Zhang Cheng sent most of the Foreign Legion under his command to Greece. Pen~Fun~Pavilion www.biquge.info Most of the commanders of these units are children of the family consortium or officers who have taken refuge in them. Zhang Cheng was not very interested in these mercenaries who had no will to fight, not to mention that they were all armed forces belonging to the family consortium.

In addition to these foreign legions, two infantry divisions under Zhang Cheng were also transferred to the Greek battlefield. No way, Zhang Cheng's North African theater of operations is the closest armed force to Greece. However, Zhang Cheng strongly advocated the transfer of one of the infantry divisions to Crete. Moreover, Zhang Cheng sternly refused the order to transfer one of his two armored divisions to Greece. This allowed Zhang Cheng to preserve the armor in his hands and use it against the German Afrika Korps that had been reinforced.

About 150,000 or so Ming Greek troops and almost the same number of Greek troops were deployed in Greece and Bulgaria, as well as in places bordering Germany. They will face the challenge of the strongest army in Europe.

After the annexation of the HRE Empire a few years earlier, the tentacles of the Germans had reached into Albania, Thrace and Macedonia. Coupled with the fact that Bulgaria has fallen to the European Union, Greece will face a very critical situation.

The mountainous terrain of northern Greece was conducive to defensive operations. The Lodopi, Epirus, Bandus, and Olympus mountains could hold off the invasion of the invaders.

However, the Luftwaffe, as the main force of the attack, had enough strength to make it difficult for the defenders to pass through the passes in the mountains. Although Zhang Cheng ordered the Ming Army Aviation to be stationed in Greece to provide strong support, in the face of almost the entire German air power, Zhang Cheng could not provide much help. The battlefield of the Ming Dynasty was too vast, and there were also many places where land aviation was needed, and it was impossible for Zhang Cheng to devote his main energy to the battlefield in Greece.

While the Germans invading from Albania were deterred by the impassable terrain of the impassable high mountain ranges of the Bandus, the terrain of Greece's border with Germany was difficult to prevent a major invasion from the north.

The defensive line, named after Greek Prime Minister Metaxas, became the last hope of the Greeks. This defensive line, which had been built on the Greek-Bulgarian border, had no problem against the Bulgarians, but when the opponent was replaced by a strong German army, it became precarious.

In mid-October, German troops broke through the left flank of the Greeks on the northern border through the Monastiel Pass, and then the Germans occupied Mount Vomeo. The Luftwaffe began an all-out air raid on the Ming ships on the sea, and there was a brutal fierce battle with the Ming army and navy, which also led to insufficient support for the Greek battlefield.

The German mechanized corps marched through Thrace and Macedonia into Greece proper, and the Greeks were cut in the middle. The Metaxas and Albanian lines have lost contact and are at risk of being surrounded on both flanks. In this case, the only possibility to turn defeat into victory is to send the main forces of the North African theater of operations into Greece to support. And this is something that Zhang Cheng can't accept.

It was impossible for Zhang Cheng to devote his forces to a doomed campaign, and he even advised the High Command to withdraw all his troops from Greece after the Germans had broken through the defensive line. But aiding the Greek battlefield was a political event, not just a military operation. Even if you are defeated in the end, you must persevere to the end. The military also needs to serve politics.

Under these conditions, the ferocious assault momentum of the German army was far from being able to resist the Ming Greek Dispatch Army and the Greek Army, which consisted mainly of the Foreign Legion.

In late October, German troops from Bulgaria captured Phoebita, cutting off the railway line to Thessaloniki. The Germans then captured Thessaloniki and blocked the defenders on the Albanian border. About 70,000 or so defenders were forced to surrender.

The Germans then began to storm the Metaxas Line. The elite German mountain legions did not make much progress at first, mainly because the terrain was too favorable for the defenders and the Greeks had a strong defensive line here.

However, as the elite German Sixth Mountain Division managed to climb over 7,000 feet and was covered with snow, the defenders considered a steep mountain range that could not be broken through, and killed the weak point behind the defenders. Plus a major breakthrough in the middle by the Germans. The defenders stationed on the Metaxas line had to be completely defeated.

However, in more than ten days, the Ming Greek dispatch army and the Greek defenders lost more than 150,000 people, and the entire northern defense line completely collapsed. Germany's elite mechanized army struck the heart of Greece, triggering a total collapse of the defenders.

The Ming Supreme Command demanded that Zhang Cheng immediately take over the situation in Greece and at the same time provide support to Greece to stabilize the situation. However, Zhang Cheng replied to them with a telegram: "Impossible. ”

In the face of a front-line general like Zhang Cheng, who has a heavy army, the Supreme Command has no choice but to try to mobilize reinforcements from other places to reinforce. The commander of the Greek theater of operations in the Ming Dynasty tried to stabilize his defenses, and he received the support and commitment of the family consortium through his connections. Without Zhang Cheng stopping him, the Foreign Legion in the North African Theater was transferred to the Greek battlefield in large numbers.

It was not for nothing that Zhang Cheng agreed to weaken the power in his hands. First of all, these foreign legions are nominally under his command, but in reality their real owners are the family consortium. Zhang Cheng kept them just a waste of resources. If they were sent to the Greek battlefield, then Zhang Cheng would have a reason to apply for other troops.

Secondly, Zhang Cheng had to make some positive moves for the sake of his reputation. Large-scale reinforcements from the North African theater to Greece can effectively stop the foul mouths of people who like to chew their tongues. It not only consumed the strength of the Saga Foundation, but also increased its reputation and power for itself. How could Zhang Cheng disagree?

The Saga consortium was very depressed. They never thought that the Europa barbarians, who had never been looked down upon by the Ming Dynasty, would be so capable of fighting. The Ming army, which dominated the world, couldn't hold out for long in the face of those barbarians. The combat effectiveness of the troops they have invested in and won over is so poor, and their mood can be imagined.

Originally, the family consortium still thought that if the Greek theater performed well, they could take advantage of the situation to replace Zhang Cheng as the supreme commander of the North African theater and fully control North Africa. It's a pity that the reality slapped them hard.

In fact, as laymen, the family consortium does not understand that the rapid progress of the times and the strength of the countries of Europa can no longer be viewed with the old eyes of a hundred years ago. For the incomparably powerful Da Ming, this war is at least at a stage of ease so far. But for the countries of Europa, entering a state of war with the Ming Empire, which has ruled the world for hundreds of years, is completely a battle related to national fortunes! First of all, there is a huge difference between the two sides in terms of mentality.

The countries of Europa, which seek innovation and change, attach importance to the use of new weapons and tactics. Moreover, the main enemies they faced were the ineffective Greek army and the intricate Ming Foreign Legion. If all the troops who entered the Greek battlefield were regular Ming army troops, the battle situation would not be what it is now. The combat effectiveness and morale of the Ming Army are definitely not comparable to those of the Foreign Legion.

Only anyone with excellent vision can see that there is no point in a large-scale decisive battle on the continent of Europa at this moment. The Ming are too far away, and the Europeans are too close. At this time, the investment in the heart of Europe has no practical significance, and the strength of the anti-Ming alliance has not been weakened. In fact, the fate of Greece was sealed before the war.

The large-scale reinforcement of the Foreign Legion in an unclear form did not have a substantial effect. The Germans were more powerful than anyone could have imagined, and in early November they broke through the Platamon Tunnel, the Olympus Pass, and the Sevia Pass to the southeast. Later, he defeated the resistance of the Foreign Legion, captured the Pinhos Gorge, and advanced to the Thermothermal Pass.

The fierce battle at Thermopylae was fought for three days, and the Germans, at great cost, broke through Thermopylae and approached the city of Athens. By this time, the Ming resistance on the Greek battlefield had been completely defeated, and the city of Athens was declared an undefended city a day later.

In the case of the complete collapse of the war situation in Greece, the Ming Supreme Command accepted the reality that the Greek theater could not continue to hold on. They abolished the Greek theater of operations and handed over the entire theater to the nearest North African theater, that is, Zhang Chenglai to take over.

Zhang Cheng was not ambiguous, and immediately began to organize a large-scale sea evacuation plan after accepting the order. The HNA and land aviation are fully deployed to provide cover for many transport vessels. And these retreating troops were not transported to North Africa, but went to Crete on the orders of Zhang Cheng.

The location of Crete is extremely important and must not be lost. In addition to the troops stationed here before, Zhang Cheng had transported an infantry division directly to Crete when he had mobilized troops to reinforce Greece.

Plus the retreat of nearly 100,000 Ming troops and Greek troops from Athens and the Peloponnese. At least in numbers, it was enough for the Germans to think about whether to cross the sea and launch a large-scale attack on Crete.

It took only about a month from the beginning of the battle to the full retreat of the Ming army on the Greek battlefield. The Germans swept across the Greek battlefield, washing away the shadow of Rommel's previous defeat at Tobruk. The German army's prowess fascinated the whole world.

For the Ming army, which was reduced to a backdrop, this Greek campaign actually brought some benefits.

First of all, in order to support the Greek battlefield, the planned large-scale attack on Malta had to be postponed due to the lack of effective naval and air support. This gave Zhang Cheng time. He didn't sit in a beach house for a month, drinking and blowing the sea breeze. Zhang Cheng organized several reinforcements to Malta. Under the naval and air blockade of the European coalition forces, they braved huge losses to send a large amount of supplies and personnel to the island, thus increasing their ability to resist the landing operation.

At the same time, because a large number of elite troops were invested in the Greek battle. The original plan of the main German army to go to the Russian battlefield was also postponed, which directly led to Kazan's failure to hold out until the winter counterattack launched by the European coalition forces. And these things will gradually show different effects in the future. (To be continued.) )