Iron Cross

On the morning of December 26, Ramsden rushed into General Alexander's residence with three armored vehicles. He was anxious to discuss countermeasures with the Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East Theater. He had just received the latest battle report: Rommel's attack last night The Grossdeutschland Division suddenly crossed the Sinai Peninsula and appeared near Tel Aviv. After a night of fighting, by early morning, not to mention Tel Aviv, even Haifa was in the hands of the German army, and the enemy's troops were directed towards Lebanon and Syria.

What surprised him was that after he entered with the guards, he was told that the general himself was not in the residence.

He grabbed the butler's collar and yelled: "I went to the commander's office, and they said the commander was still at the official residence. Now that I'm at the official residence, I still can't find him, and the phone is blocked. Where did you take the general?"

"Dear General, listen to me, no one dares to be disrespectful to the General."

"Where is that person?"

"He took a flight to Aswan with General Ted at 3 o'clock this morning."

"What? Plane? Aswan? This is impossible!" Lumsden pulled out a pistol and put it against the butler's forehead, saying viciously, "Be honest with me, where is the admiral? He was talking to me last night I inspected the troops together, and there was no hint of going south at all.”

"It's true." The butler said tremblingly. "To keep it secret and to prevent German sneak attacks, he told me at the last minute. He also said that he would send you a telegram once the headquarters is successfully established."

At this moment, Ramsden's adjutant hurriedly arrived in a jeep: "Sir, I just received a telegram from General Alexander from the direction of Aswan, saying that he has successfully flown to Aswan and established a command. Ministry, he appointed you as the supreme governor of Cairo, fully responsible for all affairs."

"Bastard!" Ramsden took a brief look at the telegram and suddenly became furious. He tore the telegram into pieces with three strokes. After thinking about it for a while, he felt incomprehensible and kicked the housekeeper to the ground.

"What should we do now?" the adjutant asked worriedly, "German troops were discovered in the south of the city. They have pressed forward, but they have not completely blocked the road. Where should we go?"

"Go back to the headquarters first and then think of a solution." Lumsden felt like the sky had suddenly fallen. He was dissatisfied with Alexander's arrangement for other troops to retreat first. However, it was the opinion of the majority of people and he could only He could hold his nose and endure it, and even tried his best to do ideological work for the 9th Australian Division and the 2nd New Zealand Division. The two divisions were doing it for Lumsden's sake, and even more because Montgomery had saved the two divisions at all costs. On the face of it, they all expressed their acceptance of the arrangement and their willingness to stick to Cairo and cover the retreat of friendly forces.

Yesterday was Christmas Eve and the day before yesterday was Christmas Eve. Although the soldiers could not be given a holiday due to the war, the admiral still took the generals to visit various units at night. He still talked and laughed with everyone, and there was no sound in his mouth. Frustrated and uneasy, not to mention shaken or fearful, he said a lot of words of encouragement, condolences, and encouragement to the officers and soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand armies, and also said many sincere and apologetic words to several generals, making everyone feel warm and full of enthusiasm. I felt that I had misunderstood the general, and even felt vaguely guilty. Even now, everyone is still full of admiration for the admiral: in any case, the admiral only arranged for some troops to retreat - some troops always retreated first. He himself is still holding firm with us in Cairo, which fully shows that he is one of the leaders of Montgomery and Ichijo. Will be the same hero.

Lumsden didn't think about this at first. He just thought that the admiral slept too late at night and was still stranded in the official residence. He didn't expect that such a thing would happen. He calmed down after leaving the gate and repeatedly blamed himself for being careless: the admiral's behavior in the past two nights was very abnormal - that was because he was planning to run away secretly. He was expressing his guilt and uneasiness in advance. It was pity that he had not waited until now. react.

"He ran away." Mosshead, commander of the Australian 9th Division, and Bernard Freiberg, commander of the New Zealand Army (said to be the corps commander, but only commanded the New Zealand 2nd Division) were summoned to the headquarters. Ram Stern's first words made them open their mouths in horror.

"What?"

"who?"

"Who else? That bastard Harold Alexander!" Ramsden cursed through gritted teeth. "He abandoned his troops, abandoned his responsibilities, and ran away... and he actually dared to send a telegram shamelessly. A headquarters has been established in Aswan to prepare for our retreat. For the sake of confidentiality and to stabilize military morale, the news of his retreat will not be announced for the time being!"

"Fuck... I'm going to sue him! I'm going to go find Churchill!" Freiberg had a hot temper and threw his hat to the ground. "I don't believe no one can cure him."

"Surveying him is something that will happen in the future. It's better to figure out what to do quickly. Guderian's troops are coming..." Mosshead was hateful and angry.

The phone rang suddenly: "It's not good, sir..."

"What happened again?"

"Most of the planes went south."

"What?"

It’s over! Completely finished! The commander has escaped, the plane has been withdrawn, and the army is besieging the city outside. What can the Australian and New Zealand armies do with 30,000 people?

"We still have more than 200 tanks, enough trucks and armored vehicles, and a lot of artillery, enough to fight and retreat at the same time."

"How can we cover our retreat? The Germans can't let us leave in such a big way. There is only one way to Aswan..."

"We can't retreat like this!" Lumsden immediately thought of the practical difficulties. "Where's the fuel? Where's the supplies? Where's the rear? What should we do if there are so many wounded?"

Upon hearing of these practical difficulties, the headquarters immediately fell into a deadly silence.

"Hold on to the end! We must hold on to the end." Freiberg said through gritted teeth. "The medical conditions in Cairo are the best in Egypt. At least half of the wounded will die on the road."

Mosshead said hesitantly: "You can't retreat with the wounded, and then everyone would be dead—and then the wounded would be dead as well."

"Once we break out of Cairo, we will face the Germans chasing us all the way. How many people will die in the vast desert?"

The two looked at each other suspiciously, and finally said hesitantly: "...there may be 15,000 to 20,000 casualties."

"That's 60%-70%." Lumsden sighed, "Even if it's only 40%-50%, I don't want to do it. Is it kind to let the other half die to save the remaining half?"

The two of them shook their heads instinctively - this determination was not easy to make. The only soldiers left behind were the soldiers who had traveled thousands of miles from their hometown. If the casualties were too large, they would not be able to see the Chinese people in the future.

"Now that there is no air force, there is no one to cover us and drop supplies - we have become a complete abandonment. So what if we retreat to Aswan? Do you really think Alexander will wait for us in Aswan and pick us up?" Ramsden said bitterly, "Maybe after he finished this telegram, he slapped his butt and walked towards Ethiopia."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"Yes, General Lumsden, please make up your mind. You are the commander of the Egyptian army and the commander of the city defense. We promise to obey your orders."

"Sir...sir, the King of Egypt and the Prime Minister are here." Ramsden was anxious when the adjutant came in and announced a shocking news.

The three of them were stunned: "What are they here for?"

Although I look down on the Egyptians, when their king and prime minister come, for the sake of etiquette, they should at least go out to greet them.

"This... General Lumsden, generals, your majesty heard that the German army has surrounded the city. He is deeply disturbed by this and has come here to inspect the city's defense situation." Egyptian Prime Minister Hassan Sabri spoke first, " I heard that your country’s top commander in the Middle East theater, General Alexander, has withdrawn?”

Ramsden looked at them warily but said nothing. He was not in a position to admit or deny the news. He still had a little respect for the Egyptian Prime Minister, but he had no sympathy or respect for the fat man Faruk I. He knew about this king's "glorious deeds" within a few days of his arrival.

He casually made a few random remarks about defense and troop strength, intending to send the Egyptians away in a perfunctory manner. Unexpectedly, the fat man listened very seriously and took several steps forward. He was suddenly very far away from Lumsden. close.

Want to assassinate?

Ramsden's heart tightened, and he was about to distance himself again, but he didn't expect the fat king to kneel down in front of him, hugged Ramsden's thighs with his chubby hands and cried: "General, Ramsden General Den! Save the people of Cairo... You must not fight. Cairo is a historical city with more than 300,000 ordinary people... I did not instruct him to do what Harry Maher did. Please spare him. Me..."

If he were walking on the street and encountered such a 300-pound fat man hugging him, Ramsden would just keep it and kick him over. But this was the king of Egypt after all. No matter how much he looked down on him, he had to save some face, so while She tried to help him up with kind words. However, the fat man was so fat that Lumsden could not lift him up by himself. Mosshead and Freiberg rushed over to help. The three of them pulled and pulled the 300-pound pile. After being lifted up by the flesh, Ramsden felt that his back was covered with sweat and his hands felt nauseated.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, I will seriously consider your request. We will not embarrass the majority of the Egyptian people, nor will we destroy the city of Cairo. Harry Maher's actions only represent himself and have nothing to do with Your Majesty. Please two Don't worry. Now you two, please go back and hide in the palace as much as possible. It's safe there."

On the way back, Farouk I proudly said to Sabri: "How is it? I performed pretty well just now. If the teacher hadn't written a letter asking me to do this, if anyone else had dared to say this, I would have been drowned in saliva. Kill him."

"Of course... Your Majesty takes action, why can't you succeed immediately? The veteran's wealth and life are all on Your Majesty."

"Don't worry, the teacher won't make things difficult for you. Why don't you go out and enjoy the happiness at home? What's wrong? Didn't you also protect the teacher after he was ousted by the British two years ago?" Faruk waved. Holding his fat hand, "This is nothing! If the British come back in two years, and let the teacher change positions with you, you will still be the Prime Minister..."