On March 16, 1944, in the vast Libyan desert, Germany's latest Panther tanks lunged toward the 13th Army of the World People's Liberation Army (WPLA). This Panther tank was different from the Panther tank of another timeline. This version was a German 42-ton variant of the M26 Pershing tank.

The American Sherman tank was inherently well-designed with a very reasonable layout. As a member of the Allies, Germany provided a great deal of military equipment technology to other Allied nations and naturally received much in return. The new Panther tank was a German version of the Pershing tank developed jointly with the United States.

The American M26 Pershing weighed 41.9 tons, while the German version was 42 tons. The Americans equipped it with a British-made 90mm tank gun, whose power was similar to that of the Chinese Type 59 tank. The Germans, on the other hand, equipped it with their famous 88mm "anti-everything" gun, which was even more formidable.

With this, Britain, the United States, and Germany had essentially standardized their respective tanks. At least the US and Germany had determined their heavy tanks to be 42 tons and their medium tanks to be 30 tons. They began rapidly phasing out various other tanks, focusing all the resources and research and development capabilities of their armies on these two models.

The German army named the 30-ton tank the Tiger and the 42-ton tank the Panther. While they looked very different on the outside, their internal differences were limited. Both the US and German armies used gasoline engines again, and many internal components had become essentially interchangeable.

The German army was quite satisfied with the Panther tank; its firepower, armor, and speed met their expectations. Moreover, the production technology was within Germany's capabilities, allowing for mass production.

On the North African battlefield, the Panther tank could penetrate the frontal armor of the Chinese Type 59 tank, something the previous Tiger tanks had found difficult to do.

However, the Panther was only comparable to the Chinese Type 59. The German army possessed elite armored crews they were proud of. After re-equipping with the Panther, the stigma of previously being unable to defeat Black armored crews was finally washed away. In several subsequent large-scale armored battles, the German army gained a certain advantage and successfully defeated Black armored units several times.

In this engagement, the fighting remained extremely fierce. Panther and Type 59 tanks were being destroyed continuously. Yet the armored crews on both sides were not deterred; driving their steel beasts, they fought each other with a ferocity that left them exhilarated, even manic.

With blows traded back and forth, both sides continuously committed new forces, causing the already intense battlefield to truly catch fire. The American M26 used a gasoline engine, while the German Panther, like its Chinese and Soviet counterparts, used a diesel engine. Consequently, the destroyed tanks burned with billowing black smoke. The intensity of the fires was such that the engineers assigned to recover tanks dared not approach. The tank crews who died were burned black in the inferno, making it impossible to tell whether they were Black or white.

The German armored units were indeed elite. Seizing an opportunity, they cut into a gap in the WPLA 13th Army's armored formation, creating a three-sided encirclement.

Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, the 13th Army's armored units began to retreat. The maximum speed of the Type 59 tank was 50 kilometers per hour, while the German Panther was 48 kilometers per hour. Although this appeared to be only a 4% difference, the effective engagement distance for tanks was only a few hundred meters. For every half hour of travel, the distance between the two sides would widen by one kilometer, effectively breaking contact.

The German army was now swept up in the heat of the moment. The massive pursuit involving hundreds of tanks on both sides undoubtedly stimulated the nerves of the German tank commanders. They pursued relentlessly, regardless of everything.

However, less than an hour into the pursuit, a Panther tank suddenly exploded into flames. Soon, Panthers were being hit one after another. Yet the German armored commanders, their blood up, paid it no mind until over a dozen Panthers had been destroyed. Only then did the German frontline commanders realize they had been ambushed.

The German army was, after all, the German army. Even when caught up in the heat of the moment, it was because they believed the pursuit would expand their gains. Seeing themselves starting to suffer, the German tank groups immediately turned around to retreat.

But the WPLA was using 155mm howitzers. These guns had good precision and a high rate of fire. In a few moments, they destroyed another dozen German Panthers. During the German retreat, they destroyed another twenty or so.

Ultimately, when the German army retreated back to their starting point, they found they hadn't gained any advantage in this engagement. Because of the ambush by the Chinese artillery, the Germans had actually suffered a slight loss.

When news reached General of Armored Troops Rommel, commander of the Afrika Korps, his expression remained firm, but his tone became stern. "Do not underestimate the enemy because they are Black. This is clearly our own tactic, and they have quickly learned it!"

Reprimands aside, the German Afrika Korps commanders were only ashamed, not angry. Even as a high-ranking general, Rommel shared the hardships of his officers and men and frequently appeared on the most intense front lines. While this style was unpopular within the German General Staff, the officers and men deeply loved Rommel, who often braved enemy fire alongside them.

As Rommel said, using the 88mm gun for anti-tank work was a specialty of the German army, dating back to the Spanish Civil War. Having gone through the Polish campaign, the Western European campaign, and the Soviet-German war, this anti-tank method was very mature. When the 88mm gun was mounted on the Panther tank, there was celebration within the German army.

Now that the German tactics had been learned by the Black armored crews, it posed a significant threat to the German army. And it wasn't just ambushes they had learned; they had also picked up many technical and tactical skills from German armored units and were using them against the Germans.

Rommel sighed from the heart. "Gentlemen, we are facing a real army, not African tribes. I require everyone to face them with an attitude of respect. If anyone continues to underestimate the Black army, they will only find themselves unable to return home alive."

These words were not a mere reprimand; Rommel himself truly felt uneasy. From the interrogation of captured prisoners, the intelligence Rommel received showed that initially, 60% of the 13th Army were soldiers from China, Japan, and Korea, with Black soldiers making up only 40%.

As the war progressed, the proportion of Black officers and men in armored units continued to rise. Initially, they became loaders in tank crews. Later, Black drivers and even gunners appeared.

The reason there were no Black tank commanders for the time being was entirely because a tank commander needs to master many categories of technology, which Black personnel were currently unable to handle.

Such personnel changes had increased the proportion of Black soldiers in the 13th Army from 40% to the current 60%. To Rommel, it was not an exaggeration to call a unit with a Black majority a Black army.

According to prisoner statements, those experienced Asian soldiers had joined other units. Among the known designations were the 11th Army and the 12th Army. The units under these two armies had already begun converting from motorized infantry divisions to armored units.

The statements also mentioned three yet-to-be-encountered armies: the 27th, 28th, and 29th. Based on scattered information from prisoners, the intelligence analysis department of the German Afrika Korps Headquarters believed these three armies were likely being upgraded from infantry units to motorized units.

If all six of these armies appeared on the front line, it would be a force of a million men. While this army still had some gaps when facing the Germans, Rommel knew the British army well. He believed that when facing these Black armies with equal strength, the British would likely not gain an advantage.

Furthermore, the British had only 300,000 men in Libya. When their numbers were inferior to the Black army, the British were very likely to be broken, just as they had been in the Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Tobruk.

As for the German army, the General Staff did not want to maintain a million-man German force in Africa. Rommel had fought in the Soviet Union and could understand the General Staff's thinking.

Although the Soviet Union had signed an armistice with Germany, the German army did not believe the Soviets would truly withdraw from the war. The Soviets were simply seizing time to recover their strength and rebuild their elite units. In two years, the Soviet Union would inevitably become a major threat to Germany again. The combat effectiveness of the Red Army should be able to pose a significant threat to the German army.

However, Africa was so large that not even a million German troops, let alone 500,000, would be enough to contest Africa with China. Not to mention that the number of Black units led by Asians in the WPLA was already very large. With 4 million Asian soldiers as a core, an elite Black force of 10 million could be established.

Rommel was not a subscriber to racism; he looked down on citizens of non-industrialized nations but treated them as human beings. Therefore, Rommel didn't think 5 million German troops would fare well against 10 million elite Black soldiers.

On March 18th, the German Luftwaffe, which was constantly in fierce combat, sent Rommel a piece of news. Based on some signs seen during their intense battles, the Black army opposite them appeared to have retreated. New units had replaced the 11th, 12th, and 13th Armies.

Learning of this possibility, Rommel prepared to test the strength of the potentially new Black units by launching an active offensive. However, before Rommel's plan could unfold, the Black army opposite them took the initiative and began an offensive. The German army, unwilling to humor their opponents, immediately implemented a counter-offensive.

After the fighting on March 19th ended, the German army had essentially determined that the new units opposite them were the 28th and 29th Armies. Rommel hadn't expected these two armies to be motorized, but rather fully armored.

In the combat on the 19th, the 28th and 29th Armies performed quite impressively. Aside from some slight clumsiness in battle, their basic training was excellent and not inferior to the 13th Army that had been rotated out.

On March 20th, the German army engaged in the fight received a distress telegram from the British, requesting support from German armored units. Rommel's Afrika Korps consisted of 11 armored divisions and lacked corps-level units. This was because Rommel believed that in the North African desert, corps-level units were too unwieldy; direct command of the 11 armored divisions from headquarters would be more effective.

Hearing the British plea for help, the atmosphere within Rommel's headquarters was somewhat suppressed. Rommel had previously shared his analysis with the staff of the Afrika Korps, and everyone agreed that the British might not actually be able to defeat elite Black units, but they hadn't expected this pessimistic prediction to become reality so quickly.

If anything was more pessimistic than the German predictions, it was likely the British African Corps, which was currently under heavy assault by the 27th Army.

There were currently three "African Corps" in Libya: those of Germany, Britain, and Italy. Even members of the Allies who had not committed troops to Africa believed the Italian African Corps was surely the weakest, even weaker than the WPLA.

As everyone judged, the Italian African Corps had been beaten down from its original 670,000 to only 150,000. Even Mussolini was unwilling to send more reinforcements to the Italian African Corps.

The British African Corps had been reduced from its original 410,000 to 130,000. Proportionally, it was not much more glorious than the Italian one. And at this time, the British African Corps on the southern front was facing the 27th Army of equal strength. The British indeed fought very bravely but were being pushed back by the raw power of the 27th Army opposite them, unable to stabilize their line.

Seeing that if they continued to fight this way, the British line would likely be punctured by the 27th Army, the British African Corps had to request German support.

Based on an analysis of the battle situation, the German Afrika Korps Headquarters concluded that they could not provide support at this time. With 11 armored divisions facing two armored groups opposite them, the German forces were only barely maintaining their position. Once reinforcement units were dispatched, the Germans would have no reserve forces to deal with unexpected situations.

Since the Germans couldn't go out, the burden of reinforcement was naturally pushed onto the Italian army behind the British and German forces.

To be more persuasive, Rommel specifically sent a telegram to Hitler, informing the Führer of the current combat situation. What Rommel didn't say was that he hoped the Führer would pressure Mussolini to order the Italian African Corps to reinforce the British.

Rommel didn't know that his reputation within the German General Staff was currently not good. Many German generals with strong racist ideologies believed that Rommel hadn't achieved any resounding, overwhelming victories against the Black army, and instead, it had become a war of attrition. This was cited as proof that Rommel had failed Hitler's high regard.

Fortunately, the current Acting Chief of the General Staff was Field Marshal Manstein, and the Army Chief of Staff was Colonel General Paulus. Both knew Rommel, and both were staff-type talents with rich frontline experience. After reviewing a large number of battle reports, both were deeply impressed by the rapidly improving combat effectiveness of the WPLA. Both expressed their support for Rommel through silence, which prevented any farce regarding Rommel's dismissal.

While Hitler had a deep-seated contempt for Black people, he greatly admired Rommel. Upon receiving Rommel's telegram, Hitler's sharp attention focused on the fact that it was the British African Corps that had requested aid first.

The British were currently transporting 200,000 troops from their homeland to North Africa, striving to strengthen the British African Corps. Before the British reinforcements arrived, the British on the front line couldn't hold out—this, in turn, showed that Rommel's concerns were very well-founded.

Hitler first sent a telegram to Mussolini, then had the General Staff report on the current war situation.

During the Soviet-German war, Hitler had monitored the conflict from the "Wolf's Lair" in East Prussia. Now that the two countries were at peace, Hitler was back at the Chancellery in Berlin.

Although the Soviet-German war hadn't achieved a sweep like the Western European campaign, the German army had indeed gained a huge war advantage and had retreated back to Germany before suffering catastrophic losses. Therefore, the morale of the German public remained unaffected. Every time Hitler appeared on the balcony of the Chancellery at recent rallies, he received enthusiastic cheers from the mass of Germans below.

This time, Hitler very much wanted to go out to the balcony, but he restrained himself. Life in Germany was still fairly comfortable; although raw materials from the US and South America were no longer supplied to Germany, Britain and France were similarly cut off from resources in the Americas and Africa. Compared to Britain and France, Germany possessed the largest sphere of influence in Europe and had raw material supplies far exceeding those of Britain and France.

However, Hitler felt an uneasy pressure from the entire situation. This pressure made him even less inclined to appear before the German masses.

Soon, Field Marshal Manstein, Acting Chief of the General Staff; Colonel General Paulus, Army Chief of Staff; Colonel General Model, Chief of the Army Operations Department; and Colonel General Guderian, Inspector General of Armored Troops who had been reinstated by Hitler, arrived at the Chancellery.

Looking at this group of generals and marshals, Hitler said with some emotion, "Seeing all of you reminds me of when we were planning the Western European campaign."

This remark triggered memories for the four. Only four years had passed since the Western European campaign, but it felt like a century ago. Manstein, Guderian, and Paulus all recalled the struggle between the younger generation and the "old fossils" of the General Staff at that time.

Back then, the General Staff believed it was impossible for the German army to completely defeat the Western European Allies led by Britain and France in the first offensive. Manstein, however, firmly believed that if they couldn't defeat them in one fell swoop, there was no point in launching the campaign. So he had asked Guderian if armored units could pass through the Ardennes Forest.

Manstein and Guderian had personally driven through the Ardennes once, ultimately determining that it was sufficient for a large number of German armored units to pass through smoothly.

Although during the Battle of Moscow, Guderian had abandoned other friendly forces and fled first, nearly allowing the Soviet Red Army's counter-offensive to break through the gap he had left.

But the camaraderie from the Western European campaign remained. While Manstein felt Guderian's character lacked the stubborn tenacity of someone like Model, Guderian had indeed shown outstanding expertise as an armored specialist during the process of introducing and absorbing the American M4 Sherman and M26 Pershing tanks. Thus, Manstein always treated Guderian with courtesy.

Model didn't have much interaction with Guderian and didn't particularly care.

Paulus had risen rapidly while serving as Chief of Staff to Field Marshal Reichenau. At that time, Paulus was Chief of Staff of the 6th Army under Army Group B, a pure infantry force fighting the Anglo-French forces head-on. He had some opinions about Guderian. However, Hitler's current attitude was clearly aimed at smoothing over relations, so Paulus naturally wouldn't deliberately spoil the mood.

After a bit of sentimental reminiscing, the relationships among the group appeared more harmonious. Only then did Hitler ask for their analysis and judgment of current Britain.

As Chief of the General Staff, Manstein said straightforwardly: "Britain is currently fighting on two fronts. Although they have received manpower supplements from colonial personnel withdrawn to Britain, the British population can at most reach 60 million. Due to massive manpower losses, the number of women in the British population already exceeds half. Even if Britain continues to persist, it is impossible for them to field more than 10 million troops."

"My Führer, I believe that China is now prepared to exhaust these 10 million British soldiers through a war of attrition, thereby ensuring that Britain will not be able to recover for the next thirty years."

Manstein's voice was not loud, and his tone was not dramatic. But his calm delivery of the analysis caused a psychological shock to the listeners even greater than that caused by Hitler's hysterical voice.

If China really wiped out 10 million British men, Britain's current 60 million people would be left with only 500 million. Among them, 30 million would be women, and the remaining 20 million men would be the old, weak, and disabled. Britain would certainly not be able to recover in the next thirty years.

Although the group was under great pressure from such an analysis, no one felt sympathy for Britain. They just continued to look at Manstein, waiting for him to continue analyzing Britain's future.

Manstein continued: "At this stage, Britain is likely to take preserving Canada as its primary goal. Canada has abundant resources and is the foundation for Britain to maintain its domestic industrial production at this stage. If Britain continues to suffer blows in Africa, they may completely abandon Africa. Once Britain withdraws from Africa, France, Italy, and Spain will be the first to bear the brunt. Britain could entirely concentrate its forces in Canada at this stage to fight a life-and-death struggle with China. I believe Britain is likely discussing whether or not to do so."

After hearing Manstein's analysis, Hitler's expression was somewhat somber. Italy was an ally of Germany, and Mussolini was Hitler's good brother. Hitler had sworn that as long as Mussolini needed him, regardless of the circumstances, he would help. As for Franco in Spain, he was also a close partner of Nazi Germany. If Britain shrugged its shoulders and ran, Hitler could not possibly fail to support these two allies.

After thinking for a while, Hitler looked at Paulus. "Chief of Staff, what is your view on the combat effectiveness of the current Black army?"

Although Paulus was extremely loyal to Hitler, as a soldier, especially a staff-type soldier, he did not have the habit of fabricating lies just to please Hitler. He replied decisively: "According to intelligence, Black soldiers with combat experience, when provided with superior equipment, can indeed demonstrate effective combat capability. Moreover, the commanders of the Black army are Asians. Asians believe that Black people are also a people oppressed by whites and are natural allies of Asians."

Hitler stared coldly at Paulus. He really didn't like hearing these words—not one bit.