Six Hundred and Sixty Barton Shot
Montgomery's request made Patton a little restless. He knew how much pressure Montgomery was under at this point in the war. In fact, Montgomery's ability to persevere until now is already beyond Barton's expectations. In the games he and his staff had played, Montgomery's forces should have begun to rout a few days earlier.
As for why Montgomery has not been defeated by the German army until now, the reason cannot be anything else, it can only be because Montgomery performed exceptionally in the battle for the periphery of Alexandria, and Rommel's German troops did not do their best.
In fact, what Patton cares most about is the second point, that is, how much strength the reserve team in Rommel's hands retains. Rommel did not invest his elite armored troops in the battle for positions, or Rommel did not invest too many armored troops. Now Montgomery can confirm the location of the German armored units, only a pitiful three. This means that at least two of Rommel's armored divisions have not been used at all. This is undoubtedly a sharp sword hanging over General Patton's head.
After all, the armored troops in Patton's hands are not abundant. After such a long accumulation, he managed to get 300 M4 Sherman tanks and about 500 M3 Lee tanks. As for the other 460 m3 tanks, Patton can only classify them as armored vehicles for use, because such tanks are basically useless when facing German armored forces.
His original hope was to rely on Montgomery's positional warfare to delay the accumulation of strength before the decisive battle began, and consume part of the armored forces in Rommel's hands to gain an advantage on the North African battlefield, but now it is obviously too late. Because poor Montgomery's troops are a little too exhausted.
Because in recent days, German submarines have begun to attack American merchant ships going to the Middle East indiscriminately. There has been a serious problem with the supply of supplies for the US military in the Middle East. Although the US has been operating there for a long time, it is not obvious for a while. What a problem, but Commander Patton has already seen his own doom from the support he has received.
This is a very simple reasoning question. Montgomery received almost zero support from the British government-in-exile. He could only rely on the original British colonial system in North Africa and some British troops who had stayed in North Africa and had no time to return home to fight. Now these troops are basically Even if Rommel did not win this time, Patton would not be able to count on Montgomery, who was not replenished in time, next time.
The German-Italian-North-African Allied Forces, which have taken advantage of the supply in the Mediterranean, can accumulate strength little by little and wait for the next opportunity. For Patton personally, instead of waiting until that time and bringing his troops to be wiped out by Rommel with superior forces, it is better to lead the troops to fight now, and maybe it is possible to turn defeat into victory.
So Patton sent this idea to Roosevelt and other high-level officials in Washington, and won the support of President Roosevelt. Now if Barton doesn't take advantage of the opportunity to take advantage of Montgomery to play a game,
Then he can only retreat to the Middle East, waiting to be annihilated bit by bit by Rommel.
"Order the troops to advance 10 kilometers immediately. The main three armored divisions will turn southward and form a formation, ready to counterattack the flank of Rommel's African Army!" Patton stared at the map in front of him, and finally made up his mind to start a decisive battle. Determination. His character does not allow him to slowly die. He wants to fight his opponent Rommel in an upright manner while still having a chance of winning.
The chief of staff nodded, immediately grabbed the phone in front of him, and loudly issued an order for the troops to move out: "All the troops on standby, move forward and execute according to the predetermined plan a. The counterattack will start across the board in 24 hours!"
Not only has the order to counterattack across the board been issued here, but the Army Aviation Command has also issued an order requiring the planes of the US and British Expeditionary Forces to take off immediately to face the raging German Air Force fighter force. With this temporary order, Patton has become a He made the Allied forces surpass Montgomery's commander-in-chief on the North African battlefield.
One after another American tanks rushed out of the temporary camouflage sheds and bunkers. The soldiers were busy unloading the camouflage on the armored vehicles and cars. The cannons were pulled by the cars and drove out of the original artillery bunkers. The American soldiers in the car held their weapons and shook their bodies slightly as the car moved forward.
On both sides of the wide road in the desert, American soldiers marched forward one after another carrying their rifles. They lined up densely and followed the slogans to the front line. On the road, tanks and motor vehicles formed a straight line, a torrent of steel It extends all the way to the end of the sky, and people are shocked to the point where it can't be added at a glance.
Just as the American soldiers began to move forward in an all-round way, in the field airport behind the Allied defense line, fighter jets rushed out of the long runway with the roar of engines, and hundreds of planes took off to fight. Almost only the sky where the Germans used planes suddenly became lively. The Germans could no longer dominate the skies of Africa.
A fierce air battle broke out between the two sides in the warring airspace. In the end, German pilots shot down 71 of the 75 American planes that came to participate in the battle at a heavy cost of 40 planes. However, the air battle is still going on fiercely. Although the Luftwaffe firmly holds the air supremacy, it cannot use the air supremacy to support the ground attack for a while.
"The reconnaissance plane of the 14th Air Wing has returned, and the other party has invested in a new type of P-40 fighter jets, preventing our air force from approaching and reconnaissance." In the frontline command of the German army, Rommel's assistant asked Rommel. : "General, should we notify the Air Force Wing first and let them continue to send planes to investigate?"
"It's not necessary. Patton has most likely made a move. After all, it's not easy for them to take out so many planes to compete for air supremacy. It's impossible for them to make a false move that doesn't matter. So it's probably Patton's action." Rommel With his hands behind his back, he looked at the almost identical battle map hanging in Patton's headquarters, frowned and stared at the marching arrows of the troops on it, as if he was judging where Patton would start the battle that would determine the fate of North Africa.
"North! Next to the Mediterranean Sea, the troops left by Tobruk Montgomery suffered a small loss. I don't think they dare to launch an attack... Now there are only two options left: the front and the south." Rommel muttered repeatedly. For his analysis, he stretched out one hand and tapped a point on the map with his finger, as if confirming the other party's location.
"I estimate that Patton should have deployed his troops to the south. Only here can we avoid the advantage of the Mediterranean fleet that our army may dispatch." Rommel tapped the map hanging on the wall, and said in a very positive tone: "If I were him, I would place my troops in the south! That must be the case!"
He glanced at Scherner sitting in the headquarters, and the Italian commander Garibaldi who came to attend the combat meeting: "My 7th Panzer Army, and the main force of the 12th Panzer Division of the SS, and My headquarters will go south together, and prepare to meet our old opponent Patton for a while! After all, the chance for us to meet again is running out!"
The combat staff officer nodded, and also gave the order for the main force to go south. The German armored force moved its huge body like an ancient giant awakened.
Accompanied by the order to set off, the soldiers packed up their tents and bags, carried their guns, checked their ammunition, and accompanied by rumbling tanks and armored vehicles, they marched resolutely towards the ocean of yellow sand Footsteps, the huge swastika flag was spread on the roof of the tank, and the officers of the German armored forces sitting on the commander's cabin door smiled and stared into the distance, where they would start a huge battle.
A fighter jet skimmed the road at low altitude, and passed a long line of German Panther tanks. Because there were too many vehicles on the road, and the soldiers on both sides of the road raised dust all over the sky, it was far away. It looks like a huge sandstorm is slowly moving forward.
Rommel sat in his car and covered his mouth with an old scarf, because the sand rolled up by the surrounding vehicles really made it impossible to open his eyes, so he pressed the plexiglass on the big brim hat into one piece The goggles that came out were put on the eyes, and he followed his troops forward quickly.
In far away Berlin, Germany, Akado received a battle report from North Africa in his office. The siege of Alexandria has reached a fever pitch, and the Allied 8th Army led by Patton has appeared in Alexandria. In the southern region, Rommel is leading his armored troops to stop the attack, and the battle to determine the future ownership of North Africa is imminent.
"I hope Rommel and Scherner don't let us down." Akado closed the telegram from North Africa, glanced at Anna who was guarding by his side, and said, "I sent them so many supplies and equipment, and also prepared a backhand for them, I hope to hear the news of the complete victory on the North African battlefield in a few days."
"It will, my dear." Anna walked behind Akado, stretched out her soft hand, and helped Akado squeeze his shoulders: "I heard from the analysis of the staff of the Supreme Command that this battle , our chances of winning are at least 90%!"