Qin Chuan and Colonel Slain spent a day in Tunisia.

During this period, they inspected the Lower Tunisian defence, mainly with Neumann.

The troops transferred from Italy were a little different from those transferred from France.

It should be said that the combat effectiveness of the troops stationed in France was not weak, but they were used to living a drunken life in France...... Unlike other units, it is very difficult for a unit to build up its combat effectiveness, and it requires unremitting and long-term training, but it is very easy to weaken its combat effectiveness, and the process is also very fast.

It was only a little more than half a year from the surrender of France to this time, but it was just over half a year that was enough to loosen the tight strings of the troops, and once it was relaxed, it would be difficult to regain the same combat effectiveness as before, and this was the case with the 36th Infantry Division.

The 200th Division, as a unit stationed in Italy, was always training...... Italy is an ally of Germany, it does not need to be stationed, and the German troops will be in Italy to prepare to fight in North Africa, but they have not been able to come over because of transportation reasons.

But because they knew they were going to war, they maintained their fighting power during their time in Italy and even learned from veterans about fighting in North Africa.

Major General Neumann did just that, he requisitioned some wounded soldiers from North Africa who were transferred to Italy as instructors to train his troops in desert warfare, but what Major General Neumann did not expect was that they came to North Africa not to conduct desert operations but mountain operations and coastal defense operations.

However, this did not affect the work of Major General Neumann in Tunisia.

"I think the border between Tunisia and Libya should also be abandoned!" Major General Neumann said: "Because the south of Tunisia is still a desert, this terrain is not suitable for our army's defense, and in the mountainous areas of the central and northern regions, it should be the focus of our defense!" ”

Major General Neumann took the binoculars and pointed to the soldiers who were rushing to repair the fortifications on the high ground and said: "So, the focus of my defense is on Gabes, and from there I plan to build a defensive line along the high ground all the way to Negrin. ”

Looking at the map, Qin Chuan couldn't help but nodded, Naeglin to the west is the Malegir Salt Lake, if the allies want to avoid this line of defense, they will not only have to go deep into the heart of the desert, but also cross the salt lake and then cross several mountain ranges, which is almost impossible for mechanized troops.

"But have you ever thought that it's hard to hold a line of defense?" Qin Chuan said.

Major General Neumann looked back at Qin Chuan, and then replied with great confidence: "Lieutenant, as long as we are well prepared, coupled with the heroic soldiers of the Empire, and the wise command of the Führer and General Rommel, I believe that we will thwart the attack of the British and Americans." ”

After hearing this, Qin Chuan somewhat understood that Neumann was a fanatic, that is, he was at least partially a person who believed in "spiritual victory".

There is a reason why "spiritual victory" is rampant in this era, especially in Germany......

The most typical is the German army and the Italian army, the German army has a high morale and will to fight, so it can always play a strong combat effectiveness on the battlefield, while the combat effectiveness of the Italian army is a chicken feather.

In addition, the German army had toppled neighboring countries and even France, which was known as the number one army power, in the European theater in more than a month, so some people wondered why this situation occurred.

Is it because there are more troops than the enemy?

Of course not, these European countries, plus France, do not know how many times the number of troops and numbers is several times that of Germany.

Is the equipment better than the enemy?

What's more, Germany was limited by the Treaty of Versailles, and many of its equipment were limited in the early stage and could not be developed more, especially compared with France in many aspects.

Come to think of it, it is the racial question that Hitler talked about, and then it is the powerful fighting power that erupts from the gathering of excellent nations with a high degree of spiritual and ideological unity.

This idea has even been verified to a certain extent on the battlefield, because with the same equipment, troops with high morale can always have stronger combat effectiveness.

But the U.S. military is the best counterexample...... In fact, the fighting will and quality of the American army was the worst, and when the supply of troops was insufficient in the middle and late stages, they even conscripted prisoners into the army to use them to resist the punishment, but they could win one war after another with advanced equipment and a large amount of ammunition, while many German or Japanese troops with high morale were blown up without even seeing the enemy.

Therefore, war has always been a combination of man and equipment, and both spiritualism and equipment-only theory are biased.

"General!" Qin Chuan said: "What do you think of the Tunisian defense line we have built compared to the Maginot line of the French? ”

"There's no comparison, Lieutenant!" General Neumann replied: "It is true that the French have a stronger line than ours, but the soldiers stationed in the line are different, and the Führer and the general who command the battle are also different!" ”

"That's right!" Qin Chuan replied: "But I don't see any difference in the deployment, the defense line is still mines, pillboxes, trenches and barbed wire, and the enemy can also use the same tactics to attack, they can even drive warships into the Tunis Strait and bombard the rear of the defense line with naval guns......"

"Do you have any better advice, Lieutenant?" General Neumann asked, "Is there any other defensive tactic?" ”

"Of course!" Qin Chuan replied, and then pointed to the pillboxes on the high ground and the trenches between the high ground and said: "These are actually meaningless, they will be blown up by the Allies in a few days, and the role they can play is to waste the artillery shells of the Allies, and we know ...... After the Allies took possession of the Suez Canal, Crete, and Malta, their supplies could be kept coming! ”

Major General Neumann did not speak, because what Qin Chuan said did make sense. If the Germans had sufficient supplies and more artillery in North Africa, they could have bombed the British lines in the same way, but the superior Allied side, especially when the United States was still at war, would have no firepower comparable to that of the previous battles with the British.

"So!" Qin Chuan said: "Our fortifications should be built more underground than on the ground, and we should use each high ground as a point rather than a defensive line......

"I don't understand!" Major General Neumann said: "If there is no line of defense, then how can we stop the enemy's attack on us in depth?" ”

Neumann was talking about the enemy being able to bypass the heights and attack the German hinterland.

"To put it simply, it's a little bit of face!" Qin Chuan replied: "It's no problem to bypass one highland, and it's okay to go through two highlands, but if you bypass ten or twenty to enter the depth, then there will be serious problems with their supply lines, and this is what the allies need to worry about the most!" ”