My Italy - Chapter 668 Battle of Tunisia (5)

The 15th Division, the leading Italian army, successively captured the French garrison in central and southern Tunisia within a short period of time. This made people realize the strength of the Italian army and the weakness of the French colonial troops.

Lieutenant General Aquino, the commander of the French army in Tunisia, was reading a telegram at this time. This was a telegram from Bordeaux, which rejected his request for more supplies and troops. The French Commander-in-Chief Nivelle personally sent him a telegram, saying that there was currently no way to give others and supplies, and that everything must take priority in the Battle of Paris.

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

Now the front lines in Paris are almost losing their minds. Although the British and French troops are attacking fiercely, the German army is also receiving continuous reinforcements from the country.

The two sides are currently fighting fiercely on the front lines of Bontailu and Seri, and the battlefields are bloody. At this time, both sides are trying to win this battle, so they want to invest in the Paris area first with whatever cards they have.

For example, Britain and France drew troops from their colonies and other places, while Germany drew troops from the Eastern Front and reserves. Therefore, all needs now must be prioritized with the Battle of Paris, and Admiral Neville also emphasized that after the Battle of Paris, limited personnel and materials will be allocated to it.

Although there was a promise from the French Commander-in-Chief, Aquino knew that this promise was just a castle in the air and was simply unrealistic. His opponent, the Italian Eighth Army, was already close at hand, and he had to wait for the end of the Battle of Paris. In his opinion, the Battle of Paris cannot be completed in two or three months. After the Battle of Paris, whether his troops will still be in Tunisia is a question.

“Lieutenant General, what’s the news from Bordeaux?”

At this time, his chief of staff, Major General Mosley, started asking.

“Take a look.”

As he spoke, Aquino handed the telegram to the chief of staff, and Major General Mosley read it carefully.

“Why don’t Bordeaux just give us reinforcements and not even supplies? How can we defend Tunisia? What does the enemy’s Eighth Army look like? Isn’t it clear to Bordeaux that they are planning to abandon this place?”

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

Regarding the Chief of Staff’s dissatisfaction, Aquino, who was originally dissatisfied, had no choice but to defend himself. “This is the result of careful consideration by the Army Department, and we can only accept it.”

“I know that seizing Paris is the unanimous wish of us in France, but this does not mean that Tunisia is not important, right? Look at our enemies, the Crown Prince’s Army is so powerful in combat. It doesn’t matter if they don’t give us personnel or supplies. Well, our current air defense problem is so serious, and Bordeaux will not allocate more air defense weapons to us.”

It is obvious that the chief of staff’s dissatisfaction has accumulated to a certain extent. Think about it, the colonial army does not have enough strength to defend against the attack of the Italian elite army. How should we fight this battle?

He led his staff to pick their scalps but it was difficult to formulate a battle plan. They were not even willing to provide supplies. It was too difficult.

At this time, Aquino’s words completely calmed the chief of staff.

“Perhaps the enemy we face is too powerful, which is one of the reasons why Bordeaux is unwilling to allocate personnel and materials.”

In fact, there was another reason because of Aquino’s conjecture, which he didn’t want to say out loud. That is, Tunisia’s strategic status has now been reduced. Instead of using a large number of personnel and materials to fight with the Italians here, it is better to leave them to the other side. After letting him get Tunisia, let him go to Egypt to fight with the British.

This may not be a small thing, but it is definitely something that cannot be said. As for whether the Italians will continue to peek at Algeria after getting Tunisia. There is no need to worry about this. Italians’ desire for Egypt can be seen even from across the Mediterranean Sea.

Not to mention that Egypt is the key to blocking it from its East African colonies. If they dare to continue attacking Algeria, then he will doubt the ability of the Italian military.

“Then how should we fight the Italians in Tunisia?” Major General Mosley asked at this time.

“Then let’s fight the Italians hard and prevent them from easily occupying Tunisia.”

At this time, Aquino was talking about his thoughts. Although he guessed that Bordeaux had the idea of ​​​​giving up on Tunisia, the more this happened, the more necessary it was to have a good fight. Otherwise, there would be no way to explain to their teammates. You must know that the British allies are now helping them capture Paris.

While the two commanders of the French Tunisian Army were discussing, most of the Eighth Army in Sfax had also arrived in Sfax.

At this time, Sfax was like a large barracks, filled with Italian officers and soldiers. And as an important material port for the Eighth Army, Sfax Port has changed from before.

At this time, in addition to the original wharf, the port also has a steel structure temporary wharf. These docks are now extremely busy, with a large number of navy and army officers and soldiers unloading various supplies. Among them, Pier 1, which is the main wharf, is currently hoisting down large wooden boxes one after another. The cables are tightened to a sufficient degree. What is being unloaded is a 280mm howitzer.

The gun was equipped with the army in 1905. Its main duty is to attack enemy fortresses. Its main target is France’s construction of fortresses and fortresses on the Italian-French border. The gun is 3.36 meters long, weighs 15.6 tons, has a maximum muzzle velocity of 412 meters per second, and a maximum range of 11,200 meters. The artillery shells are divided into four categories and three types. The heaviest shell is 315 kilograms. It is used to deal with heavy reinforced concrete soil. Protected fortress.

In addition, the gun can be disassembled into 4 large parts: barrel, hydraulic recoil equipment, gun mount and base. The gun mantlet can be installed or not. There are two ways of transporting artillery, tractor-drawn and horse-drawn. From all aspects, this gun is definitely a weapon with top performance. Even Krupp has introduced the technology of this gun for its own product development.

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

“Lieutenant General Brasso, we will not need to fight the battle of Tunis until we attack the port of Sousse. Why do you ask the navy to transport the siege artillery here now? As far as I know, the transportation of siege artillery is more convenient by sea. , why not wait to transport from this port after Sousse is captured, which is nearly 150 kilometers away from Sfax?”

Faced with the Crown Prince’s inquiry, Lieutenant General Brazeau immediately explained. “Your Highness, unloading the gun in Sfax will make it easier for us to use it. In addition, the situation at the port in Sousse is very bad, and the defenders there have begun to destroy port facilities.”

“What the enemy did after they found out we were using the port for supplies?”

“Yes, Your Highness, there are some reasons.”

“Lieutenant General Brazeau, you are so considerate. It is a great honor to work with you.”