The Tenth Day of Chaos Chapter 9

  At that time, the strength of the African Legion was still very weak, with only about 560 tanks. Moreover, most of them were Type 2 and Type 3 tanks designed before the war. Thin armor, poor firepower, and slow speed. Compared to the British Matilda, it was far inferior. As Rommel said: "Before May 1942, our tank quality seemed to be better than that of the British tanks. But after that, the situation was completely different. The American-made Grant tank appeared in the summer battle for the first time, and it was undoubtedly a match for our long-barreled IV-type tank. However, when we attacked, only 4 long-barreled IV-type tanks were left, and none of them had suitable ammunition, so they couldn't participate in the battle at all. Our short-barreled IV-type tank was better than the Grant in terms of speed and mobility, but the latter had a longer range and could destroy the IV-type tank from a distance; while the former couldn't penetrate the thick armor of the American tank at the same range. Moreover, we only had 40 short-barreled IV-type tanks, while the enemy had 160 Grant tanks."

  In fact, the only thing that was much stronger than the British were the German tank tactics. The same German anti-tank measures were also much richer than those of the British. The high fighting spirit of the German army was also something that the British could not match. The British had just suffered a major defeat on the European continent, and from soldiers to generals, they were all a little intimidated by Rommel. The Germans were naturally confident in their victory over the defeated British, but this psychological advantage still couldn't be converted into an actual victory.

  In terms of individual weapons, the African Corps was not at a disadvantage. In fact, they were slightly disadvantaged, as the British-issued Lee-Enfield rifle had the fastest rate of fire among manually loaded rifles. The firepower output of individual soldiers was stronger than that of the German army. In terms of range and accuracy, the old Lee was on par with the German K98K. Although the German machine gun was one of the best all-purpose machine guns in the world, the British Bren gun was not bad either, and it was lighter and more convenient to use. In terms of mobility, it was superior to the German MG34. In fact, in the desert environment, what really played a role were artillery, air power, and tanks, and the opportunities for infantrymen to engage in face-to-face combat were rare.

  The foundation of air force is the performance of aircraft, which is where the British have an advantage. The elite of the German Air Force are fighting against the Russians on the Eastern Front. Only some second-line troops were left for the African battlefield, with few planes, less than 100 fighter jets and more than 70 bombers. The limited reconnaissance planes also had poor performance.

  In contrast, the British army, Churchill was almost desperate to keep the African lifeline, the Suez Canal is equivalent to a vital artery of Britain, and cannot afford to lose it. Therefore, in the situation where the land army could not match the German army, the British air force was not inferior to its German counterparts. They were equipped with about 240 Hurricane fighters, which had good performance, and their aerial combat capabilities were comparable to the early BF109, but they were better at ground attacks. As a result, the British air force provided stronger support for the land battle than the German army. The British supply was also much more abundant than that of Germany, and the current African corps was actually invincible. Once defeated, they would have to retreat back to Tripoli, Libya, and further retreat would only lead to the coast.

  The British had already cracked the German communication code machine, and the supposedly perfect Enigma was actually in enemy hands. The German High Command's telegrams were even seen by the British before they were received! It was also known that Rommel would need at least a month of material accumulation to launch an attack, and wait for new tanks to arrive, making it difficult for him to meet the conditions for an attack before the end of July. By then, with their naval and air superiority, they could bring in more reinforcements and crush the German army with overwhelming force.

  But they never thought that, although it was difficult to make a breakthrough in such a situation, Rommel would not sit and wait for death. Such a commander, born to be restless! He knew the British would not think he would launch an attack when unprepared! So he planned a surprise attack on the British, preparing to force an attack on the British position over 150 kilometers of front line! The current British only know how to fight positional warfare and have not yet grasped the essence of armored shock.

  Romel's plan was to feign a strong attack, create confusion, and use the Italian 10th Army to make a fake attack on the British front line, pinning down British troops. Then with armored forces making a swift breakthrough, outflanking from the south wing, infiltrating and surrounding, and striking directly at the enemy's weak points.

  Just as he was making plans and preparing to attack, a sudden event broke the pre-war calm. A massive fleet of 320 aircraft flew towards the African Corps!

  At 5:00 am on May 13, 1942, such uninvited guests appeared in the sky above Benito Fort Airport. The sharp sound of air raid sirens awakened the sleepy people before dawn. In the dark sky, it was unclear whether they were enemies or friends, only terrifying huge planes stimulated people's nerves!

  The German troops guarding the airport looked up at the sky one by one, staring at such a huge plane, and were so shocked that they almost forgot to breathe!

  The tower was calling the pilots on duty to prepare for battle, and the young men hastily put on their gear and rushed towards their planes. At the same time, the tower received a response from the large group of uninvited guests in the sky. In fact, it wasn't that they didn't respond to the tower's inquiry earlier, but rather Frau Junker's radio jammer had interfered with the fighter plane's reception. It wasn't until the ladies released their control over the wireless that contact was established with the tower. Hearing the familiar German voices in their earphones, the people on the ground finally felt at ease.

  When the escort fighter approached, the big iron cross logo on the plane suddenly stimulated the people who were paying attention. Suddenly cheers echoed through the sky!

  "Look! Our plane! It's a German plane!"

  "Is this our plane? I've never seen a model like this before. Is it some new kind of weapon?"

  "It's really beautiful! When can I drive such a beauty?"