Chapter 697

A shell fell so straight on the position composed of yellow sand, several soldiers did not wait for the sand raised by the shell to fall, they carried their rifles, bent over from one side of the trench and ran to the other side of the trench. They have been here for a whole month. For them, these positions full of craters are their homes.

Moving his eyes away from the artillery mirror, Rommel took off the big cornice hat on his head, shook off the dust twice, buckled back to his head, turned and shook his head at his adjutant. Obviously, he doesn't like this time-consuming and laborious attack, but there is no good way for him.

Alexandria, besieged by Germany, has been holding fast for more than a month. This coastal port city already has a lot of material reserves. Although the more than 100000 British soldiers in it are not the main force, they are tenaciously holding their combat posts under the urging of Montgomery.

"We are still not good at dealing with this kind of fortified city. The casualties of soldiers are high and the consumption of ammunition is more than that of mobile warfare." Rommel looked at the map of the whole war zone and said with some emotion.

The German army has never been very suitable for such a battle relying on human life. It prefers the open and close encirclement and annihilation battle, and it is more suitable for the battle of rapidly advancing and cutting the enemy's position and then catching tens of thousands of prisoners. As for repeatedly fighting for ruins with the enemy in an environment full of buildings that are not suitable for tank operations, although the German * team has experienced many times, it still can not effectively adapt to this kind of fighting.

"The British are very accurate in shooting. They rely on the peripheral positions and ruins to resist. Although they suffered heavy losses, they still did not flinch. We lost three lieutenants this morning, and I had to promote some sergeants to make up for the lost officers. " Responsible for the attack of a division commander helpless report. His troops lost a lot in the attack, but Rommel still didn't plan to replace them.

Rommel, or his immediate superiors, the generals of the Army Staff Headquarters and the supreme command of the Empire, wanted a complete and immediately operational port of Alexandria. Therefore, Rommel could not use heavy artillery and bombers to repeatedly bomb the last British position. Rommel could only use his precious infantry, Consume the British troops in the port bit by bit on the periphery.

From the mouth of the prisoners of war, as an old opponent of the African legion, the commander of the 9th group army, can also be said to be the highest commander of Britain in North Africa, Montgomery is now in Alexandria. For Rommel, this is not only a win-win duel, but also a fatalistic end.

Not far away, an Italian tank was destroyed by British anti tank artillery and was burning. Not far away from the tank, several Italian Army cannons were firing fiercely. These artillery were attacking a hidden bunker and bunker group. With that as the core support, the British Army built a ring fortification nearby, It cost the attacking Italian army a lot.

A deafening volley made Rommel frown involuntarily. His headquarters was too close to the artillery position, and the noise made him feel a little uncomfortable. But this is war, everything will not be arranged according to the comfort needs.

He went back to his office and slapped the dust on his body twice with his gloves. The dust filled the whole narrow tent immediately. After everything returned to normal, Rommel took off his army coat and left it on the chair.

General Friedrich has just returned from Cairo. Italian and German vanguard troops have arrived outside Cairo. As expected, 30000 British and American troops in Cairo and 50000 local Egyptian troops have refused to surrender. They have built solid fortifications. Another war quagmire is waiting for the arrival of the Germans, It's not fun.

Although the dusty Frederick is meticulously dressed, he seems a bit messy. After all, he has been running in the desert with his troops for a whole month. To maintain such a respectable appearance is a German's persistent pursuit of military appearance. He said in a hoarse voice: "my general, there are minefields and blockhouses on the outskirts of Cairo. My troops tried to attack once, and the other side resisted very firmly."

The supreme command has also expected this. After all, the entry of the Germans into Egypt has broken the original rules of the region and shaken the foundation of many vested interests. Therefore, it is inevitable to encounter strong resistance. It can only be suppressed unilaterally by force, and there is no better way.

"Inform lieutenant general durlow of the air force to send bombers to attack all targets except the port area! We don't have time to spend here with a bunch of dead people! " After listening to general Friedrich's introduction to Cairo, Rommel thought for a while and then said, "after all, our General Patton has retreated to the Suez Canal. If he is allowed to reinforce the defense there, it will not be very good for our future attacks."

As a matter of fact, the Allied forces in the Middle East are strong outside but weak in the Middle East. However, at this time, Turkey, which has always regarded itself as the second largest axis power, launched a small-scale exploratory attack on the Middle East controlled by the United States and Britain.

About 10 Turkish divisions attacked southward, but they were beaten to ashes by the local armed forces near the border. When an American light armored division arrived, half of these Turks were captured, and they were given a timely "northern victory" to the desperate US troops in the Middle East. This not only made the United States and Britain see the weak nature of the threat from Turkey in the north, but also strengthened their determination to continue to fight against the Germans. As a result, the siege of Alexandria and the fighting near Cairo inevitably entered into a war of attrition, and the dilemma of insufficient German reserves in North Africa was magnified infinitely“ It's time for these local people to see our strength. Since we can't be bloodless, we should be ruthless and build a prestige for our rule in the future! " Friedrich nodded in agreement. He was in favor of developing his firepower advantage. After all, reducing his lost firepower suppression is definitely more in line with the current situation of Germany in North Africa than consuming limited troops. Inside Alexandria, there are open-air field hospitals and refugee shelters. Because the Germans seldom bombard the facilities in the city, with the continuous fighting and increasing losses, more and more wounded soldiers and refugees can only pile things on the streets, turning the streets of Alexandria into a bustling place like a bazaar. Montgomery and his assistant were visiting the wounded in an open-air hospital. In the morning, a front-line division commander was injured by shrapnel and sent here for amputation. The open-air hospital was full of blood and the wailing of soldiers. From time to time, people die here, and from time to time, people become disabled here“ If we can, most of the soldiers need to rest. We should give up some of our positions and retreat to the city. Compared with that, the Germans are not good at street fighting. " The British major general, who had lost one hand, looked at Montgomery and said weakly. He was more concerned about the soldiers who fought with him than himself. As an old British aristocrat, this very gentlemanly middle-aged man has a very traditional British demeanor. Montgomery does not hide the current situation. He seems to be 20 years old these days: "to tell you the truth, we are just fighting for our beliefs. In the end, you and I and others know that we are just dying. Compared with Italy and Germany, our troops and ammunition are not enough. Now it is the best result I can command. " The teacher, who is still very calm after losing a hand, looks a little gloomy. He is willing to die for his motherland in any corner, but he is really not willing to accept the fact that his motherland has collapsed. What it means to Britain to lose North Africa is clear to him as commander here“ I can't rely on it any more. I've tried my best to do everything I can Seeing that the other side was silent, Montgomery cried and laughed, and then continued to say to himself, "what can be expected now is general montbarton's troops in India. If he can keep the elite and return to Britain when necessary, things may turn for the better." Everyone knows that it's just self deception. The troops in montbarton's hands have been stretched. The Japanese expansion in Southeast Asia has broken the British colonial system there. India and Myanmar have now become the front lines. As for how many British soldiers there can survive, we can only pray for the Japanese attack scale, Instead of counting on general Mountbatten's command and control capabilities. Today's Britain is similar to an old master with profound skills, but he is caught off guard by the young boxer of Germany. Before his powerful skills are exerted, there is only a strong breath left. As for fighting back, I'm afraid it's hard to do it. The injured English teacher sighed and looked at the road beside the sick bed. The ground was covered with yellow sand, mixed with Yan red dried blood, dry and despairing.