Bismarck

The staff officers around him were also happy to see that their corps commander had come up with a solution. Soon, after everyone discussed, a battle plan was produced.

But at this moment, a loud noise from the distance instantly attracted the attention of Rommel and others! When Rommel and his staff stretched their heads out of the trenches and raised their binoculars, they only saw a huge column of smoke rising into the sky behind the British defense line in Alamein. Soon, intelligence came from the front: the British were clearing the countryside, and the explosion just now was the British blowing up their own warehouse!

The British also understood the true situation of Rommel's troops and knew that they must be in urgent need of supplies, so even if they could not defend this place, they had to destroy all the supplies in this area first!

"Oh no! Looks like we need to go faster!"

Now the Germans were anxious.

Seeing that the British were destroying their warehouses, Rommel, who was now completely dependent on captured supplies to maintain his troops, gritted his teeth in anxiety. After hastily checking the battle plan that the staff had perfected, he made a decision: "...Then let's do it, we have no time to waste! It's two o'clock in the afternoon now...From now on, let the troops adjust their deployment, and at the same time let the engineering brigade continue to intensify mine clearance. In addition, contact the Air Force and the Navy and inform them that we will attack at five o'clock in the evening! We must break into the Australian front line before dark at half past six!!"

"Yes!"

---

In the Mediterranean, the German Mediterranean Fleet led by Lütjens - the Zeppelin aircraft carrier, and the Bismarck and Tirpitz battleships were on their way to North Africa.

Compared to the army comrades who had to face the yellow sand and eat the loess, the navy was still very comfortable. At least the sea breeze would not be mixed with sand and gravel. However, the bright sun on the sea still made all the crew members feel hot. In the current Atlantic Fleet, in order to save fuel, Lütjens only provided cooling air to the key combat compartments, while the sailors' dormitories and their officers' cabins did not have cooling air - of course, it did not matter to Lütjens. When he slept, there was a human-shaped cooling animal lying next to him, although the cold touch every morning always made him subconsciously think that there was a dead person lying next to him.

It can be regarded as a captain's welfare. Lindemann also has this treatment, only poor Bangtai does not...

Now the crew members of the Atlantic Fleet are desperately trying to go on duty and change shifts so that they can enjoy the cool air for a while.

Please finish it quickly, I can’t stand it anymore.

At the same time, in Mersa Matruh, while the British Air Force was too busy bombing the port, the Italian Seventh Cruiser Division, under the command of the new squadron commander, Major General Dazzara, was busy using lifeboats and assault boats to transport 3,000 reinforcements from six destroyers and three cruisers to the port which had been reduced to ruins by the British demolition team.

According to the agreement, when the reinforcements were transported, the 7th Cruiser Division would go directly to the waters near El Alamein and join the command system of the German Mediterranean Fleet. In addition, the air and ground liaison officers sent from the African Corps had already set up independent radio stations and work positions on the German and Italian fleets.

Although the Italian Navy's light warships believed that they were not much worse than their British opponents in destroyer-to-destroyer and even cruiser-to-cruiser battles, the Italians were generally defeated more than won when it came to direct confrontation with the main force of the British Mediterranean Fleet, and they did not have much confidence...

But there was nothing they could do. After all, the battle of El Alamein had already reached this point. And even the Germans had already taken the lead, so the Italians had nothing to say. Moreover, the Italian light battleships had a good fighting spirit, and Major General Dazzara himself was not a coward...

"How's the transfer operation going? How long will it take before we can set sail?" On the flagship Duke of Abruzzi, looking at the transfer work below, which seemed to be almost finished, Dazzara asked everyone around him.

"Report! The transfer is almost complete! We can set off as soon as we wait for the last batch of lifeboats to return!"

"Tell them to hurry up. There's already a fight going on in Alamein!"

"Yes!!"

Chapter 448: Supporting the African Legion

The foxes' first wave of assault was extremely successful.

Before the scheduled attack at dusk at 5 p.m. on August 22, the Engineer Brigade had already figured out the layout of a considerable portion of the minefields.

After a massive sweep of the Afrika Korps' Matruh Airport by a large number of aircraft and the cover of 25 heavy artillery pieces of the Italian Gelati Heavy Artillery Regiment, more than 20 armored mine-clearing engineering vehicles of the Afrika Korps' Engineer Brigade pushed mine-clearing rollers and took the lead. Rommel himself led the 21st Armored Division with 50 improved Type 4 tanks, followed closely behind. He also led the 80 Carlo Amato light tanks of the Italian Black Shirts Armored Divisions of Littorio and Areiete, and 5,000 soldiers following behind. They rushed forward like mercury pouring out of the ground, pouring into the gap in the Australian 6th Division's position torn open by bombers and heavy artillery!

By sunset, they had captured several key positions of the Australian 1500th Division, captured 105 people, and seized a whole batch of weapons and supplies, including six American mm howitzers and their supporting ammunition. Rommel was overjoyed and sent artillery to take over the heavy artillery, turning the muzzles on the spot and firing at the retreating Australian troops. The three Axis armored divisions were also chasing the British troops who were retreating deep into the territory!

It looked like the start was good and everything was going well. Not only did they easily break through the enemy's defenses, they also seized weapons and ammunition, and were now driving the repelled enemies towards Alexander...

Sitting in the armored command vehicle and rushing to the front line with the tanks, Rommel felt quite pleased with the smooth development of the battle.

Although he was very worried before, the reality of the start told him that there seemed to be hope for a breakthrough, but he really thought too much about losing.

It was already dark, and although the terrain was not familiar to them, and although the British were still fighting and retreating and had not been completely defeated, and although the British Air Force, which had basically controlled the air superiority by being closer in the sky, was constantly bombing the ground under the guidance of flares, and was fighting fiercely with the searchlights and anti-aircraft guns of the anti-aircraft artillery regiment...

But the offensive is underway and going well, and the radio is full of calls for victory, right?

The continuous victories along the way made the fox with a sly smile on his face look like he was going to pay New Year's greetings to the chicken.

I looked at the watch and it was past midnight. It was already August 23. We had already broken through 15 kilometers of the British front line!

We can reach this position now, and it looks like we will be able to break into the British second line of defense by tomorrow morning!

By then, I can... hehehe~!

……?

--------

Twenty kilometers away, on the British second line of defense, Auchinleck, with a calm expression, was lying leisurely on a recliner next to a mammoth command RV of the same model as Rommel's, listening to his subordinates who came over from time to time to report the battle situation to him.

The temperature in the hot desert had not yet cooled down. Auchinleck was holding a fan in his hand, fanning himself slowly, watching the Australian troops withdrawing one after another in front of him...

Even though he saw the Australian troops evacuating one after another and looking in a mess, Auchinleck didn't care at all. Because right beside him, the Australians who were evacuating didn't look panicked at all, but quickly found the officer in charge in an open space and started to regroup!

Because this was a complete feint of defeat.

It was just to set a trap for the fox.

Just behind Auchinleck's RV, on the other side of the Australian 120th Division's assembly field, neatly lined up under the camouflage nets in the desert were 152 tanks from the British st Armored Division and the th Armored Division! Nearly officers and soldiers! And mm heavy artillery from all three heavy artillery regiments of the British Army in the Middle East-North Africa theater!

Although heavy artillery could not accurately hit tank units in motion, and the existing British tanks could not penetrate the frontal defense of the German Type 4 tanks, but this terrifying number and absolute superiority in manpower...

"Rommel, you are too impatient. If you defend on the spot and wait for reinforcements, I think it will take some effort to break through your defense. But in a field battle, you won't be able to withstand the overwhelming force I have, no matter the pressure of the attack or the length of the battle line! ... But then again, if I were in your shoes, I'm afraid I would attack recklessly like you, right?"

Listening to his subordinates' reports from time to time, thinking about the situation on the battlefield, and seeing through Rommel's true colors, Auchinleck waved his fan and sighed leisurely:

"As expected, the true way of a general is to ensure that you don't fail, and then seek victory, rather than fighting desperately... Rommel, you are also a great general. With such a small force, you can fight from Tobruk all the way to El Alamein... But if you want to blame someone, blame your lack of logistics and your national disadvantage. In addition, you are just a general on the front line after all. You can't see through your leader's strategy of attacking Russia. You are actually just a supporting battlefield..."

At this moment, the latest battle report reached the Auchinleck Commander...

"Report to the Admiral, the rear guard brigade of the 6th Australian Division has attracted Rommel's troops as planned. Rommel's vanguard is now only five kilometers away from us! Can we start a counterattack?"

"Counterattack! We must show enough respect and attention to a brave general like Rommel. Although he doesn't have many soldiers, his weapons are of better quality than ours. If he really gets angry, it will be a headache for us - remember to take steady steps and don't give him a chance to counterattack! Launch a counterattack according to the plan!!"

"clear!!"

Following Auchinleck's order, the British heavy troops that were ready to go burst out with terrifying battlefield potential energy like a flood that had been opened!

The sky was filled with artillery fire, covering the head of the African Corps, which had been so complacent before!

The powerful forces of the two British armored divisions surrounded Rommel's attack from the front and flanks in a standard wedge attack! Even the Australian division, which had pretended to be defeated before, began to turn defense into offense and launched a diversionary attack from the southern line of the fox! The right wing of the African Corps, which had been so proud of its strength before, was nailed to the spot!

"Legion Commander! Watch out for the artillery fire!!"

A staff officer desperately pushed Rommel into a bomb crater and then fell on the fox's back.

In the next second, there were several explosions! When Rommel climbed up from under the staff officer, under the flash of artillery fire, he could vaguely see that the staff officer's entire back had been blown open, with bones visible and blood and flesh blurred...

The British artillery bombardment seemed to have shifted its target. Rommel took a deep breath and looked around the battlefield.

Several vehicles of the headquarters suffered heavy losses. Even their own Mammoth Armored Command RV had shrapnel from a 152mm heavy artillery shell hit its engine compartment, completely paralyzed in the battlefield where bullets were flying in the rain!

The headquarters also suffered heavy casualties. Only the chief of staff and three or four staff officers were left. They unloaded the two intact radios left in the car, and were holding a map bag and a code book in their hands, trying to find which bomb crater would be more suitable as a shelter...

Around him, the tank troops that had been so arrogant before were now in a tough fight! From time to time, shells with colorful tracers would hit the armor of his tanks! Although the 60mm thick and 60-degree inclined armor of the modified Panzer IV tank was invincible from the front, the sides and back would be destroyed if hit!

Fortunately, the German tank troops were well-trained and quickly changed their formation from the previous attacking wedge formation to a defensive ring formation. But the Italians on both wings of the team were in trouble... After all, their quality was not as good as that of the German army. The 12-ton Carlo Amato light tank was no match for the British tanks. Even the British infantry's 76.2-pound ( mm) howitzer, even if it fired a grenade, could easily paralyze this riveted thin steel tank!

Although the Littorio and Areate divisions were the elite of the Italian Blackshirt Army and were still struggling, there was no doubt that without reinforcements, defeat was only a matter of time!

He rolled from his own shell hole to the shell hole of the chief of staff and his men, grabbed his fallen hat, and roared in the deafening sound of artillery fire, "Chief of Staff! What's the situation now? Does the 15th Armored Division behind want them to come up?"

"Report to the corps commander!" The chief of staff also shouted: "The 90th Indian Division has also counterattacked in El Alamein, and it seems that there are tanks! ... The 15th Light Division and the Trento Division are a bit overwhelmed, and the British have begun to attack the village of Der Aisha! Now the th Armored Division has pushed forward on its own! ... This is the situation, please give your instructions!"

"Del Aishya Village?!" Fox was also a little stunned. After a long while, he slowly said, "Well, the 15th Armored Division did a great job... If the British had taken down Del Aishya Village, we would have been completely cut off and surrounded... Chief of Staff! Where are the Italian Trieste Division and the Grati Heavy Artillery Regiment? Can they be pulled out?"

"The Trieste Division is now guarding Mount Roisat, which is also our flank barrier. I'm afraid it can't be moved... But the Grati Heavy Artillery Regiment can be mobilized, but they are artillery...?"

"Artillery is artillery! I can't care about so much! We have to take our share of firepower!" Fox also gritted his teeth and said fiercely: "Give them the six 6mm howitzers seized from the Australians before, and let the Grati Heavy Artillery Regiment bombard the British on our left wing! In addition, let the main force of the 105st Armored Division move closer to the Areete Division on the left wing, and send another anti-tank artillery company to support the Litrio Division! - Forget it, I'll call the Air Force and the Navy and ask them to support us as soon as possible! I'll go find the 21st Armored Division as well! ... There are two radios here, you take one, and take the Air Force liaison officer with you! Go to the Litrio Division in person to supervise the battle! I don't ask them to hold on to the British in the south, but at least they must be held back! Let's deal with the British on the northern flank first! Do you understand!!"

"Yes! I promise to complete the mission!!" The chief of staff did not say more, only a promise, a silent salute, turned around and took a communications staff and an air force liaison officer, holding a code book, grabbing a map bag, carrying a radio, holding a machine gun, silently but without looking back, climbed onto a usable three-wheeled motorcycle, and soon disappeared in the particularly chaotic and dazzling artillery fire in the dark night, trailing a cloud of dust. It seemed to be the direction of the anti-tank anti-artillery position...

Behind him, the desert fox saluted solemnly and watched the chief of staff go away. When the chief of staff disappeared, the fox put away the salute, grabbed the submachine gun in his hand, and called the headquarters' entourage to organize the team. After shouting a few words to boost morale, Rommel waved his hand and began to move towards the tank unit of the 21st Armored Division.

------

Two hundred kilometers away in the Mediterranean, the German Mediterranean Fleet has already joined up with the Italian Seventh Cruiser Fleet and is sailing in the dark night of the Mediterranean...

The crescent moon on the eastern horizon was so dim that it was barely a ray of light. Its dim light could no longer dispel the darkness that had enveloped the Mediterranean Sea at night. The dark sea and the solemnity of the war made people feel uncomfortable, with a heavy, depressing and murderous atmosphere.

Bismarck was very familiar with this kind of atmosphere, he just didn't like it.

No one spoke on the bridge. Everyone was in the highest state of combat readiness. Bismarck stood quietly behind Lütjens. Although his eyes were looking forward, his attention was all on other places.

Finally there is news.

"Captain! Urgent telegram from the Afrika Korps!"

In the command room of the battleship Bismarck, an encrypted telegram was quickly typed out from the hands of the decoder in the telegraph room, and passed through Bismarck's claws to Lütjens' hands. Bismarck watched his captain quickly scan the telegram paper, and when he looked up again, his originally stern face was already full of gloom!

It seems that the situation is not very good.

"Captain, what's wrong?" Bismarck asked carefully.

"Something big has happened to the African Corps! They have fallen into an ambush by the British south of Mount Alanhafa and are now fighting hard and in urgent need of support!"

Lütjens said gloomily while glancing at the clock on the wall...

Urgent support is needed, which means urgent support from naval artillery.

It is now one o'clock in the morning of August 23rd, and there are still four and a half hours until dawn. Taking into account the possible shoals near Alamein, it will take about three and a half hours to four hours to arrive and help the African Corps stabilize the front before dawn.

However, Alamein is a dead end like a bay, and it is close to Alexandria... Xian's whereabouts in the British Mediterranean Fleet are unknown. What if there is a minefield inside, and then the British block it...

Lütjens was also worried that if it was blocked, not only would he be unable to help the African Corps, but even his own fleet would be destroyed in it. Although minesweeping was possible, it would take time.

However, if we don't provide support, the African Corps will not be able to hold out. If the British can attack better during the day, the entire North African war situation will completely collapse, and then it will be terrible...

After thinking it over, Lütjens still couldn't make up his mind...

"Captain, what's the matter?" Bismarck asked.

From the time he received the news until now, Lütjens has not reacted much, and the fleet is still moving forward on its original course. This sounds abnormal, and at least there must be an order.

Lütjens glanced at her and said, "There are two choices now. What do you think?"

"What choice?"

Lütjens quickly outlined the two options.

"Support Rommel." Bismarck said only one sentence.

"If the African battlefield collapses, we will be trapped in the Mediterranean. It seems that there is no difference between the two." Bismarck was referring to the fate of the fleet.

"If the army tells the head of state that we have no support, the consequences will be bad."

After all, they still have to fight. Bismarck has seen many things like mines. At worst, he can just let Tirpitz run ahead.

In fact, Lütjens was also inclined to support, and Bismarck's words were just a repetition of his thoughts.

"Very good, then go ahead."

"Inform Tizi and Zeppelin, and send light signals to General Dazzara and Haye at the same time. We will act separately! General Dazzara's Duke of Abruzzi light cruiser with four destroyers will follow Zeppelin under the command of Bonte. In addition, Bonte must ensure that the main aircraft group is sent to El Alamein at dawn! The light cruisers Duke of Aosta and Prince Eugen, with two destroyers, will come with me to reinforce the African Corps!!" After hearing Bismarck's persuasion, Lütjens also made up his mind!

"No matter how great the risk and casualties, we must protect the Afrika Korps!!"

"Yes!!"

Chapter 449: Planes and Cannons Speak

(Character setting)

General Erwin Rommel, commander of the German Afrika Korps

talent:

Continuous Kill: Attack! Attack! A march of 700 miles in 15 days, sweeping through thousands of troops like a whirlwind! The enemy has collapsed! Keep attacking!! (When you defeat an enemy unit, you can immediately proceed to the next battle. The logistics cost will increase, the fatigue of the troops will increase, and the extra casualties of the troops will increase, but you can accumulate battlefield advantages infinitely by continuously attacking and defeating the enemy!)

Fight to the bitter end: As long as there are people, there is hope! Even if there is only one soldier left, I will never give up! ! (Maintain combat effectiveness and attack power even when the troops are absolutely inferior!)

(Character setting)

General Claude Auchinleck, commander of the British Middle East-North Africa Theater

talent:

See through: Humph, this little trick may fool others, but it can't fool me! (Regular troop movements, feints, and tricks like the false attack can't fool the sharp eyes, and will only waste the energy of deployment and the opportunity that will never come back!)

Speedy attack: The way to use troops should be as formless as the wind and as unpredictable as the clouds. Attacks that are not restricted by old conventions and rules will make the enemy lose sight of the big picture! (The attack method is more flexible. All places on the battle line may be attack points, but they may also be feint points! Where to attack mainly and where to feint? The key to using it lies in one's heart...)

In the sky over El Alamein, HE-111 bombers were using flares to illuminate and bomb the British troops on land with all their might. BF-110 night fighters were also desperately trying to drive away the British aircraft, fighting to the death in the sky where the only remaining ground troops needed protection...

The Desert Fox is worthy of being a famous attacking general in the history of World War II. Even with an absolutely inferior force and being besieged on all sides, Rommel could not give up the idea of ​​attacking!

Rommel, who refused to give up, sent out supervision teams and ordered the Blackshirt Armored Divisions of Littorio and Areet to grit their teeth and hold out against the British attack. He also ordered the engineer brigade and anti-tank artillery to rely on the minefields quickly laid by engineer vehicles on the center line to block the British armored divisions in the center line under the cover of darkness. Rommel himself led the most powerful 21st Armored Division and began to use the cover of darkness and the artillery support of 31 large-caliber howitzers of the Grati Heavy Artillery Regiment to counterattack the British flank from the junction of the 1st Armored Division and the 7th Armored Division despite being attacked from all sides.