The result of this encounter was that the British 9th Armored Regiment no longer existed as a combat force...

Colonel Gail, the commander of the 9th British Armored Regiment, was killed on the spot. Several German soldiers found his body in a destroyed "Mummar" armored command vehicle. His command and radio station were also killed with him.

From this point of view, although the "Mr. Mamma" armored command vehicle is comfortable, it is not safe on the battlefield. The main reason is that it is very different from the "Mattfighter" car. German soldiers can recognize it at a glance and notify the tank to destroy it... The German armored high-explosive bomb is not a waste. After this thing penetrates it, it can explode inside the armored vehicle, so none of the officers inside are spared.

The loss of the radio and command center made the British 9th Armored Regiment escaped, but some tanks and cars were unable to contact their superiors. At a loss, they fled along the same route to the British defense line driven by fear.

The 9th Armored Regiment was defeated silently, and they didn't even have time to report to General Ochinlek, so they became the first domino to overwhelm the "Crusader" plan...

At this time, the British front-line commander, Lieutenant General Cunningham, commander of the Eighth Army, thought the 9th Armored Regiment was still on the way to the back of the Halfagaja, so the rest of the parts were still carried out as planned.

Regarding the loss of contact with the 9th Armored Regiment, Lieutenant General Cunningham thought it was just radio silence of the 9th Armored Regiment. It was not until three hours later that the deserters of the 9th Armored Regiment met the follow-up troops that Lieutenant General Cunningham got the real situation...

"What? The 9th Armored Regiment has been defeated?" Lieutenant General Cunningham couldn't help but be shocked: "How is this possible?"

"General, it's true!" said the staff officer: "They were attacked by the main armored division of the German army. Only 9 tanks and more than 500 infantrymen fled back!"

Military is more taboo to use vague statements such as "German's main armored division" to report. Generally, the enemy's number will be explained in detail. However, under the circumstances, the British army did not even know which German army they encountered, so they could only report this way.

"How many tanks do the enemy have? How many troops do they have? In which direction are they moving?" Lieutenant General Cunningham asked a series of questions anxiously.

The staff officer shook his head helplessly: "They know nothing about the enemy's situation, but they guessed that they should move towards the Gabushali defense line!"

The Gabusali Line of Defense is the right wing of the German Line of Defense, where the British army built a line of defense.

"Damn!" Lieutenant General Cunningham cursed, and then immediately ordered: "Order the 1st South African Division to be prepared for combat and block the enemy's attack no matter what! In addition, order the 22nd Armored Regiment to reinforce the Gabushali defense line immediately!"

"yes!"

Lieutenant General Cunningham is indeed necessary to be nervous. There is a military saying, "If you are not careful, you will lose everything!"

The 9th Armored Regiment was originally a wonderful chess. It could attack Halfaya on both sides and make the British 13th Army attacking on the front line of defense like a flood that broke the dam.

But who would have thought that the 9th Armored Regiment not only failed to play a role, but also caused the enemy to be defeated in one encounter, which reversed the entire situation...

If the German armored division arrives and captures the Gabsali Line, the entire German defense line will be connected, which will cut off the British supply line and encircle all British troops passing through the German defense line on the other side of the German defense line.

That was the entire 30th Army.

After thinking about it, Lieutenant General Cunningham ordered again: "The 8th Armored Regiment... transfer them back immediately!"

The 8th Armored Regiment's mission was to attack Tobrook and restrain the Italian troops stationed in Tobrook so that they could not reinforce the Halfaya line of defense. Now that the 9th Armored Regiment has been destroyed, the 8th Armored Regiment's mission has also lost its meaning.

But the staff officer answered with a telegram: "General, the 8th Armored Regiment has launched an attack on Tobrook!"

Lieutenant General Cunningham couldn't help but feel angry when he heard this. He didn't dare to transfer back easily after launching an attack, because this meant that his position was exposed, and he was easily ambushed by the enemy on the way back.

After thinking about it, Lieutenant General Cunningham ordered: "Order the 7th Armored Brigade to move closer to the Gabushali line!"

"Yes!" the adviser responded.

This order means that the 7th Armored Brigade is running back and forth on the road and doing useless work.

And just as Lieutenant General Cunningham arranged all this and wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, a correspondent reported: "General, the Gabushali line was attacked by the Germans!"

Lieutenant General Cunningham couldn't help but look pale. The Germans rushed to the Gabusali line so quickly.

"Appoint General Alger, be sure to defend the Gabushali line!" Lieutenant General Cunningham ordered: "Reinforcements will arrive in two hours!"

"yes!"

The 21st Armored Division arrived at the Gabushali defense line.

Compared to the British army scattered into several units, one regiment and one regiment, the deployment of the German army is very simple, they are just one defense line and one base camp.

The defense line is the Halfaya Gun line, and the base camp is Tobrook.

The two armored divisions are the 15th and 21st armored divisions as mobile units.

Among them, the 15th Armored Division is mainly used for maneuvering on the defense line. They will rush wherever they are about to break through by the British army or need reinforcements.

The 21st Armored Division acts as a mobile defense on the right wing... The German army had too few troops and they could not build a line of defense without gaps, so they could only use this mobile defense method.

The German army's combat plan was also very simple. When they found that there was an enemy situation in the right wing gap, they went straight to the front line to eliminate all enemies that crossed the defense line.

This is sometimes the battlefield. The simpler the plan, the more effective it is. The more complicated the plan, the more busy it is, or even if there is a problem with one link, the overall plan is disrupted.

In this battle, the German army was obviously the former, while the British army was the latter.

One of the accidents that happened was just that the road to the battlefield of the 21st Armored Division of the German Army overlapped with the route of the British 9th Armored Regiment, and they met at one point... So the British army's overall plan was disrupted.

The result of this is that although the British army has much more total strength than the German army, the German army always has a superior force on every local battlefield and can quickly defeat the British army.

For example, in the Gabushali defense line, the British army had only one South African Division with a combat effectiveness that was difficult to reach the prestige, and there was also an armored battalion equipped with 80 "Valentine" tanks.
Chapter completed!