At this time, in the African battlefield, Rommel, who had failed in his attack, realized his failure and ordered the German troops to retreat towards Gazala. After discovering that there was no effective defense line that could be defended there, he quickly ordered to retreat towards the Gulf of Sirte again in an attempt to
Here to block the British army's westward advance. In the end, the British army's "Crusader" operation, also known as the "Winter Campaign" by the German army, finally ended in the desolate desert area around Agella, and the Germans suffered a disastrous defeat.
Just nine months ago, it was also here that Rommel commanded his "Afrika Korps" to launch the first massive attack on the British army.
It seems that history is repeating the same scene: more than a year ago, the invincible British army arrived in the Agella area after a long pursuit. The troops were exhausted and disorganized, and were attacked by the Axis forces here.
A large area of territory was lost in a counter-attack. Now, this situation will soon happen again: the Afrika Korps is like a spring, which has been squeezed to the limit by January 1942, and may rebound again at any time.
As of this time, the Indra Saw Battle, jokingly called the "Benghazi Obstacle Course", was far from over. While Rommel was commanding the troops to withdraw westward, he was always thinking about how to seize the favorable opportunity to launch a counterattack.
Rommel mastered a large amount of valuable intelligence through reconnaissance and deciphering British radio communications. In January 1942, he realized that a very precious opportunity for counterattack had arrived. At that time, the British were also preparing for a new offensive.
, but they believed that the Axis forces were incapable of launching an immediate offensive after experiencing recent setbacks and retreats.
Compared with the intricate command system within the British 8th Army, German commander Rommel had considerable autonomy. Theoretically, Rommel should accept the control of the German Army Southwest Command and the Italian High Command, but he simply
Ignore this. He paid no attention to his German superiors. Similarly, his Italian superiors only learned of Rommel's next battle plan when they discovered that the Italian troops had begun to advance.
At this time, Germany sent more than 100 new Mark IV tanks to the North African battlefield. Their artillery systems were upgraded and their performance was more advanced than any British tank. Rommel was a man who could seize any fighter opportunity.
Commander, as long as he finds a valuable offensive opportunity, he will never let his troops and equipment idle, but will resolutely and decisively put them into the battlefield. On January 21, 1942, the Axis Army suddenly launched a counterattack, attacking
The British were caught off guard and forced a hasty retreat.
As of February 10, the Afrika Korps, exhausted, thirsty, covered in conquests but with frequent successes, under the command of their outstanding commander Rommel, once again fought back to Melmoriga, which was far away from the map they had always dreamed of.
Brugge is only 56 kilometers away.
At this moment, Rommel's German boss, Field Marshal Kesselring, reminded Rommel that he could not continue to march rashly under any circumstances. He should at least wait until enough personnel, armored forces, ammunition, and especially fuel were fully obtained before considering taking any measures.
The next move. Of course, Rommel himself recognized the reasonableness of the proposal. At that time, only his reconnaissance troops advanced as far as Temimi, where they soon discovered that the British Commonwealth troops had already moved along from Gaza.
A large number of troops have been assembled along the line from Lawan to Bir Hakeim. Strong defenses are being built in the northern and middle sections, and a large number of mines have been laid in the nearby areas. Obviously, the Afrika Korps must rack their brains to break through or attack from the flanks.
Bypass these lines of defense.
Both sides were trying their best to accumulate a large amount of logistical supplies in preparation for the next battle. Since the Mediterranean route was effectively blocked by the British Royal Navy fleet, it was difficult for the supplies of the Axis Forces to reach the North African battlefield. On the contrary, in 1942,
In the spring, the first batch of war supplies from the United States arrived in Egypt, including a large number of m3 medium tanks. The m3 tank is equipped with a 37mm cannon on the turret and a 75mm cannon on the body. Its armor protection capability is greater than
British tanks are much stronger.
In mid-May, Rommel's battlefield reconnaissance troops reported signs that the British were about to launch an attack. At this time, Rommel's troops were still at a disadvantage compared to the British army, so he suggested to Marshal Kesselring that he hoped to attack the Malta battlefield
Some of the Air Force fighter aircraft on board were mobilized for reinforcements, including dive bombers and "Messerschmitt" BF109F fighters. The latter was more advanced than any RAF fighter on the North African battlefield at that time.
The British defense line consisted of a series of fortified barracks, in which infantry brigades supported by artillery fire were stationed. A dense barbed wire fence was erected around it, and more than 500,000 landmines were buried behind the barbed wire to strictly guard against German breakthroughs.
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Behind these lines of defense, British armored divisions were deployed to prepare for the attack.
Theoretically, they will gather together and be ready to launch a fatal blow to the Germans at any time, but in fact, due to the chaotic command system within the British army, they will fight independently in the desert!
Rommel was convinced that his British opponents did not understand the basic laws of war, but this was not the case. The British understood the theories, but the "committee-by-committee" syndrome prevalent within the Eighth Army prevented them from being implemented
.
In the previous March, Rommel had met with Hitler alone and received permission from him to launch a new round of offensive. According to Hitler's idea, Rommel's offensive target would be Tubruk, and he would not continue forward after reaching it.
To advance, he would also return the Luftwaffe squadrons supporting the operation to the battlefield in Sicily within one month. However, Rommel revealed greater ambitions in his private letters. Even before the Battle of Gazala, he
He had planned to fight all the way to Egypt and the Suez Canal, turning a partial victory into a strategic victory.
Rommel launched the attack. However, neither his combat plan nor the British combat plan was fully implemented after the first confrontation between the two sides. First of all, his feint attack on the middle part of the British defense line did not destroy the opponent's
The reserve force was attracted; secondly, the wide flank maneuver he performed was not intercepted by the expected British armored division. The British tanks stood quietly and did not move, allowing the commanders to quarrel endlessly.
As soon as the battle started, the light plane of General Kluwer, the commander of the Afrika Korps, was shot down by the British army, and he himself was captured alive. At that time, Kesselring happened to go to the Afrika Korps headquarters for an inspection. As the highest-ranking officer present,
Officer, the air marshal personally took on the command task and spent a very pleasant afternoon.
Finally Rommel arrived and took over the job.
During the battle, Rommel, who was often accused of not paying attention to logistics, did an "earth-shattering" thing. He personally organized a night supply operation for the 15th Armored Division, which stunned the British. At that time, the 15th Armored Division
After breaking through the British defense line, he unexpectedly found himself surrounded. The British commander was convinced that Rommel had fallen into a trap.
There is a military adage: A commander is never defeated unless he first admits defeat.
This motto has been most vividly and accurately verified by Rommel. According to a captured British officer, at that time, he had witnessed Rommel's combat command scene. After being surrounded by the British army, Rommel
Rommel was not panicked. On the contrary, he stood calmly on the command vehicle, wearing headphones, studying the battle map in front of him, and issuing countless orders. In that battle, Rommel was unparalleled in his aloof confidence and calmness.
His command and dispatch and his skillful grasp of the battle situation were in sharp contrast to the panic, confusion, and recklessness of his opponent, the British.
At this point in the battle, there is no real front line on the battlefield. The enemy's and our armies are stuck together. We are among you, and you are among us. The scene is extremely chaotic and dangerous. There is no doubt that in this case, victory will be
The victory will belong to the one who firmly believes that he will win, while the failure will come to the commander who thinks that he is inferior to others and his skills are inferior to others. Subsequent facts proved this result. In the struggle between the two sides
, the advantage gradually shifted to the German side. At the southernmost point of the Allied front, Bir Hakeim, the Free French troops were stationed. After a week-long epic resistance under the fierce attack of the German army, they were finally defeated.
Forced to retreat, Bir Hakeim fell. Immediately afterwards, the British troops also began to retreat. Rommel immediately devoted all his troops to pursue them.
Almost instantly, Tobruk was in extreme danger. Rommel launched a fierce attack on the southeastern section of Tobruk's defense line. Unfortunately for the British, they had always mistakenly believed that the enemy
The attack will be launched from the southwest, so most of the artillery and the entire 2nd South African Division were deployed in the southwest section, and most of the mines originally deployed in the southeast section were also moved to other sections, which greatly weakened the defense capabilities of the southeast section.
The German attack was carried out in an orderly manner like a preset clock. Three hours after Marshal Kesselring's bombers kicked off the attack, the 15th Armored Division broke through the British defense line, and the Italian Allete
Division and the Trieste Division closely followed up and went all out to expand the breakthrough. At this time, after breaking into the British army's circular defense line, the Axis Army could destroy the enemy's defenses through a real "blitzkrieg"
The entire defense.
The next day, when the British and Commonwealth troops in Tobruk Fortress continued to resist tenaciously, they suddenly found a huge white flag rising over their own headquarters. This made them extremely shocked and angry. With the first attack of the day
A wisp of morning wind blew slowly, and the white flag symbolizing surrender swayed slightly in the air. The entire position was filled with a very strong atmosphere of pain, grief, anger, and disappointment. At any time, defeat is extremely painful!
However, for the thousands of British troops here who had just experienced the pain of defeat, they still had to endure the huge humiliation of surrender. On that day, more than 30,000 Allied officers and soldiers became prisoners of war.
, when they lined up and passed in front of Rommel, perhaps most people did not recognize this proud victor. The British army suffered extremely heavy losses, with a total of more than 2,000 vehicles, 4,335 tons of supplies and 1,814 tons of fuel lost to the Germans.
Captured. Now, the smug Rommel even began to think that the final victory was close at hand.
The capture of Tobruk made everyone in the German Panzer Army ecstatic, and also brought Rommel himself a field marshal's scepter. However, the matter was far from over.
After Rommel was promoted to field marshal, the staff expressed their congratulations, but he responded with a detached attitude: "All troops must be assembled to prepare for further attacks."
He had already set his sights on the Egyptian border, the Nile Delta, the Suez Canal and other further places, dreaming of winning greater glory. Regarding the different opinions from his boss, Marshal Kesselring, and the Italian commanders, Rommel replied:
, the enemy is now in disarray, and is completely unable to resist the rapid and powerful assault he is about to launch. He added that now that he has a huge material reserve base in Tobruk, he will no longer be affected by material shortages when launching an attack.
Fatally limited. This idea was supported by Mussolini and Hitler, who hoped that Rommel could bring them an overwhelming victory.
As of the evening of June 22, the 90th Light Armored Division had arrived at Bardi and the 21st Armored Division was on its way here. On the next day, the 15th Armored Division and the Alete Division began a pincer attack and pursuit on the southern section of the Egyptian border.
The remnants of the 8th Army were retreating in front. At the same time, Rommel himself inspected a material warehouse that the 90th Light Armored Division had just captured. It was located at Fort Capuzo. There was a huge amount of fuel in the warehouse.
On the British side, the military "dance of death" continues: military orders are not flowing smoothly, intelligence is delayed and inaccurate, frontline troops no longer trust their superiors and supporting units, infantry no longer trusts armored units, and artillery and engineer units are just trying to escape for their lives.
Went for one.
Those who are willing to sacrifice their lives for a just cause no longer show loyalty and obedience to their commanders. Because in their view, those people are not worthy of trust at all, and their efforts and even lives will be compromised by military command.
Incompetent and ruined in vain.
A British plan to block the German Armored Group south of Matruh Port ended in disastrous failure.
Only then did Auchinleck take a measure that many people, including Prime Minister Churchill, should have taken long ago: ordering the removal of General Ridge from his post and allowing him to personally command the war. Through this approach, he easily
Shifting all the responsibility for previous defeats onto Richie.
Rommel seemed to have gained the advantage, but in fact it was the Allies who won the logistical battle. Although the port of Tobruk fell into the hands of the Axis forces because the British Royal Navy blew up the port facilities during its retreat,
But they couldn't be used. Therefore, they had to spend up to three weeks transporting supplies from the port of Tripoli to the front line by land.
At that time, the island of Malta was subjected to indiscriminate bombing by German and Italian troops. In order to rescue the island of Malta, six Allied cargo ships loaded with combat supplies set out from Gibraltar.
Another 11 cargo ships set out from Alexandria, escorted by 1 battleship, 2 escort aircraft carriers, 12 cruisers and a large number of small ships, and headed for the island of Malta. In the end, only 2 cargo ships of this fleet arrived safely, and 6
Three ships were sunk and three were seriously damaged. Among the escort ships, five cruisers were severely damaged and four destroyers were sunk.
While Rommel was trying to attack Cairo, the Allies conducted their last effort to replenish fuel and supplies on the island of Malta - Operation "Bearing". Of the two battleships and three escort aircraft carriers, one was sunk.
Of the 7 cruisers, 2 were sunk, and 33 destroyers, 1 was sunk. Under the escort, 14 merchant ships sailed to the island of Malta, 9 of which were sunk on the way. In the end, only 5 of them arrived at their destination.
There was the severely damaged oil tanker "Ohio". At this time, the reinforcements of the Allied Air Force had relieved the huge pressure on the island of Malta.
Under the joint attack of the Allied naval and air forces, the Axis fleet set off from Italy to the North African battlefield for the third round of efforts to transport supplies by sea, and finally ended up being buried on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea!
At this time, the Allied air forces had established a large force of fighters, fighter-bombers and bombers. In the air, although Joachim.
Ace pilots like Messeler had a golden opportunity to make great achievements, but this never-ending air battle also inevitably consumed Germany's fuel and skilled pilots.
In the face of the modern fighter planes of the Allied Air Force, Rommel's "flying gun carriage" - the "Junkers" 87 fighter jets were ruthlessly driven out of the air battlefield.
However, the British air superiority has not yet been fully demonstrated. The Axis forces have already crossed Matruh Port, advanced along the coastal road to Fouquet, and headed for the next target Eldaba.
Two German armored divisions and the Italian Alete Division advanced toward Gusair in the southwest. At this time, directly in front of them was a small train station in Alamein, whose name was almost unheard of before.
Rommel's order was concise and clear. Regarding the British defense lines in front of him, Rommel never believed that they would be more difficult to break through than any defense line he had encountered before. Therefore, despite the fact that the troops had undergone four consecutive weeks of assault,
Already exhausted, he still asked them to cheer up and launch a final charge. However, for the Axis forces at this time, Rommel's iron will alone was not enough. During the march, they encountered
Despite the fierce bombing by Allied air power, they were unable to fight back.
The officers and soldiers of the 90th Light Armored Division were suddenly bombarded by overwhelming Allied artillery. They had never experienced such fierce firepower. Allied heavy artillery, howitzers, light and medium field artillery, mortars, and anti-tank guns.
They opened fire together, forming an airtight and terrifying barrage. This scene even alarmed Rommel himself, and he hurried to the forward position in an armored vehicle to take command. This tactic produced a very obvious effect, and Auchinleck
Finally found a way to stop the Germans.
The fierce battle lasted for 3 weeks, but Rommel was only pushed back 1 mile in the end. This battle once again exposed the serious problems of coordination within the British 8th Army. Their tactics and operational level were compared with those of the Germans.
There is simply a world of difference, and a thorough reorganization and comprehensive training must be carried out. In the first Battle of El Alamein, both sides had their own gains and losses. Although Auchinleck blocked Rommel's march to the Nile - but the Axis powers
The Panzer Group still exists, and no one knows when they will attack again and whether they will succeed.
At this moment, both sides had to stop and take a breath. After the resupply was completed, there would undoubtedly be another fierce battle. The exhausted soldiers finally had the opportunity to lie down in the trenches, take a rest, and read letters from their relatives back home.
, savoring the long-lost family affection on the cruel and merciless battlefield. However, everyone knows that this kind of peace will not last long.
Rommel launched another attack on Alem Halfa, and the next four days of fighting would determine the future of this desert war. This time, Rommel began to face a new opponent-the 8th Army Corps had just been appointed by Auchinleck.
Army Commander Bernard.
l．
General Montgomery.
The British Royal Air Force seized complete air supremacy and launched a reckless and violent bombing of the German material reserves and headquarters. At this time, Rommel became ill due to long-term combat fatigue, and his 17,000 veterans also suffered from the disease.
They suffered from various diseases. You know, they have been fighting hard in the desert of North Africa for a year.
With Montgomery taking office, the British refused to play the same old games with the Germans. Their armored forces no longer carried out "suicidal" proactive attacks as they did in the past, but instead waited patiently with the support of artillery and air force.
Waiting for the arrival of the Germans.
Therefore, this time they never experienced the kind of relaxation and panic that Rommel saw in the summer of that year. At present, Rommel's "Eastern Plan" has been forced to be postponed.
The "Eastern Plan" was an extremely grand operational plan. It was approved by the Chancellery of the Third Reich. It planned to launch a massive pincer offensive simultaneously with the German Wehrmacht heading towards the Caucasus and the German Afrika Korps heading towards the Suez Canal.
After the above two forces meet, they will continue to advance eastward until they join forces with the Japanese advancing from west to east. However, due to the delay of favorable fighter opportunities, the "Eastern Plan" ultimately failed!