Five Hundred and Five Encounters in the Desert

A German armored reconnaissance vehicle was driving fast in the desert. A German armored soldier with a scarf wrapped around his neck was half exposed, leaning on a thick communication antenna and watching every move around him.

"How could there be enemy troops in such a broken place? It's really sick to let us go so far." In the earphones, the electromechanics were constantly complaining about their useless investigation activities for several hours.

Rommel is a general who pays great attention to reconnaissance. He likes to send out his reconnaissance troops frequently to confirm every dark corner next to his troops. This allows him to know the environment around his troops well and give him the correct combat orders. Guarantees are provided.

There is yellow sand in the gaps of this armored reconnaissance vehicle, and the whole vehicle is also painted in the color of yellow sand. From the mottled traces, it can be seen that they have been in the desert North Africa for some time.

"Shut up, we are responsible for making sure that the advance of the large troop will not be discovered, and the orders from above must be carried out, understand?" The captain picked up the binoculars impatiently, and carefully observed the surrounding terrain.

Not far away is a small sand dune, covered with low desert plants, where there may be a small water source. It is good news to have a water source. At least it can give everyone a rest. After all, the map shows that there are plenty of water sources nearby.

"Take a rest at the place where the plants are, and be vigilant!" The commander, who had half leaned out of the turret, pressed the communicator, and ordered the driver of the armored vehicle: "Park the car behind the sand dunes, and don't be caught by someone." Found."

After a conversation, two nearby motorcycles were summoned. This is a mixed reconnaissance team responsible for the reconnaissance of more than ten kilometers in front of the army. They are like ancient scouts, the elite of the elite. It is not a veteran who has been selected from thousands of people and has outstanding experience.

Soon these people came to the vicinity, only to find that there were already about 20 American soldiers nearby. The two armored cars stayed on the sand dunes, and they didn't seem to pay attention to concealment at all. Obviously these American soldiers didn't think they would bump into the German army here, so they all gathered by the creek behind the dunes, enjoying the rare cool moment.

The Germans taught in Poland that Polish troops should have sentries, the Germans in France taught that French troops should have sentries, the Germans in USSR taught Soviet soldiers that there should be sentries - well, they haven't yet The Americans have been taught, so now it seems that the Americans have forgotten the importance of setting up vigilance after not fighting for 20 years.

How did Rommel do it? In the book "Infantry Attack", he emphasized that whenever the troops stop, they must arrange reconnaissance and guard posts, and whenever the troops want to attack, they must send reconnaissance troops. Of course, Patton also sent his own reconnaissance troops, which no qualified general will forget. The difference is whether the reconnaissance troops you send have their own reconnaissance troops.

Obviously, in terms of the detailed experience of the troops, the German soldiers who suffered from the war are much better than their American counterparts who just joined the war. They are used to the war and are familiar with various situations in the war. They have learned how to keep themselves alive as long as possible-of course, these Americans still have to learn, and the tuition fee is the lives of many, many soldiers.

This German reconnaissance unit followed Rommel all the way from Sedan, France, to the scouts of the 7th Armored Army in North Africa. Their strength has been proven countless times. On the French battlefield, these scouts destroyed the city and organized the attack alone, occupying the city more than once to defeat the enemy. They are a bit like rangers in the heyday of Mongols, more like forwards with a heart of destruction.

So without any hesitation, the Germans launched an extremely simple attack. Two sidecar motorcycles and an armored vehicle climbed up the small mound, smashed through the low desert plant bushes, and appeared in front of the Americans.

Before the Americans recovered from the panicked shock, the German machine guns and cannons opened fire violently. The shells fell on these American soldiers like raindrops, and the battle ended after only two minutes. Except for one lucky American driver who escaped by going to the toilet and was finally captured by the Germans, the two More than a dozen American soldiers were all wiped out.

Annihilating more than 20 Americans is not a shocking record. You must know that these German soldiers are used to seeing dozens of people capture hundreds of enemy soldiers. They quickly interrogated the living American driver and assigned soldiers to return to their unit with two intact American armored vehicles.

The news quickly spread back to the headquarters of the German 7th Panzer Corps, and Rommel was confused by this information. The armored forces of the British and American coalition forces appeared in front of him, and the scale was not small? What are you kidding?

Although the American prisoners did not disclose the full size of their troops, the German commanders at the grassroots level still smelled danger from some of his words. Some vague answers also revealed clues that at least these scouts belonged to an American armored infantry regiment.

No one would simply use armored infantry regiments to carry out flank assaults, and they might be eaten up by the opponent's security armored troops arranged on the flanks. So everyone can guess without explaining that at least the opponent has a scale of more than one armored division—if intelligence about the strength of the Anglo-American coalition forces is taken into account, then the size of the Anglo-American coalition forces' armored forces must not be small.

Rommel was entangled. He didn't know the size of the opponent. The Luftwaffe aircraft called for reconnaissance were driven out of the airspace by British fighter jets. However, some pilots who returned to the base confirmed that there was a huge armored force in front of the German army. At this time, the radio silence had been broken, because the frequent encounters with the reconnaissance troops had exposed everyone's location, so there was no need for everyone to hide from each other.

And at this moment, he didn't know whether he should retreat. After all, this battle was carefully planned. For such a desperate battle, the German army took out most of the fuel and supplies in reserve. God knows how long it will take to launch such an attack.

Patton was also extremely depressed. His well-planned offensive was extremely unsuccessful at the very beginning. The failure rate of the new tanks was quite high, leaving only 400 tanks in his troops that could be used. But at this time, he ran into another tank. Rommel's armor was not very comfortable to run or not to run.

If he retreats, he will hunt all the way back to the vicinity of Tobruk. At that time, his fuel is almost wasted, and he will be constantly eaten away by Rommel, who is good at attacking. How many troops will be left when he returns to Tobruk? , then only God can know.

And if you don't run, the situation may be worse. The American and British tank units had a slight chance of winning in sneak attacks or assault operations, but if they "just" faced the German armored units, even Patton would have no idea. If a large number of tank troops are lost in the collision and then forced to retreat, then the 8th Army in my hand may also be canceled.

The commanders of the two armored units are hesitating. The resources in their hands are transported to them from hundreds of kilometers away. If they waste one time, they will have to wait for half a month to breathe. The generals in the battle, Rommel and Patton, were obviously unwilling to give up the opportunity to go back and wait for half a month. However, none of them dared to push the chips in their hands to the gaming table, because the tanks in their hands could be said to be all they relied on. They are waiting, waiting for the opponent to surrender, waiting for the opponent to retreat. This time is the moment to compete with the generals' personal will, and the competition is whose determination to fight is more determined.

As time passed by, the reconnaissance forces of both sides kept in contact, the German army began to be injured, and the casualties of the US military increased in a straight line. After a reconnaissance company was surrounded and wiped out by the German army, the restless American armored forces finally appeared on the battlefield.

More than a dozen m3lee tanks appeared on the battlefield. They expelled the German reconnaissance troops and recaptured a small hill full of corpses, where showing off their might seemed to lure the German tanks to attack.

Soon the German support also arrived at the scene, and 3 Leopard tanks fired from 1,000 meters away, driving the American tanks that were not thick enough to the hills. The two sides continued to provoke their opponents with grenades and machine guns. For a while, no one dared to attack the opposite position rashly because they had not received an order to attack.

In the end, as time passed, the central and rear troops of both sides approached the battlefield, and the artillery also entered their respective firing positions. The commanders of both sides no longer hesitated. It seemed that the opponents really did not intend to retreat. At this moment, they can only bite the bullet and start a war. The battle determination of both sides is very firm, because they have their own persistence, because one of them is called Rommel and the other is called Patton.

In terms of tanks, the German armored forces with a small number of Tiger tanks and a large number of Panther tanks have an absolute advantage; but in terms of artillery, the number of 155mm cannons in the hands of American General Patton overwhelmed Rommel's artillery, and the fighters of both sides preceded ground combat Fighting started, although the British Air Force suffered a lot of losses, but for a while, the Luftwaffe did not dare to rush to take off the slower Stuka to support their ground forces.

On April 21, 1938, the 8th Army composed of the British and American Allied Forces launched an encounter battle with the German 7th Panzer Army in the desert. As an unprecedented armored force collided on the North African battlefield, the first battle for Tobruk was officially launched. up the curtain.