Imperial Overlord

Admiral Wavell did not dare to give up all his previous victories, because he could not explain to England how he had failed along the way. 【】

Just as the Italian Marshal Graziani didn't know how to explain his defeat to Mussolini, Admiral Wavell couldn't explain his first victory and then defeat.

The country is now desperately promoting this victory in North Africa, and countless people regard him as a hero of the British Empire.

If he fails at this time, it will have an immeasurable negative impact on the morale of the entire British resisting the German attack.

"We can't let the Germans into Egypt! This is the bottom line that must be adhered to!" Wavell looked at his subordinate, Lieutenant General O'Connor, and said.

Although Lieutenant General O'Connor was reluctant, he had to admit that his boss's decision was the right choice.

It's just that for them, relying on half of the troops in their hands to complete the more difficult border defense work, the pressure is unimaginable.

This time, they were not facing a crowded but unprepared Italy, but a German army that had successfully defeated France.

Looking at the situation in front of him, the opponent is obviously very powerful and has an overwhelming advantage in tank armor.

"Although we can't easily give up the border, how can we stop the opponent's attack in this state?" Lieutenant General O'Connor said depressedly.

Admiral Wavell thought about it and said, "Our first task now is to gather the troops in Libya!"

There are still about 7,000 people scattered in Libya, and even including the soldiers near Baierdi, the total number is more than 13,000.

These soldiers were the bulk of Admiral Wavell's counterattack against the German Afrika Korps. If these troops could not be assembled, then the battle would really not have to be fought.

"Many soldiers are retreating. They haven't encountered the German army. It seems that the other side is also trying to concentrate their troops." Lieutenant General O'Connor replied.

The current situation seems to be relatively gratifying, at least most of the troops scattered into the enemy-occupied area have not encountered enemy attacks.

But what they got was not all good news. At least after Baierdi was relieved, the possibility of the Italian army being destroyed was completely killed.

Looking at the current military strength of both sides in North Africa, the British Army is still at an absolute disadvantage.

At the beginning of the battle, Admiral Wavell's high hopes of relying on "Operation Compass" to change the balance of power between the enemy and the enemy were completely unsuccessful.

At this time, there were more than 20,000 Italian troops besieged in Baierdi alone. If these soldiers re-launched the attack under the leadership of the German army, it would definitely be a disaster for Britain.

"Before we give up Baierdi, we have to try to eliminate this force! Or at least let them dare not leave Baierdi!" Admiral Wavell, who had already decided to abandon Baierdi, said to Lieutenant General O'Connor .

"Bombard Baierdi and try to organize some attacks." He said his thoughts while looking at the map.

His purpose is very simple, that is, to try to make Berdine's Italian army dismay, unwilling or unable to follow the German troops to continue the attack.

In fact, he knew that with less than 10,000 German troops, the attack was more than enough and the defense was insufficient. As long as the front line is long enough, the German team will stop advancing because of the emptiness in the rear.

So, if you can keep the Italians still, you can stop the German advance... Although it will be short, it will definitely have an effect.

And what Wavell lacks is time. The troops urgently drawn from India and Australia will soon enter Egypt.

Likewise, once these troops were in place, Wavell's army would be increased to an unprecedented level - at that time, a small number of German troops would not have been a cause for concern.

"Will the Germans come from behind?" Lieutenant General O'Connor was worried about this matter, because up to now, he did not have the exact location of the opponent's main force.

Although the British team sent a large number of reconnaissance troops, and contacted the retreating teams, hoping to find the position of the main force of the German team.

But until now, the main force of the German army has not been discovered, and the other party's reconnaissance troops are very powerful, often destroying the scattered British troops, making the reconnaissance very difficult.

"One day! We will fight here for one day, no matter what the result is, we will retreat immediately!" Admiral Wavell was also worried that the Germans would come and complicate the situation here.

But he had to do something to restore his already low morale and lay a solid foundation for future defenses.

In the other direction, the German armored units stopped in the desert to rest, and along the way from the east of Tobruk to the outskirts of Beldi, the Germans also needed to breathe.

But now they are in very good condition, because the maintenance of the equipment is in place, and there are many mechanical experts following, and their tanks have not had too many failures.

In the distance of these resting tanks, there were also several infantry trucks that were sent to support them. Because more and more prisoners were caught, Rommel had to let some infantry catch up with the tank troops and gather those who were caught. British.

Rommel has now captured more than 6,000 people and killed at least 1,100. His troops rampaged through the desert as if they were no one.

"The British don't know yet, we are so close to Berdy." Putting down the binoculars in his hand, the commander of the 8th Tank Regiment of the 15th Armored Division of the German Army sighed.

His troops marched eastward along the highway parallel and hit the vicinity of Bildi in one breath. Fortunately, since the defeat of the British 7th Armoured Division and the capture of a large number of prisoners of the armoured division's logistical forces, he has not encountered any decent resistance.

More than 100 tanks were divided into three groups, and like a three-headed dragon, they swept across the south side of the road.

Most of the remaining troops of the British 7th Armored Division are still in Egypt, and there are only a dozen tanks left.

India's 4th Infantry Division was not much better either, they lost an infantry regiment and lost almost all their artillery...and captured Italian artillery.

"Bildi's British are on alert. They have obviously realized that we are nearby. It's just because of the chaos that they didn't find us." The regiment commander analyzed several of his commanders.

He pointed to Bairdie on the map: "The British who surround here may not have as many as the Italians in the city... It's hard to believe that they don't even dare to fight back."

"How many Italians have we seen along the way? They are not soldiers at all, just a group of poor people." A battalion commander of a German armored battalion said with a smile.

Along the way, the German army rescued at least 20,000 Italian prisoners. These poor prisoners had no fighting spirit at all. Hundreds of them were guarded by several people, like a flock of driven sheep.

There are actually not many German tanks nearby. Although this is the headquarters of the entire tank regiment, there are only 45 tanks.

However, these 45 No. 3 tanks are still a decisive force in this place.

On the command tank turret carrying the high-power command radio, an officer stuck out his head and shouted to the regiment commander, "Sir! Order from the general headquarters!"

The head of the regiment walked over and took the telegram handed to him by the officer. It was just translated from the password state, and it looked a little messy.

However, it was clearly written that he was required to immediately lead all the tanks that he could find to attack the British troops near Baierdi after the battle of the frontal attack started.

"General Rommel has reached the offensive position, and the battle will start in 15 minutes! Our mission is to attack all the British troops we can find from the south! Is there a problem?" .

"No problem!" All the officers nodded, then spread out and walked towards the tanks they were responsible for.

Just as Rommel was mobilizing troops and preparing to attack General Wavell's troops in Beldi, a large British infantry that was retreating to Beldi crashed into Rommel's headquarters.

Thus began a tragic encounter. The British soldiers did not know where they were, thinking they were surrounded by German troops, so they rushed east.

And Rommel's army was suddenly attacked by a large group of British troops behind him.

The place where the battle was fought was not far from the British defense lines, so the sound of machine guns and rifles suddenly aroused the vigilance of Lieutenant General O'Connor's officers.

Five minutes after the exchange of fire, Lieutenant General O'Connor got a report from his men, and then he grabbed his phone and reported the emergency to Admiral Wavell, who was preparing to retreat.

"General! The main force of the Germans is near us! It's near us!" Lieutenant General O'Connor was already panicking at this time~www.wuxiaspot.com~ shouted nervously into the microphone.

Admiral Wavell didn't expect the other party to be so close to him, and hurriedly ordered: "The attack is canceled! Let's leave here immediately! Let the troops retreat to the Egyptian border! Immediately!"

At almost the same time, the radio of the command vehicle of the German armored force was busy, and Rommel, who had been silent all the time, finally couldn't hold back and broke the silence.

Rommel's voice came from the German commander's earphone: "Can you hear my order?"

"Clearly! Sir!" The tank commanders who had been waiting for orders replied immediately.

"Attack! Attack immediately!" Rommel gave a vague order.

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