Chapter Fifty-Nine: Choice

  The news of the destruction of the British 10th Armoured Division had not reached Rommel. The information he received was that the German 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions had brushed aside a British armoured force, only to lose contact with the enemy after brief exchanges of fire. In the chaotic battlefield, neither the German 15th nor 21st Divisions had taken the trouble to assess the extent of the enemy's losses, as that was not their main task; their primary objective was to break through the British lines and reach Alamein at all costs.

  This small mistake led Rommel to believe that a British armored force was attacking his second line of defense. Rommel's second line of defense was located in the "Fuka" area on the Egyptian border, where two German infantry divisions newly assembled from France and 40,000 Italian troops withdrawn from the Alamein position were defending. The other two German and Italian infantry divisions were sent by Rommel to follow the German armored forces and attack Alamein together, as tanks played a minor role in attacking fortresses.

  The 'Fox Line' was a defensive line that Rommel had just established, and the soldiers hadn't even finished digging their trenches, let alone other large-scale defensive fortifications.

  The tanks in Rommel's hands have basically been dispatched to attack Alam Halfa. Faced with the British tank forces that are quick to act and have strong assault capabilities, Rommel has no good way out except to retreat. Of course, if Rommel is given 1-2 more days to build defensive fortifications, he will not be afraid. First, lay anti-tank mines in front of the position, then set up various anti-tank positions with a large number of anti-tank guns, and finally use the 88mm cannons that have just arrived from Berlin for long-range fire. It's not easy for the British to break through this line of defense.

  But now there is not even a short day, according to the telegram's description, the British army is less than 2 hours away from themselves. It can be said that the British have already arrived under Rommel's eyelids, and Rommel has smelled the danger, the situation is quite critical.

  Romel's options are not many now, the first is to stick here. The desert has a broad view, flat terrain, and it's simply a paradise for armored forces to fight. The combat effectiveness of tanks can be maximized in the most ideal state. Even if the defensive fortifications are well-built, infantry cannot easily stop the tank's attack. Not to mention that there is no defensive fortification at all.

  Rommel's second option was to recall the German armored forces advancing towards Alam Halfa. The best choice for fighting tanks in the desert is still to use tanks to attack tanks. But Rommel couldn't do that, those tanks were brought by Philip, Andrei's old steward, and he really didn't have the face to let those tanks return. Even if those tanks were recalled to destroy the British forces in front of them, it would be difficult for him to explain himself to Berlin and Andrei's father.

  "It's time for you to speak up now, Field Marshal Rommel. I've gotten everything you wanted. But where is my son? What's going on here?"

  As for Andrey's father's deeds, Rommel had also heard about them when he was with Hitler. The Führer's intelligence department classified Andrey's father's file as top secret. However, there was one thing that Rommel could confirm: without Andrey, his own days would not be good, and even his family would be implicated. Thinking of his gentle and kind wife 'Lucy', and then thinking of Andrey's father's somewhat evil benevolent smile, Rommel's hairs stood on end.

  Rommel had a third option, which was to retreat directly. If you can't beat them, run, but the cost of this option is quite heavy. In the desert, the infantry's marching speed is not comparable to that of armored units. That would turn into a British pursuit war, and the unstable German army would be attacked by the British from behind, and it would be a problem whether the troops could guarantee the safety of Tobruk. Tobruk was Rommel's place of honor. Rommel's Field Marshal was awarded by Hitler for capturing Tobruk, an important military fortress.

  Now that he has a large number of troops, weapons and fuel, if Tobruk is lost, it's not to mention whether the German command will punish Rommel or not. Even if other German generals just say a few sarcastic words, Rommel can't bear it.

  Other generals will say "Look, what's easily obtained is also easily lost. We can't learn from him."

  "It's nothing special, being an Army Marshal. Can't even hold onto a fortress, not even as good as one of my division commanders."

  "What's the big deal? My squad leader can hold his own."

  "I can hold on."

  "I..."

  Just thinking about these makes Long Meir shiver with fear.

  ………

  After much consideration, Rommel finally made a difficult decision. Recalling the tanks was out of the question, and retreating while being pursued by the British was not an option either. The only choice now was to defend the 'Fuka' line to the death. At present, Rommel had only over 70 thin-skinned tanks from the Italian army, plus those 40 'Tiger' tanks that had just arrived from Germany.

  Rommel had never seen a "Tiger" tank before. Even if Rommel saw the "Tiger" tank, it wouldn't be much better because the "Tiger" tank was really too ordinary, and its exterior was far less streamlined than the German No. 4 tank. It gave people a feeling of being stupid and numb. Moreover, there were only 40 "Tigers", which was really too few, and they couldn't compete with the British armored division's 300 tanks at all.

  Rommel was accustomed to losing a hundred or two tanks in one battle, but these 40 Tigers might not even last half the fight. However, this was just Rommel's wishful thinking, because he didn't understand the Tiger, let alone the German High Command. Because the Tiger tank was still in the testing phase and only a prototype tank. If it weren't for the old lady from Andrieu who was eager to save her son, Rommel would not have been the first to use these Tigers.

  The design concept of the 'Tiger' tank differed from that of most German tanks in the early years, which emphasized a balance between mobility, protection and firepower. Although the firepower of Germany's early tanks was often inferior to that of their opponents, tactical advantages offset these disadvantages. The design of the 'Tiger' tank presented a different concept, emphasizing firepower and armor at the expense of mobility. In fact, the mobility of the 'Tiger' was not improved, but remained the same as the previous 3rd and 4th models, still possessing the mobility of German medium tanks, although it could not match the speed of the Sherman M4 and Russia's T-34, it was one of the best mobile heavy tanks in the world.

  It can be said that Rommel was also deceived by the clumsy appearance of 'Tiger'. So all the 'Tigers' were put in a relatively safe place at the northernmost part of the defense line, and Rommel did not want to consume the last bit of armored force in his hand. Then most of the elite German infantry units were put on the road where the British 10th Armored Division was advancing.

  Romel dared to use infantry to block the British army that was killing them, also with great confidence. This confidence comes from those newly arrived 88mm anti-aircraft guns.

  This gun actually made its name in Rommel's hands.

  In the two battles of 1941 and 1942, Rommel was actually at a disadvantage, with his troops being surrounded by British armored forces twice. With few tanks in hand, Rommel ordered the 88mm anti-aircraft guns used for air defense to be converted into flat-shooting cannons during critical moments.

  After switching to anti-tank guns, the effect was surprisingly good. The British 'Matilda' 2-type tank that other anti-tank guns couldn't move, as long as it was hit by an 88mm high-altitude gun, it was one shot and one, and it couldn't run at all.

  A very unexpected discovery had given Rommel a weapon to use against British tanks. And through the accumulation of combat experience, Rommel's application of the 88mm anti-aircraft gun was also becoming more and more handy.

  But the 88mm anti-aircraft gun can only be used for defense and must be set up in advance. The British tanks are not targets, they don't stop somewhere and let you slaughter them at will. If a place is impassable, the British tanks will bypass it, making the 88mm anti-aircraft gun useless. That's why Rommel didn't have confidence in stopping the British armored forces. It's simply contradictory.