Chapter 505

A German armored reconnaissance vehicle was driving fast in the desert. A German armored soldier with a scarf around his neck was half exposed, leaning against the thick communication antenna to watch every move around.

"How can there be enemy troops in such a shabby place? It's really sick for us to go so far ahead." In the earphone, the mechanic is constantly complaining about their useless investigation activities in these hours.

Rommel is a general who pays great attention to investigation. He likes to send his investigation troops frequently to confirm every dark corner beside his troops, which makes him know the environment around his troops like the back of his hand, and also provides guarantee for him to issue correct combat orders.

The cracks of the armored reconnaissance vehicle are covered with yellow sand, and the whole vehicle is painted with yellow sand. From the mottled traces, we can see that they have been in the desert north Africa for some time.

"Shut up. We're responsible for making sure that the advance of the army won't be noticed. The orders above must be carried out. Do you understand?" The conductor impatiently put up his telescope and carefully observed the surrounding terrain.

There is a small sand dune not far away, which is full of low desert plants. There may be a small water source there. It's good news to have water. At least we can have a rest. After all, the map shows that there is plenty of water nearby.

"Take a rest in the place where the plants are, and keep alert!" The commander, half leaning out of the turret, pressed the phone and ordered the driver of the armored car, "stop behind the sand dunes and don't be found."

After a phone call, two motorcycles nearby were summoned. This is a mixed investigation team, which is responsible for the investigation more than ten kilometers in front of the army. They are just like ancient scouts. They are the elite of the elite. They are all experienced veterans with thousands of choices.

Soon these people came near, only to find that there were about twenty American soldiers nearby. The two armored cars stopped on the dunes and didn't seem to pay any attention to concealment. Obviously, these American soldiers didn't think they would run into the German army here, so they all gathered at the edge of the stream behind the sand dune and enjoyed the rare cool time.

In Poland, the Germans taught the Polish troops that they should be on guard. In France, the Germans taught the French troops that they should be on guard. In the Soviet Union, the Germans taught the Soviet soldiers that they should be on guard. Well, they haven't taught the Americans yet, so it seems that the Americans have forgotten the importance of on guard since they haven't fought in 20 years.

How does Rommel do it? In his book "infantry attack", he stressed that whenever a unit stops, it is necessary to arrange investigation and guard posts, and if a unit wants to attack, it is necessary to send investigation units. Of course, Barton also sent his own reconnaissance troops, which the qualified generals will never forget. The difference is whether the reconnaissance troops you sent have arranged their own reconnaissance troops.

Obviously, in terms of the detailed experience of the troops, the German soldiers suffering from the war are much better than their American counterparts who have just joined the war. They have been used to war and familiar with all kinds of situations in war. They have learned how to make themselves live as long as possible - of course, these Americans still have to learn. Tuition is the life of many soldiers.

This German reconnaissance unit was the Scout of the 7th armored army who followed Rommel all the way from setang, France to North Africa. Their strength has been proved countless times. On the French battlefield, these scouts destroyed the fortress and organized their own attacks. They occupied the city more than once and defeated the enemy. They are more like vanguards with a heart of attack and destruction.

So without any hesitation, the Germans launched a simple to extreme attack. Two sidecar motorcycles and an armored car climbed up the small mound, smashed the low desert plant shrubs, and appeared in front of the Americans.

Before the Americans recovered from their panic and shock, the German machine guns and machine guns were on fire. The shells rained down on these American soldiers. The battle lasted only two minutes and ended. Except for a lucky American driver who escaped a robbery because he went to the toilet and was finally captured by the German, more than 20 American soldiers were annihilated.

The annihilation of more than 20 Americans is not a shocking achievement. You know, these German soldiers are used to the sight of dozens of people capturing hundreds of enemy troops. They soon interrogated the living American driver and assigned soldiers to return to their troops with two intact American armored vehicles.

The news soon came back to the headquarters of the German 7th armored force, and Rommel was confused by the intelligence. The armored forces of the British and American allied forces appeared in front of him, and the scale was not small? Are you kidding?

Although the American prisoners did not disclose the full scale of their troops, the German commanders at the grass-roots level still smelled danger from some of his words. Some vague answers also revealed clues, it is obvious that at least these scouts belong to an American Armored Infantry Regiment.

No one will simply use the armored infantry regiment to carry out the flank attack, which may be eaten by the guard armored forces arranged by the opponent on the flank. So you can guess without explanation that at least the opponent has more than one Armored Division - if you consider the intelligence about the strength of the British and American allied forces, then the scale of the British and American allied forces' armored forces must not be small.

Rommel was tangled. He didn't know the size of his opponent. The German air force plane called for investigation was driven out of the airspace by British fighters. However, some pilots who returned to the base confirmed that there was a huge armored force in the front of the German army. At this time, the radio silence has been broken, because the frequent encounter of reconnaissance troops has exposed everyone's position, so we don't have to hide from each other. At this moment, he did not know whether to retreat or not. After all, the battle was well planned. For such a desperate battle, the German army took out most of its oil and supplies. If it failed, it would launch such an attack again. God knows when it will take. Barton was also very depressed. His well-designed offensive was very difficult at the beginning. The failure rate of the new tanks was very high, so that only 400 tanks were left for his troops to use. But at this time, he ran into Rommel's armored forces, and it was not very comfortable to run or not. If he retreats, he will pursue and kill all the way and return to Tobruk. At that time, his fuel is almost wasted, and he will be constantly eaten by Rommel who is good at attacking. Only God can know how many troops are left when he returns to Tobruk. And if you don't run, it could be worse. The tanks of the United States and the United Kingdom still have a chance of winning in sneak attacks or surprise operations, but even Patton has no idea if they are "just" facing the armored forces of the German army. If a large number of tanks are lost in the collision and then forced to retreat, it is estimated that the number of the 8th group army in my hand can also be cancelled. The commanders of the two armored forces are hesitating. The resources in their hands are transported to them from hundreds of kilometers away. They have to wait for half a month to catch their breath. As two warlike generals, Rommel and Barton are obviously not willing to give up the opportunity to go back and wait for half a month. However, they dare not push their chips to the gambling table, because the tanks in their hands are all they rely on. They are waiting, waiting for their opponents to yield, waiting for their opponents to shrink back. This is the time to compete with the personal will of the generals, and the time to compete is whose decision to fight is more resolute. As time went by, the reconnaissance forces of both sides kept in touch with each other. Some German soldiers were injured, and the casualties of the US Army rose in a straight line. After a reconnaissance company was surrounded and annihilated by the German army, the unstoppable US armored forces finally appeared on the battlefield. More than a dozen m3lee tanks appeared on the battlefield. They expelled the German reconnaissance troops and recaptured a small hill full of corpses. It seemed that they were luring the German tanks to attack there. Soon German support arrived at the scene, and three leopard tanks opened fire 1000 meters away, driving those American tanks with insufficient armor down the hill. Both sides constantly used grenades and machine guns to provoke their opponents. For a moment, because they did not receive the order to attack, no one dared to attack the opposite position rashly. Finally, with the passage of time, the Chinese troops and guards of both sides were close to the battlefield, the artillery troops entered their respective launching positions, and the commanders of both sides did not hesitate any more. It seems that the opponents did not intend to retreat. At this moment, they had to fight with a stiff head. Both sides are determined to fight because they have their own insistence. One is Rommel, the other is Barton. In terms of tanks, the German armored forces with a small number of Tiger tanks and a large number of leopard tanks have an absolute advantage; However, in terms of artillery, US general Barton's 155mm artillery was more than Rommel's artillery, and the fighters of both sides started fighting ahead of the ground battle. Although the British air force lost a lot, the German air force did not dare to take off the slower Stuka to support their ground forces. On April 21, 1938, the 8th group army formed by the British and American allied forces launched an encounter with the 7th armored force of the German army in the desert. As an unprecedented collision of armored forces in North Africa, the first battle of Tobruk officially began.