Iron Cross

"What?" When he heard that the German landing fleet was outside the Matruh port and was preparing to land, and that the Alamein airport had been controlled by German paratroopers, Montgomery was completely panicked. Although he tried his best to suppress his emotions, his accompanying staff officers could see clearly that his hands were shaking when he received the telegram from De Lagan.

After reading it, his gloomy face became even more gloomy: "According to the telegram, the airport was lost before 7 o'clock in the morning. It's past 9 o'clock now. Why did you delay sending the telegram to us for so long?"

"The officers of the Indian 4th Division did not raise their vigilance and did not realize the purpose of the German action. They mistakenly thought that only a small group of paratroopers had infiltrated to cause damage, so they organized a counterattack after receiving the airport guard's warning telegram about the loss..."

"What was the result?"

"It failed shamefully..." De-Lagan panted, "They were beaten by the German planes supporting the air force and had to send another telegram to request support. They believed that at least the air force was needed to retake the airport."

"Confused, bastard, idiot..." Montgomery was almost jumping up and down and cursing. The staff members dared to guarantee that they had never seen the lieutenant general so angry. The angry expression now was ten times more serious than when the 7th Division was seriously damaged by the German surprise attack.

"Why not report first and then counterattack? Why not send a large force to counterattack? All the time was wasted..." Montgomery swore and sighed, "The British Empire actually raised such a bunch of rubbish - everyone knows that paratroopers are the most elite assault force of the Germans. Crete is the gap opened by the paratroopers. Report it quickly if it is lost."

This is actually not the commander of the Indian 4th Division's fault. They didn't expect the situation to be so serious at the beginning. According to their thinking, repelling the paratroopers and retaking the airport is a sure credit. It's not too late to report it after completion. Reporting as soon as there is a situation makes the superiors seem too incompetent - it's a pity that they met a powerful opponent!

"Commander, what should we do now?" De-Lagan said worriedly, "The Germans hit our weak spot. Now the supply line is broken. It's no problem to maintain the operation of the army in the short term. If it takes a long time... I'm afraid..."

He didn't say the rest of the words, but everyone understood the meaning. There was an unshakable worry between everyone's eyebrows.

As they were talking, General Alexander's telegram arrived. It was obvious that the admiral was also shocked by the news and was speechless. His actions were panic, but at least his staff could still perform their duties. The telegram told Montgomery that he had ordered the air force stationed in Cairo and Alexandria to bomb the Alamein Airport, and ordered the navy to quickly dispatch and try to destroy the German landing fleet outside the Matruh Port. The order was issued about 20 minutes ago. It seems that the defenders of Matruh Port and the Indian 4th Division sent telegrams to the Eighth Army and Egypt at almost the same time.

The telegram believed that the Indian 4th Division and the 72nd Brigade currently in the area were not enough to deal with the "crisis". He asked Montgomery to withdraw strong troops to support Matruh and Alamein in any case to strangle the German landing attempt.

"It's too late! From 6:30 to 9:00, plus our plane will take nearly an hour to fly there, the Germans have a full 3 and a half hours to use that airport - how much power can they deploy? The Germans didn't even notice such a big battle, our intelligence department is just eating ****!" Montgomery vented his anger, thought it was useless, he controlled his emotions, lowered his head dejectedly, and began to pace in the command center. As he walked, his brain was spinning rapidly. After a while, he formed an idea and dictated an order to De Lagan, "First, send a telegram to London immediately to inform We encountered a landing from behind, and we condemned the incompetence and dereliction of duty of the intelligence agencies; secondly, in view of the fact that the logistics supply line of our army group has been cut off and the contact with Egypt has also been cut off, the enemy may attack our army from both sides, so we can no longer continue to carry out the task of besieging Tobruk, and request an immediate withdrawal; thirdly, we request London to quickly coordinate the landing troops at sea to rush to Egypt for support as soon as possible, otherwise Egypt is in danger of falling; fourthly, we order the New Zealand 2nd Division and the Australian 9th Division to immediately stop the attack, shrink and organize the troops, and prepare to move quickly to the vicinity of Mersa Matruh to fight the German army, as the gaps they left behind The South African Division will take up the responsibility, and all other troops must hold their positions and not retreat a single step! By the way, all telegrams must be copied to General Alexander. We must now strengthen communication with Cairo. If we continue to act on our own, we will be defeated one by one by the enemy. "

De Lagan asked puzzledly: "Why did you withdraw the New Zealand 2nd Division and the Australian 9th Division? They are the farthest from the battlefield."

"Because they are under the least pressure. The German army in the east and south has been maintaining an offensive posture. If we withdraw troops, the positions and defense lines will collapse immediately. In that case, not only will we not be able to save Egypt, but we will also be doomed. The New Zealand 2nd Division and the Australian 9th Division are also very important. They are the most important for the New Zealand 2nd Division and the Australian 9th Division ... The two divisions of India and Australia have strong combat effectiveness and more than 150 tanks. Only they can undertake such a difficult task. In addition, the 21st Infantry Brigade of India, which serves as the army group reserve, should also be assigned to them. The German troops should not be too many, and we must hurry to drive them into the sea, otherwise it will be too late. "He gritted his teeth and announced grimly, "As for all other lines of defense, we must fight to the last man and the last position, and not let any German soldier join the landing force, otherwise the British Empire's cause in Egypt and North Africa will be completely over, and the cause of the Allies will basically be over!"

In contrast to the depressed, low and panic atmosphere in the Eighth Army Headquarters, the African Army Headquarters has now become a sea of ​​joy. Everyone is very happy, and even the 40- and 50-year-old officers feel that their steps are full of wind and their bodies are comfortable - as if they have tasted the most delicious and refreshing spring water in the desert.

"Sir, we not only controlled the Alamein Airport, but the British defense at Mersa Matruh was also very weak. Everything indicates that the landing will be successful soon... The Fuehrer said that he owes you a favor and will give you a big medal when he returns home." Guderian muttered in a low voice: "Only give you a medal but not a scepter?" This muttering was heard by Merlinjin, who laughed: "Sir, don't be anxious, the marshal's scepter is there and can't run away... Marshal Rommel took Tobruk and got the scepter. As long as we can take Egypt, whether you lead the troops to accomplish this feat or not, I think your contribution is indispensable - without the African Army to contain and attract such a large-scale force, the landing would not be so easy at all. The Fuehrer is not confused!" "Let's not talk about this for now, let's focus on doing our own things well." After listening to his subordinates' advice, Guderian smiled all over his face. He also believed that the Fuehrer would not treat him unfairly. He seemed to have seen the field marshal's scepter waving to him. Bayerlein, who was also very excited, tried his best to get rid of all the messy thoughts in his mind and asked: "Sir, the superiors asked us to delay Montgomery, what should we do next?"

"Concentrate our forces and attack the south!"

"South?" Everyone was stunned. The east is the closest to Mersa Matruh, and it also controls the coastal highway. Why not attack the east directly?

"If you were Montgomery, would you choose to withdraw the troops in the east?"

Everyone instinctively wanted to say "yes", but then they thought it was not right. If they withdrew from the east, the British army would immediately face the danger of being attacked by the African army. This decision was not that simple.

"I think Montgomery's biggest possibility is to withdraw troops from the west, or from the south. But no matter what he does, the troops from the west must pass through the south to go to the east. We must stay here like a nail and block Montgomery's dying struggle." Guderian spread his big hand and pressed it on the map, just covering the distribution range of the Eighth Army. "I'm sure to take over this Eighth Army!"

Let alone 2 months ago, even 2 days ago when Guderian said this, everyone would have to weigh the weight and feasibility. No one would think that 100,000 could eat up 300,000, but today's situation has completely reversed. After cutting off the logistics supply line of the Eighth Army, no one doubted the possibility of eating up this heavy army group.

"But doesn't Mersa Matruh need our reinforcements?" Westphal asked, "I heard that the British still have more than 30,000 troops in Egypt. If they pull them all out, I'm afraid the landing troops will face great trouble.

"No need! "Guderian said decisively, "There are 60,000 troops on Crete, including the Grossdeutschland Division, the Viking Division, the 20th Motorized Infantry Division and the Paratrooper Brigade. They are the most elite troops of the Third Reich, and they have a commander like Rommel. Let alone a successful landing, I think landing one-third of them is enough to deal with the British troops in Egypt. We have to hold Montgomery back and not let him go to reinforce."

"Yes! Then let Montgomery see our strongest attack. "

Just as the two sides were arranging their troops, the port battle was over. Although the four-mounted 330mm main guns on the Strasbourg were not used according to Balck's instructions, a number of 130mm and 203mm caliber naval guns fired fiercely at the exposed positions and targets of the British army, and the port was covered with dust. Although Smith's gun group did not fire, the powerful impact of the medium-caliber naval guns was still chilling. The 203mm caliber shells alone would create a large pit of dozens of meters. The pitiful supporting firepower of the 72nd Infantry Brigade was not enough, and they were suppressed in an instant.

After more than 40 minutes, the No. 4s successfully climbed onto the beach and controlled the situation. Only the Tiger was still crawling slowly, which made people anxious, but this time they gave face and did not have any problems. In the end, they only had some strength left.

The adjutant pointed to the front and shouted excitedly to Balck: "Sir, the enemy has escaped."

"Good! Land in the port!"