Chapter 576: Strategic Deception
The most dramatic change occurred on December 3, the day after the Imperial fleet began bombarding the Syvan Canal.
It was only at this time that Zheng Jiangming told Bai Zhiqing about the most critical thing of this trip.
If anything, he was really calm.
This is what I mentioned earlier, the commander-in-chief of the Beixuan region of the Empire, Army General Rommel, rushed to the west with armored troops to block the Allied forces, which was actually a strategic deception. The Rangman Army did send an armored unit to rush over, but it was only a reserve, and the commander was another general. Rommel remained west of the Shivan Canal, and the two armoured divisions under his command were still near El Alamein.
In order to achieve the purpose of deception, these two armored divisions made the necessary camouflage and concealment.
For example, the tanks and fighting vehicles were covered with yellow sand, and the officers and men used the weapons of the infantry units to no longer launch surprise attacks on the defensive line set up by the Bran army west of El Alamein.
All in all, the main force of the Yama Army remained on the west side of the Shifan Canal!
It was in this way that on the night of 3 December, after four hours of preparations, two armored divisions of the Manman Army launched a surprise attack on the Shivan Canal.
Bran's Royal Army was taken by surprise.
At that time, the assault formation, led by four fast battleships, had already gone north, and after nightfall, it shelled the defensive positions of the Bran army near Suez City, and put on a posture of preparing to land near Suez City, inducing the Royal Army of Bran to make adjustments to the defensive deployment.
The key is to send more troops to Suez City.
Because they had lost sea and air supremacy, and did not know the size of the Imperial fleet, let alone whether the Imperial Navy's landing fleet had entered the Narrow Sea, the Bran army guarding the Sunfan Canal could only believe that the Imperial Navy was prepared and would launch a landing operation within a few days.
Obviously, this is a very serious miscalculation.
At that time, the landing fleet was still resting in the temporary port of Socotra!
Because the landing fleet suffered heavy losses in launching three successive landing operations, especially the storming of the Kibu fortress, it was not until the end of December that a sufficient number of landing ships could be mobilized to launch a landing operation in the southern area of the Xifan Canal.
As a result, Bran's army was not wary of the threat from the west.
Before the assault of the Yamamans, the Bran army guarding the El Alamein line was very lax, and more than half of the officers and men were having fun in the rear.
At that time, Montgomery's order to the troops was to prepare for Suez City.
After a night of fierce fighting, by dawn on the 4th, the Armoured Armoured Force, commanded by Rommel himself, broke through the defensive line of Bran's army.
Prior to this, the Rangman army had been in front of this line for several months.
Despite several successive assaults, no real progress was made, except for extremely heavy losses.
When he received the news, Bai Zhizhan was also very surprised.
It's just that he also feels a little bit of an afterthought.
Or maybe I should have guessed it a long time ago.
Sending two task forces into the Narrow Sea ahead of schedule, but not letting the landing fleet follow, would inevitably involve another ground force in the battle.
As for the army armored forces on the other side of Posha Bay, it is obvious that they cannot be counted on.
Even if there are no attacks along the way, it takes a lot of time to cross 1,000 kilometers of desert, and it is impossible to complete it in just a few days.
The only thing that can be counted on is the Riman army in the Beixuan region.
If you want to say it, this hand is really well played, and even your own people have been deceived.
The key to the fact that the Imperial Navy was willing to contribute at this time was still the Imperial Navy, that is, the Imperial Navy was able to forcibly open the route to Suez City.
Without a doubt, this is where the most important thing is.
According to Zheng Jiangming, because the enemy counterattacked Malta, the Raleigh navy cowered in the harbor and refused to come out, so the Manman army fighting in the Beixuan area had reached the point of running out of ammunition and food. The only thing that can be counted on is that the Imperial Navy will attack the Xifan Canal as soon as possible.
In order to complete this final assault, the Mans gathered all the supplies they could find.
Even so, fuel is only enough for a week.
If they can't meet with the Imperial Navy within a week, that is, reach Suez City, tens of thousands of Manmen officers and soldiers will become lonely ghosts in the Beixuan Desert.
Because there is no room for any mistakes, when making a plan, the emphasis is a little stronger.
It was only when the Imperial fleet had entered the narrow sea and begun to bombard Suez City that the Mans attacked to minimize the loss of battle.
Of course, air support from the Imperial Navy was also needed.
This is also the main task of the two task forces in the next few days.
According to the arrangement of the White Stop, the four large aircraft carriers were all operating in the open sea, sending carrier-based aircraft to provide air support for the Ranman army that was advancing towards Suez City, bombing the Bran army along the way, reducing the difficulty of the surprise attack of the Bomban army, and speeding up the speed.
In addition, the White Stop also allowed the assault formation to approach Suez City and suppress the Bran army with artillery.
The key is that the assault formation also has to cover the minesweepers, clear the mines laid by Bran's army outside the port of Suez, and prepare for the next operation.
Capture the port of Suez and allow the convoy of convoys to enter the port and unload their cargo.
According to the arrangement, a fleet of 20 large cargo ships will arrive at the port of Suez on December 10 to deliver war supplies to the Euman army.
The most critical is about 100,000 tons of fuel oil.
At this time, the most lacking thing for the Manman army was fuel.
In Zheng Jiangming's words, if the fuel was not used, the Ghamain army had taken El Alamein a few months earlier, and had even captured the Shifan Canal.
Of course, it can also be said the other way around.
As long as the fuel supply was sufficient, the Manman army was able to capture the canal without the need for the empire to send troops into the war.
In fact, this just proves that the Imperial Army's march into the Xifan Canal was also a feint, and it was only attracting the attention of Bran's army.
In any case, this series of strategic deceptions is in the service of the ultimate goal, that is, the capture of the Xifan Canal.
On 7 December, the vanguard of the Panzer Force reached the north of Suez City and joined up with the reconnaissance force sent by the task force.
In fact, it was the Marine Corps that accompanied the 11th Task Force.
Because of the urgency of time, the marines were not deployed from the rear.
This reconnaissance unit sent a voice radio station for communication and liaison to the Manman army, and the officers and men of the Marine Corps participating in the operation could speak the Manman language.
Of course, the Manchurian army also arranged liaison officers who were proficient in the imperial Chinese.
With liaison officers and a voice radio, the Men were able to call in combat aircraft and warships for support in the event of an attack.
After receiving direct support, the assault of the Fernandes became more rapid.
It can be said that it is unstoppable.
In fact, the main forces of the Royal Army of Bran were all on the side of El Alamein, while the defenders of Suez City were all second-line troops with extremely weak combat effectiveness.
As for the storming of Suez City, it simply does not exist.
Because they were completely unprepared and did not even think about facing the enemy from the land direction, after the main force of the Yama army arrived, the Bran army defending Suez City gave up resistance very simply, and after the basic rights were guaranteed, they surrendered to the Yamaman army.
This result was also unexpected.