Chapter 193: Attack
"We're going to keep attacking!" Rommel said at the meeting.
On the afternoon of Hitler's attack on the Soviet Union, the 15th Panzer Division arrived in Alexander, along with Rommel, and as soon as he arrived in Alexander, he summoned the officers for a meeting.
Although Qin Chuan was not an officer, he also participated in this meeting under Rommel's name.
"We can't go on the offensive anymore, General!" General Stryker had always been at odds with Rommel, and this time was no exception.
It's just that General Stryker seems to have won an argument only a few times.
"General!" Colonel Albridge added: "We only have thirty-two tanks left, and eight of them are enemy 'Stuarts', and all of them are scarred and need repairs......"
"The situation of the enemy is worse than ours!" Rommel said: "And we still have the 15th Panzer Division, they still have forty tanks!" ”
Hearing this, Colonel Albridge couldn't help but glance at General Stryker...... They had expected that the 15th Panzer Division would not suffer much damage, as they did not penetrate behind enemy lines like the 21st Panzer Division and engage in a vicious battle with the enemy's 'English crossbows' in Alexandria.
In fact, every family has a scripture that is difficult to read...... The mission of the 15th Panzer Division was to launch a feint attack on the British in the vicinity of Rowasat Ridge.
The feint was supposed to be an easy task, but the problem was that the feint began during the day, and the British had already concentrated the main defensive forces in the direction of the Roissat Ridge......
As a result, the 15th Panzer Division was indiscriminately bombarded by British artillery and British fighters and bombers, and many tanks were destroyed before they could see the enemy, and it was not bad to have forty tanks left.
"So we can't attack!" General Stryk said: "There are only about seventy tanks in our two armored divisions combined!" ”
"I think that's enough!" Rommel replied: "The British are left with only a few 'Stuarts' that are not very combat-ready, and our tanks can easily destroy them and break through their lines!" ”
"The problem is that the British don't just have tanks, they also have planes and artillery!" General Stryk retorted.
"We can choose to attack at night!" "In addition, we have captured Alexandria and its airfield, and have captured enough fuel and supplies......
As he spoke, Rommel pointed to Alexander on the map and said, "We can transfer the fighter plane to Alexandria...... They can cover our attack! ”
Hearing this, the officers could only choose to remain silent, because Rommel's offensive plan seemed to be indeed feasible, although the British army had a numerical advantage in aircraft, but the German army had an advantage in performance and quality, and if they did their best to attack, they could indeed burst out with great energy.
Seeing that the officers were impressed, Rommel continued: "Our goal is Port Said...... Once we can take this port, then the British supplies will lose the port where they landed, which means that we will cut off the supply lines of the British! ”
Qin Chuan didn't speak, because he actually knew Rommel's thoughts.
Rommel was eager to attack the British line, in addition to fearing that the line would be strengthened and would become a trench war of the First World War, another worry was that time was not on the German side...... The equipment of the German army was transported by sea from Italy, while the equipment of the British army was transported from India.
It is clear that the equipment and troop transportation of the British army was much faster than that of the German army, and even because the American equipment obtained by the British army was not at all inferior to the German army in terms of performance.
As a result, the further time drags on, the greater the gap between the German and British armies. In this case, the Germans had only one way to go, a quick victory.
Right now......
With the arrival of 126 British fighters on the island of Malta, cutting off the sea lines of communication of the Afrika Korps, the German army's already pitiful supply was even worse, so the German army was even more required to fight quickly.
"Sergeant!" Rommel frowned at Qin Chuan and didn't speak, so he asked, "You seem to have a different opinion on this plan?" ”
At this time, Rommel had already been impressed by Qin Chuan.
This is not only because Qin Chuan saved his life before, nor because Qin Chuan invented the "minesweeper tank" and successfully broke through the British defense line with it...... In Rommel's view, this is just a flash of inspiration, and a little luck can do it.
If these are nothing, then Qin Chuan's performance in Alexander defeated Rommel completely in terms of strategy...... Because when Rommel received information that the 21st Panzer Division was blocked, he also did not know what to do.
But it didn't take long for Rommel to get the news that the Germans had succeeded in capturing Alexander.
After knowing that it was Qin Chuan who used the propaganda offensive to achieve miraculous results, Rommel couldn't help but sigh: "This sergeant has created a miracle, he defeated the enemy with a horn instead of a tank...... If I could, I would prefer his troops to be in command rather than the generals who only count tanks and equipment! ”
"Yes, General!" Qin Chuan said: "Because I think all of this is based on the assumption that the British will be weaker than us!" ”
"Isn't it?" Rommel spread his hands and said: "We have indeed suffered heavy losses, and there are only about 70 of the more than 200 tanks left. But our losses were all worth it, because each of our tanks destroyed several, if not a dozen, enemy tanks. This is our pride, Sergeant...... At the same time, it is also a clear proof that Britain's power has been weakened! ”
"Of course I do, General!" Qin Chuan replied: "But at the same time that we destroyed the British tanks one by one...... Boats and ships of British equipment and reinforcements are coming. ”
"You mean to say...... The British still have tank landings? Rommel couldn't help but stare at Qin Chuan.
"Yes!" Qin Chuan replied: "Because this situation has appeared on the battlefield before...... We thought that the armored forces that had already defeated the enemy could be overwhelmed, but suddenly they came up with two hundred 'Stuarts', a brand new armored regiment! ”
"The sergeant is right!" General Stryk agreed: "They did land during the battle, and we interrogated the prisoners!" ”
Rommel couldn't help but be stunned, and then said confidently: "Gentlemen, your worries are unnecessary, because we destroyed not only the enemy's tanks, but also their tank crews...... Do you think that in such a short period of time, the British were capable of training so many tank crews? Even if there were, the tanks piloted by novices would be vulnerable! ”