My Italy - Chapter 665 Battle of Tunisia (2)

After Crown Prince Vittorio arrived at the Eighth Army, its offensive began immediately.

After occupying Gabes, the 15th Forward Division immediately set off after two days of rest. At this time, the follow-up troops had followed up, and their 15th Division was heading towards Shah’al, 80 kilometers away.

In addition to the Algerian 14th Division that they defeated here, there was also the Tunisian 3rd Division. According to intelligence, the Tunisian 4th Division stationed in Sfax also sent a regiment to Shah’al, which now has 21,000 troops.

However, for the 15th Forward Division, he did not pay attention to even the two colonial divisions. In terms of various weapons and equipment, the two colonial divisions stationed in Shah’al could not keep up with one of his divisions. In the most critical aspect of artillery, none of the three divisions can match it.

In this case, what is so scary about the 15th Division? It is better to pay more attention to the tribal cavalry that appear and disappear during the march. These natives are obviously ordered by the French to monitor and harass his supply lines.

The 15th Division took the lead as the vanguard, while the 2nd and 4th Cavalry Divisions on the left wing were also clearing the flanks of danger. As for the right wing, it is the Italian Navy. On this sea, it is absolutely safe with the protection of the Italian Navy.

At this time, the 2nd Cavalry Division had just passed through the Federje Salt Flats, which is a branch of the famous Jared Salt Flats, which is only thirty kilometers away from the Gulf of Gabes. At this time, the 2nd Cavalry Division was moving forward in the middle of the salt marsh, and their destination was Sidi Mansour. According to the previous airship reconnaissance report, there were five to six thousand tribal cavalry gathered there. It was obvious that they were preparing to contain the Eighth Army’s attack from the flanks.

Some people may ask why these tribal cavalry did not leave since they were detected by the Italian airship. People who say this clearly don’t understand life in the Gobi desert.

Because you need water to survive in the desert, and gathering five to six thousand cavalry requires a staggering amount of water, which only a few desert water sources can provide. This is just like the previous annihilation of the rebel tribes in Libya. You can run into the desert, but I repeatedly raid the oases where people can live. How should you live?

Of course, this requires familiarity with the oasis wells in the desert. In Libya, Italy attracted the Berbers who specialized in living in the desert. As for Tunisia, this is even simpler. Italy has penetrated for nearly thirty years, plus the same To win over the Berbers, we can tell you where there are oasis wells and how many people they can support.

So it’s not that easy to come out from the desert to carry out an attack. One or two hundred people may ignore it (it will not be effective in attacking), but hundreds, thousands, or thousands of people cannot do without an oasis as a camp.

“Reporting to the division commander, the guide said that we are still forty kilometers away from Sidi Mansour.”

“Okay, you go down.”

At this time, Timothy looked at the tired team behind him and ordered. “Commander, order the team to stop and rest for an hour. Tell them that they have to travel all night tonight.”

Timothy’s order caused the Second Cavalry Division to stop. At this time, the officers and soldiers took out water bean cakes from their pockets and fed them to the horses they were leading behind them. You can rest later, but you must let your beloved horse eat first.

Yes, you read that right. At this time, the horses of the Second Cavalry Division were led and not ridden like in the movies or pictures. In fact, when marching in the desert, horses are usually led. As for the scene of galloping horses in the desert, it is basically impossible unless a battle is imminent.

Because the horse is delicate, what should I do if the horse is tired when the time comes to go to the battlefield? Some people may say that if this is the case, then prepare more horses for daily riding, but have you considered the supply issue?

Horses not only eat more, they also eat well. This would increase the burden on the cavalry units. Moreover, transportation in the desert is difficult, and increasing transportation volume is simply a disaster, so there is no need for the cavalry to carry too many horses in the desert.

At this time, the officers and soldiers of the Second Cavalry Division were feeding the horses and resting. At this time, the moon had already hung on the branches, and the one-hour rest time had arrived.

“Set off!”

At this time, the messenger shouted the order to set off, and the officers and soldiers of the Second Cavalry Division embarked on the journey again.

At this time, a breeze blew in the cool desert, causing the officers and soldiers of the 2nd Cavalry Division to hum in comfort as they prepared to march.

The heat that came during the hot weather during the day also dissipated in this gust of wind. The moonlight fell on the officers and soldiers, making them particularly conspicuous. Under the guidance of the bright moonlight, the Second Cavalry Division advanced towards Sidi Mansour.

…

Sidi Mansour is an oasis named after the Sidi Mansour Salt Marsh. It is located in a low-lying land east of the Sidi Mansour Salt Marsh. The rich groundwater provides local residents with their daily irrigation needs.

So the residents of Sidi Mansour make a living by growing dates, olives and raising sheep. However, due to terrain and water sources, planting and breeding can only be carried out within two kilometers around Sidi Mansour. Therefore, the permanent population of the area is only more than 200 people, belonging to a small tribe, and life can be considered worry-free. But now, the residents of Sidi Mansour are crying because they have been kicked out of their houses to be used by tribal leaders, and even their own farmland and pastures have been occupied. This place is full of soldiers who set up tents to rest. They said they would use this place as a base to fight against the Italians who invaded their territory.

It was dawn at this time, and there was still a peaceful atmosphere in Sidi Mansour. It was the moment when people fall asleep the most.

At this time, in the desert outside the oasis, a group of people were constantly observing the situation in the oasis.

“The natives are the natives. They didn’t even leave a sentry. You can’t blame others for being so careless.”

Major General Timothy said to himself as he put down the telescope in his hand. The Second Cavalry Division arrived here at three o’clock in the morning. Regardless of fatigue, after a short rest, they waited for dawn to launch the attack. As long as they can defeat the enemies here, they can have a good rest in the oasis, which is much better than in the desert.

“Report, all regiments are ready to launch, just waiting for your order, division commander.”

After listening to the news brought by the communications troops, Timothy, as the division commander, immediately ordered.

“Okay, immediately order the artillery regiment to fire a base amount of ammunition in a rapid fire manner, and then each regiment will immediately launch an attack. I will have dinner at Isidi Mansour at noon.”

“As you command!”

Three minutes later, rumbles of artillery sounded from behind, and 36 75mm cavalry guns roared, followed by continuous explosions in Sidi Mansour.

“what happened?”

Major Bekas, who was awakened by the sound of shelling, jumped out of bed. From this we can see his military qualities. However, at this time, Major Bekas was not proud of his military quality, because he knew from the constant explosions that it was the sound of a 75mm cavalry cannon, and the continuous explosions told him that it was at least thirty above the door. It’s obvious that having a division-level cavalry is a big deal. So he didn’t care about getting dressed and ran out of the house immediately.

And his decision was a wise one, because as soon as he left the door with his front feet, he heard an explosion from his back feet, followed by the sound of the house collapsing and the screams of the servants.

However, coming out did not make Bekas feel better. He saw a tribal chief pulling him and shouting. “Mr. Becas, did you say that we will not be attacked by the Italians?”

“Chief Maliki, anything is possible on the battlefield, but I will try my best to let the boys of your tribe survive. Your Excellency, the enemy is about to attack now. We need to repel the enemy attack first, okay?”

After finally persuading the chief to leave, Bekas walked to a deserted place, mounted a horse and ran towards the north. What are you thinking about relying on these natives to resist the attack of an Italian cavalry division?

At this time, shouts came from behind him, and he saw groups of Italian cavalry rushing toward Sidi Mansour with rifles raised high, which made Bekas run even faster.

The battle at Sidi Mansour ended at noon, just as Commander Timothy said.

The well-equipped Second Division sneak attacked the indigenous troops. If this could be delayed until the afternoon, there would be no chance. Not to mention, the initial bombardment wiped out all the high-ranking tribesmen. If these tribal warriors who lacked organization can still resist bravely, it must be God’s coming.

In this battle, the Second Cavalry Division annihilated more than 5,000 tribal cavalry at the cost of more than 400 people, of whom more than 3,800 were captured, and only nearly a thousand escaped.

The battle of Sidi Mansour was just an ordinary battle for the Second Cavalry Division, but for the Tunisian tribes, it was an earthquake. After this battle, the pro-French tribes slowly began to alienate the French, and the neutral tribes also began to move closer to Italy.

Although they clearly see everything Italy does in Libya, if they do not move closer to Italy at this time, their fate will be doomed. In order to have a chance to stay, each tribe can only gamble.

Although the Tunisian tribes are moving closer to Italy, for the Italian army, the indigenous people’s approach is dispensable, and everything needs to be done on their own to capture Tunisia. So the battle will still continue, but it may be more convenient to find a guide. This helps determine Italy’s attitude towards the future of the Tunisian tribe.

I have seen that many readers feel it is unreasonable for Greece to join the Entente. Let me give you a real example. At the height of World War II when Germany defeated France, Yugoslavia tore up its agreement with Germany and announced its intention to join the United Kingdom. Everyone knows the result.

This was still the time when Britain and France had begun to decline during World War II, and there were countries that could not see clearly the situation, let alone World War I. If these countries don’t have God’s perspective, how can they know who will win?

As for Greece joining the Allied Powers, I have already said that on the one hand, the interests are large enough, on the other hand, Greece is pro-British, and at the same time there is enough cognitive inertia.

In addition, we cannot use the current perception of Britain as the benchmark for the First World War. It would not be too much to call it the shame of the Wuchang. The First World War was at its peak, just like we see the United States now.

Okay, that’s enough explanation. I hope you can continue to enjoy the following content, which will be more exciting later.