The decisive battle against the Third Reich

Then the troops were divided into two parts and acted separately:

One part is to use the breakthrough as a starting point to expand the results along the two wings of the defense line until the entire defense line is occupied.

This is necessary, because it is foreseeable that the main force of the British army coming from the direction of Chile for reinforcements will arrive in Tobruk in the near future. If the German army has not completely occupied the defense line and built a defense system by then, the British army will It can easily break through and defeat the German army.

In this regard, Colonel Slaine left it to the Second and Third Battalions to complete the task. This task was not difficult... At this time, the German army launched an attack on other British troops from within the defense line. The British engineer troops, who originally did not have much will to resist, Even more vulnerable.

Facts have fully proved this point: before the German army arrived, the British army had abandoned their position and fled without knowing where to go... Therefore, the German army was not so much attacking as receiving.

The other part takes you directly to Tobruk Port.

This is the core of this battle, because materials shipped from Egypt and the British colonies are stored there. The most important thing in desert operations is materials... It should be said that materials are important to any war, especially desert operations. For example, if there is no water, there is no need to fight in the desert. There is no third possibility of dying of thirst or surrendering.

Historically, Rommel's two attacks on El Alamein ended in failure, which fully illustrates this point.

In the First Battle of El Alamein, Rommel failed to capture the port of Tobruk, which caused the German logistical supplies to be transported from the other side of the desert. In the end, there were problems with the supplies and he had to return in vain.

Although the Port of Tobruk was captured in the Second Battle of El Alamein, the German army shifted its strategic focus to the eastern front to attack the Soviet Union (Note: The German army attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941, so the air power invested in North Africa was transferred to the direction of the Soviet Union). As a result, the British army had absolute air superiority in the Mediterranean and blocked the Mediterranean with fighter planes and warships... This made the German occupation of Tobruk port meaningless.

But what would have happened if the Germans had captured the port of Tobruk during the First Battle of El Alamein?

With this question in mind, Qinchuan and the soldiers of the 1st Infantry Battalion, led by Colonel Slain, took the captured cars and armored vehicles and rushed towards the port of Tobruk.

As for the captured tanks... those tanks were too slow, with a maximum speed of 24 kilometers per hour, and the actual speed of 10 kilometers per hour was about the same. This was really not in line with the German army's pursuit of speed and efficiency, so they simply threw them away. Used defensively near the defensive line.

The Port of Tobruk is in chaos. As far away as Qinchuan, one can see old-fashioned cruise ships from the 20th century docked near the port. The huge chimneys are like volcanic craters, constantly spitting out black smoke. From time to time, a long whistle sounded, which seemed to urge people on the shore to board the ship quickly.

But they could no longer leave, because the German convoy had rushed into the crowd, causing screams.

Colonel Slaine was riding in a British Beaverette light armored reconnaissance vehicle. This type of armored vehicle is open, almost like a car covered with a layer of low-profile armor.

Colonel Slaine, who was sitting among them, held up his MP40 and shot a bunch of bullets in the air with high spirits, which only frightened the people on the dock to scream and hide in all directions.

Cars and armored vehicles followed closely behind and parked around them. The soldiers jumped out of the car skillfully and set up their guns with the cars and armored vehicles as support. Qin Chuan chose to hide under the car tires. , because he had seen a video in modern times and knew that the most difficult thing to penetrate on a car is actually the car tires... As for car doors and the like, they can only block bullets in TV and movies.

"Gentlemen!" Colonel Slaine shouted around with a loudspeaker: "I am honored to tell you that Tobruk Port has been occupied by us. Everything here is under my control. Believe me, just press my button." I will do what I say, and I will ensure your safety and interests..."

Only then did Qin Chuan discover that most of the "passengers" who were about to board the ship were wounded soldiers.

Thinking about it, I think so. British soldiers injured on the front line will be sent to Tobruk and then transported back to Egypt or British colonies by cruise ships to recuperate. Of course, they were accompanied by nurses, medics, and some local people who looked after the British army as porters.

Qin Chuan originally thought that these wounded soldiers were harmless, but soon he noticed that an officer lying on a stretcher took out a pistol under the white sheet and pointed it at Colonel Slaine...

"Bang!" There was a gunshot.

A bullet fired from the barrel of Qinchuan's gun accurately hit the British officer's face... The bullet passed through his eye and exited from the other end, which instantly turned his eye into a bloody hole. , the hand holding the gun dropped weakly, and the pistol fell to the ground.

The screams rang out again. Colonel Slaine turned back to look at Qin Chuan approvingly, then raised his horn and continued: "You have all seen that my soldiers are capable of solving all dangers, so I advise you not to do this. It would not be a wise choice to pay for the loss in vain!”

Perhaps they were shocked by Qinchuan's gun. Then all the wounded British soldiers and medical soldiers were very obedient. Even the giant cruise ships were captured by the German army... The German army controlled their cables, and they Know you can't escape.

Colonel Slaine wasted no time and led the German troops straight to the warehouses at the port... Colonel Slaine had done some intelligence work before and knew the locations of these warehouses.

These warehouses were originally guarded by British troops, but they had no idea where they had gone. Later, after investigating the British prisoners, we found that many of them had mixed with the wounded British soldiers and tried to escape on boats.

They didn't even have the courage to blow up the fuel and ammunition in the warehouse before leaving because they were worried about retaliation from the Germans... This is consistent with the fact that the Germans could easily leave a force behind to perform the "final mission" in Tengeter. A sharp contrast.

After prying open the door of the warehouse, everyone was stunned by what they saw. There were all kinds of materials in the warehouse, including food, ammunition, machine guns, artillery... and barrels of fuel stacked like a hill.

What's more important is that all these supplies are stored in underground warehouses, which means there is no need to worry about bombing by enemy fighter planes.

"Soldiers!" Colonel Sline raised his hands excitedly and shouted, "We are the richest people in this land!"

The German soldiers couldn't help but burst into cheers.

Colonel Slaine is right, the wealth in the desert is not gold or silver, but the materials in these warehouses.