Why did the Italian front-line infantry, which was still holding out, collapse in such a quick time?

This also starts with the transfer of the Italian army: in fact, the transfer of Marshal Graziani was the last straw for the Italian army, the last chance for the Italian 10th Army

However, this movement made the troops defending the front line suspicious, fearing that the friendly forces behind them were not going south to fight back against the British, but were preparing to pack up their bunks and flee. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

So when the army behind them began to turn around and move, the Italian front-line infantry involuntarily retreated.

Leaving the somewhat fortified defensive position, the Italian infantry, driven by the British soldiers, was not far from being captured.

Soon, about 10,000 Italian soldiers became trophies of the British army, because there were too many prisoners, and even hindered the pursuit of the British army for a time......

Marshal Graziani finally collapsed in despair, like his army. He did not expect that a precise British counterattack at the critical point would so easily crush the entire 200,000 Italian troops.

Who would have thought that in this barren land, 200,000 Italian troops would be defeated by 30,000 British troops, and the chaos would collapse?

"How did they break down? I've been overseeing the establishment of this line of defense these days! It's only been a few hours? They can't hold it? Marshal Graziani could not believe his ears and opened his mouth to ask the officer.

He didn't know that it was because his army was turning, making the troops on the front line think that they had been betrayed, so it caused the collapse.

After all, he was not a prophet and could not have guessed the outcome of this tragedy. The officer who came to report the news did not know the reason, so naturally he could not answer.

But the officer knew that if they wasted their time like this, they would not even have a chance to retreat.

If Graziani in front of him was captured by the British, he would really have to be remembered for eternity - the highest-ranking officer captured by the Allies after the Axis war!

"Marshal! Now is not the time to pursue it, we must get out of here! The officer, with tears in his voice, persuaded Marshal Graziani in front of him.

Was Marshal Graziani a fierce general who looked at death as if he were at home? Apparently not! He heard the reminder of his subordinates, and he didn't mean to excuse himself, so he nodded and walked out of his headquarters!

Half an hour later, the main force of the Italian 10th Army, more than 10,000 men, began to escort their marshal to retreat, and most of the remaining troops were thrown into chaos.

About 100,000 people are retreating, scattered all the way under the city of Matrouh to West Dubairani and even between Bugbug and Selum.

The rest of the army fought on its own, some were still resisting, some were surrendering, and some were trying to break out or escape......

The entire Egyptian battlefield was in chaos, and the British army itself did not expect that this forced counterattack would really become a great victory!

The British commander, Admiral Azibald Percival Wavell, was reluctant to attack until the British army launched a counterattack.

He had too few troops left at his disposal to risk attacking the outnumbered Italian army.

As soon as there was a problem, any problem, his army would be unable to continue to hold out to Matru because of its heavy losses.

And if Matru is lost, then Alexandria is completely in danger. Matroux has an airport, there is a port...... It was an important supply base for Italy's advance.

So when Admiral Wavell heard Churchill's order to fight back, he subconsciously thought that Churchill must be crazy.

But when Churchill told Admiral Wavell about the situation at home, he could only fight such an important counterattack!

Because Britain needs a victory so badly, a morale-boosting victory! If they had not won a good victory on the battlefield, perhaps Britain would have been forced to succumb to the bombing of the Luftwaffe.

Based on such a premise, Admiral Wavell had to choose to launch a counterattack. What was originally a helpless counterattack turned out to be a huge victory in the true sense of the word!

Marshal Graziani was defeated in Egypt, for whatever reason, in a very ugly defeat - he gave the honor to Admiral Wavell and allowed him to reach the pinnacle of his life.

Admiral Wavell was standing on top of his car at this time, watching the collapsing Italian army in the distance.

His victory was so glorious that two British soldiers could often be seen on the roadside, escorting hundreds of Italian prisoners.

"The Italians simply don't have supplies! They have been replenishing fresh water and food lately, with little ammunition to spare. A British officer stood under the car and reported to Admiral Wavell in the car.

Just now, the British army accepted the surrender of the headquarters of an Italian infantry division, and the division commander gave an inexhaustible confession of his army.

The soldiers lacked basic supplies and could only partially guarantee their rations. It is strange that such an army can have combat effectiveness.

Apparently the Italian commanders were also aware of this, and they tried to extend their own transport lines, but unfortunately the speed was too much to compliment.

The 200,000 army sounds very scary in terms of quantity, and it is indeed overwhelming in terms of momentum, but it is a pity that an army of this level is itself a huge consumption of the logistics system.

"No wonder, many armies simply don't have ammunition...... It seems that our wanted beatings are crooked! Admiral Wavell withdrew his gaze from the battlefield and smiled at his men in front of the car.

The tanks of the Italian army do not have a radio system, so these armored fighting vehicles can only fight on their own, and they lack coordination ability, and they are very vulnerable in a state of chaos.

They could neither obtain information on the battlefield situation, nor coordinate the operations and cover of nearby troops, which were comparable in combat effectiveness to those of the Allied tanks on the battlefields of France.

30 cars! Within seven hours of the battle, the Italian army had already abandoned 30 of its own M11 tanks, and at the same time about the same number were abandoned due to malfunctions.

In addition, more than 15 Italian tanks were destroyed by British tanks...... The number of captured tanks destroyed has exceeded the total number of tanks attacked by the British.

"Send a telegram to the armored forces! Let them continue to fight back to the west! I will regain all the lost territory in two days and attack Libya!" "Admiral Wavell was so complacent that he used this counterattack to buy time for his country.

Now, as long as he bites the tail of the rout of the Italian 10th Army, he will be able to chase all the way into Libya.

According to his script, he could even take Baildi and try to attack Tobruk! In this way, he can even find out exactly where the Libyan oil fields have been looking for in the British leadership!

For the British, with the defeat of the Italian army, they were completely turned over in North Africa.

"We'll be able to storm the village of Tevarise this afternoon!" The officer next to the car smiled and saluted, and now the long-lost smile finally returned to the face of the British soldier.

They won! Defeated 7 times as many enemies as themselves and are recovering their lost territory. The Motherland should be proud of them, the disadvantages on the battlefield in North Africa have been reversed.

"Send a telegram to Alexandria! Send a telegram to Cairo! Tell His Majesty! We did not fail in our mission and defeated the Italians! Admiral Wavell proudly spoke, ready to announce his victory to the rear.

"It should be! You're welcome! The officers around him were nodding, this victory was definitely not easy to come by, and the gold content was very high.

They won at a time when England needed a victory most inspiring – and what could be more important?

Then again, compared to the difficult Germans, the Italians are really like a timely rain! What people are anxious about is simply a living Lei Feng!

On the other side, in the port of Tobruk, a dusty Rommel ripped off the scarf around his neck and threw it on a table that was covered with a clean tablecloth.

Squinting his eyes, he looked at the commander of the Italian garrison with an embarrassed face, with a nonchalant sneer: "So, we are here, right?" ”

Just now, the Italian commander, who was swallowing saliva, received the astonishing news that the Italian 10th Army Corps under the command of Marshal Graziani had been defeated, and the defeat was very embarrassing.

At the same time, another supply from the German Afrika Korps arrived in Tobruk, where 1,000 soldiers waddled off the transport ship and boarded North Africa, where they were about to fight.

Rommel's army has almost reached the size of a standard division, although this division is still only a mixed division, but its combat effectiveness is already very amazing.

"Rest in place! Now it's not a matter of urgency! We want to make sure we are in shape! He looked at the map and instructed the adjutant and all the officers who came with him.

The troops in his hands were too tired, not to mention those who were hurrying, and there were those who were getting seasick. Now this state rushes over and plays with the British, which is not a good choice.

In Rommel's view, it was quite possible to take his own troops in vain rather than save the Italian army in the rout.

It is better to wait here, wait for the Italian rout to return to Tobruk, and then re-plan.

"The Führer is like a god!" Hearing that the Italians were really defeated, Rommel, the commander of the Afrika Korps who was covered with dust, kept sighing in his heart.