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The British fought all day during the day and managed to gain a foothold on the heights, only to be driven off the heights by the Germans in a battle at night.

It was still a trivial matter to be driven off the high ground, after all, the occupation could be continued the next day, and the important thing was that the British and Australian troops suffered heavy casualties in this battle, and Colonel Bard's 1st Airborne Regiment lost 319 dead and 532 wounded in this day's attack, and another 35 were missing. The 13th Australian Infantry Regiment suffered more than 1,000 casualties, and its commander, Colonel Bois, was wounded and captured.

At this time, Colonel Bai Yisi was only afraid that there were 10,000 grass and mud horses whistling past in his heart...... Originally, he wanted to show his "selflessness" in front of the British masters, and he was willing to sacrifice the lives of Australians for the sake of the British, who would have thought that he would be captured!!

When the news reached the headquarters of the Eighth Army, Montgomery and Eisenhower could not help but be dumbfounded, they could not imagine that this battle would end like this: after only one day of attack, an elite paratrooper regiment and a good Australian infantry regiment would lose their combat effectiveness.

To be exact, they did not lose their combat effectiveness, but their confidence in battle.

Colonel Bard weakly reported to Montgomery, "General, I'm sorry, we've tried all kinds of methods, but this is still happening! I think...... Until a more suitable tactic is found, there is no point in rushing into these high grounds! ”

Montgomery understood what Colonel Bard meant, that is, the 1st Airborne Regiment refused to attack the German-garrisoned high ground again.

What else could Montgomery do? Send another force up? That is afraid that the tragedy of the 1st Airborne Regiment will be repeated.

"General!" At this time, a staff officer with a telegram reported: "The armored units of the Germans have appeared in Wajid and Aboun!" ”

Montgomery and Eisenhower immediately became nervous, and their faces turned even paler when they found the two locations on the map that the staff officer had mentioned.

"General!" Eisenhower said: "It is clear that they brought back the armored forces!" ”

Montgomery nodded silently.

"General!" Degan pleaded from the side: "Give the order, if you don't retreat, it's too late!" ”

De Guengang was right, the Germans brought back their armored units from both ends, and their target was obviously Gafsa.

If Gafsa is occupied by the German Panzer Division, combined with the Gabes Line and the perverted heights in depth...... The retreat of the British army was completely closed.

There was silence for a long time before Montgomery gritted his teeth and ordered, "Retreat!" ”

However, when Montgomery gave the order to retreat, Montgomery realized that it was not easy to even retreat.

This is not about the 15th Panzer Division.

The 15th Panzer Division could still be withdrawn, after all, it was a thick-skinned "Sherman" tank, and the German mortars hit the armor of these tanks as a white spot...... It's just that they also have to pay a certain price, at least it takes a lot of courage for the cars and armored vehicles of the armored division to break through the blocked sections.

Compared to this equipment, it is much easier for the Airborne Forces to retreat, they can disperse through...... The German mortars did not waste the reserves of shells in the tunnels for such a goal.

The difficulty lies in the 7th Panzer Division, which penetrates deep into Tunisia.

In terms of time, it is also too late for the 7th Panzer Division to be withdrawn...... The German armored divisions were pressed by the powerful air power of Britain and the United States, and did not dare to march during the day, and did not dare to march too fast at night, and even had to beware of the British and American air forces bombing at night.

Although the fighters of this era did not have the ability to fight at night, the US military had its own set of night combat methods: using reconnaissance planes to find targets at low altitudes, such as the headlights of tanks and cars.

Once the target is found, the reconnaissance aircraft will cooperate with the bombers to carry out night bombing, such as dropping incendiary bombs in the target area to indicate the target location of the bomber.

This made it take at least two days for the German armored units to reach Gafsa.

With the British having air supremacy, it was not a problem for the 7th Panzer Division to arrive at Gafsa in two days.

The fuel was barely enough, and during this time, the US transport planes airdropped fuel to the 7th Armored Division almost non-stop, and they could also get continuous fuel replenishment on the way back...... This is also the advantage of having air supremacy, even if a literal encirclement has been formed on land, the Allies can still get enough fuel.

The problem is still on the high ground along the way......

Major General Bolton, commander of the 7th Armored Division, had actually taken into account the problem of his own rear road, so he deployed troops to defend at key points along the way, and even left a few tanks to assist in some important places.

These points were also in the hands of the British, which is why Major General Bolton and Montgomery believed that the 7th Panzer Division would be withdrawn.

But soon Major General Bolton found out that he was wrong...... The focus of the German sluggish 7th Panzer Division was not at all on the points that seemed to be the main points, their focus was on the high ground, on the high ground on the side of the road.

This is not to say that the Germans built tunnels on these heights, although they did have tunnels, but they were not numerous and did not form a scale.

The problem is that De seems to have countless bazookas in his hands...... The tank was driving on the road, and when it turned and slowed down, two rockets were fired in the grass on the side of the road.

ALTHOUGH THE ARMOR OF THE "SHERMAN" TANK IS THICK, THE PENETRATION DEPTH OF THE BAZOOKA IS 200MM, AND IT CAN ALMOST BE SAID THAT AS LONG AS IT HITS, THERE IS NO ONE WHO DOES NOT WEAR IT, EVEN IF IT HITS THE FRONTAL ARMOR...... The reason why sometimes it hits and does not penetrate is because the rockets are sometimes bounced off without detonating when they hit the inclined armor of the tank.

The Germans were apparently prepared early in the morning, and as soon as they finished firing the bazookas, they turned around and entered the trenches and disappeared into the jungle.

As a result, the 7th Panzer Division struggled, and during this period, it constantly had to send scouts to reconnoitre.

However, the reconnaissance did not achieve good results, because the Germans were always able to set up ambushes and defeat the scouts with heavy losses...... After all, this is a mountainous area, and the road is full of highlands on both sides, and it is easy and condescending to ambush in the vegetation of the highlands.

"General!" Rear Admiral Bolton reported to Montgomery with some anxiety: "We have lost thirteen tanks in half a day, and this is still during the day, if it is a night march...... I'm sure the losses will be even greater! If this continues, I'm afraid that before we reach Gafsa, the tank will be lost by more than half! ”

"No matter what method you use!" Montgomery replied angrily, "Bring back all those tanks!" ”

"Yes, General!" Major General Bolton replied.

But he knew in his heart that it was almost impossible.