World War II: Starting with the defeat of the Desert Fox

Chapter 14 Frontal Intersection

The German army had always deployed its main armored forces in the southern section of the British defenses.

The reason is that the northern defensive line is close to the sea and is not suitable for mobile warfare, while Rommel is very good at using armored forces to penetrate, raid, and encircle.

Montgomery knew all this, and coupled with his access to "top secrets," he believed he had a thorough understanding of German intelligence. Therefore, he naturally placed the main defensive force on the southern front, leaving the northern section of the defense line near the coast relatively weak.

Unexpectedly, Rommel was so short of oil that he couldn't even afford to launch a single flanking maneuver with his armored forces.

Left with no other choice, Rommel had to break through the defenses by attacking from the front.

The unit that penetrated the British lines was Rommel's most elite force: the 5th Panzer Regiment, commanded by Colonel Gerhard Müller.

Before the main force launched its general offensive, he ordered the infantry to sneak into the minefield under the cover of night to clear the mines.

The German soldiers were brave and had extensive experience in mine clearance. They spent several hours clearing an attack path for the armored forces in the dark.

The British troops stationed on the defensive line were completely unaware of this.

Then, Colonel Müller launched an attack ahead of the main force.

There was no artillery preparation, no shouting of battle, the tank's headlights were off, and the driver couldn't see anything. The commander had to stick his head out to observe and then give brief instructions to move forward.

They infiltrated the junction between the First Division of British South Africa and the Fourth Division of British India.

Colonel Müller knew that the two units did not speak the same language and had different tactics, so there must be many problems at the junction of their defensive lines.

The same is true.

When the sound of tank engines was heard in front of the position, the South African 1st Division and the British Indian 4th Division assumed that it was the other's equipment.

"It couldn't be a German tank; our position is surrounded by landmines."

"I guess those are bulldozers from the South African First Division."

"It's probably tanks from the British Indian 4th Division; this isn't the first time they've deployed at night."

……

When German tanks suddenly appeared in front of them, covering hordes of German soldiers as they launched their final charge, the British troops were so frightened that they forgot to fire, and the troops that turned to flee in the opposite direction instantly collapsed.

Thus, when the artillery fire began, the German 5th Panzer Regiment had already torn through the British defenses like a sharp knife and penetrated their heartland.

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"You must leave here immediately, the sooner the better," Thea ordered Thorne again, her tone leaving no room for argument.

She then ignored Thorne and shouted to the panicked soldiers, "I need a gunner! Does anyone know how to fire?"

There was a moment of silence in the crowd, then someone asked, "What do you want to do, Captain?"

"There's a batch of tanks in the warehouse," Thea explained.

"The M3 Grant, we must make use of them."

"My repairmen can drive and operate the equipment, but they can't fire the cannons. I need artillery!"

An old soldier, a cigarette dangling from his lips, said dismissively, "So, you mean to hastily assemble a tank crew and then drive those tanks against battle-hardened German armored forces?"

Then he asked himself and answered:

"That's not a good idea, Captain. You might get blown up before you even see the enemy."

"We all know that the M3 tank is too tall, making it a target for enemy anti-tank guns."

"Furthermore, even if you spot the target, the gunners will be unable to aim due to a lack of coordination! War is not as simple as you think."

The soldiers nodded in agreement.

But Thea persisted, asking in return:

"So, we're just going to stay here and do nothing?"

"Or should we stay here and fight the German tanks with rifles?"

"No, as long as we get those tanks moving and coordinate with the infantry, we still have a chance of victory."

The British soldiers shook their heads, and the veteran continued to persuade them: "This is suicide, Captain, it's pointless."

As they spoke, the soldiers dispersed, their faces filled with fear.

That's how the British army works.

Once they believe that a battle is impossible to win, they will think that it is meaningless to "sacrifice" for it, and thus they will naturally refuse to fight.

Soon, only Thea and her twenty-odd maintenance workers remained in front of the water tanker.

Thea turned her gaze to them, but the repairmen also objected to this:

"I think we should retreat, Captain!"

"We're just maintenance soldiers; we don't even have combat training."

"Yes, there's nothing we can do!"

……

"No, we can't do that," Thea retorted. "Do you know what this means? This is the command post. If no one is in front of us to hold things off, the entire defensive line could collapse..."

Someone interrupted her: "As long as the general evacuates in time, there won't be any problems."

Thea retorted:

"But where else can we retreat to? Think about it, all the way to Alexandria?"

"The Germans will keep chasing us, and we won't have time to build another line of defense."

"We'll be driven all the way to the coast and the canals by the Germans, and that will be the real nightmare, you just don't realize it yet!"

Thorne was quite surprised by Thea's words.

Indeed, as Thea analyzed, everyone believed that if they couldn't win, they could retreat, and there was still room to retreat from the rear.

But in reality, in Egypt, which is divided by the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal, continuing the retreat would turn into another Dunkirk evacuation.

This time, however, the British army will not be so lucky as to escape unscathed; the outcome will likely be a massacre.

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Montgomery, who was in command, faced the same dilemma.

He was already asleep in bed at that time.

Montgomery knew the Germans would attack that night, but before going to bed he was confident that everything was arranged properly and there wouldn't be any problems.

He believed that when he opened his eyes again and was having breakfast in his office, he would hear good news from the Germans that they had a problem with fuel, which would result in a large number of German tanks being paralyzed on their way to the offensive, and the British would achieve a complete victory.

However, he was awakened by urgent knocking on the door.

"What is it?" he asked impatiently, propping himself up from the cot.

(Note: Temperatures in the desert drop sharply at night, sometimes down to 12 degrees Celsius, so a blanket is needed to sleep.)

"General," Chief of Staff De Gangan reported anxiously from outside, "a German armored regiment has broken through our lines and is advancing towards us."

Montgomery didn't react for a long time.

How could that be?

Are they breaking through the defenses and heading this way?

As if in response, the chief of staff continued, "They didn't flank us; they came straight through the minefield!"

Montgomery was stunned.

How to pass through a minefield head-on?

God, this means the German tanks had already arrived here before they even had any problems.

Alternatively, even if fuel problems crippled some tanks, the remaining German tanks would still be able to break through the command post, then destroy the defensive line and rout the 8th Army!