No one knows how many ships escaped from Alexandria, but when Accardo learned that the Italian navy, fearing losses and lack of fuel, had not gone to the periphery of Alexandria as agreed, and surrounded the ships full of British soldiers, he threw the glass in his hand in anger.

A full 20,000 British soldiers were able to escape the huge encirclement of Alexandria by boat, while the Italian fleet, which was enough to crush the British Mediterranean Fleet, which had no battleships, only dared to watch from the harbor as the British fleet that did not dare to fight at all - the British were so frightened that the Italian navy did not even have the courage to fight head-on, which sounds funny, but it is indeed a cruel truth.

Even the Germans struggled for a long time in order to overcome the phobia of the British fleet, if it weren't for the inspiration of Lütjans, if it weren't for the last moment of the German fleet, how could the German high seas fleet still be pressed and beaten by the British in the North Sea, how could it be able to claim hegemony in the Atlantic?

However, everyone knows that there were several Italian battleships, old and new, and that the number of cruisers was almost five times that of the British Mediterranean fleet, so it was a little too irritating that this huge gap did not fill the fear in the hearts of the Italians.

"I, why am I willing to throw the Student paratroopers in that shitty part of Africa where birds don't shit? Why should I keep some of my air support and let the paratroopers face Patton's tanks alone in that damn place in Damanhur?" Acardo yelled at the Italian envoys in his office.

He stepped on the broken glass on the ground with his leather boots, making a clicking sound: "One qiē and one qiē, all so that the Italian navy can blockade Alexandria under the cover of the Luftwaffe and annihilate or capture the British Mediterranean fleet! Completely trap the 100,000 British defenders in Alexandria! This is what we have agreed!

He walked around in annoyance, not paying any attention to the Italian diplomatic envoy, whose face was already gray: "My paratroopers have lost almost 3,000 men in Damanhur! 3,000 men! What about the Italian fleet? Is it the only one who was injured because the waves were too big and sprained his toe?"

It is no wonder that Accardo was so angry, after all, the first qiē operation of the Afrika Korps actually began with the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in North Africa alone, and as a result, the 200,000 Italian troops were not able to complete their mission, but were driven out of Ethiopia by the British army, and were routed back to Tunisi along the way. Had Rommel not been able to save Italy from the rout at the last minute, the whole of North Africa would now be British.

It stands to reason that the entire Afrika Korps is Germany helping Italy stabilize its position, if it is only to enter the Middle East, it is more convenient for Germany to unite with Turkey and directly kill the Middle East.

The result was a war in the interests of Italy, in which the agreed tactics of attack were absolutely foolproof: the Germans sent paratroopers to attack Damanhur, the Italian navy blockaded Alexander, and Rommel's troops smashed the Allied defenses head-on - the end result was to annihilate all British North African forces, capture or destroy the British Mediterranean fleet, which was in the best interests of all parties. In order to ensure the safety of the Italian fleet, Germany also retained a part of the bombers and fighters, and wanted to cross the sea to cover the Italian fleet at the joint moment.

However, when it was finally executed, the Italian fleet did not appear where it should have been, so the British fleet calmly left Alexandria and escaped easily through the Suez Canal, even carrying away 20,000 British soldiers.

The Italian fleet did not go to sea, but an envoy rushed to the Führer's residence in Berlin, stating a large number of reasons why the Italian fleet could not go to sea, using oil and preparations as an excuse, and shamelessly hoping that the German top brass would understand Italy's plight.

"Italy is really underthinking in this matter, which is simply hurting the traditional friendship between the two countries. Prime Minister Augustus, who was sitting on the side, opened his mouth and said that his ancestors were famous iron-blooded prime ministers, and he naturally would not be indifferent to this kind of unilateral advantage, so he looked at the Italian envoy who was about to be scolded by Accardo and vomited blood, and slowly stated his thoughts: "Mr. Mussolini must give the Third Reich an explanation, if he doesn't give it, we will take it ourselves!"

The Italian envoy took out a handkerchief from his arms with a trembling hand and wiped the sweat on his forehead, Mussolini did not give many chips, he actually had his own considerations for not taking it out, after all, Germany was very good at talking about France, the Balkans, and North Africa before, which made Italy a little fluttering, and there were arguments and even felt that the Germans were idiots, and Italy just had to reap the benefits.

Although there were not many supporters of this argument, Mussolini did forget that the terrible power of the Third Reich was, in fact, a steel knife hanging over Italy's head. In the Balkans, where the whole of Italy was helpless, the 200,000 German troops were easily leveled -- that is, there was no need to send troops from the front, and it was not difficult to set foot on Italy with only the permanent troops in Germany.

So the poor envoy did not dare to speak out about Mussolini's almost provocative conditions, and he was really afraid that the de facto ruler of seventy percent of the territory of Europe, Accardo, the head of the Third Reich, really ordered an attack on Italy, and Italy would almost become history.

If the Italian Navy can be intimidated by Britain, the paper tiger that has dominated the world for a hundred years, its army can definitely regard the German Army, which swept across Europe without defeat, as a god. If the British Navy was terrible, then the German Army was invincible in the eyes of the Italians. Let the Italian defenders fight against the invincible German army, and these people will surrender immediately if they do not rebel immediately.

"My Führer, as an Italian diplomat, I would like to return home at once and personally explain to the leader the dangers of this matter......" The Italian envoy wiped the sweat from his head and explained tremblingly: "If necessary, we can arrest several admirals of the navy and leave them at the disposal of your country!"

In fact, whether it was the release of the Mediterranean Fleet or the release of 20,000 British soldiers, these were not the reasons why Accardo was so angry. The most important thing is that this retreat reminded Accardo of the Dunkirk retreat that he had personally strangled, and he didn't know what kind of hidden danger this small mistake would bring to him in the end. It was because he was afraid of the unknown, and because he couldn't estimate and speculate, that he was so nervous that he was hysterical.

"This matter is not a problem that a small diplomat can solve. Accardo waved his hand, refused the request of the Italian division envoy, thought for a while and then continued to speak coldly: "Put aside the affairs of the Italian navy for now, let Mussolini come to Berlin to see me in person, the heaviest test of the Axis is coming, and I don't want any unpredictable problems at this time, such as a unilateral breach of the treaty like this one." ”

He walked up to the envoy, stared at each other like an eagle with a pair of bloodshot eyes due to lack of rest, and said: "Let Mussolini come to me in person, understand? Adjust the wording, use the most beautiful diplomatic rhetoric, and if you can't do it, I'll let General Hote go and ask him!"

General Hort was the commander-in-chief of the German Army Group J, and his troops were stationed in the Balkans and Crete, and was the closest German integrated army to Italy.

"I, I understand! My Führer! I'm going to leave for Italy and convey your invitation to the leader......" The Italian envoy now feels that he is really too unlucky, when others come to Germany, they are all entertained with good wine and meat, and even put forward some excessive demands, and the relevant German authorities will agree as much as possible, why is it that after he came to Germany, he is so unhappy?

By the time the Italian envoys had fled for their lives and left the Führer's residence, Accardo had already ordered the mobilization of Army J and Army A, and the Germans were ready to prepare for the worst against Italy at any time.

Because of his age and the recent hard work for Germany's internal affairs and economy, Augustus's face is not very good, and he looks a little old. He glanced at Accardo, who had gradually calmed down his anger, and said, "If Italy really doesn't give us Egypt. And also let our gendarmes and instructors train the troops of Italy, you really plan to send troops to Italy?"

"It's a given. Accardo snorted coldly, looked at the war zone map in front of him and said: "We must hold the Suez Canal in Egypt in our own hands, and since Italy has given us this opportunity, we must seize it." In addition, if we do not comprehensively strengthen the combat effectiveness of the Italian troops, do we dare to use these critical moments on the battlefield on the Eastern Front to drag our feet?"

Augustus nodded, and asked a more concerned question: "If we take Italy, it will involve a part of the troops, and the estimated hundreds of thousands of Italian allies will be missing, this matter does not seem to be very favorable to us?"

"A country that is afraid even of the British Mediterranean Fleet without battleships, and you expect them to dare to go against the will of the Third Reich?" Arcado laughed: "Get ready for Mussolini, just knock him down." ”

Augustus laughed and walked out slowly.