Iron Cross

ps: Modified...

Before the entire campaign began, British intelligence personnel used their intelligence network that had been operating in North Africa for many years to estimate that the total number of German troops on the Tobruk Defense Line was between 100,000 and 120,000, the number of tanks was between 700 and 1,000, and various types of aircraft were deployed on the Tobruk Defense Line. Between 600-800, it should be said that the above estimate, except for the air force, is basically close to the facts - the total German military strength is slightly less than 100,000, and the number of tanks was originally 800. After receiving the support of 2 heavy armor battalions, the number was over 900.

The source of the difference in the Air Force's estimate lies in the difference caused by the adjustment of the wing's composition. The North African Air Force that initially cooperated with the African Army included a series of combat, expulsion, and bombing wings. It sounds like there are many numbers, but most of them are understaffed and the establishment is too small. There were still many command personnel - the reason for the large number of redundant personnel in the German Air Force was due to this. Later, through force adjustment and organizational optimization, and at the same time, after aircraft were transferred back from the Eastern Front battlefield, the combat strength began to increase.

At the end of October, the air forces in North Africa were unified into the Eighth Air Force, commanded by General Waldau. The German combat aircraft mainly included three fighter wings: JG3\\JG27\\JG53 and two bomber wings: STG3\\KG77, of which JG3 and JG53 Mainly equipped with Fw-190, JG27 is mainly equipped with Bf-109, General Mustache assists General Waldau in unified command of the fighter force; STG3 is a dive bomber wing, mainly equipped with Stuka, KG77 is a bomber wing, mostly equipped with Ju- 88, and some are He-111. In addition to the above five wings, the Eighth Air Force also has an independent transport aircraft wing and an Italian combat wing. However, to facilitate command and coordination, Italian aircraft are generally only responsible for escort and combat missions in the Mediterranean, while the transport aircraft wing It is under the direct command of Marshal Kesselring. Originally, the Eighth Air Wing was required to form a separate reconnaissance wing. After practice, it was found that this formation was not as effective as dispersing the reconnaissance aircraft to each combat wing when operating in a vast area. Therefore, the five combat wings were The teams were each assigned to an independent reconnaissance brigade.

After the adjustment of the wing composition system, the number of front-line fighter aircraft of the North African Luftwaffe was listed as the highest priority and continued to increase. By the beginning of December, the total number of combat aircraft was not 600-800 as estimated by the British, but nearly 1,200 aircraft, of which There are nearly 750 fighter jets. Although the overall size is not as strong as the enemy's desert air force of 2,000 aircraft, excluding the British air power responsible for the defense of Egypt, the North African front line alone is only about 400-500 less than the British, and the power balance has been significantly improved.

Compared to the reports of frontline officers, Montgomery was obviously more willing to believe the data collected by intelligence personnel. He also did not believe that the Germans had received unimaginable reinforcements during this period. According to the reports of frontline commanders, the total number of German troops currently exceeded 15. If that's the case, and considering the defense needs of other lines of defense and garrisoned areas, this number is obviously distorted. Doesn't Tobruk Fortress need to retain people? Guderian doesn’t need to prepare a reserve team?

He thought for a moment and said to De Lagan: "We cannot be blinded by the battle reports. The numbers reported from the front line are obviously impossible to be true, or not completely true - there must be German intelligence from three directions. One is false.”

De Lagan agrees with Montgomery, but which one is true? Which one is false? The current situation is extremely dangerous, and the consequences of misjudgment will be disastrous.

"First of all, the offensive in the east can be slowed down. The Germans have not dispatched tanks until now - whether they are hidden or transferred to other areas, there is obviously something fishy. The 1st Armored Division may encounter a trap if it continues to attack. , there is no danger in waiting; secondly, the battle in the south is very fierce, and the air force's priority and main strike force should be deployed here, referring to the methods we used to contain Guderian's offensive in the past few weeks to assist the ground forces - not to mention that they have already Two lines of defense were lost; in the end, the enemy's situation on the western front revealed something strange, allowing the armored troops of the New Zealand 2nd Division to take the initiative to test the strength of the German army. "Montgomery's brows suddenly widened, "I don't believe that Guderian was there on the third day. There are heavy troops deployed on all fronts, and as long as we burst one of his bubbles, all the cover-ups will disappear. "

De Lagan immediately conveyed all these orders - no matter whether Montgomery's order was perfect or not, it was a complete series of orders after all. When time was tight, it was more valuable to make an immediate decision than to make a decision after repeated weighing.

"Besides..." Montgomery's face suddenly darkened, and he asked De Lagan, "Do you think the decision to withdraw divisions and brigades yesterday was correct?"

"This... of course." De Lagan hesitated and said firmly, "Judging from the situation on the battlefield yesterday, this is reasonable. If not, once the Germans break through, it will cause a complete collapse. As for the Germans today "Retreating does not mean that yesterday's response was wrong, on the contrary, because we responded quickly, the Germans' attempts were contained by us - so they found the direction of attack again."

"But we were taken advantage of by Guderian again!" Montgomery said through gritted teeth, "Judging from today's situation, we did a completely stupid thing yesterday."

"This is unavoidable. We only have a small amount of troops. No matter which direction we deploy, there may be danger."

"No!" Montgomery stopped the chief of staff from saying, "That's not what I'm concerned about. What I want to ask is, why do the Germans always catch the slightest loophole when we have a problem?"

De Lagan was surprised: "You mean?"

"I suspect that there are German spies in the headquarters or somewhere else. If they are officers, their level is not low. They must at least have access to core secrets. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain that the Germans can always seize our loopholes just right." He lowered his voice. He raised his voice while scanning the faces of the surrounding staff officers with suspicious eyes. His eyes looked at everyone like spies, but they felt like no one else. Everyone felt frightened by his look, but they did not dare to turn their heads or He lowered his head to avoid the commander's eyes - it's okay. Why are you feeling guilty?

"This..." De Lagan smiled bitterly, "I am the first to grasp all the information."

Montgomery shook his head. He trusted De Lagan. If even such a chief of staff was a spy, the Eighth Army would have been destroyed countless times. But he did not dare to be so sure about others. After thinking about it, He explained: "Control all the personnel who came into contact with the troop dispatch yesterday, and also investigate the telegraph system personnel. I think there may be an internal problem within us - this mole may be lurking deep."

De Lagan said with a sad face: "I will do this right away, but I really don't know how to counter espionage."

"Report to General Alexander and London, tell them my concerns, and ask domestic personnel to send capable personnel to assist us." The more Montgomery thought about it, the more he had a deeper understanding of the war situation. He ordered in a firm tone, "Request the Air Force to temporarily Give up the offensive on the eastern front and go to the south first. We must contain the enemy offensive on the southern front. In addition, since the enemy launches an attack in the south, there will never be a heavy force on the front of the 7th Armored Division, requiring the New Zealand Division and the Australian Division. Launch an attack quickly to test the enemy's strength and attract and contain the enemy's forces."

At 7:45, the biggest test for the southern front came. The focus of the Desert Air Force began to shift to the southern front. The dark bomber group, under the cover of hurricanes, spitfires and other fighter jets, rushed towards the southern positions that were locked in a bitter battle.

As for the Afrika Korps, Garland was also well prepared and ordered three fighter wings to mobilize to attack the enemy aircraft and ensure air superiority over the southern position.

At 8:30, clearer news reached Montgomery. The Australian 9th Division, which launched a diversionary attack on the western front, reported that the position in front of them was almost empty. Most of the artillery and tanks seen were camouflage. The troops were attacking in depth and flanks for nearly 20 seconds. Kilometers later, no enemy troops were found, but a group of our wounded soldiers, numbering close to 200, was found and rescued.

"Damn it!" Montgomery slammed his fist on the map. "We were indeed fooled! It was a scam. They said there were 50,000 to 60,000 people and hundreds of tanks. In fact, it was a matter of whether there were 5 or 6 squads. "

"The news from the Air Force is not ideal..." De Lagan received the first report at about 9 o'clock. "The fighting between the two sides was fierce. The enemy dispatched hundreds of fighter jets and attacked fiercely around our bomber group. Although The escort aircraft fought back hard, but many enemy planes still succeeded. At present, we have shot down more than 50 bombers and lost more than 40 fighter planes. "

"Where are the enemies?"

"About 40-50 aircraft were lost." De Lagan was worried. "The number is not a problem. The key is that we failed to achieve the goal of the air strike. The German armored forces are still attacking fiercely. The 44th Infantry Division has shot three times. Telegram for support."

"Let the 2nd Free French Brigade go up and let the 10th Armored Division speed back to support - I want to see their tanks on the battlefield before 3 p.m."

The actual results were even more tragic than what de Lagan reported. The two sides fought fiercely in an airspace of less than 20 square kilometers in the southern desert. The Germans' tactical layering was very clear: the Fw-190 suppressed the British Spitfire, which had the best performance. The Bf-109 deals with Hurricanes and other fighter-bombers, while the Bf-219s are specifically responsible for dealing with medium and light bombers. As for the heavy bombers with 4 engines, no one cares about them because they are the least in number - their bomb accuracy is also very poor anyway. If they If they dare to drop bombs at low altitude, the 88mm anti-aircraft gun will teach them how to behave.

Under this tactical pattern, the losses of British aircraft were far greater than reported on paper.