African Nationhood

Chapter 666 European Ramblings (Part )

Crete is located in the middle of the eastern Mediterranean, with a total area of ​​approximately 8336 square kilometers.

Crete is the southernmost pearl of the Aegean Sea and the largest island in the Aegean Sea, only 300 kilometers away from the African continent.

The original population of the island was about 10.2, most of whom were Greeks, and the rest were Ottomans.

After the South China European Expeditionary Force arrived here and announced the regulations allowing free choice of naturalization, one-third of the civilians here left, and the remaining two-thirds included both Greeks and Ottomans, who were more willing to follow Mighty Nanhua.

Of course, there are also many people here who are reluctant to leave their ancestral business. After all, the olive oil and fishery resources on this island are very good.
In addition, the high-end dye industry here is also relatively developed, such as Bei Zi, Persian berry, etc.

The "Zhongkyo" did not dock at Heraklion on this island, but at the port of Chania in the northwest (today's Port of Chania, Crete).

In the 17th century, because Heraklion, the capital of the island, gradually became silted up, the Ottomans placed the port at the port of Chania in the Gulf of Chania in the northwest.

The water here is deep and the waves are flat, suitable for docking large ships.

After the arrival of the South China European Expeditionary Force, it was turned into a military port.

After the German army stabilized the situation in Western Europe, it began to invade the Balkans in southeastern Europe to ensure the security of the southern flank of the Axis powers;

At the same time, it can also enter the Eastern Mediterranean, thereby threatening British colonies around the Eastern Mediterranean.

……

Hearing this, Shi Jintang sighed.

The first thing to do is to build and widen the ring road and rebuild the bridge.

Mustache dispatched a large force of airborne troops and successfully captured Crete after a bloody battle.

After the Shi Jintang couple paid routine condolences at the port, they followed the commanders stationed on the island, Shi Honglian and Shi Quan'an, and others into the command post in the port.

Airports can only be built in the northern plains, but since there are fewer plains, too many airports cannot be built.

Moreover, the island is too long and narrow, so the pressure on defense is great.

Moreover, the peaks on the island have steep peaks in the south and gentle slope plains in the north. Therefore, the island's agriculture and population are mostly concentrated in the north.

As long as the German-Italian coalition takes over Crete, the situation in the Balkans will be stabilized.

This disconnected mountain range is mainly composed of four mountains. From east to west, they are Mount Sitia, Mount Rasiti, Mount Ida, and Mount White. The altitude of these mountains is more than 1300 meters.

In addition, there are many rivers on the island, and the river valleys stretch vertically and horizontally, making the roads not smooth.

At this time, the British army had been driven out of the Balkans by the German-Italian forces, and all its troops had withdrawn to Crete.

After a short rest, Shi Jintang listened to the garrison commander Shi Honglian's report on the situation on the island.

The port city is very small, with only tens of thousands of people. This time there was no warm welcome, no children presenting flowers, only determined and brave Nanhua soldiers.

The roads on the island are narrow and the bearing capacity of the bridges is also very small, which is very unfavorable for large-scale mobile operations of the legion.

The width of the island from north to south is between 11 and 59 kilometers. The widest place is in the middle of the island, and the narrowest place is in the east. The average width of the entire island is about 32 kilometers.

The terrain of Crete is mainly mountainous, with an incoherent mountain range traversing the entire island from east to west.

At most three or four can be built, but only the capital Heraklion can build a large airport, and other places can only build small airports. "

“The main island of Crete is about 260 kilometers long from east to west, 60 kilometers wide from north to south, and only 12 kilometers narrowest, covering an area of ​​8236 square kilometers.

There is also the need to dig tunnels in the north-south direction to connect north-south traffic.

This can save time and freight for supply ships arriving from Nanhua mainland, while ensuring that the island can receive timely support if it is attacked in the future.

The specific plan needs to be decided after the Ministry of Urban Development sends people to come here for exploration.

……

After the military meeting, Shi Honglian reported to the Chairman of the Generalissimo that one of the White Goose officers he had admitted before was a major general who was a staunch royalist. He requested to go to South China to visit Prince Alexei and Lady Alexandra. Hearing that the other party was a royalist, Shi Jintang became interested.

"What's this general's name?"

"Mikhail Gordeevich Drozdovsky was once the commander of the White Goose Army."

This dear friend was wounded in a battle at the end of 1918 and injured his leg.

In the original time and space, because the White Goose Army lacked medicine, his wound infection and inflammation eventually evolved into gangrene, and he should have died at the beginning of this year.

……

He was able to survive in this time and space, thanks to Nanhua's large-scale drug use during the influenza epidemic. With Watson's treatment, his wounds were not inflamed and infected, and his life was saved.

After he survived, he keenly discovered that the situation in the White Goose Army had changed.

Denikin and others were purely against the Soviets and were not trying to restore tsarist rule.

After the major general discovered the changes in the White Goose Army, he was no longer willing to contribute to the White Goose Army. He deliberately pretended to be ill and hid in the injury camp.

Hearing that the wounded would be sent to Nanhua, he was overjoyed and followed the other wounded directly to Crete.

When he arrived on the island, he asked Shi Honglian for permission to go to Nanhua mainland to visit the crown prince and queen.

Shi Honglian couldn't make the decision and could only wait for Chairman Shi to arrive before making a report.

"How's his leg? Is it dangerous?"

"It's not dangerous. His injury was mainly due to infection. Our Watson suppressed the infection, and our vitamin supplements helped relieve his symptoms. Now he is very healthy."

"Well, let's arrange for him to go, and also tell the Military Intelligence Office to keep an eye on them to prevent them from making any small moves."

"Yes."

……

"When will Kemal arrive?"

"It should be here soon, just in the next few days."

Kemal had already taken control of the Asia Minor peninsula, and now he was calling on other warlords in the Ottoman territory to jointly resist the invasion of the Allied forces.

He was naturally happy to learn that Nanhua wanted to help him.

On June 6, Kemal arrived at the port of Heraklion on a merchant ship.

After the military police searched Kemal, they allowed him to enter the former Ottoman Governor's Palace and meet Chairman Shi.

……

Kemal was wearing a military uniform and a trademark dome hat. He looked very energetic, and the straight beard on his lips was very eye-catching.

Shi Jintang admired the founding father of Turkey very much, "Please sit down, Mr. Kemal."

Kemal also secretly looked at Shi Jintang after he came in. When he heard Shi Jintang's invitation, he leaned over and sat across from Shi Jintang.

"Chairman Shi, what do you want to talk about when you invite me here?"

Shi Jintang chuckled, "I think your heroic struggle for national independence is very admirable. We in Nanhua intend to assist you and the Young Turk Party behind you.

What do you think? "

Kemal did not show any excitement when he heard this, "Then what do you want to get from me?"

(End of this chapter)