Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Young Lieutenant Colonel

  In peacetime, promotion has little to do with pride. A man is placed according to his ability, not according to his rank. In wartime, people only notice those who have won victories and not their ranks - Little George, Smith, Patton.

  Time went back to the command of the British Eighth Army, which was still in intense combat. When General Montgomery woke up from his daze, he found a circle of heads around him, all staring at him with anxious expressions. It wasn't until then that he heard the intense gunfire outside.

  "What's the situation outside? The gunfire sounds like it's getting closer and closer," Meng Ge asked.

  "Don't worry, the enemy troops outside have been blocked by our concrete fortifications. We just can't contact other units to come and reinforce us. Based on my observation, the number of enemy soldiers is not many, about 700 people, and there are only 4 tanks. From the markings on the tank, it's from the checkpoint not far from here. I estimate that it was captured by the enemy and used to attack our concrete firepower point. But now it's okay, you've woken up. I believe under your leadership, we will definitely defeat the enemy." General Gan Gang said hastily.

  Meng Ge was stunned, the enemy army had captured our tanks intact and was using them to attack us. It's really ironic. This Gan Gang is also very bad at talking, what does he mean by saying that I can defeat the enemy as soon as I wake up? How is this possible? I'm not a young officer who just joined the army 30 years ago. At that time, I was ignorant and only thought about fighting and honor. Now I am the highest commander of the group army, commanding hundreds of thousands of people. On the battlefield, bullets don't distinguish between generals and soldiers, it's very dangerous. Why doesn't Gan Gang understand the principle of 'a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall'? Hurry up and advise me to leave this place of right and wrong!

  Meng Ge gave Gan Gang a stern look. Gan Gang, who was still praising Meng Ge, immediately stopped talking and realized he had made a mistake. He quickly added, "However, Commander, there's something more important. We just received an urgent telegram from the capital requesting your immediate presence in Cairo."

  Meng Ge's face finally relaxed and he asked, "What's the matter? You also saw it. I'm stuck here and there are still enemies waiting for me to eliminate."

  "This is an order from Prime Minister Churchill, requiring your personal presence. You can leave the fighting here to others. Besides, there aren't many enemies, and it's estimated that the battle will end soon."

  Gan Gang is right on this point, the 'Ah Lai Man' British Eighth Army Command had nearly 2,000 people. However, most of them were logistics support, communications support, and transportation support personnel. The real guard troops were similar to Liu Qi's team, with more than 700 people. But the command camp was full of fortifications and bunkers everywhere. So Gan Gang's words are also correct.

  However, this did not shake Monger's confidence in leaving. Before going to North Africa, Monger had conducted an in-depth study of Rommel and found that every time Rommel's troops, weapons, support, and logistics were not at an advantage, but ultimately won. Rommel was a master of creating miracles, so Monger was extremely cautious about Rommel's tactics. Including this attack on the command center, Monger thought back to yesterday's victory and couldn't help but have doubts about Rommel again.

  Although the frontline troops had won, if the British command center was captured, Rommel could say that it was not a defeat but a trap set to lure the British away from their defensive lines. Let the British troops be used for the front-line attack and neglect the defense and rescue of the command center. If Montgomery himself was captured, this battle would probably end. Rommel would enthusiastically deliver himself to Germany, like an ancient general presenting spoils to his king. He would hand himself over to Hitler. Even if all German-Italian troops in North Africa were killed, Hitler would not be heartbroken but treat Rommel as a prize and take him to press conferences every day.

  Churchill would never let the face of the British Empire be lost by his own hands. He will stop at nothing to get rid of him when the time comes. Thinking of this, Meng felt a chill run down his spine. Of the thirty-six strategies, retreat is the best option. It's better to leave here as soon as possible.

  "Alright, Chief of Staff Gan. You will also come with me to Cairo. On the way, we will discuss important issues regarding the army group and military construction. This matter is very important and must be discussed immediately. As for command here, I leave it in the hands of the Deputy Chief of Staff and the Director of Operations Intelligence Department, you two are in full command. I trust that you will complete this order outstandingly." The last two words "this order" were emphasized by Mongol.

  The deputy chief of staff and the minister of intelligence couldn't help but look down on Monty's behavior in their hearts. They thought, the telegraph machine's power source is broken, yet he says he received a telegram from Churchill. He's clearly afraid of the Germans, yet he puts on an air of righteousness. On the surface, they still respectfully accepted Monty's orders. What can you do? When someone has more power than you, it's crushing.

  Menggutu took a few guards and Gan Guang, the chief of staff, as well as his adopted sons Dike and Kafei, and hastily left through an emergency exit in two cars.

  The deputy chief of staff and the minister of intelligence were both aware of the situation. They knew that it was impossible for a large number of German and Italian troops to launch an attack on the command center. This small force of only a few hundred men was likely to be a group of German paratroopers who had been dropped behind enemy lines. Due to the rainy weather over the past few days, as well as the fact that the British Desert Air Force had just participated in the Mediterranean air battle and had not yet recovered from it, there was no way to conduct large-scale aerial reconnaissance. However, whether they were paratroopers or infiltrators, it was impossible for them to carry heavy weapons. Without heavy weapons, it was impossible to capture the command center's heavily fortified concrete bunker.

  But what the deputy chief of staff and the intelligence minister did not expect was that the heavily constructed concrete bunker was actually penetrated. It was pierced by a 40-caliber gun, the smallest caliber in British standards, which was simply against all scientific knowledge in this world. When the first permanent firepower point burst into dazzling light like fireworks in the night sky, both of them couldn't help but feel a little scared.

  It wasn't for anything else, but just the fact that dozens of shells fell on the same target one after another left the two men baffled. If the artillery of the German and Italian armies were so accurate, why bother fighting? The British army might as well surrender directly. It was probably a coincidence, or maybe an illusion. Both men firmly believed this.

  When dozens of shells landed on the second concrete strongpoint, the two finally knew that this was not a coincidence or an illusion. The impossible had clearly happened and it was obvious that they could no longer continue to fight. If they continued, it would not be bravery but stupidity. So the two looked at each other and simultaneously said what was in their hearts: "Surrender! Continuing to fight would be murder of British soldiers. We can't hold out anyway."

  At this point, the two of them suddenly realized why M?nke had to leave, because if M?nke didn't leave, being captured was also a certainty. The two said to the messenger beside them: "As the highest commander here, we have decided to order the soldiers to lay down their arms and not make any more desperate resistance."

  The British soldiers were very welcoming of the order to surrender, anyway they had heard that the treatment in Germany was also good. At least they didn't have to worry about landmines, shells, snipers and bombings every day without a break.

  Liu Qi also quickly met the highest commander of the British army here. When the two saw that it was actually a German lieutenant colonel in command, they were both shocked.

  One of them is stunning, this person is really too beautiful to be described as 'little white face', it's an insult. Delicate features, slender figure, pure eyes, warm smile, and on the proud face, there is a kind of unbridled temperament. This is simply not human, but what exactly, two people can't say, anyway, it's a flavor that you know when you see it, turn your head and forget, don't look or think about it.

  The second is that this person is too young, looking like he's only 20 years old. A 20-year-old officer in the UK, even if he were a prince, couldn't possibly be a lieutenant colonel. And yet this young lieutenant colonel has already led his troops to infiltrate behind enemy lines and miraculously occupied the command center.

  The two men, after experiencing several battles, felt that there was nothing in the world they couldn't understand. From the breakthrough of the French defense line to the great retreat at Dunkirk, and then being surrounded by Rommel twice in North Africa, each time leaving a deep impression on them, making them fully realize that 'the charm of war lies in the uncertainty of the war process'.

  But today, I saw an unprecedented bombardment and met a 20-year-old lieutenant colonel who was handsome to the point of being dashing. If someone had said before that a 20-year-old could become a lieutenant colonel, they would have been beaten up by everyone. Because in every country's military academy, you need to undergo at least five years of military study, and only those with outstanding grades will be sent to combat troops as a junior officer or enter the command center for staff work. Two years later, you still need to have excellent work performance or a very strong background to become a lieutenant colonel. Because a lieutenant colonel is the lowest rank that can independently command a combat troop, and the unit they command is only a platoon.

  So, the minimum age to become a lieutenant is 23 years old. But that's for a lieutenant, if you want to be a colonel, I reckon this young man was already learning military knowledge in his mother's womb.

  Surprise begets surprise, but when the young lieutenant colonel invited the two to have a midnight snack together, neither of them refused. The food was naturally found in General Gan's barracks, mostly American canned goods, and even a few cans of Russian caviar were discovered. In the end, they even found a basket of fruit.

  Of course, the German soldiers were idle and opened the logistics warehouse of the command post to see a mountain of canned beef. For several days, the German soldiers had been gnawing on dry food and drinking cold water, and when they saw the meaty smell, they couldn't let it go. One by one, they ate with their mouths full of oil, and finally even the British soldiers got a share, each getting a few cans of beef that originally belonged to them.

  A few dozen German and Italian artillerymen were also brought over by truck from a few kilometers away. When two SS artillery officers and five Italian artillerymen jumped off the trucks, all of the German and Italian soldiers cheered spontaneously. They lifted several people up and tossed them into the air again and again. The joyful atmosphere even infected the British soldiers who had already been captured.