The French only partially modified the Normandy, mainly for cabins below first-class cabin level. For example, the double-layer wooden bed in the guest room was converted into a four-layer steel bed, which increased the number of sanitation and water supply facilities. The lower deck was equipped with simple ventilation ducts, which expanded the scale of the kitchen and restaurant to meet the living needs of tens of thousands of French soldiers loaded on the ship during wartime transportation.

However, the French did not change the facilities and layout of rooms above the first class cabin, and still retained the luxurious facilities and interior decoration that were originally for the top passengers to enjoy, providing accommodation for senior officers and VIPs according to the level.

After all, the French have not been too luxurious to transform such a world-class super luxury cruise ship into an ocean-going troop transport ship to use. There are not many super cruise ships of this level like Normandy. The French are preparing to return the ship to its original appearance and return it to commercial operations until they replace her professional high-speed troop transport ship.

However, before that, France still needed her to continue serving the country, quickly traveling between the local and the Far Eastern colonies, and transporting important materials, military equipment and soldiers to the east.

This ship was able to transport a light infantry division and its ammunition and equipment from France to Southeast Asia within one voyage. It only took about fifteen days to complete the journey, and two of them were consumed by the port supply at the mid-stop port. In the 1940s, this deployment speed should be said to be quite astonishing.

When Normandy returned from French Indochina, of course, the ship would not be empty. In addition to the resources and commodities produced by colonies of various countries, Normandy also carried expatriates from Asian colonies to prepare to return to Europe, active troops sent back to Europe and veterans preparing to return home.

When European countries rebuilt their troops, they found that the gap between middle-level officers was very large. The development of officers was a systematic project, and the entire cycle was relatively long. So the senior officials focused on the officers serving overseas, because these people received the most formal military education before the war, and long-term service overseas also allowed them to accumulate a lot of military management tips. Therefore, during this period, colonial officers were often transferred back to China for service, and basically these people were incorporated into the reorganized troops to serve as middle-level officers.

The Normandy did not park in Suez Port, but was parked at the military dock next to the Chibirit Air Base. Almost a thousand passengers disembarked here and unloaded a large number of supplies, all of which were weapons and ammunition produced by the Indian arsenal.

The British are currently forming a powerful army in Egypt to deal with the anti-British trend spreading in the middle and lower levels of the Middle East. The desert chiefs who were fueling the fire behind them thought they were hiding well, but they underestimated the capabilities of the British intelligence agencies too much. The Imperial Military Intelligence Agency was not a dry place to eat fried fish and potatoes. The British Empire had already obtained sufficient evidence of these people's activities. When the time was ripe, they uprooted the slags and beat them all. This time, the British would not be ruthless. In order to maintain the stability of the British Empire, they must use steel and blood to intimidate other unjust officials.

Two German officers and their French female companions mingled in the bustling crowd and walked down the cruise gangway, following several Indian servants with white cloth bags behind them, carrying their luggage with their shoulders.

"The weather is good today." Standing on a military dock paved with a large piece of prefabricated concrete floor, Krieger looked at the blue sky with his hand.

"It's a good weather for flying, so let's wait here first. The telegram said someone would pick us up here." Horn took out his wallet from his pocket, counted a few 5 Finney coins from it (one mark to one hundred Finneys), and stuffed them into the hands of the leading Indian servant.

Because the local Egyptians were really unreliable to work, the British hired some coolies from India to serve the army. These Indian labourers who helped passengers carry their luggage were one of them. These people were all Dalits (untouchables classified outside the caste system, so-called untouchables). Ironically, in the British masters, they learned various modern knowledge and gained self-esteem that they had never felt in their hometown, so they worked very hard and loyally.

German soldiers were not allowed to own private currency when Hitler was in power. Soldiers could only use military currency issued by the army, that is, infamous military tickets. They could use military certificates and military tickets to buy various special military goods in convenience stores in military camps or shops designated for service to soldiers. Generally, it would be much cheaper than on the market, and some were rationed goods that were not even available for money outside.

Historically, after conquering most of Europe, the German army wanted to use military tickets to purchase foreign goods in the occupied areas. This military ticket is the so-called occupation mark, because it does not require any reserves and collateral, which is a currency without credit guarantees.

In history, at the end of the war, German soldiers who had only military tickets also began to use this kind of banknote to shop in Germany, causing serious chaos in Germany's local economic activities.

In fact, after the Allied forces occupied Germany, they also issued military tickets, called Allied Marks to the outside world, which could be exchanged one-to-one with the Imperial Marks and Ledenmarks on the German market at that time. You should know that the Imperial Marks are gold standard currency and did not depreciate much from the foreign exchange rate until the defeat. The reason for domestic inflation in Germany is that there is an extremely shortage of commodities, rather than over-issuance of national currencies. The Imperial Marks still maintain the original gold content. Ledenmarks is a currency issued with land as collateral, and the exchange rate with the gold marks is maintained at one-to-one. It can be said that the Allied forces relied on issuing Allied Marks, which really made a fortune.

However, after Xu Jun came to power, he ordered that German soldiers be banned from using military tickets in the occupied areas. All officers and soldiers serving outside Germany were allowed to own and use locally issued or internationally used currencies.

Of course, when German soldiers serve in China, the original regulations must still be abide by. The German army issued internal military currency mainly to reduce the connection between soldiers and the people, avoid causing problems such as economic disputes, and at the same time facilitate the army's recovery and management of funds. Just controlling the soldiers' shopping channels can allow the army to obtain a stable source of wealth.

Horn's military pay during his overseas service was all the Imperial Mark's cash. When he set off, he received an additional special fund from the commander. A thick stack of brand new French francs were in the military camps in French Indochina, and he basically didn't spend much money. On the contrary, he got a lot of money in the jungle. He was not under any pressure on money at present, but the frugal habit he developed on weekdays could not be changed in a short period of time.

"It seems that the guy who picked us up was late." Lieutenant Krieg looked at the busy scene around him. Most of the passengers who had disembarked had left. Now only the cruise ship sailors and dock staff were left on the dock, busy unloading military supplies from the cargo warehouse on the ship.

The two French beauties were sitting side by side on Lieutenant Krieg's suitcase, holding a white parasol with lace lace. The style should be Miss Dewar's personal belongings.

"Maybe it was delayed because of something, and I was a little patient, Krieger." Horn took out the cigarette box from his pocket and handed it to the two ladies first.

"You are such a gentleman." Miss Dewar picked up a cigarette from the box without seeing it.

"Thank you, I won't smoke." Miss Bron shook her hand and declined.

"Don't worry, we shouldn't have to wait too long." Horn took out the lighter from his pocket and helped Miss Dewar ignite the cigarette.

"The temperature is quite comfortable now. If it were July and August, the outdoor temperature would sometimes be as high as forty degrees." Horn handed Krieg a cigarette roll.

"Wouldn't that be dried into jerky?"

"No problem at all, if you can't rehydrate in time."

"How about Egyptian water? Is it delicious?"

"The water quality in some places is good, but there are some wells in the desert. The water quality is so poor that it is impossible to swallow, so it can only be used to drink animals."

"Did you encounter that kind of high temperature last time you went to Cairo?"

"How to say, I went there during the summer vacation." Two German officers were smoking cigarettes while chatting with the two beauties about unnutrition.

"Look at Captain, is that coming to pick up our car?" Miss Bron said suddenly pointing in one direction, and several people quickly turned their heads along their fingers.

I only found a convertible vintage car slowly coming towards them. It was really a bit old. With the sound of the engine gasping, the exhaust pipe at the rear still sprayed out balls of black smoke from time to time.

ps: Chapter 1 is presented, Chapter 2 is after meal code, maybe it will be a little later, friends who go to bed early can watch it tomorrow.

It’s the end of the month, and I continue to ask for monthly votes. The author needs more motivation. Thank you for your support for this book.
Chapter completed!