My Italy - Chapter 669 Battle of Tunisia (6)

Sousse is a city with a long history. It was founded in the 10th century BC and has been an important trading port along the Tunisian coast since ancient times. Once a famous Carthaginian city, the site was later occupied by the Romans and fell into the hands of the Arab Empire in the seventh century AD.

In addition, Sousse is a strategic location in Tunisia and has always been a battleground for military strategists. At this time, two groups of armies were fighting here.

“Attack with me!”

Taking advantage of the fact that the artillery had just subsided and looking at the position where a large number of defense facilities had been destroyed, an Italian officer shouted the slogan of attack, raised his right hand holding a gun high, and rushed out of the trench and ran towards the enemy position.

Behind him, scores of Italian soldiers also raised their weapons, shouted and rushed towards the enemy’s position. If you place it on a larger battlefield, you will find that at this time, the Italian army rushed towards the French position like a tide, and its momentum was like a rainbow, as if it was going to pierce the sky.

Facing the Italian attack, the French officers and soldiers as defenders were certainly unwilling to let them seize the position at their feet. So with the help of French officers’ orders, leather shoes and pistols, the colonial soldiers who had been hiding in the trenches and shooting at them raised their rifles and prepared to fight back.

“Bang!”

“Bah~bah~bah~”

Suddenly a gunshot came from the position, and then a burst of intensive gunfire rang out from the position.

“Damn bastard, whoever is shooting randomly, I’m going to kick his ass.”

At this time, a French officer was angrily running towards the location of the first gunshot, followed closely by an interpreter. It was obvious that the lucky man who suddenly fired was going to be unlucky.

What happened on the position must have been noticed by the attacking Italian officers and soldiers. At this time, the center of gravity of the attack was clearly shifted.

“Bang bang bang…”

At a distance of one thousand meters from the position, mortars are firing shells at the position under the operation of officers and soldiers.

An explosion sounded from the position, shrapnel flew around, and bursts of screams rang out from the surroundings. These were soldiers who were hit by shrapnel.

“Fire!”

Seeing that the troops were beaten by enemy mortars in the position and were unable to fight back, the commander of the position did not know whether to fight back or not and his morale was lost.

So under his order, a burst of gunfire rang out from the position, and the sound of Lebel’s rifle and the sound of Saint-Etienne’s M1907 heavy machine gun resounded throughout the battlefield.

Although the gunfire from the position was constant, its accuracy was worrying. Look at these colonial soldiers. They either raised their guns so high that some people thought they were going to hit the sun, or they closed their eyes and thought they were too asleep. At this time, only one or two out of ten soldiers on the position could use weapons correctly.

All of this is caused by tension. Although they know how to use it during training, the bullets and shells flying on the battlefield, the screams of their comrades, and the corpses in the trenches make the soldiers who have not experienced this soar with adrenaline. , My mind completely forgot everything the instructor taught me, and I only knew how to play blindly.

Besides, for these colonial soldiers, they had no passion to defend their country when they went to the battlefield. The most important thing was to survive with the money and promises given by the French master.

The goals are different, and the methods are also different. Therefore, the colonial soldiers’ low morale, coupled with the nervousness of entering the battlefield for the first time, was enough to give them a disastrous performance.

As for the Italian officers and soldiers, facing the opponent’s weak counterattack, their morale was naturally boosted. Although the officers and soldiers of the 15th Division had previously informed these French colonial troops of the situation, they could only know the truth after facing them personally, so the Italian army’s offensive became more fierce.

At this time, Lieutenant General Guerrieri, the commander of the 13th Army, who was the combat commander, was in a trench and could carefully watch the battle process.

“The attack is good. We can break through the enemy’s position in a day at most.”

At this time, looking at the fighting situation on the battlefield, Lieutenant General Guerrieri expressed his judgment.

“The Army Commander is right, the enemies in Sousse cannot withstand our attack.”

Major General Sarpath, who used to be the vanguard of the entire army but now sits on the sidelines, responded to his boss’s words.

At this time, Lieutenant General Guerrieri, as the commander of the army, put down the telescope in his hand and looked at the veteran general who was his subordinate. “Major General Sarpath, your 15th Division was not allowed to participate in this battle in Sousse. Do you have any ideas?”

“No, let the officers and soldiers of the 37th Division and the 49th Division feel the combat effectiveness of the French Colonial Forces, which will have a great impact on the subsequent battle in Tunisia. Our 13th Army will definitely be the main attack. If we cannot clearly know the enemy’s level, It’s not conducive to the next battle.”

Faced with the question from his army commander, the veteran Sarpath answered this casually.

Sarpath understood very clearly that his troops would not be allowed to participate in the battle in Sousse. In addition to the reasons he said, there were also reasons he didn’t say. He couldn’t eat the meat himself and not let others drink the soup. As the vanguard, their 15th Division is already glorious enough. If they continue to eat alone like this, they will not be able to gain anything from the friendly forces who are following behind them and eating ashes.

Lieutenant General Guerrieri believed what Sarpath said. After knowing him for so many years, he still knew his temperament very well, and he was worthy of being a veteran.

At this time he looked at Sarpath and said. “Sapath, Lieutenant General Tabares will be transferred after he finishes fighting in Tunisia.”

Lieutenant General Tabares, whom Lieutenant General Guerrieri is talking about, is the deputy commander of the 13th Army, and one of the few deputy commanders who has not been transferred after the outbreak of the war.

As for where these deputy commanders will be transferred, of course they will be newly formed troops.

Commander Grieri told him the news, which shocked Sarpath. He had already thought of something because of his experience, but he could not ask the commander.

And Lieutenant General Guerrieri didn’t ask charades, he looked at him and asked directly. “After Lieutenant General Tabares leaves, our 13th Army will be short of a deputy commander. You have the qualifications and achievements and are familiar with our 13th Army. Are you interested in becoming this deputy commander?”

Lieutenant General Guerrieri’s words confirmed his thoughts, but at this time he was not happy to be recommended as deputy commander, but instead asked. “Then who should the 15th Division be handed over to?”

It’s obvious that this veteran can’t let go of the 15th Division. Although he has served in many armies, he was happiest when he was in the 15th Division, so he can’t let go in his heart.

“The 15th Division is the first-class main force of our army. You can work part-time for now, and then consider handing it over after you find a suitable candidate.”

Many troops in Italy are like this now. Due to the rapid increase in troops and the shortage of qualified senior officers, flexible methods can only be used.

At present, more than half of the Italian army’s troops adopt this model of concurrent deputy positions. As for the effect, it can maximize the combat effectiveness of the Italian army.

While the two were talking, cheers came from around them. It turned out that the attacking troops had already entered the position.

“Commander, it seems we can still spend the night in Sousse today.”

Major General Sarpath knew the temperament of the colonial troops very well. Half of the battle has been fought, and the enemy will be defeated and then pursued all the way until they are driven out of Sousse.

“This shows that the combat effectiveness of the 36th and 49th divisions is not much behind that of the 15th division. This is good news. We don’t need to sleep on tents and cots tonight.”

The final result was as they thought. The French colonial troops escaped from Sousse in the afternoon, and Lieutenant General Guerrieri slept comfortably at the Governor’s Palace in Sousse.