Chapter 424 Desert Tiger IX
"According to the map, the Cazorp Trail should be further north, but the Italian map is inaccurate. I think this road should be the Cazorp Trail."
Rudolf Ribbentrop said the truth. Although the area around Tobruk has long been Italian territory, it does not mean that the Italians have carefully drawn a map of the Tobruk area. In other words, in the eyes of the Italians, the maps they provided to the Germans were already very accurate, and any experienced scout could find the way to Egypt according to these maps.
With the light from the flashlight, Lieutenant Schwarzenegger looked at the map provided by the Italians for a long time, and finally threw the map aside.
"As long as the general direction is correct," he shook his head and said, "We need to find the Bazhi Road now, and then we can move eastward along the Bazhi Road."
There are two roads around Tobruk. One is the Kazop Trail, which existed before the Italians occupied Cyrenaica; the other is the Bazhi Road, which is a branch road of the coastal road Balbia Road built by the Italians. It was built around Tobruk. As long as you find this Bazhi Road, you can drive the vehicle onto Balbia Road.
Although Cyrenaica is full of deserts and Gobi, it is a place where armored clusters can pass. However, the speed of armored vehicles traveling on the Gobi is relatively slow and the fuel consumption is high, which is not as good as taking a flat road. Therefore, the current task of Lieutenant Schwarzenegger's 17th Company of the Great German Brigade is to find the Bazhi Road in the chaotic battlefield. Then see if this road is still passable.
Ribbentrop thought for a moment and said, "I see, sir. We will go east first, and then go north when we see a road to the north. This way, we will probably find the Bazhi Highway."
"Yes, that's it." Schwarzenegger smiled, "But you have to be careful. There will definitely be Indians guarding the intersection leading to the Bazhi Highway. I think your remaining two half-track vehicles were destroyed somewhere, and that place is not far from the Bazhi Highway."
Gustav Schwarzenegger's crow's mouth soon came true. After the 17th Company's convoy advanced eastward along the Kazop Trail for more than 30 minutes, they were blocked by a group of Indians pulling 2-pound anti-tank guns. One of the only two half-track armored vehicles left in Lieutenant Ribbentrop's armored platoon was also damaged by the 2-pound gun.
"Fight back! Kill that anti-tank gun!" Lieutenant Ribbentrop reacted quickly. Although the vehicle he was riding in was damaged by the 2-pound gun (the track was broken) and could not move, the 20mm machine gun on the vehicle was still intact.
"Aim at the target!" The gunner had already aimed the 20mm machine gun at the direction where the muzzle flame flashed just now.
"Fire!" Lieutenant Ribbentrop gave the order to fire without hesitation.
The gunner immediately pressed the trigger hard, and after a roar, a string of flames shot towards the dark front. The shell exploded near a crossroads, and a flash of light appeared on the sand. With the help of the firelight, some figures in khaki uniforms could be vaguely seen being blown to pieces. Disappointingly, the 2-pound gun was not destroyed, and then another shell hit Rudolf Ribbentrop's car.
With a loud bang, Lieutenant Ribbentrop felt a ball of fire rising in front of him, and his whole body seemed to fly up, and then fell heavily on the sand and lost consciousness.
Lieutenant Rudolf von Ribbentrop was wounded for the second time on the battlefield...
...
"General, the 10th Indian Division reports that the German tanks have reached Adem."
In the British 8th Army headquarters in Tobruk, most people were busy packing up and preparing to flee, and only a few staff officers were still around Lieutenant General Alan Cunningham, reporting to him the latest progress of the war.
After the 1st Armored Division and the 1st Armored Brigade were defeated by the German armored forces, the 8th Army had lost the capital to fight the Germans in Tobruk. Moreover, the fact that the Matruh Airport between Tobruk and Alamein was captured by the German airborne troops also made the 8th Army's retreat urgent.
So after the fall of Knightsbridge in the afternoon, Alan Cunningham immediately issued an order for the main force of the 8th Army to retreat.
Except for the three Indian troops, the 5th Indian Division, the 10th Indian Division and the 3rd Indian Motorized Infantry Brigade, the rest of the British troops in Tobruk had to start retreating before dawn. Needless to say, the three Indian troops were the unlucky ones who were responsible for the rear guard.
The reason why the Indians were asked to be the rear guard was not entirely because of racial discrimination, but because the combat effectiveness of these Indian troops was not weak. The officers and artillery of these troops were all British whites, and their equipment was no worse than that of the South African, New Zealand and Australian troops. In addition, there were many Gurkha mercenary battalions with very strong combat effectiveness.
The most important task of these Indian rear guard troops now was to prevent the German army from rushing onto the Pak-Chi Highway. Because as long as the German tanks marched along the Pak-Chi Highway, they would soon rush to the Tobruk section east of the Balbia Road. As long as the Germans rushed there, the 8th Army was basically finished.
Even if several British, South African, New Zealand and Australian divisions in the 8th Army could rush out of Tobruk, if they withdrew through the desert Gobi, they would definitely not be able to outrun the German pursuers who were chasing along the Balbia Road.
"Adem must be defended! At all costs!"
With Alan Cunningham's order, the troops of the Indian 5th Division, which had just withdrawn from the front line, were deployed to Adem, located at the intersection of the Kazoop Trail and the Bazhi Road. At the same time, a large number of German tanks and armored vehicles also rushed to Adem along the Kazoop Trail.
The bloody massacre was staged again!
...
"I am not only a loser, but also a deserter!" said Admiral Cunningham.
While the Indians were fighting for the future and destiny of the British Empire, the flagship of the British Mediterranean Fleet, "Warspite", on which Admiral Andrew Cunningham was riding, was slowly entering the Suez Canal.
The British Supreme Command agreed to withdraw the Mediterranean Fleet! Because the remaining 4 "Queen Elizabeth" class battleships and 2 fleet aircraft carriers of the Mediterranean Fleet are very important for the subsequent defense of the British homeland.
"Admiral," Rear Admiral Crutchley, the fleet's chief of staff, whispered to comfort Cunningham, "You didn't fail. The naval battle was a draw. We lost because we didn't have air superiority."
According to the reconnaissance of British intelligence agencies, the Italians lost 2 aircraft carriers, 1 battleship and 1 heavy cruiser in the Mediterranean operation. The British lost 4 battleships and 1 aircraft carrier. In terms of the losses of both sides, it was about a draw.
But the Mediterranean Fleet has now been driven out of the Mediterranean, and Germany and Italy will soon take over the entire Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East.
"Admiral, I just received a telegram from the First Sea Lord," Rear Admiral Crutchley took a copy of the telegram from a staff officer, read it and said, "The First Sea Lord asked you for your opinion on the Indian Ocean operation."
After the Mediterranean operation was over, the next step was the homeland-North Atlantic operation and the Indian Ocean operation. The First Sea Lord, Sir Pound, sent a telegram specifically to ask Cunningham for his opinion on the Indian Ocean operation, which was actually preparing to appoint him as the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Fleet.
Although Cunningham lost the battle in the Mediterranean, no one can deny that he is one of the naval commanders who can use aircraft carriers the best in the world today. The climate and sea conditions in the Indian Ocean are not as bad as those in the North Atlantic, which is more conducive to the use of aircraft carriers. Moreover, in the battle between the British mainland and the North Atlantic, because both sides have powerful shore-based aviation forces, the role of battleships is obviously greater than that of aircraft carriers. So the only ones who can stay in the Indian Ocean are aircraft carriers.
"Let the Royal Ark and four Queen Elizabeth-class ships go to the North Atlantic together." Cunningham thought for a while and said, "Let the Hermes and the Centurion come to the Indian Ocean. I still need at least 50 submarines and 1,500 commonly used aircraft, including 120 Short'Sunderland' seaplanes. In addition, give me 10 well-equipped camouflaged cruisers."
50 submarines, 120 seaplanes with long range and can serve as bombers, and 10 camouflaged cruisers... Needless to say, Cunningham is ready to break the battle.
"Admiral, are we going to attack the German and Italian oil transportation routes in the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea?" asked Major General Crutchley.
"No," Cunningham shook his head, "that's not a priority... because the oil fields in Iraq and Iran will be destroyed, and the Germans will not be able to restore production there in 12 months. And we will also conduct blockade operations in the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Oman."
"Then who are those submarines, seaplanes and disguised cruisers used against?"
"The Japanese!" Cunningham said, "The battlefield of the Eastern Fleet is not only the Indian Ocean, but also Southeast Asia!"
...
Rome, Villa Medici. Hessman is hosting a banquet to entertain Yamamoto Isoroku, who has just returned from visiting naval bases, shipyards and aircraft factories in Germany. In addition to watching the war, Yamamoto's trip to Europe also has the mission of inspecting the German navy, shipbuilding and aircraft industry.
Halfway through the dinner, a staff member of the Supreme Command of the German-Italian Allied Forces in the Mediterranean came in and handed Hessman a copy of the telegram he had just received.
After reading it, Hessman laughed out loud: "Admiral Yamamoto, the British Mediterranean Fleet has been defeated by us! An Italian submarine cruising near Port Said discovered that the British battleships were entering the Suez Canal, and they fled in disgrace. The Mediterranean now belongs to Germany and Italy!"