In mid-January, Ethiopia, which had been dormant for a long time, was once again a hot spot for the warring parties. [ads:This site has a new URL,Shorthand method:,.]

Reinforcements finally arrived in East Africa, bypassing the vast African continent and the Indian Ocean, fueling the ambitions of Montgomery, the commander of the British Eighth Army.

On 16 January, after thorough preparations, and at the urging of telegram after telegram from Churchill and Ochinlake, Montgomery finally launched an attack on Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

To the northeast, Montgomery personally commanded the 1st Armoured Division, the 2nd Armoured Division, the 5th Indian Division, and the 9th Australian Infantry Division as the main attackers.

Directly south, Lieutenant General Sir Allen led the 1st South African, 11th and 12th African Divisions to Addis Ababa, where they were tasked with assisting.

Sir Allen's three divisions, together with the attached logistics troops, numbered more than 70,000 men, marched mightily along the roads scattered among the rugged mountains towards Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia is dominated by mountainous plateaus, most of which belong to the Ethiopian plateau, the central and western regions are the main part of the plateau, accounting for two-thirds of the whole territory, and the Great Rift Valley runs through the whole territory, with an average altitude of nearly 3,000 meters, known as the "roof of Africa".

Sir Alan sat in the violently jolting saloon, looking at the rolling hills on either side of the road, and his mind was constantly thinking about what form of resistance his troops might encounter in the ensuing battle, and how he should direct his troops to respond.

Sir Allen's mind jumped like all sorts of strange basalt rocks on the side of the road outside the car, and the myriad of problems that might arise in the battle that were about to break out flashed through his mind, and then he came up with all kinds of whimsical ideas to resolve them one by one.

Sir Allen's brainstorming was blowing hard, and the car under the seat braked suddenly.

Under the effect of inertia, Sir Allen's body swayed forward, slamming heavily into the backrest of the front seat, instantly pulling him back to reality from his infinite lust.

The door was opened, and a captain handed a telegram to Sir Allen.

"The troops of the 1st South African Division found the Italian army outside the city of Shashamana ahead, the exact strength of which is unknown."

When Sir Allen read the telegram, a flash of joy flashed through his heart.

The most important task of this ragtag army, which was led by the African indigenous army, was to contain as many Italian troops as possible and relieve the pressure on the main attack on Addis Ababa.

I didn't expect the Italians to show up so soon. It is at least a hundred kilometers from Addis Ababa.

I looked at my watch, and it was 3:40 p.m.

Sir Allen then ordered his troops to halt their advance and to build temporary fortifications near the city of Shashamana for the night.

Sir Allen also ordered the 1st South African Division to send reconnaissance units to spy on the Italian forces near the city of Shashamana and to launch a tentative attack tomorrow morning.

Sir Allen's purpose is clear. If the Italian army on the opposite side is only a small alert force, break them with an attack and move on.

If the Italian forces on the opposite side are strong, put pressure on them by launching an attack and pin them firmly to the city of Shashamana. He has also completed the task of containing the enemy, and can give an explanation to the little hooked general Montgomery.

The Guards' Guard quickly set up a huge marching tent, and Sir Allen informed his staff of his idea, and ordered the staff officers to liaise with the rear airfield to give the Royal Air Force air cover for the battle tomorrow morning.

After dinner, before it was dark, Sir Allen led his staff to inspect the positions of the 1st South African Division, and peeked into the positions of the Italian troops opposite, before returning to the headquarters for the night.

Several days of marching and building fortifications consumed almost every British soldier's physical strength.

As night fell, the positions of the 1st South African Division were filled with the sound of black soldiers snoring, grinding their teeth, dreaming and farting. In the night, write a book of South and North Mobilization.

Sir Alan was no exception, and although he was travelled by a car, the jolting of the days almost broke the bones of his body, and he collapsed on the marching bed in the tent wrapped in a blanket and soon fell asleep.

After some time, Sir Allen's eyelids jerked a few times, and then his eyes opened slightly, and his hazy gaze revealed alertness.

After a few seconds, Sir Alan sat up straight, then shook off the blanket and put on his coat.

"General, General." A voice shouted hurried from outside the tent.

"Come in." Sir Alan said as he entered, but he himself lifted the curtain of the tent and went out.

"The Italians attacked." Adjutant Captain Sam said anxiously.

"I hear you. Let's take a look. Sir Allen looked around for a moment, then strode up to the high ground east of the camp with Sam and a few staff officers, and raised his binoculars to look north.

At this time, the sky had just brightened, and dazzling fireballs rose one after another over the positions of the 1st South African Division. Gray-white smoke and explosions filled the sky.

With the faint light, Sir Allen could clearly see the chaos in the positions of the 1st South African Division.

The figures of the black soldiers scattered around the position like headless flies, and every shell of the Italian army could lift countless stumps and broken arms in the crowd.

A fountain of dirt spewed into the sky and then fell on the fleeing black soldiers, further exacerbating their panic.

"What's going on? How did the positions of the 1st South African Division collapse so quickly? How long did the Italians go on the offensive? Sir Alan shouted angrily.

"Tanks, the Italians have a lot of tanks." A major staff officer lowered his binoculars and shouted as he pointed to a position in the distance.

"I saw the enemy's tanks. And what about our anti-tank guns? Is it for review? Those just can't be trusted. Sir Allen scolded.

Sir Allen hid in the high ground behind and cursed mercilessly at the black soldiers in front of him, but a tragic scene played out on the position of the 1st South African Division.

Charles, a black guy from Cape Town, South Africa, was an anti-tank gunner who faithfully performed their duty with three of his comrades while the infantry fled without responsibility, raining shells on the tanks of the Italian army with two-pounder guns in their hands.

With each shot, the twist in the muscles on Charles's face intensified.

Why can't it be penetrated, how thick is the armor of those tanks! It didn't even penetrate it with four shots in a row! Charles cried out in horror in his heart.

The fifth shell, at a distance of less than a hundred meters, fired.

Charles fired the fifth shell with great anticipation, but he clearly saw that the shell hit the front armor of the tank in front of him and was ejected into the air.

Before Charles's curse could be heard, a figure flashed out of the corner of his eye, and John the loader turned around and ran backwards, only to be hit in the back by a merciless string of bullets and fall in a pool of blood.

The other two gunners could not stand the test of fear either. Without saying a word, he dropped the cannon and Charles fled frantically.

Charsey gritted his teeth and glanced at his comrades who were not angry, and took out a shell from the ammunition box and stuffed it into the chamber.

There was a loud "boom", and Charles immediately jumped up with his eyes open, took off the steel helmet on his head and smashed it at the tank that had rushed in front of him. shouted hysterically: "Fifty meters, why can't you penetrate it?" What the fuck are you fucking made of? ”

A string of bullets burrowed into Charles's thigh, and Charles stumbled to the ground.

The tank's tracks ran mercilessly over the two-pounder gun, leaving only broken parts in one place.

Charles looked at the tank as it got closer and closer, and used both hands. Crawling frantically, trying to dodge the crush of the tank.

Sharp pain came from the toes, followed by the ankles and calves.

The sting of the cone was like a whirlpool, which rolled Charles under the tracks of the tank.

With the clatter of shattered bones, the tank's tracks crushed indifferently from the toes to the top of Charles's head, white brains and red blood splattered from under the tracks.

Leaving behind a human-skin pocket in the shape of a human, the tank continued to drive deeper into the positions of the South African division.

There were no anti-tank trenches, no mines, not enough anti-aircraft guns, not even a continuous trench.

Under the onslaught of more than 150 tanks, the position of the 1st South African Division, which consisted only of foxholes, was like a blank sheet of paper, which was instantly pierced by the Italian army.

Huge clusters of tanks ran over foxholes, stubborn British troops, and anti-tank guns. Follow the British army frantically fleeing for their lives to the south.

"Matilda, it's Matilda II." The major staff officer shouted again, his voice as frightened as if he had seen his long-dead grandmother.

"Nonsense, how could the Italians have Matilda? Are you hallucinating? Sir Allen shouted.

The truth gave Sir Allen a resounding slap in the face, and as soon as he finished speaking, he recognized the true identities of the tanks that had rushed to the front of the Italian tank cluster.

With its elegant shape, clumsy pace, and slender barrel, it turned out to be really a Matilda II tank.

Sir Alan rubbed his eyes and looked again, making sure he wasn't hallucinating.

"Damn. Where did the Italians get the Matilda II tanks, there are actually thirty or forty tanks, could it be that they were captured in the past battles? ”

Sir Allen knew all about the might of the Matilda II, and the unprepared infantry would certainly not be able to withstand the onslaught of the Matilda II tank cluster on the flat terrain near Shashamana. Not to mention that it was followed by more than a hundred tanks of other models as cover.

"Retreat, immediately order the troops to retreat, and use the mountainous terrain behind them to block them." Sir Allen shouted.

An hour and a half later, northeast of Addis Ababa.

Montgomery read the telegram in his hand three times before retracting his gaze in disbelief.

The Italian army was armed with Matilda II tanks, and there were at least thirty of them.

With Sir Allen's eyesight, he should not be mistaken for Matilda Type II, and Sir Allen's personality should not be able to fabricate such a battle report that is extremely easy to debunk.

The Matilda II tank used by the Italians was supposed to have been captured during the fighting in North Africa. It seems that they are not too stupid to know how to use the powerful weapons that have been captured.

However, how many Matilda II tanks are in the hands of the Italians, and what kind of impact will it have on the ensuing battle?

Thinking that he didn't have the right weapon to fight against the Matilda II tank, Montgomery suddenly felt a headache.

Montgomery quickly replied to Sir Allen with a telegram, telling him to try to find a way to entangle the Italian army in the Shashamana area as he had planned.

As for how Sir Allen dragged down the Italian army in Shasamana, that was not his own business.

While discussing with his staff how to counter the Matilda II tanks in the hands of the Italians, Montgomery urged his troops to speed up the march.

Unlike what happened to Sir Allen, the main force of Montgomery's Eighth Army marched unhindered into the outskirts of Addis Ababa.

Montgomery and his men were gearing up outside the city to take Addis Ababa in one fell swoop and give an account to Churchill, who was far away in London.

In Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian governor, Duke Oster, showed no tension on his face.

Looking at the battle report from the city of Shashamana in his hand, Duke Auster's smiling beard trembled.

These Matilda II tanks sent by the Germans were really good, easily crushing the British positions, letting them know the painful taste of being beaten by their own weapons, and finally let out a bad breath of being chased by Matilda II.

Thinking of the British troops outside the city, the Duke of Auster felt that he had to add a few more medals to his chest.

Auster's self-confidence is not obscenity.

After the end of the Greek campaign, as the only land battlefield in which Italy fought against the British, the Italian army in Ethiopia received a large number of troops and material aid.

The Litorio Panzer Division and the Arreette Panzer Division arrived, along with two mountain divisions and two infantry divisions.

Coupled with the two battalions of heavy tanks sent by the Germans, it was easy to take out the British troops outside the city.

In Addis Ababa, the Duke of Auster was ready to fight a defensive counterattack and educate the British.

A day passed, and the British outside the city did not attack.

Two days passed, and the British troops outside the city still did not attack.

In the early hours of 20 January, the Duke of Oster finally heard a call from troops outside the city that they were under attack by the British.

The positions of the 17th Infantry Division to the northeast and the 25th Infantry Division to the east of the city were attacked by the British.

The positions of the 17th Infantry Division were attacked by at least forty Matilda II tanks and were in dire need of reinforcements.

Hearing the staff officer say that the position of the 17th Infantry Division in front was critical, Duke Auster laughed instead.

"They really put the direction of the main attack in the northeast direction, and ordered the 185 parachute regiment to attack, so that they could give the British a little bitterness."

With the order of the Duke of Oster, the 185th Parachute Regiment assembled in the north of the city, under the leadership of Colonel Flatini, made an urgent attack and attacked the position of the 17th Infantry Division.

The 185 Parachute Regiment was accompanied by more than forty huge and bulky figures.

Montgomery was slightly taken aback when he saw the steel monsters on the Italian positions in his binoculars.

"B1 tanks, it's B1 tanks, how can there be B1 tanks here, it must have been given to them by the Germans."

At Montgomery's exclamation, the Italian B1 tank met the British Matilda II tank, and the tank battle was about to break out. (To be continued.) )xh118