While Zhang Chi and the Expeditionary Forces were busy training, they received a call from Eisenhower.

"Major General!" Eisenhower's voice sounded happy: "I think we can know the outcome of the bet in advance!"

"You mean...German, Italian troops are already building a line of defense?"

"Yes!" Eisenhower replied: "To be precise, it's the Germans, they have already made some moves!"

As Zhang Chi thought, the Germans were not fools. They would not allow Italy to collapse and fall into the hands of the Allies to become an Allied siege and attack a base for Germany. So Hitler immediately organized troops to cross the border and enter Italy... This was done in order to stabilize the situation in Italy, and in the second was to block the Allied forces from advancing.

The generals sent by Hitler were either others, or Rommel, an old opponent called the Desert Fox.

Rommel returned to his country to recuperate for a while since his retreat in Africa. Not only did Hitler not punish Rommel for his failure in Africa and repeatedly disobeying orders, he awarded him the Oak Leaf Diamond Medal... You should know that this is the highest honor of the German army. In World War II, tens of millions of German troops participated in the war, and only 27 people were able to receive the Oak Leaf Diamond Medal. The difficulty and the strictness of the test can be seen.

Rommel was naturally very energetic when he received this medal. In addition, the disease that plagued him in Africa had been cured, so he happily took over the position of commander of the Army Group B in northern Italy.

As Rommel said to his opponent: "Everyone, let us teach the Italians how to fight. They are about to give their country to others and be proud of it. We... want to show them what real soldiers are, we want to make them feel ashamed, let them be ashamed, and finally take up weapons and fight with us to drive away the invaders!"

Rommel always speaks so arrogantly.

In fact, it was inappropriate for him to say these words at this time, because Italy had not surrendered yet, although everyone knew that the Italian government and people had a tendency in this regard... In fact, the Italian government had sent people to contact Britain and the United States to express their wishes, but because they were worried that the Germans would take the opportunity to attack Italy, they did not make it public as military secrets.

Therefore, this is an extremely sensitive moment, and Rommel's words will undoubtedly stimulate the nerves of the Italians and make them be prepared for the German army.

But Rommel didn't care about so much. The next day he commanded his troops across the border to occupy the main traffic routes along the way.

Italy protested... Italy was still a ally of Germany at this time. As an ally, Germany did not have the power to dispatch troops or take any military actions without informing Italy.

The newly appointed Prime Minister Badorio called Rommel himself: "Marson, I think your actions are lacking in consideration. We should unite against the enemy, not have internal problems. I don't think you want this, right?"

Bardoglio said something at the same time. On the one hand, he regarded himself as a German ally, and on the other hand, he implied Rommel... If Germany continues to act arbitrarily, it is likely that it will force Italy to sever relations with Germany and turn to the Allies.

Rommel is a long-standing man, so how could he be frightened by a politician like Bardoglio? He replied: "I fully agree, respected Prime Minister. Maybe I should notify you, I am sorry for this. But you must know that I did this to unite Germany and Italy to fight back the enemy."

After pausing, Rommel continued, "Look, the Allies have occupied Sicily and are ready to land in Italy at any time. I think you must lack sufficient troops in the south to deal with the British and Americans. We will enter northern Italy to defend the north for you, so that you can safely transfer the troops to the south to defend your country!"

Badorio couldn't help but feel speechless when he heard this.

This is strategically reasonable. The German army in the north can even serve as a strong support for the Italian army... Badoglio is not easy to refuse.

Because rejecting a reasonable strategy requires sufficient reasons, otherwise it would be tantamount to saying that Italy has a different intention and does not want to win the battle but wants to surrender.

So Bardoglio could only let it go, allowing the Germans to enter Italy without daring to take any action.

The characteristic of the German army is that it moves very quickly. In just ten days, the German army of 8 divisions had entered the Alps and began to build defense lines... This formed a support or potential reinforcement and cover ability for the German army of the 6 divisions of the Group A Group in southern Italy commanded by Kesselin.

The British actually got this information earlier, but they made a sound... because this means that everything Zhang Chi said has become a fact. Italy will not only be a tempting peach like they said, but it will also be a quagmire, a quagmire that has trapped the Allied forces.

But it would be useless not to say anything about the British. The United States also has its own intelligence network, and the German army's big moves cannot be concealed by anyone.

So Eisenhower called Zhang Chi.

"Now..." Eisenhower said: "I want to see what these British people do. They have even made an offensive plan! Now they are afraid that they will throw this plan into the stove!"

"Don't be too optimistic, general!" Zhang Chi said: "We all know that the real purpose of the British is not to defeat the Germans as soon as possible, but to delay and profit from it. In other words, what they said before is just the excuses they found. And there will always be excuses!"

"You mean... they will find other excuses?" Eisenhower didn't expect this. After thinking about it, he replied uncertainly: "No, I don't think that in this situation, they can find any excuses!"

Eisenhower was actually not sure, so he hurriedly said a few words and hung up the phone.

Zhang Chi knew that Eisenhower must have gone to Alexander or Montgomery.

There was no response for several hours after that, so Zhang Chi knew that things should be like he thought... The British found a new excuse.

Otherwise, Eisenhower would have called Zhang Chi again to tell him the good news.

Eisenhower has no voice now because he is arguing with those "crawling" British people, and the debate must be so fierce that Eisenhower has never had time to reply.
Chapter completed!