Chapter 66: One Will Become Famous, Ten Thousand Bones Will Wither

  Romell was almost moved to tears by the 'good news', with a hint of 'having heard that there were tigers in the world, and suddenly bursting into tears'. As long as the initiative is no longer in one's own hands, the British will break through that fragile defense line with few people, and then there will be nothing left for oneself.

  When the time comes for the British to move south, they can directly surround their two divisions. At that time, if these two divisions resist, they will be attacked from both front and rear by the British army, and it is very likely that they will be completely destroyed. But if they run, can human legs outrun machine wheels? Rommel was very skeptical about this.

  The British armored division is not a free gift, it will definitely chase the German army's two divisions and beat them up in the Gobi Desert. The troops are likely to be scattered all over the desert. Without supplies or fresh water, the fate of these two divisions' officers and men is likely to be more tragic than death.

  But the British would not do that, Rommel was skeptical. In that case, he would lose at most 2 infantry divisions. As long as he recalled his armored forces from the front, it would still be no problem to deal with this British armored division.

  But what if the British break through the line and don't head south? What if they go straight for the German supply lines behind the front? Rommel couldn't bear to think of his four armored divisions running out of fuel, being captured by the British, or of tens of thousands of troops marching on foot across the Sahara Desert to retreat to Tunisia, or of the entire Afrika Korps being annihilated.

  "Damn it, Andrei! If you hadn't run off like a young master, I wouldn't have had to send out all the mobile units to rescue you. And if I had an armored division, would I be having this trouble?"

  Rommel was resentful of Liu Qi at the time, and he forgot that most of his armored divisions were brought to him by other people's fathers. If it weren't for Andre, other people's fathers wouldn't care about Rommel's life or death, even if Germany lost the war, they would still make a lot of money elsewhere, and there was no need to pay for Rommel's losses.

  People are like this sometimes, when borrowing money they're as sweet as can be, speaking a whole basket of nice words. But when it's time to repay the money, their face changes, completely not mentioning how much trouble you went through to help them in the first place, and instead acting as if you owe them money. This is called turning your back on someone without recognizing them.

  Of course, it's also the case that Rommel's old man and woman are really unbearable. If it were someone else, Rommel would have called back the armored troops from the front line long ago, regardless of whether you live or die.

  Now Rommel has no way, the 90th Infantry Division just rushed over tens of kilometers away, and it's impossible to let them rush back. That way, without the British attacking, the 90th Infantry Division would collapse on its own, directly collapsing from exhaustion. Maybe they could even leave the officers and soldiers of the 90th Division with psychological trauma that would haunt their dreams, making them march in their sleep.

  Rommel now only has Italian troops and those 40 'Tiger' tanks in his hands, although Rommel despises the 'Tiger' tanks as much as he despises the Italian army. But for now, these are the only things that can still be used.

  Rommel had the two orders passed down. The telegrams were sent directly to the command of the northern Italian army and to the 501st Tiger Tank Battalion, which was conducting trials at the northernmost point of the front line.

  No mention was made of the Italian troops and Tiger tank units going to reinforce the hard-pressed German 90th Infantry Division in the north. Instead, the senior commander of the British Seventh Armoured Division, 'Brian',

  Since dawn broke and received the call from the 10th Armored Division in the south to start attacking, 'Brian' ordered all officers and men of the division to make final preparations for battle.

  The armored Seventh Division of 'Buraien' was quite well hidden at night, with collective blackout throughout the division. Everyone was ordered to sleep, except for a small number of boundary personnel, and all officers and soldiers slept soundly. The battles and marches of the past few days had been very exhausting, and after eating their rations, they fell asleep as soon as they lay down. No one had the energy to do anything else. The entire division was very self-aware and did not make a sound. Even snoring officers and soldiers would be woken up by others and asked to change positions and sleep again.

  The purpose of this was to avoid being discovered by German reconnaissance units, which would have revealed the location of the armored division. Indeed, on a moonless night, the more than 10,000 men and horses of the Seventh Armored Division were not detected by small German patrols.

  They slept soundly until dawn, and the entire 7th Armored Division was filled with energy from top to bottom. At this time, 'Bryan' did not order the troops to assemble and depart, but instead ordered the quartermaster to directly distribute the ammunition and fuel they carried. Then he ordered the troops to inspect and repair their tanks and weapons on the spot. As the saying goes, "Sharpen your sword before going into battle, it's better to be late than to lose."

  After everything was ready, 'Brian' ordered dinner, which this time wasn't dry rations and canned goods. Instead, it was a makeshift heater made from an empty gasoline drum, but the food was still those canned meats stewed with some water to make a meat soup, accompanied by some dried vegetables. They were about to launch an attack soon, so 'Brian' didn't mind revealing his position anymore. Plus, using gasoline as fuel wouldn't produce much smoke, and the chances of being discovered weren't particularly high.

  The officers and men of the 7th Armored Division, who had not eaten a hot meal for several days, were indeed particularly fragrant. Everyone ate several portions of food, although there was a pungent smell of gasoline in the food, the officers and men of the 7th Armored Division still devoured it greedily. It had been nearly three days since they had eaten steaming hot food, and whoever saw such a "delicacy" would not let it go. After a big meal, not only did the officers' energy recover, but their physical strength also increased greatly.

  The British 7th Armoured Division, 'Bryce', did this with two intentions. Firstly, to wait for the German troops to be attracted by the fake attack of the 10th Armoured Division, and then take advantage of the situation. Secondly, they were about to reach the German defensive line. Although 'Bryce' was not worried that his strong tank formation could break through the German defensive line, as it was a certainty. However, if he could lose less power, 'Bryce' would still be willing to lose less power. These troops were all his own, and if they were all lost on the German defensive line, what would be left to fight for Tobruk?

  As for the death of Alexander, the 10th Brigade commander, let's just say it with a quote from "Brian": "Everything has its fate, every drink and every bite, is predetermined." Back then, Alexander had humiliated "Brian" in front of everyone. "Brian" hadn't forgotten one bit, and now was finally the time for revenge, and by doing so, he also managed to strike at the Germans and gain unparalleled merit. Thinking about this three-for-one deal, "Brian" felt a sense of relief wash over him, and even ate more than usual during meals.

  "Bryan" also ordered the communication officer under his command to keep the wireless telegraph of each subordinate unit silent for confidentiality. Whoever disobeys the order will be dismissed on the spot and handed over to the military court for trial for leaking secrets. "Bryan" has a good relationship with his subordinates, and everyone loves this kind and gentle superior who looks like their uncle. Of course, no one would dare to disobey the orders given by "Bryan".

  In this way, even if the microwave wireless under 'Bryan' heard the call of the Tenth Division, no one would respond. 'Bryan' also didn't want his subordinates to know that he used the Armored Tenth Division to attract the enemy's attention, and instead went to attack Tobruk, which could make himself a 'hero', and didn't go to rescue friendly forces.

  In that case, the first one might be known to Alexander of the 10th Armored Division in advance, and this guy would procrastinate. The Germans on the opposite side may not deploy troops.

  The second is that 'Buraien' does not want his subordinates to know the true meaning of this matter, which would make him lose credibility among his subordinates. If people's hearts are scattered, it will be difficult to lead soldiers.

  But microwave wireless has a certain distance, as long as you cross the German defense line, you will no longer hear the nonsense of Alexander of the 10th Division. When the time comes to occupy Tobruk, people will not blame the hero who won the great victory. At that time, no matter how much Alexander's excuses are unfavorable to himself, others will not listen or be willing to listen.

  Although 'Brian' restricted the use of microwave radio by his subordinates, he himself stayed close to the radio station. Alexander's courage was indeed not something that ordinary people could match. As soon as dawn broke, he commanded his troops to launch an attack on the German defensive line. When 'Brian' heard that Alexander had used all his tanks and most of his infantry, and was engaged in a fierce battle with the Germans at the defensive line, 'Brian' smiled with pleasure.

  'Brian' knew the opportunity had arrived, facing his own reinforcements of 50 'Sherman M4' tanks for Alexander. The German army on the southern defensive line would definitely not be easy to deal with, let alone letting Alexander use armored vehicles to create a fake enemy. Ninety percent of the Germans were also deceived, now it's just a matter of how quickly his own armored division could crush the defending troops on the German defensive line. If the Germans persisted in not being deceived, 'Brian' firmly believed that with the rapid breakthrough capability of his Seventh Armored Division, it wouldn't be very difficult to break through.

  The arrow is already on the string and cannot be left unlaunched. However, 'Bryan' is a bit heartbroken to use his 50 new 'Sherman M4' as bait.

  But as the old saying goes, 'If you don't abandon your children, you can't catch a wolf. If you don't abandon your wife, you can't catch a rogue.' Without paying the price, it's not easy to achieve success and fame. Be ruthless to the enemy, but be even more ruthless to your own people. One general's achievement is built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers. Since ancient times, there have only been famous generals, never famous soldiers.

  "Braun" immediately gave the order, and within 20 minutes each tank was in battalion formation. The infantry climbed aboard armored vehicles for cover. Everything unnecessary was thrown off. Only four days' rations and water were carried, with sufficient ammunition and fuel, heading north towards the German "Fuka" defense line.