Iron Cross

"Did I hear correctly? Is this really what your head of state meant?" Ramsden asked doubtfully.

"Yes, otherwise Marshal Guderian would not dare to give such an order."

"Marshal? He became a marshal?"

"The promotion order was just issued today, and the official title will take some time. Because of General Guderian's outstanding contribution in the North African campaign, the head of state has promoted him to marshal." The envoy raised his head arrogantly and said in an unquestionable tone, "He used 100,000 to fight 300,000, not only won but also captured 100,000 prisoners... If a general in your country also has such an achievement, will Mr. Churchill give him a marshal title? Of course, Admiral Alexander will never think about it in this life. I have never seen him make any outstanding contributions, and he dare not even show his face..."

When the British trio heard the other party mocking Alexander, their arrogance dimmed. The fact is obvious. The envoy has been in and out of Cairo several times, but has never met the legendary supreme commander of the Middle East theater. Every time he asked for a meeting, Ramsden refused with irrelevant words. Combined with the secret reports from the Egyptians in the city, it is easy to conclude that Alexander has escaped.

"I can reveal another fact to you. The Führer's decision was unanimously opposed by the three marshals, Kesselring, Rommel, and Guderian, who believed that the enemy should not be allowed to escape. But the Führer's admiration for Egypt's historical civilization and his concern for the people of Cairo made him make this decision that is not accepted militarily."

"So we should still thank your army?" Moshead's face was livid. "Come and fight if you are not convinced. I will not go anywhere. I will wait for you in Cairo."

"This is Ai Mei's letter of denunciation. The ceasefire time is extended to 8 o'clock tomorrow morning. If your army refuses to accept the corresponding conditions, our army will launch a full-scale attack. Whether Cairo and your army will be completely destroyed depends on the general's thoughts." The envoy handed the ultimatum to Ramsden and said with a smile, "Anyway, our army in Iraq It has been taken down, and the oil fields are in our hands. It is meaningless for you to delay time - you don't want to stay in the city and watch us take down the whole Persia again. "

"No need to wait until 8 o'clock tomorrow, I can answer you now..." Freiberg was furious. He took a step forward and was about to scold the envoy, but was stopped by Ramsden, "Send the envoy away first, let us discuss it again."

Hoffman gave them an incredible plan: agree to the British army's retreat and allow them to retreat quickly to Aswan by rail, but people can retreat, but equipment cannot - they are only allowed to leave with personal belongings and light weapons, and Cairo City and all the equipment and facilities of the troops must be left intact to Guderian, giving Ramsden a total of 8 hours to consider.

Then Hoffman clearly asked Guderian to make a siege plan. If Ramsden disagrees or tries to delay time again, the air force will be dispatched and the artillery will open fire after 8 hours, ready for a strong attack.

"What if the other party agrees? This means that you have let go 30,000 British troops who have been tested by war and have a deep hatred for us..." Although Kesselring reluctantly let this order pass to Guderian, he still expressed strong dissatisfaction in front of Hoffman.

"Are you afraid of 30,000 troops with only light weapons?"

"Of course not now, but the Americans will soon arm them. Führer, don't forget the story of Dunkirk. We let go of 300,000 British because we were concerned about our own losses. They abandoned almost all their heavy equipment, but later..."

"I still remember the Dunkirk incident clearly. If it weren't for Goering's idiot..." Hoffman couldn't explain Hitler's mistakes, so he simply put all the blame on Goering. Anyway, the dead wouldn't speak to defend themselves, "But this time is different, do you think they Can they retreat safely and then rearm to fight us?"

"You mean..." Kesselring seemed to understand a little, "First pretend to let them go, and then you take the opportunity to..."

"No! No no no!" Hoffman shook his head like a rattle, "Albert, you misunderstood me, we can't do this, it's too damaging to our reputation, and doing so will only lead to one consequence - the British will never believe in the promise of surrender again, they will fight to the death."

"Are we just going to let them go..." Kesselring still looked unwilling.

"Not only can we let them go, but we can also let the wounded, colonial officials, and anyone who is willing to go with the British go. Only when the pro-British faction leaves can the pro-German faction take control of the overall situation in Egypt." Hoffman waved his hand proudly, "What you said before is right. Those supplies and equipment are the most insignificant things for the Americans. They can be produced in less than three days, but..." Hoffman dragged out his voice: "Even if they are produced, they must have a chance to be armed. You can look at the map. How do the Americans deliver supplies and equipment? There are not many roads in this damn place in East Africa. Do they rely on airplanes? Do they rely on trains? They can only rely on ships!"

"I want to control the Indian Ocean and force the Americans to continuously send warships and ships to the Indian Ocean to die - unless Roosevelt and Churchill don't want these troops, they must come - another way is for the enemy to walk back to South Africa from East Africa on their own two feet. Let's not talk about whether they have the ability to walk back. Even if they can, will they be willing to go back in such a shame?" Hoffman laughed, "So many troops have been lost in North Africa and the Middle East, and many troops have been lost in the Indian Ocean and the Horn of Africa. How many well-trained troops can they throw? People are the most expensive product in the world. It only takes a few minutes to produce a cannon, but it takes a long time to produce a cannon. It takes 20 years to produce a soldier who can operate artillery. Especially these two are dominion divisions. As long as Churchill has a little political sense, they can't be lost. "

Kesselring thought about it carefully. Although he felt that the Führer's words were close to fantasy, he made some sense after analysis: after letting these two divisions go, the scattered British and American troops in East Africa added up to nearly 4 divisions - 2 Australian and New Zealand divisions, the troops commanded by Alexander who escaped from Egypt earlier, and the troops who survived the landing after the destruction of the fast column, not to mention the many wounded. It is not easy to maintain supplies and ensure the supply of materials. The Americans must be exhausted. To use the Führer's words - this is a new form of siege and reinforcement.

"I agree to your request, but I have three conditions: First, our army will withdraw in batches, and all personnel willing to follow us, whether they belong to the troops or not, will be included in the withdrawal, and they will be handed over equipment in batches when they arrive safely; second, the means of transportation for the withdrawal will be coordinated by your army, and you must ensure that no attacks of any kind will be carried out during the withdrawal - there must be a personal signature of Marshal Guderian; third, after our army retreats to Aswan, your army shall not attack within 10 days until our army retreats into Ethiopia."

"These are all details, and they are acceptable."

At 7 o'clock in the morning, Ramsden, against all odds, agreed to the ultimatum put forward by the German army on behalf of the British army in Cairo, and quickly arranged the withdrawal - the first batch of retreating troops were the wounded soldiers, expatriates and their families in various hospitals, and the Australian and New Zealand armies only withdrew one regiment of escort vehicles.

Guderian, Maher and all the people in Cairo watched the British leave coldly. Cairo became a sea of ​​joy. Large Egyptian flags and swastika flags began to fly. The days when British colonists rode on the heads of the Egyptian people and acted tyrannically were finally gone.

The whole operation was later called the "Ramsden Retreat". Although it caused a lot of controversy, Ramsden had done his utmost to save the lives and honor of his men. No unbiased individual dared to erase his achievements.

Goebbels immediately seized the opportunity to promote it: ... "Ramsden Retreat" is a vivid portrayal of Germany's implementation of the "Arab National Liberation Declaration", which fully demonstrated the head of state's respect for Egyptian culture and history, and his love and concern for the Egyptian people. He would rather let go of the enemy army with whom we have a deep hatred than destroy the ancient city of Cairo. The sacrifice and patience of the German soldiers quickly won the friendship and recognition of the Egyptian people. The leaders of the newly born Middle Eastern countries sent congratulatory messages to congratulate Egypt on its complete independence! They are convinced that the Arab and German peoples can write an unprecedented new chapter in history based on win-win cooperation. The head of state said that we will definitely liberate Persia and all the Asian, African and Latin American people who are groaning under the tyrannical colonial rule of Britain and the United States and who make up the vast majority of the world's population!

On the evening of January 4, there was only one regiment left in the British army in Cairo. Ramsden had asked Moshead and Freiberg to lead their troops to retreat a few days ago, and he held on until the last moment. The entire retreat was orderly, and the German army did not take any opportunity to attack in full accordance with its promise.

"General Ramsden, I have some very unfortunate news to inform you."

"Humph, I knew you wouldn't keep your promise, come on." Ramsden sneered, "Although we still have one regiment left, our courage and determination are as great as ever."

"You..." The envoy opened his mouth and finally said slowly, "You are wrong. Our army has no intention of tearing up the agreement, and the troops can withdraw on time. I am just ordered to inform you that I just received news that two hours ago, the commander of your country's Eighth Army, Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery He committed suicide and left a suicide note. His body is now in Tobruk. The Führer has instructed that his coffin be transported to Cairo by a special plane. It will arrive in about 2 hours. If you want to pay your respects, we will make it convenient. After the condolences, we will arrange your retreat by train or plane..."

"Ah!" Upon hearing the news, Ramsden was struck by lightning and stood there in a daze. Tears could not be suppressed and flowed from the eyes of this tough guy. All the soldiers who had not retreated cried together - they benefited too much from Montgomery.

Ramsden arranged the retreat of the last batch of troops, rejected everyone's persuasion, and resolutely said: "I will go with you. I want to see him off for the last time."