Chapter 422 Desert Tiger VII

The 7th German Airborne Division played a key role in this North African campaign. The target they were going to occupy was about 320 kilometers east of Tobruk, in Egypt, called Messematru. It was a very small port, surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea and a vast desert Gobi. However, the value of Messematru cannot be overemphasized.

First of all, Messematru is a port. Although it is not big, it can always transport some things ashore. And it is also located between Tobruk and El Alamein, only 200 kilometers away from El Alamein. Rommel's African Corps can make a key supply here, fill all the tanks, armored vehicles and self-propelled artillery tanks with fuel, and then drive to El Alamein to participate in the war.

Secondly, Messematru is also an important air force base of the Royal Air Force in Egypt. Because it is relatively close to Tobruk and Benghazi, the aircraft deployed here can pose a greater threat to Tobruk and Benghazi. Therefore, a few years before the start of World War II, the British built a large airport in Messematru.

Once the airport, which the British called "Matruh Airport", was captured by the German army, the German army could quickly send reinforcements to Messe Matrouh through the air corridor of Benghazi-Matruh Airport. In 24 hours at most, the German 7th Airborne Division and the Italian 185th Lightning Division could be deployed (these two divisions have a small number of people, with a total of only more than 12,000 people), and several squadrons of combat aircraft could be deployed there.

In addition, according to intelligence, the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom also stored a lot of precious aviation gasoline at Matruh Airport! If this gasoline fell into the hands of the German army, then the German Ju88 would soon be able to use Matruh Airport as a base to bomb Alexandria, 250 kilometers away!

It is precisely because of the importance of Matruh Airport that this airport was "ignored" by the German and Italian air forces in the air raids after February 20.

However, the 24 fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force (equipped with Hurricane aircraft) stationed here and responsible for the air defense of the airport did not take it lightly. When the 96 fighter planes (48 Fokker Zeros and 48 Fokker 99s) of the 9th and 10th Carrier Aircraft Groups led by Captain Heinz Barr flew over Messe Matruh, they immediately engaged with the 32 Hurricane aircraft that had already taken off.

"Captain Barr, this is Lieutenant Hersman. Enemy planes have been spotted below the clouds. They are Hurricanes, at least 24 of them!" Hersman's squadron was flying in the front, and it was flying quite high. It was also the first to spot the Hurricanes that had already taken off to meet the enemy.

"Hersman Squadron, Novotny Squadron, Miller Squadron, go and deal with those Hurricanes." Captain Heinz Barr's voice came back to Hersman's headset along with the sound of radio interference.

"Squadron 2, let's go down and deal with them! Two-plane formation, attack!" Hersman pushed the joystick, and his plane immediately rushed down.

The Fokker Zero C-3 model has greatly improved its high-altitude performance due to the installation of a supercharger and MW50 system, but you still have to be careful when diving, and the angle cannot be too large, otherwise the fuselage structure will be difficult to withstand.

However, such a dive and speed are more than enough to deal with the Hurricane. Little Hersman aimed at a Hurricane that was shaking left and right and trying to escape, and quickly bit the opponent's tail, and then pulled the trigger.

The fuselage of the Fokker Zero aircraft trembled slightly, and the cannon on the nose sprayed out flames. 7.92mm machine gun bullets and 20mm cannon shells poured onto the fuselage of the Hurricane aircraft at the same time, and the aircraft immediately fell down with smoke and spinning.

"The 10th one!"

Little Hersman shouted happily in the cabin. In an escort operation two days ago, he had another victory. Including this one now, he already has 10 results in hand.

At the same time that Hessman Jr. shot down a Hurricane, the other 17 two-plane formations in the sky also completed a hunt, with only one Fokker Zero being shot down.

"The British are getting more and more vulnerable now!" Hessman Jr. evaluated his opponent in his mind as he pulled up the plane to look for the next target.

Although the Fokker Zero has a performance advantage over the Hurricane, it is not to the point where it can crush it effortlessly. Now that it has scored 17:1 in a few minutes, it can only be said that the pilots flying those Hurricanes are all rookies.

The British rookies flying Hurricanes were quickly shot out by the Fokker Zero, and the Messematru sky now belongs to the Germans.

The British anti-aircraft guns on the ground began to fire sparsely. Messematru is far less important to Britain than to Germany and Italy, and the number of anti-aircraft guns in the hands of the British army in the Middle East is also limited. Tobruk and Crete in the front cannot be deployed more, and the old nest Alexandria in the back also needs anti-aircraft gun protection. Therefore, there are not many anti-aircraft guns that can be deployed to Messematru.

"All fighter squadrons, keep circling in the air," Heinz Barr saw the outcome of the aerial combat and began to issue orders again, "All bomber squadrons, pay attention, the bombing operation has begun, suppress the anti-aircraft artillery positions on the ground, and be careful not to bomb the airport runway and oil depot..."

The runway and oil depot were left for the paratroopers riding the Ju52 and DF230 light assault aircraft. 6,500 officers and soldiers were riding 302 Ju52 transport planes and 228 DF230 bombers, escorted by 48 Fokker Zeros, flying towards Messe Matruh!

…

The armored command vehicle that Admiral Rommel was riding passed the battlefield where fierce fighting took place in the morning at 1:30 pm on February 24, 1941. His 58 Type 4 tanks, 48 ​​50mm anti-tank guns, and 4 half-track vehicles equipped with 47mm anti-tank guns defeated the British armored group consisting of 400 tanks of various types. The exchange of fire lasted less than an hour, but less than 300 damaged British tanks were left on the battlefield.

The German armored forces showed an overwhelming advantage in this battle! However, the fighting on the Tobruk battlefield continued. Although the attack of the British armored group was easily crushed, the subsequent blocking by the 1st Brigade of Free France and the Polish Independent Brigade was quite tenacious.

These French and Polish soldiers who thought they were the people of the lost country were very brave and well-trained. The British's underpowered 2-pound anti-tank gun (40mm gun) became a sharp weapon in their hands. In addition, they buried anti-tank mines everywhere, and they actually destroyed dozens of Type 4 tanks and half-track armored vehicles in a few hours.

The No. 5 vehicle of Lieutenant Ribbentrop's armored reconnaissance platoon (the one equipped with a 47mm gun) was also destroyed by the Poles with a 2-pound artillery, and the commander, Sergeant Schumacher, was seriously injured and carried off the battlefield.

Lieutenant Ribbentrop was ordered to take the remaining 4 half-track vehicles along the edge of the battlefield and try to find a passage that would allow the tanks to bypass to the east of Tobruk.

The battlefield situation is now very chaotic. The troops of both sides are fighting each other. The German tanks and armored vehicles have achieved breakthroughs in many places, but the desperate French and Polish people are holding many circular strongholds and resisting tenaciously. Many Indians were also sent out, carrying 2-pound anti-tank guns and machine guns to establish a defense line consisting of countless firepower strongholds in the desert Gobi. The half-track vehicle led by Lieutenant Ribbentrop was constantly shot by various firepower along the way, and they also fought back with the 20mm machine guns and 14.5mm heavy machine guns on the half-track vehicle.

"Fire! Fire quickly!" Ribbentrop shouted loudly. Because his team suddenly ran into many Indians riding trucks, there were as many as thirty or forty trucks, and they were all very short Indians.

The 20mm machine gun immediately fired, turning the front Ford truck into a sieve. The Indians on top jumped down screaming, but they did not drop their weapons and run for their lives. Instead, they lay down on the spot and started to fight back with rifles. Ribbentrop later learned when he liberated India that the Indians he met in North Africa were not real Indians, but Gurkha mercenaries from Nepal, who were quite brave and tough.

The German soldiers sitting on the half-track vehicles also jumped down from the vehicles, lay down beside the half-track vehicles, and fired at the Gurkhas with the Mauser P40 and MG34 machine guns in their hands.

In the next hour, the soldiers of both sides engaged in fierce exchanges of fire across the four or five hundred meters wide sand. Because there were two 20mm machine guns and two 14.5mm heavy machine guns, the firepower of the German side had an overwhelming advantage. But the Gurkha mercenaries had an advantage in numbers. Not only did they not retreat, they also organized two infantry assaults under the cover of two mortars, trying to rush in for hand-to-hand combat. However, they were all driven back by Ribbentrop's firepower, leaving dozens of bodies on the sand. Three people in Ribbentrop's platoon were killed and four were injured. Four half-track vehicles were also shot with holes by Gurkha mercenaries with anti-tank guns, but fortunately they were not seriously injured.

But about an hour after the two sides started fighting, several Type 4 tanks covered a company of infantry and came to reinforce. They drove back these brave Gurkhas with overwhelming firepower and killed most of them. Lieutenant Ribbentrop's men captured an "Indian" in his thirties who spoke English that was difficult to understand. Lieutenant Ribbentrop was responsible for interrogating him, and then he learned that they had gone around behind the defense lines of the South African 1st Division and the Indian 5th Division. Less than 2 kilometers ahead was the key point Knightsbridge, which was guarded by a regiment of the Indian 10th Division. As long as they occupied there, the German armored forces could go back to the east of Tobruk along the Kazop Trail.