Iron Cross

In order to defend Tobruk, Guderian made careful deployment with Tobruk as the center. The entire defense line was from Jazala, 50 kilometers west of Tobruk to 100 kilometers east of Tobruk. In Bardia, the German army made a large semi-circular distribution based on the desert plateau relying on the sea. The width of this large half ring is 150 kilometers from east to west, and the widest point from north to south is about 120 kilometers. In order to prevent British attacks, he successively built two lines of defense. The total length of the outer defense line is nearly 250 kilometers, called the outer defense circle. It consists of the 15th and 21st Armored Divisions. They are guarded separately. There is a small half ring surrounding Tobruk Fortress in the large half ring, which is designed to defend against direct attacks on the fortress. The small half ring is 100 kilometers long and is called the inner defense ring. It is guarded by the 4th Armored Division. Three armored divisions are in the layout. It happens to be in the shape of a "pin"; the Italian Paratrooper Brigade is responsible for guarding the port and the fortress itself, while the Flying Fortress Armored Brigade is responsible for the reserves of the entire African Army.

Such a defense density would be too extensive if placed on the Eastern Front. Two armored divisions are obviously not enough to guard a 250-kilometer defense line. However, in the desert, due to relatively convenient transportation and wide vision, the troops' mobility is much stronger than that on the Eastern Front. , so there are not many areas that can effectively use the terrain to defend. On the other hand, after the continuous front is broken through, the Eastern Front may still have the opportunity to rely on local favorable terrain to hold on and resist. Once the enemy breaks through the main defensive zone in the desert area, After that, the rest can go down in one go. If the defenders lose their mobility advantage and armor strength, no matter how many infantry there are, they can only wait to die. At the beginning, more than 400,000 Italian troops were defeated by the British like chasing ducks. , that’s the truth.

Therefore, Montgomery believed that it was feasible for him to launch an attack from the east: If Guderian's main force was really in the west, the Germans would not have time to withdraw their troops. Taking a step back, even if the east could not break through the defense line and occupy Tobruk, it would still be possible. It can force the German army to shrink back from the west - without the support point of Tobruk, the 100,000 African Army can only retreat hastily.

"Really attacking from the east?" De Lagan asked worriedly. "If the enemy's position cannot be captured quickly, the western defense line will be in danger - the number of reserves in your hand is insufficient, and it is impossible to use both Fight in the east and reinforce the west."

"Then find a way to increase the reserve force." Montgomery scanned the map, trying to find a force to rely on. Finally, he decided to mobilize the 51st Highland Division, which maintained the supply line in the rear. After removing it, he maintained the supply line from Alexandria. Only the Indian 4th Infantry Division, the Greek Brigade and the reserve South African 2nd Infantry Division remain on the more than 600-kilometer coastal supply line from El Alamein, Matruh to Tobruk. After the Battle of El Alamein, Montgomery believed that the combat effectiveness of these troops was very problematic. He did not feel comfortable placing them directly on the front line to confront the Germans. He simply dragged them to the rear to control the supply line. If the 51st Highland Division was included, then Including some reserves, baggage and depot personnel, the number of troops maintaining the 8th Army's supply line reached nearly 100,000, while the number of troops directly confronting Guderian was slightly less than 200,000 - this is why Montgomery said that the troops were insufficient while London believed that The disagreement lies in the sufficient strength of the Eighth Army.

De Lagan did not think there was any problem in deploying the 51st Highland Division. The supply line of the Eighth Army was as stable as a mountain. It would not hurt the Germans even if they sent some small teams to carry out sabotage. He was more concerned about the offensive situation in the east: "You plan to let the 1st The armored division takes the lead?"

"Is there a problem?" Montgomery asked doubtfully.

"This..." De Lagan lowered his voice, "Since the front line reported that they have such powerful new tanks, and there are many 88-guns on the German defense line, should we let the 1st Armored Division attack from the flank? As for the front..."

He did not say it directly, but he traced his hand on the map without leaving any trace. Montgomery immediately understood: "Okay, let the Polish Carpathian Brigade and the Free French Brigade attack from the front to attract the German firepower. An armored division is responsible for outflanking."

Of course, the frontal enemy is difficult to defeat. No matter how much the Germans say, they have built a defense line in more than 2 months. Whether it is the Greek Brigade or the Free French Brigade, they all eat Britain and take Britain. Let them contribute. Of course, as for what would happen to their sacrifices, Montgomery had no psychological burden at all. He decisively ordered: "Start the attack immediately, the sooner the better. You cannot relax at night and give the Germans time to adjust. Also, please You coordinate with General Ted and if the weather permits tomorrow, we must launch a large-scale air strike."

"Sir, there are two good news and two bad news. Which one do you want to hear?" In the African Army headquarters in Tobruk, Chief of Staff Bayerlein was reporting the situation to Guderian.

"Let me tell you the good news first."

"The first good news is that we found the supply depot that the prisoners mentioned and successfully obtained it. The harvest was unexpectedly large and we are now on the way back; the second good news is that we broke through all the positions of the 7th Armored Division. , and the British support troops have just arrived. As long as we want, we can immediately launch the follow-up troops into a large-scale assault; as for the bad news..." He paused and said unhappily, "Two Tiger armors The battalion was no longer able to serve as armored spearheads, and they reported that supplies and battlefield maintenance were required."

"The good news is very exciting." Guderian said happily. "As for the so-called bad news, it is actually normal. This kind of heavy tank will definitely consume more fuel - it fights like a tiger, and its supplies should also have the tiger's appetite. ”

"The supply alone is okay. We got some fuel from the British and can replenish it directly to them. But you can't expect them to go into battle immediately after the supply is finished. There are more than 20 Tigers broken to varying degrees."

"Broken?" Guderian asked doubtfully, "The anti-tank firepower behind the British is so powerful? Didn't the two battalion commanders say that only four vehicles were damaged?"

"The four vehicles were only lost in combat. To be precise, two vehicles were scrapped. Two vehicles had their tracks broken but can be repaired. What is reported now is mechanical problems - the remaining nearly 20 vehicles have broken down to varying degrees. Those with power systems , transmission system, gearbox problems, all kinds of problems you can think of have appeared," Bayerlein complained, "The quality is so poor that it doesn't look like a German product, but more like an Italian. We produce the same ones. Fortunately, we won this battle and controlled the battlefield. If we had lost, these tanks would have become the spoils of the British!"

"This is nothing... a new tank, of course there will be more problems." Guderian waved his hand nonchalantly, "Have you never seen how unreliable the No. 3 was back then? When I was training troops at the Armored Forces School , the tracks often fell off on their own while walking. When the troops marched into Austria - it was not considered a battle. There were more tanks that broke down along the way than those normally entering the city. "

"They are a little too fragile..."

"I remember you said there were two pieces of bad news. Where's the other one?"

"The other bad news is that Montgomery has launched a fierce attack in the east."

Guderian laughed loudly: "This is conceivable. If you were in Montgomery's position, you would do the same thing, because he didn't have many options: the first one is the old method, mobilizing reinforcements to desperately fill the gap. Loophole, the weather forecast said it would be sunny tomorrow, so that he could invest air power to seal the gap - then we retreated, and he gained nothing but the loss of an armored division and a supply base; the second one is Taking advantage of the fact that our main force, especially the main armored force, is not in the east to launch a fierce attack, it can either force us to return reinforcements or seize the defense line in the east. If he can take the opportunity to capture the Tobruk Fortress itself, he may be willing to abandon this armored division categorically. Just to hold us back."

"So what should we do now? I originally expected to bring the Tiger back to scare the British."

"Let me think about it..." Guderian was about to take a closer look at the map when suddenly the staff sent a new telegram: The Poles and French launched a fierce attack on the eastern positions, and it was said that they were also covered by heavy tanks.

"Heavy tank? Is it Churchill?" Bayerlein said, "Our troops encountered these heavy tanks on the battlefield today - according to the prisoners, they are the 6th generation modification of Churchill, and the thickest part of the armor is 100mm - -Almost as thick as the Tiger, but that tank gun is really weak, not even comparable to the new No. 4 gun, and the speed is even slower to only 25 kilometers per hour. T-34 and No. 4 can't hit them. The front of it was far inferior to the Tiger, and it was killed without any suspense.”

"The British's thinking is still stuck in the era of cruise tanks and infantry tanks, and they just make big and useless iron turtles..." Guderian mocked, "Matilda was like this before, and Churchill is still like this now, no Do you know when they will wake up? The American Sherman is good, and its combat effectiveness is close to that of No. 4. Considering their productivity, it will be a headache in the future. Wait...are they attacking the Poles? "

Bayerlein looked at it again and replied: "Yes, there are also French people, about 2 brigades in total..."

"I know what Montgomery is thinking..." Guderian said immediately, "Tell Lieutenant General Walster not to move the armored troops in the east. Let the infantry rely on the fortifications to deal with the attack. Pay attention to concealing some of the 88 guns. exposed."

"Concealed 88 gun? How to deal with those heavy tanks?"

"Let them taste the power of the iron fist, which is the best way to deal with the iron turtle..." Guderian smiled, "As for tomorrow, I will give Montgomery a surprise."