By the time the front-line positions were attacked, General Katru had already received the news.

"The Romanians finally gave up."

In the face of this telegram, Catroux's heart that had been worried was finally put down. Because he was not afraid of Romania appearing, and if it did not appear again, then he would have to order a delay in the attack. He should have received information that the Romanian troops currently arriving in Tripoli are between 1-20,000.

And for the Romanian army, the Katru was much more important than the Italian army. Because of the war record, the Romanian army has been quite strong in the past 20 years, fighting the Bulgarians, Austria-Hungary, Germans, Soviets, and Poles, and there is no one to mess with, and the Romanians have all won.

Earlier, the British had also sent intelligence that in the battles of Crete and Cyprus, the Romanian army was so striking in combat that it could not be considered inferior to that of Germany.

With so much information showing that the Romanians were not easy to deal with, how could he, as a commander, ignore it. In fact, after the Romanians landed in Tripoli, the Katru was already prepared. And now that Romania has shown its head, and it has also appeared in an offensive way, then Katru, as the commander, will naturally not be polite.

It's time to come up with his means and show the Romanians that France is not afraid of them. The Germans, who had been so fierce in the previous war, were dragged to death, and the Romanians, who had only dealt with the second-line German army, were not afraid.

I saw Catrou giving orders. "Now immediately order, the defenders of Razanhar are ready for defense. The 51st Division of Banluk was then ordered to send out the remaining troops to Rajanhar for reinforcements. The remaining troops of the 21st Division were also sent over, and Colonel Jacques was asked to send his troops to Lazanhar. ”

In the face of the incoming Romanian and Italian coalition forces, Catroux had already chosen the interception point, which was Lazanhar. To the north is a cliff by the sea, and the terrain is not suitable for vehicles. To the south is a swamp from which a river called Madir flows, making it a very rare swamp in Libya. So Rajanhar in the center is the point.

It is also the granary of Tripoli, which produces enough food to feed the city's four floors.

Prior to this, Lazenhar was also the focus of the Italian defense, but it was conquered by the French, and Catroux deliberately left a battalion of defensive troops due to the importance of this place. And now the offense and defense are in a different position, and the Yiluo army is replaced to attack.

And the backbone of this response to the incoming Italian coalition is the improvised armored force led by Colonel Jacques. This force was specially prepared by Catrous, and in the previous battles, Romania was so fond of fighting with armored assaults, how could he not be able to defend himself. And the armor in his hands is not a small amount.

At present, in addition to the armoured reconnaissance battalions owned by the divisions (equipped with 32 H35 light tanks and Renault R-35 light tanks), Catroux also has a unit in his hands, the 1st Tunisian Cavalry Brigade.

The brigade was named cavalry, but in fact it was an armored unit. Its core is the 1st Panzer Cavalry Regiment, which has three squadrons of medium tanks armed with S-35s, and one squadron equipped with H35 light tanks. Each squadron is subordinate to four platoons (5 vehicles), plus 1 in command and 2 in reserve, each squadron is equipped with 23 tanks.

And in addition to this regiment called armored cavalry, which is actually a tank, there is also a motorized infantry regiment, a mixed artillery regiment.

In addition to its own armored forces, Catroux also recruited nearly 100 H35 and R-35 tanks from various divisions to supplement the cavalry brigade. Now the brigade has long been armored to the point of a home-formed light mechanized division, and now is the time to use it.

Of course, as a good commander, how could he allow the Yiluo army to be so presumptuous. "In addition, send a report to the 19th and 28th divisions on the front line, so that they can send troops to recapture the gap."

That's right, he intends to encircle and annihilate this daring force in the area of Razanhar, and he will not even leave them with a way out. And as long as this force is annihilated, then the morale of the defenders of Tripoli must be greatly reduced.

While Catroux was looking forward to the future, the two Loi commanders were also planning for the next battle.

The Italian coalition army, which had just broken through the front-line position, was advancing into the interior of the French army. Swarms of tanks with cars full of soldiers headed for their next destination, and the smoke and dust raised by them could be seen from afar. Behind them, a large group of trucks pulled artillery and various supplies, followed in their footsteps.

Inside the command car, Antonescu was giving a lecture to General Messer.

"Lieutenant General Messer, I expect the most difficult moment to come, and the enemy will definitely stop us at the point of Razanhar."

"So we need to hurry up and take Razanhar before the enemy can support us."

General Messer was not slow to react, and he also saw the difficulties they might encounter next.

"That's right, so the speed of the march is very important to us."

"Report, I just received information from a reconnaissance plane that a large number of French troops are gathering in the direction of Razanhar, and there are also a large number of armored units among them."

A communications staff officer took the message that had just been translated and reported to the two generals who were talking.

"Bring it."

Antonescu reached out and took the telegram and began to read it, his brow sinking deeper and deeper as it passed.

"Look at it."

After reading the telegram, he handed it to General Messer.

Messer received the telegram and saw that the reconnaissance planes had spotted three groups of the enemy heading towards Lazenhar, one of which was only eight kilometers away from Lazenhar. Moreover, these enemies are fully equipped, and one of them looks like a divisional armored unit.

"We should pick up the pace."

After reading the telegram, Messer expressed his opinion worriedly.

"Immediately let the armored regiment and the motorized infantry regiment speed up, let them take Razanhar first, and send a telegram to the air force, let them air strikes drag down the enemy's reinforcements. The enemy's armored forces, in particular, could not allow them to reach Razanhar before we did. ”

Antonescu also knows where the main points are, and he must take Razanhar first, otherwise the big thing will be lost.

"Let my troops keep up, at least to increase the offensive strength."

Messer also knows that this is a critical time and also offers his own opinion.

As the two men agreed, the mighty force immediately split into two parts, with armored regiments and motorized units speeding up, and they were to take the point of Razanhar before enemy reinforcements arrived.

……

"Woo~Woo~Woo!"

"Air raid, lie down!"

The sound of the shrill whistle made a French army that was marching in a hurry immediately stop. They were troops of the 51st Division, and they were ordered to immediately reinforce Razanhar, but their reinforcement did not go well, and they were attacked by the enemy's air force not long after they set off.

The incoming fighters wantonly killed their comrades on their heads, which made the officers and men of the 51st Division extremely angry.

"Click, Tower, Tower......"

Fighter planes swept through the air, leaving many French soldiers in pools of blood.

"Hurry up and organize anti-aircraft fire, hurry."

Without the command of the team shouting, the French officers and soldiers immediately operated the 25-mm anti-aircraft guns they carried with the troops and began to resist the planes attacked. It's just that there are too many incoming fighters, and this time they only carried two companies of 12 anti-aircraft guns, and one of them was specially reinforced for them, and this anti-aircraft firepower could not make the incoming planes feel jealous.

"Boom!"

A 105-mm howitzer was hit by an enemy aerial bomb, and even the artillery belt car was destroyed.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The bombardment from the enemy cost them more heavy equipment.

"Damn it, our air force is there!"

The air force that the commander shouted about has been suppressed from the battlefield by the combined air force of Romania and Italy, and the MS.406 fighters currently equipped by the French air force are no match for the fighters of Italy and Italy, and for this air attack, they have prepared nearly 200 planes for battle, let alone a target that they can solve.

If the 51st Division was difficult to move in the face of air raids, then the armored troops led by Colonel Jacques were unable to move an inch. They were subjected to even greater air raids, and these air raid planes not only attacked the troops, but also damaged the roads, which made Colonel Jacques feel helpless.

They were supposed to be in Rajanhar in two hours, but now they were lucky to be there in four hours.

For Razanhar, who he has never forgotten, now it is a different scene.

The troops of the Loese and Italian armies, completely ignoring the follow-up troops, were attacking Razanhar.

"Fire."

Faced with the onslaught of the enemy, the defenders could only rely on fortifications to resist them, trying to hold them back.

However, their idea was a little unrealized, and an R20 tank ran over the rubble and appeared in front of the defenders' positions. The sound of gunfire exploded, as if to stop the tank from coming. It's just that none of this is useful, neither the machine guns nor the anti-tank guns of the defenders can stop it.

Speaking of the 25-mm anti-tank guns that the French army was equipped with at the battalion level, this anti-tank was developed in the 20s, and the main target was the wide variety of light tanks at that time. It's just that this anti-tank gun has long been behind by now, let alone used against the world's most advanced R20 medium tank.

The sound of "ping-pong" is the same as the gun's shot at the tank, but it is not powerful enough to penetrate the R20's armor.

"Boom!"

An anti-tank gun was blasted into the sky.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

The on-board machine guns likewise suppressed the fire of the defenders.

And with the advantage of tanks, the accompanying soldiers rushed to the battlefield in one fell swoop.

In this situation everywhere in Razanhar, the infantry and Tan coordination, as the most basic tactic, was played by the soldiers of the Italian and Romanian armies.

What's more, the defenders had only one battalion, and the attacking Romanian and Italian armies were nearly 10,000 people, plus the superiority of armored artillery, which made them how to defend.

After less than an hour of resistance, they abandoned their armor and escaped from what had become a purgatory for them.

The news also stunned Catrou, as he had no idea that Razenhar would be lost like this. In this case, the three divisions of the front line will be cut off from the rear, is this the purpose of the Italian coalition army that attacked?

Thinking of this, Catrou couldn't sit still, and he immediately sent a telegram to the front-line troops, asking them to hold on immediately. In addition, a report was sent to the reinforcements, informing them of the results, believing that they knew the consequences.

In Rajanhar, a battle is about to begin, where the offense and defense will change hands.