Chapter 57 Tobruk

"Full speed ahead!"

"Speed ​​up!"

...

Although the car was already running at the fastest speed on the road, the urgent orders were still passed down from the front one after another.

Qin Chuan could understand Colonel Slaine's anxiety... The bombing just now caused the German army to lose 30 cars, more than 300 soldiers and a large number of ammunition, which made the already understaffed First Infantry Regiment even more stretched.

But now the First Infantry Regiment has no way to retreat. They can only move forward and rush to Tobruk in the shortest time and launch an offensive.

This can prevent the German convoy from being bombed by the British air force for the second time on the way. In fact, the First Infantry Regiment can no longer bear the loss of another bombing, otherwise, the First Infantry Regiment will be unable to launch an attack on Tobruk.

There have been two reconnaissance planes following the convoy in the air. Qin Chuan borrowed a telescope from Kuhn and looked into the sky, recognizing that it was the British "Mosquito" reconnaissance plane.

So Qin Chuan knew that it was impossible to get rid of its entanglement... This thing is a rare wooden structure aircraft in this era. Because of its wooden structure, the fuselage is light and consumes less fuel, which allows it to fly continuously in the air for 12 hours.

Therefore, the German army can't wait for the moment when it runs out of fuel and returns to the base.

Looking at the map, Qin Chuan couldn't help but worry, because at the current speed, the German army still needs 20 minutes to reach Tobruk, and during this time, the British army has enough time to bomb the convoy.

But soon Qin Chuan found out that he was wrong, because soon the car braked and stopped, and then heard someone shouting: "Get off and get ready for battle!"

"What happened?" Qin Chuan asked.

"We're here!" Bazel jumped out of another car and replied: "The British defense line is ahead!"

Qin Chuan couldn't help but say... Tobruk on the map refers to the urban area, and the British are obviously not stupid enough to put all their troops in the city.

In fact, when Qin Chuan and others gathered, the battle in front had already started... From this, we can see how anxious Colonel Slaine was, but he should be anxious, because time means everything now.

Qin Chuan was not very clear about the battle situation, because the Battle of Tobruk he faced was no longer the Battle of Tobruk in history... In the Battle of Tobruk in history, the main force stationed there was the 9th Australian Division that escaped from Rommel's encirclement, and the attached forces were part of the 1st African Division of the British Army. (Note: It was changed to the 11th African Division when the Eighth Army was established)

As mentioned before, as a colonial army, the Australian troops did not have the same high status and equal enjoyment as British soldiers, so their combat effectiveness was stronger than that of the British army.

This made Rommel's tens of thousands of troops besieged Tobruk for eight months without being able to capture it... This was also one of the reasons why the German army failed in the first Battle of El Alamein. Rommel commanded his troops to enter Egypt to attack El Alamein without taking Tobruk. Therefore, the daily drinking water and supplies needed by the German army had to be transported from Benghazi or even farther ports through the desert to the front line. This supply method ultimately made it impossible for the German army to continue the battle.

However, the Tobruk offensive battle in front of them was different.

First of all, the 9th Australian Division had not yet escaped from Rommel's encirclement. They were still fighting with Rommel's main force in the area of ​​Mezhili, and of course it was impossible for them to be stationed in Tobruk.

Secondly, the German army suddenly appeared in Tobruk, so the British army was not well prepared.

But Qin Chuan's judgment was actually only half right.

The former was right. The main force of the British army was fighting hard with the main force of the German army in Mezhili. There were only two engineering regiments and an infantry battalion urgently transferred to support in Tobruk.

As for the British army, they were not well prepared...

Most of the British army's defense and fortifications in Tobruk were inherited from the Italian army...Tobruk is the easternmost port of Libya close to Egypt. As an important border port, the great and heroic Italian army built a large number of bunkers and barbed wire here, and then handed them over to the British without any damage.

After the British army captured Tobruk, they immediately used it as a counterattack base, because the British army's materials and supplies could be continuously sent here and then sent to the British army on the front line. In order to ensure the safety of Tobruk Port, the British army let two engineering regiments repair and transform the fortifications left by the Italians here.

Qin Chuan soon discovered this, because in the subsequent offensive, the German army kicked the iron plate...

It was the second and third infantry battalions that launched the attack on the British defense line, which was due to the serious loss of personnel in the first infantry battalion where Qin Chuan was located.

As usual, the German army was divided into several parts and covered each other to advance towards the British defense line... The British defense line looked no different from other defense lines, with several trenches and barbed wire in front of the trenches. As everyone knows, trenches and barbed wire built in the desert are useless, and the German soldiers only need to use a mortar to blow it down.

However, the British defense line is not as simple as it looks.

When the German soldiers rushed to more than 500 meters in front of the defense line, the British machine guns sounded, and bullets flew towards the German soldiers in pieces, pressing the charging German soldiers to the ground and unable to move.

Qin Chuan noticed that these machine gun bullets were not fired from the trenches at all, but from some shooting holes where the facilities could not be seen clearly.

Qin Chuan soon realized the seriousness of the problem... Shooting holes can be built in the desert geological structure, which are most likely well-hidden bunkers. The reason is simple. The soft sand here is not enough to support a shooting hole that makes people feel safe. They will collapse before the enemy attacks.

Sure enough, when the German soldiers poured mortar shells near these shooting holes to blast away the outer layer of sand camouflage, the bunkers built with cement concrete inside were soon exposed.

Everyone was stunned...

The First Infantry Regiment had no heavy weapons, and they didn't even have anti-tank guns, but they had to face the British bunkers here!

What's worse is that there is an open area in front of the British bunkers, and the enemy's machine guns can fire at any troops attacking them without scruples.

"Are there other gaps in the British defense line?" Werner asked.

Qin Chuan smiled bitterly and shook his head... If the British were able to build bunkers here, they would naturally not leave gaps in other places.