’s full support, Rommel’s supplies became tight. Breaking through the Suez Canal defense line created by the remnants of the American and British forces became very difficult. At least, under the full defense of the United States, the plan to capture the Suez and complete the advance into the Middle East was a bit too radical.

Instead, there was a plan called “Turkish Express.” This plan was for Turkey, Germany, and Italian transport ships to transport a portion of the main force of General Schörner’s L Army Group to Turkish territory. From there, leading 150,000 Turkish troops, they would attack Iraq and Syria to the south.

This plan required Germany to secretly transport Schörner’s most elite 12th Panzer Corps to Turkey to cooperate with 150,000 elite Turkish troops, to advance south into the Middle East, to bypass the carefully arranged Suez Canal defense line of the United States, and to capture the important Middle Eastern oil-producing region in one fell swoop.

But this plan was very complicated to execute, so much so that even Rommel himself, who had been pushing for the reopening of the North African front, did not quite believe that it could be successfully implemented. First, to transport tens of thousands of troops to Turkey, which was teeming with British and American spies, without a sound, this alone almost doomed the plan.

Then there was the fact that Turkey’s price was too high, almost unbearable for the Germans. They were actually using this one campaign to exchange for one-tenth of Germany’s share of the Middle Eastern oil. This price, if used to bribe Italy, seemed more cost-effective in Akado’s view.

But this did not prevent Akado from doing more things at a cheaper price. In the end, the High Command had drawn up a more feasible plan, codenamed “Kebab.” This plan was a genius operational plan that the strategic master Manstein had drawn up on his own for the first time, without being reminded by Akado.

Manstein, with his precise and unique strategic vision, had changed some of the original Turkish Express plan, turning a nonsensical plan into a brilliant strategic deception.

In fact, the entire plan had not changed, only the troops implementing it had been altered. Vichy France’s navy and the Italian navy were to provide the effort to transport three infantry divisions from Hoth’s J Army Group, which was idle in the Balkans, to Turkish territory to carry out the southward offensive plan.

Three infantry divisions, compared to the 12th Panzer Corps, required far fewer supplies to be transported. And the main body of the transport had been changed from Turkey to the defeated Vichy France, so Turkey could no longer ask for an exorbitant price. Although the ability to attack south had been reduced considerably, it was still a question of whether the American forces, having lost the canal defense line, could stop three divisions of German infantry.

This created an unsolvable dilemma for the American forces in the Middle East: whether to divide their forces to stop the German advance south from Turkey. If they did, then could they still hold off the massive armies of Rommel and Schörner, who were eyeing them from across the Suez Canal?

The Kebab Plan had begun its secret execution a month ago. The main reason for the delay was that the North African army group had only managed to scrape together the necessary fuel and ammunition for the operation a month ago. One of the reasons Akado had supported Rommel in launching the North African campaign again was to use a glorious victory to stop Mussolini from continuing to play both sides.

Akado, who knew the history of the Liberation War from another timeline, of course understood the Americans’ tricks. To use the promise of negotiations as a means of delaying time, and then to immediately flip the negotiating table and start a war after they were ready, was the consistent style of the United States in foreign policy. If anyone really believed the stupid talk of the United States being willing to share the world with them, then they were truly brain-dead.

Fortunately, the oil found in Libya had somewhat alleviated the Afrika Korps’ dependence on oil. At the very least, it allowed Rommel’s troops to produce the fuel they needed locally. In addition, the initial results of the conversion of the arsenals in Cairo and other places had relieved a lot of the logistical pressure on the Afrika Korps. If this had been a few months ago, Rommel would not have even dared to imagine that he would have the opportunity to attack the Middle East before the Battle of the Caucasus began.

It had to be admitted that with the exploitation of the Libyan oil fields and the gradual development of African raw materials, the strategic resource reserve situation of the Axis powers was gradually improving. Apart from rubber products, which were still stretched thin due to geographical restrictions, most of the other important resources had been supplemented and developed through expansion and war. From Germany’s situation in 1937, to launch the North African campaign and the Battle of the Caucasus at the same time was clearly an unrealistic fantasy. But now, all of this could be realized and was in progress.

“The Kebab Plan is being executed slowly. Due to the constraints from the Turkish and Italian sides, the second infantry division has just begun its transport. It will take at least another month before the North African campaign can be launched smoothly,” Cindra reported. “Our spies have confirmed that the American intelligence organization in the Middle East has already learned of our operational plan. The United States is urgently transporting two divisions of troops to the Middle East, but they should not be as fast as us in terms of time.”

The Kebab Plan was ultimately easier to execute than the Turkish Express plan in that the German army had directly changed the offensive in the direction of Turkey into a feint, and had even told the Americans that it was a feint. In terms of secrecy, the feasibility of this plan was much higher.

“I know. I will personally send a telegram to Field Marshal Rommel later to confirm the progress of the operational plan,” Akado said after a moment’s thought. He then waved his hand, signaling Cindra that she could leave.

But before Cindra could leave, an officer in a naval uniform stood at the door of Akado’s office. He knocked on the open door, then stood at attention and gave a German salute. “Report! Heil Akado Rudolph, our Führer!”

“What is it?” Akado asked, looking at the officer. The navy’s recent offensive plans had all been canceled. It was unlikely there would be anything important that had to be reported in person.

“My Führer, due to the use of the wartime emergency production regulations and new shipbuilding techniques, the newest naval aircraft carriers, No. 7 and No. 8, have already begun their sea trials an hour ago,” the naval officer replied. “This time, the navy has deployed a large number of escort ships to ensure that the accident with No. 6 does not happen again. The navy now has seven aircraft carriers!”

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