With the tacit cooperation of both sides, the feint attack on the northern front was finally launched on September 5. The commanders of the three Italian infantry divisions including Brescia, Taranto and Bologna suddenly discovered that the combat effectiveness of the troops had skyrocketed, and the attack group they sent actually During the day's attack, the United Front advanced 10-15 kilometers. Although the enemy counterattacked in the evening and recaptured many positions, overall the results were considerable.
What made several commanders even more delighted was that they discovered that they were not fighting an authentic British army, but a Dominion Division composed of South Africans and Australians. The Italians called them "colonial" divisions and followed their own preconceptions. The concept is that the combat effectiveness of the colonial division is much inferior to the troops on the British Isles - anyway, the combat effectiveness of the Italian colonial troops is the worst, and a hundred officers from the Apennines look down on them.
In order to make the feint attack "spectacular" and prevent the British from detecting the actual situation through reconnaissance planes, and to encourage the Italian infantry on the ground to prevent them from collapse without a fight, the air force was not included in the retreat in Guderian's plan. On the contrary, he was asked to fight more fiercely than before. Kesselring gave great support on this point and airlifted a large amount of spare parts and aviation fuel directly to the front line through Aunt Junkers.
Now, the Italians' favorable impression of Guderian has greatly increased, and they feel that he is much better than the original German commander Rommel. Firstly, he took care of the face of the Italians and arranged for them a more suitable opponent like the "Colonial Division" instead of following the large troops to chew the bones of the southern front. Secondly, he frequently dispatched the air force to cover the infantry attacks, almost all the time. There were planes painted with iron crosses above their heads - the Italians had never enjoyed such high treatment, and their morale suddenly increased a lot. What made them even more satisfied was that when the attack successfully advanced 10-15 kilometers on the first day, they couldn't wait to send a victory telegram to the headquarters. Unexpectedly, a large part was lost before the reply came. The Bologna Division only arrived in July. The new unit, the division commander General Grogna knew that there were planes overhead observing the battlefield, and felt that he could not leave a bad impression on the new commander, so he suggested telling the truth. I thought that the Germans, who were so rigid and unreasonable, would definitely accuse me of lying about the military situation. Unexpectedly, Guderian's attitude was surprisingly good. The telegram clearly stated that "as long as all positions have not been recaptured by the enemy, it will be considered a victory." All this made them feel that they had met a considerate commander - why didn't the Germans replace Rommel earlier, who was cruel to the enemy and even more cruel to his own people?
Several division commanders discussed it and decided that they could not live up to General Guderian's high expectations. They would each send out a regiment to continue the attack tomorrow. It would be best to regain the positions lost today. Feint attack, you still need to have some momentum. The only problem is that the logistics supply seems to be insufficient and can only be maintained for half a month. The result of the discussion is to ask the commander for supplies after another 3 days of fighting. If not, it can be natural to transfer to on-site rest - in this regard Italians are very friendly.
Just as the Italians were complacent about the progress of the feint attack, Montgomery, Chief of Staff de Guingamp and a group of major generals under his command were studying the next battle plan in the war room. Although the first shot was fired by the Italians, and it was a feint, Montgomery was still very satisfied - this fully demonstrated that the intelligence and information he had were correct. Although Guderian was more cautious than Rommel, he was still in the eighth position. The army group moves forward on the road desired. During the entire battle, the Germans could have chosen any of the three routes to attack: the north, the middle, and the south. When Guderian transferred all the Italians to the north, all he could choose was the south.
The British army did not pay attention to the Italian attack at all. If Montgomery had not instructed the South African and Australian divisions on the front line to put some slack, the Italians might have been pushed back, let alone advance. Because the traffic conditions on the North Road are the best, the British army has already concentrated its forces around Alamein Station. Not only is the defensive area narrow, but it also has a good fortification position. Colonel Guingamp is very confident about this: let alone the Italians. Even the Germans may not be able to chew it.
The question now is, Guderian's feint attack has come. When and where will his real offensive be launched on the southern front? The staff officers in the headquarters had different opinions on this, and Colonel Guingamp was also very cautious in his judgment. He gave three explanations: September 7, September 10, and continued postponement - these words were said to be unsaid. They couldn't help but roll their eyes. After discussing for a long time, everyone only agreed on one point: Guderian's attack depended on his analysis of the feint attack situation on the northern route and the amount of newly arrived supplies.
The high temperature and hot weather can make people anxious. Seeing that a group of people were discussing from noon to evening and still had no definite opinion, the impatient British 13th Army Commander Major General Horrocks couldn't stand it any longer: "Everyone, since you can't judge Germany, People have time to move, why don't we just fight over?"
"Fight him?" Montgomery asked doubtfully.
Major General Horrocks pointed his pointer at the defensive area occupied by the Italians in the north: "Since it has been identified that the Italians are weak in combat effectiveness, I suggest directly surrounding and destroying them, and then detouring from the north to the south to form an attack on the Germans with the troops facing them. Human attack."
"This is not in line with our strategy." Montgomery shook his head slightly, "If you do this, you will scare Guderian away immediately. There is no point in just catching the Italians."
"I don't agree with what you say." Horrocks said angrily, "The Italians have more troops than the Germans. All the supplies of the Afrika Korps come from Italy. Why do you think the Italians don't have them?" significance?"
Montgomery smiled and said: "Think about it, where will our front be when there are only Italians in North Africa?"
Horrocks was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses: before the Germans intervened in the war in Africa, the Italians launched a ferocious attack. As a result, more than 300,000 people were wiped out by the British army at once, and the entire front line reached Libya. When Rommel led the German army, the British not only lost Tobruk, but the entire front was overwhelmed at El Alamein, which was only 120 miles away from Cairo. It is evident whether Italians have any meaning. Horrocks was Montgomery's confidant. The latter did not want to dampen his enthusiasm and deliberately reminded him in this tactful way.
Major General Gatehouse was the commander of the 10th Armored Division. He suggested: "What if we attack from the south?"
Colonel Guingamp's eyes lit up: "Tell me what you think."
"As the commander said, the Italians on the northern front are nothing to worry about. If we are willing, we can take them in 3 days, no, 2 days. We can keep a watch on the Italians while using the tenth and first two The Armored Division took the lead to break through from the Miteriya Ridge, opening up the Northern Corridor and cutting off the connection between the German and Italian groups; then the 7th Armored Division and the 44th Division were used to make a circuitous route along the edge of the Qattara Basin, bypassing the African Army's final line. Outflank the minefield at the southern end - we can first load the German group into our steel cage."
Everyone took a look at the map and understood that this plan was a modification based on what Horrocks had just proposed. Originally, it was to complete the detour of the German army by eating the Italian group first, but now it is to directly use armored divisions to insert the connection between the German and Italian groups. And encircling the German army group, this is a bolder and more direct plan.
Montgomery looked at the map and pondered for a moment. In Gatehouse's hopeful eyes, he still shook his head to express disapproval.
"Why?" Major General James Langton, commander of the 7th Armored Division, Montgomery's starting unit, known as the "Desert Rat", couldn't help but ask, "Although this plan requires a little higher coordination, if the deployment is careful, it is still There is a high chance of success. Even if we cannot form an encirclement on the Germans, UU Reading www.uukｎshu.com we can still stick behind them and carry out a tail pursuit attack..."
Montgomery only said one sentence: "That means that our tanks will not only break through the enemy's minefields, but also encounter the enemy's preset anti-tank fire attacks."
Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Could it be that the commander had an attack route that would not allow the enemy to counterattack?
Seeing that everyone was silent, Montgomery thought that everyone did not understand what he meant, so he waved his hands and said in a firm tone: "I carefully analyzed all previous battle cases and found that German tanks are always together with their 88-mm guns and anti-tank guns. As soon as they encountered our tanks, they immediately hid behind them and then used anti-tank fire to destroy us. Finally, their tanks came out to occupy the position. Therefore, the Germans must not be fooled and our tanks must be prevented from rushing out of the position to prevent them from becoming 88 The target of the gun, let us hide the tank and use it as an anti-tank gun, let Guderian's tank hit us, and then crush it. We can no longer do the stupid thing of letting our tank jump out and be hit by the enemy's 88-meter gun... …"
He talked a lot and finally summed it up in one sentence: "If you don't attack, wait for Guderian to attack us first - I believe he will come."
Everyone was so choked by these words that they could only roll their eyes and look at the sky: We have more troops than the enemy, better equipment than the enemy, a stronger defense line than the enemy, and more comprehensive information than the enemy. That's it. Wait for the enemy to attack first - how stupid would Guderian on the opposite side have to be to choose to do this? In the silence of everyone, the combat meeting of the British Eighth Army on the night of September 5 ended in a strange atmosphere.
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