The 15th Division, the vanguard of the Italian army, successively conquered the French defenders in south-central Tunisia in a short period of time, which made people realize the strength of the Italian army and the weakness of the French colonial troops.

Lieutenant General Achino, who was the commander of the French army in Tunisia, was looking at a telegram at this time. This was a telegram from Bordeaux, which rejected his request for more supplies and troops, and the commander-in-chief of the French army, Nivelle, personally sent him a telegram stating that there was no way to give people and supplies at present, and that everything must be given priority to the Battle of Paris.

The most important thing for France at the moment is to retake Paris, so everything must be prioritized to ensure the French offensive in Paris.

And now the front line in Paris is about to hit the dog's brain, although the British and French troops are attacking fiercely, but the German army is also receiving a steady stream of reinforcements from the country.

At present, the two sides are fighting fiercely on the front line of Bontailu and Seri, and the battlefield is full of blood. At this time, both sides were trying to win the battle, so whatever cards in their hands were eager to invest in the Paris area first.

On the British and French sides, for example, troops were drawn from the colonies and elsewhere, while Germany drew troops from the Eastern Front and reserves. Therefore, all needs must now be the first priority of the Battle of Paris, and Admiral Neville also emphasized that after the Battle of Paris, he will definitely be limited in the allocation of personnel and materials.

Although there was a promise from the commander-in-chief of the French army, Achino knew that this promise was nothing more than a castle in the air, and it was simply unrealistic. His opponent, the Italian Eighth Army, was already close at hand, and he had to wait until the end of the Battle of Paris. In his opinion, the Battle of Paris could not be fought at all in two or three months, and it was a question of whether his troops would still be in Tunisia after the Battle of Paris was over.

"Lieutenant General, what's the news from Bordeaux?"

At this time, its chief of staff, Major General Moseley, opened his mouth to ask.

"Look at it."

As he spoke, Achino handed the telegram to the Chief of Staff, and Major General Moseley looked at it at a glance.

"Why doesn't Bol give us reinforcements, even supplies? How does this allow us to hold Tunisia, what is the enemy Eighth Army like, is it not clear to Bordeaux, is it intended to abandon here? ”

At this time, the chief of staff, Major General Moseley, vented his inner dissatisfaction.

Regarding the dissatisfaction of the chief of staff, Achino, who was also dissatisfied in his heart, had no choice but to defend himself. "This is the result of careful consideration by the War Department, and we can only accept it."

"I know that the capture of Paris is the unanimous will of our France, but that doesn't mean that we in Tunisia are not important, right? Look at our enemy, how strong the combat effectiveness of the Crown Prince's Army is, if you don't give us personnel, you won't give us supplies, our current air defense problem is so serious, Bordeaux will not allocate us more air defense weapons. ”

It is obvious that the dissatisfaction of the chief of staff has accumulated to a certain extent, and think about it, how should this battle be fought when the colonial army is defended against the attack of the elite Italian army, and there is not enough strength advantage?

It was difficult for him to make a battle plan with his staff officers, and he was unwilling to give even supplies, which was too difficult.

At this time, Achino's words made the chief of staff completely calm.

"Maybe the enemy we are facing is too strong, and this is one of the reasons why Bordeaux is reluctant to allocate personnel and supplies."

In fact, there is another reason for Achino's conjecture, which he does not want to say. That is, Tunisia's strategic position is now reduced, and it is better to give it to the other side than to spend a lot of people and materials here to fight the Italians. After letting him get Tunisia, let him go to Egypt to fight the British.

It may not be small, but it is definitely unspeakable. As for whether the Italians will continue to peep at Algeria after getting Tunisia. There is no need to worry about this, the Italians' desire for Egypt is seen even across the Mediterranean.

Not to mention that Egypt is the key to blocking its colonies from East Africa, if they dare to continue to fight Algeria, then he will doubt the level of the Italian military's capabilities.

"Then how are we going to fight the Italians in Tunisia?" At this point, Major General Moseley asked.

"Then fight the Italians hard and don't let them take Tunisia easily."

At this time, Achino said his thoughts, although he guessed that Bordeaux had the idea of giving up on Tunisia, but the more this happened, the more he needed to have a good fight. Otherwise, there would be no way to explain to their teammates, and now the British allies are helping them seize Paris.

While the two commanders of the French Tunisian Army Group were deliberating, most of the Eighth Army in Sfax had already arrived in Sfax.

At this time, Sfax was like a large barracks, full of Italian officers and soldiers. Moreover, as an important material port of the Eighth Army, the port of Sfax has changed from before.

At this time, in addition to the original wharf, the port also has a temporary wharf with steel structure. Now these docks are extremely busy, and a large number of naval and army officers and soldiers are unloading various supplies. Pier 1, which is the main pier, is now lifting large wooden boxes down, which are absolutely enough to taut the cables, and this is unloading 280mm howitzers.

The cannon was equipped with the army in 1905 and its main duty was to strike at enemy fortresses, and its main objective was to build forts and fortresses on the Italian and French borders. The gun is 3.36 meters long, weighs 15.6 tons, has a maximum muzzle velocity of 412 m/s, and has a maximum range of 11,200 meters.

In addition, the gun can be disassembled into 4 large parts: the barrel, the hydraulic recoil device, the gun carriage and the base, and the gun shield can be installed with or without selection. There are two modes of artillery transportation, tractor-towed and horse-towed. In every respect, the gun is definitely a top-notch weapon, and even Krupp has introduced the gun's technology for its own product development.

At this time, as the two commanders of the army, Crown Prince Vittorio was also on the same high ground with Lieutenant General Brasso at this time, watching the officers and soldiers unload the gun.

"Lieutenant General Brasso, after we attack Port Sousse next, we need to fight for Tunisia, why do you let the navy bring the siege guns over now. As far as I know, it is easier to transport siege artillery by sea, so why not wait until the conquest of Sousse to transport it from this port, which is nearly 150 kilometers more than Sfax? ”

Faced with the crown prince's inquiry, Lieutenant General Brasso immediately explained. "Your Highness, unloading the cannon at Sfax will make it easier for us to use it, and the other thing is that the port of Sousse is in a bad situation, and the defenders there have begun to destroy the port facilities."

"The enemy found out what we did after using the port for supplies?"

"Yes, Your Highness, there are reasons."

"Lieutenant General Brasso has thought you through and is a great honor to work with you."

(End of chapter)