Another headache for Zhang Chi was the issue of equipment and supplies. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

The advantage of the airlift is that it is fast, and it can rush from Okinawa, which is still in the harsh winter, to the hot Africa in a few days. The disadvantage is that you can only carry light equipment and not heavy equipment.

So, when the expeditionary force stood on the African battlefield, all they had in their hands was an M1 rifle and a couple of light machine guns.

The problem of supplies is even more acute...... The vast majority of units in the British Army use Enfield rifles, which do not have the same ammunition specifications as the M1 rifles (Enfield rifles use 7.7mm rifle cartridges, and M1 rifles use 7.62MM rifle cartridges)

American-style equipment was also available in the British army, but at this time there were not many American-style equipment in the British army, limited to British troops such as the 50th Division and the 44th Division......

Zhang Chi once made a request to Abner on this issue.

"Colonel!" Zhang Chi said: "You can't let the M1 rifle in our hands go to the battlefield without even bullets!" ”

"Of course not, General!" Abner replied: "But you know, our army is fighting the Germans, and ammunition is very tight, especially for American equipment...... We want to use them in more useful places, and when you go to war in the future, I promise you'll get the ammo you need! ”

Abner's implication is that Zhang Chi's Chinese troops are still training at this time, and it is obviously a waste to allocate too much ammunition.

Of course, Zhang Chi is not worried about what will happen to the battle situation...... What is the real situation of the war, it is also the British and the British troops who are finished first, Zhang Chi is worried about his troops, the troops have guns in their hands but no bullets, and it is extremely dangerous to operate on the second line.

"Colonel!" Zhang Chi said: "What if we run into Germans or Italians? We don't even have the ability to resist! ”

"Don't worry, General!" Abner replied: "This is Port Said, and Germany is still far away!" ”

"Whatever!" Zhang Chi said: "I hope you can report to General Montgomery on this issue!" We need artillery, tanks, anti-tank weapons, and so on! ”

"Well, General!" Abner reluctantly agreed, but it was clear from his expression that he didn't want to.

But Zhang Chi didn't want to let Abner be confused like this, he raised his head to the phone next to him, and said, "Since you are willing, then it is better to do it now!" ”

Abner was only a colonel after all, and finally obeyed Zhang Chi's orders.

But the result was obvious, and as soon as Montgomery heard this request, he said in an incredulous tone: "What? Tanks, artillery...... Still want American-style equipment? God, my troops are also lacking in these things, and I wish they would bring me some if I could! ”

As he spoke, he hung up the phone.

Abner spread his hands helplessly, putting on an expression of "look, I already knew it would be like this".

Zhang Chi did not doubt Montgomery's words, after all, the British army lost more than 300 tanks in the Battle of El Alamein...... That can be said to be a fiasco, you must know that the British army only had a total of 809 tanks at that time, that is, almost half of the tanks were lost, and then the German army attacked again, at this time the British army could have more than 300 tanks left, if it were not for the timely reinforcements of the American army, I am afraid that the British army would have lost North Africa long ago.

For these limited tanks, Montgomery was first equipped with the British army, then the Australian army, the New Zealand army, which were also white, and then the French army and the Polish army...... Racism was still evident in this era, and although Britain was no longer good, their minds were still temporarily stuck in the era of the powerful "empire on which the sun never sets", so it was natural to think that white people were superior to people of other colors.

Then, if there were extra tanks, Montgomery would even equip the Indian army first, because the Indian army at this time could be said to be the most obedient colonial force...... This is related to the caste system of Indians, the Aryans are white, and when they ruled India and established the caste system to enslave the Indians, they stipulated that the Aryans of the white race were of a high caste, so India easily accepted the rule of the British, who were also Caucasians.

This is also the reason why the Indian army still has considerable combat effectiveness at this time...... The Anglo-Indian army first defeated the attack of Mutaguchi Yoshiya in Imphal on the Indo-Burmese border, and then cooperated with the British army to defeat Rommel the desert fox in North Africa.

It is precisely because of this that India was invincible after the Second World War...... India's army has defeated two or even three powerful countries in the fascist camp, and how many countries in Asia and even the world can do it?!

So India took it for granted that in addition to Britain and the United States, the strongest military strength was itself, and a "third in the world" was born, followed by 62 years of Sino-Indian border conflicts...... It is a donkey or a horse that comes out for a walk, and if it is not beaten, it does not know that it is frightened, and the Indian army can even be said to be an army at all, and in a few days the Indian "powerful" army was beaten miserably and fled.

It is said that it is all to save face for the Indian army, and it is a surrender in batches...... At the cost of more than 700 casualties and more than 600 wounds, the Chinese army killed more than 4,000 and wounded more than 1,000, and captured more than 3,000 prisoners...... The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau could not be supplied with supplies, and it could not afford to raise prisoners, so it was still very effective for India to use this trick to cut off the enemy's supplies.

Some people have never understood why the Chinese army retreated after winning the battle, the reason is very simple...... The supplies were eaten up by the Indian prisoners, what can I do if I don't withdraw and return them?!

Zhang Chi felt that it was not a way to go on like this, waiting for the British, Australians, and French...... And the Indians are all equipped, and it is the turn of the Chinese in the end, and it depends on Montgomery's mood, so that the Chinese troops can get equipment in the year of the monkey?

In desperation, Zhang Chi sent a telegram to Halsey indicating the predicament of the expeditionary force.

But Halsey's call back disappointed Zhang Chi: "Zhang, as an American soldier, I can't influence General Montgomery's thoughts, all I can do is give him an opinion, and I can't do anything else!" ”

Zhang Chi expressed his understanding of this, after all, the battlefield still has to be unified and obey the commander's arrangement, and even the US military must obey Montgomery's command here.

The problem is just ......

This command and arrangement was problematic, and Montgomery grossly underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army, but he himself did not realize it.