Chapter 203: Honor in Defeat

Finally, the British army retreated helplessly after more than a dozen tanks were blown up. The "Type 3" tank even chased after them for a while and destroyed five more tanks until the British called in fighter planes for cover.

The German soldiers cheered.

Colonel Olbrich called Qin Chuan as soon as possible: "Unbelievable, Sergeant, you really guessed it, we beat them back! What is particularly exciting is that we only lost three tanks... They were destroyed by enemy fighter planes!"

"I'm glad to hear this news, Colonel!" Qin Chuan replied.

Then General Stryk called again.

"Sergeant, I think our entire army owes you a favor!" General Stryk said: "Because if it weren't for your advice, I think the 15th Armored Division would be our fate!"

"General!" Qin Chuan replied: "You don't owe me anything, because I'm also trying to save my life!"

General Stryk on the other end of the phone couldn't help laughing.

"So..." When Qin Chuan hung up the phone, Bazel, who was listening nearby, asked, "Is this your suggestion again?"

"Yes, Captain!" Qin Chuan replied.

"Wow!" The nearby German soldiers couldn't help but exclaimed, and then they all applauded.

"Good job, Sergeant!" Bazel patted Qin Chuan on the shoulder and said, "I suddenly realized that it is a blessing for us to have you in the army, don't you think?"

Bazel turned his eyes to the soldiers.

"Of course, Captain!" The German soldiers said in unison:

"Many times, it was the sergeant's advice that helped us win!"

"The sergeant saved us all!"

"I believe that if there was no sergeant, we would not be able to stand here now!"

...

Bazel nodded: "So, I think we should do our best to protect the sergeant's safety, what do you think?"

"Of course!"

"I agree, protecting the sergeant is protecting ourselves!"

...

This made Qin Chuan a little bit amused and helpless, he didn't want to be the one to be protected in the army, but it seemed that he had no choice... Because the German soldiers also had their own ideas: for the sake of the army and even for themselves, it was natural to try their best to ensure Qin Chuan's safety.

Afterwards, the British army, unwilling to fail, launched another attack, but not surprisingly, they did not make any progress except dropping a few tanks in front of the position again.

After that, the British army never dared to act rashly again, because they only had 30 tanks left, which was not an overwhelming advantage for the German army, which still had 19 tanks (two more were lost in the second battle). If they continued to fight like this...it was very likely that all the British tanks would be destroyed while the German tanks would still have more than a dozen.

General Auchinleck simply couldn't believe this result was true. He originally thought that with these tanks and air superiority, he could defeat the German army all the way and take back Alexander!

"How could this happen?!" General Auchinleck blushed and asked: "Is it because we don't have enough tanks? Or are their performance not good enough?"

"Neither, General!" Major General Ritchie replied: "Because they had a clear victory against the German 15th Armored Division, but..."

"But what?" General Auchinleck was a little angry.

"The Germans learn very quickly!" Major General Ritchie exclaimed: "They discovered the weakness of the 'General Grant' tank after only one battle..."

"Weakness?" General Auchinleck couldn't believe that this new American tank would have any weakness.

"Yes!" Major General Ritchie nodded and replied: "The 37MM gun of this tank is helpless against the enemy's armor, and the 75MM gun has a very small firing range. The Germans took advantage of this and put us in a completely passive state on the battlefield!"

General Auchinleck was stunned when he heard this.

After thinking about it, General Auchinleck ordered: "Keep in contact and order the troops not to rush to attack!"

"Yes, General!" Major General Ritchie responded.

General Auchinleck's consideration was obviously correct...The German supply line had been cut off by the fighter planes on Malta Island, or it could be said that it was partially cut off.

The reason is that it is difficult for fighter planes to bomb at night, so the German supply line is still unobstructed at night.

But this does not affect the advantage that the British army is about to have.

On the one hand, the British army could lay mines to block its transportation under the cover of the air force during the day.

On the other hand, even if the Italian army would transport some supplies to Africa, it was obviously not worth mentioning compared to the British army's supplies.

So General Auchinleck was not worried about losing this battle... In fact, after Germany launched an attack on the Soviet Union and transferred the air wing stationed on Sicily, General Auchinleck believed that the British army would eventually win this battle.

Therefore, General Auchinleck believed that there was no need to rush, and time was on the side of the British army.

Rommel really felt the seriousness of this problem.

When it was dark, the 21st Armored Division withdrew to Alexandria in batches.

Although the 21st Armored Division can be said to have won, the German army was defeated as a whole, and it was a complete failure at the strategic level.

"We have no ability to attack again!" General Stryker said to Rommel calmly: "Unless we have more tanks and troops!"

"Yes, of course I know!" Rommel, who was always optimistic and full of passion, sat feebly on his chair in a daze.

After a long while, he said: "Do you know what this means?"

General Strike and others couldn't help but look at each other. In their eyes, this was no big deal, it was just a defeat. Not to mention victory or defeat, it was a common thing for military officers. This defeat was nothing compared to the victory achieved by the German army.

It can even be said that the German army was defeated this time because they successfully found the weaknesses of the British new tank. This means that as long as the German army accumulates enough strength, it can give the British army a good look.

However, Rommel's next words surprised them: "I didn't tell you about the situation on Malta Island. The British successfully deployed more than a hundred fighter planes there... Our supply lines have been basically cut off!"

"What?" General Strike couldn't help but exclaimed: "When did it happen?"

"A few days ago!" Rommel said: "The head of state launched an attack on the Soviet Union and transferred the 24th Air Wing to the eastern front. The British took advantage of it..."

Suddenly, General Strike understood why Rommel was so eager to attack Port Said.