Bismarck

And now, the combat-ready 164th Division and the 90th Light Division only have more than people and less than tanks...

Even though the 200 transport planes under Marshal Kesselring and the light warships of the Italian Navy were constantly transporting reinforcements to themselves, the supply team that had been dragged along the entire North African coastal highway was also rushing day and night to converge here...

However, we can’t sustain such consumption now!

Even in the main direction of their own

In a megacity with a population of millions and a total length of 20 kilometers, fighting for control of the city with more than 25,000 British troops from three divisions... It's a headache just thinking about it!

If it weren't for the fact that Admiral Lütjens's German War Navy Mediterranean Fleet, at the cost of two main battleships being seriously injured and hospitalized, had seized the Mediterranean Sea control from Cunningham, allowing him to obtain two major boosts: sea transportation supplies and naval gun support, and at the same time, he also encircled the supplies of the German Air Force, causing the air forces of both sides to basically fight each other, I would not have the courage to fight such a hell of a place! !

However, I can't show it in front of my subordinates!

If the subordinates think that they have lost confidence, their morale will probably collapse...

This can't go on like this!!

Rommel gritted his teeth and decided to hold on!

"Bring out the map!"

Facing the opened map, Rommel fell into deep thought...

"... In a place like Alexandria, there are buildings along a line of more than ten kilometers, and the efficiency of artillery bombardment is very low... and the troops are separated from each other in these buildings, and it is impossible to carry out tactical coordination... In a place like this, basically, apart from luck, it's a matter of who can put more people in... They have at least 25,000 people in their three divisions and at least half an armored vehicle regiment, which is more than twice as strong as mine. If it becomes a war of attrition, I will definitely lose..."

"The whole situation now... the air forces should be fighting each other, and their bombers are a threat to our naval forces... the firepower of the ally fleet is very strong, but the supply cannot be here, it must go back to Crete, an average of five days per cycle... their reinforcements will arrive in five days at the latest, and then they should be able to gather a scale of 100,000 people...

"After five days, my army will only have 20,000 people left, only one-fifth of theirs... The road to Cairo in the south can bypass the swamps of the Nile Delta, which is convenient for large troops to deploy, so we must arrange heavy troops to guard it..."

"The British are very close to the West Port, and the port's safety is very limited. If they attack from here and hit the West Port, my shipping will be completely cut off..."

"and……"

It was a matter of decision, and after seeing the markings on the map, the fox quickly came up with an idea.

He turned his eyes away from the map and asked the Chief of Staff, Admiral Nelin, "Chief of Staff, please tell me what our current situation is."

"Reporting to the Corps Commander, we are now... the 164th Division and the 90th Light Division here are attacking the city of Alexandria according to your orders... The mountains in the south are being defended by the allied Trento Division and Trieste Division, and the 15th Armored Division, 21st Armored Division and the ally Areate Armored Division that are resting can also gather more than tanks and more than people from before, and can also support the southern front in case of emergency... Currently, there are also the allied San Marco Marines, Vogel Parachute Division, and our st Parachute Brigade as the general reserve, which has not yet been mobilized! Report completed!" The chief of staff opened the memorandum and reported the situation of the African Corps to Rommel one by one.

However, Nelin is still a little worried...

"Commander, the 1st Paratrooper Brigade, the Vogel Paratrooper Division, and the San Marco Marines have a total of 9,000 people. Putting so many troops in the rear...isn't our efficiency in using our forces a little low?"

"Don't move yet! I have other plans!" Rommel shook his head and ordered: "Order the troops to stop the attack, consolidate the position, and prepare to adjust the deployment."

"Captain, do you have an idea?"

"We'll know if we have any ideas after we investigate the scene. Let's go! Let's go to the lake to look at the terrain!!"

Chapter 501: Civilians in Troubled Times

On the morning of September 8, the shores of Lake Mareotis were in chaos before dawn.

The flames of war even turned half the sky red!

“…Request the allied fleet to use naval guns to suppress the enemy’s artillery! Order the artillery and anti-aircraft guns to close in and fire! Also, order our torpedo boat units in the lake area to cover our flanks! Also, tell the troops! Small groups! Multiple routes! Attack through walls!!… What? Civilians?! There is no time to care about civilians now! What I want is combat efficiency!! Combat efficiency!!”

The commander of an African corps who was on the front line was giving orders to the chief of staff beside him with a hoarse voice amid the deafening sound of gunfire.

Although, even he himself felt that this order was somewhat inhumane...

After all, there were only less than forty-eight hours left until the reinforcements sent from the British mainland arrived at Port Said...

This area is a shantytown at the junction of urban and rural areas. Apart from a small river that serves as the boundary of the urban area and a railway on the edge of the lake not far south of the river, the rest are just large tracts of shantytowns.

Originally the poorest and most miserable people in the city, in this most remote place, built houses with earth bricks, wooden boards, iron sheets, and other strange things, which were connected together by the spider web-like alleys that formed spontaneously...

This is the last place for the poorest people in the city to survive...

However, this is also the West Port of Alexandria, the closest distance to the road and railway to the village of Dawwal in the south of Alexandria...

Although Rommel had arrived and distributed leaflets more than ten days ago, the refugees here did not have the ability to escape!

Be it the high and mighty British masters or the powerful people of the Farouk dynasty who relied on the power of others to bully others, who has ever cared about the lives of these untouchables?

Young and strong people with hands and feet have already fled their homes, but there are still many old, weak, sick and disabled people who cannot escape...

In particular, the only two roads across Lake Mareotis were already blocked by the British army's reinforcements and supplies...

The flames of war swept through the slums. The sounds of tracks and military boots echoed all around, accompanied by the sudden sound of gunfire. Bullets flew over their heads. All kinds of soldiers, holding guns, went in and out of these "sheds", completely ignoring the people here. They used everything from grenades to heavy artillery shells, and even inhumanely used anti-aircraft machine guns, wantonly abusing violence to demolish this area...

In Bismarck's perception scan, under the bed in the ramshackle shack, the terrified refugees were trembling and praying to God that they would die instantly, while cursing these European robbers with resentment...

Apparently, in their eyes, the British and the Germans are not good people...

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"…At the corner of the river, in the warehouse area of ​​Area 381, the core support point of the British army! Load the mm main gun with high-explosive shells…Parameters set! Fire!"

Sitting on the fire control director, watching civilians being caught up in the war, Bismarck felt uncomfortable at all, even though he had long been accustomed to this kind of life.

Before the reconnaissance, Bismarck had already looked at this area. In fact, there were quite a few civilians there. Those civilians were unable to escape and could only hide at home and leave their fate to God. However, homes provided no protection from these cannons.

Fighting one another and shelling civilians are two completely different experiences.

Even though she had attacked soldiers on the opposite side since the bombardment of Poland in 1939, or even since the Kristallnacht in 1938, in this cruel era, either on orders or under compulsion, killing was not an uncommon occurrence.

But...those are all enemies, and this time, the battlefield includes a considerable part of the civilian area.

Compared to land warfare, naval warfare is really much simpler. At least most of them are warships. Even civilian ships can be easily excluded. Unlike land warfare, everyone is included.

As expected, she still likes naval battles, at least there is some gentlemanly behavior.

However, soldiers in war have no right to say no. If the superiors order them to fight, they must fight. Bismarck will not be as foolish as before to question this order...

In a sense, both warring parties did not actually regard civilians as human beings. Even if no malicious massacre occurred, who knows if there would be accidental injuries?

"It seems that I haven't been completely numb from the torment of life..."

While suppressing his emotions, Bismarck calmly commanded the main guns of the battleship Veneto to fire at the British positions.

Although this was not her true body, Bismarck could not control the spread of the bombardment. But she was also trying her best to control the location of the bombardment, making the edge of her bombardment range farther away from the civilian area...

But VV's gun, well, is not her own after all, and the consequences are not something she can control.

In the sight of the Veneto, nine 381mm high-explosive bombs flew high into the sky! Then, at the highest point of the trajectory, they began to dive towards the warehouse area more than ten kilometers away, which had been converted into a core support point by the British!

The battleship Littrio, which was following closely behind her sister, also fired at the same target based on the fire control data transmitted...

A minute later, as Bismarck corrected the parameters of the bombardment, the eighteen heavy guns of the two battleships continued to pour down on the warehouse area one after another. The fierce firepower was enough to blow it into the surface of the moon!

For a moment, the warehouse area was engulfed in flames!

Taking advantage of this time, the German engineers on the other side of the ditch had already laid several simple bridge boards on the ditch using prefabricated components that were firmly nailed together. Before the bridge boards were completely laid, the commandos behind the bunkers rushed out under the cover of machine guns and smoke bombs! Under Bismarck's artillery command, the two Italian battleships quickly "real-time" switched to secondary guns with less collateral killing effects, and began to bombard the British reinforcements coming to this side on the road behind the warehouse area.

In less than 20 minutes, the warehouse area was captured by the German army! With the removal of the warehouse area, the bottleneck section of only 200 meters from the river and railway to the Mareotis Lake became unobstructed!

"The warehouse area has been occupied! The navy fought well! ... Nalin, don't hold me back! Brothers! Charge!!"

The Desert Fox, who led the charge, shook off Nelin who was trying to pull him, and jumped onto a tank. Before he even got into the turret, he was already shouting the order to attack...

At the fire control director of the battleship Veneto, Bismarck, who was in a bad mood, was suppressing his inner dissatisfaction and helplessness, trying to coordinate the naval fleet's bombardment with the most efficient and least casualties to civilians.

This was the only thing she could do... Bismarck didn't let herself go to see the battlefield again, and she didn't want to know how many innocent people were killed or injured. She did what she should do, and that was enough.

Chapter 502: Street Fighting

Looking back, in addition to the Littorio and the other two cruisers, his sister, not far away, was under the command of Lindemann, guarding against the "birds" in the sky while searching for the "fish" in the sea.

"Tirpitz's work is still the best, simple and pure...ah..."

Bismarck sighed inwardly, but continued to command the bombardment...

In fact, the opposite is true. If Tirpitz were to command the bombardment, she would definitely not feel anything at all.

After all, the child is not as sensitive to such things as she is.

However, if it was grapes that came, the innocent casualties would be even greater.

"152 secondary guns continue to suppress the surrounding British troops to prevent counterattacks! 381mm main guns, high-explosive shells, area No. , British artillery position in Xiaopingdi! Fire!"

Seeing that the bottleneck had been cleared, Bismarck immediately directed the firepower of the battleship Veneto in accordance with the provisions of the previous contract operation and began to suppress the British artillery positions. In her perception, the British, knowing that the first line of defense had been breached, began to mobilize troops to prepare for a counterattack, and the first to be pulled out and the most threatening were undoubtedly the British heavy artillery...

Heavy artillery made in Britain and the United States had just been pulled out from the shelters of the surrounding reinforced buildings. Before the British artillery could fire, shells came crashing down on them!

The heavy artillery shells that kept falling from the sky hit the British heads accurately. If the British soldiers were far away, they didn't need to dodge at all, because they would not be designed to target them at all. If they were close, it would be impossible to dodge, after all, the explosion and killing range of 380 shells was very huge.

Although she could not control the artillery dispersion of the battleship Veneto, she could adjust the artillery target of the battleship Veneto in real time!

"Luckily, the captain forced me to memorize the 380mm gun firing specifications, so I have mastered the basic knowledge and essentials of gun firing and fire control directors. Otherwise, I would not be able to operate the Italian director so quickly..."

Bismarck continued to operate the Veneto's gunnery director without saying a word, directing the artillery fire to attack the next target.

If someone were to check, the time she gave the order and the determination of the bombardment location were even earlier and more accurate than the bombardment request coming from the radio headset she had left aside...

Under the cover of Bismarck's naval guns, more than 6,000 German soldiers, supported by more than 20 tanks, began their violent demolition of the shantytowns...

"Tsk... this kind of battle..."

As a secretary ship and gunner with rich combat experience, Bismarck could not accept it emotionally. But she also knew that there were large areas of slums here, which provided some concealment for the movement of troops on both sides, but more of an obstacle...

The gaps that were torn apart by the shantytowns were filled with soldiers from both sides, infiltrating in and out of these places, relying on the cover of the shantytown buildings to cover their movements.

The attacking side is also torn apart by the terrain, and it is difficult to accurately grasp their actual position and the position of friendly forces. Unless they forcibly use artillery fire, tanks and blasting to open a path here!

Just as Rommel said about the essentials of warfare, without a certain level of combat efficiency, there is no way to make a quick breakthrough...

That is, there is a small ditch here, and the British flank support point, the warehouse area, has been occupied by the German army! In the face of the ditch and the flank firepower of the warehouse area, the British flank counterattack could not be launched, and reinforcements could only be sent from the rear of the battle line, squeezed in the narrow streets, and were blocked by the battlefield of the concentrated firepower of the German army and the Axis fleet, making it difficult to move forward!

However, the civilians hiding here were also blown to pieces and their homes were destroyed in the intensive and fierce artillery fire.

"Although I know this is the only way..."

After all, the army might be helpless, numb, or even accustomed to fighting without caring about civilian casualties, but for her in the navy, it was completely the first time...

He shook his head fiercely and continued to bombard with a stern face.

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Rommel, who was leading the assault on the shore, looked at the broken limbs and arms scattered in the shattered shantytowns, listened to the wailing of those who had not yet died in the ruins, gritted his teeth, hardened his heart, turned his head away, and no longer looked at the hell on earth that had been blown up under his orders...

There is no way, this is what the army has to face. The navy only needs to repeat the bombardment, but the army needs to engage in repeated street fighting in every street, guarding against guns and enemies that may come out from nowhere.

Fighting in a city is a psychological pressure that not everyone can bear.

Street fighting, this term is a terrifying thing for any veteran. In the complex terrain, you can never know where the enemy is hiding, and every inch of street progress will be covered with an inch of blood.

Therefore, for the safety of his men, Rommel had no choice but to blow up all the buildings to the point where no one could hide. As for the civilians inside... this is war.

What he should do is to put his soldiers first.

"…Forget it, we have to clear this area anyway…Nelin, transfer another battalion from the back and tell the clearing troops that while clearing out the British here, they should also clean up the ruins and rescue these innocent people…"

"All right……"

"Remember, you must do this when you are absolutely safe," Rommel warned.

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On the other side of the battle zone, a group of people wearing British military uniforms but speaking Arabic were searching door to door for the survivors in the shantytowns, and then hurriedly carrying them into the car...

"Nasser, the Germans are coming!"

An officer found another officer who was organizing the transfer of refugees and reported.

"Keep transporting! Retreat when it's full! These damn European guys don't care about our lives, we have to rely on ourselves!" The officer called Nasser waved his hand and said gritting his teeth.

"Okay!" The officer nodded and saluted without hesitation, and was about to turn around and leave. But at this moment, in the dawn under the flames of war, a British military off-road vehicle rushed over, and stopped beside Nasser and the officer with smoke and squeaks of brakes.

Several British officers jumped off the SUV!

"Nasser! You guys are so brave!!" The leading British soldier just jumped out of the car and walked over arrogantly and shouted: "...The Germans have come here, and you don't want to haul ammunition, but come here to do humanitarian work, right!"

"Oh? Then what about the common people here?" Nasser sneered, holding his sleeves and glancing at the British officer with a bad look on his face.

The surrounding Egyptian soldiers also began to gather in twos and threes.

"What's going on is none of my business! Egypt is a protectorate of Britain! You are an Egyptian soldier, not the Red Cross! You don't have to worry about refugees! You have to obey the overall interests of the British Empire!" Perhaps because he saw that the situation was not good, the British officer hurriedly said something harsh, turned around and jumped into the SUV and left. Before leaving, he did not forget to leave a sentence: "Follow my orders! Otherwise, you will go to the headquarters of the Egyptian Imperial Army to explain yourself!"

Seeing the British, who looked powerful but were actually weak, disappear in the war-torn night, the Egyptian soldiers turned their eyes to their leader - apparently an ordinary Egyptian officer, but in fact Nasser, the leader of the Egyptian Free Officers Organization, which was still in an underground state.

"Nasser, what now?"

"Hmph, a guy who only knows how to bully others..." Nasser snorted, and after a moment's hesitation, he said to the comrades around him: "The organization cannot be exposed yet, and we cannot give them an excuse to investigate us! ... So, the fully loaded vehicles follow me, transfer the refugees out and then go to the British military depot to load ammunition, and you take the others to continue transporting the refugees! How do you think?"