Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Little warlord

Volume 1 Chapter 1,025 The Competition between Rommel and Montgomery

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    The war in Russia was over.  

    At this time, in the African battlefield, Rommel, who had failed in his attack, realized his failure and ordered the German troops to retreat in the direction of Gazala.  After discovering that there was no effective defense line that could be defended there, he quickly ordered a retreat to the Gulf of Sirte again, in an attempt to block the British army's westward advance here.  In the end, the British Army's "Crusader" operation, also known as the "Winter Campaign" by the Germans, finally ended in the desolate desert area around Agella, and the Germans suffered a disastrous defeat.  Just nine months ago, it was also here that Rommel commanded his "Afrika Corps" to launch the first massive attack on the British army.

    It seems that history is repeating the same scene: more than a year ago, the invincible British army arrived in the Agella area after a long pursuit. The troops were exhausted and disorganized, and were attacked by the Axis forces here.  They counterattacked and lost a large area of ??territory.  Today, this situation would soon reappear: like a spring, the Afrika Korps had been squeezed to its limit in January 1942 and could rebound again at any time.

    As of now, the Indra Saw Battle, jokingly called the ¡°Benghazi Obstacle Race,¡± is far from over.  While Rommel was commanding the troops to withdraw westward, he was always thinking about how to seize the favorable opportunity to launch a counterattack.

    Rommel mastered a large amount of valuable intelligence through reconnaissance and deciphering British radio communications.  In January 1942, he realized that a very precious opportunity for counterattack had arrived.  At that time, although the British were also preparing for a new offensive, they believed that the Axis forces were not capable of launching an immediate offensive after experiencing recent defeats and retreats.

    Compared with the intricate command system within the British 8th Army, German commander Rommel had considerable autonomy.  In theory, Rommel should have accepted the restraints of the German Army's Southwestern Command and the Italian High Command, but he ignored them.  He paid no attention to his German superiors. Similarly, his Italian superiors only learned of Rommel's next battle plan when they discovered that the Italian troops had begun to advance.

    At this time, Germany sent more than 100 new Mark IV tanks to the North African battlefield. Their artillery systems were upgraded and their performance was more advanced than any British tank.  Rommel was a commander who could seize every opportunity. As long as he found a valuable offensive opportunity, he would never let his troops and equipment lie idle, but would put them into the battlefield resolutely and decisively.  On January 21, 1942, the Axis Army suddenly launched a counterattack, catching the British by surprise and forcing the British army to retreat hastily.

    As of February 10, the Afrika Korps, who were exhausted, hungry and thirsty, covered in conquests but with frequent successes, under the command of their outstanding commander Rommel, once again fought back to Melmoriga, which was far away from the map they had always dreamed of.  Brugge is only 56 kilometers away.

    At this moment, Rommel's German boss, Field Marshal Kesselring, reminded Rommel that he could not continue to march rashly in any case. He should at least wait until enough personnel, armored troops, ammunition, and especially fuel were fully obtained before considering taking any measures.  Next steps.  Of course, Rommel himself recognized the rationality in the proposal.  At that time, only his reconnaissance force advanced as far as Temimi, where they soon discovered that the British Commonwealth army had assembled a large number of troops along the line from Gazala Bay to Bir Hakeim, in the northern section and  Strong fortifications are being built in the middle section, and a large number of mines have been laid in the nearby area.  It was clear that the Afrika Korps had to rack their brains to break through or flank these lines of defense.

    Both sides are trying their best to accumulate a large amount of logistical supplies to prepare for the next battle.  Since the Mediterranean route was effectively blocked by the British Royal Navy fleet, it was difficult for the supplies of the Axis Forces to reach the North African battlefield.  Instead, in the spring of 1942, the first batch of war supplies from the United States arrived in Egypt, including a large number of M3 medium tanks.  The m3 tank is equipped with a 37mm cannon on the turret and a 75mm cannon on the body. Its armor protection capability is much stronger than that of British tanks.

    In mid-May, Rommel's battlefield reconnaissance troops reported signs that the British were about to launch an attack.  At this time, Rommel's forces were still at a disadvantage compared to the British army, so he suggested to Marshal Kesselring that he hoped to mobilize some of the air force fighters on the Malta battlefield for reinforcements, including dive bombers and "Messerschmitts"  BF109F fighter The latter was more advanced than any RAF fighter on the North African battlefield at that time.

    The British defense line consisted of a series of fortified barracks, in which infantry brigades supported by artillery fire were stationed. A dense barbed wire fence was erected around it, and more than 500,000 landmines were buried behind the barbed wire to strictly guard against German breakthroughs.  

    Behind these lines of defense, British armored divisions were deployed to prepare for the attack.

    Theoretically, they would be concentrated and ready to attack the Germans at any timeSeoul's "flying artillery car" - the "Junkers" Type 87 fighter jet was also ruthlessly expelled from the air battlefield.

    However, the British¡¯s air superiority has not yet been fully demonstrated.  The Axis Army had already crossed Matruh Port and advanced along the coast road to Fouquet, heading towards its next target, Eldaba.

    Two German armored divisions and the Italian Alete Division advanced toward Gussel in the southwest.  At this time, directly in front of them was a small train station in Alamein, whose name had been almost unheard of before.

    Rommel¡¯s order was concise and clear.  Regarding the British defense lines in front of him, Rommel never believed that they would be more difficult to break through than any line of defense he had encountered before. Therefore, although the troops were exhausted after four weeks of continuous assaults, he still demanded  They braced themselves for one last charge.  However, for the Axis forces at this time, Rommel's iron will alone was not enough.  During the march, they were violently bombed by Allied air power, but were unable to fight back.

    The officers and soldiers of the 90th Light Armored Division were suddenly bombarded by the Allied forces. They had never experienced such fierce firepower.  Allied heavy artillery, howitzers, light and medium field artillery, mortars, anti-tank guns.  They opened fire together, forming an airtight and terrifying barrage.  This scene even alarmed Rommel himself, who hurried to the forward position in an armored vehicle to take command.  This tactic produced very obvious results, and Auchinleck finally found a way to stop the Germans.

    The fierce fighting lasted for 3 weeks, but Rommel was only pushed back 1 mile.  This battle once again exposed serious problems in the coordination of operations within the British 8th Army. Their tactics and operational levels were completely different from those of the Germans, and a thorough reorganization and comprehensive training was necessary.  In the First Battle of Alamein, both sides had their own gains and losses.  Although Auchinleck blocked Rommel's march to the Nile - however, the Axis armored armies still existed, and no one knew when they would attack again and whether they would succeed.

    At this moment, both sides had to stop and take a breath.  After the resupply is completed, there will undoubtedly be another fierce battle.  The exhausted soldiers finally had the opportunity to lie down in the trenches, take a rest, read letters from relatives back home, and appreciate the long-lost family affection on the cruel and ruthless battlefield.  However, everyone knew that this calm would not last long.

    Rommel launched another attack on Alem Halfa, and the next four days of fighting will determine the future of this desert war.  This time, Rommel began to face a new opponent-Bernard who had just been appointed commander of the 8th Army by Auchinleck.  l£®  General Montgomery.

    The British Royal Air Force seized complete air superiority and launched a reckless and violent bombing of the German material reserves and headquarters troops.  At this time, Rommel became ill due to long-term overwork in combat, and his 17,000 veterans also suffered from various diseases. You must know that they had been fighting hard in the North African desert for a year.

    With Montgomery taking office, the British refused to play the same old games with the Germans. Their armored forces no longer carried out "suicidal" proactive attacks as they did in the past, but instead waited patiently and patiently with the support of artillery and air force.  awaiting the arrival of the Germans.

    Therefore, this time they never experienced the kind of relaxed and panic scene that Rommel saw in the summer of that year.  At present, Rommel's "Eastern Plan" has been forced to be postponed.

    The "Eastern Plan" was an extremely grand operational plan that was approved by the Chancellery of the Third Reich. It planned to launch a massive pincer offensive simultaneously with the German Wehrmacht heading towards the Caucasus and the German Afrika Korps heading towards the Suez Canal.  .  After the above two forces join together, they will continue to advance eastward until they join forces with the Japanese advancing from west to east.  However, due to the delay of a favorable fighter opportunity, the "Eastern Plan" ultimately failed!

    <a href="www.piaotia.com</a>" target="_blank">www.piaotia.com</a>" target="_blank">http://www.piaotia.com">www.piaotia.com</a>
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report