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On October 26, a dusty Rommel departed from Central Asia and flew in the direction of Berlin on a specially modified JU-290 airliner. This plane is not an ordinary passenger plane, the real identity is the Führer's plane, not only the interior decoration is luxurious, the ride is comfortable, and there is an ingenious arrangement, but the manufacturing time is not long, plus the Führer basically travels by train, this plane is only lying in the nest or used for short-distance testing most of the time, this time to Central Asia to pick up people or the first voyage mission, now it seems to be more successful.

Even if you don't understand the status and prestige of Marshal Rommel, as long as you see this Führer's plane, you will understand that not everyone is eligible to enjoy the Führer's plane or car, and it has always been rumored that the Führer has three darlings: the economic darling is Speer, who single-handedly promoted him from an unknown third-rate architect to the Big Four of the National Society and the German economic tsar;

The military darling was Rommel, the Führer's Guard battalion commander who rose at rocket speed, not only received the marshal's scepter coveted by all soldiers, but also served as the commander of army groups, recognized as more favored than Moder;

The political darling was Léon de Greler, the youngest political leader in Europe before World War II and the founder of the Belgian "Rex" party, who joined the Foreign SS as a party leader and made many achievements from the most ordinary soldier. Everyone believed that as long as Leon survived the war, he would be the out-and-out head of Belgium.

Leon and Rommel also intersected, Leon has been playing in the Viking Division, following Rommel from Africa to the Middle East, and then to Central Asia, repeatedly performed well, although many people in the army think that Rommel is not easy to get along with, but strangely he has a good relationship with young foreign political leaders, Iranian King Pahlavi, Leon and even Argentine President Perón are his friends and fans. It was only later that the Viking Division left because the Panzer Division was no longer suitable for Central Asia, and Leon also left the Viking Division to assist in the formation of the SS "Walloon Assault Brigade" (Grenadier) composed mainly of Walloons.

Along with the arrival of the Führer's plane, there are also a batch of FW-190A8 fighters and JU-290 transport aircraft with the same appearance, and they are all the latest JU-290E, with a maximum speed of 450 km / h, a practical ceiling of 7000 meters, a maximum range of 7000 km, a maximum range of 4000 km when transporting 5 tons of cargo, and a maximum range of 2400 km when transporting 8 tons of cargo (maximum load), and the performance is not as good as the C-29 transport aircraft modified by the Americans with B-92, But slightly stronger than the C-47 or C-54.

Most of the time, the JU-290 is not used for general cargo transportation and only acts as a paratrooper carrier aircraft, because the aircraft is more like a civil airliner in appearance, with a slender body, suitable for carrying people and general cargo, not suitable for heavy equipment carrying, and has high requirements for the runway. Most of the airlift tasks are undertaken by the ME-323 or AR-232, especially the AR-232, there are a lot of small wheels under the belly, nicknamed "Centipede", which is very suitable for field airfields with undulating ground, and even large pits can easily cope with the past, and its short depth and large hatch design make it more suitable for carrying heavy equipment, so the rapid expansion of the Luftwaffe transport aircraft unit has basically eliminated the Ju-52 Junkers (only used for training or occasional transportation between the European mainland), In one fell swoop, 3 models of military transport aircraft were equipped.

Stimulated by the Anglo-American strategic airlift on the African battlefield and the transatlantic Anglo-American transport of 1,000 planes, and more importantly, due to the vastness of the German army's operational area and the continuous improvement of supply requirements, high-level officials, including Hoffmann and Jeshunek, now attach great importance to the building of transport aircraft units, and after counting the more than 200 Ju-52s in reserve, auxiliary, and training planes, the total number of transport planes has now exceeded 1,000, making it the second largest transport aircraft power on the planet. The number of U.S. transport planes active in the Pacific theater alone (including India, Australia, New Zealand, and Hump routes) exceeded the total number of German transports, while most of the Axis allies, with the exception of Japan and Italy, which had a few of their own transport planes, were happy to have the Ju-52 at their disposal.

The main force of this transport aircraft unit is basically used to maintain the transportation and supply of the Central Asian battlefield, and the Supreme Command cannot transfer troops of the same size to the central theater, so Zeitzler hopes that the Central Asian cluster can temporarily transfer to Iran to free up the transport aircraft capacity, but it is clear that this wishful thinking is about to be shattered.

Rommel was not in a much better mood, he had received a call back from the Supreme Command to give him supplies and 1-2 infantry divisions, but his request for 100,000 reinforcements did not get a response, and Keitel's reply only asked him to return to Berlin as soon as possible, and specifically noted: "This is a clear instruction from the Führer himself!" So now sitting in the core cockpit, he has been thinking hard about what to do next.

The core cockpit is the special location of the Führer's plane, protected by 12mm armor plates and 50mm bulletproof glass, and there is a special escape hatch in the floor, on which the seats are installed with parachutes. In an emergency, you can sit in your seat and quickly put on your parachute, then open the hatch by pulling a lever handle to quickly roll out through the opening. According to the driver, tests have been carried out using a life-size mannequin of the Führer, and everything has been successfully achieved, and it is not a problem for Rommel's size.

Rommel apparently had no intention of thinking about these things, and although Keitel's telegram was vague, through other friends in the High Command, he had heard that the Führer might not increase his army by 100,000 as he wished, and that he might be transferred back to his country, which made him particularly anxious: one was worried about what the Führer thought of him; Second, they are worried about the situation in Central Asia -- the movements of the Red Army have become clearer and clearer, and a steady stream of troops are entering Central Asia, and after entering Central Asia, they are being deployed in an orderly manner, and everything indicates that there will be a big war here.

After thinking about it, he decided to leave Gauss in Central Asia and return to Berlin alone to communicate with the Führer in person, believing that with his relationship with the Führer, he could persuade the other party to change his mind.

While Rommel was hurrying to Berlin, Hoffmann was reading the telegram sent by Paulus in his office, and although the Red Staff had not yet sent detailed comments, the general conclusion had been sent by Paulus first, that it was feasible to conduct a defensive war in Central Asia, provided that there were relatively sufficient material reserves and the construction of a defensive line.

Paulus's original text is: "...... If the Red Army really intends to send 500,000-600,000 elite troops to attack, our army also needs to add 1-2 infantry divisions (preferably mountain infantry divisions) to build a circular defense line, and use armored divisions as mobile defense and reserve forces, mobile and short assaults on the inner line, and reduce fuel use as much as possible......"

Hoffman nodded, the red and blue sides converged, the general conclusions and orders could be issued, and Schellner's letter of appointment could be sent as soon as possible.

The next morning, while he was communicating with Jodel about the details of the battle, a call came in from Adjutant Dahlgas: "Führer, Field Marshal Rommel is preparing to meet you." ”

"Let him in." Hoffman motioned for Yodel to go into the next room to avoid it.

Rommel came in and respectfully raised his hand, and Hoffman immediately greeted him from behind his desk, and asked with warm concern: "Seeing your current appearance, I know that you are fighting very hard in Central Asia, can your body still persevere?" ”

"It's a little bit of a problem, but it doesn't prevent me from continuing to lead troops and command operations, and I can serve you for many years." As soon as Rommel said a few words about the situation on the battlefield in Central Asia, he asked anxiously, "Führer, I heard that you plan to remove me?" ”

"Who did you listen to?"

"I met General Yodel at the airport last night, and he said that he had proposed that I return to my country, and that General Schellner had been nominated to go to Central Asia to replace me."

Hoffman smiled and said noncommittally: "I am relieved to see that you are in good health and refreshed. You know who Yodel is, and you're more cautious, and won't tell you the truth without my explicit permission. ”

When Yodel in the next room heard this, he said secretly: It's so dangerous, fortunately I talked to Rommel yesterday and said more, otherwise this matter would not end well today, but what is the truth about what the Führer said? I can't remember what major decisions I discussed with the Führer.

"And what is the truth?" Rommel asked eagerly.

Hoffman smiled slightly: "What do you think we need to meet to win the war in the end?" ”

"At least one side of Britain or the Soviet Union wants to withdraw from the war, and if both sides can withdraw from the war, and only the United States is left against us, basically there will not be much wind and waves, and the probability of victory can probably reach more than 85%, so forcing Britain or the Soviet Union to withdraw from the war is a necessary condition for victory."

Hoffman nodded: "You and I think the same, let the USSR withdraw from the war with some certainty, what about Britain?" ”

"This ......," Rommel was speechless.

"On the one hand, I have to consider the situation in Central Asia, and on the other hand, I have more important tasks for you to complete." Hoffman looked at the other party with a smile, "In my mind, the command task of the Central Asian battlefield Schellner can replace you to complete, but in the new mission, among so many marshals or generals, I can't find more people who can be completely trusted......"

These words praised Rommel without a trace, and Hoffman knew the other party's temper very well, and it was not easy to start without this foreshadowing. Sure enough, Rommel was in good spirits, and no longer dwelling on the affairs of Central Asia, but asked in a hurried tone: "What new task?" My Führer, it is an honor for me to be your first choice. ”

Hoffman led Rommel to the map and excitedly got him excited with just one sentence: "Remember the Sea Lion Project?" ”

Rommel exclaimed: "Führer, are you going to let me fight Britain?" Crossing the sea? (To be continued.) )