The 7th Armoured Brigade is part of the British 7th Armoured Division and is the only armoured unit of the British Army in the Matrum area of Mesha.

Receiving an order to rush to the jurisdiction of the 4th Indian Division, the commander of the 7th Armored Division, Major General Clay, decided to personally lead the 7th Armored Brigade south.

The tankmen of the 7th Panzer Brigade braved the Luftwaffe fire and bombardment along the way, and with great courage advanced to the positions of the 4th Indian Division.

The Matilda 2 is a veritable infantry tank, but it is too slow, and it can only run about 12 kilometers per hour on soft sand.

By the time the 7th Armoured Brigade arrived at the 4th Indian Division's precinct at the cost of 11 tanks wounded or broken down, the 4th Indian Division's defenses were crumbling.

The remnants of the 4th Indian Division, Major General Ogereau, had retreated to the last line of position, and he hid in a very secluded semi-underground bunker, looking through his binoculars at the cluster of German armor that pounced on him like wolves in the distance, and his face was clouded.

Isn't it time to think positively about retreating? The division's 48 2-pounder anti-tank guns had been almost completely lost, and the turbaned Indian infantrymen had been frightened by the surging German tank horde, and if the German tanks had to charge again, they would not need to open fire to break their psychological defenses.

The reinforcements of the 7th Armored Brigade have been delayed, could it be that O'Connor is deceiving himself, the 7th Armored Brigade has not come at all.

With the current situation, even if the 7th Armored Brigade arrives, I am afraid that it will only be able to collect its own corpse.

Major General Ogereo waved a soldier and told him to go behind the bunker to prepare the vehicle and prepare for a quick retreat in case of contingency.

Send away the orderlies. Major General Augereau immediately shouted to a staff officer: "Where is the 7th Panzer Brigade?" Why hasn't it arrived yet? Send a telegram to inquire immediately. ”

A moment later. The staff officer returned to Major General Ogereau.

"General Clay says his troops have arrived."

"Nonsense, where are they? How I didn't see their people. Major General Ogereau was furious and shouted at the staff officer.

"General, do you look at the tanks of the Germans? They stopped attacking. Lieutenant Colonel Hull, Chief of Staff, shouted in surprise.

Rear Admiral Ogereau hurriedly ran to the observation hole of the bunker and looked out, and sure enough, he saw that the German tank cluster had stopped in the distance, and at least half of the tanks had turned around and headed north of his position.

"It should have been the men of the 7th Panzer Brigade attacking their left flank that they had to stop the attack." Lieutenant Colonel Hull said excitedly.

"Undoubtedly, definitely the 7th Armored Brigade. They came just in time, and our position was saved. The expression on Major General Ogereo's face instantly changed from cloudy to cloudy.

"Report that the 4th Infantry Brigade on the left flank has also retreated to the last line, and Colonel George has called, and if no more reinforcements are sent, they will be able to hold out for a maximum of thirty minutes." Another staff officer hurriedly walked up to Major General Ogereo and said.

The expression on Major General Ogereau's face turned cloudy in an instant, and he angrily shouted to the staff officer who had come to report the news: "Tell Colonel George that the 7th Panzer Brigade has arrived, that our counteroffensive has begun, and that the Germans will soon be defeated." Let them hold on for another hour. ”

For a time, from Major General Ogereo below. All the officers and men of the 4th Indian Division pinned all their hopes on the 7th Armored Brigade.

Major General Clay of the 7th Panzer Division did not know how much pressure he was under at this time, and was relieved to see the German tank cluster of the 7th Panzer Brigade turning around in the distance.

His plan to attack the German flanks was too wise, and now that the Germans' attention had been successfully diverted to the 7th Panzer Brigade, the pressure on the 4th Indian Division would certainly be reduced a lot, and if they could no longer hold their positions, it would only show that they were incompetent.

As for the next tank battle, it was time to witness the power of the Matilda 2 tank.

Major General Clay looked at the German tank cluster that was aggressively slaughtering the 7th Panzer Brigade, and a confident smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

At his command, more than 40 Matilda 2 infantry tanks immediately stopped their advance and turned to defend in place and lined up in formation to prepare for engagement.

He kept 22 A10 cruiser tanks in reserve, and once the Matilda 2 tank group defeated the German tanks with its solid armor, he immediately pursued them to extend the results.

However, as soon as the tank group of the 7th Armored Brigade was lined up, Major General Clay saw a scene that made him jaw-dropping.

The vanguard of the German tank cluster rushed to a point about seven or eight hundred meters away from their own and stopped, and the muzzles of the boxy, masculine-looking German tanks then sprayed gray-white smoke.

The tanks of the Germans opened fire? The tanks of the Germans turned out to fire at such a distance? Major General Clay seemed to see the funniest thing in the world.

At a distance of seven or eight hundred meters, you want to penetrate the armor of the Matilda 2 tank head-on, huh? What is the situation?

The confident smile on Major General Clay's face froze instantly, then turned to horror.

Plumes of black smoke rose from at least four Matilda 2 tanks, and the tank crews fled in panic by lifting the hatches of the tanks, casting a shadow over Rear Admiral Clay's heart.

Before Rear Admiral Clay could come to his senses, a second salvo of German tanks followed, and six or seven Matilda tanks emitted black smoke.

"It's too far for us to penetrate their armor, so ask for a charge."

Before Major General Clay could figure out why, the shouts of Colonel Diel, the commander of the tank brigade, were heard over the radio.

Rear Admiral Clay did not hesitate to agree to Colonel Diere's request and ordered 22 A10 cruiser tanks as a reserve to attack in tandem.

After giving the order to attack, Major General Clay gritted his teeth and picked up the binoculars and looked ahead.

With the extremely slow speed of the Matilda 2, it was impossible to escape, so they had to attack hard, pinning their only hope on defeating the German tanks in a frontal tank battle.

In the face of the sharp fire of the German tanks, the surviving Matilda 2 tanks charged to the death with the support of the A10 cruisers.

Every 100 meters the British tanks paid a heavy price, and the Matilda 2 tanks were paralyzed one after another, and the tankers scrambled to abandon their vehicles and flee.

Wisps of black smoke soon turned into thick columns of smoke, drifting into the sky with the wind. The flames enveloped the steel body of Matilda 2, and the "blood" of the paint turned into the tank fell to the ground one by one, and the ammunition inside the car was detonated in the heat, and shrapnel clanged in the cabin.

The tankers of the A10 cruiser could not help but rush out of the queue of Matilda II tanks, firing their guns and charging at the German tanks that kept reversing and widening the distance.

The armor-piercing shells of the 40-mm tank guns had turned into toy gun bullets after flying over a long distance, and they had no power to hit the body of the German tank.

The A10 cruiser's 24 mm thick front armor was as fragile as a piece of paper in front of the German tank, and the 75 mm armor-piercing projectile swirled around the hot-headed A10 tank to cut countless bullet holes, and incidentally took the lives of the British knights in the cabin.

With an unusually violent explosion, the turret of an A10 tank rolled into the sky and drew a terrifying end to this tank battle

"Damn, I knew the 7th Armored Brigade was unreliable, they were defeated so quickly, and that idiot from Clay just left us and fled."

Major General Augereau walked around the bunker like an angry lion, cursing the 7th Panzer Brigade and Major General Clay incessantly.

"Where's my reinforcements? What about the reinforcements you promised me? A figure rushed to Augerlo's side, grabbing Augero by the collar and shouting.

Ogereau looked up and saw that it was Colonel George of the 4th Infantry Brigade.

Colonel George was unkempt, his military uniform was covered with holes and blood, and his left arm was still wrapped in a white bandage, and his former aristocratic demeanor was gone.

Pushing away the deranged Colonel George, Major General Augereau glared at him and shouted, "Now is not the time to talk this nonsense, we have all been killed by the 7th Panzer Brigade. Retreat, retreat immediately. ”

Twenty minutes later, when Herman. When the paratroopers and tanks of the Goering Division ran over the last line of defense of the 4th Indian Division, they saw only an empty headquarters and countless "Asan" infantry in turbans.

After completely breaking through the defensive line of the 4th Indian Division, the troops of the 7th Panzer Division turned around and turned to the southeast, outflanking the flanks of the two British infantry brigades on the right flank.

Herman. Goering's division made a sharp north-east turn and swooped straight for the coastal road. (To be continued......)