"Did I hear me right, is this really what your head of state meant?" Ramsden asked, confused.

"Yes, otherwise Marshal Guderian would not have dared to give such an order."

"Marshal? Did he become a marshal? ”

"The promotion order just issued today, the official award will take a while. Because of General Guderian's outstanding contribution to the North African campaign, the Führer has promoted him to the rank of marshal. The envoy raised his head arrogantly and said in an unquestioning tone, "He used 100,000 to fight 300,000, and not only won but also captured 100,000 prisoners...... If one of your generals had done the same, would Mr. Churchill reward him with the title of marshal? Of course, Admiral Alexander didn't think about it in his life, I didn't see him make any outstanding contributions, and I didn't even dare to show my face......"

As soon as they heard the other party laugh at Alexander, the arrogance of the British trio dimmed. The fact is clear that the envoy has been in and out of Cairo several times, and has never seen the legendary Supreme Commander of the Middle East Theater, and every time he asks for a meeting, Ramsden has refused to do so, and combined with the sneaky reports from the Egyptians in the city, it is easy to conclude that Alexander has fled.

"I can tell you one more fact, the Führer's decision was unanimously opposed by the three marshals Kesselring, Rommel, and Guderian, who believed that they could not set up for the enemy. But the Führer's admiration for Egypt's history and civilization and his concern for the people of Cairo led him to make this decision that was militarily unacceptable. ”

"So we should thank your army?" Moshead's face turned pale, "If you are not convinced, you will fight, I will not go anywhere, I will wait for you in Cairo." ”

"This is the book of mourning, the cease-fire will be extended until 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, if your army refuses to accept the corresponding conditions, our army will attack in an all-out way, whether the city of Cairo and your army are completely destroyed is all in the general's thoughts." The envoy handed the ultimatum to Ramsden and said in a tone that seemed to be a smile rather than a smile, "Anyway, our army has taken Iraq, and the oil fields are in our hands, and there is no point in your delay - you don't want to stay in the city and watch us take down the whole of Persia again." ”

"I don't have to wait until 8 o'clock tomorrow, I can answer you now......" Freiberg was furious, and stepped forward to scold the envoy, but Ramsden stopped him, "send the envoy away first, and let us discuss it again." ”

Hoffman gave them an unbelievable plan: they agreed to the retreat of the British troops and allowed them to retreat quickly to Aswan by rail, but they could retreat with men, but not their equipment - they were only allowed to leave with their personal belongings and small arms, and all the equipment and facilities of Cairo and the troops must be left intact to Guderian, and Ramsden was given a total of eight hours to consider.

Then Hoffmann made it clear that Guderian had a plan for the siege, and if Ramsden did not agree or tried to delay the time, eight hours later the air force was dispatched and the artillery opened fire, ready to storm the city.

What if the other party agrees? This means that you have let go of 30,000 British troops who have been tested by the fire of war and have a deep hatred for us......" Kesselring reluctantly let the order pass to Guderian, but still expressed strong dissatisfaction in front of Hoffmann.

"30,000 troops with light weapons, are you afraid?"

"Now, of course, they are not afraid, but the Americans will soon arm them. Führer, don't forget the story of Dunkirk, where we let go of 300,000 Britons out of concern for our own losses, who abandoned almost all their heavy equipment but later ......"

"I still remember Dunkirk vividly, if it weren't for Goering's stupid pig...... Hoffmann couldn't explain Hitler's mistakes, and simply put the blame on Goering, and the dead wouldn't have opened their mouths to defend themselves anyway, "but this time it's different, do you think they can retreat unharmed and then rearm against us?" ”

"You mean......" Kesselring seemed to understand a little, "first pretend to let them go, and then you take advantage of the opportunity to ......"

"Nope! No, no, no! Hoffman shook his head like a rattle, "Albert, you misunderstand me, we can't do this, it's too damaging to our reputation, and doing so will only lead to one consequence - the British will never again believe in the promise of surrender, and they will fight to the death." ”

"Do you just let them go......" Kesselring still looked unwilling.

"Not only did they let them go, but even the wounded, colonial officials, and all those who were willing to go with the British, and the Anglophiles were allowed to go, so that the pro-Germans could control the overall situation of Egypt." Hoffman waved his hand heroically, "You are right, that bit of material and equipment is the most insignificant thing for the Americans, it will not take 3 days to produce, but ......"

Hoffman dragged out his voice: "If you produce it, you have to have a chance to be armed." You can look at the map, what did the Americans rely on to send supplies and equipment? In this hellish place in East Africa, there are not many roads, do you rely on airplanes? By train? Only by boat! ”

"I'm going to take control of the Indian Ocean and force the Americans to shove a steady stream of warships and ships into the Indian Ocean to kill them -- unless Roosevelt and Churchill don't want these forces anymore, they have to come -- and the other way is for the enemy to walk back from East Africa to South Africa on his own two legs, not to mention whether they are capable of walking back, and even if they could, they would be willing to slip back so disgraced?" Hoffman laughed, "With so many troops lost in North Africa and the Middle East, and many more troops in the Indian Ocean and the Horn of Africa, how many more well-trained troops do they have to lose?" Man is the most expensive product in the world, it only takes a few minutes to produce a cannon, but it takes 20 years to produce a soldier who can steer an artillery. In particular, these two are still Dominions, and as long as Churchill still has a little political acumen, they can't lose it. ”

Kesselring thought about it carefully, and although he felt that the Führer's words were close to whimsy, there was some truth in his analysis: after letting go of these two divisions, the British and American scattered troops in East Africa would add up to nearly four divisions -- two divisions in Australia and New Zealand, the troops commanded by Alexander who fled from Egypt in the early stage, plus the troops who rushed to land on the beach after the collapse of the rapid column, not to mention the many wounded, it was not easy to maintain supplies and ensure the supply of materials, and it was necessary to exhaust the Americans. To paraphrase the Führer - this is a new form of siege reinforcements.

"I agree to your request, but I have three conditions: first, our army will retreat in batches, and all personnel who are willing to follow us, whether they belong to the army or not, will be among the retreaters, and safely arrive in a batch to hand over a batch of equipment; secondly, the means of transport for the retreat are to be coordinated by your army, and you must ensure that there will be no attack of any kind on the way to the retreat - it must be signed by Marshal Guderian personally; Thirdly, after our army retreats to Aswan, your army will not be allowed to attack for 10 days until our army retreats into Ethiopia. ”

"It's all about the details, and it's acceptable."

At 7 o'clock in the morning, Ramsden agreed to the German ultimatum on behalf of the British in Cairo and quickly arranged for a retreat - the first troops to retreat were wounded soldiers, expatriates and their families in various hospitals, and only one regiment of the Australian and New Zealand troops was evacuated to escort the escort.

Guderian, Maher and all the people of Cairo watched coldly as the British departed, and the city became a sea of joy, and the large Egyptian flag and swastika began to fly - the days when the British colonizers rode on the heads of the Egyptian people were finally gone.

Although the whole operation was later called the "Ramsden Retreat", although it caused many controversies, Ramsden did his best to save the lives and honor of his men, and no unbiased individual dared to erase his achievements.

Goebbels immediately seized the opportunity to carry out propaganda: ...... "Ramsden Retreat" is a vivid portrayal of Germany's fulfillment of the "Declaration of Arab National Liberation," which fully demonstrates the Führer's respect for Egyptian culture and history, and his love and concern for the Egyptian people; he would rather let go of the enemy troops with whom we have a deep hatred than destroy the ancient city of Cairo; the sacrifice and patience of the German soldiers quickly won the friendship and recognition of the Egyptian people, and the leaders of the newly-born Middle Eastern countries sent congratulatory messages congratulating Egypt on its complete independence! They are convinced that the Arab nation and the German nation can write an unprecedented new chapter in history on the basis of win-win cooperation. The Führer said that we will definitely liberate Persia and all the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America, who groan under the tyrannical colonial rule of Britain and the United States and account for the vast majority of the world's population!

On the evening of 4 January, with the last regiment of the British troops in Cairo, Ramsden had let Mosshead and Freiberg lead the retreat a few days earlier, and he himself held out until the last moment, and the whole retreat was in good order, and the Germans did not take any opportunity to attack in full accordance with their promises.

"General Ramsden, there is very unfortunate news to inform you."

"Hmph, I knew you weren't going to keep your promise, come on." Ramsden sneered, "Although we still have one regiment left, we have as much courage and determination as ever. ”

"You ......," the envoy opened his mouth, and finally said slowly, "You are wrong, our army has no intention of tearing up the agreement, and the troops can retreat on time." I have just been instructed to inform you that I have just received the news that two hours ago, the commander of your Eighth Army, Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery, committed suicide and left a suicide note, which is now in Tobruk, and the Führer has instructed that his coffin be transported to Cairo by special plane, and that it will arrive in about two hours......

"Ahh At the first hearing of the news, Ramsden froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, tears welled up uncontrollably from the eyes of this tough guy, and all the soldiers who had not retreated wept - they had benefited too much from Montgomery.

Ramsden settled the retreat of the last troops, rejected all persuasions, and resolutely stated: "I will go with you, and I will go to see him off on his last journey." (To be continued.) )