Four Hundred and Seventy-Two Yellow Sand All over the Sky

The British clearly felt that the force they were attacking head-on was not their old rival, the Italians. Just like on the football field, the opponents suddenly changed from the soft Chinese team to the steel-hard German team. The British also suddenly found that the enemy in front of their positions had changed from the soft Italian army to the tricky German army. people.

This is a painful experience of being suppressed in every detail. The good habits developed in the Italian and North African troops before have become a reminder for every soldier or officer of the British Army at this moment.

The precise German bombardment directly greeted the positions of the British defenders, and some British soldiers who did not evade at all were sent to heaven by the shells in such a daze. No one believed that the Italian bombardment would be so accurate, and no one believed that their camp had already been marked on the map by the German commanders.

The ensuing German attack made the British even more miserable. The feeling of bullets and bullets was no different from hell. The weapons in the hands of German soldiers had absolute advantages in all aspects. For example, they had faster-firing rifles. Better machine guns and even more convenient and effective bazookas.

When a British commander who was used to standing on the ground and watching his opponent with a telescope was shot through the lobe of his lung by a German sniper, the British officers completely remembered that 550 meters is not a safe distance. It is not a safe distance for German snipers.

"Medical soldier! Medical soldier! Major Gert was shot! He was shot!" A soldier yelled loudly as he supported the officer who had just been punched through the chest. This shot came very suddenly. If the other party tried to fire at them with a machine gun or rifle, he swore that he would definitely take Major Geert to hide, but that shot appeared so suddenly and hit Ge Major Walter.

On the not-too-distant position, the sound of the Germans' special machine guns firing was still coming. The soldier watched Major Geert, who was spitting blood, kicking his legs and struggling. at a loss.

Several British soldiers ran over with their special big-eased steel helmets, and kept shouting something to remind their companions: "The Germans are attacking! Their tanks are ahead! Get out of here quickly! If you run late , you're going to be captured by the Germans! My God, their guns are accurate."

At the end of the horizon, you can see German tanks organizing an attack. Those tanks have a very low shape, but the German tanks are obviously much better than the scrap iron in the hands of the Italians. These unique German tanks Capable of firing at great distances, it destroyed British defensive positions with grenades.

"Boom!" Not far away, a British tank fired. Just after the soldier ran for a few minutes with Mr. Major, who had exhausted more air and less air, he saw the British tank counterattack. A dozen British Matilda tanks appeared on the dunes, ran over the dwarf vegetation in the desert, and rushed towards the German tanks.

But right after he saw an unforgettable scene,

A round of armor-piercing shells directly shattered the front armor of a Matilda tank, directly smashing this British tank, which is famous for its thick armor, into parts. The powerful impact caused the entire tank's body to deform slightly, and the ensuing tragic explosion even lifted the turret of the tank into the air.

A shot through the armor of a Matilda tank from 500 meters away? This is simply a joke for the British tankers in North Africa. That poor little tank in Italy was no match for the Matilda tank at all, so this thunderous blow stunned the surrounding British soldiers. It wasn't until the second British tank was destroyed that everyone remembered that they were still running for their lives. state.

"What did you say? What did you say? Make it clear? The Italians counterattacked? The Germans? How could the Germans counterattack... You can confirm it for me before you say it! I don't know anything and call for reinforcements. How can I give you that?" ?” The old British general who was very angry hung up the phone.

He walked to the front of the map and confirmed the situation on the battlefield with his combat staff officer. The frontal position of the British defenders was penetrated, which he could not imagine. He had operated this line of defense for a month, but it took only an hour for someone to break through it.

But this is not the main reason for his anger. What he is angry about is that the troops of the two divisions on the front line have not figured out who the opponent is and how strong the opponent is. All the troops are responding that they have suffered heavy losses, but there is no way to explain how many troops were attacked.

"The counterattacking armored force was forced to retreat 1 kilometer to the east. The opponent's armored force should be at least German. The commander of our tank force reported that the opponent should have a battalion of tanks, and the number is about 30." Staff officer He said to the old general with a few telegrams he had just received.

"Major Geert, the commander of the 1st Regiment of the 90th Division, just died in battle." The old general sighed, and said sadly, "I got along very well with him, he is a nice guy. It's a pity."

While the old general was remembering his friend, a telegraph operator handed the latest report to the staff. The staff compared it on the map, and then drew a few thick lines on the map with a blue pencil .

"The enemy broke into the junction of the two divisions, and established a very complete two-wing defensive position here and here. Italy can't make such a smooth attack. This army belongs to the Germans." The staff officer glanced at the old general. , and then pointed to those thick lines and said: "The opponent has about an infantry regiment and an armored battalion in the front, here is the strength of a battalion, and there should be another regiment here on the flank... This is an infantry division."

The old general shook his head, pointed to the rear of the German attacking troops, and said with confidence: "They will definitely not devote all their troops to attack. I think there is a tank division hidden here waiting for us to fight back!"

He was sure of the information he had about the size of the German army. He guessed that Germany should have one armored division and two infantry corps, and these troops could not be used for offensive warfare at the same time due to supply problems, so he was sure that the German troops in front of his position were An infantry division and an armored division. In this way, the reserve team in his hand was obviously not enough to counterattack, so he could only retreat across the board according to the pre-plan.

But Montgomery's speculation made him undecided. If the German army really only had so many in front of him, then what else would he think about, just counterattack-as long as the consumption state of equivalent exchange is reached, it can be said that he is sure to win.

However, he had to act cautiously. After all, he now held the main force of the British in North Africa. If something went wrong, even if he was pulled out and shot, it would not be able to save the deterioration of the situation in North Africa. So after thinking about it for a while, he decided to follow his original intention: to preserve his strength.

"Order the troops to retreat! Let's return to Tobruk!" The old general tapped his fingers on the table for a few minutes before giving the order to retreat. He decided not to risk a counterattack, but to avoid the Germans' limelight and stretch German supply lines.

His decision is very correct, there is no need to waste limited supplies and troops for temporary victory or loss. The real defense line of the British army is in the Tobruk area, and they can throw thousands of miles of yellow sand to the Germans by retreating now, which is a very good deal anyway.

At the same moment, in the frontline headquarters of the German army, General Frederick was looking at the battle map in front of him with his hands behind his back, which marked the battle situation between the two sides.

"The expected British counterattack has not come, which is not good news for us." He was worried because the 7th Armored Division led by Rommel had not yet appeared on the battlefield.

"Is it because our offensive is not strong enough? The British army is not in a hurry to invest in reserve forces yet?" The staff officer was also puzzled by the current chaotic situation, and kept drawing his guesses on the map: "If they keep the reserve force, General Rommel is in a very dangerous situation."

Frederick shook his head. He firmly believed that his offense was very sharp. If he was directing from the opposite side at this time, he would definitely push the reserves in his hand to the front line, because if it was later, these reserves would also save them. The current battlefield situation is gone.

Thinking of this, Frederick frowned again and focused his eyes on the frontal wedge-shaped breakthrough of the German 7th Army, then raised his eyebrows and said: "There are two situations for not joining the reserve team at this time. The first is the British army. There is no reserve team in their hands; the second is that the British did not want to stick here..."

Speaking of this, he seemed to have grasped something crucial, carefully organized his thoughts, and suddenly slapped the table and shouted loudly: "No! These British people are going to run!"

Guessing what the British commander was thinking, Frederick also had to admire the wisdom of the British commander. He actually saw his dangerous situation and wanted to use a safe tactic of retreating to advance. So he quickly ordered: "We are going to change General Rommel's battle plan, and now we must put in our preparations and bite the British army in front of us! Otherwise, when General Rommel appears on the flank, these British will have already run away! "

He glanced at the chief of staff of the 7th Army, and pointed at an obstructive position on the map with his finger: "Order the 17th Division to catch up from behind immediately and attack here, and the 27th Division in the front will continue to attack! Can't let go These British troops!"

At this moment, Rommel led his 7th Armored Division, his direct lineage, and was still looking for his own route in the yellow sand all over the sky.