Cairo, the world's most famous city, has a continuous history of 5,000 years and is also the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The Islamic history of Cairo began in 642 AD, ten years after the conversion of the Prophet Muhammad, under the name of Furstad, when disciplined Arab armies entered the ancient African city and built the first mosque, the Amr Mosque. In 969 A.D., the Fatima dynasty of Islam Khalifa Muyiz sent his army to invade the ancient city, renamed it Cairo, and the Fatimai dynasty moved its capital here and began large-scale construction, many of which are still intact large mosques.

For 1,400 years, Cairo has been the political and cultural center of the Islamic world, and any invader must respect the Islamic culture and feelings there in order to exist.

Previously, Cairo had already smelled the shadow of war indefinitely, and the news of the imminent occupation of Egypt by the German Afrika Korps was spreading everywhere, making people panic.

But at Bernard. Toil. When General Montgomery arrived, everything changed

The German offensive, which had been overwhelming, was contained, and Egypt gained temporary security.

And after the hearts and minds of the people were stabilized, Cairo returned to its former appearance. It's just that the presence of British, Australian or New Zealand soldiers everywhere spoils the atmosphere.

A larger campaign is in full swing.

In the previous battles, due to the Allied control of air and sea supremacy in the Mediterranean, the German forces in North Africa were unable to continue to advance due to insufficient troops and equipment supplies, and were forced to switch to strategic defense.

Meanwhile. Britain continued to strengthen its military presence in North Africa and actively prepared for war. Montgomery, commander of the British 8th Army, decided to launch a counteroffensive codenamed "Quickfoot" in late October, after breaking through the German and Italian defensive areas. Quickly advance westward, occupy all of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania in Libya, and cooperate with the Anglo-American forces that are about to land in North Africa, and drive all German and Italian troops out of North Africa.

The Great Counteroffensive is kicking off

But at this time, a piece of news came that Montgomery didn't want to hear:

Ernst. Alexon. Feng. Marshal Bram had arrived in Africa and had taken over the position of Marshal Kesselring, commanding all the German and Italian armies in Africa.

It's a name that scares Montgomery. And that fear came from the depths of his heart

It was during the First World War, when Montgomery was a second lieutenant and was ordered to hunt down two Germans with Lieutenant Conk. And one of those two Germans was the Skeleton Baron who later became Megatron.

A company of British troops, instead of capturing the two Germans, suffered numerous casualties at their hands. Even Montgomery was seriously injured. If it weren't for the timely rescue, there would have been no General Montgomery by now.

Montgomery was the first of the would-be Confederate generals to be beaten by the Skeleton Baron.

The undefeated Skeleton Baron, the undefeated Skeleton Commando, these two names have always hovered in the hearts of Montgomery and these people like nightmares

Now, he's back! Returned with the glory of the German soldiers, with the pride of the Skull Baron!

He had great success in Russia, great success in Turkey. And what about in Africa? Will he still be just as successful?

Montgomery couldn't answer himself

Now both he and Alexander, the commander-in-chief of the British forces in the Middle East, have heard some rumors. Germany intended to engage in some secret negotiations with Britain in order to end the war in Europe. But the hard-line British Prime Minister, Mr. Winston Churchill, was not on the up for it. He needed the British to achieve greater victories on the battlefield and to teach the Germans a good lesson.

An Erwin. Rommel would have been difficult enough to deal with, and if it weren't for his supply cut-off, Montgomery and his 8th Army would not have been able to achieve the previous victory. Bram arrived.

Once the former captain and sub-leader of these two skeleton commandos join forces, how much force will they cause?

And Montgomery was even clearer that with Erwin. Rommel was treated differently once Ernst. Bream has appeared on the battlefield in Africa, and Germany will be desperate to give him all the assistance he needs:

Tanks, fuel, weapons, whatever he needs, Germany will deliver, and no matter what he asks, the German side will implement it to the letter!

To add insult to injury, Turkey has now fallen into the hands of the Germans, and the situation on the battlefield has changed from a geographically important country to the hands of the Germans.

The Germans, who had taken control of Turkey, were able to make too many strategic choices. They could attack the Soviet Union, they could threaten the strength of the Allies in the Mediterranean, and they could launch a surprise attack on Iran.

Iran is another lifeline for the allies. The former king Reza Khan, who ran away from Iran, could already see the hope of a reset!

Reza Khan was absolutely loyal to Germany

In 1939, World War II broke out, and Reza Khan declared Iran neutral. In 1941, a pro-German regime was established in Iraq, and Anglo-Indian troops responded quickly by landing in Iraq, occupying Baghdad and overthrowing the pro-German government. Reza Khan was not a formal ally of Germany, but his pro-German tendencies were well known to everyone. Next, Britain will have to clean up Iran.

In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. After the outbreak of the war on the Eastern Front, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill immediately handed an olive branch to Moscow. One of the Anglo-Soviet agreements with Germany was to force Reza Khan to expel the Germans from Iran, as Iran could become an important conduit for British arms and medicine to Russia.

Reza Khan resisted British and Soviet pressure, rejected their demands, and immediately invited a joint invasion by the two countries. In August 1941, Britain and the Soviet Union attacked Iran from the north and south, and the two armies joined forces in less than a month, issuing an ultimatum to Reza Khan, forcing him to hand over all Germans in Iraq and to close the embassies of Germany and its allies.

Reza Khan showed enough loyalty to the Germans, and when a large army came to the city, Reza Khan was unwilling to give in and go into exile. Before leaving, he carried a small bag of Iranian land with him and passed the throne to his son Muhammad. Reza. Pahlavi.

British and Soviet troops entered Tehran on September 17, 1841, and arrested all Germans there, including diplomats, half of whom were captured by Russia and taken to Siberia, where most of them died tragically; The other half was exiled to Australia by the British.

At that time, Germany could not do anything about what happened in Iran, but now that they have obtained Turkey, they have decided to take action against Iran and help Reza Khan to restore the throne has become more and more obvious.

The German, Bulgarian, Yugoslav and Free Turkish armies in Turkey are moving frequently, and a large number of troops are gathering on the border between Turkey and Iran, ready to attack Iran anytime and anywhere. The former king of Iran, Reza Khan, also arrived in Turkey in September.

The Soviet Union was facing off against the Germans in Russia, and the British were to focus their efforts on Africa. With only the Anglo-Soviet forces currently in Iran, it would be difficult to withstand the attack of the Axis forces.

Once Iran fell into the hands of the Germans again, the Allied aid to the Soviet Union would be completely cut off

Not only that, but the German army could also take advantage of the situation to move forward, and then occupy Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other places, and complete the encirclement of Egypt.

By that time, the Allied forces in Africa would really be gone

Therefore, the most important thing to do now is to completely defeat the German Afrika Korps as soon as possible and establish the superiority of the Allies in the African theater, otherwise the initiative on the battlefield will completely fall into the hands of the Germans.

But how do you defeat the Skeleton Baron? What will the Skeleton Baron do in Africa? Montgomery was worried.

Alexander, commander-in-chief of the British forces in the Middle East, immediately saw Montgomery's concern: "Bernard, don't worry, it seems to me that Ernst is a man, not a real God. The Afrika Korps had already suffered a crushing defeat, and even if it were Ernst himself who was now in command of the battle, he would not have been able to achieve victory. ”

"No, Alexander, you don't know Ernst too well." Montgomery was fascinated: "He always won unexpectedly on the battlefield and turned a disadvantage into an advantage." This has been amply demonstrated in the previous war, and he went from a small lieutenant to a general in the shortest possible time, relying entirely on one victory after another, and to put it mildly, I doubt that we will be able to defeat him."

Alexander shrugged.

He had the impression that Montgomery was a strong-willed general, who was always able to deal with any setback, but what he said now was a bit frustrating.

Montgomery stood in front of the map, his eyes kept on the map, and after a long time he said slowly: "Turkey, Turkey, our response in Turkey is too slow, and now, this place of such strategic value has been lost, and we can't judge where the German army will attack the Soviet Union first?" Or Iran? ”

"Iran is more likely." Alexander immediately said: "If Iran is lost again, the aid of the Soviets will be completely cut off, and at that time, the entire huge battlefield will be completely divided into several pieces, and our connection with the Russians will also be cut off." ”

"Yes, Iran." Montgomery sighed heavily.

The Germans were to be the first to attack Iran, and from the current intelligence there was no longer any disputing, and now the key question was how long it would take the Germans to occupy Iran.

The situation, to whom will it become more favorable? (To be continued......)