In mid-May, after careful preparation, the Allied forces suddenly launched a fierce attack on the Japanese troops entrenched in central and northern South Africa.
General Eisenhower, who has made three major jumps in two years, will once again usher in a leap in his career in the new year. Last July, not long after Eisenhower took office as the Major General Director of Operations, he was ordered to go to the UK for an on-site inspection and established a
A U.S. military command post to make plans for future military operations.
In January of this year, after Eisenhower returned to Washington and submitted the inspection report "Instructions to the Commander of the European Theater", President Roosevelt accepted Marshall's opinion and appointed Eisenhower as the Commander-in-Chief of the European Theater of the U.S. Army in London. Eisenhower was subsequently promoted to lieutenant general.
In April, in view of the successive setbacks of the British Army in Africa and the US Army in the Far East, as well as the strong support of British Prime Minister Churchill, the United States and Britain decided to take the initiative to launch a counterattack in South Africa to reverse the current unfavorable situation. General Eisenhower was appointed as the Supreme Allied Power by the two countries' highest military agencies.
commander.
On May 14, Eisenhower led 600,000 American and British forces to launch a lightning-fast offensive.
In this counterattack, the Allied forces dispatched more than 6,000 fighter planes, more than 4,000 tanks, and more than 7,000 armored vehicles. They were divided into three armies, left, center, and right, and launched an attack on the Japanese army, which totaled 230,000 people.
attack.
Among them, the Allied Left Army had already moved to Johannesburg via the railway before the war started. According to the plan, after the counterattack started, the army on this road immediately followed the railway and drove southeast at high speed, and must advance to Durban within a month.
Hong Kong, cutting off the Japanese army's retreat route.
The commander-in-chief of the left army was Lieutenant General Bernard Law Montgomery. The main force of the offensive was the British Eighth Army, which had withdrawn from North Africa. It consisted of the Tenth Army, the Thirteenth Army, the Thirtieth Army, and the Canadian Army.
The First Army and the Polish Second Army, with a total of 200,000 men, 1,100 medium tanks, and more than 2,000 artillery pieces, can be called the most elite troops in Britain.
The central attack started in Bloemfontein. Bloemfontein is located in the central plateau and is the geographical center of the country. It is surrounded by hills and has a direct railway to the Port of East London on the east coast.
Like the Left Army, as early as late April, the commander of the Tenth Army, Claude Auchinleck, who served as the commander of the Center Army, led his troops from Port Walvis in Southwest Africa to Bloemfontein by train.
Alarmed the Japanese army.
The Japanese army is content with the current situation, holding tight to the defense line in the Drakensberg Mountains and Outeniqua Mountains of South Africa, building fortresses desperately, buying more time to digest the annexed territory in the Pacific region, and at the same time accumulating strength to prepare for the attack at the right time.
, once again used the powerful navy to deal a fatal blow to the allies.
The Allied Center Group consists of the British Fifth Army, the Ninth Army, the Twenty-fifth Army, the Canadian Second Army and the Polish First Army, with a total strength of 187,000 troops and more than 980 medium tanks.
, with more than 1,700 artillery pieces, it is a meritorious unit second only to the Eighth Army.
East London Port is an important supply port for the Japanese army. It is located in the middle of the entire narrow front and is the link between the north and south operations. Once it is broken, it will be a huge blow to the morale and morale of the Japanese army.
The Right Army was the main attack group of the South African Campaign. It was all staffed by the US Army and consisted of the US First Armored Army and the Second Army. The commander of the First Armored Army was General Patton, who had just been promoted to major general.
The sudden entry of the United States into the war was nothing short of a boon to middle- and lower-level officers. Due to the rapid expansion of the army, many of them had jumped several ranks.
For example, Patton was the commander of Fort Myer before the war, with the rank of colonel. After the fall of France, feeling the strength of the German mechanized forces, Marshall approved the formation of an armored division. Patton was ordered to form an armored brigade and was promoted to brigadier general. After the Pearl Harbor incident,
America versus Germany
Italy declared war, and Patton was quickly appointed commander of the expanded and upgraded 2nd Armored Division, promoted to the rank of major general. At the beginning of this year, Patton was promoted again and served as commander of the 1st Armored Corps. He immediately led the American task force of more than 50,000 officers and soldiers.
Crossed the Atlantic and came to South Africa to fight.
The commander of the Second Army is Major General Lloyd Fredendall, who is also the commander-in-chief of the main attack group appointed by the Allied Forces Command. The Right Army has 210,000 U.S. troops under its jurisdiction, more than 2,000 tanks, and three artillery pieces.
Qianduomen is a powerful army built from the huge industrial production capacity of the United States. Apart from the disadvantage that the officers and soldiers are all newcomers to the battlefield, the overall strength should be higher than that of the three-pronged army.
At this time, the strength of the Japanese army in South Africa had also been greatly strengthened.
After the Japanese army withdrew from East India, Burma and Malaya, all its main forces were withdrawn to the mainland for reorganization. The defeated Class A and Class B divisions would be re-established, and the Third Class Division, which had been serving as the strategic reserve of the Southern Army, was mobilized from the Lanyin Islands.
A total of five divisions, the 61st, 70th, 106th, 115th, and 133rd, and 12 infantry brigades were sent to the western Indian Ocean region to consolidate this significance to the Japanese army.
A major line of defense.
For Japan now, with the navy taking the lead, the army retaining South Africa and Madagascar and blocking the allied navy's northward advance is a great victory.
The current strategic situation is that the Axis Powers almost control the hegemony of the Pacific, Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. The Suez Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, has become a key protection object of the German army. With the large amount of oil output from the Villa Oilfield, the Axis Powers are
As interests in North Africa deepened, Rommel's army expanded rapidly.
As long as Japan can hold the chokepoint in the southwest of the Indian Ocean and the German troops block the Suez Canal in the north, the Allies will be unable to bring the war to Southeast Asia. This will ensure the stability of Japan's rule in the Lanyin Islands, the Philippines, and Australia.
And then firmly grasp the initiative on the battlefield.
The progress of the war in South Africa can be described as twists and turns.
In the early days, the Allied forces won consecutive victories with absolutely superior strength, and all three armies achieved good results in repelling the Japanese army for dozens or even hundreds of kilometers.
However, as the Japanese army blew up railways and roads, and the fighting continued in mountainous areas with rugged and complex terrain, and it was difficult to bring into play the advantages of the Allied mechanized forces, the situation took a turn for the worse, especially as the 7th Armored Division of the Left Route Army fell into Japan.
The army was encircled and destroyed, causing the Allied forces to move cautiously, and the battle gradually evolved into a cruel war of attrition.
The 7th Armored Division is the ace force of the British army. As early as after the signing of the Munich Agreement, the British sent a group of armored units to the Middle East to strengthen British military power in Egypt. This unit was called a "mobile force"
The combat unit was established off the coast about 190 kilometers west of Alexandria. The division initially consisted of the Cairo Cavalry Brigade, the 1st Royal Tank Regiment, the 3rd Royal Horse Artillery Regiment, as well as a company of the Royal Army Supply and Transport Service and a field hospital.
constitute.
After the German army invaded France and the Italian army planned to conquer the entire East and North Africa, the "Mobile Force" was quickly reorganized into the 7th Armored Division, and was awarded the title "Desert Rat" at the same time. While under the command of the Western Desert Army, the 7th Armored Division
The division achieved brilliant results, not only serving as the main force to conquer Somalia and Ethiopia, but also serving as the vanguard of the entire army to invade Libya.
The Western Desert Group Army won consecutive battles against the Italian army. In just three months of desert operations, a total of 210,000 prisoners were captured, 1,700 artillery pieces were captured and destroyed, and 610 tanks were captured, capturing the entire eastern Libya. As the British army
The only armored division, the 7th Armored Division, took the lead in the battle and won great honors for itself and the British armored forces with its fast and fierce mobile combat methods.
After that, due to the low combat effectiveness of the Italian army, Hitler was forced to send the Afrika Korps led by Rommel as Italian reinforcements. During the battle with the German army, the 7th Armored Division still performed well, but due to the unfavorable overall battle situation, it was forced to retreat
East Africa, and finally withdrew to South Africa for vehicle overhaul, and was temporarily withdrawn from combat order.
In this attack on Durban Port, the 7th Armored Division once again rushed to the front, but was tricked by the Japanese and almost the entire division was destroyed.
Facing the 7th Armored Division are the Japanese 19th Division, the 100th Division and three reading infantry brigades. Among them, the 19th Division is a first-class armored force with 25,000 men.
Division, the 100th Division is a triple division, and together with the three infantry brigades that cooperate in combat, the Japanese army has an absolute advantage in terms of strength.
Due to the special terrain, the British troops attacking south could only form a long snake formation. However, the 7th Armored Division advanced too fast. When it entered the plateau valley between Spalvin Mountain and Spatz Mountain
At that time, the 1st Armored Division following it fell into Harrismith City on the Lesotho Plateau, more than 50 kilometers to the north.
On May 20th, the Japanese army entered Spiven Mountain and Spaatz Mountain to fortify themselves.
It was morning, and the southern hemisphere had entered winter in the mountainous areas. Heavy fog filled the air and visibility was extremely poor.
The 7th Armored Division set out from the town of Ladysmith early in the morning. At 9 o'clock in the morning, the leading troops ran into the encirclement of the Japanese army. The Japanese army used more than 500 cannons to launch a fierce attack on the British army.
The 3rd Royal Tank Regiment and the 5th Royal Tank Regiment of the 4th Armored Brigade were stunned and had to retreat to the north.
The 73rd Regiment of the 19th Division of the Japanese Army launched a fierce attack on the hastily constructed blocking position of the 8th British Cavalry Regiment in the north. The 7th Armored Division was responsible for the fire support of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Royal Horse Artillery Regiments.
, launched a fierce bombardment at the Japanese army that was following the retreating British army.
The Japanese soldiers, who were not afraid of death, braved artillery fire and launched a three-pronged attack, quickly breaking through the forward position held by the British army. The Eighth Cavalry Regiment of the British Army hurriedly retracted its position, but the Japanese soldiers could not retreat, rushed to the high ground, and fought with
The British army launched a hand-to-hand battle, and the Japanese commander detached another unit and rushed towards the positions of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Royal Horse Artillery regiments.
As the artillery position fell into the hands of the Japanese army, the Japanese army fired the captured cannons at the rear of the British army. The British army was attacked from both sides and was defeated again. The Japanese army pursued them and quickly invested in the 74th.
The 75th Regiment encountered the main force of the 7th Armored Division at two o'clock in the afternoon.
At this time, the 7th Armored Division had not damaged its roots. Among them, the 4th Armored Brigade, which suffered the most heavy losses, was left with the 2nd Scots Guards (battalion-level unit). Others such as the 7th Armored Brigade, two Royal Tank Regiments and a Cavalry Regiment,
The 22nd Armored Brigade has three cavalry regiments, all of which are intact.
At the same time, there are three artillery regiments, two rifle regiments, one cavalry regiment, one armored vehicle regiment and one light anti-aircraft artillery regiment of the division's direct and supporting troops, one engineer battalion without any problems, six automobile companies of the logistics force, and three light field combat units.
Hospitals and various logistics repair and repair stations are also operating normally.
Unfortunately, war is ruthless and is not a simple contest of numbers.
The British troops, frightened by the Japanese hand-to-hand combat and human bombs, were defeated and immediately overran the position built by the 22nd Armored Brigade. The Japanese troops came from all directions, like divine soldiers descending from the sky in the thick fog. On the high ground,
, there was gunfire everywhere in the valley.
Brian Horrocks, the commander of the 7th Armored Division, had no idea how many Japanese troops there were. When he contacted the rear, he was surprised to find that the nearest friendly troops were one day away. If the Japanese troops encountered an attack, it would take even longer.
In desperation, they had no choice but to order their own battles and wait for opportunities to break out. This actually accelerated the collapse of the British army.
The battle lasted for a day and a night. The British army killed 7,236 people, captured 21,458 people, and more than 1,970 people were missing. Brian Horrocks died in one month.
Later, it was discovered by friendly forces in the Roskop area of Spatz Mountains in the northeast.
In this battle, the Japanese army destroyed and captured 396 tanks, more than 600 artillery pieces, and more than 1,100 vehicles. This made the entire Allied forces pale in comparison and had to slow down the pace of the attack.