Iron Cross

Chapter 77 Armored Warfare in North Africa (3)

Only 50 minutes later, in the melee of tanks, Brigadier General Brown had only 17 tanks left, while his enemy's losses were very slight. To the east, the infantry and artillery under the command of the chief of staff of the 24th Armored Brigade struggled to resist the attacks of the two armored divisions. In a short time, they lost nearly a quarter of their troops, and the troops were already showing signs of collapse.

The entire brigade was compressed by the enemy who were pressing forward step by step in a small area with a width of less than 15 kilometers from north to south and a length of less than 20 kilometers from east to west. They were like ants on a hot pot, unable to find any way out.

"Sir, the Germans demand that we surrender." Richardson's voice suddenly came from the earphones.

"Surrender?" Brigadier General Brown thought he heard wrongly.

"Yes, surrender..." The other party's voice hesitated, but he still said it completely, "The Germans said they would give us the treatment we deserve as prisoners of war."

Brigadier General Brown became furious and scolded: "You coward, how could you say such a thing?"

"Sir, I..." Richardson was scolded and became speechless. He wanted to say a few more words, but was escorted away by the soldiers behind him - they could not understand the prisoner's nonsense.

Brown secretly swallowed his saliva. The angrily blaming Richardson just now was his subconscious behavior. In the final analysis, it was the word "surrender" that touched his sensitive nerve. After the tank battle, he no longer had any hope of winning, and the telegram replied to him by the chief of staff also stated that the situation in the east was very bad. The Germans were pressing forward step by step and the troops could no longer support them. The division commander's tone of call was very stern and anxious, telling him that due to the German interception, it might take another hour and a half before he could arrive on the battlefield to rescue him. He smiled bitterly. Let alone an hour and a half, being able to sustain it for another 15 minutes was already a luxury.

The reason why he delayed, did not give up resistance, and did not make any decision was not because he wanted to fight to the end, but because he had other concerns. To be precise, he could not make up his mind to surrender.

He didn't want to go into a prisoner of war camp. He was already a Brigadier General of the Armored Forces at the age of 39. There was still a great future waiting for him. If everything went well, he was likely to become a division commander, corps commander, or even a group army commander in the future. Location is not necessarily a fantasy either. These hopes were completely shattered after entering the prisoner of war camp. He didn't know what he would be like after the war was over, but he received traditional education in the army and knew that being captured was a stain that a soldier could never erase in his lifetime. Never mind the British Empire. Whether he can survive this war or not, even if he wins in the end, this victory has nothing to do with him. As a general who was defeated and captured, he can only live in the sympathy and regret of others in the future. At most, there will be one To comfort him with a medal, or to prevaricate him with a dispensable position so that he can spend the rest of his life - this kind of dishonorable result is not what he wants.

He tremblingly took out his gun and prepared to commit suicide. Just as he closed his eyes in despair, the image of his family appeared in front of him again: his family was a noble family that had been handed down during the War of the Red and White Roses, and had experienced the subsequent revolutions and revolutions unscathed. After the Restoration, he owned a large estate and was well-known in the local area. His father was not only a member of Parliament for Cumbria County, but also opened a textile company and was very powerful in the industry. He has a lovely wife and young son at home. His wife is 4 years younger than him. She is a beautiful lady of another noble family. She is beautiful and charming. They have been childhood sweethearts since childhood. His eldest son has entered Eton College. He is not only handsome but also has outstanding academic performance. He is always proud of him. And his youngest child just entered kindergarten this summer. The first lesson taught by the teacher was to let them know the pictures of officers and soldiers who fought bloody battles to defend the kingdom. When the child came home, he asked his mother about his father's deeds and achievements and seemed to He is very proud that his wife wrote to him the news - because he has been fighting in North Africa.

He is all the expectations of the family. His father is waiting for his son to return to inherit the title, his wife is waiting for her husband to return and spend their lives together, and his children are looking forward to his father returning to tell them about his war experience. He is everyone's hope, whether he wins the battle or not, whether he is a prisoner or not, this enthusiasm and hope will not change. If he dies, the Kingdom of Great Britain will have one more general who died heroically, but his family and relatives will lose everything. At most, he can get a pension, and maybe a commendation from the government, but what's the point? When he was 16 years old, he went to Spaka Bay to see the captured German High Seas Fleet and pointed at those majestic German battleships. At that time, he was young and energetic and could not understand why these defeated soldiers did not choose to commit suicide. But continue to live an ignoble existence. After he had his own family and children, he finally understood that no matter what they experienced during the war, no matter how resolutely they carried out the "Rainbow", they finally endured the shame, chose to live and returned to the world. own motherland. Now, this difficult decision, this same dilemma has happened to me...

While he was still hesitating, the armored vehicle he was riding in stopped unexpectedly. The driver let out a desperate scream, followed by a violent crash. The Germans ferociously blocked the armored vehicle with tanks. He had to thank the other party for discovering that this was a car. A command vehicle did not choose to use artillery to solve the problem, otherwise everyone on the vehicle would be dead. In the violent impact, Brigadier General Brown was knocked unconscious and temporarily lost consciousness.

When he woke up, he found Captain Richardson squatting on the edge, guarding himself motionless, with his hands behind his head in a very strange posture. He waved his pistol and struggled to stand up and teach this shameless thing a lesson. His movements were a bit large, but he was held down by the other party. Richardson said in a panic tone: "Sir, don't move, the enemy will kill you." We sieved it.”

Only then did he realize that he and a group of people had become prisoners. The German soldiers were pointing their MP-38 submachine guns at them. The movement just now attracted the attention of the guards, and the black muzzle of the gun was immediately pointed here.

He let out a long sigh, and instead of struggling pointlessly, he slowly let go of his hand, and the pistol fell to the ground with a clang. The German soldier who pointed the gun at him immediately took away Brown's gun and looked at it curiously. Looking at his military rank, he suddenly shouted excitedly: "Ah... I caught a big fish!"

Seeing that the brigade commander's command vehicle had been captured by the enemy, the remaining tanks no longer tried to resist, and each of them raised a white flag and surrendered. It's not that they don't want to escape, but they know that it's useless to escape. There are enemy armored divisions to the east and west, and minefields to the north and south. Where can they escape? And if you escape, the tank's weak rear armor can easily be beaten into a ball of fire by others.

"I am Colonel Collingwood of the German Army, who are you?" Hearing that he had captured a big shot of the enemy, Collingwood hurriedly grabbed a staff officer who knew English and came over.

"I am Brigadier Brown, Commander of the 24th Armored Brigade of the British Army. Sir, I ask that you treat me and my men in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Convention."

"Of course, you will enjoy treatment commensurate with your military rank." Collingwood looked at the opponent's military rank and the deformed command armored vehicle next to him, and said, "Can you please ask your subordinates - I mean the distant The infantry and artillerymen who were still resisting surrendered."

"I……"

"They have been surrounded by us." Collingwood said, "Do you think they can still escape from the encirclement of our army in such a situation? I don't want to go on a killing spree."

Brown was lost in thought for a long time, and the muscles on his face were constantly twitching, showing his inner hesitation and struggle. Collingwood was patiently waiting for a response, but had no intention of pressing the opponent. After nearly two minutes of difficult decisions, Brown made a decision. He squeezed out a sentence through his teeth: "Okay, if you can promise to treat them decently, I can issue this order."

"I can assure you that we will fulfill our obligations under the Convention. Please hurry up and give the order. Every minute of delay, more lives will be lost."

"Brothers of the 24th Armored Brigade, I am your brigade commander Brown, we are surrounded by the Germans... We fought bravely and faithfully fulfilled our obligations to the kingdom. We did our best, but the situation A very bad change has occurred. We are deeply surrounded by superior enemy forces. In order to avoid unnecessary sacrifices, I have to make this decision... This forces us to put down our weapons and fight to..." Brown choked, using up his last breath. Only with the strength did he speak out, "Surrender to the German army. I hope you can obey my orders for the last time. May God bless you..."

With the issuance of this order, the remaining resistance of the 24th Armored Brigade gradually weakened, and the German troops surrounding them gradually gave up their attacks. Both sides unanimously chose to cease fire. Then the British troops waved white flags, and many soldiers began to cry uncontrollably. They thought today was a comedy, but they didn't expect it to be a tragedy in the end.

Chapter 77/1109
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Iron CrossCh.77/1109 [6.94%]