The victory on the battlefield in East Africa gave Churchill another round of light from heaven.

The British army won more victories with fewer victories one after another, defeating the superior Italian troops, proving to the world that the British army was strong.

Of course, just when Admiral Wavell thought his troops could finally rest, a new round of combat missions came.

Churchill ordered them, starting from occupied Libya, to attack Algeria westward, in an effort to occupy or destroy the French oil fields there, and to prevent Germany from importing oil from the French Algerian oil fields to later be used against the British.

After seeing Churchill's telegram, Wavell did not reply immediately, but gathered most of the senior generals of the British army in Africa to discuss the matter together.

And the generals' views on this matter are not quite the same.

"I don't think our army should rush to attack Algeria. The troops had just experienced continuous battles with the Italian army, and they were sleepy, so how could they have the energy to fight Algeria again? An old general said.

The veteran general, who had always been known for his conservatism, did not seem to approve of Churchill's plan to order the British to attack Algeria.

"The old general is right, I also think that our army should not rashly attack Algeria, where the French army is located. The French were no better than the Italians, at least they wouldn't surrender as easily as the Italians. Another general followed and said, he had a good relationship with the old general on weekdays, and this time he naturally helped the old general speak.

"What the two generals said is reasonable, besides, our army has just stopped contact with the Italian army, although the main force of the Italian army has been defeated by us, but the formation of the remnants of the Italian army is still there, and there is a possibility of a comeback at any time. If we provoke the French again now, if Italy and France join forces in the future, then we will fall into a great passivity. Not to mention....... There is also a Germany. Said a major general with glasses.

This major general has always been the main battle faction of the army, and even if there is the slightest hope for the offensive plan, he will not be afraid to carry it out. And this time, even he was not optimistic about the British army attacking Algeria, which was enough to see how risky this operation was for the British army in Africa.

In fact, Churchill probably felt that this operation was difficult.

After he sent a war telegram to Wavell, he also spoke to Wavell on the phone in person, and Churchill on the phone said helplessly: "General Wavell, it is not that I am embarrassing you, but that the British Empire really needs you to attack Algeria. I know you need to rest, but the enemy won't let us rest! You must understand that while you are resting, Algerian oil is being transported by transport ships to mainland France and then to Germany. And soon they will be transported to the front by the Germans and used as fuel for our tanks, warships, planes. So, I repeat, this is not a consultation, this is an order, I order you to attack Algeria immediately and prevent them from exporting oil to Germany again! ”

Churchill's words infected General Wavell, who understood the confusion and helplessness in the heart of the British prime minister.

In fact, General Wavell also made up his mind at this moment and decided to help Churchill take out Algerian Belante, a thorn in the side of the British Empire.

Now, what Wavell needs to do is to find a way to convince the soldiers to fight this uncertain fatigue battle.

"Any other points?" General Wavell tapped his hand on the table and looked meaningfully at his chief of staff.

The Chief of Staff looked at Wavell, but then quickly shifted his gaze to the other side, as if he was deliberately avoiding something. He knew what Wavell wanted to do, but he really didn't want to do it!

In fact, long before the meeting, Wavell had in mind the situation in which almost everyone was opposed to the war.

And if the generals were against this battle, they would certainly not fight with all their might, and at that time, the British army under his command would surely suffer greater losses.

So Wavell had no choice but to try to convince everyone by consulting with the chief of staff.

But who knew that the chief of staff did not dare to speak for a while after seeing that everyone was vigorously opposing this battle!

The chief of staff's approach really pitted Wavell into a pit.

Shaking his head helplessly, Wavell continued: "Let me ask again, does anyone have any other opinions?" ”

Seeing that no one answered, he simply called the name of the chief of staff and said, "Chief of staff, you can talk about it." ”

The chief of staff was stunned, he didn't expect General Wavell to directly point him out, this is to catch ducks on the shelf!

There was no way, the chief of staff had to bite the bullet and say: "I personally still tend to attack Algeria......"

Wavell smiled quietly, the chief of staff is still quite knowledgeable.

But he didn't wait long for Wavell to be complacent, when he heard the chief of staff continue: "But after listening to everyone's thoughts, I think what everyone said is also very reasonable, and I don't know for a while which point of view is more secure." ”

With that, the chief of staff buried his head and stopped talking.

General Wavell was very annoyed by the Chief of Staff's answer, he simply did not play according to the routine he gave!

Just when Wavell was feeling desperate, the new major general of the 7th Armored Division said unexpectedly: "Commander, I think we should attack Algeria immediately!" ”

As soon as Wavell heard that someone held the same opinion, he immediately raised his head happily as if he had picked up a life-saving straw, ignoring the disgust of other generals towards this major general, and said excitedly: "Come on, why do you think we should attack Algeria immediately?" ”

The major general said unhurriedly: "The first point, as the prime minister said in the telegram, Algeria has the largest oil field in Africa, and Germany is constantly buying oil from it. And once we occupy Algeria, it will be like cutting off one of the arms of the German mechanized forces, the air force and the navy.

Second, the northern ports of Algeria play a considerable role in controlling the Mediterranean, and if we occupy Algeria, we can cut off the Mediterranean supply lines between Germany and Italy.

Thirdly, our army has just experienced several big victories, and the morale is very high, while the French army has suffered successive defeats on its own soil, and even the capital has been captured by the Germans, and its morale is low. ”

When Wavell heard this, he burst out laughing, and he said, "Good analysis, this is the conclusion I want!" ”