"Under such a comparison of forces, we can only retreat. Of course, retreating is not the purpose. Retreating is to advance better. Please believe me." Guderian blinked, "I have already imagined the next move, and I will not let it go. You are disappointed. In addition, new troops and supplies are about to arrive. They will land in Benghazi and Tobruk in batches. These are elites who have participated in the Eastern Front and are transferred directly from the empire."
"How many?" Colonel Westphal asked quickly.
"The head of state was very cheerful this time. He first gave a reinforced 4th Armored Division, which is said to have 200 new tanks. Taking into account the special circumstances of the North African battlefield, the high command also gave an additional 500 military trucks." Speaking of this Gudry An's interest was much higher, because those who came were his old subordinates who had led on the Eastern Front. He was familiar with everyone above the major, and not only understood their personalities but also their combat styles. He always believed that a commander could only master Only when he has the basic troops, the overall strategic command will be more comfortable. His familiarity and tacit understanding with the existing African Army are still a little bit behind. "Marshal Kesselring told me that the 'Flying Fortress' paratrooper armored brigade will also be transferred to us soon." , they came by transport plane, these guys don't get airsick, their equipment doesn't go through the Italian route, they come directly from Crete…"
"Flying Fortress?" Lieutenant General Walster frowned, "I've never heard of this name. A newly formed unit?"
"No, Hermann Goering changed the name of the Parachute Armored Brigade. After the Fat Man's fall, the head of state who was also the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force changed the name to this new and exciting name." Guderian thought for a while and decided not to use "Rolling Stone" first. "If the other troops involved in the plan speak out, that is the top secret among top secrets.
When they heard that there were reinforcements and supplies, especially tanks, trucks and gasoline that were urgently needed for the desert war, everyone immediately looked better and the atmosphere of the meeting became much more lively. Major General Bismarck, who had been silent, thought of something and said worriedly: "If we leave, what will happen to the Italian infantry who go north to undertake the feint attack mission? They have no armor, and they do not carry enough fuel and supplies. There is no way to resist them." The British can't retreat with us. But we can't notify them in advance, otherwise these guys will sneak away very fast and directly destroy the overall plan."
"Let them persevere to the end." Someone suggested.
"That's not good. This almost means asking them to die." Someone muttered.
"To hell with them." Guderian now had a headache when he heard the word "Italy" and couldn't help but swear.
Someone immediately said: "The Italians will not fight to the end. Maybe the British will surrender as soon as they arrive. Not having enough fuel and supplies is a good excuse for surrender - even their leader can't find fault."
"That's fine." Guderian smiled sinisterly, "They can consume the British's logistical supplies. At least after surrendering, the British can ask for water to cook macaroni, and they can also contain some of the guard troops - I I always feel that the Italians' contribution after surrender was even greater than during the battle."
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the command headquarters burst into laughter. Everyone now feels that the new commander is not bad. At least he is a very interesting person and will not suffer under his command. As a soldier, there are only two requirements. The first is to win. It is best to be like Marshal Rommel who can repeatedly perform miracles of defeating more with less; if you really can't win, you can reduce the losses and bring your brothers back safe and sound, which is also a hero—— Now Guderian has not elaborated on the big plan, and this is basically the image in their minds.
Colonel Bayerlein could understand the reason why Guderian asked the Italian infantry to launch a feint attack: it is not easy for the main force to retreat and break away from the British. A slight mistake will lead to a retreat, especially when the terrain in the North African desert is too flat. , most of the time there is no danger to defend. If they retreat directly without hesitation, the British will definitely drive the African army back to Libya like a duck. That would be too embarrassing.
At this time, he began to admire Guderian's command: while he arranged for the Italians to go north to resist the British, he arranged for the large forces to retreat. In addition, he also mobilized two armored battalions to prepare to touch the British troops on the southern front. Deployment, disrupting Montgomery's view. In order to prevent the Eighth Army's telecommunications detective department from seeing through the truth, Guderian also insisted on keeping the Afrika Korps headquarters. Except for a few necessary telecommunications officers, all others followed the large army to withdraw. He himself would stick to the armored battalion. Retreat after retreating. During the three days when the large forces retreated first, apart from the two armored battalions at the front of the defense line and a not too dense minefield, Guderian only had a communications company and an armored reconnaissance company left - There were only a few Sd.kfz.250 half-track armored vehicles inside, not even a tank. If a bold British infantry battalion dares to bypass the minefields and armored battalions at this time, there is a high chance that Guderian can be captured directly - that will be the first captured soldier of the Third Reich. will.
Everyone was worried about his safety, but he didn't care. He told them: "Montgomery is a very cautious person. He will never alert someone before we launch an attack. Besides, the headquarters is now located at the airport. It's really important." If something happens, I will get on the plane and run away. I cannot be treated as a prisoner..."
This was said so frankly that everyone laughed. Lieutenant General Walster, Major General Bismarck and others saluted respectfully, and each left one armored battalion in the best condition for Guderian to use.
Then he went to arrange the retreat of other troops of the division. The chief of staff and chief of operations also received orders to assist the other two light divisions in retreating. Only Lieutenant Colonel Mei Linjin always felt sorry for the fake map and insisted on staying with Guderian. , and the latter readily agreed.
While Guderian quickly adjusted his deployment, the British were also slow to respond. After intercepting the relevant "intelligence", Montgomery let out a long breath and told Chief of Staff Colonel de Lagan: "Although I don't know how Guderian saw our troop deployment, I think this telegram reflects The real situation, and the reconnaissance results coming from the front also support this, is that this is a more cautious opponent than Rommel."
After learning that Rommel returned to China to recuperate and that Guderian replaced the Afrika Korps-related posts, everyone in the Eighth Army breathed a sigh of relief. After all, Rommel's reputation was so great that they could hardly breathe in the past two years. Come. Although Guderian's name is equally resounding, and he also fought against the expeditionary force during the French campaign, they were all defeated at the beginning, and Guderian's skill could not be seen. Instead, it was Rommel who fought in Ala. The fierce fighting in Sri Lanka impressed the British deeply. After the implementation of Plan Barbarossa, Guderian and Rommel were on two separate battlefields. The British had not fought against him and did not know the truth. They also learned from the Soviets that Guderian was angry with Hitler because of his poor performance in the Battle of Moscow. News of his dismissal made his evaluation involuntarily lower. Moreover, Rommel was a marshal and Guderian was just a general. In terms of qualifications, Guderian was older than Rommel. In the eyes of the strict and rigid British, this fully demonstrated that Guderian was inferior to Rommel in terms of ability and merit. Er. After learning about the change of command in the German army, General Alexander in Cairo (he succeeded Auchinleck as Commander-in-Chief of the British Army's Middle East Theater, and Montgomery succeeded Auchinleck as Commander-in-Chief of the Eighth Army) was also relieved a lot. The adjutant joked: "It's good now. At least the soldiers on the Alamein frontline no longer have to suffer from the Desert Fox."
Colonel de Lagan nodded, agreeing with Montgomery's judgment, and asked tentatively: "Should we take the initiative to attack?"
"No, we still adopt the established policy discussed with General Alexander." Montgomery said, "On the one hand, we should hold on to the northern line area between the beach and Ruwaisat Ridge as much as possible, and on the other hand, we should hold on to the Alam Halfa Ridge. The strong established positions weakened the enemy's southern attack that threatened the Roisate Ridge from the flanks. Neither the head of state in Berlin nor the unclear leader in Italy would allow the African Army to abandon the occupied territory. If we took advantage of If Guderian just had the opportunity to take over the Afrika Korps, he might just slip away - that would be more troublesome to eliminate him."
"How do you plan to respond to the feint on the northern front?"
"The northern front is full of Italians and cannot make waves. Let the boys save their energy and don't hit too hard, otherwise the Italians will be beaten away, and Guderian will follow suit." Montgomery was in a good mood. He smiled and said, "Since he wants to take action again on September 7, then we will wait for him and let him hit us head-on. We will see if Guderian can perform better than Rommel in a week."
Churchill, who also learned about the change of command of the African Army, was very dissatisfied with the conservative arrangement of Alexander and Montgomery. He sent several telegrams asking Montgomery to take the initiative to attack, but the other party pushed back without hesitation. He sent telegrams to General Alexander to urge him, and also Tai Chi was put off by the opponent who said, "Once the campaign deployment has been completed, do not change it easily to avoid being taken advantage of by the Germans. You should trust the judgment of the frontline commander." The poor Prime Minister just replaced Auchinleck more than half a month ago, and he doesn't want to have to deal with it again, so now he seems to have no better solution except getting angry and waiting.
UU Reading welcomes all book lovers to come and read. The latest, fastest and most popular serial works are all in UU Reading! Mobile phone users please go and read.