Chapter 341 Gasoline

Rommel woke up after more than ten minutes and called Qin Chuan and others in.

"Colonel, Lieutenant!" Rommel stepped forward and shook hands with the two men cordially when he saw them: "Nice to meet you, why didn't you wake me up?"

"Sorry, General!" Colonel Slaine replied: "We don't want to disturb your rest!"

"Forget it!" Rommel smiled and said: "After we die in the line of duty, there will be plenty of time to sleep, right?"

The officers couldn't help laughing, and at the same time they admired Rommel's spirit. To be honest, no one can work like Rommel like a perpetual motion machine, and even if he is so busy, he will still take time to talk to the soldiers on the front line and motivate them.

The next second, Rommel pulled out a map and said to Qin Chuan while looking at it: "This is the defense map I just got from Major General Neumann. Tell me what you think, Lieutenant!"

"What?" Qin Chuan replied: "I don't have any ideas. I haven't even seen this defense map!"

Qin Chuan really hadn't seen this defense map. He came to Tunisia to do one thing, which was to build tunnel fortifications.

"I know!" Rommel answered while drinking coffee to refresh himself: "Major General Neumann didn't tell you all the deployments because there was always controversy within the 200th Infantry Division about your defense plan."

Qin Chuan didn't know this. Neumann didn't tell Qin Chuan, but this was also the 200th Infantry Division's business, and it seemed unnecessary to tell Qin Chuan, the lieutenant.

"The focus of the dispute is Gafsa!" Rommel spread the map in front of the officers, pointed at Gafsa and said: "It is a transportation hub in central and western Tunisia. The Gabes Line of Defense has a geographical advantage over the Allies on the one hand, and another function is to defend Gafsa, and your defense plan... We obviously have to hand over Gafsa to the Allies, right?"

"Yes!" Qin Chuan nodded.

Because the tunnel fortifications are based on high ground as the garrison point, and Gafsa is a city, then the Allies can certainly bypass the high ground and occupy Gafsa.

"Do you know what this means?" Rommel said: "It means that our transportation and supply will be cut off... You know, the supplies for the front line in the central and western sections of the Gabes Line of Defense are all transported to Gafsa first, and then dispersed to various high grounds!"

"I know!" Qin Chuan replied.

"In addition!" Rommel continued, "Lieutenant, have you ever considered... After the enemy occupied Gafsa, it is possible that with the help of the powerful firepower and defense of the 'Sherman' tanks, they can attack all the way to the northernmost Gamé along the roads and railways. In this way, Tunisia will be divided into two, and Porto Besiktas, Tunisia, etc. will be surrounded by the Allies!"

Rommel was right. Porto Besiktas and Tunisia may be surrounded. You must know that Porto Besiktas is the main port blocking the Tunisian Strait, and Tunisia is an air force base. If these two places are surrounded or even captured by the Allies, it basically means that the Tunisian Strait is open to the Allies.

"General!" Qin Chuan replied, "This is exactly what I want!"

"What do you mean?" Rommel looked at Qin Chuan in confusion.

"We built a Gabes defense line!" Qin Chuan said, "And I believe the enemy also thinks that we are simply building a Gabes defense line, just like usual..."

"No, no..." Colonel Slaine interrupted Qin Chuan: "I don't think so. The officers and soldiers of the 200th Division know that we are building tunnels, which means that the tunnels are no longer a secret to the British!"

Colonel Slaine is right. British intelligence personnel are everywhere, and Tunisia and Algeria, where many French people live, are no exception.

"Yes!" Qin Chuan replied, "But even we ourselves are doubting the role of the tunnels!"

Rommel nodded when he heard this: "Yes, because such tactics have never been used before, and once we fail, it means that the entire African Corps will be annihilated!"

Qin Chuan can understand what Rommel said. Tunisia is equivalent to the gateway to Algeria, whether on the sea or on land. If Tunisia is lost, it means that Algeria will also be difficult to defend, and then the African army will have no choice but to jump into the sea.

Therefore, it was difficult for Rommel to make the final decision... What Qin Chuan didn't know was that Neumann was the most determined. Neumann had been arguing with his subordinates on his own, while Rommel was shaken by the analysis and persuasion of the staff and other generals.

"If we all have doubts about the tunnel tactics!" Qin Chuan continued, "Then I believe that the British and Americans will not take it to heart!"

It was not until the Battle of Iwo Jima three years later that the Americans initially realized the power of this tactic, and the actual confrontation with the tunnel warfare was in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea eight years later.

Rommel nodded in agreement: "They will think that this is just a fortification to avoid artillery shells!"

"Yes!" Major General Voigt said: "Not to mention them, even I don't believe it. After the enemy occupies the surface position, it is easy to block our people in the tunnel. This is too dangerous!"

"Don't disbelieve it, General!" General Strike said: "Because this lieutenant... has made me realize that I am wrong again and again!"

So, General Strike actually didn't believe it, but he believed in Qin Chuan... because Qin Chuan never made a mistake.

"Keep thinking, Lieutenant!" Rommel said, "What would you do if the British and Americans didn't take the tunnel fortifications seriously?"

"Defend the Gabes Line as usual!" Qin Chuan pointed to the map and said, "Then let the enemy in and let them occupy Gafsa!"

"You're crazy!" Rommel said, "Their tanks will rush into Gafsa like a bursting dam, and it will only take a few days to split us in half!"

"Tanks need gasoline!" Qin Chuan said.

"Of course they have gasoline!"

"No, they don't!" Qin Chuan replied: "Our people are hiding in the tunnels on the high ground, as mentioned before... The British don't think the tunnels will work, and of course they don't believe how many people can hide in the tunnels, let alone that our people can survive in the tunnels for several days or even longer! Then..."

Rommel couldn't help but "Oh" and said: "Then our ground forces will cooperate with the tunnel forces to occupy these high ground in one fell swoop, and the high ground will block the nearby roads, thus cutting off their supply lines?"

"Yes!" Qin Chuan said: "The premise is that they can't snatch gasoline from us!"