Two days later, the order for combat readiness of the first level was again transmitted to the troops.

"Get your rifles ready!" "We're going to march to Cairo, and this time it's true!" ”

The soldiers were a little incredulous, but not surprised, because Rommel was such a character, he was sometimes like a brute bull, and no one could stop him from moving forward.

Soon the soldiers heard Rommel's speech to the whole army, read out by the officer: "Soldiers, you are loyal and reliable, you are brave and tenacious, and you have made the enemy under constant blows. Now is the time for us to crush the enemy once and for all, and in the days to come, I ask you to continue to fight valiantly to achieve our great goal, and victory is ours! ”

"Victory is ours!" The soldiers cheered, as if believing that the war would soon be over.

But Qin Chuan knew that it would not go so smoothly, and although the British suffered heavy losses in this battle, they were not yet broken...... Most of their losses in the battle were "Stuart" tanks, "Matilda" and "Valentine" did not actually participate in the battle directly because of their lack of mobility, and certainly did not suffer much losses.

Although these infantry tanks have various shortcomings, their heavy armor is undoubtedly a defensive weapon, so it would be too optimistic to attack rashly or think that they can fight in Cairo to end the war.

It was not only Qin Chuan who had this idea, but Air Marshal Kesselring was also aware of this, and Kesselring knew Rommel very well...... Rommel was a man desperate for fame and fortune, and he even made no secret of it, he once said that he wanted to conquer Egypt like Alexander the Great, Caesar, and Napoleon, and be a great conqueror to leave a name in history.

"Yes!" Kesselring said to himself: "This is Rommel, will he march on the Nile?" Do you want to make your dream of sipping whisky at the spacious Shepard Lodge come true? Yes, he'll do it! ”

So Kesselring left everything behind and flew to Tobruk to Rommel's headquarters.

"Welcome, Marshal!" Rommel saluted Kesselring, but the expression on his face was not happy, because he knew what Kessellin's purpose was for his trip.

"General, you must stop attacking!" "You know, we are attacking Malta with all our might, and if the Afrika Korps continues to attack, it will force the Air Force to divide more forces to cover you, which will make our attack on Malta fall short!" ”

"No, Your Excellency Marshal!" Without thinking about it, Rommel refused: "I want to take advantage of the victory, and I can't wait for you to capture the island of Malta, because it will cost us a golden opportunity!" ”

With that, Rommel took the map and put it in front of Kesselring, pointed to the route on the map, and said, "You know, the British have received supplies from the Americans, and the Americans have a large number of supplies in India, including an unknown number of tanks. We have already learned our lesson, we replenished two hundred tanks from Italy, and the British with seven hundred...... If we delay like this, even for a few weeks, the British may bring in elite troops and more tanks, and then we will not have a chance! ”

Objectively speaking, Rommel's thinking is also reasonable, he will rush to attack not only because of quick success, but also because the facts have proved time and time again that Britain can always get much more tanks and supplies than the German army in the same time, especially after knowing that the United States began to aid Britain.

As someone said about American industry: "When one plane is destroyed, two planes rise into the sky, and when one aircraft carrier is sunk, two aircraft carriers are launched."

This situation also existed on the African battlefield, so Rommel had to do it quickly.

"You didn't understand what I said!" "You cannot attack Egypt without the full support of the air force; And if the air force is fully supported by you, it will not be able to attack the island of Malta; If the island of Malta cannot be taken down, the logistics line of the Afrika Korps will be unsecured! You probably won't even get a tank or a box of bullets! ”

Kesselring accentuated his tone: "You can't hope for anything or nothing, General! The only correct way now is to stick to the original plan and stick to the defense line of Halfa Pass and postpone the attack on Egypt until after the capture of Malta! ”

"No, Marshal!" Rommel replied: "I choose to take it all!" ”

"Well, General!" Kesselring was indignant at Rommel's words: "Maybe I can't influence your thoughts, but you have to understand that the Air Force is under my command!" ”

Kesselring's implication was that if Rommel had insisted on going his own way, he would not have the air force support the Afrika Korps attack.

Kesselring thought that Rommel would give in, but he didn't expect Rommel to shake Kesselline's hand politely with a smile on his face, and said: "I completely agree, marshal, even so, I will choose to attack." I'll invite you to Cairo for dinner! ”

Kesselring could not convince Rommel, so he left in a huff, leaving behind a sentence as he left: "Don't think I'm just talking, I'm doing what I say!" ”

Rommel was not a fool, and he certainly knew that it was nothing more than death for the Afrika Korps to go on the offensive without air cover...... Without the cover of wind and sand, the enemy's reconnaissance planes could see the smoke and dust raised by the tanks as they advanced, and then the fighters and bombers bombed indiscriminately all the way, and hundreds of tanks were afraid that they would be blown up before they even reached Cairo.

But Rommel had other plans.

After Kesselring had left, Rommel sent a telegram to Hitler: "Dear Führer, the situation of the Afrika Korps is at its best at the moment, and the condition and morale of the troops, together with the captured supplies and the current weakness of the enemy, are conducive to the pursuit of the remnants of the enemy in the heart of Egypt. Some people don't understand that if we can take Cairo and control the Suez Canal and then occupy the whole of North Africa, then what else is the island of Malta to do? ”

Hitler was quickly moved by this telegram...... Hitler was also a quick winner, and Rommel had been the captain of Hitler's personal guard, so he knew this very well, and of course what it took to impress him.

Rommel guessed correctly, and Hitler announced in front of his military advisers that "any attempt to capture Malta is 'totally' out of consideration." The 'turning point' in Africa has arrived, and if the victorious commander does not persevere to the end in the moment of victory, the goddess of victory will never reappear! ”