My Italy - Chapter 697 Battle of Egypt (6)

It goes without saying that the battle of El Alamein was of great importance to the Allies. If Alamein’s Allied forces fail, they will withdraw from the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Western Mediterranean will also be at a disadvantage. This will be a huge defeat for the Allied camp.

And the British know this. Therefore, London has long stated that they will do their best to defend Egypt and the Suez Canal, prevent the Italians from aggressively attacking the Indian Ocean region, and make them return without success. Victory will definitely belong to the righteous Allied Powers.

In fact, the Allied forces are at a disadvantage in El Alamein. Are the British so tough at this time afraid that they will not be able to come to power in the future?

One of the important reasons why the British are so vigorously publicizing their intention to defend Egypt is that the issuance of British and French bonds in the United States was not smooth. Although American capitalists help with propaganda, one thing cannot be changed, and that is that the Allied camp has invaded the territory of the Entente camp.

You can say whatever you want, but the battle is on the territory of the Allied Powers. If you say that you have the upper hand and defeated the Allied camp, some people will believe it.

Therefore, as Egypt is of great strategic significance, there cannot be any bad news. Even if it retreats step by step, it will be a planned retreat after inflicting a lot of damage on the enemy.

Although the Allied Powers said that the battle at El Alamein was still fierce and there was no winner, judging from the actions of the Allied Navy, there were already clues.

The bright moonlight shone on the port, making the situation in Alexandria clearly visible in the dark night. At this time, ships were lining up in long queues to leave the port. None of them sounded their whistles. Except for the power noise of the ships, they were all silent. Follow the tail lights of the boats in front and travel quietly.

Moreover, in addition to nearly ten cruisers and destroyers, these ships are all kinds of transport ships, special ships, etc. These were essential auxiliary ships to a fleet, and their departure cast a pall over the current war.

At this time, on the Orion, the flagship of the combined fleet, in the port, three fleet commanders were watching the fleet travel.

“The third destroyer formation has set off, and the warships from Port Said have also been dispatched. Major Fran from the airship brigade sent a telegram. His airship formation is already in place and will not let go of any enemy warships.”

“I know, go down.”

After sending away the communications officer, the commander, Lieutenant General Roback, turned to look at his two colleagues. “The current situation in El Alamein is not good. Our fleet must move to the Indian Ocean. If our fleet is lost in the Mediterranean, who will protect the Indian Ocean?”

As he spoke, the commander set his sights on the deputy commander, Lieutenant General Fornell, and his purpose was self-evident. Ever since it was announced that the fleet would be transferred to the Indian Ocean, the mood of French naval officers and soldiers was not right. Although there were explanations from people at the top, retreating from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean could not calm the dissatisfaction of the French officers and soldiers.

Come to think of it, what I said at the beginning was that the fleet formed by the Italians and Austrians was destroyed together with the British Mediterranean Fleet. As a result, the battle was not fought but the British took them to Alexandria, saying that they wanted to learn from the Italians and unite to fight the enemy. Just fight, the French officers and soldiers have nothing to complain about.

But now you are saying that you want to exit the Mediterranean and go to the Indian Ocean. Isn’t this funny?

We are all in the navy, so we still have basic understanding skills. This withdraws from the Mediterranean. How should France protect its coastline in the Mediterranean?

The lack of military strength in the Mediterranean does not give the enemy an opportunity to swim freely. Therefore, the French officers and soldiers were very angry, angry that they had abandoned the Mediterranean, angry that they had abandoned the people along the Mediterranean coast, and angry that the commander kept changing their missions.

Therefore, the morale of several French warships was not high, which was naturally noticed by the fleet’s senior officials. As the commander of the fleet, Lieutenant General Roback certainly needs to pay attention to this situation.

“I have urgently asked the families of these officers and soldiers in our country to send letters. I believe this can relieve some of the pressure on the officers and soldiers. In addition, I have also prepared some food and wine to reward them, and also arranged for people to find some prostitutes in the city. I believe this series These measures will boost the morale of our officers and soldiers,” Lieutenant General Fornell said in full.

Faced with Lieutenant General Fornell’s actions, Lieutenant General Roback didn’t say much, but instead mentioned something. “These things need to be stepped up. The current situation in El Alamein is not very good, and we need to prepare early.”

Lieutenant General Robek’s words shocked the two lieutenant generals.

At this time, Lieutenant General Yoshimatsu Motaro, Chief of Staff, asked directly. “How could it be so fast!”

It is not surprising that the chief of staff exclaimed, because he has been in communication with Marshal Obogong, the commander of the dispatch army. The marshal had just said before that although the losses were heavy, the position was still impregnable.

Obogong did not lie. On the Alamein front line, although the Japanese 1st and 2nd armies lost more than 70,000 people in more than ten days, they withstood the onslaught of the Fourth Army. Even the tanks it relied on were nearly ten destroyed by Japanese officers and soldiers. This greatly impressed General Murray. He believed that the combat resilience of the Japanese army far exceeded that of other armies, and its overall combat effectiveness was not lower than that of the local army.

So what went wrong?

Only then did Lieutenant General Roback speak out the answer. “In the morning, the British and Indian troops stationed at Alam Nayir Ridge could not withstand the Italian offensive and withdrew from the place.”

Lieutenant General Robek said this without even looking at the other two, because this matter was a bit embarrassing. Allied forces fought fiercely with the Italians across the Alamein line. Although it was not easy for all the troops, they still persisted, while the British and Indian troops were defeated. This breakthrough can easily lead to a collapse across the board, which is unjustifiable.

“But don’t worry, General Murray has sent out the 5th and 8th Reserve Corps. I believe we will regain this position soon.”

The 5th and 8th armies mentioned by Lieutenant General Roback are troops formed by the British and are also the core troops of the British army in Egypt. Together with the 7th Army, they are known as the three main forces of the British Army in Egypt.

It was obvious that Lieutenant General Roback meant that the attack formation formed by these two armies would surely be able to recapture the lost Alam Nayir Ridge.

“May the two armies successfully regain their positions!”

Lieutenant General Fornell gave a blessing at this time.

“Good luck to them!”

While the senior officials of the Combined Fleet were blessing these two troops, the officers and soldiers of the 5th and 8th armies were cursing.

“Damn it, why is the enemy’s firepower so fierce?”

At this time, the intensive firepower on the Alamnayir Ridge position suppressed the British officers and soldiers and could not raise their heads.

“Why is the enemy’s firepower so strong?”

No wonder the British officers and soldiers were puzzled. After they got the Alamnayir Ridge and was captured by the enemy, they set out immediately and arrived here in only three hours. It was so surprising that the enemy had set up their positions so quickly.

In fact, this is not surprising, because it was the Eighth Army led by the Crown Prince that attacked Alam Nayir Ridge. With abundant weapons and the concentration of weapons by deputy commander Lieutenant General Brazo, the 17th Army currently defending the Alam Nayir Ridge has the light and heavy weapons of nearly two corps.

This also caused the British army to be unable to attack and hit a dense fire net.

At this time, at the rear of the position, Commander Robland looked at the battle in front of him and became more confident in holding the position.

“After the enemy’s next artillery attack, withdraw half of the troops from the front line positions.”

“As you command, Commander.”

Commander Robland’s method is very simple, that is, to make the enemy think that his strength has been greatly reduced, and to invest more troops to stick to the opponent, laying the foundation for the annihilation of these two armies.

At this time, the sky was full of Italian aircraft, and there was no possibility for the British army to hide.

That’s right, after receiving the news that the enemy’s two armies were attacking, Lieutenant General Brazo had already decided to eat the enemy. Although I only have three armies, it is not easy to defeat the opponent. But Lieutenant General Brazeau believes that this is a bit difficult, and there is a problem if it is so easy.

Lieutenant General Brazeau’s arrangement was that the 17th Army would defend the enemy’s offensive, while the 13th Army and the 15th Army would encircle it from the left and right flanks. It doesn’t matter even if the enemy finds out. A three-sided siege can only lead to the enemy’s defeat. Following the enemy’s defeated troops and rushing to the third line of defense is not a loss at all.

While Commander Robland was observing the enemy’s situation, he saw the communications staff officer running over in a hurry.

“Report, Lieutenant General Brazeau sent a telegram, ordering us to counterattack directly without showing weakness to the enemy.”

“What!”

Lieutenant General Robland was greatly surprised by this order. What was going on.

“The telegram didn’t say why.”

Facing the military commander’s surprise, the communications staff officer handed over the telegram.