Bismarck

"Rainbow, it's time to fire the smoke bomb." In the command room of the battleship Tirpitz, Lindemann patted the cute pink-haired head of the hamster beside him. Seeing that she didn't react, he simply pulled her hair.

“…I know, I know…it hurts.”

"I hate Lindemann the most!" The little hamster, groaning in pain, slapped Lindemann's dirty hands away.

Then, several rounds of long-planned smoke bombs, with the little temper of a hamster, hit the front of the British position accurately.

Just as the smoke screen had just enveloped the British position, a loud bang suddenly came from the coast. On the seashore in front of the beachhead, a large number of wooden stakes, barbed wire, triangular iron spikes and other things flew everywhere.

The explosive packs of the underwater demolition team blew several large holes in the British underwater obstacles, which were originally arranged at a relatively high density, along with the mines.

When the smoke and splashes of the explosion dissipated, the assault boats and fishing boats of the landing troops, ignoring the threat from the British firepower points that had begun to frantically fire at the entire beach, began to rush towards the explosion sites.

Only these few holes can ensure that the ship will not be sunk by a sharpened wooden stake with iron sheet on the eve of hitting the beach. The reason why landing must be done during the day is that only during the day with clear vision can we see clearly which blasting points are.

But the British troops obscured by the smoke could only rely on blind shooting.

And here, there is also a Bismarck, commanding three Italian light cruisers and six destroyers, and is seizing the British firing points and starting to call out their names one by one.

Don't worry, everyone will click on it.

Following Lütjens's eye signal, the Persian cat also took a careful look at the beach where the explosion had been completed in its own perception.

Well, no problem. It seems that the Italian Underwater Special Demolition Team has pretty good technology, right?

After all, he is the guy who blew up two British battleships in history...

Although it seems that they taught the British blasting technology, and then the British turned around and injured their own sister in a bombing?

Oh, poor Tirpitz.

But in this time and space, she is much more comfortable and can eat and sleep all day long.

Even though this was just an event in the "original" history, Bismarck, as an elder sister, felt a little uncomfortable when she thought of her sister being injured.

"Damn it."

The Persian cat couldn't be happy, so he decided to vent his frustration on these British people.

Just below the Montazah Palace, near the Mediterranean Sea, on the picturesque beach, one assault boat after another began to run aground on the muddy beach after the tide receded. The well-trained San Marco Marines jumped off the assault boats that had become sitting ducks, and staggered in the mud that was almost up to half their calves, charging towards the Montazah Palace. Later, on those fishing boats that were also a circle larger than the assault boats, the Italian artillerymen began to use a small crane to lift the 47mm anti-tank guns tied to simple mud skids and the shell boxes to the muddy sand, and then began to drag them towards the shore by manpower.

This was originally the most vulnerable time for the landing troops. After all, being unable to move is a desperate situation for humans. Under the firepower from the shore, the people on the beach could only pray for their luck in the face of the spitting flames.

Luck is also very important.

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"Damn you British, don't expect too much since I'm here to direct the artillery support..."

With the artillery support of a Persian cat that was "historically" irritated and depressed, the extremely luxurious Montazah Palace, which was only 500 meters away from the beach, and the surrounding royal garden buildings and scenic belts that had been converted into various trenches and bunkers were instantly submerged in the continuous roar of artillery fire and flames of explosions.

Just as the explosion disappeared, the Italian soldiers of the San Martin Marines, armed with Carcano M1938 7.35MM rifles and Beretta M1938A submachine guns, and under the cover of fire from Breda 8mm heavy machine guns and 45mm indirect fire guns mounted on fishing boats, rushed from the muddy beach, through the minefields and barbed wire roadblocks that had been flattened by artillery fire, and waving engineering shovels and M35 grenades, rushed into the British positions that had been completely blinded by the smoke and gunpowder blown by the sea breeze.

In front of the St. Mark's Marines, whose training level is enough to compete with the SAS and whose fighting will is enough to compete with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps with bayonets, it is probably a very profound question how much combat performance the British troops, who are dazed by the artillery fire and completely blinded by the smoke, can still exert.

Not to mention, many of the backbones on the battlefield are the Egyptian Royal Guards whose morale is already extremely low...

A British garrison brigade on Aboukir's side was trembling under the suppression of Tizi's 380 heavy artillery. They didn't even dare to assemble openly, and were still struggling to connect in groups of three or five.

Although the barracks and fortresses could still provide strong cover, even the caves could not be penetrated by 380mm high-explosive bombs.

But...it also needs to be organized.

The threat posed by the brigade at Fort Aboukir to the landing operation seems to be less than the threat posed by the flanking fire points on the Tea Island.

Half an hour after landing, a Union Jack was torn down from the top of the Montazah Palace, which had been almost reduced to ruins, and fell to the ground in the melodious sea breeze and pungent smoke.

The first phase of the Montaza landing mission was completed.

ps: 6000 words

Chapter 515: Fainted...

"Calling command, calling command, this is the San Marco Marines!"

"We have captured the Montazah Palace and several beaches around here. They have now retreated to the bunker complex in the Montazah Palace gardens and in the direction of the town of Mamula..."

"The tunnels and air-raid shelters in the palace? Just now, a few Egyptian Royal Guards prisoners pointed out a few tunnels to us, and we are sending people to watch them. Our army is making good progress so far, and we have captured more than 20 British and more than 50 Egyptians... What? Casualties? General, don't worry, the casualties so far are less than two squads!"

"...We are now expanding our victory. Cha Island has been suppressed by our firepower. We are organizing assault boats to bypass the front and land from their side and rear. As long as we take Cha Island, the second echelon in the rear can land in Montaza Bay... The problem is that we don't have enough troops now. If we want to expand our victory, we must quickly send in the second echelon."

"Continue to expand? No need to defend the rear? Take over the tea island within half an hour? Okay, I understand. I will ensure that the mission is completed!"

The radio station of the Mediterranean Fleet Command, which was converted from the navigation bridge of the Duke of Abruzzi cruiser, only heard the victory report in an Italian accent. Lütjens, Dazzara, Bismarck, and the surrounding staff all smiled when they heard the victory report from the front.

The start was extremely smooth, so of course everyone was in a good mood.

Although there are still many things to do next...

After all, the Saint Mark Marine Corps had too few troops. If they only controlled the Montazah Palace and Tea Island, it would be no problem, but it would be a bit difficult to clear the Montazah Palace Garden, which covers an area of ​​1200 to hectares. And if they also wanted to occupy the town of Mamura near Montazah, which could directly cut off the road and railway to the Alexandria Port, even with the support of naval guns, it would not be something that only people could do.

After all, it still requires some manpower to ensure the density of troops to stably occupy the positions after deployment.

Moreover, Abu Qir has a brigade of British troops hiding in the bunker, and they are still trying to gather secretly and then counterattack. The British troops retreating from Montazah Palace are forcing the Egyptian Royal Guards to stay behind to cover their retreat, and are also heading towards Alexandria and Mamura...

There is a time limit for a breakthrough. If you fail to make the most of the chaos of the enemy's broken defense, once the enemy has a chance to catch his breath, the entire breakthrough will be ruined.

And now, the biggest problem of the San Marco Marines is that they don't have enough troops.

The radio operator selected a channel and just as he indicated to tune the frequency, he saw a big hand instantly pick up the radio microphone. Before he could look up, he heard Lütjens calling out in a loud voice into the microphone.

"Haye, this is Lütjens. Where is the second echelon? Tell them to land immediately!"

"The second echelon is ten kilometers away from the beach... I'm going to ask them to speed up and land quickly!"

"We need troops to expand the battlefield, hurry up!" After Lütjens shouted the order, he hung up the receiver and looked at the map table. Several army staff officers borrowed from Rommel were marking battlefield information on the map.

Although the military branches were different, the most basic tactical theories were something he had to learn when he was a cadet at the Naval Academy. Moreover, he was also familiar with the basic environment of the battlefield.

Abu Qir's fort and barracks are only 1,500 meters away from the town of Mamura.

Although it is an open area, the terrain here has been introduced by the Army staff. The area within two or three kilometers along the coast is open, and the soil is also hard saline-alkali soil, which is enough for tanks to pass. In addition, the dense saxaul forests in this area can also provide cover for personnel activities.

If there is a saxaul forest at 1,500 meters to cover the operation...it won't be easy to send more troops.

It seems that we can only take Mamula Town while they are still unstable, and we need to make special preparations to block the artillery fire on the open areas of the saxaul forest in this area...

Seeing that the Italian Navy's Dazzara and his headquarters were there, Lütjens did not dare to ask Bismarck to turn on the WiFi. Instead, he lowered his head and said to the radio operator, "Connect me to the Tirpitz and find Lindemann."

"Yes!"

"Zeppelin reports to the commander. The British air raid fleet has been intercepted!"

"Marines report! Tea Island has been controlled by our army, and we can land in Montaza Bay!"

"Commander, this is Haye. The two infantry companies of the second echelon have now landed at Montaza Palace and Montaza Bay, and are heading to the town of Mamula to reinforce the Italian allies. The 105 mountain howitzers and 50mm anti-tank guns carried by the fleet are now being unloaded."

"This is the first echelon of the fleet. We have evacuated the beach and are preparing to return to Alexandria to pick up follow-up troops and supplies as planned."

"This is Mamula Village...Requesting naval artillery support!"

"The British are coming... Oh my God, they have tanks, they are... Churchill heavy tanks! It's urgent. Request naval artillery support (bombardment)..."

The front-line artillery observation post, who was calling for artillery support, had not finished a sentence when he saw a deafening explosion covering the British army's skirmish line. After the smoke of the artillery fire dissipated, the confused observation post saw only broken limbs and various tank parts on the ground. There was even a Churchill tank that was directly flipped over by the huge explosion, lying on its side at 90 degrees, rolling in the ditch on the side of the road...

Meanwhile, next to the large hamster's fire control device...

"Victory, happy?"

The cute little deep-sea hamster raised its head lazily, showing an expression that said "please treat me to something delicious quickly", and stretched out its little paws towards Lindman.

Looking at the empty snack bag in his hand, and then at the small pink-haired hamster looking at him, Lindman was speechless and could only laugh. He touched Grape's soft pink fur and said, "Hehehe, you're doing well. Keep it up..."

"Humph~"

He turned his head and rolled his eyes. Then, in the British army that was retreating in a panic, a round of German 150mm artillery fire came directly into the British army, carrying the temper of a big hamster, and the firepower coverage exploded instantly...

Lindman, who was looking at the battlefield through the telescope, was confused: How could this girl be so proactive when she has nothing to eat?

So what did I do with all the money I earned from buying snacks? Did I feed it all to the hamster?

"I know you have no money, so I'll owe you now. Let me make it clear, Lindeman. I'm such a good fighter. When we defeat Alexander, if you don't treat me to something delicious... Hehe, be careful or I won't want you anymore."

Shenhai Beizhai, with his back to him, stretched out his little paws and clenched his fists, with a look of disgust.

Lindemann was so angry that he just wanted to shout on the spot: "Kitchen crew, tear up a hamster for me at noon today!" - If I can tear up 20,000 tons of armored steel and 20,000 tons of structural steel under 160,000 horsepower, do you think I dare to shout?

...The dividing line of Lindemann torn apart by the hamster's hands...

Even though the distance from the west port of Alexandria to the Montazah Palace is only 30 kilometers, the route is nautical miles long. At the speed of civilian ships and fishing boats, it takes three hours to make a one-way trip.

But even so, in the face of the fierce artillery fire from the battleship Tirpitz and the Italian cruisers, the British troops in both directions, whether in the Aboukir Barracks or the city of Alexandria, had no way to fight back.

Aboukir had only one garrison brigade, and Alexandria, with its 20,000 men, was already overwhelmed…

Just as the British forces at the Montazah Palace were engaged in a tough battle, the British forces at the Alexandria Airport were also attacked by Rommel.

With the reinforcements arriving, Rommel completely recovered the fighting power that had swept through the North African desert like a whirlwind.

The Royal Air Force under Arthur Tedder, which had suffered heavy losses, was also doing its best to bomb the fleets and troops of the German and Italian armies, trying to reinforce the ground operations that were already being distracted.

But...if you focus on one thing while neglecting another, what effect can the overwhelmed passive defense have?

The Australian 6th Division had just been pushed forward in the desert, relying on dozens of anti-tank guns to barely stabilize the front line, but here Rommel started a two-pronged attack at Alexandria Airport and Montazah Palace, and both achieved breakthroughs.

The British troops in Alexandria had lost more than half of their troops. The three divisions with a nominal strength of 42,000 men now had only 20,000 remnants. After a month of hard fighting, food, ammunition, medicine, heavy weapons, etc. had all run out. There was no way to fight against the African Corps and the Axis Mediterranean Fleet, which were attacking from both sides at the same time.

In front of the African Corps, which had recovered its strength with the arrival of reinforcements and was full of anger, even though Litchi had dragged out the 234mm railway gun, the most precious weapon in his hand and the most dangerous one under the iron wing of the German Air Force, he was still unable to resist.

Not only were the three British divisions in the city in danger, but even the three rescue divisions that were caught in a dilemma in the swamps of the village of Dawar outside the city were shocked to find that the enemy had also appeared in the swamps behind them.

Moreover, the ones who appeared this time were actually cavalry.

The German SS Cavalry Brigade? The Italian 3rd Savoy Cavalry Regiment? The commander was German Cavalry Major General Otto Fegelein? And they used the tactics of maneuvering on horseback, charging on foot, and coordinating infantry and cavalry, and could move freely in the swamp?

What is this ghost?

Holding the few pieces of intelligence in his hands, Li Teqi felt like he was going crazy.

However, if there really were more than 6,000 cavalrymen who were suitable for fighting in swamps and infiltrated their flanks and rear...

Li Teqi suddenly felt a chill on his back.

Although there are still more than 30,000 people in the three divisions here, and some lightly armored troops, but... the battle line here is too long.

They could not abandon the 20,000 defenders in Alexandria who were almost surrounded, and they could not arrange troops to defend the flanks and supply lines.

Now that the main force of the armored troops on the southern front has been repelled, their last reserve, the Australian 6th Division, has already reached the other side of the desert on the southern front!

There are no troops available now! If we don't react, our logistics will be cut off by the cavalry, which will be really bad.

however…

Before the sweaty Li Teqi could come up with a solution, several deafening explosions were heard outside. Under the impact of the violent explosion, even the ground was shaking like an earthquake.

Li Teqi, who was standing unsteadily, was almost shaken to the ground.

"Someone, go and find out what the report just now is about."

Li Teqi, who finally stood firm, shouted angrily. Not long after, a panicked officer ran in, covering his hat with a sad face:

"Report... Report to the Commander... The railway gun position... was bombed by a German dive bomber... The ammunition depot... Commander?! Commander?!"

Upon hearing the tragic news that the railway gun had been blown up, before the officer could finish speaking, Li Teqi, who was already furious, felt his eyes go dark, and he passed out with dizziness...

ps: Here’s a picture.

Chapter 516: Moscow in September

Moscow at the end of September was as rainy and gloomy as Stalin's mood...

"Comrade General Secretary, the Kharkov counterattack has failed... Although the counterattack forces organized by Marshal Timoshenko have rushed into the center of Kharkov and were just a little bit away from cutting off the retreat of the fascist Guderian Army, but... the fascist Manstein Army suddenly turned towards Kharkov, and we... we are short of troops and cannot withstand the attack of the two armies of Manstein and Guderian... We are now organizing defense in Kharkov and Donetsk..."

Looking at the Chief of General Staff Marshal Vasilevsky, who was reporting the failed battle to him with his head down, Stalin felt helpless even though he had a heart as hard as steel.

There is no way, there is indeed a shortage of troops.

Although the German fascists were treacherous and launched a sudden attack without declaration of war, the scale of their forces was astonishingly large.

Although many of them were reservists recruited to tap their potential, the size of the force was indeed much stronger than expected, and heavy weapons such as aircraft, tanks, and artillery were even twice as strong as expected. Even in terms of logistics, according to the intelligence they had, the Germans were also integrating the industrial capacity of France and the Low Countries, and seemed to have set up an Eastern Front Logistics Command, including the German Railway and the Eastern Railway, and also gathered 32 engineering divisions and more than 56,000 vehicles, with a general in charge of logistics dispatch.

According to the information from the French Communist Resistance Organization, after Hitler transferred the ruthless Gestapo chief Heydrich from Czechoslovakia to France to serve as the governor of the occupied zone, several major automobile manufacturers found it difficult to carry out strikes and slowdowns under the strict orders of the German Military Control Commission and the supervision of the garrison and secret agents. Even though the French Communist Party was delaying and sabotaging as much as possible, the automobile production of these companies continued to increase.