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The Germans' movements were not surprising to General Auchinleck.

"Their target is Cairo!" General Auchinlake said.

"Yes!" The staff officer replied: "This is also confirmed by the information received from General Bolton, that the Germans have changed the direction of their march and the goal is Cairo!" ”

"How many troops do we have in Cairo?" General Auchinlake asked.

"There is only one infantry battalion!" The staff officer replied: "The rest are all air force and logistics personnel!" ”

The staff officer's answer surprised General Auchinleck.

If a German panzer division were to storm Cairo, the British would be battered of their air power in North Africa...... The aircraft may be able to be transferred urgently, but the airport ground staff, maintenance personnel, and a large number of spare parts cannot be transferred in time.

This is due to the fact that Cairo is landlocked and although the Nile River helps to transport them, it is difficult to safely transfer these large quantities of valuable resources in a short period of time, let alone if this happens...... The German air force could use Cairo as a base to blockade the Suez Canal, which would then inflict a double blow on the British army, both mentally and materially.

Thinking of this, General Auchinleck couldn't help but feel a little anxious, although the British army was much more powerful than the German army, but the German army was like a rat scurrying around the defensive line, and those who blocked it on the left and right could not stop it, and now there was even a threat of taking the Egyptian command center directly.

"Send a telegram to the 7th Panzer Division now!" After a pause, General Auchinleck ordered: "Let them follow the Germans, and never let the Germans escape from sight!" ”

"Yes!"

General Auchinleck's idea was simple: as long as the 7th Panzer Division followed the German 21st Panzer Division and sent reinforcements to Cairo himself, the British would have an advantage in strength anyway.

But what General Auchinlake did not expect was that it was precisely this order that pushed the British 7th Panzer Division into the fire pit.

The tracks clucked, the motors rumbled, and the air was filled with the smell of soot and exhaust.

The 21st Panzer Division marched all the way in the desert in the direction of Cairo, and the whole desert looked like vehicles at a glance.

But in fact, even the German "No. 3" tank, which has excellent performance, cannot run wildly in the desert at the highest speed.

This is due to the fact that after a period of time the tank has been driven, the necessary overhaul and engine cooling are carried out...... This is a pain in the march of tanks, especially in the desert with sand and wind, which can clog the air intakes of tanks and overheat the engines by high temperatures.

The total number of German tanks itself is not large, so it is impossible to leave it alone, let alone leave it behind, because behind it is the British 7th Panzer Division, and to drop them means leaving them to the enemy.

As a result, as long as a few tanks break down, often the entire force has to stop.

For these reasons, the 21st Panzer Division could march about 80 kilometers in a day...... Under the extreme circumstances, the tank troops under the command of Rommel in North Africa marched more than 100 kilometers a day, but it was a rapid intersperse, and there was no hesitation in dropping down tanks when they broke down along the way.

This speed may not be very good for modern times, and it is 80 kilometers to drive a car at a speed of 100 tens of yards per hour on the highway for more than half an hour.

But in this era, it is not easy, and if it is a "Matilda" tank, it will be even more tragic.

It was obvious that the British 7th Panzer Division would be faster, because on several occasions Qin Chuan and the German soldiers could see the vague figure of the "Stuart" tank in the rear.

In this respect, the "Stuart" tank is indeed excellent, of course, this is also related to the fact that the "Stuart" tank itself is lighter and more suitable for marching in the desert.

However, the British tanks were only hanging far behind, and they did not dare to approach easily, because the German artillery often used this opportunity to practice their skills......

This is a good opportunity to practice anti-tank guns.

Anti-tank guns have many advantages over tanks, such as a wider field of view and a longer range...... In fact, the gun is still the same gun, and the tank gun is a modification of the anti-tank gun, but in the narrow space of the tank, it is not easy for the gunner to find the target and not easy to judge the distance, so the firing range will be greatly shortened.

What's more, the anti-tank guns are low, hidden in the position and dug a trench at random, revealing only a barrel and a small shield, and it is difficult for tank crews in the tank to find their location, and many tank crews do not realize the threat until the anti-tank gun fires, but it is too late to find out.

So at first, the British tanks would approach and pursue...... The British have not enjoyed this kind of speed for a long time, and they used to drive the infantry tank, which is a little faster than the infantry to walk, and they were left behind by the enemy, holding their breath, and now they could not help but speed up and want to show off when they drove the "Stuart", which was faster than the "Three".

As a result, the German soldiers were the same psychological...... The German gunners have not enjoyed this feeling of being able to penetrate enemy tanks for a long time, they used to use PAK36, and the penetrating power hit the "Matilda" like an itch that could not be penetrated, even if it was a weak rear armor, holding their stomachs, now they are using a PAK38 that can penetrate the "Matilda" at about 400 meters, and when they saw the British tanks coming up, they couldn't help but itch their hands, and set up a cannon to "boom" a few times, and in the blink of an eye, a few "Stuart" became scrap metal, And the tank crew didn't even notice where the enemy was.

The end result is that Stuart always consciously follows from a kilometer away.

At any other time, the German 21st Panzer Division would have been uncomfortable with this situation, because the "Stuart" tank was faster than the "Three", and it always had a tail behind it, and it had to consider whether its back would be attacked wherever it went or attacked.

But now......

The Germans wanted precisely the 7th Panzer Division to follow.

It was like that on the first day, and it was like this on the second day.

Day 3......

General Stryk estimated that almost half of the fuel had been consumed, and if he didn't do anything, he would not be able to return to Sidioma to replenish fuel and supplies. What's more, the British 7th Armored Division also distanced itself from the Australian 6th Infantry Division.

So General Stryk planned to do it on this day.

The British 7th Panzer Division did not know about this, thinking that it would continue to advance with the Germans as usual.