Chapter 700

About two hours later, Montgomery, as the commander-in-chief of the British army in North Africa, personally delivered a speech: "as the commander-in-chief of the British army besieged in Alexandria, I had to make a painful decision for the future of my subordinates. I announced that the 9th group army would stop resisting and hand over its weapons to the German Italian allied forces on the opposite side."

He was held by his own assistant and almost fell to the ground, but he still insisted on saying what he wanted to say: "you are all the most heroic soldiers. It is my poor personal command that makes you fall into the encirclement. In order to avoid a larger scale tragedy, I decided to sacrifice my personal honor and give this humiliating and tragic order, I hope my decision will not bring shame to my motherland, and I hope my decision is right. "

Then the British troops stopped resisting, and there were pictures everywhere of German soldiers watching a group of British soldiers walk out of the position with their hands held high. Most Indian soldiers surrender very simply. After all, it's very hard for them to curl up in the trenches these days to give the British a personal show. Now they are very enthusiastic when they hear that they have a chance to live.

Then there were German tanks and armored cars, surrounded by reporters, driving into the burning port of Alexandria. Dusty German grenadiers, armed with their weapons, stagger into this important port, a symbol of British rule in North Africa.

The grand parade started immediately. The German infantry in square array began to carry rifles and walk to the fruits of their victory. On both sides of the road, there were listless British soldiers. They were escorted by German soldiers with guns and walked to the temporary prison camp.

According to the previous agreement, British officials were allowed to carry their own luggage and be detained with their adjutants, and all were allowed to wear ceremonial swords to heal the psychological trauma caused by surrender. According to the conditions of both sides, British soldiers can return to their hometown to participate in labor reform, instead of being sent to Poland as slaves.

As for those Indian troops who left their homes for the sake of the British, a small part of them would be sent back to Europe to enrich the ethnic composition of the concentration camps. Most of them would stay in North Africa and work hard for the construction of a new railway running from Tunis to Suez Canal. The time was a long and full decade.

Rommel's open top cars rumbled in the army, followed by armored cars and tanks in front and behind. Then there were captured radio communication command vehicles with German nickname "mammoth" that captured Britain, and many guard vehicles of the headquarters. German grenadiers were standing on the trucks, looking at the British middle and lower ranking officers watching with cold expression.

Most of the losers look depressed, but the winners are not so strong. Their bodies are covered with dust, the paint on the cars is cracked and peeled off, and some tanks have soldiers sitting on the top. It seems that everyone is exhausted.

"I think we are more respectable winners than we are. At least we know to shave every few days." When a British division commander saw the German soldiers passing by, he said sarcastically, "these Germans seem to care nothing but fighting."

As a result, the German Grenadier division commander who stood beside him and accepted his surrender sneered after hearing the translation, and then said, "we won because we know that fighting with a beard will not affect our combat effectiveness, but when you shave, I have enough time to shoot all the bullets at you."

Despite the sarcasm, the whole surrender work was completed smoothly. Compared with the cruelty of the battle, the blood of the bombing, and the fierce fighting, the scene had a kind of medieval chivalry. The two sides shook hands civilly, then talked about the weather, and then had a decent cup of tea to discuss the problems in the battle.

Rommel's motorcade passed through the lines of many British prisoners, and then stopped in front of the central administration building in Alexandria, which was almost in ruins. Instead of getting off in a hurry, he stood in his car and looked down at Montgomery, who was standing there waiting to be demoted, motionless.

This is the first time for two people to see each other face to face. Although they have seen each other in newspapers and intelligence agencies for countless times, they are really the first time to meet in a real sense. I don't know why, Rommel felt that this man had been a high wall on his way forward, so that he couldn't cross it.

He pushed his car door open, jumped out of his car and, surrounded by staff and guards, went to his old rival Montgomery. Meticulously raised his arm and gave a German salute: "long live the Fuehrer. Nice to meet you, general Montgomery. If I remember correctly, this is the first time we've met. It's a great honor. "

"It's a great pleasure to meet you, too, general Rommel! But it's not the first time we've met, at least once in France. " Montgomery's left and right sides trembled slightly. Rommel also saw that the British general who supported the war in North Africa was in very bad health. The blow of defeat and the crisis of his motherland had brought him enormous pressure, and the burden on his shoulders was heavier than that on Rommel.

He took a deep breath, motioned to his assistant to hand over the flag of the 9th army to the German officer on Rommel's side, and then continued to say, "on behalf of the 9th army, I surrender to your... German defense force l army. Now I hand over the flag, which symbolizes the honor of our army. I hope general Rommel can treat your booty well." Rommel stopped his assistant with his hand, and then stood at attention and said to general Montgomery, "sir! Your troops have fought from Tunis and my troops to Alexandria. As your opponent, I fully affirm your excellent ability in battle command and the combat effectiveness of the 9th British army. " He pointed to the flag still in the middle of the palm of Montgomery's assistant's hand, then looked into Montgomery's eyes and continued, "so, general Montgomery, I, Elvin? Rommel, general of the Third Reich German defense force, please hand me the flag representing the honor of all the people here. Stand at attention With his shouts, all the German people stood at attention. Although their clothes were not very decent, some were surrounded by gauze, and some were covered with sand on their shoes, they all stood at attention with a strong momentum. The prisoners of war on the British side also straightened their waists. At that moment, they seemed to have recovered their soul. If they had recovered their state earlier, maybe they could fight with Rommel's troops in the ruins for a month. When Montgomery heard Rommel's words, his eyes were more brilliant. Now he has almost nothing. His motherland, which has been struggling all his life, now wants to hang him up. However, it is a very precious comfort for a defeated general to get the affirmation of the former enemy. So Montgomery sorted out his uniform, took over the 9th army flag which he had been very fond of in his assistant's hand, slightly fiddled with the Yellow fringes on the edge of the flag, and solemnly walked up to Rommel. After standing at attention, Montgomery gave the flag to his opponent in German general's uniform. The reporters around accurately recorded this rare moment. It was the first group army unit to surrender to the German army since the beginning of the war, and it was also the first time a general with the rank of general surrendered. So the magnesium lights kept flashing, and with the sound of bang bang, these interviewers kept pressing the shutter in their hands“ You are better than me at encouraging soldiers and arousing their courage. You are a born general and a born star. When you stand there, many worshippers are willing to die for you. " Montgomery sighed. He really admitted his failure. He had too few cards in his hand to change everything he faced. If he can get to know Rommel in another time and space, he will become a close friend, because they all have the same tragic ending: they do not have enough strength to realize their strategic intention, and they all fail in the process of efforts. One of them is good at attacking, the other is good at defending, so Rommel of another time and space lost on the road of attacking, while Montgomery of this life lost in the defensive position. Rommel stood beside him, watching the distant troops rumbling out of the city. A banner of the third empire was hung on the surrounding buildings. While posing a handsome pose to the reporter, he said to Montgomery beside him: "that's because you haven't met our great leader. Compared with him, you know that my style is just skin deep. Standing beside the leader, I even have a feeling that I have achieved the goal that I haven't been able to achieve in my life. Standing by his side, I am truly invincible. " At the time of saying this, behind Rommel, the whole city was still smoking black smoke, and some places were still burning. All these things told people one thing. It seemed that the head of state who was far away in Berlin would really make people invincible! The proof is that this burning harbor.