Redemption of WWII

Chapter 29 Mine Warfare

Rommel did not have an advantage in military strength, his defense line was wide, and he did not have the cooperation of the navy and air force, so he had no choice but to watch the British army mobilize troops to North Africa division by division. 【】Rommel was in a hurry, but there was nothing he could do about it.Like a stepmother, I just didn't get Hitler's attention.

Rommel was really in a hurry. Facing the increasingly powerful British army on the opposite side, he had no means of attacking.This gave Rommel, who advocated offense as a military means, a headache.The tanks and troops in my own hands couldn't stop the British's massive attack at all.So Rommel had no choice but to lay mines on all the weak defensive areas.

Rommel planted more landmines, much more than the landmines in the movie landmine warfare.The most ironic thing is that most of the landmines used by Rommel were made in Britain. Rommel seized nearly 25 mines in Tobruk alone.There are also some mines made in Italy and Germany.

Speaking of the German's mine-laying technology, it can be said to be at the top level in the world.The entire minefield design was designed with the participation of several mathematicians and psychologists.The distribution of anti-infantry mines and anti-tank mines is quite strange, and there is no pattern at all. They can also prevent the mines from being damaged by artillery explosions with the highest efficiency.

The most hateful thing is that these mines are also mixed with a small amount of German anti-infantry mines.After the first explosion of this landmine, the main combat part of the landmine is blown to the air, and then a secondary explosion is formed.This power is much stronger than an explosion on the ground or underground.You think, any infantry and engineer can do nothing about this kind of landmine, even if you lie down, you will be affected.As long as it explodes, it will definitely be either dead or maimed.

The Germans also invented a ceramic mine that was used against mine detectors.Since mine detectors can only give an alarm to metals, engineers and soldiers are at a loss when they encounter such landmines, and can only detect such landmines by purely manual methods.But the Germans also buried a lot of stones in the ground, which made the British army's engineers look like soldiers.Poor work efficiency.In addition, the British mine detectors also have many problems, and they will fail in the hot desert climate.Not only during World War II, but even in the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the mine detectors of the British army were dubbed as engineer killers.

In areas where the German defenses were weak, Rommel laid a total of 50 mines.A series of landmine crossing belts were formed, especially on the northern and northern defense lines that Mungo was trying to break through, two roughly parallel mine belts were set up, and the "dividing wall" formed by the defensive stronghold connected the main minefields on the north and south sides, Their intervals are 45 kilometers, resulting in a series of blank areas.The purpose of setting the blank area is to set a trap for the breakthrough troops, because after the attack troops break through the first mine belt, they will be forced to move to the left or right of the "dividing wall".

When Meng Ge learned of this information, Meng Ge couldn't help but have a headache.If you go to attack without preparation, it is estimated that after the minefield is over, the troops are probably almost blown up by the mines.Not to mention fighting Rommel, Rommel would probably be happy if he wanted to go back again.

But it can't be delayed within a time limit, and my more than 20 troops can't even defeat the 8 German-Italian coalition forces.It is estimated that the face of the British Empire will be lost.So Meng Ge also became cruel, and modified dozens of tanks, and installed a mine-sweeping device in front of the tank. When this mine-sweeping device moves forward, it can use the rotating chain on its rotating shaft to whip the land in front.Play the role of clearing mines.On the other hand, 500 metal minesweepers were urgently mobilized from London and distributed to various troops.This kind of mine sweeper is much faster than manual probes. As for encountering ceramic mines, Meng Ge can't care so much, so he has to let God bless those engineers.

In addition, Churchill urgently transferred the Fourth Division from India.The Indians are not very good at fighting, but they are all very brave scapegoats.It is perfect to use these people to clear mines.It's nothing to kill a few Indians. As long as Rommel can be defeated, the people of the British Empire will forgive Mongke's behavior.

一场规模庞大的进攻在1943年10月23日晚上9点40分开始了。在英军大炮的轰击下德意联军的炮兵很快就被压制住了，全部由印度士兵组成的扫雷分队与扫雷坦克一起开始了工作。

The mine-sweeping unit was followed by the armored units of the British army, which had been prepared for a long time, and progressed quite smoothly. The first minefield was cleared out by Indian soldiers at noon on the second day.Of course, the casualties of Indian soldiers were also quite serious, with nearly 4/1 of the casualties of the entire division.When the news of the casualties of the Indian soldiers reached London, it was exactly as Montgomery expected. Apart from praising the bravery of the Indian soldiers, no one objected. They all praised Montgomery for protecting the lives of the white soldiers.

But at this moment the problem appeared, when the Indian soldiers started to eat lunch, they found that there was no 'curry', and they went on strike collectively.The Indians, who have always been docile, are no longer willing to work now. No matter what other food the British come up with, it will not work, so they have to temporarily replace it with some local Egyptian spices.But the Indian soldiers just sniffed it and said something that the British were very upset about, "This curry is not authentic, we refuse to eat it." 'This time it was a mess, and the offense stopped in the thunder zone all of a sudden.

There are landmines all around, and the long-range artillery fire of the Germans is constantly correcting the target of the British attacking troops, and the artillery is getting closer and closer.At this time there were no tanks that could defend against the guns from the sky.Basically every gun is either smoked by the tank or killed by the infantry.If the armored unit stops in place again, it is likely to become the first unit in history to be completely wiped out by artillery.

Now the British were in a hurry, and the machine guns of the law enforcement team fired directly at the Indian.Dozens of Indian soldiers were killed directly, but other Indians didn't take it seriously at all.Anyway, you either give me 'curry' or kill me, just look at the gun.In the end, they threw away all the equipment and walked back together.The British were all dumbfounded.

When the news reached the rear, Brother Meng's face drooped, and he mentally scolded the commander of the Fourth Division, Major General Matthew.Meng Ge also served in India, so of course he knows Indian soldiers well.I said in my heart, "You old man, you don't even bring such a deadly thing. You don't know that Indians can die, but they can't do without 'curry'." Meng Ge's hatred for Major General Matthew It is more profound.

But resentment belongs to resentment, now that the arrow is on the string, it has to be released.So it was ordered that 'the infantry of each vanguard unit take over the mine-sweeping mission of the Indian Fourth Division and continue to advance in mine-sweeping'.

The commanders of the troops on the front line almost pulled their pants down when they received this order.Previously, all the Indians were concentrating on clearing mines, and the excitement when encountering ceramic mines being blown up was all gone.But the military order fell like a mountain, and there was no choice but to implement it.

It's so lively now, the British soldiers are soldiers for the sake of making a living, and they won't risk their lives to collide with ceramic landmines at all.So the most primitive hand-made mine detection probes appeared in their hands again, and every mine detection soldier was careful for fear of making mistakes.This time, not only the mines were marked and dug out, but also a lot of underground stones were dug out, and of course many of them were deliberately buried by Rommel's men.In one day and one night, the troops advanced less than 300 meters.And the German cannons are so crooked now, and more than 300 tanks were damaged by the cannons at a long distance.Of course, some tanks can continue to be used after being sent to the rear for emergency repairs.

Hearing the number of losses, Meng Ge almost fainted.If this continues and waits until the minefield is passed, the armored soldiers will have to change jobs to become professional infantry soldiers.There is no way for Meng Ge to bite the bullet and order that 'all mine-sweeping troops must clear a road for the armored troops to move forward within 24 hours, and those who delay the fighters will be engaged in military law. '

The death order was passed to the frontline troops, and the frontline commanders were also in a hurry.These young commanders immediately drove the tanks and led people to start sweeping the mines.The people under him were all desperate, and of course they didn't dare to neglect, and they all bravely took the lead.Soon the effect came out, all mine-sweeping tanks were destroyed, two colonels were killed, and the mine-sweeping troops suffered heavy casualties.And the minefields were beyond sight.Infantry casualties reached more than 6000 people.Although it is said that people must die in battle, but this time they were sent to the sky by landmines without even touching the enemy's face, and all the soldiers were terrified.

The heavy casualties of the troops were quickly spread back to Cairo and London by the Army Ministry's eyeliner in the troops.All of a sudden, great panic was caused, and all the people with relatives fighting in North Africa were afraid.We don't care if you use Indians to clear mines, but if you use my son to clear mines, it's your fault with Mungo and Churchill.If you are killed by a gun, you can still have a body, but if you are killed by a landmine, you will be smashed to pieces.For a time, there was chaos in the UK, with demonstrations, riots, and marches.The whole of London was made into a mess, and even the King of England called Churchill to ask about it.

The Ministry of War also took the opportunity to add obstacles to Churchill, clamoring to replace Mungo.Churchill's situation was not good, and he had to directly order Mungo in the name of the highest wartime cabinet to withdraw the British soldiers who were clearing mines from the front line.The other Australian, New Zealand, South African, Greek and French divisions and brigades also quit.Oh, your British life is your life, and we are also raised by mothers and fathers.We are under no obligation to send you to death.Sorry, we also withdraw.

An attack ended in such a mess, but Churchill couldn't sit still.Yes, the press conference was also held, the face was leaked, and the big talk was blown.If this ends like this, the face of the British Empire must be lost.The most important thing in the British Empire, of course, is face.Face is a matter of our basic principles, and we simply cannot tolerate others being blasphemy.If this is a joke by the allies, the wartime cabinet must be overthrown.

Churchill directly telegraphed Meng Ge, asking Meng Ge to find ways to continue the battlefield attack.And Meng Ge's telegram back only had a few short words 'Express Curry'.So a formation of the Royal Air Force airlifted enough curry for 2 people for a year from India.However, North Africa has caught up with the rainy weather that has not been seen in decades, and the plane has no way to get close to the front line. As a last resort, the curry has to be transported to Cairo.It was loaded from Cairo and transported directly to the fourth division's station.