As usual, the telegram of Hitler and Rommel appeared on the desk of Montgomery, the Eighth Army.

Unfortunately, this telegram did not attract Montgomery's attention.

In fact, Churchill also chose to ignore this telegram... As the British minister, Churchill did not provide much advice on the war on the front line, but he was obsessed with "class secrets". He even ordered that the latest "class secrets" be transmitted to him at any time, no matter where he was.

There is a reason Churchill and Montgomery would choose to ignore this telegram.

This is because Rommel had repeatedly asked Berlin for reinforcements before this, and the number of times both Churchill and Montgomery felt numb.

On the other hand, it is because Hitler's callback did not contain too much information, and only the words "we will give reinforcements soon", which easily makes people think that Hitler is perfunctory Rommel.

More importantly, the intelligence detected by British intelligence agencies in Italy showed that the Germans did send an armored division and an infantry division to assemble in Italy and prepare to transport it to North Africa... This made Churchill and Montgomery firmly believe that the reinforcements Hitler referred to were to send troops to North Africa.

This is not what Churchill and Montgomery are worried about. The reason is just as Rommel thought. The island of Malta occupied by the British Air Force lies between Italy and North Africa. Its fighter jets and warships are constantly bombing Italian ships... In fact, this is also a blessing for "transcending secrets". Because of deciphering the German code, the UK can accurately grasp the time and even route of Italian merchant ships, so the fighter jets can carry out "precise strikes" on them.

Therefore, Churchill and Montgomery believed that these reinforcements were out of Italy, and were bombed by British Air Force on the way and then crossed the Sahara Desert. Only a small part of them could reach their destination, so there was nothing to worry about. The most important thing was that the supplies in the Commonwealth Army should not be stolen by the Germans... It was ridiculous to say that this was the main source of supply for Rommel's African Legion. At least half of the cars and fuel in the African Legion were seized from the Commonwealth Army.

But this time, Churchill and Montgomery guessed wrongly.

Hitler's increase in troops in Italy was not to reinforce North Africa, his target was the Island of Malta.

The island of Malta, with an area of ​​only 316 square kilometers, is located almost in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, providing supplies to the British fleet and merchant fleets between Gibraltar and Alexandre, just like a train transfer station.

Britain occupied the island and established a sea and air base on it, which enabled the British army to defend one of the lifelines from its colonies to the British mainland... From Oceania, India's maritime transportation lines through the Suez Canal to the British Isles.

It should be said that the most misguided part of Hitler's battlefield in North Africa was that he did not pay attention to the Island of Malta. His eyes were always on the Suez Canal, thinking that Rommel's troops would soon be able to occupy Egypt and block the Suez Canal. Once this was achieved, the Island of Malta would become an isolated island locked in the Mediterranean and had no choice but to surrender.

It is true that Hitler's idea makes sense.

But the problem is that such a strategic location in the Suez Canal is also a must-defend place for the British army. It is obviously very difficult or even impossible to capture it in the short term.

But the Island of Malta is right in front of you. It is close to Sicily, Italy, and not far from the port of Taranto, in southern Italy.

Once the German army took down the Island of Malta, it almost achieved the effect equivalent to capturing the Suez Canal... Although British merchant ships could enter the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal, they had to pass through the fighter blockade area of ​​the Island of Malta.

By then, Britain would have only two choices, either sending fighter jets to provide cover for merchant ships or detour the Cape of Good Hope at the southern end of Africa.

And this is only one aspect.

Because the German army did not seize the island of Malta, it led to a series of chain reactions... Rommel's African army could only withdraw with regret after several attacks on Egypt.

Now, the harsh situation on the battlefield in North Africa has finally attracted Hitler's attention and concern.

Especially at this time, the status of the African battlefield had risen... There was no hope of attacking the Soviet Union, and Hitler could only turn his attention to Africa, hoping to win a treasure land full of oil and strangle the throat of the Allied industry.

To do this, we must first pull out the island of Malta, which is like a thorn in the flesh.

Therefore, although Hitler was unwilling to disperse the troops on the Soviet-German battlefield, he was forced to transfer the 2nd and 10th Air Brigade of the Luftwaffe to Italy, and at the same time planned an attack to capture the island of Malta.

In fact, Hitler's plan began to be implemented secretly half a month ago.

Hitler asked the Italian Navy fleet to conduct training so that it could be responsible for covering the 6th battle... The British spies had received relevant information, but did not take it seriously because the Italian Navy performed very poorly. The only thing they did in the battle was to release the smoke and then throw it away the merchant ship and flee.

At the same time, the British army believed that the training of the naval fleet was only to strengthen the escort of merchant ships.

On the other hand, Hitler asked Italy to prepare for ships for boarding 6, and the "Special Navy Force" was responsible for the training of the 6th Navy Force.

This was not detected by British spies because many of the six boarding ships prepared by Italy were fishing boats, and British spies didn't care about these civilian facilities at all.

Two German air teams flew secretly to the air base in Sicily. Even the Italian commander Marshal Cavalero did not know about this operation. Every Italian officer and soldier at the airport was controlled by the German army under semi-house arrest and demolished all foreign communication facilities except the German army.

This is because Hitler also believed that the intelligence was transmitted through the Italian army, so he took a "ruthless move".

Soon, the number of German fighter jets and bombers stationed in Sicily increased to more than 700, and more than 200 were ready for reinforcements and supplies.

At the same time, reconnaissance planes frequently conduct reconnaissance on and near the island of Malta. A German infantry division also assembled in Italy and seized time to conduct combat training for 6-deployment... The British always thought that this infantry division was to reinforce North Africa, but this was not the case.
Chapter completed!