Film and Television: Starting from the Journey to Guandong

Chapter 145

The African battlefields of the second station were mainly concentrated in Morocco, Algiers, Libya, Tunisia and Egypt in what is now North Africa.

In June 1940, Germany invaded France, and Uncle Mo declared war on Britain and France, officially dragging Italy into the second station.

In late June, Uncle Mo ordered the Italian colonial troops in Africa (mainly in Libya and Italian Somalia) to invade Kenya, Sudan and British Somalia (which were British colonies at the time), hoping to take advantage of Britain's exhaustion in dealing with Germany's fierce offensive. A handful.

The brave Commonwealth troops (composed of Britain, Australia, New Zealand and India) commanded by Lieutenant General Wavell, mainly the British 7th Armored Division, defeated the weak Italian army in western Egypt, and marched straight into Libya, capturing Libya. The famous port city in the northwest - Tobruk.

During this stage of the war, the British army suffered less than 2000 casualties, and the total number of Italian soldiers killed and wounded reached 13. This was the first major victory the British army had against the Axis powers.

On February 1941, 2, Marshal Erwin Rommel took office and became the commander-in-chief of the German "Afrika Korps" and began the most proud military performance in the life of the "Desert Fox".

The first was the offensive against Tobruk in mid-April 1941 - codenamed "Valiant", but the British resistance was fierce.

In order to ensure the advancement speed of the "Afrika Korps", Rommel left his troops to besiege Tobruk, while ordering the armored division to bypass the city from the south and continue to advance eastward.

In the Battle of Halfa Pass, the Italian army showed unprecedented combat effectiveness, repelling multiple attacks by British armored forces, and captured the pass together with the reinforced German troops on May 5.

At this time, the "Afrika Korps" had advanced 1941 kilometers eastward from the front line in January 1.

Next came the British counterattack, planned by Wavell and codenamed "Tomahawk".

On June 1941, 6, Operation "Tomahawk" began. In this battle, the weaknesses of the British army's backward Matilda III heavy tank were fully exposed. Its heavy armor and slow speed became its fatal injuries, and it was like a living target under the attack of the German 15MM anti-aircraft guns.

Due to heavy losses, Wavell was forced to call off the attack.

At the same time, Rommel ordered the 5th Light Armored Division to secretly assemble on the south side of the British army at night, and suddenly attack the British flank at dawn the next day.

On June 6, the German army occupied Sidi Suleiman, cutting off the British army's retreat.

On the 18th, Wavell was forced to order the British troops to retreat, and the battle ended.

Although the British casualties were not large, only more than 1000 people, their morale was severely damaged.

On November 1941, 11, the British army launched an operation code-named "Crusade", aiming to eliminate all German and Italian troops in the North African battlefield.

After receiving assistance from the East African Army, Wavell's North African Army greatly increased in strength.

On November 11, Rommel ordered the 22th Armored Division to bypass the flank of the British 15th Armored Division and launch a surprise attack on the British army after occupying favorable terrain.

The British army suffered heavy losses and were forced to retreat again.

On January 1942, 1, after holding on to Tobruk for 17 months, the British army ran out of ammunition and food and had no choice but to surrender.

The British army lost again in this battle, but the German army also lost a large number of tanks and soldiers. More importantly, it wasted precious time, giving the British army a breathing space to regroup.

From January to June 1942, the German army began its campaign at full speed and fought all the way to the border with Lie.

At the end of June 1942, the Battle of Mesha Matruh began.

As a result, the British army was defeated again and retreated to the Alamein defense line in western Egypt, where a big battle was about to begin.

The battle at this stage mainly centered on the Alamein line of defense. During this period, the German army launched several attacks on the British army. However, the British army withstood the German attack with its excellent firepower and air superiority.

In the Mediterranean, the "unsinkable aircraft carrier" Malta Island stood firm after long-term harassment by the German and Italian air forces, becoming a nail in the rear of Germany and Italy.

At the same time, the United States had already entered the war and delivered a large amount of military supplies to the United Kingdom, including hundreds of new M4-A1 "Sherman" medium tanks.

In the Battle of the Mediterranean, the British Royal Fleet's Mediterranean Squadron gradually gained the upper hand and, with the support of American aircraft carriers, controlled sea and air supremacy in the Mediterranean.

This strategic significance cannot be underestimated. Therefore, the German army was completely suppressed by the British army in the transportation of gasoline and ammunition. More than half of the German and Italian supply ships were sunk by the Allies every month.

At this time, the British army's strength in North Africa continued to increase. By October, the British army's strength in North Africa had reached 10 men and 20 tanks. More importantly, the British army replaced Wavell and Auchinleck, the commanders who had been defeated for a long time, and Bernard Montgomery took office.

On October 1942, 10, more than 23 British artillery pieces fired together, kicking off the Battle of El Alamein.

The strong British army had an overwhelming advantage in terms of strength, equipment and morale.

On the other hand, the German army, after failing to break through the Battle of El Alamein in nearly three months, has lost the vigor it had when it first arrived in North Africa.

Moreover, the morale of the "Afrika Korps" dropped to a low point after being unable to receive supplies from the German and Italian mainland for a long time.

In addition, Commander Rommel returned to Germany to recuperate due to illness and is no longer in office at the moment.

The leaderless and low-morale German army seemed vulnerable at the beginning of the attack, but the German army was the German army after all. Relying on fortifications, terrain and mines, they tenaciously blocked the British attack.

Although the British army had the best time and place, they were still unable to break through the German defense lines. After several days of fighting, they suffered more than 10,000 casualties.

Montgomery decided to change the plan, open up the southern front as a feint attack as a new battlefield, and transfer the elite Australian troops to the southern front to attack the weaker Italian army - this was the "supercharge" plan.

This adjustment in deployment caused the German-Italian coalition front to loosen, and they began to retreat on November 11. The Battle of Alamein was successful in the first battle.

The Battle of Alamein was not only a turning point in the North African Campaign, but was also regarded by Churchill as a turning point for the Allied forces in World War II. He once said, "Before the Battle of El Alamein, we were invincible, and after the Battle of El Alamein, we were invincible." .

Echoing the British counterattack at El Alamein was the "Torch" launched in West Africa, that is, the landing operation launched by the Allied forces (mainly the Ugly Army) in Algiers.

The Allied landing operations in North Africa and the British pursuit from Egypt formed an east-west advance, with the goal of wiping out the German-Italian forces in Tunisia.

After the defeat at the Battle of El Alamein, the German-Italian forces began to retreat from Egypt. Under Rommel's outstanding command, they did not form a retreat and retained a large amount of effective forces.

In the subsequent Battle of Kesselring Pass against the US military, the German army won a complete victory and seized a large number of U.S. vehicles and combat supplies, giving the coalition forces a breathing space.

However, failure was already inevitable. On January 1943, 1, the British army entered Tripoli, and the Italian Governor of Libya surrendered to the British army.

On March 1943, 3, Rommel bid farewell to North Africa in tears and boarded a plane to Rome.

On May 5, Field Marshal Messe, the successor commander of the "Afrika Korps", surrendered to the Allies. In the same month, the Allied forces entered Tunisia.

In the end, a total of 25 German and Italian troops surrendered to the Allies. The African campaign ended, and the strength of the Axis powers in the North African battlefield completely collapsed.

In fact, the North African battlefield in the second station was very scary.

During the North African campaign, did Allied and Axis tank crews suffer severe heatstroke in their tanks? It was inevitable and must have been unbearable.

They suffer like dogs locked in a car on a hot day.

Summer daytime temperatures in Libya can reach as high as 50 degrees Celsius, which can be fatal without enough water, which is sometimes difficult to get during combat conditions in North Africa.

Although the fighting was fierce, in the summer, due to the hotter weather, both sides sometimes agreed to stop fighting from noon to 2 p.m.

The 1943 film "Sahara" directed by Bogart may not be % accurate to historical facts, but the film was not shot in the Sahara Desert, but near Salton Lake in California. The heat at the time was quite intense, and the entire crew and actors, We are all at constant risk of sunburn and heatstroke.

In the Afrika Korps, it was particularly common for armored personnel to faint due to the heat, as water rations did not always arrive in time.

The first priority of officers on both sides was to provide water and salt to the soldiers to avoid a large number of soldiers being put on the sick list or hospitalized.

Some emergency supplies of the German army only contained water and salt, but no food or ammunition.

Of course, at the second stop, not only North Africa was at war in Africa, but East and West Africa were also at war.

The old trick in the West African battlefield was a joke. Free France fought against its own Vichy France. They fought with the support of the British and French people, but they didn't win at first.

There were battles in the Senegal Fortress, Libeauville in the Congo, and naval battles: aircraft and sailboats fought against modified armed freighters and so on.

In East Africa, just like North Africa, the Italians attacked British Somalia at the beginning.

The numerical advantage was quite easy to win, but as soon as we won, the plague came. After the coach died, many people couldn't leave.

Later, when they were preparing to go south to Kenya and east to Sudan, the British were very nervous.

Because the British did not have air superiority in East Africa (the Italians had already deployed advanced 38-year-old monoplane fighters) in East Africa at this time, the British only had old-fashioned biplanes from World War I.

But later, the Italians attacked everywhere and were defeated by the Ethiopian resistance organized by the British in Sudan (tens of thousands of people were defeated by the "Antelope Force" of less than 2 people within a few days).

Moreover, a large Italian oil depot in Mogadishu was bombed inexplicably. This problem became even bigger. The fleet and aircraft deployed in East Africa were unable to be used.

At that time, Italy deployed the Red Sea Fleet in Massawa Port: 7 destroyers, 8 submarines, and 5 fish speedboats.

There are also a considerable number of SM79 bombers, with more than 81 in 60.

Fighters Fiat CR42 RO37 and SM73 are both advanced and good models (the latter two are rare monoplanes). In the early days of the war, Italian submarines were the best in terms of reliability and endurance, and their submarine capabilities were the best among the Axis powers. (In fact, it was better than Germany's until the end of the war).

The original plan was to use this asset to cut off the Red Sea waterway.

Of course, they gave up after running out of oil. By the time the Italians thought of marching, the British had already sent colonial troops from Australia and South Africa to deal with it.

Later, the British counterattacked Eritrea, and Ethiopia and the British counterattacked Ethiopia.

The British also organized Indian troops to conduct amphibious landing operations in southern Somalia. By the way, the British also organized Canadian troops to capture Vichy France's Madagascar.

The most tragic thing was the Keren Fortress, which was the core node gateway of the entire northern line of Eritrea. The Italians spent more than five years building a fortress defense position.

The British attacked for three rounds but failed to capture it. As a result, the Italian elite troops retreated to a place that was not conducive to their defense. As a result, they later surrendered, and then the entire Eritrea surrendered.

In 1940, France was defeated and Britain faced the threat of direct German invasion and suffered brutal bombing. Mussolini believed that the British Empire was about to be destroyed and was preparing to seize British colonies in Africa and establish a "New Roman Empire."

On July 1940, 7, two Italian brigades, covered by artillery, aircraft and tanks, suddenly attacked the Sudanese town of Kasari.

The Italian army numbered as many as 8000 (including Eritrean mercenaries), and the British army (British officers and Sudanese soldiers) only numbered 400. The British army did not exchange fire with the Italian army in the city, but placed the battlefield outside the city. Trucks were used to carry machine guns, and while they were firing, they attacked the Italian army, and then quickly retreated.

In the end, the Italian army suffered more than 500 casualties before they captured Kassala, while the British army lost 12 soldiers and 7 vehicles.

On August 8, the Italian army attacked Somalia. 4 British troops faced an enemy that was 2500 times their own and had to retreat backwards.

Soon, after the British army was supplemented (mainly the British-Indian 5th Division, about 10000 people), the British-Indian Division was a mixed force composed of British and Indians. The ratio of Indian and British soldiers was 5:3, and the officers were all British. Sir Wavell, the commander-in-chief of the British African Army, put the unit into the East African battlefield and joined forces with another general, Sir Platt.

On January 1941, 1, Pratt led the "Antelope" troops to attack. The "Antelope" force is composed of Sudanese, British and Indian soldiers and has strong combat effectiveness and assault capabilities.

In the Crewe Canyon, five elite battalions of the Italian army defended themselves in an attempt to block the "Antelope" troops. Unexpectedly, another British army attacked from behind. The Italian army was defeated and hurriedly fled back to the strongest fortified fortress surrounded by mountains. Kelun Town.

After the fall of Crewe, the Italian army concentrated all its elite troops in the natural fortress of Crewe, which is more than 1300 meters above sea level.

This fortress is surrounded by high mountains, with numerous peaks and daunting cliffs everywhere. It is a fortress composed of natural dangers that are difficult to conquer.

A road leading to Kelun passes through the canyon. The Tangolas Canyon, the gate and only passage to Kelun, has been blown up by the Italian army with explosives, effectively closing the door to Kelun.

In order to ensure that the town of Kelun was not lost, the Italian army worked hard to rely on natural dangers. Many positions were poured with concrete. Fortifications and bunkers were dug wherever possible, and bunkers were built on important supporting points.

Where there are no fortifications there is solid rock. The mountains and plains were covered with gravel or thorns, and the Italian army even placed layers of man-made obstacles such as barbed wire fences on the hillside.

On February 2, the British "Antelope" troops arrived at Kelun Pass. However, because the canyon was bombed and the entrance was blocked, the only feasible way was to storm the mountain and seize the town of Kelun behind the mountain.

On February 2, two battalions of British troops launched an attack on the Italian army's position in the natural danger. Braving powerful artillery fire and machine gun fire, after four hours of fierce fighting, they captured Cameron Ridge, a combat stronghold of the Italian army. A footing with an uncertain future.

That night, one battalion of British troops took advantage of the cover of darkness to launch a surprise attack on Sailing Peak. The Italian troops relied on natural dangers and took lax precautions, and were finally driven off the high ground by this sudden attack.

On the morning of the 4th, the Italian army launched a fierce bombardment on Sailboat Peak. The mountains were suddenly shrouded in smoke and mist. The British army suffered heavy casualties. With the cover of artillery fire, the Italian infantry recaptured Sailboat Peak and drove the British troops down the mountain.

Then, the Italian army frantically bombarded and attacked Cameron Ridge, but failed to succeed.

The Italian army failed to drive away the British troops on Cameron Ridge and did not give up. They attacked the British troops on the ridge day and night.

The Italian army's large-caliber mortars were extremely lethal. The British were so crushed that they could not lift their heads up and had to cling to the hot ground. The mortar shells exploded in all directions, sending shrapnel and gravel flying everywhere.

However, the British army did not surrender or retreat. Whenever there was an opportunity, they took the initiative and sent small groups of troops to counterattack the Italian army.

On another position, the battle was also fierce. The British army concentrated 120 artillery pieces to bombard the Dologorodok Mountain where the Italian army held fast.

After the heavy bombardment, the infantry attacked.

But every time the infantry approached the position, Italian artillery of various calibers poured down, dealing a devastating blow to the charging British army.

After repeated charges, 30 British warriors finally rushed to the Italian position.

Unwilling to lose their position, the Italian army launched successive counterattacks, each one becoming more fierce than the last. In the end, only 9 British troops retreated to their position.

Italian artillery fire continuously bombarded the British positions, and aircraft also launched attacks from time to time, causing heavy casualties to the British troops. Under the scorching sun, the wounded were attacked by flies and suffered.

Facing a severe and dangerous battle situation, the British general General Platt had to reconsider his strategies and tactics.

He decided to build an artillery observation post on Sailing Peak to eliminate the hidden Italian artillery and open a way for the attacking troops.

On February 2, the Punjab Battalion attacked. With the help of heavy artillery fire, they rushed up the mountain and eliminated the defenders with bayonets and grenades.

However, the battalion was soon hit hard by Italian artillery fire. In an instant, there was only one platoon left in the battalion, and many of them had to climb up and down the steep hillside to transport ammunition and wounded soldiers.

A small group of artillery observers finally established an observation post on the mountain and directed the British artillery to eliminate several Italian artillery positions.

But the good times did not last long, and the Italian army launched a counterattack that night.

The British army's position was rained with bullets and artillery fire. Then a brutal hand-to-hand battle broke out. The British army was once again driven off the mountain peak. More than 280 officers and soldiers died in the battle, and the observation team was also wiped out.

In order to seize the initiative, the British army continued to launch attacks, but they were never able to expand their results. The soldiers' patience and endurance reached their limits, and they finally had to give up the captured positions.

At this point, General Platt and his division commanders realized that the various attack methods used so far were unable to capture the Kron fortress.

However, Kron Fortress must be conquered.

There were already signs that Rommel was preparing to command his elite German troops to launch a frontal offensive.

If Kelun is not taken, a large number of British troops will be contained here, and the situation will be even more serious.

Platt gave his men a month to prepare, and the engineers stepped up construction, digging wells to collect water, repairing vehicles, and secretly digging tunnels. During this period, the British offensive stopped. The most difficult and uncomfortable thing was the two battalions of British troops who were stationed on Cameron Ridge, the only mountain controlled by the British army.

They were under the muzzle of the Italian army, braved the scorching heat, and fought off Italian counterattacks again and again.

Since a surrendered Italian officer threw a grenade at the surrendered British soldiers during a battle, the British troops who stood here did not leave any prisoners. Many Italian soldiers were pushed off the cliff, and the valley below Cameron Ridge echoed Blood-curdling screams.

During the one-month preparation period, although the two sides of Karen Fortress were still confronting each other, the battles in other areas made significant progress, effectively supporting the British troops in the Karen area.

The next bloody battle will be commanded by Brigadier Meserve, the commander of the "Antelope" force. The date of the attack is chosen on March 3 (this day in 15 BC was the day of Caesar's assassination).

During this month, the British army made relatively full preparations and conducted a series of actual combat training to enable soldiers to adapt to mountain operations.

The British Royal Air Force also gradually gained air superiority and attacked several Italian airfields.

Of course, the Italian army is also doing everything possible to strengthen fortifications and positions and set up more obstacles for the British army.

On the night of March 3, the 14th British Indian Division entered the position, but the division had to wait to see whether the 5th Division could capture Sailing Peak and another peak called Sanchir as soon as possible.

At dawn on March 3, there was lightning and thunder in the Karen area, and the thunder rumbled and echoed in the mountains. Groups of baboons were so frightened that they ran around in the mountains.

The dense artillery fire of the British army drowned out the thunder, and the mountain peak occupied by the Italian army turned into a sea of ​​flames.

With an order, the British Cameron Battalion began to charge.

They climbed up the steep hillside, passing through barbed wire fences and thorns.

The Italian grenadiers desperately threw bombs at the British troops from behind rocks and caves, but the brave British soldiers kept rushing upwards. Those in front fell, and those behind followed. Sometimes groups of British troops died in the Italian positions. superior.

After a hard and bloody fight, the British army finally captured two dangerous peaks from the Italian army at the cost of 8 officers and 280 soldiers.

The British troops attacking on the other side were also very difficult. After paying a heavy price, they captured the other two peaks: Hogback Peak and Flat Peak.

In order to capture Pig Back Peak, the British army lost more than half of their battalion.

Although there were not many British troops left who had captured the position, they bravely held on to their position and repelled the attack of the two main battalions of the Italian army.

After a day and night of fierce fighting, although the 4th British Indian Division of the British Army captured the predetermined mountain peak, the situation was still very dangerous.

When the 4th British Indian Division launched an attack, the 5th British Indian Division also began an attack.

However, the division's attack was in trouble at the beginning. The mountains and valleys were full of Italian firepower points. Machine guns were spitting flames, and artillery fire was falling one after another. The British soldiers were so suppressed that they could not raise their heads and could only lie on the ground.

Under the scorching red sun, everyone was thirsty and dizzy. After repelling the British troops attacking on other mountain peaks, the Italian army concentrated its troops and firepower on the officers and soldiers of the 5th British Indian Division.

The British army was in a dilemma. At the critical moment, they decided to send the Maratha battalion to attack two highlands that the Italian army did not expect: Minaret Ridge and Xiaogao Ridge.

The short soldiers of the Maratha Battalion were extremely brave and braved the fierce firepower of the Italian army to climb up the steep rock.

The Italian army threw a large number of grenades and incendiary bombs, and the mountains and fields were filled with flames, as if the entire mountain was burning.

The officers and soldiers of the Maratha battalion charged forward desperately, rushing forward one after another without any fear.

There is no way to find a way on the entire mountain, so I can only climb up by grabbing rocks and branches with both hands.

Three of the Maratha battalion's charges were repelled by the Italian army, but they quickly organized a fourth charge.

They shouted slogans, rushed to the top of the peak, charged into the enemy group with bayonets in hand, and finally captured Minaret Ridge.

The attack on Xiaogaoling also took a lot of trouble, but it was far less effortful than the attack on Minato Ridge.

The Italian army was unwilling to lose the two highlands and immediately organized a large-scale counterattack, but was defeated by the British army.

After the Maratha Battalion captured the small high ridge, the British West Yorkshire soldiers launched a battle to attack the Dologorodok Peak, the main peak of the Italian army, from here.

There is only one route to charge, which is the rugged and steep ridge.

In the moonlight, two platoons of British troops arrived less than 100 meters away from the Italian fortress and appeared under the nose of the Italian army.

At this time, the Italian army discovered the attackers, and the British army opened fire first, spraying dense bullets on the Italian army. The sudden British army made the Italian army confused and fled in a hurry. Many of them were mowed down by British machine guns.

After daybreak, the warriors who captured the main peak fortress finally saw the true face of the place. The entire fortress was in ruins.

The Italian army kicked off the counterattack with earth-shaking artillery fire. Artillery shells rained down on the British position from three directions.

After the artillery fire, two battalions of the Italian army launched a counterattack. Since the British army established artillery observation posts on the captured peaks, the British army's artillery fire could accurately bombard the Italian army.

The entire mountain was filled with the explosions of machine guns, rifles, grenades, and various artillery shells, which lasted almost non-stop for 10 days and nights.

It is difficult to capture a position and even harder to defend it, especially transporting ammunition and wounded soldiers.

It is simply unimaginable to transport ammunition and carry wounded people on an almost straight hillside.

Mules are a rare means of transportation, but sometimes the explosion of artillery shells will frighten the mules and cause them to run all over the mountains. This not only wastes the materials they carry, but may also knock over the wounded stretchers carried by six people, causing casualties.

In the first 12 hours of the battle, in order to maintain his position, General Meserve ordered the ammunition to be transported first and then the water. The frontline soldiers had to endure thirst and hunger to fight the enemy.

On the first day, the British West Yorkshire soldiers repelled many Italian counterattacks one after another, and the position was still controlled by the British.

After withstanding the Italian army's crazy attack on the first day, several British generals agreed that the time had come to launch a full-scale offensive and began a large-scale offensive.

However, the attacking troops were immediately hit hard by Italian artillery fire and suffered heavy losses. Thousands of British troops fell into a pool of blood.

In one combat battalion, only one officer survived, and the rest were all killed.

If the fight continues, the British army will face the danger of being annihilated and will have to retreat.

One British general even believed with great dismay that it would be unthinkable to conquer Karen without an army stronger and better equipped than the current British army.

After the vanguard troops withdrew under cover of night, soldiers from the British Border Guard Regiment guarded the right flank of the West Yorkist position.

This place experienced fierce bombardment by the Italian army, and the defenders experienced the baptism of blood and fire.

In the future, the survivors who stood firm here claimed that the battles they experienced in North Africa, Italy, Myanmar and other places were not as cruel as the Battle of Karen. They called the 10 days and 10 nights here a hellish torment.

After the Italian army blocked the large-scale attack by the British army, the next step was to completely eliminate the British army and recapture all the positions occupied by the British army.

Therefore, all available troops were mobilized to Kelun, and they charged in turns day and night. Even medium tanks were mobilized to participate in the battle.

However, all the British soldiers kept in mind the commander's fatal order: "There is no way out, only fight to the end." Once, the Italian army launched a fierce attack at night and broke through the border defense regiment's position, but the British army The Indian soldiers fought desperately to regain their position.

After daybreak, Italian corpses were piled in front of the position.

The position controlled by the British army posed a great threat to the Italian army. The British artillery was able to pass the observation posts set up here and command the artillery of the two divisions to accurately bombard the Italian army.

Once the Italian troops massed and prepared to charge, artillery shells would fall from the sky and explode in the crowd.

In a British bombardment, the young Italian general and the brutal Somali conqueror Lozzini was killed and his family was torn apart.

While the British army held on tenaciously on the Dologorodok peak, the British commander was planning to open the Tangoras Gorge, the only passage leading to the Kron Fortress that had been blocked by the Italian army with explosives.

If this canyon is opened, British tanks and small armored vehicles can pass through, which means opening the road to victory.

The Italian army apparently discovered the British army's attempt and continued to shell them. The 4th British Indian Division, which had been repeatedly frustrated, once again launched an attack on the mountain peaks scattered with the corpses of its companions.

At dawn on March 3, the West Yorkshire soldiers had held the Dologorodok position for 25 days and 9 nights.

On the night of March 3, they quietly climbed out of their position and occupied a small hill. The soldiers of the Maratha Battalion also captured two hills.

At 3 o'clock in the morning, the Italian army discovered the British army and responded immediately, and fierce fighting started again.

It turned out that the Italian army gathered a large number of troops here and prepared to launch an attack on Dologorodok Mountain.

The attacking British army accidentally met him, and the inevitable bloody battle happened again.

During the fierce fighting, two battalions of British troops had sneaked into the pre-excavated tunnels under Cameron Ridge, preparing to outflank the Italian troops.

At 3 o'clock in the morning, the British troops in the tunnel rushed out. As soon as many Italian troops opened their eyes, they discovered the British troops rushing in front of them and were frightened and overwhelmed.

After more than two hours of fierce fighting, the two battalions of the British army broke out of the tunnel and captured the intended target.

Many Italian soldiers raised their hands in surrender for the first time since the Battle of Kron and lined up to pass in front of British officers and soldiers.

After the British army took control of the left side of the Tangolas Canyon, the defenders on the Dologorodok Mountains braved the Italian guns and approached the Italian positions on the right side of the canyon step by step, and finally captured some hills on the right. .

After the British troops took control of both sides of the canyon, they began to clear the canyon.

The engineers braved Italian artillery fire in the canyon and cleared the blocked passage as quickly as possible.

The Italian army found that it could not stop the British army from advancing and began to retreat. The British army that stood firm on Dologorodok Mountain also found that no one was shooting at them.

On the afternoon of March 3, the Italian army was unwilling to fail and tried to reverse the situation of the war. They regrouped their forces and launched a fierce attack on the lost positions using tanks and heavy artillery as cover.

The soldiers of the Maratha Battalion held their position tenaciously and repelled three Italian attacks. This Italian attack was at the end of its strength and failed to be effective.

On March 3, the arduous and brutal Kren War came to an end.

At 4:30 in the morning, it was so dark that I couldn’t see my fingers. The British army once again bombarded the Italian positions with fierce artillery fire.

The Italian army showed no signs of fighting back. This was the first time in 53 days of hard fighting.

When the first ray of sunlight shone here, the hard-fought British army saw the light of victory, and a white flag was slowly raised on the Italian army's position.

The mood of the British officers and soldiers who had fought hard for dozens of days and nights was difficult to express at this moment.

The British engineers worked hard to clear the Tangolas Gorge, and after all the hardships, they opened a channel less than 4 meters wide. Tanks and armored vehicles rumbled through, launching a final attack on the Italian army.

At 10 o'clock in the morning, when we arrived at the Keron Plains, the Italian army had already fled.

The West Yorkshire soldiers, who had gone through hardships and tested by war, also joined the general attack.

They gathered in a dried-up river. The river bed was filled with the corpses of Italian soldiers and livestock, as well as various bombed-out military vehicles. The West Yorkshire soldiers who had fought hard for 10 days and nights had only now found their way to this corpse-strewn river. The riverbed got a breather.

After the British army captured the Clun Fortress, they continued to expand their results.

Asmara was captured on April 4st, and on the 1th, the Italian army in Massawa surrendered.

从1月19日至4月8日，意军约有65个营被歼灭，4万多人被俘，意大利在东非的势力被彻底打垮。

The Battle of Kron was a brutal and significant battle.

As a result of the victory at the Battle of Kron, new air routes across Africa and sea routes on the Red Sea were secured.

In fact, the North African battlefield is very meaningful to the entire second station.

In fact, Uncle Xi wants to kill the bear for the following reasons: resources, oil, space, and the so-called anti-socialism.

The North African battlefield was originally an extension of the struggle against Britain after sweeping across Europe. Since Operation Sea Lion failed, wolf pack tactics began to besiege the British Isles and move south to North Africa to compete for colonies and resources.

But the most important significance of the North African battlefield is that whoever takes the two straits of Suez and Gibraltar can control the entire Mediterranean.

why? Because the army supplies in World War II mainly relied on sea and land routes, I don’t need to say much about the level of infrastructure in Africa. Therefore, the African armies including the Mediterranean fleet and the Allies basically rely on direct transportation to nearby supply ports, but if you want to enter the Mediterranean You have to go through Suez and Gibraltar.

As long as these two straits are controlled or even directly destroyed, then the British fleet, no matter how strong it is, will not be able to enter the Mediterranean, including their army's supply fleet, and then North Africa and the Mediterranean will be controlled.

Although Africa is very big, in fact, the only things that really need to be conquered are the two straits and the ports along the coast of North Africa. As long as there are two straits, the Mediterranean Sea is guaranteed. As long as the Mediterranean Sea is guaranteed, we can massively attack the Middle East, India, and even stab the principal in the back.

Also, why was it that Britain, a country with a small population and no larger industrial scale than Germany, could survive World War II by relying on colonial blood transfusions? The goal at the beginning of the First World War was to gain territory under the sun. What they were after was resources and population, and both neon and Germany were in short supply.

Neon captured Nanyang, Germany captured North Africa and the Middle East, and India was caught in the middle. In fact, a South Asian subcontinent is equivalent to a super large rear base area, providing Neon Germany with countless soldiers, raw materials, and a series of war supplies.

As for why not go to the Middle East, the question is simple.

Geographically speaking, Germany's attempt to conquer the Middle East is not to face the British defenders in the Middle East, but to open the so-called "oil channel" from the Balkans - the Mediterranean - eastern North Africa - Asia Minor - the Middle East. This is completely impossible. of.

In the middle of the Alamein War, Germany's tank troops began to run out of fuel on a large scale. Therefore, if Germany wants to complete this armored expedition that consumes more fuel, it will open a new territory.

Secondly, the Soviet Union and Germany were already in a stalemate at that time. Germany had no way to divide its troops and go on an expedition. If Germany did this, the red flag would have been planted in Berlin in 44. It was impossible in terms of hard conditions, not to mention the Mediterranean Sea. the issue of sea power.

In addition, it was probably after 1950 that the proven reserves of the Middle East became the center of global oil resources. In Uncle Xi’s era, the only proven large oil fields in the Middle East were in Iran, that is, the Persian oil fields.

Even if the Germans open the oil channel, how will it be transported out?

In the final analysis, the British army in Egypt still had to capture the Suez Canal, which actually still did not get rid of the nutritious war of attrition in the North African battlefield.

The progress of Mao Xiong's war was unfavorable. It originally planned to capture Georgia, the Caucasus region, and the Baku Oilfield as the first strategic node for entering the Soviet Union.

In fact, the rhythm of the entire Caucasus expedition became very bumpy due to the terrible resistance of the Soviet Red Army, and it completely went downhill by 1942.

The second stage of supplies brought by the oil resources of the Caucasus was unsuccessful. The original plan to join forces south of the Caucasus had become a joke at this time. The German offensive had been clamped down by the Red Army, and a major counterattack was also brewing.

After all, the national power of Hans Cat cannot swallow the size of a furry bear.

Tactically speaking, in Germany's planning before 42, there was indeed a plan to take over the Middle East, but this plan was different from the question of "simply turning the gun."

It was originally expected that Rommel in North Africa would fight with the Germans in the Caucasus after capturing Egypt.

In fact, this is a paradox, because if you give troops to Rommel, the strength of the German army fighting in the Soviet Union will be weakened, and if Rommel does not receive reinforcements, the lovely Italian allies will annihilate the entire North African colonies (including Libya and Ethiopia). If it's lost, Uncle Xi can't expect the Vichy French army in Algeria to regain the lost ground.

And the longer the front, the more difficult it is to provide logistics.

Strategically speaking, continuing the old concept from World War I was obviously inconsistent with the new international situation in 1942.

(End of this chapter)