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Yang Qiu, who ended the Cape Town meeting, came to the Diego Garcia base.

Diego Garcia is located at the southernmost tip of the Chagos Archipelago, a meeting point for many shipping routes between the Cape of Good Hope, Singapore, the Red Sea, and Australia. Originally, it was under the jurisdiction of the British Seychelles territory, because it occupied too many strategic islands, so the British did not attach importance to this archipelago, and there was only an ordinary naval refueling station on it. After Yang Qiu exchanged warships and planes for here, he immediately pushed through the country's first overseas unorganized territory proposal in the Congress, declaring Chagos a Chinese Indian Ocean territory. In the following year or so, the navy "forcibly relocated" more than 2,000 indigenous people from the island to Madagascar, completely blockaded the islands on the grounds of military needs, purchased large quantities of raw materials and equipment from the United States and South America, and transferred thousands of Soviet prisoners of war from Iran to build the naval base.

After nearly two years of construction, the Diego Garcia base has been given a new look. Not only can it moor such a sea monster as the Shandong-class battleship, but it also has 17 berths, desalination equipment, long-range radar, electronic listening stations, reading oil depots, ammunition depots and a 3-kilometer-long runway. A 180-metre-long dry dock was created on the eastern side of the atoll. Of course, these dry docks and submarine docks can only be used for routine maintenance.

As the first offshore territory in China, Yang Qiu has put a lot of effort into it, not only using the South American network, but also using diplomatic force to help purchase the necessary equipment in Europe and the United States, which is completely prepared in accordance with the supply of a supercarrier battle group. Therefore, after the construction was completed, Zhu Binhou immediately made this the most important Indian Ocean base of the Third Fleet. However, there is still a lack of the necessary conditions for the long-term maintenance of the fleet, so the headquarters of the Third Fleet in the naval plan was chosen in Port Blair in the Andaman area.

When Yang Qiu arrived, he met the battleships "Anhai" and "Zhenhai" that had arrived from Cam Ranh Bay and the French fleet with Lend-Lease, and the four warships that had been sent to Britain were also refueling here and preparing to go to Alexandria. Because Britain was in a hurry and did not have time to dismantle classified equipment such as radars and radios on the shore, the naval technicians ran all the way to dismantle them, and immediately unloaded a large pile of bits and pieces of equipment when they docked at the port. But Zhu Binhou was still not at ease, and finally arranged for three waves of people to check the form separately.

When he heard them, Zhu Binhou was still a little reluctant, after all, these 4 warships were originally from the Third Fleet. Fortunately, the Admiralty had promised to wait for the "Shanghai" and "Yucheng" battleships to complete maintenance, and then they would immediately allocate them to the Third Fleet to fill the gaps. Without waiting for the four warships to leave, Murong Han and Shi Zhaoji, who had finished in Cape Town, also landed at the airport on two Y-9s. As soon as he landed, Yang Qiu saw the soldiers move wooden boxes from the plane and transfer them to the Shanxi battleship.

"Something."

"It's a gift from Churchill, antiques and artifacts that were stolen back then. Because the escorted destroyer met a German submarine, it was only yesterday that it arrived in Cape Town. Murong Han took out a list and handed it to Yang Qiu. You can take it and send it back to the National Museum. Yang Qiu didn't look at the list. In fact, many university professors and historians in China have suggested that the state should take back the national treasures scattered overseas, but he has not taken the initiative to use state means to do these things. Because in his opinion, some things will be turned into exquisite works of art after being kept in China for a long time, so that children and grandchildren will forget the story behind them. But abroad, it can remind the people of that humiliating history at all times. As for the spontaneous behavior of the people, he still supports it.

"Before the take-off, the British told me that Hitler was dissatisfied with the declaration, hastened negotiations with Stalin, and ordered a full-scale German attack. The latest news is that Guderian has launched an autumn offensive and Rommel has also started attacking Benghazi. According to the British, the offensive was large-scale, with a total investment of at least 3.5 million troops. After Roosevelt received the news, he had already asked Marshall to send all the 2.8 million troops mobilized after the war to Europe and North Africa by the end of the year, and also agreed to the proposal of strategic bombing of France and Spain. Churchill also threw 200,000 Commonwealth troops who had just arrived in North Africa into Spain, and the 350,000 troops in the country were also ready to enter Spain, and even Charles de Gaulle put 100,000 troops into Spain. According to the figures given to us by Zhang Xiaozhun before, plus this mobilization, the number of allied troops from Britain, the United States, France and other countries in Spain and North Africa will exceed 7 million by the end of the year at the latest! Among them, there are 4.5 million in the army alone! ”

"Eisenhower also approached me and asked us to send some of the ships to Western Australia. He said that the two Marine Divisions and four Infantry Divisions of the US Army, which were originally intended to be deployed in the Southwest Pacific, were rushing to Western Australia by train, but their transportation forces in the Indian Ocean were insufficient to quickly transport them to the Middle East. Zhang Xiaozhun sent a telegram reminding us to be careful about the Eastern Mediterranean, because he received information that Germany and Italy had accelerated the dispatch of troops to Tripoli, and the number of troops could be 5 to 10 armored divisions and 20 to 30 infantry divisions. Murong Han's expression paused, and his expression was serious: "Judging from all indications, the next two years may be the most difficult two years." ”

"Leave the necessary and transfer all the transport forces in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to transfer the US troops, and they should also bleed." Yang Qiu agreed to help the U.S. military transfer troops. Because for the Allies, the ripple effects after the defeat of Crete were just beginning. For Hitler, the Cape Town Declaration had already propelled him to the world, and with Ben no longer able to contain China and the United States, he had to find a reliable new ally.

While the nations were still digesting the Cape Town Declaration, an exasperated Hillett launched his counterattack from North Africa and responded with his army of steel.

Although the Germans occupied Malta before, because of the counterattack of British and American naval and air forces, the supply of the North African Corps was still unable to be guaranteed, until the victory in the Battle of Crete, Rommel finally received stable logistical support from the European continent. In the half month between the end of the Battle of Crete and October 10, three German Panzer Divisions, five Infantry Divisions, and three Italian Infantry Divisions arrived in Tripoli, including the SS 1st Panzer Division, known as the "Adolf Hitler" Division.

The "Boy Scouts", ridiculed by the Wehrmacht in the French campaign, have been refreshed and equipped with all F2 tanks with 75mm/L43 cannons, all of which have been improved by the Sino-Soviet "long-barreled revolution" and use 75mm/L43 cannons. Their arrival increased the total strength of the German-Italian North African Corps from 220,000 to 450,000, the total number of tanks from 740 to 1,370, and the various armored vehicles and air force were greatly strengthened. Strong troop input and logistics allowed Rommel to recover from the two-front battle and point the finger directly at the Nile River in Egypt. In order to prevent the Anglo-American coalition forces in Algeria from flanking the attack, he first deployed the 7th Armored Division, the 17th Armored Division and 5 German-Italian Infantry Divisions in Setif and Tunisia in Algeria to prevent the British and American coalition from counterattacking, and personally led the 15th Armored Division, the SS 1st Armored Division, the 5th Light Division, the 116th Armored Division and the Italian Ariette Armored Division, a total of 250,000 troops, under the protection of 742 tanks, to attack Benghazi and Tubrug, intending to seize Egypt and the Suez Canal and control the entire Eastern Mediterranean.

Benghazi is one of the most important seaports in Syria and is also close to the oil fields that Kim Bihui sold to Germany and Italy. Although the oil field was not developed and the British army never knew about the existence of the oil field, Hitler was very worried that Yang Qiu would sell the news to Churchill, so he kept asking Rommel to retake Benghazi.

To protect Benghazi, Auchinleck, who replaced Wavell as commander of North Africa, placed the 13th Panzer Corps, the strongest in his hands, here. The 13th Panzer Corps had 1 armoured division, 2 infantry divisions, 1 armoured brigade and a number of reinforced units with a total strength of 80,000, as well as 236 Crusader tanks, 110 Matilda tanks and 137 M3 Grant Lee medium tanks aided by the United States. But because of the loss of too many aircraft in the Battle of Crete, there were only 92 combat aircraft. However, the commander, Lieutenant General Nimes, always believed that his armor was stronger than Rommel, so he was completely sure that he would crush the enemy and hold it.

But he underestimated Rommel too much!

At 8 a.m. local time on October 10, 1941, Rommel categorically let the SS 1st Panzer Division, which had only been in existence for five days, take the lead in attacking Benghazi.

Although the attack was sudden, Lieutenant General Nîmes did not panic. However, due to the lack of understanding of the SS 1st Panzer Division, the impression was still stuck on the "boy scouts" during the French campaign, so he rashly thought that he had an armor advantage, so he concentrated 339 tanks and tried to come up in a "Central Asian" tank battle in the Gobi south of Benghazi to completely destroy Rommel. But the result surprised him, as soon as the two troops met, the British army suffered miserably! With the help of the 88 guns, in just ten minutes, more than 30 tanks were easily destroyed by the No. 4 F2, and even the thick Matilda could not stop it. Only then did Lieutenant General Nimes realize that he was facing a new tank. But this realization came too late, the SS 1st Armored Division 162 No. 4 F2 tanks, like hot iron pincers, with the cooperation of 88 guns on the ground and JU87 Stuka in the air, beat the intercepted British 7th Armored Division to the point of losing their armor, and finally counted, as many as 171 British tanks were destroyed! Auchinleck, who received the news, was shocked and had to order a retreat in order to avoid the annihilation of the remaining troops.

At this time, Lieutenant General Nimes, who made a mistake in a panic, made another stupid move, in order to protect the only retreat route, first let the South African 3rd Armored Brigade move towards Mykili in advance, converge with the Australian 9th Division to protect Balbia Road, and then detonate the captured 4,000 tons of Italian explosives to cover the retreat with the complete destruction of Benghazi City. The violent explosion hindered Rommel's attack, but the old and spicy Rommel saw that Benghazi was ruined, so he simply did not enter the city and rushed directly towards Mekieley.

South Africa's 3rd Armored Brigade, which was sent to protect Mykiley, was a unit created by the United States after the war and was armed with American-aided M3 Grant Lee medium tanks. The M3's odd twin turrets had proven incapable of dealing with German tanks during the North African landings, but Lieutenant General Nimes had no tanks to use at this point, so they had to be put on top. According to what he later said, he only wanted to use the fire of the M3 armament of the 75-mm guns and push the Germans out of the way so that the main forces could pass. However, the inexperienced South African 3rd Panzer Brigade encountered a dozen German No. 3 tanks while protecting. Lieutenant Colonel Grace, who thought that there was still the main force of the German army behind the tank, did not know that this was Rommel's ambush tactic, and decided to pursue and expel the opponent by virtue of his numerical superiority. But only ten kilometers after the pursuit, Rommel's 5th Light Armored Division 8 camouflaged 88 guns sounded the horn to bury the 3rd Armored Brigade in South Africa. A full 120 M3 Grant Lee medium tanks were completely destroyed by the 88 guns and the 47 No. 3 tanks that arrived in 2 hours, while the Germans lost only 13 No. 4 tanks.

This ambush not only made Rommel more famous, but also made the M3 a feared piece of equipment for British and American soldiers, and even nicknamed it "The Coffin of the Six Brothers" (the M3 standard is 6 crew members). The destruction of the 3rd Armored Brigade in South Africa exposed the main force of Nimes in front of Rommel, and as the SS 1st Armored Division accelerated to cut off McKilly and block the Balbia Avenue, the British 13th Army Armored Corps suffered a blow of annihilation!

After a day and a night of fierce fighting, 80,000 soldiers, including high-ranking generals such as Commander Nimes and O'Connor, were completely annihilated by Rommel, and more than 30,000 soldiers were killed. Without waiting for Auchinleck to react from this blow, Rommel, who occupied McKilly, used the 1st and 116th SS Panzer Divisions as arrows and ordered his troops: "No rest, no sweep of the battlefield, advance at full speed to the fortress of Tobruk." ”

Tobruk is the most strategically important harbor in Cyrenaica, Libya, where Italy built a very strong fortress. For the Germans, the capture of Tobruk provided a good supply base. But for the British, if they lost Tobruk, it would be difficult to stop the Germans from entering Egypt. Therefore, even the commander-in-chief of the British Mediterranean theater, Wavell, sent a telegram demanding that Tobruk be resolutely held and that this position be retained as a "thorn in the flesh of the enemy." Cunningham in Alexandria also ignored the threat of the Luftwaffe and dispatched more than a dozen warships, including the Queen Elizabeth, to help the more than 30,000 defenders there.

Faced with the desperate defense of the British army with fortress and heavy artillery support, Rommel still had no hope of capturing it after 2 days of strong attack, so he had to send troops to encircle Tubrug first, and then attack the fortress of Bir Hakem in the south, which was controlled by the ** French army. Bir Hakem was a fortress entrenched by the French on the southern flank of the Allied forces, and the commander of the fort was the experienced general Knick. But most of the more than 3,000 soldiers in his hands were composed of the French Foreign Legion and the militia, and the equipment was also in disarray, and even Wavell did not think that he could hold it in the face of the menacing German North African Army. But it was such a major general who lacked troops, and no one was optimistic about Lieutenant General Knik, but he fought very tenaciously, and after five days of fierce fighting, Rommel paid the price of 51 tanks and more than 3,000 casualties, and then broke through with the main force.

Lieutenant General Knick eventually lost Bill Hakeim, but bought time for Auchinleck to be transferred.

On the morning of October 17, Rommel, who had just captured the fortress of Bir Hakem and was about to continue eastward, encountered an unusual armored unit, the Egyptian 1st Panzer Division.

The 1st Armored Division of Egypt is a unit formed by Egypt to strive for real reading, in order to get rid of the influence of the British, after Pei Zuyi proposed a cotton-for-aid program to his political axe, the Egyptian political axe immediately purchased 180 Type 31 tanks from China, and also hired Chinese instructors to train this unit. After the outbreak of the war, the British took over the Egyptian 1st Armored Division according to the original agreement, and in order to ensure combat effectiveness, they also stuffed many Commonwealth soldiers, so the next day after the Knik breakthrough, this force was killed to the east of the fortress.

Because of the dazzling achievements in Central Asia, countries around the world only know that the Type 36 "Siberian Tiger" main battle tank is very strong, but they do not know much about the Type 31 "Golden Leopard". So Rommel also made the empirical mistake of thinking that the Type 31 "Golden Leopard" was weaker than the F2 IV, so he thought that the SS 1st Panzer Division would easily crush this force as it had done with the British tanks the other day. But in fact, the export version of the 31 tank is more similar to the German tank four, but the internal difference is very large, and the L50/70 mm rifled cannon is also more powerful than the F2 type is equipped with 75 mm guns.

After the two sides met at the dry river bed east of the fortress, a fierce tank battle broke out. During the day's fighting, the 1st SS Panzer Division destroyed 72 F2 IV tanks, while the 1st Egyptian Panzer Division lost 79 Type 31 tanks. It seems that the two sides are evenly matched, but considering that the people sitting in the Type 31 are some miscellaneous tank crews from countries such as Egypt and New Zealand, the results speak for themselves. This defeat shocked Rommel and the Germans so much that they had to stop in front of the fortress of Bir Hakem. Hitler also became furious after the inquiry, demanding that the development of new tanks be accelerated and that the General Staff should send more tanks to North Africa.

At the same time, in order to contain Rommel, Wavell and the commander of the American army, Joseph McEnany, also mobilized 3 armored divisions and 7 infantry divisions to launch a fierce attack on Setif . Although Rommel's 7th Panzer Division destroyed tanks in a few days "could be piled up into mountains", under the indiscriminate bombardment of three British and American aircraft carriers and army aviation, it finally had to abandon Setif and retreat to Tunisia.

The successive failures in tank battles also made the U.S. military realize that productivity does not mean armor superiority, so it canceled the short-barreled 75mm gun design of the M4 tank, and used the long-barreled M3 75mm gun, and quickly delivered the first batch of 122 vehicles to Europe at the end of September. As the hundreds of tanks and U-series armored vehicles that Yang Qiu had provided to Auchinleck arrived, and the United States began to exert its strength, the two sides engaged in continuous meat grinder-style battles in North Africa and Spain in the following months, and both sides paid a total price of hundreds of thousands of soldiers killed and wounded. But this was not really a crisis, and when Dönitz, following Hakan's suggestion and enjoying the abundant resources that were not consumed on the Eastern Front, began to launch the Type VII U-boats with modular production and equipped with new torpedoes, it also meant that the Atlantic strangulation war, which was more brutal than in history, officially began.

But none of this affected Yang Qiu's Asia strategy.

On October 20, after Zhu Binhou dispatched one aircraft carrier and four cruisers to protect the Marine Corps from landing on the Cocos Islands and Christmas Island, he announced the official start of the operation to open up Malacca...... (To be continued.) )