The M11 weighs just over 11 tons, which is about the same level as the No. 2 tank, which Germany is on the verge of being completely eliminated. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

However, under the cover of this tank, Italian soldiers still launched the first ground offensive in North Africa.

They attacked a month later than they did in history, so when they attacked, they were better prepared.

Now they have more ammunition and they have more soldiers. In the eyes of the Italian commanders, this was already a situation of winning and not losing.

The British army opposite them was not actually very strong, and probably only half the strength of their troops.

"Long live the Kingdom of Italy!" As they walked, they found that the enemy did not seem to launch the counterattack they had imagined.

Not even a single shot was fired on the opposite side, and it seemed that only the Italians were present on the entire battlefield, and their enemies had been completely wiped out.

"My God...... The artillery was too accurate, right? A recruit hugged his rifle and sighed to his comrades.

His exclamation left the veteran soldier next to him speechless, this soldier who had just come to the front line in North Africa, actually thought that his artillery had wiped out the enemy on the opposite side.

"Phew!" After spitting out a mouthful of sand into his mouth, the veteran glanced at the recruits and sneered: "Then you pray that they will always be so accurate!" ”

Before his words could land, an anti-tank gun shell hit the armor of the Italian M11 tank rushing in front of him.

Tremendous force penetrated the Italian tank's slim front armor of only 30 mm at once, directly turning the tank into a pile of scrap metal.

The attacking Italian soldiers all lay down at once, as if they had been knocked down by enemy bullets at the same time.

The British were apparently not wiped out by the Italian artillery, and they stubbornly held their positions, aiming their weapons at the approaching enemy.

"Suddenly! Dodo! The British Army's Bren light machine guns opened fire at the same time, and the Italian soldiers were immediately shown the powerful firepower of the British army.

"My God!" It was still the Italian recruit who had just lamented that his artillery was so powerful, and at this time he was holding his head and was stupid by the hellish scene in front of him.

Dense tracer bullets shuttled through the dust, and the attacking Italian troops were so suppressed by the oncoming bullets that they could not raise their heads before they could see the figures on the opposite side.

"Hell! They can see us! An Italian soldier shouted in a panic, his shouting nearly breaking down the crowd around him.

In fact, there was chaos on the British positions now, and although the M11 tank was not very powerful, it did serve as a cover for dust.

Faced with the unclear sand, the British soldiers could only fire at the unclear target. They poured as much ammunition as they could, hoping to get the other back with a hail of bullets.

They were now more nervous than the Italians, because the orders given to them by their superiors were not to take a step back.

"Tank!" On the positions of the British, next to an anti-tank gun, British soldiers shouted hysterically.

Their guns were aimed at an approaching M11 tank, but due to aiming problems, they did not hit the approaching opponents.

The battle had only lasted half a minute, and it seemed like it had been going on for a day. In this environment, everyone has a sense of living like a year.

The Italian crew inside the M11 tank was also firing frantically, hoping that their firepower could suppress the enemy on the opposite side.

Two machine guns on the turret spewed tongues of fire, and tracer bullets hit the British trenches in a straight line, picking up a cloud of smoke.

Because there was no radio, the M11 tank did not know that one of the tanks had been destroyed by the enemy, and they did not know that the other side had anti-tank guns that had been fired.

So from another point of view, not knowing the battlefield situation may be another kind of happiness for the Italian crew.

At least, until they are destroyed, they do not know the situation of their allies, including the losses.

"Fire! Fire! Fight back! Cover our tanks! The Italian officer, who was lying on the ground, roared loudly and ordered his soldiers to continue the attack.

His shouts did work, and some of the Italian soldiers finally realized that the bullets didn't seem to be on target, just flying around in a dense veil.

Few people were killed around them, but they regained their courage, and some soldiers began to pick up their rifles and fire indiscriminately into the distance.

A few Italian soldiers with machine guns also took the opportunity to find an uneven place, set up their machine guns, and then the first support fire point also joined the indiscriminate firing army.

"Phew!" "Suddenly! Dodo! "The sound of all sorts of gunfire echoed over the battlefield, and the British felt the pressure from the Italian army on their positions.

Some bullets also hit the front of the positions of the British defenders, and God seemed to be on the side of the Italians at this moment.

During the first round of attacks, a flying bullet coincidentally hit a British soldier in the forehead.

He fell on his back with blood sprayed, making the British defenders feel the cruelty of war all at once.

At this time, the Italian M11 tank, which had rushed to the front, was finally destroyed by the anti-tank guns of the British defenders, which destroyed a long part of the British position before it was destroyed.

Although the Italian M11 tank is really not very good when dealing with tanks and heavy targets, it is really good when supporting infantry combat.

The high turret was equipped with two machine guns at the same time, which gave the M11 tank a good view when firing at the infantry.

So when the Italian commander fired at the British soldiers in the trenches with a machine gun, he did achieve quite a brilliant result.

The losses of the British army skyrocketed, and the Italian infantry got closer and closer to the British positions.

"Attack! Defeat those British! Defeat those British! "The Italian officers had seen through the flying yellow sand the British positions on the opposite side that were constantly flashing with muzzle flames.

Now that they had seen the enemy, the enemy would be able to see them, and the British soldiers' shots began to become more accurate, and the Italian soldiers fell one by one.

However, more Italian soldiers charged, accompanied by M11 tanks to attack the British positions.

All at once the battle became fierce, and every moment there were people killed and blood flowing.

It was clear that the Italians had improved significantly because they were better prepared, and they did not collapse at the touch of a button, as rumored to be, and even attacked the British positions.

The British army was disrupted by a series of surprise attacks by Li Le, and became weaker than it was in history, and their defenses had serious problems, and soon the ammunition became unsustainable.

Two hours after the battle began, the Italian soldiers occupied two British positions, and the British soldiers were clearly demoralized and began to retreat.

"Beat Selum! Tribute to Leader Benito Mussolini! "Having gained the upper hand on the battlefield, the combat effectiveness of the Italian army was still considerable.

At least in a tailwind state, the Italian army was able to complete its combat mission relatively well. Especially when the opponent British had no fighting spirit, their fighting spirit became high.

Selum, a small town on the border between Egypt and Libya, was actually just a small supply point, and the capture of it allowed Italy to extend the war into Egypt.

At the same time, only by capturing Selum was the Italian army able to open the road lines of communication and advance along the road to the next stronghold, Bugbug.

In the yellow sand, the Italian soldiers followed their supply trucks, as well as various vehicles and mules and horses, and took their own steps towards the depth of the British line.

Now they were fighting high, seized the border defense line of the British defenders, crushed the British defenders on the opposite side, and seemed to be only one step away from victory.

……

"My Führer!" In distant Brest, Baumann hurriedly knocked on Li Le's office door, and Li Le did not spend time alone with Eva, but found an excuse to be busy with official business and returned to his office.

He didn't know how to get along with Eva, so he instinctively chose to avoid this safest way, even though it was only a delay, but he still enjoyed it.

"What's going on? What's going on? Li Le saw Bowman, who hurriedly walked in front of him, frowned and asked.

"A very important piece of news, the Italian army is attacking Egypt!" Baumann handed the telegram to Li Le, and the signature was the German Afrika Korps.

Obviously, the Italian side did not inform Li Le, the German Führer, of this matter directly, but only to the German Afrika Korps command as a trivial matter.

"Hell! Was Mussolini crazy? I've given him advice to start the action in mid-September, and then I'll be able to get Rommel to support him! Li Le threw the message on the table, a little headache about the situation in front of him.

He can predict what has happened in history, but he cannot predict what has not happened; In the same way, he can influence the actions of some people, but he cannot influence the greedy character of human beings.

"Führer, what are we going to do about this?" Bowman looked at Li Le and asked softly.

"Of course! Contact the French and all the merchant ships, transports, and even warships we can find! Li Le opened his mouth depressedly and ordered.

He paused slightly, and then finished the second half of his sentence: "Rush the Afrika Korps to Sirte!" ”