The decisive battle against the Third Reich

The result of this encounter was that the British 9th Armored Regiment no longer existed as a combat force...

Colonel Gale, the commander of the British 9th Armored Regiment, was killed on the spot. Several German soldiers found his body in a destroyed "Mengma" armored command vehicle. Also killed with him were his commanders. department and radio station.

From this point of view, although the "Mengma" armored command vehicle is comfortable, it is not safe on the battlefield. The main reason is that its appearance is very different from the "Matador" car, and German soldiers can recognize it at a glance. And notified the tank to destroy it... The German armor-piercing high-explosive bomb was not useless. After it penetrated it, it could explode inside the armored vehicle, so none of the officers inside were spared.

After losing the radio station and headquarters, although some tanks and cars of the British 9th Armored Regiment escaped, they were unable to contact their superiors. Driven by fear, they were at a loss and fled along the original route. British defense line.

The 9th Armored Regiment was defeated silently. They didn't even have time to report to General Auchinleck, so they became the first domino to overwhelm the "Crusader" plan...

At this time, the British frontline commander, Lieutenant General Cunningham, commander of the Eighth Army, thought that the 9th Armored Regiment was still on its way to the back of Halfa's teeth, so other parts continued as planned.

Regarding the loss of contact with the 9th Armored Regiment, Lieutenant General Cunningham thought it was just radio silence from the 9th Armored Regiment. It was not until three hours later that the deserters of the 9th Armored Regiment met with the follow-up troops that Lieutenant General Cunningham learned the real situation. …

"What? The 9th Armored Regiment has been defeated?" Lieutenant General Cunningham couldn't help being shocked: "How is this possible?!"

"General, it's absolutely true!" the staff officer said: "They were fiercely attacked by the main German armored division, and only 9 tanks and more than 500 infantrymen escaped!"

In the military, it is taboo to use vague statements such as "the main armored division of the German army" in reports. Under normal circumstances, the enemy's designation will be specified in detail. But under the circumstances at the time, the British army did not even know which German army they encountered, so they could only report it like this.

"How many tanks does the enemy have? How many troops are there? In which direction are they moving?" Lieutenant General Cunningham asked a series of questions anxiously.

The staff officer shook his head helplessly: "They know nothing about the enemy's situation, but their guess is that they are moving towards the Gabusali defense line!"

The Gabshali Defense Line was the right wing of the German defense line, where the British army built a line of defense.

"Damn it!" Lieutenant General Cunningham cursed, and then immediately ordered: "Order the 1st South African Division to prepare for battle and block the enemy's attack no matter what! In addition, order the 22nd Armored Regiment to immediately reinforce the Gabusali defense line !”

"yes!"

Lieutenant General Cunningham does have the necessary nervousness. There is a saying in the military: "One careless move and you lose everything!"

The 9th Armored Regiment was originally a clever move. It could attack the Halfa Gate from both sides and make the British 13th Army, which was attacking on the frontal defense line, press down like a flood that broke a dike.

But who would have thought that the 9th Armored Regiment not only failed to play its role, but also defeated the enemy in a single encounter, which reversed the entire situation...

If the German armored divisions arrived and captured the Gabushali Line, the entire German line would be connected, cutting off the British supply line and surrounding all British units that crossed the German line on the other side of the German line.

That's the entire 30th Army.

After thinking about it, Lieutenant General Cunningham ordered again: "The 8th Armored Regiment... bring them back immediately!"

The mission of the 8th Armored Regiment is to attack Tobruk and contain the Italian troops stationed in Tobruk so that they cannot reinforce the Halfa Pass defense line. Now that the 9th Armored Regiment has been destroyed, the mission of the 8th Armored Regiment has also lost its meaning. . ,

But the staff officer replied with a telegram: "General, the 8th Armored Regiment has launched an attack on Tobruk!"

Lieutenant General Cunningham couldn't help feeling bitter after hearing this. He didn't dare to move back easily after launching the attack, because this would mean exposing his position, and he would be easily ambushed by the enemy on the way back.

After thinking about it, Lieutenant General Cunningham ordered: "Order the 7th Armored Brigade to move closer to the Gabusali defense line immediately!"

"Yes!" the staff officer responded.

This order also meant that the 7th Armored Brigade was running back and forth on the road doing useless work.

Just when Lieutenant General Cunningham had arranged all this and wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, a communications soldier reported: "General, the Gabusali Defense Line has been attacked by the German army!"

Lieutenant General Cunningham couldn't help but look pale. The German army had arrived at the Gabusali defense line so quickly.

"Order General Alger to hold the Gabusali defense line!" Lieutenant General Cunningham ordered: "Reinforcements will arrive in two hours!"

"yes!"

It was the 21st Armored Division that rushed to the Gabusali defense line.

Compared with the British army, which was dispersed into several troops here, a regiment and a regiment there, the deployment of the German army was very simple. They were a defense line and a base camp.

The defense line is the Halfa Gate defense line, and the base camp is Tobruk.

Two armored divisions, the 15th and 21st Armored Divisions, serve as mobile units.

Among them, the 15th Armored Division is mainly used for maneuvers on the defense line. They rush to wherever the British army is about to break through or reinforcements are needed.

The 21st Armored Division was used as a mobile defense on the right wing... The German army had too few troops and they could not build a line of defense without gaps, so they could only use this method of mobile defense.

The German army's combat plan was also very simple. When it discovered that there was enemy activity in the gap on the right wing, it would go straight to the front line and eliminate all enemies that crossed the defense line.

The battlefield is sometimes like this. The simpler the plan, the more effective it will be. The more complex the plan, the more chaotic it will be. Even if there is a problem in one link, the entire plan will be disrupted.

In this battle, the German army was obviously the former, and the British army was the latter.

An accident that occurred was that the path of the German 21st Armored Division to the battlefield overlapped with the advancing route of the British 9th Armored Regiment, and they met at a point... So the British Army's entire plan was disrupted. .

The result of this is that although the total strength of the British army is much larger than that of the German army, the German army always has a strength advantage in every local battlefield and can quickly defeat the British army.

For example, on the Gabusali Line of Defense, the British army only had one South African 1st Division, whose combat effectiveness was far from elegant, and an armored battalion equipped with 80 "Valentin" tanks.

If there is any equipment worth mentioning, it is the nine surviving "Stuart" tanks of the 9th Armored Regiment.