Zhang Chi soon received a congratulatory telegram from General Giro: "This is a great victory, General, well done, and I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you and all your outstanding officers and soldiers!" Maybe you can't believe it, now it's not just the French, it's the whole world...... Whether it is fascist or anti-fascist, all eyes are on you! ”

Zhang Chi has no doubt about this. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Because just as everyone cares about how many gold medals their country has won and how many places they have won in the overall number during the Olympics, in wartime, people care about which unit has won an impressive victory on the battlefield.

In this battle, there is no doubt that the French army won the first place.

However, Zhang Chi believes that these are still secondary...... To put it simply, it's just a name. What is more important is that the victory of the Zoaf Corps will cause a change in the attitude of the French people, that is, the blind weakness of the Vichy government before the change, which has nothing to hope for except to do stupid things.

From this point of view, it is not so important whether Montgomery or even the British and Americans recognize the merits of the Zoaf Corps...... Because the final decision depends on whether the French military and civilians are generally willing to support the Algiers government.

Zhang Chi knew very well in his heart that without the support of the French military and civilians, even if the Algiers government was in power with the support of Britain and the United States at the same time...... A government that is not trusted by the people will be able to maintain its strength in the future.

Has there been a change in the attitude of the French military and civilians?

Zhang Chi didn't know, and neither did General Giro.

However, Zhang Chi soon knew, because de Gaulle then sent a congratulatory telegram to Zhang Chi: "Major General, I am very relieved to hear the news of your victory, this is the moment when the French once again stand in front of the world to show their strength!" You have told everyone with practical actions that we are not an insulting army and that we defend the freedom of our homeland...... It is my fervent hope that one day we will be able to stand on the same battlefield and liberate France together! ”

The congratulatory message was supposed to be sent to General Giraud, or it could have been sent to General Juan.

But Zhang Chi later learned that de Gaulle did not do this.

This may seem strange, but it is not surprising when you think about it: de Gaulle was reluctant to acknowledge the merits of the Algiers government, but he wanted to be able to co-opt for it......

In de Gaulle's view, Zhang Chi is not French, so whether France is governed by General Giraud or De Gaulle seems to have nothing to do with Zhang Chi, and what Zhang Chi wants to get is nothing more than benefits...... If De Gaulle could give Zhang Chi the same benefits, why couldn't Zhang Chi side with de Gaulle?

On the other hand, de Gaulle was in a hurry to "poach" Zhang Chi from the Zoaf Corps, and the reason for this is self-evident, that is, the attitude of the French military and civilians has changed, and de Gaulle saw the danger in this.

Zhang Chi casually threw De Gaulle's telegram aside, and did not even bother to reply, at this time he was not willing to waste too much energy on these aspects.

At this time, there was a brake outside the door, and then Barton, wearing a steel helmet, appeared in front of Zhang Chi.

"Major General! Are you welcome to me? ”

"General Patton?" Zhang Chi couldn't help but be stunned, Palermo was not a safe place at this time, and Patton, as the commander of the US Seventh Army, actually came.

But this is not surprising to the Americans, just as Stilwell used to be on the front lines.

"Of course welcome! Checkmate! Zhang Chi saluted Patton politely.

"Well played, Major General!" As he spoke, Barton grabbed the cup on the table, drank the water from it, and breathed a sigh of relief before adding, "I think I owe you a favor!" In fact, all the American soldiers think they owe you a favor! ”

"What?" Zhang Chi pretended to be confused.

"Please!" Barton patted his flabby shoulder, "There's no minutes here, you know...... We were annoyed by the tactics of the British, but there was nothing they could do. But you're making us all sick, there's nothing better than that, isn't it? I mean, compared to these results, it's perfect to be able to breathe this ......."

Barton raised the cup in his hand and continued, "It's like I've been roasting in the sun for so long and then drinking this glass of water!" ”

He burst out laughing.

"General!" At this time, a U.S. military correspondent called out to Patton outside the door: "Colonel Jack ...... phone"

"Look, I'm going to be busy!" General Patton nodded at Zhang Chi: "It's a pleasure to work with you, Major General!" ”

As he spoke, he hurriedly saluted Zhang Chi, and walked out of the command headquarters like a gust of wind and stepped into the jeep.

General Patton did need to be busy a little longer, because the war in Sicily was not over at this time: the Germans were still holding the Catanian line, which was to cover the retreat of the main German and Italian forces.

At this time, the British and American forces hoped to quickly break through the Catania defense line and achieve greater results...... Needless to say, it would take time for the German and Italian troops to withdraw, and if the British and American forces could break through quickly, they would be able to capture them before they could leave.

But Zhang Chi knew that it was impossible for the British and American forces to succeed.

The first is that the British had lost their temper by the Germans in the previous battles, and it was almost impossible to get them to perform better. And the U.S. military, as mentioned before, also has a big problem with their discipline, and if such an army is used for defense, it is so-so, because defense can use a large number of shells to blow up a wall of fire in front of the defense line. But if you attack, and you attack on complex terrain, then it's not what they can do.

Secondly, the German army had an innate convenience in defense.

This is not only because the area around Mount Etna is conducive to defense, but also because the area of the Porto Messina is a corner of the triangle...... The more the Germans retreated, the shorter the line of defense that needed to be defended, in other words, the superior forces of the British and American forces could not be deployed, and the Germans could undoubtedly beat the British and American forces with the same strength.

In fact, just as Zhang Chi imagined, the British and American forces did nothing in the subsequent attack on the Catania defense line, and the German army even launched several counteroffensives to knock the British and American troops out of the defensive line.

At the same time, more than 100,000 German and Italian troops and equipment were calmly withdrawn from the port of Messina to the Italian mainland.

The last German troops were withdrawn only a week later, and for a long time after they had withdrawn, the British and American forces did not notice because of their so-called offensive ...... It was an indiscriminate bombardment with artillery fire and warplanes.