Chapter Thirty-Five: Breaking Camp

  When Liu Qi led the convoy to the "Ah Lai Man" British military command, it was already dark. Liu Qi did not plan to sneak in with Matthew either. Through his inquiries about Matthew along the way, Liu Qi learned that every person and vehicle entering "Ah Lai Man" needed a special pass. There were at least a battalion of troops guarding the safety of the army headquarters here. And there was at least one regiment of high-altitude anti-aircraft artillery.

  Fortunately, the group army's defense work was only to deal with daily espionage infiltration, so there were no tank defenses. The strongest here are the open and hidden machine gun firepower points scattered throughout the military camp, as well as several 40mm mortars. There are also many non-combat personnel in the military camp who are engaged in communication security, logistics work, and staff work. However, the combat effectiveness of these people can be basically ignored.

  A few kilometers away from 'Ah Le Man', Liu Qi stopped the fleet. He gathered all the officers and said directly, "The front is the command center of the British army in 'Ah Le Man'. According to Matthew's description, the guard here is very strict. It can't be compared with the garrison of the Indian Fourth Division. I'm afraid it's difficult to disguise ourselves as going in. But we are in a hurry and have no time to wait, so we can only rush in. Kaito..."

  "Yes, Middle School" Kaito replied.

  "See if you can sneak in a few soldiers while it's still dark," Liu Qi asked.

  "No problem, I know a few guys who specialize in sneaking tanks out at night. Getting in won't be a problem." Kaito replied.

  "Alright, you bring the explosives in and find the British communication equipment. Install the explosives. Then hide and wait for my signal - when you hear gunfire from this side, detonate the explosives immediately and cut off all their communications." Liu Qi said.

  "Yes, Central School." Katch replied, and then disappeared into the night with several Italian soldiers carrying a few boxes of morphine.

  Liu Qi watched as several Italian soldiers carried the explosives, their movements still so agile. He couldn't help but sigh that Italy was indeed a place where "talents emerged in large numbers". However, there was no time to indulge in such thoughts. He then asked the officers, "Which of you has commanded artillery battles?"

  Several officers looked at each other and shook their heads in denial. Finally, Da Luosi spoke up, "Colonel, when I was in the army, I seemed to have heard some soldiers mention that they would use cannons."

  "Oh, where are they? Hurry up and bring them over." Liu Qi said hastily.

  Without much effort, Da Luosi brought 5 Italian soldiers from the vehicles behind. Liu Qi asked them "Were you artillerymen before?"

  Those Italian soldiers nodded first and then shook their heads. Only one person said, "Major, we were infantry in Africa. We were trained as artillerymen when we were in Italy."

  "Oh, why did I end up as an infantryman after training as an artilleryman?" Liu Qi asked.

  "It was like this, sir. When we first arrived in Africa, the personnel and artillery were separated. In the Mediterranean, our convoy encountered a bombing by British planes, and the ship carrying our artillery was sunk. Later, our artillery was never replenished. We became infantrymen." The soldier replied.

  Liu Qi had no choice but to make the best of a bad situation, and he found several dozen people to serve as assistants for the five soldiers. He also promoted the five soldiers on the spot to the rank of upper sergeant, putting them in charge of commanding four 40mm anti-aircraft guns that had just been seized from the inspection station. He left behind two officers from the Party Guards and told them, "You get the big guns ready and aim at the British command headquarters. When you hear the commotion, start firing at the British."

  "Yes, Central Sector." The two temporary artillery commanders replied succinctly. One also had to admire the German SS's audacity. In general, the training received by the SS within Germany was mostly basic knowledge of firearms. If it weren't for Hitler's extreme demands, the Wehrmacht would not have agreed to arm the SS with several armored divisions. Many SS units were very poorly commanded and did not have high combat effectiveness. They were usually used as second-line troops. They didn't even understand the working principle of artillery, let alone command artillery in battle.

  However, the officers and soldiers of the SS had something that other troops did not: a fanatical devotion to Hitler and loyalty to the state. In their minds, there was no concept of surrender. Therefore, although the combat effectiveness of the SS was not strong, Hitler still generously retained 500,000 German SS. These people were all guys who only obeyed orders. As long as they were assigned tasks by their superiors, they would carry them out without hesitation, even if it meant going to their deaths.

  It's like Liu Qi, this kind of fool, who would arrange for the task of commanding artillery to be handed over to a SS officer. This is also an unavoidable thing, as Liu Qi only has German SS officers under his command.

  Liu Qi arranged for these people and then said to the remaining officers, "You take the remaining soldiers and divide them into 4 groups. After a while, when the fight starts, attack the British army under the cover of tanks. That's all. Doctor, you take General Matthew and Major Beck in the last car, ensure their safety. I will command from inside the tank."

  Liu Qi finished speaking and came to the front of the second 'Matilda' 2-type tank, then jumped into the tank's interior, saying to the tank crew "Start the engine, advance." The first tank was more dangerous, Liu Qi didn't have the guts to try it.

  The tank ran for nearly 20 minutes on the several-kilometer journey. As they got closer to the British military camp, the outline of this command post became clearer and clearer. Kaito and his men had already infiltrated the British military camp. In Liu Qi's mind, the radar map clearly showed the surroundings of Kaito and his men, with various shelters of different heights visible everywhere. There were also many large permanent firepower points made of cement, and others were temporary firepower points made of sandbags. Seeing this, Liu Qi couldn't help but gasp in surprise. He thought to himself, "The British defense is indeed tight, if we had charged in recklessly, I'm afraid these few hundred people wouldn't even be enough to deliver food." Fortunately, they had obtained a few tanks, otherwise, he really didn't know what to do.

  The convoy soon arrived at the gate, and several British soldiers blocked their way. Liu Qi said through the radio in the tank, "Don't talk nonsense, take action." The front tank directly fired a shell at the roadblock on the road, and the wooden roadblock was blown to pieces instantly. Several nearby British soldiers were also blasted into the air.

  The British troops reacted a few seconds later and the light and heavy machine guns at each firing point opened fire. The tank outside was hit with a loud clang.

  Liu Qi said in the tank, "Each tank should strike each machine gun firepower point and cover the infantry to enter the military camp. Be sure to protect the infantry." The 4 tanks turned their turrets one after another and began to attack the British army's various firepower points. The German soldiers in the car queue behind also jumped off the cars and fired at the British under the cover of the tanks.

  At this time, a loud explosion came from inside the British camp. Liu Qi saw a fireball rising in the middle of the British military camp through the observation hole. Liu Qi knew that was Ketch's masterpiece and must have destroyed the British communication.

  At this time, Liu Qi's artillery unit also opened fire. The first shell hit Liu Qi's vehicle directly. A violent shaking threw Liu Qi onto the tank's steel plate. Liu Qi was instantly dazed and didn't understand what had happened for a long time. The subsequent falling shells all exploded around the German and Italian soldiers, and several trucks in the back were also hit by shells and caught fire. The German and Italian soldiers hastily lay down on the ground, avoiding their own artillery fire.

  Liu Qi was so angry that he almost cried, thinking "You blind fools, where are you shooting? You're hitting your own people's heads!" The British are in front of you, why aren't you shooting there?" It's strange to say, but as soon as Liu Qi had this thought, the artillery fire stopped. After a short while, the artillery fire started again, but this time the shells all landed on the British soldiers' heads. Without the danger of cannonballs, the German and Italian soldiers got up from the ground one after another and began to attack the British army. Liu Qi was also very puzzled - how could these incompetent artillerymen be so obedient?

  The outlying strongpoints were quickly cleared by a few tanks, and the surviving British troops ran from behind cover to flee into the camp. Four tanks entered the 'Alam el Halfa' British camp unscathed, not that the British were incompetent, but their Matilda II tanks were simply too robustly built. The thickest frontal armor reached an impressive 104mm. Although slow in speed in open country, they were quite formidable when facing troops without heavy artillery.

  In less than an hour, Liu Qi and his men broke through the outer defenses of the British military camp, and then Liu Qi led the tanks into the British camp. Liu Qi commanded the tanks to charge recklessly inside the British camp, completely ignoring the British light and heavy machine gun fire and anti-tank rocket threats, while using the 40mm tank cannon to fire at the British barracks and machine gun positions. At the same time, he used the 7.92mm machine guns on the tank to sweep the fleeing British soldiers. The German and Italian infantry following behind also attacked the British with their rifles and hand grenades.

  However, the British resistance was also extremely fierce, and it can be seen that the combat effectiveness of this British army was also very strong. From time to time, British soldiers carrying anti-tank mines would run out from hidden places, trying to get close to the tanks and blow them up. If not for the infantry behind the tanks killing these British soldiers in advance, Liu Qi's tank would have been blown off its tracks and become a immobile turret. Liu Qi's tank had to clear various firepower points that threatened the infantry, and without the cover of the infantry, it was difficult for the tanks alone to reach the Mongolian command post.

  As the attack on the camp intensified, the British firepower grew stronger. The British lined up their cars and armored vehicles across the road, blocking the tank's advance route. Then, from various high and low firing ports, they fired at Liu Qi and his men. At this time, Liu Qi received a message in the tank that the ammunition was about to run out. The ammunition used by Liu Qi and his men were all captured from the British army. The tanks assisting the checkpoint inspection usually only carried half of their normal ammunition capacity because they didn't need to carry full loads like frontline tanks due to the nature of their work. A huge problem presented itself in front of Liu Qi.

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  The second dish is served together with the first one.