Iron Cross

In North Africa, Guderian sincerely felt the freedom of operations and command. Whether it was plan selection or route design, he could basically execute it by himself without interference from all sides. In theory, the Afrika Korps should obey the Italian side. However, the Italians who could command at this moment were still hiding in Rome. Guderian was too lazy to say a word. He smiled and said to Collingwood: "I plan to use you as the main force to teach Montgomery a severe lesson."

"We haven't beaten the British since the end of the French campaign. The boys have always regretted letting them go at Dunkirk. If Goering, a traitor, hadn't bragged in front of the Führer, we would have driven the British away long ago. We're going to the sea." Collingwood stood at attention confidently, "Sir, give us the order and we'll be beaten as you say."

"There will be a military meeting in half an hour, and you will also attend." Guderian smiled slightly, "You must follow my instructions later and cooperate with me as much as possible."

Collingwood smiled and said he understood. Sure enough, Guderian lost his temper not long after the meeting was held, and vented his angry temper in the makeshift tent: "From the intelligence we have, the three infantry divisions on the northern front failed to buy us more time. , they surrendered in just one day, and these guys in turn put the blame on us and sent a telegram to Rome to complain to the leader. Now the leader is questioning me. "

Everyone was silent. Although several Italian generals secretly slandered Guderian's behavior of letting the Italian infantry divisions resist the British army, which was tantamount to abandoning the infantry divisions, but the pace of all three divisions surrendering after fighting for only one day seemed too fast. At the same time, they felt that it was unjustifiable and that it had disgraced the Italians. As for complaining to the leader, it is even more of a bad behavior. The leader can only control Guderian.

"Originally, according to my plan, we rested for two days in Tell Akakir and gathered infantry units to alternately cover the retreat. This is why I did not go directly to Tobruk when I retreated from the Alamein front line but came here - "If I really didn't care about them, I would have run away! But the behavior of the infantry now makes us too passive. The British Eighth Army is too aggressive. If it continues to retreat according to the original plan, it will be overtaken and destroyed by the British." An lost his temper and then sighed, pouring out a rare puddle of bitterness, "Although I have been reinforced by a newly arrived armored regiment from the country, you also know that this small force cannot fight against the British. We must Have a solid strategy.”

"Sir, if you have any plans, please share them with us so that we can have an idea." An Italian officer probably couldn't help himself and said bluntly.

Guderian pondered for half a minute and expressed his thoughts: "My plan is very simple. The large forces continue to retreat towards Tobruk, but there must be troops left to cover and deal with the British army - this time cannot be less in 3 days.”

"Ah!..." The Italians all looked at each other. Are the Germans going to sacrifice us again?

"Let's discuss which team is more reasonable to arrange for the rear?" Guderian glanced at the faces of several senior officers, as if to supplement the explanation, or to explain to himself, "These troops not only need to be fearless, We must have a fighting spirit and a spirit of sacrifice.”

Upon hearing the word "sacrifice", several Italian generals further confirmed their suspicions - this was probably the fate of being abandoned again. The gecko's tail can only be used once to survive, but why does this officer always want to do it? Guderian glanced at the venue, but no one answered. Everyone quickly lowered their heads as soon as they saw his gaze, for fear of being called out by him.

After a long silence, no one volunteered to come forward. Guderian sighed and said in a troubled tone: "Well, this time I arrange for the German troops to stay behind. We cannot let the Italian allies cover our retreat every time, otherwise the leader I really can’t explain what I’m doing now. Colonel Collingwood, your regiment is new, well-organized and well-staffed. How about you take on this task?”

"Sir..." Collingwood understood Guderian's intention, stood up and said in a slightly complaining tone, "Can you consider others for this task? Although our regiment has relatively complete equipment and personnel, after all, They are reinforcements that were pulled directly from the Eastern Front. They have been transferred from the Russian front line to the North African front line. They have hardly had a good rest in the past half month, and we also lack experience in desert operations. "

"Since you all have difficulties, then I will personally lead the troops to the rear." Guderian did not get angry, but said in a melancholy tone, "I didn't expect those infantry divisions to be so incompetent. If I had known, I wouldn't have let you go from there. Reinforcements came from Tobruk overnight, and now they have to retreat. I can't even explain it to the superiors after all this futile back and forth. But this time I can't rely on just two armored battalions. I have to use the 15th and 21st armored battalions. The main force of the division remains - you don't want to see me captured by Montgomery, do you?"

The two division commanders looked at each other and didn't understand what Guderian wanted to express. The military's sense of honor did not allow them to shirk, so they could only vaguely agree.

Several Italian generals were extremely moved, fearing that Guderian would regret it, so they immediately stood up and said: "Thank you, sir, for your spirit of sacrifice. We will retreat as soon as possible to save time." Others angrily accused the commanders of the infantry divisions who had surrendered. , saying that he decided to immediately send a telegram to Rome to defend General Guderian and the German allies - the general had already covered our retreat once on the southern front of the Battle of El Alamein, and this time he expressed his initiative to cover our retreat. This is a noble spirit of chivalry, and any Anyone who doubts this is a scoundrel.

Guderian frowned and said: "In view of the current strength of the enemy and our weakness, and based on the actual situation of the current troops, please prepare the Italian troops to retreat immediately. In order to speed up the retreat pace and reduce your marching pressure, large-caliber artillery and some logistical equipment are not required. Anyway, we have them in Tobruk. We should leave as much fuel and supplies as possible so that we can deal with the British for more time. The more prepared we are, the greater the pressure on the British will be. The retreat will be easier."

Several Italians agreed without thinking about this. Instead, they thought that the commander was very thoughtful and that these supplies really slowed down the pace of the march. At this time, Collingwood stood up listlessly and said cooperatively: "Sir, in this case our regiment should stay and let the Italian allies retreat first, lest they complain to the leader again later."

Although Collingwood's words were a bit unpleasant to hear, they were no less than the sound of nature in the ears of several Italian generals. While they complimented Colonel Collingwood's courage, they patted their chests and promised to find their leader to clarify the whole story.

Guderian showed an imperceptible smile and said calmly: "The meeting is adjourned now and the decision just made will be implemented immediately!"

After the Italians hurriedly said goodbye, Lieutenant Colonel Merinjin suddenly appeared out of nowhere and said jokingly: "Sir, this is the second time you have lied to the Italians. You have no intention of letting them stay. It’s nothing more than their supplies and materials.”

Guderian feigned anger: "How about you discuss it with the Italians and I leave the supplies to them and let them cover me?"

"This custody is going to cost them their lives, so you might as well just ask them to surrender directly."

Having said that, seeing the smile on Guderian's face, several German generals noticed something strange and laughed together.

Who would have thought that Collingwood's speech was even more shocking: "Lieutenant Colonel Merinjin and other officers, after all, you have not been in contact with the commander for a long time. His strategy is much deeper than you think!"

"?" Everyone looked curious.

"Do you think the commander only values ​​the supplies and materials of the Italians? You are wrong. The commander wants to create an atmosphere of panic among the Italians." Collingwood blinked and pointed out all Guderian's intentions in a playful tone. , "The way those Italians didn't dare to stay for even a minute revealed how anxious and panicked they were. Tomorrow, panicked fleeers would appear in the sight of enemy reconnaissance planes. After seeing this, the British must be worried about us slipping away." If we go, not only will our alertness be much lowered, but we will also lose our usual caution in advancing speed and marching route. If we find a suitable place to hide, then..."

He made an ambush gesture with his hands, and everyone suddenly understood.

Now everyone finally knows the commander's intention of driving away the Italians. On the one hand, it is because the Italians are very unreliable and have weak combat effectiveness. Leaving them will not play a greater role. On the contrary, their panic may cause the entire front to suffer. Collapse; on the other hand, the chaotic retreat of the Italians will firmly attract the attention of the British like a magnet, while more or less ignoring the actions of the German troops. At this time, the most unexpected effect can be achieved.

Sure enough, Guderian's next battle plan was roughly similar to what Collingwood had described, and the 35th Armored Regiment was the unit responsible for the most critical tasks. At this time, Collingwood's evasion was nowhere to be seen. He expressed his stance seriously. : "Sir, don't worry, I will definitely complete the task and teach these British guys a lesson!"