Chapter 225 Weakness
"Then..." Then Rommel said: "Now, it's time for us to think about the problem at hand!"
The meaning of Rommel's words was obvious. The new equipment Qin Chuan mentioned might be able to solve the problem, but after all, it would have to wait a month or more, while the British attack was right around the corner.
"We may choose to retreat!" Colonel Slain said: "What I mean is to buy time during the retreat. For example, behind us is the Alamein defense line, and behind us is the Gazala defense line... so that when we retreat to During the Tobruk Defense Line, the anti-tank equipment the second lieutenant mentioned may have been mass-produced and shipped over!”
Of course Colonel Slaine's statement made sense. This was actually trading space for time, but Qin Chuan knew that Rommel would not agree.
Sure enough, Rommel shook his head and said: "No, we can't retreat, because retreat means returning Alexandria to the British, which will give them a larger port to obtain supplies faster, and we are in Alexandria, Ala The crops grown in the areas of Man and Matru will fall into their hands, and our supplies will be in trouble, and even new equipment will not be able to turn the tide of the war! "
What Rommel said makes sense, especially regarding crops...that was the British strategic goal. In other words, the German retreat may buy time, but it will also lose morale, supplies, and the confidence of the Egyptian military and civilians in the German army.
Then the command headquarters fell into silence.
Unable to fight again and again, and unable to retreat, the German army seemed to have no choice but to fight the British army on the defensive line.
After a while, Colonel Slain said, "Well, we need more mines!"
Rommel nodded, this was what he thought too.
If you can't make your own troops move faster, then make the enemy's troops slow down.
Landmines can put the enemy's offensive into trouble, at least not to break through the defense line so quickly, and the German army can take advantage of this time to mobilize troops and concentrate tanks and anti-tank equipment to the location where the enemy wants to break through.
"They will bring the mines!" Rommel said: "I have asked them to do it!"
"But this is not a good idea!" Colonel Olbridge said: "The British have too many tanks. They can attack in several parts. They can even use feint attacks to confuse us!"
This is a common tactic used by the German army when attacking, so of course they are also worried that the British army will do this.
In particular, the British army had much more tanks than the German army. Sometimes the German army knew clearly that the British army was feigning an attack but had to mobilize troops to respond, because if they did not do so, the feint attack might turn into a real attack.
"Why don't we win a battle and give the British less advantage?" Qin Chuan said in surprise.
"The question is how we can win the battle!" Colonel Slaine looked at Qin Chuan blankly.
"Second Lieutenant, do you have any suggestions?" Rommel asked.
But even though he asked this question, there was some disbelief in his eyes, because Rommel had already thought about various possibilities, including the previous use of transforming cars into tanks to deceive the British, but in the end, all of these might have been destroyed by him one by one. Overturning...the method of converting cars into tanks has been used too many times, and the British will not be easily fooled again.
"If I were Montgomery!" Qinchuan pointed at the map and said, "Then I would hope to find a breakthrough in the northern section of the defense line or at least in the middle."
The officers couldn't help but nodded in agreement. Of course, the German army faced such problems in previous attacks... The farther south the defense line goes, the more inconvenient it is to supply, and the sand becomes softer and softer, making it unsuitable for tanks to march. However, the northern section is more difficult to supply. The southern section is much better.
But the breakthrough cannot be too far north, because the coastal avenue in the north is obviously the focus of the enemy's defense, and attacking along the coastal avenue means directly attacking a city...Tanks are also not conducive to street fighting, which can easily cause armor-piercing troops to attack. Stuck in the quagmire.
So as Qin Chuan said, the British are likely to find a breakthrough in the northern or central section of the defense line, and then outflank the rear of the defense line to collapse the entire German army.
"Then..." Qin Chuan said, "Why don't we give them a breakthrough?"
"You mean..." Rommel looked at Qin Chuan: "Expose a weakness to deceive the British? I have also thought about this method, but the British are not that easy to deceive!"
Qin Chuan secretly thought that Rommel was indeed Rommel, and he had already guessed Qin Chuan's intention from the very beginning.
And what Rommel said is right. The British may not be good at fighting, but they are experts in intelligence and methods, such as "super secrets" and various strategic deceptions during the Normandy landing.
But of course Qin Chuan is not that simple.
"If it's deception in the ordinary sense, of course it won't fool the British!" Qin Chuan said, "But it's different if the news is sent by British spies!"
"The credibility may be better if we do this!" Rommel replied: "But it is difficult for us to make it perfect, Second Lieutenant, and as long as there is a flaw... we may be trapped by this plan!"
This is a fact. If the British army sees through the German trap and uses other places as a breakthrough point, the German army will steal the chicken but lose the rice.
"I think it's worth a try!" Qin Chuan said: "What's more, when the British have an absolute advantage, they will be more likely to believe it with the mentality of underestimating the enemy!"
This is human nature, because the British will think: So what if this is a trap? They can crush any ambush with their absolute strength!
After thinking for a while, Rommel said, "Tell me what you think, Lieutenant!"
So Qin Chuan told the British army all the scams he had tailored for them, and the officers nodded repeatedly.
Rommel was also very satisfied with this, so he changed his previous skeptical attitude and ordered, "Let's do it, Lieutenant, Colonel Slaine will be responsible for this matter!"
After a pause, he said to Qin Chuan, "Lieutenant, you are responsible for assisting Colonel Slaine!"
"Yes, General!" Qin Chuan and Colonel Slaine stepped forward to answer.
It is very appropriate for Rommel to assign this task to Qin Chuan and Colonel Slaine... Qin Chuan is the planner. He not only understands the plan better, but also has a meticulous and clear mind. Of course, his participation is indispensable in the layout.
The problem is that Qin Chuan is just a lieutenant, lacking resources and power, and will encounter many difficulties in specific implementation, so he needs the assistance of Colonel Slaine.
But it was obviously inappropriate to let a colonel assist a second lieutenant, which would also embarrass Colonel Slaine, so Rommel asked Qin Chuan to "assist" Colonel Slaine.
Colonel Slaine was not stupid, and he certainly knew that he was the one who "assisted" in this matter.