Both Wewell and Rommel made careful arrangements in this battle.

Wewell invested two armored divisions in this battle, one British-Indian division and the 22nd Guard Brigade, with a total force of 80,000 and 250 tanks.

The British army was divided into three parts.

The first part consists of the Fifteenth Armored Brigade under the Fifteenth Armored Division, and has 50 "Matilda" tanks, responsible for attacking the Halfaya Valley.

The second part consists of the 22nd Guard Brigade and the 13th Armored Brigade under the jurisdiction of the 15th Armored, with 100 "Matilda" tanks, who are responsible for attacking the village of Capzo.

The two places, the Khalfaya Valley and the village of Capzo, are not actually suitable for tank combat, especially the Khalfaya Valley... It is the junction between the Egyptian coastal plain and the Libyan desert. The terrain is high in the west and low in the east. Although the straight line is only 150 meters long, the passage inside winds and stretches into the Libyan desert like a long snake, which is very unfavorable to the attacking party.

Therefore, Weiville's attack in these two directions is actually a feint, and the real main force is the third part... the Seventh Armored Division.

The 7th Panzer Division had 100 tanks, including 50 fast "Crusader" cruise tanks. Wewell wanted to rely on these 50 tanks to win by surprise, and penetrated from the left wing, the right wing in the direction of the German army, and then went around to the position of the second unit and then went around to the first part to defeat the German army.

Objectively speaking, Wewell's plan is still feasible. His main idea is to defeat the German army on the defense line rather than let them escape back to Tobrook, which would cause great trouble to the British army, but Rommel also wanted to intersperse from the right wing... This was what Wewell did not expect, because he thought that it would be difficult for Rommel to defend the defense line with his little force and tanks. How could there be tanks intersperse?!

But Rommel really has it.

The German army's strength is obviously much smaller than that of the British army. Rommel actually had only two dissatisfied armored divisions with a total of more than 30,000 people, and there was also a 16th Italian division with more than 10,000 people... This division has 60 M13 tanks, but Rommel did not intend to send them to the battlefield from beginning to end.

On the one hand, this is because Tobrook needs troops to defend, and on the other hand, Rommel knows that if these Italians are sent to guard the frontline stronghold, it will almost be handing over the stronghold to the British.

So Rommel placed all the Italians and their tanks in Tobrook without thinking.

Rommel adopted a bold new tactic in this battle, which was to use infantry to fight enemy tanks.

You should know that tanks are an indispensable equipment in desert combat. The reason is that the desert is almost without any danger and has nowhere to hide. Even if fortifications are built, these sandy trenches are easily destroyed by artillery fire... This is also the reason why Tobrook is called a fortress. In the desert, it is rare to build a bunker group like the British army in three months and a large amount of steel and concrete.

Therefore, infantry often can only bring their own bunkers or bunkers... This bunker and bunker are tanks.

It can almost be said that whoever has the advantage in the tank in the desert war has more chances of victory.

And Rommel actually dared to use infantry to fight against British tanks...

There are terrain factors in this regard. As mentioned earlier, the terrain of Halfagaya is very dangerous.

On the other hand, Rommel has an anti-tank artifact...88MM anti-aircraft gun, which can destroy targets outside the range of enemy tanks.

Therefore, in the direction of Halfagaya, Rommel only arranged one infantry regiment, and the infantry regiment used only to defend against the enemy to only ten 88 anti-aircraft artillery pieces.

In the direction of Capzzo Village, Rommel asked the newly-increased 15th Armored Division to take charge with 40 "No. 3" tanks.

The main 5th Lightweight Division took 50 tanks on the right wing and waited for the opportunity to penetrate the British rear.

A bad news came soon after the battle began:

"General!" The staff officer who received the telegram hurried to Rommel and reported: "Major General Pritwitz was killed!"

"What?" Rommel was stunned when he heard this. It was only an hour before the war began. Moreover, this was Major General Pritwitz's first battle, and he was actually killed?!

It turned out that Major General Pritwitz was eager to join the war, and he rushed to the front of the army to command immediately... There was no problem doing this, and many German officers did this.

But he made a fatal mistake. He stood next to a car, and the car was easily discovered by the enemy and targeted on the battlefield.

So, without any warning and no time to react, a row of shells suddenly roared, and while the shells exploded the car, Major General Pritwitz also blew up.

Rommel immediately ordered the adjutant General Gross Gros to replace Major General Pritvichang's command... The responsibilities of the adjutant in the German army are different from those of the secretary or staff. Although the adjutant means an deputy, he is also a candidate for the official position. As the deputy, he is to learn the command and work habits of the official position to prepare for succession.

But the situation of the German 15th Armored Division is still not optimistic. They only have 40 tanks, while the enemy has 100 "Matilda" with amazingly thick armor.

So soon after, Major General Gross asked Rommel for help in the walkie-talkie: "General, we are almost unable to hold on. The enemy's attack is very fierce. I believe this is their main force... The 'Matilda' tanks rushed towards us like a tide, with at least a hundred vehicles!"

Rommel nodded. This was exactly what he wanted. He used the 15th Armored Division to restrain the main force of the British army, and then sent the 5th Lightweight Division, which had rich combat experience and had more tanks.

But Rommel did not expect that the British troops with more than 100 tanks were not the main force of the British army at all.

"A order to Major General Streck!" Rommel said to the staff officer: "It's time for him to show it!"

"Yes!" The staff officer responded and conveyed the order.

Qin Chuan and his soldiers were waiting anxiously behind the hills, and then they conveyed their orders one by one:

"Everyone got on the bus!"

"Everyone got on the bus!"

...

The troops started to move, and the tank crew rushed towards the tank quickly, and the driver rushed into the cab. At almost the same time, tanks, cars, armored vehicles, and motorcycles were all started, and hundreds of engines rumbling and discharged exhaust gas. The situation made people feel shocked when they looked.
Chapter completed!