"Don't fix it. "In a huge barracks outside Salerno, a non-commissioned officer of the Logistics Maintenance Company of the Second Armored Division jumped out of Lin Shuo's car, put the wrench in his hand into his trouser pocket, shook his head, and said, "Let's go back to the factory, I can't repair it here."www.biquge.info ”

At this time, it was already the afternoon of January 9, and the previous German counterattack was repulsed by the Ming army with great difficulty. After the arrival of reinforcements, the 2nd Panzer Division quickly withdrew its own armoured units from the main battlefield and returned to the rear to recuperate. Lin Shuo's chariot was hit many times during the battle, although it was lucky not to be penetrated through the thick front armor, but the tragic damage of the chariot directly made the best repairman in the logistics maintenance company helpless.

In the previous battle, the German Army's 14th Panzer Corps used two Panzer Divisions and two Grenadier Divisions, hundreds of tanks, armored vehicles, and tens of thousands of officers and soldiers to launch a fierce attack on many Ming positions around Salerno. However, although the German troops, who were extremely brave during these battles, made breakthroughs in some areas, they were finally defeated under the all-round blows of the Daming sea, land and air.

The damage of more than 300 tanks and hundreds of other vehicles of various types, combined with nearly 20,000 casualties, directly forced the German 14th Panzer Corps to cede its position to German troops rushing from Naples and elsewhere. However, due to the lack of strong armored support, after the 14th Panzer Army retreated to rest, the German offensive was still fierce, but it could not pose much threat to the Ming position.

Rommel had given up on the idea of driving the Ming army directly into the sea, and now continued the attack only to divert the attention of the Ming army, so as to buy time to withdraw the southern army. Of course, he also had to buy time for the troops who were going to the Italian battlefield for reinforcements.

Germany, France and other Western European countries have very good economies, large populations and rich resources, and have always been important investment targets of Daming. In addition, these countries are basically flat terrain, so the transportation conditions are very superior. The family consortium of the Ming Dynasty and the politics of various countries. Fudu once invested heavily in the construction of railways.

It took only a week for the Germans to send an armored division from home to the front line in the Russian theater. And it would take just as much time to send the same troops to Italy, which was so close at hand. The towering Alps blocked Germany's path to Italy. Rommel's request for reinforcements would take a long time, even from home.

As for the French helped. When the Germans contacted the French to try to get their help, the French told the Germans that they had no spare troops to support Italy, which was a German sphere of influence.

Not only were the French unlikely to help, but even the Germans were reluctant to return an FW190 fighter wing that had been stationed in Sardinia to support the French. The French until now have claimed that the Ming army's target was Sardinia, and then the southern part of mainland France. Their landing in Italy was nothing more than a feint.

The French were very clear about the filthy thoughts of Rommel in his heart, but now as an ally, he could only endure it.

After the German offensive was huge but there was no real threat, the Ming front commander immediately withdrew the armored units of the 2nd Panzer Division to rest.

"How long will it take to get back to the factory?" Lin Shuo took out a cigarette with a headache and handed one to the sergeant in front of him.

"It's hard to say." After taking a deep breath of the delicious cigarette, Sergeant Repair Company, who had a beard on his face, his military uniform stained with all kinds of stains and greasy, and exuded a pungent smell of engine oil, shook his head and said, "Don't think about it." Now all the factories are concentrating on the production of new tanks and various parts, and the workers in the factories are almost too busy in three shifts, and you don't want to see your car in a few months to repair and return to the factory. ”

"So long?" Lin Shuo, who was biting a cigarette on his mouth, looked shocked: "Why does it take so long?" ”

"Think about it." The sergeant smiled and explained, "Your car needs the approval of the commanders at all levels to get on the ship from here and transport it back to the mainland, and you also need to arrange a space for your car. This is the main battle tank that is a sharp weapon in the army, and the officers in charge at all levels, as well as the logistics officers, always have to ask about it, right? We also have to write a special inspection report, the surface is indeed impossible to repair on the battlefield, and then we are waiting for approval, and it will take a short time for you to just transport it back to the factory. ”

"Do you have to wait until you get back to the factory?" Lin Shuo sighed and responded helplessly.

"If you know, it's good." The sergeant said, "You don't think it'll come back in a few months." And at that time, you don't know where you will be transferred to fight, and whether it will be your car or not is a matter of two words. ”

"What then?" Lin Shuo spread his hands a little helplessly, "You can't just scrap it like this, right?" ”

Lin Shuo's Tiger is a specially made command combat vehicle, and it is difficult to get spare parts for a lot of equipment on it, such as the high-power high-power radio station for high-power command tanks, and there are basically no spare parts. Even if you want to repair it, there is no place to replace it. This is also why the repair officers and soldiers who were able to piece together three destroyed tanks into a tank that had regained its combat effectiveness were helpless.

"It's impossible to restore it back to the way it was before." The sergeant spoke up, "If you want to command a tank, you either have to return to the factory, or you can just apply for a new one." But if it's just a normal tank, give me three days and I'll get you back on the battlefield. ”

"Really?" Lin Shuo, who had a sad face, suddenly had a bright eye, and hurriedly took out a cigarette from his pocket and stuffed it into the sergeant's hand, "This matter will be entrusted to you!" I'll come and pick up the tank three days later! After saying that, he hurriedly got into his jeep and drove away.

"Really, I'm so anxious." The sergeant looked at the jeep in the distance a little speechlessly, and shook his head helplessly. Turning to look at the many damaged vehicles on the flat ground in front of him, he took a deep breath and shouted loudly, "Brothers, it's time to start!" ”

Although the attack of an entire German Panzer Army was repulsed, the losses of the Ming landing force were not small. The 2nd Armored Division, which was the main force of resistance, was destroyed and damaged more than 100 combat vehicles, of which the heavy tank battalion commanded by Lin Shuo lost most of them, and only a dozen tanks were still usable when they retreated after the battle.

The Tiger tanks were all destroyed by the brave German panzers as they rushed to the flanks and rear. And because the thickness of the front armor of the Leopard type is not as good as that of the Tiger type, many of them are directly penetrated at close range.

In addition to the Panzer Corps, the mechanized infantry of the 2nd Panzer Division and the infantry of the other landing forces suffered more than 8,000 casualties while resisting the German grenadiers. Most of the casualties were due to sharp German artillery shelling and aerial bombardment. Because the Ming army had just landed and was locked in fierce fighting, they simply did not have enough time to dig and strengthen trenches that could effectively avoid casualties. Heavy losses under German shelling and bombardment.

As for the shocking and tragic air battle, the Ming army successfully overwhelmed Catherine's stubborn resistance by virtue of the quality of the pilots and the small superiority in the quality and quantity of the aircraft.

The Germans lost nearly 300 fighters of various types, because the theater was basically concentrated in the area controlled by the Ming army, and the pilots of these planes basically fell into the hands of the Ming army even if they parachuted out.

The losses of the Daming Army and Navy were about 200 aircraft, including six strategic bombers that were urgently supported by the FW190 heavy fighters when they were carrying out low-altitude intensive bombing. However, if the pilots of the Ming fighters parachuted, most of them were able to return to the area controlled by the Ming army.

There was also a hiccup in the air battle. The Luftwaffe used a radio-controlled gliding bomb called the FX1400 in air strikes. Unexpectedly, in the attack on the Ming fleet, it successfully sank three transport ships, one destroyer, and nine landing craft. And heavily damaged a number of ships.

During the fierce fighting, the Ming ground forces were not able to get the support of the navy's heavy firepower in time, largely because this new weapon frightened the navy's escort fleet and made them leave the coastal sea far away. It was not until the Commander of the Ground Forces requested that he return for fire support.

When the German 14th Panzer Army retreated back to Naples to lick its wounds, although there were more and more German troops surrounding Salerno, these German units, which were basically mainly infantry, were simply unable to retake Salerno in the hands of the growing Ming army. In the end, they only tied up the Ming landing force for a few days.

When the 2nd Panzer Division had recovered some of its combat effectiveness after recuperation and replenishment, one more Panzer Division and three infantry divisions, as well as a large number of weapons and equipment, especially numerous artillery pieces, were sent to Salerno. The Ming army soon launched a powerful assault operation. After all, the area of the landing ground is not too large, and it is not a good thing for so many troops to nest here.

The operational objectives of the Ming army were very clear, and they had been formulated before the campaign was launched. The landing force was divided into two directions, one was to march towards Naples, an important port city to the northwest, and take the largest port in southern Italy, so as to obtain a port capable of unloading goods and personnel on a large scale.

Another direction of attack is Avellino in the northeast, and after capturing Avellino, you can rush all the way east to attack the important city of Focha (previously written as Fogia, typo, sorry. The capture of Focha would essentially be tantamount to cutting through the narrow Apennine Peninsula and encircling all the German and Italian armies deployed in the south.

You must know that in the southern part of the Apennine Peninsula, there are millions of German and Italian troops. Although those had only rifles and a small number of heavy weapons, they were basically newly formed Italian units with little combat effectiveness. But the elite German army, which was close to 300,000, was really fat. (To be continued.) )