German Red Prince

Page 150

"Warriors of Allah! These white pigs have come ashore! Fight back!"

The French troops, still cheering on the beach, never dreamed that this time they would not return.

Pétain was very excited upon receiving the battle report and had already released the news of the capture of Tripoli.

But he forgot that you should never open the champagne halfway through the event, because bad news always comes a little later than good news.

298. There are no winners.

Pétain was clearly overwhelmed by the news of the victory. Without even verifying it, he opened the champagne and eagerly ordered his men to prepare to broadcast this momentous victory to the entire nation.

“Dallang, your plan is excellent. I will prepare a victory banquet to welcome the victorious soldiers back. This sudden attack has dealt a fatal blow to the Ottomans. After this successful landing, I believe we will soon end the war in North Africa.”

Pétain was grinning from ear to ear. He had been worried sick for months with no progress, but now that their army had successfully landed in Tripoli, he could finally get a good night's sleep.

"Grand Marshal, once our troops land in Tripoli and stabilize the situation, we can continuously transport troops. The Ottoman navy will have absolutely no chance of stopping our powerful naval fleet."

"At that time, we will easily drive the Ottoman forces out of North Africa, and may even move further east to conquer Cyrenaica and extend our influence to the Egyptian region."

"By integrating the resources of the entire North Africa, everything will be fine as long as the German Empire launches an attack. We will definitely be able to return to Paris and drive out those red thugs."

Darlan appeared quite excited. This victory could be said to have broken the deadlock of several months. Although it was a risky move, the outcome of the entire war was already determined: France was bound to win.

After this victory, Darlan's position within the French Republic will certainly be more secure, and his power may rise accordingly. Within the Republic, he will definitely be able to surpass de Gaulle and become the number two figure with real power.

"Grand Marshal Pétain, shouldn't we double-check this matter?"

De Gaulle had some concerns. Was it too hasty to spread the news of the victory in Tripoli so soon? He also learned from General Katrou that although the enemy's defenses in the Zawiya area were much stronger than before, they were not yet at the point where they wanted to fight a decisive battle with France.

General Katru attempted several assaults at Zawiya, but all were repelled. However, the defenses there were not very strong, and according to previous reports, the Ottomans had indeed sent troops to garrison the area.

Such a defense can only mean one thing: the Ottomans likely only sent local Arabs to the Zawiya area, not their own army. Where were the Ottomans? Did they even arrive? (Buddha)

"I suggest we send another message to the front lines to inquire about the situation of our troops in Tripoli, whether they have captured the area, and whether they have encountered resistance from the local garrison. We cannot be so hasty."

“General de Gaulle, the reports from the front have clearly stated that we have captured Tripoli. It seems that we haven’t made any effective progress in the Zawiya area yet. You should go and take a look at what Katru is doing and when he will be able to break through Zawiya. Don’t wait until the troops in Tripoli have already rushed behind enemy lines while you are still being held back.”

Darlan didn't seem very happy. What was de Gaulle saying? Was he mocking him? Or was he mocking his troops? His own army couldn't fight, yet they came to criticize him. What kind of logic was that?

"De Gaulle, go and urge Katrou. The Tripoli landing operation has been successful. You need to cooperate with them. When will we be able to capture Zawiya?"

Pétain left after uttering a single sentence. In his mind, he had already won the war. The next thing to do was to shut up the opposition and deal with the disobedient ones.

Since Pétain had spoken, de Gaulle naturally had nothing to say. He could only instruct Katrou to intensify the offensive in the direction of Zawiya and take it as soon as possible. De Gaulle was skeptical about whether there had been a victory in the direction of Tripoli, but he still hoped that there had been a real victory there. Perhaps he was just worrying too much?

......

"Get down, get down!"

Tripoli Beach had become a living hell. The French troops, who had just been celebrating their victory, never dreamed that the enemy would arrive so quickly. Clearly, they had been ambushed, and it was a premeditated ambush. The enemy had obviously deliberately let them come here.

Countless shots rained down on the beach, and the troops collapsed almost instantly. Louis hid behind cover, covering his head. Enemy fire came from all directions, and he was sure that if he showed his head even slightly, he would be riddled with bullets.

John didn't have time to lie down before he was blown to pieces by a shell. One of his legs landed on Louis, who had just witnessed the shell hit John's side. His body was torn apart by the massive explosion, and his tissues flew everywhere.

Louis yelled. The current battlefield environment was clearly driving him crazy. Countless people were lying on the ground groaning in pain. Some people only had their upper bodies left, but they were still crawling with difficulty. Louis dropped his rifle, grabbed John's leg, jumped out of the cover, and rushed forward like a madman. All he wanted now was to get out of here as soon as possible.

The machine guns purchased from the Kingdom of the Rhine gave the Ottoman army its first taste of the slaughter efficiency of an industrialized nation. A few machine guns had already locked down the entire beachhead, making it impossible for a single person to escape alive.

The Ottoman army chose their ambush locations with great precision. The moment these men landed on the beach, their fate was sealed; there was no chance of escape.

Hussein felt like he had become the butcher of Tripoli's beaches. Although he couldn't aim at the enemy precisely, every time his machine gun veered off course, it meant that people in that area would fall on the beach.

"God is the greatest."

Hussein kept reciting scriptures in his mind, watching the French soldiers fall one after another. He estimated that there wouldn't be many people left on the beach after this was over.

"Quickly clear out the French on the beach."

Fahreddin gave orders to the officers beside him. News came from the direction of Zawier that the French army's attack was too fierce. They had already launched at least seven charges and were still continuing to attack. It seemed that they would not be able to hold out for much longer.

"Send two regiments to Zawiya as reinforcements. We have won the Tripoli counterattack. Inform Marshal Kemal."

The French suffered a complete defeat in Tripoli, which meant that the balance of the entire war was broken and the scales of victory began to tip in favor of the Ottomans.

Louis miraculously survived all the Ottoman army's fire by clinging to John's leg, but his mind had become somewhat unstable.

Among the Ottoman army were many nobles who had come to gain prestige; the Ottoman soldiers cleaning up the battlefield would never have dreamed that there was a madman among the French troops.

This madman took a grenade and detonated it, accidentally killing Ali Fuadpasha's son in the process.

This Minister of War was ostensibly a confidant of Kemal, but he never joined the Ottoman People's Party. Factional struggles within the Ottoman Empire were intensifying, and it was unknown what consequences this turn of events would bring.

There were no victors in Tripoli that day.

299. The Bitter Loser

"Your Highness Thorne, people from the French Republic have arrived."

The Tripoli campaign nearly bankrupted the French Republic. The landing alone cost them several elite units, and thousands were captured. This military overreach wiped out France's military gains of the past few months, leaving them with nothing.

Even the Ottomans couldn't defeat them, so Pétain's idea of ​​challenging the French Commune was simply wishful thinking. If it weren't for the German Empire to the east keeping them in check, the French Commune would have declared war on the French Republic at lightning speed after this war.

This war was started by the French Republic. If only they had known this would happen, they wouldn't have done it in the first place. Now they have no choice but to continue fighting. At the beginning of the war, all the countries actually favored the French Republic. After all, no matter how incompetent the French Republic was, it was still a European country back then.

Turkey's strength is well-known. Although France's strength may not be what it used to be, it could still beat up the Ottomans. However, as the war progressed, the Ottomans became more and more courageous. The Tripoli landing ended in a crushing defeat for France. After that, the Ottomans were very likely to launch a major counter-offensive, completely driving the French out, and even directly into French territory.

The poor performance of the French Republic has begun to shift the tide in Europe, with many now supporting the Ottoman Empire. The French Republic's performance has truly disgraced Europe.

The shift in public opinion and the course of the war instantly placed the French Republic in a dangerous situation, which is why they rushed to the Kingdom of the Rhine for help.

"Give my regards to your Grand Marshal. How is Grand Marshal Pétain's health?"

Thorne smiled as he looked at the gloomy-faced representatives of the French Republic. These remnants of the Republic, who had been driven to Africa, had completely lost the imposing manner that France once had. Even now, during negotiations, they could only sit in the lower seats and could not sit with Thorne.

"Grand Marshal Pétain is in good health. Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."

The French representative wore a bitter expression, managing only a strained smile. Pétain had fainted from anger upon hearing of the crushing defeat at Tripoli, especially since the news of the defeat came from the Ottoman radio. The Tripoli victory was a major victory for the enemy.

Pétain collapsed immediately after receiving the news. At his age, he almost didn't make it through such a shock. Fortunately, the doctors did their best to save him, which slightly improved his condition. However, he is still lying in the hospital in a coma.

After this incident, Pétain's health will likely deteriorate significantly. Most importantly, Pétain has not yet chosen a successor. If he falls, the future political situation in the French Republic will be uncertain.

"Distinguished representatives, what brings you to the Kingdom of Rhine?"

"Your Highness, we wish to purchase more weapons from the Kingdom of Rhine."

The French representative made the purpose of his trip very clear as soon as he arrived: the French army suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Tripoli, and had not made any progress in the Zawiya area. They were about to break through the fortress, but the defenders in Tripoli immediately reinforced Zawiya after the battle ended, which led to their failure.

"You want to buy weapons from us? Hasn't the Kingdom of Rhine been trading with you in this area all along? Why are you bringing this up now?"

"That's right. We've come here hoping to purchase more heavy weapons from the Kingdom of the Rhine to deal with the Ottoman army. We hope to buy more advanced weapons from the Kingdom of the Rhine."

"Like what?"

"Your Highness Thorne, the Rhine Kingdom's newest Panzer II tank. The French Republic has come with the utmost sincerity. The Ottomans, an Islamic state, are the enemy of all Europe and the entire civilized world. The French Republic is waging a just war, and we hope the Rhine Kingdom will support us."

"The Kingdom of the Rhine is not a participant in this war, so you don't need to worry about it. This war is between you and the Ottomans."

Thorne offered a reminder: he made money off selling arms off the field, but France was trying to morally blackmail him and drag the Kingdom of the Rhine into the mess. How could that be possible?

France hoped to purchase the latest Panzer II tanks from the Kingdom of the Rhine, which had only recently begun equipping itself with them and was barely meeting production demands. The fact that the French wanted to buy them put Thorne in a difficult position.

The war between France and the Ottoman Empire is currently the only war with a relatively large scale of conflict. The specific performance of the Panzer II tank has not yet been tested in actual combat, but it could be put to the test in the North African campaign.

"How much sincerity has the French Republic shown this time?"

"The French Republic will trade with the Kingdom of the Rhine this time using gold."

Because Pétain is still in a coma, de Gaulle has taken on the role of interim commander-in-chief. Darlan's failure has relegated him to obscurity, and now de Gaulle is the only one with the most prestige.

De Gaulle now not only needs to quell domestic public opinion pressure, but more importantly, he needs to stabilize the war on the front lines. After the Ottoman army's victory in Tripoli, it sent reinforcements to Zawiya, hoping to take advantage of the momentum of victory to take Zuwara directly and drive the French back.

De Gaulle saw the role of tanks in the war, so he thought he could take the opportunity to get more from the Kingdom of the Rhine. The current state of the war meant that France could no longer stop it at will. The North African war was being escalated out of control, and both the French Republic and the Ottoman Empire were caught up in it and unable to extricate themselves.

"We can talk about it, we can discuss anything."

Upon hearing that France was willing to use gold for the transaction, Thorne immediately agreed. The international economic environment was not good at the moment, and who knew what might happen one day? Gold was still a better store of value.

"Let these gentlemen talk to you next. I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation."

The next step is to leave it to the professionals. Of course, as the latest tank in the Rhine Kingdom, the Panzer II will definitely not be sold to the French in its original form. An export version will be sufficient, since the French won't have much money to spare anyway, and a knock-off version will be cheaper.

Thorne's mind is still on the air force. The so-called blitzkrieg requires the army and air force to cooperate. Only with sufficient air superiority can there be a prerequisite for blitzkrieg. So Thorne has been busy with this these days, visiting several aircraft manufacturing plants in the Kingdom of Rhine for inspection.

Besides aircraft, there is another crucial piece of equipment: the eyes of fighter jets, the long-range vision of the battlefield—radar.

For the Rhine Kingdom's army to enter a new era, upgrading its equipment is essential, and of course, something as important as radar is indispensable.

300. Technological Upgrade

Radar is the eye of a fighter jet and plays an extremely important role in the history of warfare. This invention successfully defended against threats from the sky, so Thorne would not forget to develop such a thing. The invention of radar can effectively reduce the damage of enemy air attacks and increase the survival time of friendly fighter jets.

The invention of the airplane caused a huge sensation. Being able to fly has always been a dream of mankind. Soon people discovered the advantages of airplanes and applied them to the military field.

Although they were used in the military field, the aircraft at that time were too rudimentary, and the wooden structures made it difficult for them to undertake complex combat missions. Therefore, in the beginning, they generally did not undertake attack missions. The aircraft were only sent out to carry out reconnaissance missions, and sometimes they would fly over enemy positions to drop leaflets.

However, as time went by, technological innovation and progress made airplanes more and more advanced. The first air battle broke out during the war. As airplanes demonstrated their prowess in air combat and ground attack, people began to find ways to detect incoming enemy planes in advance.

With the continuous development of technology and the attention paid by various countries, the performance of aircraft began to improve, and they quickly became one of the most threatening weapons to ground targets. The emergence of aircraft changed the war situation. This advanced weapon from the sky is difficult to detect, and its powerful mobility makes it difficult for ground troops to make effective defenses. Often, by the time it is detected, it is too late to prepare.

Since then, people have begun to try to deal with the incoming aircraft. In order to deal with this threat from the sky, countries have adopted different methods, the most common of which is human reconnaissance.

During World War II, the Japanese Navy did not have large-scale radar equipment, so it relied heavily on "human reconnaissance" on aircraft. To improve the eyesight of these people, they had to eat fish at every meal. The Japanese Navy relied on these people to warn American carrier-based aircraft.

In order to anticipate enemy aircraft, people invented anti-aircraft listening devices. Because fighter planes make a lot of noise during flight, and the planes at that time were all propeller-driven, which made a lot of noise when they flew, people used this to create anti-aircraft listening devices.

The machine looks quite comical, resembling a large horn and somewhat similar to a modern satellite dish. The principle of the anti-aircraft listening device is similar to that of a stethoscope, using the fan-shaped device of the horn to collect more sound, thereby increasing its sensitivity to sound.

When an aircraft flies in from a distance, the sound of its propellers is picked up by a loudspeaker. The monitoring personnel then adjust their position in time to determine the exact direction of the incoming enemy aircraft. Using the large loudspeaker, they sense the noise and vibration emitted by the distant aircraft, and then the operators continuously adjust to determine the flight direction of the enemy aircraft.

Although this machine may seem unreliable, it is very scientific. In the era before radar, this instrument greatly reduced the effectiveness of enemy air raids. The German Empire still has many such devices in its military, as well as military personnel who monitor enemy aircraft.

The listening devices currently in service in Germany consist of four acoustic speakers, one horizontal pair and one vertical pair, connected to stethoscope-style headphones via rubber tubing. They are worn by two technicians, one on each side. The stereo headphones allow one technician to determine the aircraft's direction and the other to determine its altitude.

This type of instrument, which uses acoustic positioning, can generally detect targets at a distance of 5 to 12 kilometers. However, this depends on weather conditions, the operator's skill, and the size of the target. Although it has many shortcomings, it was already very "intelligent" at the time.

Anti-aircraft listening devices were widely used before the invention of radar and were used extensively in both World Wars. However, the effectiveness of anti-aircraft listening devices was poor, and it was also time-consuming and laborious to train many technical personnel. Therefore, Thorne wanted to develop radar ahead of time.

In its original history, the first practical radar was invented by British Robert Watson Watt in 1935, and the first radar station in Britain was set up on the coast of Sofk in 1936. The invention of radar gave Britain a very important advantage in the Battle of Britain. At the same time, after the practical application of air defense radar, various old-fashioned listening devices were quickly phased out.

Modern warfare is essentially a comprehensive contest of industry and science and technology, which was extremely evident in World War II. War is the best way to test the scientific and technological achievements of various countries.

Before World War II, Germany was one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. Its technological advantages were fully utilized in the war. The German army's amazing achievements and lightning-fast blitzkrieg in the early stages of World War II were due to its pre-war technological accumulation.

The German army had a great advantage in many equipment areas, such as tanks, submarines, fighter jets and machine guns, which impressed the Allies. However, even the most technologically superior army has its technological shortcomings.

For example, the German army's radar and radio navigation technology during World War II was a major weakness compared to that of the Allied forces.

The German army's greatest technological advantage during World War II was actually in its army equipment. In the early stages of the war, the technology of its main air force fighters was comparable to that of the British. For example, the German Bf-109E fighter was comparable to the British Hurricane fighter, but the Germans had an absolute numerical advantage.

However, in the decisive Battle of Britain, the German Luftwaffe was defeated by the much weaker British Royal Air Force. While there were many reasons for this, it was directly related to the Germans' underestimation of the role of radar and their outdated radio technology.

Although Britain was the first to develop a practical radar, it was actually Germany that first began to study radar.

In 1904, Dr. Hersmeier first proposed the principles and hypothetical structure of radar, but his theory was ahead of its time and therefore did not have much social significance, nor did it generate much of a response afterward.

The modern "father of radar" is Dr. Hans E. Hollimann from Germany, who continued and developed radar theory and applied his findings to practical production.

When Dr. Hollimann was teaching at the University of Darmstadt in central Germany, he had already begun his research on high-frequency electromagnetic waves with wavelengths in the centimeter range.

In 1927, he completed the prototype of the first ultra-shortwave transmitting and receiving device with wavelengths ranging from centimeters to decimeters, which was also the world's first practical microwave telecommunications device.

Subsequently, in early 1928, Holliman published a paper revealing the principle of electron oscillation in the "Barkerhausen effect".

After reading this paper, Dr. Hanscal von Willis, who was also conducting research on VHF at the time, joined Holliman's research. In order to carry out the research work better, they found an investor, Gent Elbuslow, to establish GEMA Company, which specializes in radar research.

It was early 1928, the time when everything was just beginning, and Thorne could find Dr. Holliman and Dr. Willis, who were still researching radar technology, to add a brand new weapon to the air force of the Kingdom of the Rhine.

301. Radar Research Office

In the original timeline, Germany before World War II was the first country to invent radar. However, the first practical radar was invented by the British, so much so that many researchers today are debating which country was the first to create radar.

During World War II, in the early stages of the war, the British air force and army were among the world's best, while the German Bf 109 and Me 190 dominated the skies over Europe with almost no defeats.

However, although Germany's fighter jets were among the best in the world, the German Air Force did not pay much attention to radar, and its radar technology developed before the war was quickly surpassed by Britain. The British Army was also more proficient in its application than the German Army.

During the Battle of Britain, Germany had an absolute advantage in the number of aircraft, and the performance of the aircraft on both sides was not much different. In theory, the German air force should have had enough advantage to crush the opponent, but in the end, it was completely defeated. From then on, Germany never had the strength to set foot on the British Isles again, which foreshadowed its later demise.

The British deployed a large number of radars along the coastline at the time. With the help of these newly invented radars, they were able to observe the positions of German air force aircraft. This allowed the British to issue early warnings of war and send out combat aircraft to accurately locate the positions of German air force bomber groups and launch attacks before the enemy aircraft reached their designated positions.