Iron Cross

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Late at night on September 11, the atmosphere in the headquarters of the Eighth Army was so dull that it almost solidified. Everyone sat upright and listened intently to Chief of Staff De Lagan's lecture. Everyone's mood was the same as today's war situation - simply It's terrible!

Chief of Staff de Lagan announced the status of today's battle (actually mainly the last hour and a half in the afternoon) with no expression on his face: "According to preliminary statistics, the Germans caught us off guard, and we lost 217 tanks destroyed, At the cost of damage, the Air Force lost 178 aircraft after 5 o'clock, of which nearly 100 were killed on the ground. Our preset positions deployed around Rajil were beaten to pieces by the Germans. 4 field artillery regiments, 23 anti-tank companies, 14 anti-aircraft artillery companies, and a total of more than 300 artillery pieces of different calibers were destroyed. Our casualties and missing soldiers exceeded 3,000, including 1 colonel and 3 lieutenant colonels. , 2 majors, more than 70 officers above second lieutenant, and a large number of professional non-commissioned officers."

Every time De Lagan reported a number, everyone's expressions became uglier.

"In addition to this, we also have a large number of arms, trucks, armored vehicles, and fuel that were destroyed by the enemy. The direct losses were very serious. Although the results cannot be calculated for the time being, based on the information we have so far, we know that there are three weapons that can be used by at least two divisions. Months of supplies were destroyed, and the total loss will only be greater.”

"When we encountered a sudden attack by the enemy today, there were serious problems with the combat command and coordination of the various units." Montgomery's voice was not loud, but everyone could hear his anger. "I warned you to be on standby and wait for our discussion. After establishing a reliable offensive route, we launched the attack, but the troops fell into obvious slack in the afternoon, which gave the enemy an opportunity. What disappoints me even more is the adaptability and combat capabilities of many troops in the face of sudden attacks. It's extremely bad. Instead of quickly organizing resistance on the spot in accordance with combat regulations, they jumped around like a group of headless flies, shaking their own defense line, affecting morale, and even attacking other friendly forces that still had the will to fight, causing Even greater chaos. The frontline command posts did not carry out information transmission and alarm in accordance with the regulations. The responsible officers fled for their own lives. They are mainly responsible for the failure of many of our troops. The defeat was completely caused by being frightened by oneself and being dragged down by the unit commander, such as..."

Montgomery listed a bunch of disorganized and chaotic troops in the battle. Many British-born officers felt less nervous after hearing this, because most of them were subordinates of Dominion troops or unreliable allies such as Greece and Free France. , they still feel good about themselves. Montgomery may have noticed their appearance, so he said in an emphatic tone: "...the most annoying among these troops was an infantry battalion of the 9th Armored Brigade. The headquarters called to inquire about the situation on the past front. A captain said tremblingly He said they were captured and asked who the troops who captured them were and how many there were. Do you know how that guy answered? " Montgomery raised his voice an octave and raised his eyebrows. Commander of the 9th Armored Brigade. Originally sitting in the back, he didn't dare to raise his head. When he heard the commander call his unit's name, he subconsciously shrank his neck and almost dropped his head to his chest.

"He said that the German tanks left and they were too lazy to capture us. They asked us to surrender to the infantry who came up later, but the German infantry has not come yet..." Montgomery knocked on the table, "But in fact, there was no battle at all today. Passing a German infantryman, these soldiers were completely captured by rumor and fear..."

"Pfft!" There was a sound, and someone couldn't help laughing, but after thinking about it, he felt that this was not a funny thing. He suppressed his emotions and put on an indignant look. Staff Officer De Lagan Chang gave him a big eye roll and thought it would be a pity for him not to become an actor with such talent.

Montgomery's voice suddenly changed from anger to sadness: "We paid such a heavy price, and what did we gain or eliminate? The results were horrific! Except for the pilot of the aircraft that was shot down by us, we did not capture a single enemy ground force. Prisoners, we probably shot down less than 20 aircraft, most of them were shot down by ground anti-aircraft fire, and the tanks are said to have more than 20 results, but I deeply doubt these numbers because we can't find that many Germans. Tank wreckage - this number is not low, but high! "

"What?" Everyone was shocked. Compared with the losses reported by the chief of staff just now, such insignificant results seemed very rare. The commander actually said that it was an overestimation?

"So far, no army can tell me accurately which army the enemy is fighting with you and how many there are there?" Montgomery showed deep helplessness. "The officers of the staff went to inspect the battlefield situation on the spot, and they also After asking the soldiers fighting on the front line, their initial reactions were extremely exaggerated and outrageous. However, after careful comparison, they all said that it did not look like a large enemy force. Only the airport commander, Colonel Christopher, insisted that the enemy was unprecedentedly large. formation, otherwise the Air Force would not have suffered such heavy losses. Gentlemen, as middle- and senior-level officers and front-line commanders of the British Empire, can you accurately describe the enemy's situation to me instead of using words like 'maybe, probably, maybe'. "?"

Everyone listened in silence, and no one dared to say that what they saw was the truth.

Montgomery's adjutant suddenly sent a telegraph newspaper with urgent news from the airport. After reading it, he became furious and slammed the table so hard that the cups and furnishings on the green velvet tablecloth were shaken and flew up. , I have never seen the commander get so angry, everyone was shocked.

"The airport captured several German pilots who parachuted after their planes were shot down. They used some 'means' to obtain the enemy's confession: According to the enemy's account, not a single German infantryman participated in the attack - they retreated a few days ago. Come, there are only two armored battalions with less than 70 tanks, led by General Guderian himself. The mission of the Air Force is to facilitate these tanks to attack our defense line and cover their retreat. The large Fw-190 fleet It’s the Udet Fighter Wing that was urgently dispatched from Italy..."

"What?" Everyone in the conference room was stunned. Colonel de Lagan's mouth was so wide that he could have stuffed an entire egg in. Just two armored battalions and 70 tanks turned the entire southern front of the Eighth Army upside down. It was such a mess. If Guderian was given the strength of two armored divisions, would he still be able to swallow up the Eighth Army in one go?

The expressions on everyone's faces were one of embarrassment and shame, and they were so hot that if it weren't for the large temperature difference between day and night in the desert, and the rapid drop in temperature at night, they might have burned themselves.

"This..." Major General Gatehouse stood up and opened his mouth to say something. In the end, he just sighed deeply and sat down again without saying anything. His face was slumped and his eyes were confused. Any more anger will only lead to deep frustration.

Seeing the dejected looks of his men, Montgomery could only continue to cheer them up: "Gentlemen, we have undoubtedly failed shamefully in this battle. I will not shirk from the responsibilities we owe to London and Cairo, but we cannot." If we continue to be so defeated and decadent, we must find a way. I admit that maybe we have met a German commander who is as good as or even better than Rommel. From a tactical point of view, Guderian's performance today can be rated full marks, but I admit that we have met a German commander who is as good as or even better than Rommel. I don’t think he is an ever-victorious general. In fact, he has weaknesses, and they are huge. As long as we find his weaknesses correctly, we can win..."

"Huh?" Everyone's attention was firmly attracted by Montgomery's words. They discovered that the commander who they thought was overly cautious and could even be described as timid actually had such an indomitable side. Infected by Montgomery's emotions, the officers' fighting spirit was quickly inspired. The shame of losing the battle turned into an eagerness for revenge. They jumped up and screamed to express that they would fight back with a hundred times the strength of the enemy. De Lagan noticed The commander of the 9th Armored Brigade, who was heavily criticized by the commander just now, was the loudest among these people.

Although he didn’t know how long this effect would last, at least the atmosphere of the combat meeting was no longer as dignified and dull as it was at the beginning. He glanced at Montgomery with admiration, only to find that all the corners of his mouth were filled with wry smiles...