The village of Fuquet is located about 70 kilometres east of the port of Mesha Matru, and the coastal road to the heart of Egypt passes from west to east two kilometres north of the village.

When the Black Iron Assault Company of the 101st Special Air Service Battalion landed in the sand south of Fukai Village, it was still quiet in Fukai Village.

Two hundred and sixty commandos quickly burst out of the thirty DFS230 gliders, regrouped in the sand, and then split into two lines.

More than 200 men of the main force of the assault company followed the commander of the Black Iron Assault Company, Captain Recht, to the village of Fukai in the north.

The mortar platoon on the other line occupied the high ground southwest of the village of Fuquet unhindered, and then set up six GRW34 81 mm mortars on the high ground.

The main force led by Captain Recht quietly approached the village of Fuquet from the south and divided again, and the third platoon left the main force and quietly detoured back to the northeast of the village under the cover of dim light.

When it reached about 200 meters from the village of Fuquet, the main force of the assault company led by Captain Recht & None & Wrong & Novel {} stopped.

Lying behind a sand dune, Captain Recht carefully examined the movement of the village of Fuquet, there were no defenders at the entrance of the village, and the village was so quiet, eerily quiet.

A few minutes later, Will, the herald of the third platoon, quietly ran to Captain Recht and reported to him that the third platoon had returned to its position,

After questioning Will and learning that the third platoon had not found a sentry northeast of Fuquet Village, Captain Recht analyzed that either there were no defenders in the village, or the defenders had discovered the existence of the assault company and were setting up a killing field in Fukai Village to wait for the assault company's attack.

After pondering for a while, Captain Recht gave Will a few words and told him to return to the northeast of the village. Then an order was given to a platoon to attack.

Forty commandos of a platoon left the hidden positions. Scattered in a skirmisher formation, they launched an attack on the southeastern corner of the village of Fuquet.

When a row approached about a hundred meters from the village. A crisp gunshot suddenly rang out, and one of the commandos fell to the ground.

When the other team members fell to the ground reflexively, the village was already full of gunfire, Brown light machine guns and Enfield rifles were fired one after another, and dozens of muzzle flames flashed out of the windows and roofs of buildings in the south of the village, and were as dazzling as fireworks in the dim light.

The firepower of the British army did not last long, and after the MG34 machine guns and M1 semi-automatic rifles in the hands of the commandos in the first platoon opened fire, the firepower of the British troops in the village instantly weakened.

Take advantage of the rate of fire of the M1 semi-automatic rifle. The commandos of the platoon achieved a local superiority in firepower and successfully suppressed the fire of the British troops southeast of the village of Fuquet.

Captain Recht carefully observed the situation on the battlefield for two or three minutes with a sneer on his face.

Judging from the density of the gunfire and the distribution of the muzzle flames, he already clearly knew that the British troops in Fuquet Village definitely did not exceed one company.

The enemy has a similar strength to his own, and has the buildings of the village as a cover, so it is not wise to storm it.

Captain Recht looked at his watch and made sure that there was enough time to give the order to retreat.

81-mm mortars on the heights southwest of Fukai smashed shells into the southeast corner of Fuquet, and four of the latest PAK38 anti-tank guns also roared, smashing 50-mm high-explosive shells on the heads of the British.

In the continuous explosions and fires, the houses were destroyed along with the British troops inside, and the British fire southeast of Fuquet Village was completely suppressed. A platoon of commandos took advantage of the situation to withdraw from the battlefield.

After a few minutes, the gunfire on the battlefield gradually subsided.

More than twenty minutes later. A powerful roar swooped into the battlefield from west to east, and nine Stuka dive bombers, escorted by four ME-109 fighters, appeared over the village of Fuquet.

The characteristic screeching of the Stuka dive bombers as they dived quickly covered the village of Fouquet, and 50 kg of bombs and 500 kg of bombs were mercilessly smashed on the heads of the British troops in the village.

In the light of the fire, dust, rubble, fragments of corpses and parts of guns flew into the sky like fountains.

Amid the deafening explosion, countless figures rushed out of the village of Fuquet, running in all directions in a panic, trying to escape from the range of the air raid, only to crash headlong into the muzzle of the German soldiers outside the village.

Strings of 7.92mm bullets flew towards the British troops exposed in the wilderness, mercilessly digging bloody holes into their bodies.

One by one, the British soldiers fell to the ground with spasms covered with bullet holes, and the oncoming death woke up the fleeing British soldiers, and the surviving British soldiers hurriedly threw away their weapons and ran towards the commandos outside the village with their hands raised.

Under the powerful fire of the bombers, the British infantry company stationed in the village collapsed in an instant, and more than 170 soldiers were either reduced to pieces under aerial bombs or fell to death on the sand outside the village, and only more than 20 people were lucky enough to become prisoners of the Black Iron Assault Company.

After the bomber formation left, the Black Iron Assault Company captured the village of Fuquet, which had been reduced to ruins.

After sending a good news, Captain Recht then led the company members into the village of Fuquet.

About half an hour later, twenty-four ME-109 combat planes flew over the village of Fuquet, circling the sky.

Some daring pilots flew their planes into the village of Fuquet, flying over the commandos' heads at a height almost close to the roof, and the wind brought up by the fuselage kicked up countless sand and dust, causing the commandos to shout and curse.

A larger fleet followed.

More than 100 JU-52 transport planes obscured the sky above the village of Fukai, threw down countless white umbrella flowers and gracefully circled away.

After passing through the ruins, mutilated corpses, and around several large craters, Captain Recht led his company members to the north of the village of Fuquet.

Staring back at the sky for a while, Captain Recht and his men quickly walked to the left front, and just about ten meters away, a paratrooper landed where they had just stood.

Looking at the paratrooper struggling under the white parachute, Captain Recht stepped forward with a smile and lifted the parachute covering him with his own hands, releasing the childish-looking young paratrooper.

The young paratrooper's face was swollen red, and he did not know whether he was excited or ashamed, and after saluting Captain Recht, he quickly put away his parachute and ran towards the assembly place with his nearby comrades.

The regimental headquarters of the 1st Parachute Regiment of the 7th Parachute Division and the paratroopers of the 1st Battalion were quickly assembled and took over the defense of the village of Fuquet.

The second wave of transport planes soon appeared over the village of Fuquet, and the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 1st Parachute Regiment also arrived on the battlefield.

While the Second Air Force was busy increasing its troops in the village of Fuquet, the headquarters of the British Eighth Army in the city of Mesha Matru was already in chaos.

The commander of the Eighth Army, Lieutenant General O'Connor, glared at the captain's staff officer in front of him and shouted: "What did you say? Paratroopers of the Germans found outside the village of Fouquet? ”

"Yes, General. Captain Nissen, who was stationed in the village, called and found that German planes had landed in the south of the village, numbering about thirty or forty, and he was organizing his men to prepare for the battle, hoping that we would be able to send reinforcements to support them. ”

Hearing that Fuquet needed reinforcements, O'Connor became agitated.

The German and Italian armies had launched an all-out offensive on the western defensive line, and the offensive was so fierce that he had the only brigade of reserves needed to deal with the enemy in front of him, and there were no spare troops to reinforce the village of Fuquet.

However, if the Germans near Fuquet were left alone, once the village of Fuquet was lost, the Eighth Army's road to the heart of Egypt would be cut off, and not only the supply lines but also the retreat routes would be cut off.

In a dilemma, O'Connor's anger grew.

"Damn, that untrustworthy Marshal Graziani, who dared to deceive us, deserved to be put on the gallows and hanged."

After viciously cursing Marshal Graziani, O'Connor's eyes lit up, and he saw a major staff officer hurrying into the command room.

"What did General Wavell say?" O'Connor snatched the telegram from the staff officer's hand.

As soon as the battle began, O'Connor sent a telegram asking for help to Wavell, who had returned to Cairo, and the staff officer had Wavell's reply.

"The 4th Armoured Brigade is on its way to Mesha Matrouh and has now marched to the village of Deba."

O'Connor quickly glanced at the map and found the village of Deba, about fifty kilometers east of the village of Fuquet.

"Immediately contact the 4th Armoured Brigade and ask them to rush to the village of Fuquet immediately to assist Captain Nissen in holding the village of Fuquet. Captain Nissen was then informed that reinforcements would arrive immediately, and that they must hold out until the 4th Panzer Brigade arrived. ”

Having temporarily solved the problem of the back road being cut off, Lieutenant General O'Connor refocused his eyes on the vicinity of Mesha Matru and began to concentrate on how to deal with the enemy forces in front of him.

It wasn't long before Lieutenant General O'Connor received the bad news that Captain Nissen of Fouquet Village had lost contact.

"Fukai Village should be lost, order the 4th Armored Brigade to recover Fukai Village, before dark today, and at any cost." O'Connor commanded loudly to the staff officer. (To be continued......)