The decisive battle against the Third Reich

The Germans had two options. One was to go around the El Alamein defense line and cooperate with other troops to surround the British army.

For example, the 21st Armored Division can go around to Ruwaisat Ridge and attack the Indian troops stationed there with the 15th Armored Division. It is conceivable that the German army did not take much time to win a war and break into the British defense lines with the 15th Armored Division.

Another option is to go straight to Alexandria, which is the main supply port for the British army. The supplies and ammunition needed by the British army are continuously sent to the front line from Alexandria via railway.

Both of these are good options.

But General Auchinleck judged that the German army would choose the latter because the German army did not have much time... There were still five hours before dawn, which was almost the time for the German army to arrive in Alexandria and launch an attack.

If the Germans were to capture Alexandria, the entire Alamein line of defense would undoubtedly collapse.

On the contrary, if the German army chose the former, they would not be able to reach Alexandria in time and capture Alexandria before dawn.

As we all know, the daytime belongs to the British. The British Air Force has an absolute advantage and is close to the water. The British army has airports in Alexandria and Cairo, and the German airport is two hundred kilometers away.

Therefore, as soon as the sky breaks out, the German tanks cannot avoid being ruthlessly attacked by the British Air Force.

In other words, the former would at best collapse the northern section of the Alamein line of defense. Although the British army suffered heavy losses, they could still retreat from Alamein and build a new line of defense in Alexandria.

The Germans obviously would not be satisfied with such a small victory.

As a result, General Auchinleck knew how to fight this battle.

Without saying a word, he picked up a pen and ruler, connected the two points of Dilcyin and Alexander on the map, and then said: "This is probably the German marching route. Send out scouts immediately to follow and conduct reconnaissance!"

"Yes, sir!" Major General Rich responded and went to make arrangements.

General Auchinleck then issued a series of orders, and his battle plan can be summarized into two points.

One: Send troops to attack and harass the German troops along the way.

It was supposed to be a pursuit and interception, but General Auchinleck did not dare to set the goal too high because he knew that the British army's combat effectiveness was not as good as the German army. No British army, including the 7th Armored Division, could stop the German 21st Armored Division. , which has been verified before.

On the other hand, it is also because desert warfare is very special, and its transportation can be said to be accessible in all directions. Therefore, unless there are several times the number of troops and an absolute advantage in equipment, it is unrealistic to pursue and intercept.

Therefore, General Auchinleck only planned to slow down the German army's march. If the German army could not launch an attack on Alexander before dawn, then the plan would be half successful.

This task was handed over to the newly formed 5th Armored Brigade, equipped with two hundred "Stuart" tanks, and the remnants of the British 15th Armored Division.

Two: Strengthen defenses in the direction of Alexander.

Because General Auchinleck had piled almost all of his troops and equipment on the Alamein line, Alexander's forces were very empty.

Fortunately, Alexandria was connected to the front line by a railway, so General Auchinleck ordered the remnants of the New Zealand 2nd Division...more than 2,000 people to be garrisoned in Alexandria, supplemented by the Egyptian African 3rd Division. 3 divisions assist in defense.

Alexander was also helpless about this. The British army's shortage of troops had reached an outrageous level.

In fact, even though the British army suffered heavy losses in previous battles, its total strength was still several times that of the German army.

The reason why there is a severe shortage of troops is because the strategic thinking of the British army is defense... The defensive side will inevitably need more troops, and most of these troops cannot be concentrated or even support each other.

For example, right now, the British army is deploying defenses on a 55-kilometer-long Alamein defense line. Even if the British army has more than 100,000 people, the average is only more than 2,000 people per kilometer. If we support other regions, there will be a situation of "tearing down the east wall to pay for the west wall".

The German army's strategic thinking is mainly offensive.

Attacking can concentrate troops and equipment to break through from one point, thus forming a strength advantage over the British army in local areas.

We cannot simply say which tactic is better between the two. Troops like the British army with complex composition, low quality, and especially traditional command tactics are indeed more suitable for defense... Historically, they used defense and powerful supplies. and equipment abruptly brought down the German army, which had a qualitative advantage.

General Auchinleck's plan was quickly implemented.

The British scouts were deployed along the enemy's possible marching routes like sowing beans. These scouts were difficult to detect because it was very easy to hide in the desert. The scouts only needed to bury themselves with sand. Expose a little of your head to observe or breathe, so you can't find it at all unless you walk in front of it or run over it directly.

Then these scouts reported their positions to the command headquarters, which then sent the coordinates to the artillery... so the artillery shells exploded in pieces near the 21st Armored Division.

However, the hit rate of this kind of artillery fire coverage is very low.

The process of artillery bombing should be to use a few guns to test-fire after giving the coordinates, and then the observer will make adjustments based on the deviation between the explosion point of the artillery shell and the target, such as shooting farther or closer, heading east or west However, these communicated with the artillery positions via radio for correction, and then carried out large-scale coverage bombing until the shots were accurate.

The problem is that it is a dark night with very low visibility, and it is difficult for artillery observers hiding in the dark to determine the location of the target. Especially the German 21st Armored Division is still advancing at full speed, often escaping from the observer's sight in a few minutes.

So Qin Chuan and others always heard the whistling and explosion of artillery shells, but it was rare that a few shells could hit the target.

"Are the British giving a salute?" Werner laughed: "They are so nice. I have never enjoyed such a welcome ceremony!"

The soldiers couldn't help laughing when they heard this.

"We will also give them gifts in return!" the baker said with a smile.

The baker was right. German artillery fire soon began... German scouts also spread out. After they discovered the fire of the British artillery, they reported the coordinates to their artillery.

When German artillery fires, it also exposes itself.

So the back and forth quickly turned into an artillery battle between the enemy and ourselves, and the main force of the 21st Armored Division became quiet.

"Oh!" Werner put on a regretful expression: "The salute is over!"

"Don't take it lightly!" Kuhn said: "The British will not let it go like this!"