Imperial Overlord

Why did the Italian front-line infantry, who were still holding on, collapse in such a fast time?

This also starts with the transfer of the Italian army: in fact, the transfer of Marshal Graziani is the last straw for the Italian army and the last chance for the Italian 10th Army.

However, this move made the troops defending the front line suspicious-they were worried that the friendly forces behind them were not heading south to counter the British, but were preparing to pack up and run away. 【】

So when the army behind them began to turn around and move, the Italian front-line infantry couldn't help but retreat.

After leaving the fairly solid defensive positions, the Italian infantry, driven by the British soldiers, were not far from the captives.

Soon, about 10,000 Italian soldiers became the spoils of the British army. Because there were too many prisoners, they even hindered the pursuit of the British army...

Marshal Graziani was finally in despair and collapsed just like his army. He did not expect that a precise British counterattack at the critical point would defeat the entire 200,000 Italian army so easily.

This time it was really lively. Who would have thought that in this barren land, 200,000 Italian troops were defeated by 30,000 British troops, and the chaos collapsed?

"How did they collapse? I have been supervising the establishment of this line of defense these days! It's only been a few hours? They can't hold it?" Marshal Graziani couldn't believe his ears and asked the officer.

He didn't know that it was because his army was turning, so that the army on the front line thought that they had been betrayed, so the collapse was caused.

After all, he was not a prophet and could not guess the outcome of this tragedy. The officer who came to report the letter did not know the reason, so naturally he could not answer.

But this officer knew that if they wasted their time like this, they would not even have the chance to retreat.

If Graziani in front of him is captured by the British, then he will really be remembered for eternity - the highest-ranking officer who was captured by the Allies after the Axis Powers went to war!

"Marshal! Now is not the time to investigate, we must leave here quickly!" The officer persuaded Marshal Graziani in front of him with a cry.

Is Marshal Graziani a hero who sees his death as a hero? Obviously not! He heard the reminder from his subordinates, and he didn't mean to refuse, so he nodded and walked out of his headquarters!

Half an hour later, more than 10,000 main force of the Italian 10th Army began to **** their marshals to retreat, and most of the remaining troops fell into chaos.

About 100,000 people are retreating, and they are scattered all the way under the city of Matrouh, all the way to Sidi Rani, and even between Bug Bug and Saleum.

The remaining armies are fighting each other, some are still resisting, some are surrendering, some are trying to break through or escape...

The entire Egyptian battlefield was in chaos, and the British team did not expect that this forced counterattack turned out to be a great victory!

The British commander, Admiral Archibald Percival Wavell, was reluctant to attack until the British counterattack.

He had too few men left for him to risk attacking the overwhelmingly numerical Italian army.

If something went wrong - any problem, his army would be unable to hold on to Matrouh because of the heavy losses.

And if Matrouh is lost, then Alexandria is completely in danger. Matrouh has an airport and a port... This is an important supply base for Italy's advancement.

So when Admiral Wavell heard Churchill's order to let him fight back, he subconsciously thought that Churchill must be crazy.

But when Churchill told Admiral Wavell the situation at home, he could only bite the bullet and fight such an important counterattack!

Because Britain desperately needs a victory, a morale-boosting victory! Without a hearty victory on the battlefield, perhaps Britain would be forced to succumb to the bombing of the Luftwaffe.

Based on such a premise, Admiral Wavell had to choose to launch a counterattack. The original helpless counterattack turned out to be a huge victory in the true sense!

Marshal Graziani lost in Egypt, no matter what the reason, the defeat was very ugly - he gave the honor to Admiral Wavell, and let him reach the pinnacle of his life.

Admiral Wavell was standing on top of his car at this time, watching the collapsed Italian army in the distance.

His victory was so brilliant that two British soldiers were often seen on the side of the road, escorting hundreds of Italian prisoners.

"The Italians have no supplies at all! They have been replenishing fresh water and food recently, and there is almost no replenishment of ammunition." A British police officer stood under the car and reported to Admiral Wavell in the car.

Just now, the British army accepted the surrender of an Italian infantry division, and the division commander gave an inexhaustible confession of the situation of his army.

Soldiers lack basic supplies, and even rations can only guarantee part of it. It is strange that such an army can have combat effectiveness.

Apparently the Italian commanders were aware of this as well, and they tried to extend their transport routes, but unfortunately the speed was not to be commended.

An army of 200,000 people sounds very scary in terms of numbers, and it is indeed overwhelming in terms of momentum. It is a pity that an army of this level is itself a huge consumption of the logistics system.

"No wonder, many armies don't have ammunition at all... It seems that our opponents are hitting people, which is a crooked hit!" Admiral Wavell retracted his gaze from the battlefield and said with a smile to the men in front of the car.

The tanks of the Italian army do not have a radio system, so these armored fighting vehicles can only fight on their own, lacking coordination capabilities, and are very vulnerable in a chaotic state.

There was neither access to battlefield situational information nor the ability to coordinate the operations and cover of nearby forces - their combat effectiveness was comparable to those of the Allied tanks on the French battlefield.

30 cars! Only 7 hours into the war, the Italian army had already abandoned its 30 M11 tanks, and at the same time, there were about this number that were abandoned due to failures.

In addition, more than 15 Italian tanks were destroyed by British tanks... The number of tanks destroyed and captured has exceeded the total number of tanks attacked by the British.

"Send a telegram to the armored forces! Let them continue to fight back west! I will retake all the lost ground within two days and invade Libya!" Admiral Wavell was so satisfied that he used this counterattack to serve his country. time won.

Now, as long as he bites the tail of the rout of the Italian 10th Army, he can hunt all the way into Libya.

According to his script, he can even take down Bairdie and try to attack Tobruk! In this way, he can even find the specific location of the Libyan oil field that the British executives have been looking for!

For the British, with the defeat of the Italian army, they were completely turned over in North Africa.

"We will be able to rush into the village of Tevarisai this afternoon!" The officer next to the car smiled and saluted, and now the long-lost smile has finally returned to the faces of the British soldiers.

They are victorious! Defeated 7 times as many enemies as they were, and was recovering their lost ground. The motherland should be proud of them, and the disadvantage on the North African battlefield has been reversed.

"Telegram to Alexandria! Telegram to Cairo! Tell His Majesty the King! We honored our mission and defeated the Italians!" Admiral Wavell said proudly, ready to announce his victory to the rear.

"It should be! It should be!" The officers around him were all nodding. This victory was definitely not easy to come by, and the gold content was very high.

They won at a time when Britain needed a victory most inspiring - what could be more important than that?

Having said that, compared with the tough Germans, the Italians really exist like rain! The urgency of the people is simply a living Lei Feng!

On the other side, in the port of Tobruk, the dusty Rommel tore off the scarf around his neck and threw it on a clean table covered with a tablecloth.

Squinting, he looked at the embarrassed commander of the Italian garrisoned army, with a sneer: "So, we are here, is it correct?"

Just now, the Italian commander who swallowed his saliva received a shocking news - the Italian 10th Army under the command of Marshal Graziani was defeated~www.wuxiaspot.com~ was very embarrassed.

At the same time, another shipment of supplies from the German Afrika Korps arrived in Tobruk, where 1,000 soldiers swayed off the transport ship and boarded the North Africa they were about to fight for.

The army in Rommel's hands has almost reached the size of a standard division. Although this division is still just a mixed division, its combat effectiveness is already amazing.

"Rest in place! It's not a matter of rush now! We have to ensure our own state!" He looked at the map and instructed the adjutant and all the officers who followed.

The troops in his hands were too tired, not to mention those who were on their way, and those who were seasick. It is not a good choice to rush over to fight with the British in this state now.

In Rommel's view, instead of saving the rout of the Italian army, it is possible to get his own troops in vain.

It would be better to wait here, wait here, wait for the collapse of Italy to return to Tobruk, and then re-plan.

"The Führer is so predictable!" Rommel, the commander of the African Legion, who heard that the Italians were really defeated, and his body was covered in dust, kept sighing in his heart.