Although Alexander scolded, he always had hope for Italy's "change of heart". Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

In fact, it cannot be said that they have hope, but they have no other way to go...... The comprehensive combat effectiveness of the British army will not be stronger than that of the American army, and the American army will not be able to break through the German defense line, and the British army has little hope of breaking through, not to mention that Alexander and Montgomery are clear that it is impossible for them to be just a line of defense, and the Germans will build another line of defense behind the defense line, so even if they break through one, there will be another, and the cycle repeats, what is always in front of the Allies is always the defense line, and the Allies can only push forward inch by inch with blood and lives.

Alexander and Montgomery had no choice but to hope for an Italian uprising.

But as I said before, countries only talk about interests, and from Italy's point of view, the biggest interest now is "dragging", otherwise, they will have to fight hundreds of thousands or even more German troops...... The Italians had cooperated with the Germans as early as in Africa, so they knew very well that the Italian army was far inferior to the German army, and that if they fought, they would probably lose both sides and the Allies would reap the fruits of victory.

Therefore, no matter what Alexander put forward the facts, reasoned and talked about it, and even promised good terms, he could not convince Italy to revolt.

Then again, what are the favorable conditions that can compare with the interests of the country? In particular, the Italian army was so frightened by the Germans that it did not dare to fight them at all.

From this point of view, Alexander's lobbying was destined to be a waste of time.

On the other hand, the British forces on the front line made no progress, and the casualties continued to mount...... This battle is somewhat similar to the trench warfare in World War I, and the biggest feature of trench warfare is that no one can help anyone.

Finally, after holding out for two weeks, Alexander could not resist the pressure and had to bow to Eisenhower.

"General!" Alexander said: "My soldiers have been fighting at the front for two weeks straight, and now they are tired, and I wonder if the Seventh Army is ready to take over?" ”

Eisenhower pretended to be surprised and asked, "What?" I always thought that the British had some plan to deal a fatal blow to the Germans, but now ......"

Eisenhower spread his hands as he spoke: "What's wrong?" If there is anything we need help or coordination, we, as allies, are more than happy to do it for the Commonwealth, and by the way, supply aid! ”

Eisenhower's words were clearly saying what he could do for the British army, but secretly he was actually scolding Alexander...... Fuck you, you call allies too? The supplies you use are all given by the Americans, but you are constantly cheating the United States behind your back.

Of course, Alexander could understand the meaning, but at this time he could only pretend to be confused: "Thank you very much, General!" But...... Yes, we did have a problem with our plans, so it will take some time to adjust! ”

"What is the plan? Can't you let us know? Eisenhower deliberately made things difficult for Alexander, and at the same time meant to refuse Alexander's order, because he knew that even if the American troops went up, they would not be able to solve the stalemate between the two armies.

"No, no!" Alexander replied, "It's not that I can't let you know, it's just that ...... You know, the plan is not yet mature, i.e. it is still being discussed, and we thought it would be appropriate to have a formal discussion at a later date! ”

"Speaking of which!" Eisenhower said, "General Alexander, I have to warn you...... As we said earlier at the meeting, our view was that the Allied attack on Italy would be deadlocked, and now it turns out that we were right, and the attack on Italy was not at all what you have described...... We also made a bet for this, and you and General Montgomery signed the minutes of the meeting, and I think you must have forgotten it! ”

"No, of course I didn't!" Alexander said, "But General, now is only the beginning, what does it mean to be in a stalemate?" We've been at war for less than three weeks now, so it's too early to tell! ”

"Then General Alexander!" Eisenhower asked, "How long do you think it will be before it really reaches an impasse?" ”

"Wait and see!" Alexander continued to hold on: "The Germans are only superficially strong now, and they will soon collapse." But now, I need the Seventh Army to replace the exhausted Eighth Army, is that okay? Checkmate! ”

Eisenhower thought for a moment and nodded.

This is not only because the British side is still in control, but also because Eisenhower knew that it is impossible for the US military not to go up...... Even if you can drag it out today, you can't put it off tomorrow.

So Britain and the United States quickly changed their guards again.

This time the change of guard was chosen in the early hours of the morning when it was not yet dawn...... This is a lesson learned from the losses suffered in the last change of defence, and it is not necessarily safe to change the guard at night, because it is at night that the Germans attack.

On the contrary, it was early in the morning, when the attacking German army was retreating, and the light was not bright enough for the Germans to detect the change of defense of the Allies, so it became the best time.

On the day of the change of guard, Eisenhower once again came to the front line to inspect.

The purpose of his inspection was not to seek advice, but to explain to the US officers and men the necessity of changing guards...... Eisenhower knew very well that because he had repeatedly agreed to the "unequal treaties" of the British side, the US officers and soldiers were very dissatisfied with him, and many people even labeled Eisenhower a "traitor" in the hope that Washington would replace him.

Therefore, Eisenhower needed to build a good relationship with the American officers and soldiers, so that they knew that there was nothing they could do about the "unequal treaties" that they would agree to.

"Gentlemen!" At Patton's headquarters, Eisenhower said, "I think you all understand that today, two weeks later, we have to return to position again. Even if we all knew that there was not much point in returning to our positions, we would still not be able to advance or break through as before. But...... We still have to fight as best we can and try to change this situation, because we have to show the British with facts that we tried our best, but we still can't break through, so they are wrong! ”

"Yes, we understand, all I can say is ...... Fuck the British! "Patton was a good friend of Eisenhower, so of course he would be on Eisenhower's side.

"Wait!" Zhang Chi said: "General, listen to your tone...... You don't seem to be holding out hope of breaking through the German lines? ”

"Of course!" Eisenhower replied without thinking about it.

Then he looked at Zhang Chi with a shocked gaze, and he understood what Zhang Chi meant by this.