Both Wavell and Rommel made elaborate arrangements for this battle.

Wavell engaged two armoured divisions, an Anglo-Indian division, and the 22nd Guards Brigade, with a total strength of 80,000 men and 250 tanks.

The British army was divided into three parts,

The first part consisted of the 5th Anglo-Indian Division and the 15th Armoured Brigade under the 15th Panzer Division, with 50 Matilda tanks, which were responsible for attacking the Halfakaya Valley.

The second part consisted of the 22nd Guards Brigade and the 13th Armored Brigade under the 15th Panzer Brigade, with 100 Matilda tanks, which were responsible for attacking the village of Kapzo.

The Halfaya Valley and the village of Kapzo are not actually suitable for tank warfare, especially the Halfaya Valley...... It is the junction of the Egyptian coastal plain and the Libyan desert, the terrain is high in the west and low in the east, although the length of the straight line is only 150 meters, but the passage in it winds like a long snake and extends to the Libyan desert, which is very unfavorable to the attacker.

Therefore, Wavell's attack in these two directions is actually a feint, and the real main force is the third part...... 7th Panzer Division.

The 7th Panzer Division had 100 tanks, including 50 fast Crusader cruiser tanks, and Wavell wanted to rely on these 50 tanks to surprisingly penetrate the German flank from the left flank and the right flank in the direction of the Germans, and then go around to the position of the second army, and then around to the position of the first part, respectively, to defeat the Germans holding there.

Objectively speaking, Wavell's plan was still feasible, and his main idea was to crush the Germans in the defensive line instead of allowing them to flee back to Tobruk, which would cause great trouble for the British army, but it just so happened that Rommel also wanted to penetrate from the right flank...... This is something Wavell didn't expect, because he thought that with Rommel's troops and tanks, it would be difficult to hold the defensive line, how could there be tanks interspersed?!

But Rommel really did.

The strength of the German army was obviously much smaller than that of the British army, and Rommel actually had only two armored divisions totaling more than 30,000 men, and a 16th Italian division of more than 10,000 men...... The division had 60 M13 tanks, but Rommel never intended to send them into battle.

This was partly because Tobruk needed troops to defend it, and partly because Rommel knew that if he sent these Italians to defend the frontline strongholds, it would be almost giving them to the British.

So Rommel didn't think about it, and put the Italians and their tanks all in Tobruk.

Rommel adopted a bold new tactic in this battle, which was to use infantry against enemy tanks.

It is important to know that tanks are indispensable equipment in desert warfare, because the desert is almost impossible to defend and has nowhere to hide, and even if fortifications are built, these sandy trenches can be easily destroyed by artillery fire...... This is why Tobruk is known as a fortress, and it is rare in the desert to find a bunker complex like the British in three months and with a large number of reinforced concrete.

As a result, infantry often had to bring their own bunkers or pillboxes...... This bunker and pillbox is the tank.

It can almost be said that whoever has the advantage in tanks in a desert war has a better chance of victory.

And Rommel actually dared to use infantry against the tanks of the British army......

There is a topographical factor to this, and as mentioned earlier, the terrain of Halfa Tooth Pass is very difficult.

On the other hand, it was Rommel who had an anti-tank artifact...... 88MM ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUN, WHICH CAN DESTROY TARGETS OUTSIDE THE RANGE OF ENEMY TANKS.

So, in the direction of Khalfa Pass, Rommel arranged only one infantry regiment, which was used to defend against the enemy with only ten 88 anti-aircraft guns.

In the direction of the village of Capuzo, Rommel put the newly reinforced 15th Panzer Division in charge with 40 "No. 3" tanks.

The main 5th Light Division, with 50 tanks, waited on the right flank for the opportunity to penetrate the British rear.

Shortly after the battle began, bad news came:

"General!" The staff officer, who received the telegram, hurried to Rommel and reported: "Major General Prittwitz is dead!" ”

"What?" Hearing this, Rommel couldn't help but be stunned, it was only an hour before the start of the battle, and this was also the first battle of Major General Prittwitz, and he was actually killed?!

It turned out that Major General Prittwitz was in a hurry to enter the battle, and he rushed to the front of the troops at the first time...... Originally, there was no problem with this, and many German officers did it.

But he made a fatal mistake by standing next to a car that could easily be spotted and targeted by the enemy on the battlefield.

So, without any warning and without having time to react at all, a volley of shells suddenly whizzed, and the shells blew up the car and at the same time blew Major General Prytwitz to pieces.

Rommel immediately ordered his adjutant, Major General Gro, to take over the command of Major General Pritvi-Chiang...... In the German army, the duties of the adjutant were different from those of the secretary or staff officer, and although the adjutant had the meaning of deputy, he was also the quasi-successor of the main post, and as a deputy, he was prepared to take over by learning the command and working habits of the main post.

However, the situation of the German 15th Panzer Division was not optimistic, they had only 40 tanks, while the enemy had 100 "Matilda" with surprisingly thick armor.

So soon after, Major General Gro asked Rommel for help on the walkie-talkie: "General, we are almost unable to hold on, the enemy's attack is fierce, I believe this is their main force...... 'Matilda' tanks are coming towards us like a tide, at least a hundred of them!" ”

Rommel nodded, this was exactly what he wanted, to use the 15th Panzer Division to contain the main British army, and then send out the 5th Light Division, which was experienced in combat and had more tanks.

It's just that Rommel didn't expect that the British troops with more than 100 tanks were not the main force of the British army at all.

"An order to Major General Stryk!" Rommel said to the staff officer: "It's time for him to behave!" ”

"Yes!" The staff officer answered and passed on the order.

Qin Chuan and the soldiers were waiting anxiously behind the hills, and then the order was conveyed one by one:

"All on board!"

"All on board!"

……

The troops moved, the tank crew rushed to the tank, the driver rushed into the cab, and then almost at the same time, the tank, the car, the armored car, and the motorcycle all started, and hundreds of engines "rumbled" and exhausted exhaust gases.

Qin Chuan followed the soldiers and climbed into the car one by one with the help of Kuhn and the heralds...... This was the procedure for the Germans to get on the bus urgently, and the platoon commander and another assistant were responsible for pulling other soldiers into the car, so that on the one hand, they could speed up the boarding process, and on the other hand, the platoon commander could count the number of people by the way.