Bismarck

Under the overwhelming bombing, there were earth-shaking explosions... The blazing flames rose up into black clouds, and even the clear sky of the Mediterranean was dyed black, symbolizing death and destruction...

Under the fortified city of Jiutun, the African Corps suffered a series of air strikes and was in a dilemma, suffering heavy losses...

The remaining fighters could only try their best to move around the anti-aircraft guns, trying to protect themselves while fighting back against the British...

"…Have all the remaining dive bombers retreated?"

"They are almost withdrawing, but we can't withdraw yet! If we withdraw, our brothers in the army will be finished!"

"That's right! Hold on, guys! The Brits' Spitfires and Hurricanes are running out of gas!!"

"Captain! The British have another bomber squadron coming!!"

"What?! Okay... attack them! Reinforcements will be here soon! Before that, we must do our best to protect our army brothers! At any cost!!"

“We understand!!”

"...Hoo...Hoo...Brothers...I'll stop here...I shot down two planes...That's enough...Greater Germany...Empire...Ten Thousand..."

"Persistence! Persistence is victory!!!"

"Why are there so many British people... (aggressive) Damn it! I was shot!!"

"Brothers from JG-27, we from JG-53 are here! Hold on a little longer, we will be there in five minutes at the latest!"

"Everyone!! The comrades from JG-53 will be here soon! Let's hold on... (Dudududu... Boom!) Ugh!!"

"Captain! Captain!!"

"...Everyone...Hold...on..."

"team leader!!!"

"Brothers! Avenge the captain!!!"

The sky was filled with blood...

-

"…Reporting to the Corps Commander, there are less than 40 guns left in the Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment, and the loss has exceeded %… Most of the field positions have been destroyed… The casualties of the th Light Armored Division and the th Armored Division have exceeded , and more than tanks have been lost. We have less than tanks in total… The bombing has not stopped yet… Corps Commander, please think of a solution!…"

A crying subordinate dodged and tumbled to a temporary shelter, which was Rommel's new temporary headquarters. Rommel looked up and saw that it was a staff officer he had sent out to count casualties.

The small mound had been blown into the surface of the moon by the machine guns and bombs of the Hurricane fighters. Even Rommel's favorite Mammoth armored command RV captured from the British Army was blown into a pile of scrap metal, and the staff of the headquarters also suffered heavy losses.

and…

When the staff officer just rolled in from the edge of the crater, Rommel saw the panic-stricken expression!

I was shocked at that time!

Rommel glanced at the officers in the headquarters, but found that all of them were looking at him with a frightened look, half expectant, half panicked...

It seems that under this one-sided attack, the morale of the entire army is probably very bad...

The general is the courage of the soldiers. The situation is so difficult now. If I lose my temper again, I am afraid that everyone will immediately think that the battle is hopeless...

The only consequence of the collapse of morale was that the entire African Corps completely collapsed under the bombing of the British Army!

"Calm down! Why are you panicking? Our Air Force and Zeppelin's carrier-based aircraft will be here soon! Contact them again!" Rommel suppressed his emotions and shouted without turning his head.

"Have you returned all your tactical exam scores in the military academy to the instructors? Can't you count for yourself? In just a few minutes, they have sent over 150 or 60 sorties. It looks scary, doesn't it?! Sidi Barrani Airport is over 200 kilometers from here, and Alexandria Airport is 600 kilometers away! How long can they sustain this kind of super-high-intensity attack?!"

"I know we suffered heavy losses. You are all my soldiers. Don't you think I don't feel sorry for you?!" Looking at the thoughtful expressions of his men, Rommel calmed down a little, but continued to say, "But! The most important thing now is to quickly organize the remaining forces! Only by breaking through the Tobruk fortress can we control our casualties - do you understand?!" Rommel almost shouted the last sentence.

"Yes...we understand!" After being awakened by their own legion commander's wake-up call, the subordinates lowered their heads in shame.

Looking at these useless subordinates, Fox waved his hand in annoyance. But he soon thought of something else: "Go contact the Air Force and the Mediterranean Fleet, is there any report?"

"Report, it will take at least an hour for the Mediterranean Fleet to arrive, but the reinforcements from Galaza Airport have arrived! They are now engaging in the battle!!" Soon, the communications squad leader shouted excitedly.

The fox also looked up, but he could not see anything clearly in the smoke-filled battlefield.

However, it seemed that the explosions, which were originally produced when a large group of bombers dropped bombs at the same time, began to become scattered?

Rommel gave up observing with his naked eyes, looked at his men, and began to issue combat instructions:

"Inform the entire army that air force reinforcements have arrived!"

"Let the air force take charge of seizing air superiority - we must not be bombed by the British again!!"

"Also, if the Mediterranean Fleet's aircraft group arrives in another hour... we are not in chaos now, so we still have a chance! Staff, immediately inform me of the 5th Light Armored Division, the 15th Armored Division, and the Areete Division, and tell them to revise the offensive deployment now. We... just shorten the width of the attack and ensure the density of the troops!!

At the same time, contact the Mediterranean Fleet's aircraft group now and ask them to change their target to the fortress group on the 'red line'! We will use smoke bombs to indicate the target location! Let them cover our assault!"

Also, order all troops, we only have 40 minutes at most, they must reorganize their troops before 5:45! Push all the remaining tanks to the front line! Once the Mediterranean Fleet's aircraft group finishes bombing, immediately launch a full-scale general attack! ! "

"That's all. But tell everyone, we only have this last chance for a general attack! So we can only succeed and not fail! Did you hear that?!"

The fox's expression was very serious, but full of fighting spirit!

Seeing the expression of their commander, everyone couldn't help but think of the heavy weight of this military order!

In other words, this attack was a matter of life and death for the entire North African war! !

If this attack fails, the African Corps, which has been severely weakened, will have to withdraw to Benghazi or even to Sirte, which is further west. It will be extremely difficult to fight back at that time. The time wasted in this process alone cannot be compensated by any tactical victory! !

The officers couldn't help but look at each other, and everyone's eyes could see a stern look! But no one said anything more. The fate of a soldier is nothing more than fighting for the interests of the country, dying on the battlefield, that's all!

"Understood!" A loud and uniform shout was the African Corps' response to its commander!

Seeing his subordinates' answers full of fighting spirit and morale, Rommel, the Desert Fox, finally nodded with satisfaction. This is what a real soldier looks like!

"Now that you understand, go get ready! - Oh, and get me a tank. I'll go into battle myself!"

"……what?"

"What?! At this time, if I don't go to the front line to command in person, am I still hiding in the back and waiting to read the combat report you wrote before I can command the battle!?"

Rommel, who was so angry, couldn't help but push the guy who said "...Ah?"

"Get ready for me! Only thirty-five minutes left!"

"…Yes!"

ps: It's really my fault

Chapter 436: General Offensive

Half an hour ago...

240 km north-northwest of Tobruk...

"Zeppelin aircraft carrier, the second wave of aircraft is ready and can take off at any time!"

"Take off immediately!" Zeppelin, who was standing at the flight deck dispatch center on the bridge, looked at the twenty planes that were hastily lined up on the deck. They were not arranged in an orderly manner at all, but were enough to ensure the launch, and gave a light order.

Although his tone was very nonchalant, in fact, even Zeppelin was surprised by the initiative of the pilots and ground crew.

After learning that a friendly force had encountered an accident, everyone was exhausted, even though they had just launched a large fleet of 54 aircraft. However, after the superior issued an emergency combat order, everyone resumed the dirty and tiring ground preparation work without any complaints.

Many ground crew members who were not on duty jumped out of their beds and rushed out of the lounge after hearing the emergency order, throwing on their clothes while running towards the preparation area. Moreover, even those high-ranking pilots, as long as they were not on the confirmed attack list this time, took the initiative to run out of the standby lounge and help the ground crew members.

Although the reason why the pilots are asked to conserve their energy is that flying a fighter jet is actually a very hard physical job, so the significance of maintaining physical strength for air combat is self-evident...

But now, all everyone is thinking about is how to get out as quickly as possible so that they can help their comrades.

and…

If even the patrol fighters on the deck ready to take off have to be equipped with bombs to join the battle, then we will have to prepare another batch of fighters to defend ourselves!

The only good thing was that since this was the first sortie of the campaign, the fighters in the hangar were basically prepared in advance, especially those closest to the elevators, which were fully loaded with fuel and ammunition and could be launched immediately as long as bombs were hung, because the regulations on emergency rapid response were strictly followed.

The ground crew of the ammunition group used trailers to pull the bombs out of the ammunition depot one by one and onto the flight deck. The sailors hurriedly tore off the thick protective covers on the bombs, and then several people worked together to hang the bombs on the belly rack of the aircraft. After confirming that the mounting was correct, the leading sergeant screwed the fuse on the bombs.

After the bombs were loaded, another group of NCOs from the aviation maintenance team surrounded the plane. After pushing the plane onto the runway and securing it with wheel chocks, the leading NCO told the others to evacuate, climbed into the cockpit, connected the power of the plane, and started the engine...

In just half an hour, the twelve FW190 fighters parked in the flight deck standby area and the eight BF109s lifted from the hangar that could be used immediately had their bombs hung and parked in the flight deck standby area. At the same time, in the pilot mission arrangement room, the twenty pilots who were urgently assigned combat missions by Zeppelin packed up their personal equipment and map boards, walked from the bridge to the flight deck, and walked to their faithful mounts...

"The army and Galaza base made a mistake. Now, the entire Tobruk battle situation depends on us!!"

"Um!!"

One after another, the FW190s and Bf109s rushed towards the bright and dark morning star and flew into the sky before dawn. Even on the radio channel, Zeppelin could hear the leading planes of the two groups of aircraft encouraging each other.

Walter Novotny and Hermann Graf...? They seem to be two newcomers with the potential to be commanders.

Then I am looking forward to your performance!

Zeppelin thought silently in his heart, show all your strength!

Zeppelin, who was standing at the window watching the last plane take off, turned around and glanced at the deck dispatch center with a serious and cold face, and said to the officers in the microphone: "We can't rest now. The British bombers will arrive after dawn - so everyone must work harder and prepare the fighter planes for battle!"

In fact, in Zeppelin's perception, within thirty nautical miles of him and the two battleships, there were at least two slow-moving Swordfish equipped with belly radars, searching separately in the dawn light in the east. Electromagnetic wave signals were emitted from the belly radar covers.

Now Zeppelin can't send out any extra planes to intercept... Although it can still be easily interfered with, it's meaningless.

The concept of electronic warfare has long been spread. As long as the British find that the radar is malfunctioning or that they have lost contact with the reconnaissance plane, they will definitely know that there is a problem in this direction...

The Mediterranean Sea is only 200 nautical miles wide, and now their combat intentions are exposed. The Tobruk Afrika Korps suffered heavy losses in the air raid and the radio has long been in chaos. So even a fool knows that they will definitely move closer to the African continent...

"There is no time to waste, get ready now! The British may have discovered us! They will engage us at 6:30 at the latest! - Execute now!!"

Looking at the commander's expression and cold words, the officers knew the seriousness of the situation and had no time to think about it. All they had was a uniform response and strict military discipline!

"understand!"

---

In the command room of the Bismarck...

Because the Afrika Korps was already in a tough fight, and the British Mediterranean Fleet had also been dispatched, and could engage in a fierce battle at any time, the "Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence Center" on the Bismarck was already busy.

Everyone is preparing as if facing a great enemy...

Another signalman came to report the news. He opened the door, walked to Lütjens' side, stood at attention and saluted, then pulled out a telegram from his folder:

"Report! The Africa Corps sent a notification that they have gained control of the air superiority, but lost as many as 42 aircraft. They are now organizing the remaining aircraft to make an emergency landing and hanging bombs on the BF110 heavy twin-engine fighters. They plan to launch the third bombing at around seven o'clock."

"Yeah...I know."

Lütjens nodded lightly.

And it was almost at the same time that Bismarck also received the notification from Zeppelin...

"Captain, Zeppelin reports that the second wave of 20 planes have taken off and are expected to arrive in Tobruk between 6:20 and 6:30. In addition, she also reported that a British radar reconnaissance plane was spotted - it seems that the British have discovered us."

"Hmm... I understand. But it's just dawn now. The British have only just discovered us. It will take at least another hour for their bombers to arrive. Order the entire fleet to raise the air defense alert level and keep moving forward! Inform Rommel of the estimated time the second wave of bombers will arrive in Tobruk."

"Yes!"

---

In the sky above Tobruk, the German Air Force reinforcements that continued to arrive from the Galaza base, with the support of anti-aircraft guns, had repelled the fuel-depleted Spitfires and Hurricanes and controlled the air supremacy on the battlefield.

The British second echelon was not without fighter cover, but in order to gain overwhelming air superiority, the most advanced Spitfire and Hurricane fighters of the British were almost all deployed in the first wave of air combat. Although they achieved a crazy record of 40 kills, after running out of fuel and having to evacuate the battlefield, the only ones that could be deployed were the Tomahawk fighters (export version of the P-C Warhawk) that had just been imported from the United States.

But here, thirty-six BF-109E fighter jets took off from the Galaza base!

The P-40C is comparable to the BF-109E in terms of theoretical performance. The speed and climb rate of the two are theoretically comparable, and the P-40C has a lower wing load and better maneuverability than the BF-109E. But in reality... this air battle was basically one-sided by the German Air Force!

No way, who wants the P-40C's big chin cooler? It's too unique...

A strange "big chin" hung straight on the nose of the P-40, and the resistance was imaginable. In addition, the performance of the American-made Ellison V1710 engine was also mediocre at that time, so the acceleration performance and actual climb rate of the P-40C were not as good as those of the BF-109E, that is, the dive performance was barely comparable.

Moreover, the firepower of the P-40C is quite weak: two 12.7 heavy machine guns plus two 7.62 machine guns. Even the BF-109E has only the most basic defense, but it is not the kind of Zaku lighter that can be shot down in a few hits!

Not to mention the current battlefield, Tobruk is the German army’s home ground!

Although the P-40C has a range of 1100 kilometers, which is longer than the Spitfire, Hurricane and BF109E, which have a range of less than 800 kilometers, it is still a long journey from Sidi Barrani, more than kilometers away, and the pilots' physical fitness has declined to a certain extent. In addition, in the fierce air battle, they have to worry about more problems than their German opponents who are fighting at home and have no worries...

Therefore, the result of the air battle can be imagined... Even if the number of troops dispatched by both sides is almost the same, there is only one result...

Seeing that the threat from the air had been completely lifted, the officers and soldiers of the German and Italian armies on the ground, who had been almost suffocated by the bombing, began to reorganize under the organization of officers and non-commissioned officers, and while reorganizing, they began to re-enter the starting positions.

The new breakthrough plan has been determined: on the three-kilometer width of the line from Sidi Daud to Bir Suesi on the Tobruk-Baltiyya highway, the remaining 110 tanks of the th Light Armored Division and the th Armored Division, as well as all the infantry forces of the two divisions and the attached engineer regiment, will be deployed side by side! As an ally, the Italian Areete Blackshirt Armored Division, in addition to withdrawing a small number of troops to contain the British troops on the flank of the breakthrough, so that they cannot fully reinforce the breakthrough, the main force of the Italian ace Blackshirt Armored Division has begun to move towards the rear of the German army. As long as the German army breaks through the position, it will immediately follow up the breakthrough from the rear, forming a standard tactical formation for assault depth - wave attack! !

The positions of the eleven permanent bunkers on the British defense line were basically known by now. All they had to do was wait for the thirty JU-87C2 bombers dispatched by the Zeppelin aircraft carrier to demolish these stubborn strongholds - even if they only needed to completely clear the three-kilometer middle section to create a gap large enough for two divisions and 110 tanks to rush in!

Of the three-kilometer width, only the middle two kilometers were reserved for tanks. The 500-meter width on each wing was reserved for infantry on both sides to cover the rapid passage of the armored forces! The task of these infantry was to occupy the strongholds on both wings of the breakthrough and prevent the British from using infantry infiltration tactics to recapture the breakthrough. Then, they had to expand their own attack surface to both sides behind the British defense line, while expanding the breakthrough, pressing the rear of the British defense line, forcing the British to abandon their positions and retreat deep into the territory!

With a full set of fortress maps provided by Italy, plus several months of experience in reconnaissance and tentative attacks, Rommel knew very well that the fatal weakness of Tobruk's defense was the terrain! Once the outer position fortress group was breached, the internal defense would be almost completely exposed to the commanding heights of the platform!

Although the British, in addition to the four infantry brigades, four artillery regiments, and one tank brigade they currently control, have at least 7,000 mobile troops defending five key points on the middle and inner defense lines - the three fortresses of Pilasterino, Solano, and Ellent in the west of the city, the Sidi Mahmud fork in the east of the city, and the Jibbur slope below the fork that can directly rush into Tobruk! However, the terrain of these places is from high to low, and there is no danger to defend at all!

Therefore, as long as we can withstand the counterattack of the British tank brigade and seize the Sidi Mahmoud intersection before the British troops on the periphery adjust their deployment and return to defense, we will win!