The layout first began with Rommel.

Of course, Rommel didn't want to hide this from Hitler, but he had to do a full set of plays, not to mention that Qin Chuan was still adding fuel to the fire.

"General!" Qin Chuan said: "If we tell the Führer the real plan, it is likely that there will be a risk of leakage!" ”

"What?" Rommel looked at Qin Chuan with a puzzled look: "Second lieutenant, do you think the Führer will leak the information?" No, no, you're overthinking! ”

"I don't mean the Führer leaking information, General!" Qin Chuan replied: "But you know, we need the cooperation of the Italians in this battle!" ”

"Oh!" Rommel nodded when he heard this.

It requires the cooperation of the Italians, that is, with the consent of Mussolini, and then the cooperation of Garibal's generals, and then many Italian generals...... Rommel had never trusted the Italians, and he had always thought that it was the Italian generals who would leak the intelligence of the German and Italian armies, so if he did, he would almost tell the British.

General Stryk also interjected: "I think the second lieutenant is right, we don't need to let the Italians know too much, so that the British can be more convinced that our target is the island of Malta!" ”

Rommel agreed without hesitation, and another reason why he chose this was that the cost of leaking the secrets was too high...... The plan to attack Crete can be said to be basically based on the defenselessness of the British army, if the British army knew the real plan of the German army in advance, then the German and Italian airborne troops would basically go to die, and then the airport could not be controlled by the German and Italian troops, so they lost everything.

The ultimate implication was that the Afrika Korps was unable to establish an alternative, safer supply line and became stranded in North Africa.

Rommel's loyalty to the Führer was unquestionable, but he was not as foolish as other generals...... Just like before, Rommel knew that he only needed to win in the end, just as he disobeyed orders and even deceived Hitler, Hitler would not take it to heart, and even he would think that it was a necessary means to achieve success.

Thinking of this, Rommel did not hesitate, and immediately sent a telegram to Hitler: "Honorable Führer, I have to tell you with regret that the situation in North Africa is not optimistic...... The British received a large amount of equipment and supplies from the United States, while our supply lines were cut off by the transfer of the 24th Air Wing and the increase of British air power on the island of Malta, and in the course of more than a month, we did not even get enough fuel to transport the shells to the front line, but even so, we managed to repel the British attack and capture a large amount of equipment, including more than a hundred American tanks! ”

Rommel naturally boasted about his exploits, and in fact his exploits to Hitler were often exaggerated.

Then he changed his words: "However, it is foreseeable that the situation will turn into a stalemate...... Although I do not want to see this, the truth is that we do not have enough strength to launch an offensive against the British. This forces us to have only one option, and that is to seize the island of Malta, otherwise the Afrika Korps will fail because it cannot be resupplied! ”

It was logical and reasonable, and the only thing that puzzled Hitler was ...... With Rommel's pride, how could he overturn his conclusions so quickly. (Not long ago, Rommel swore that attacking Malta was completely unnecessary)

"It seems that my admiral is about to reach the point of exhaustion!" Hitler looked at the telegram and said to himself.

What Hitler didn't know was that Rommel behaved this way not because he was "exhausted", but because Rommel thought that this was not a conclusion that overturned him at all...... Rommel's real goal was Crete, not Malta, so in the end it would prove that Rommel was right. Of course, the premise is that the German and Italian armies can successfully capture Crete.

Hitler had no problem with Rommel's telegram, because Rommel did not ask for more troops...... This is what Hitler lacks most now.

Why not if you don't need more troops and can take the island of Malta?

So Hitler immediately telegraphed Mussolini and asked him to cooperate fully with Rommel's actions.

Mussolini was in Tripoli at this time, and he wanted to wait for the Germans to capture Cairo and then ride his tall horse into the capital of Egypt as a conqueror like Alexander, but the stalemate of the defense line and the blockade of the supply lines by the British army came to the left and right.

This made Mussolini a little annoyed, and he even said to his staff officer: "Can't these Germans move faster?!" ”

The staff officer was somewhat speechless at Mussolini's complaints...... The victory of the Germans was already quite brilliant, and even in the eyes of the Italians they almost accomplished the impossible: with only two armored divisions, they attacked all the way to Alexandria. The Italian army of 230,000 was defeated by the same British.

Because Mussolini was in this enigmatic self-confidence, he agreed to Hitler's telegram without thinking about it...... In his thinking, Malta Island is not a problem at all, as long as he nods his head, it is a matter of minutes to take it.

As a result, the training and mobilization for the island of Malta soon began with a bang.

Three Italian infantry divisions and the German 90th Light Division were trained in Sicily, while the 185th Paratrooper Division and a large number of transport planes flew to Tripoli at night to assemble.

In terms of the number of aircraft, it was the advantage of the Italian army...... The Italian Air Force is relatively weak in terms of fighters, bombers and transport aircraft, but Mussolini likes to slap his swollen face and become fat, so he always numbs himself with numbers, and their army and navy are actually in a similar situation, so that at least they look like a "strong country".

For example, the Caproni transport plane being used in Italy has more than 400 aircraft, but it is an improved version of the CA101 transport aircraft more than ten years ago, and its maximum speed is only 280 kilometers per hour, which is less than half of the speed of ordinary fighters. (Note: The maximum speed of the British Spitfire is 660 kilometers per hour)

This is also one of the reasons why Qin Chuan wanted to deceive the British fighters to Malta Island, if the main force of the British fighters was still in Port Said or Crete, using such a slow transport plane to carry out airborne operations was not much different from looking for death.