Johnson knew this communications staff officer named Frank, and the situation he reported back did make Johnson's heart tight.

The 131st Regiment actually stopped moving after receiving reinforcements from two companies of the guard battalion, and was even forced to retreat.

This does not bode well! Once the 131st Regiment retreated, the situation of the 768th Regiment would be even worse, since the two regiments were advancing in parallel almost all the time.

At this time, Wavell on the other end of the phone also urged a little anxiously: "Johnson, you can't hesitate any longer, otherwise your attack may be in danger of failure!" Immediate and decisive measures must be taken to reinforce the front, and I now order that the 974th and 775th Regiments of the Australian Army be sent to reinforce you. ”

Johnson also did not ink, and after knowing that Wavell had decided to assign two Australian regiments to himself, he quickly made corresponding arrangements: "Pass my order that after the 974th Regiment arrives, it will immediately follow Staff Frank into the city and implement reinforcements for the operation in the city center." The 775th Regiment did not move for the time being upon arrival, but was ready for battle and ready to join the battle at the front. Also, send a telegram to Australians asking where they are now? How long does it take to get here? ”

"Execute it now." Johnson commanded with a wave of his hand to his subordinates.

"Yes, General Johnson, I'll go and execute it at once!" After Frank replied, he immediately walked out of the hidden part where the headquarters was located to carry out the latest orders Johnson had given him.

In fact, Frank also muttered a little in his heart, and he wondered why Johnson only sent one regiment of the 974th Regiment to reinforce it, instead of both regiments going up.

In fact, it is difficult to say how long this force can sustain the offensive on the front line, and perhaps Johnson just wants to stabilize the front and not retreat.

After all, it is only right that there is still a regiment in hand, and now that the entire 24th Division has been depleted, in the event of any unforeseen circumstances, it is always beneficial to have a reserve in hand.

In fact, Major General Johnson, the commander of the 24th Division of the British Army, really had little confidence in relying on his own division to capture the city of Ejelle at this time.

The 24th Division was in a terrible situation, and it was only after the arrival of the Australian Army that they would have enough strength to launch a further offensive against Ejele, an important city on the Algerian border.

Otherwise, if the 24th Division only forcibly attacked, it was very likely that it would face defeat, not to mention, and it might even be driven out of the city again by the French troops in the city.

When General Randolph, the commander of the 13th British Army, who was fighting on the mid-end front, was also very surprised when he saw the urgent telegram sent by the 24th Division.

There is a reason why the 24th Division has been put on the front line by him to assault, this division has always had a good record in the past, and on the whole it is the strongest combat division among the three divisions in the army.

And the commander of this division, General Johnson, was very young, but as far as he knew, this young general had been constantly surprising him since the beginning of the war with Italy.

And now, in front of the inconspicuous African city of Ejele, the young division commander sent an urgent telegram.

What does this mean? It shows that he really needs reinforcements.

Randolph knows Johnson very well, and it is impossible for Johnson to ask for help unless he has to.

In this telegram, Johnson described the situation of the battle at Egele as serious, and even mentioned the possibility of failure of the attack. General Randolph is convinced that this is by no means alarmist and quite possibly becomes a reality.

Randolph looked at the telegram and frowned, the chief of staff on the side had not read the telegram, so he asked, "General, what's the bad situation?" ”

Handing the telegram in his hand to the chief of staff, Randolph said worriedly: "This is a telegram from the 24th Division, you can take a look." They're in a bad situation there. ”

The chief of staff read the telegram suspiciously, and his heart was just as anxious.

He also knew Johnson, the young division commander, from shortly after the war began.

It is impossible for Johnson to lie about the military situation, and the current situation only shows that the French army in Ejeleri is indeed very strong, and the strength of the 24th Division has been reduced to a very dangerous situation.

After thinking about it, the chief of staff said: "It seems that the situation of the 24th Division is very bad, it seems that their task is a bit too heavy, and with the current status quo of this division, it will not be able to complete the task." I think they've done their best. ”

After a pause, the chief of staff continued: "I propose to consult Commander Wavell at once and try to give a new order to the 24th Division, ordering them to stop attacking the city and just hold the existing front. ”

The chief of staff is the former commander of the 24th Division and Johnson's old superior, and he is very affectionate towards this division. Now that this division is about to be wiped out, it is difficult for him to accept this situation in his heart.

Even if the 24th Division has a young division commander with a reputation, even if this division is the main force of the 13th Army. However, such continuous use, which has always put this division in the position of breaking out of the southern front, still makes this division almost a bare shelf, which the chief of staff does not want to see.

Of course, Randolph is also a responsible person.

The order for the 24th Division to occupy the city of Ejele first and then to the west to occupy the Algerian oil fields was given by General Wavell himself. To change this order, it is generally only possible to change it if Admiral Wavell or Prime Minister Winston Churchill speaks in person.

But the current situation is that the 24th Division is no longer capable of completing this task, so he, the commander, wants to stand up and take this responsibility, and change the order himself, so as to avoid General Wavell and the command holding Johnson accountable.

If the superiors want to hold them accountable, then he, the commander, should take responsibility for changing the order.

"Well, your suggestion is correct. In this case, you go and draft a telegram to the headquarters to report on the actual situation of the 24th Division, and submit that the command of the 13th Army has issued an order to suspend the attack of the 24th Division on the city of Ejele. At the same time, a telegram was drafted to the command of the Australian troops, asking them why they were moving so slowly. This is the act of delaying the fighter! They were ordered to march at the speed of a rapid march and reach the city of Ejelle within two hours. Upon arrival, the Australians were responsible for attacking and capturing the city of Ejele, while the 24th Division was only used as an auxiliary force for the attack. General Randolph ordered solemnly.

"Parking! Signal Corps, immediately hand over these two telegrams to the Communications Section, and let them immediately convey the orders of General Randolph! After the chief of staff hurriedly drafted the telegram and handed it over to Randolph for signature, he immediately asked Dorranf, the driver of the armored car in which Dorranf was sitting, to stop, and called a communications soldier on a motorcycled tricycle to give an order for the other party to send the telegram to the car where the communications section's radio station was located.