Chapter 18 Crisis 3

  On the evening of May 26, 1942, the roar of German artillery tore open the prelude to the attack. Ritchie was immediately on edge and ordered all troops on the defensive line to defend their positions to the death, fighting for every inch of ground. The British army, which had been given immense confidence by the new American tanks, was not particularly afraid of Rommel's attack. Major General Ritchie's courage grew as the Afrika Korps' fake attack did not go well, and he gradually became more confident. He gathered his staff to make many plans, preparing to launch a decisive counterattack when Rommel was exhausted, thoroughly defeating him once and for all.

  But the nickname "Desert Fox" was not earned by Rommel. He had already taken advantage of the night to lead the German armored elite in a rapid flanking maneuver behind the Gazala line, desperately rushing towards the coast to encircle the British troops at Gazala.

  Ritchie was shaken by the news, and nearly lost his nerve. If this line of retreat and supply were cut, these tens of thousands of men would be doomed to perish here. He immediately issued an order to change the command, all armored troops went to block Rommel's raiding party.

  Both sides of the soldiers were fighting desperately, and the battle was extremely fierce. Due to the British army's tank number and quality advantages, Rommel was pinned down 30 kilometers away from the coast, unable to move. Although Ritchie's tank losses were more than Rommel's, the numerical advantage slowly gave Ritchie the upper hand. Rommel had only 150 tanks left, while Ritchie still had over 400.

  If Ritchie had concentrated his tanks at that time and launched an attack on Rommel's leading troops from one place, the war in North Africa would have ended soon. However, Ritchie did not do so, but instead distributed the tanks evenly with the infantry units. He was overcautious in attacking Rommel, and even failed to use a simple military tactic of sending a detachment to cut off Rommel's transportation line in order to concentrate his forces. Thus, he inadvertently let Rommel escape.

  At the critical moment, Rommel decisively used his 88mm anti-aircraft guns as anti-tank weapons to block Ritchie's massive attack from the east. In fact, the 88mm anti-aircraft gun was quite qualified as an anti-tank gun. Almost all British and American tanks were torn apart by the thick armor when facing the shells of the 88mm anti-aircraft gun.

  At the same time, Rommel continued to organize his troops and launched a continuous attack on the British position at Sidimunteita in the west. The battlefield was extremely chaotic, with each side deeply intertwined. It must be said that the German army's fighting spirit and military discipline were absolutely world-class at the time, and they managed to tear open a 10-kilometer gap in the British western defense line despite being outnumbered and outgunned. Rommel also established contact with the main force in the rear. Ritchie saw that things were not going well and immediately ordered half of his tanks and infantry troops to go and block this gap.

  But at this time, Rommel, who had been in contact with the main force, led the entire German-Italian army's main force to wait in array. First, they lured the British tanks into the anti-tank position, and the 88mm anti-aircraft guns, along with some anti-tank guns, fiercely attacked the British army. A large number of British tanks were destroyed. Then Rommel let the British main force pass, directly surrounding the British artillery and some supplementary troops, annihilating them all. Rommel did not stop, taking advantage of the momentum of victory, leading his troops to take down the southern end of the Gazala defense line, 'Bir Hakeim'. The British army had completely lost the initiative.

  Rommel led his troops north from 'Bir Hacheim', where the troops of two German armored divisions clashed with the last British armored brigades in a great battle. It must be admitted that during World War II, the 'purely German defensive armored division' was a war machine that no army of any country could match at that time. After a day of fierce fighting, 120 British tanks were burning quietly on the battlefield like torches.

  Ritchie's over 800 British and American tanks are now down to just 70. Rommel is in an even worse state, with fewer than 50 tanks left.

  At this time, Ritchie was already desperate, but there was no way out, so he had to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors and escape to the Egyptian border. Rommel followed closely behind Ritchie, killing all the way.

  Actually, Rommel's real goal was still that 'Tobruk' which had been stuck in his throat. Last time he surrounded 'Tobruk' for half a year but failed to take it down. This time Rommel made up his mind to take down 'Tobruk' no matter what the cost was. He thought this place was an important supply port for attacking Egypt, and taking it down would save hundreds of kilometers of running for the supply convoys. These were all life-saving moments.

  When passing through Tobruk, Rommel played a small trick. On the one hand, he dispatched a small force to attack from the west, and on the other hand, he bypassed Tobruk and continued to pursue Ritchie's main force. At this time, the defenders of Tobruk were busy dealing with the harassment of the German small forces. The attention was all attracted to the west, and the defensive focus was also put on the west. However, at night, Rommel secretly led the main force back. Under the cover of night, Rommel completed the deployment of the attack.

  At dawn, Rommel struck. The artillery and air force directly blasted the unguarded British army in the east to pieces. The fierce battle lasted until afternoon, when the German army occupied the port, completely cutting off the retreat of the British army stationed in Tobruk. Not long after, they entered the town.

  The brutal face-to-face battle directly scared the new commander of Tobruk, Klop, out of his wits. Klop, who had a powerful family in the army and was originally here to reap benefits, had never seen such a scene before. He immediately followed the British military's basic principle of prioritizing survival and surrendered. This decision received unanimous praise from 33,000 British soldiers and all German troops. Immediately, Klop was awarded the title of "Tobruk's Most Peace-Loving Person" and became an honorary citizen of Tobruk for life. Many locals still remembered this hero who had traded surrender for peace to preserve the city many years later. If it weren't for Britain secretly imprisoning this "Tobruk Hero" after the war to cover up the scandal, Klop might have even won a Nobel Peace Prize.

  By this time, Rommel had secured the whole of Cyrenaica (eastern Libya). At Tobruk, Rommel also acquired large quantities of supplies and fuel but again eluded capture.

  But what excited Rommel the most was on June 22, 1942, Hitler surprisingly promoted Rommel to Field Marshal of the German Army. At the age of 51, Rommel was promoted to Field Marshal of the German Army, reaching the pinnacle of his life. At this time, the old fox's reputation spread throughout the German and British armies, as well as the US military.

  Romel, on the second day after receiving the marshal's baton, attacked Egypt. The army swept through, and no one could stop it. One after another, the British military strongholds of "Debala Ni" and "Ma Te Lu" were captured. The main force directly pointed to the last fortress in front of Cairo, Egypt - "Ah Le Man".

  However, at this time, Rommel's body was already plagued by illness due to the intense fighting. Moreover, the German army had suffered a defeat in Moscow, and the Russian counterattack had left Hitler busy, with all his energy and supplies focused on the Eastern Front. Rommel couldn't even get a hair from him. Furthermore, the Italian and German fleets responsible for transporting supplies to Rommel were within the range of the Allied air forces, making transportation extremely difficult. Without supplies, even gods couldn't succeed, so Rommel's two attacks on Alam Halfa were unsuccessful.

  The attack of the North African Corps was thus halted at El Alamein and later withdrawn to the Egyptian border.

  The unfortunate General Ritchie on the British side was also made a scapegoat by the army and ultimately took responsibility for the defeat. Churchill also promoted a young army general to replace Ritchie as commander of the Eighth Army in North Africa, Bernard Law Montgomery.

  Montgomery, like Rommel, is a Scorpio. The two also have another commonality, which is that they both rose to fame during the German invasion of France. However, unlike Rommel who shone in offensive battles, Montgomery excelled in the retreat at Dunkirk.

  After becoming the commander of the 8th Army, Montgomery trained his troops on one hand and requested equipment assistance from Churchill and the US military on the other. Churchill also hoped to see the seeds he had sown in the army bear fruit. He immediately sent all available supplies to Comrade Montgomery. It was truly a case of giving what was needed, giving weapons when weapons were needed. As a result, the 8th Army became strong and powerful in just two short months, with a total strength of 230,000 men, over 1,400 tanks, more than 1,500 aircraft, and over 2,000 artillery pieces.

  It's really people compared to people can be suffocated. The poor old fox at this time, with a total of more than 800,000 people, most of whom are not full members, and mainly Italian troops. Tanks, including the thin-skinned Italian-style tanks, had only over 500 tanks, and the most frightening thing was that there were only 350 aircraft. That is to say, air superiority was completely lost.

  Rommel's illness worsened at this time. On September 23, 1942, Rommel had to return home for treatment. After returning to Germany, Rommel met with Hitler and repeatedly asked Hitler to supplement the African Corps with personnel and equipment. However, Hitler was already attracted to the Battle of Stalingrad and didn't have the mind to pay attention to the trivial matters of the North African Corps. In his words, Hitler was still very satisfied with Rommel, this super fighting dog. He talked endlessly and sprayed saliva at Rommel for half a day. Then he started scolding Roosevelt, followed by Churchill, and finally turned to Stalin. The time spent scolding Stalin was the longest.

  Rommel, who had rushed to the Chancellery without even taking care of his illness in Berlin, returned home with a sullen face. Fortunately, after resting for a while, Rommel's health improved due to the long-term fighting and the harsh climate in Africa. During this time, he also received many officers and civilians who admired him. The enthusiasm of the Germans moved Rommel again. Later, Rommel found Hitler again, continuing to hope that troops and supplies would be withdrawn from North Africa.

  Hitler was now completely crazy, facing the infuriating situation in Stalingrad, Hitler staked everything on one throw. He ordered the 6th Army to attack alone, determined to take down the city named after his opponent. But no matter how hard he tried, Stalingrad was like a bone that couldn't be gnawed through. Hitler even asked Rommel to withdraw from North Africa and go directly to the Soviet front line to give the Soviet army a heavy blow. However, this absurd idea was later stopped under everyone's persuasion.

  This time leaving Long Mei Er not only brought back a face full of tears but also brought back a wounded heart to her home.

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  The reason why I wrote something about Rommel, everyone probably already guessed. I am a loyal fan of Rommel, and every time I see the legendary marshal's suicidal ending, I'm basically overcome with grief. This book is written with Rommel as a flesh-and-blood person. It's a way to pay my highest respects to this military god. Also, if you recommend it and collect this book, I will take it as motivation.

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