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Eventually, the British arrived at the Tobruk Line after a six-hour march.

Major General Evans of the 15th Panzer Division immediately requested fire assistance from the Air Force.

But a few minutes later, it was ruthlessly rejected by the Air Force: "General, we can't meet your request, because our planes can't accurately drop bombs on targets in the dark!" ”

When Major General Evans received this telegram, he couldn't help but tear it to shreds.

"These guys!" Major General Evans scolded: "They are there to help the enemy when they need it, and they have many excuses when we need it!" ”

However, Major General Evans scolded and scolded, but he knew in his heart that the air force was right, it was getting dark, and the air force, which had no night combat ability, could not provide strong help to the 15th Armored Division, and if it was forced, maybe they would once again "do the enemy a favor".

"General, we should probably rest for the night and wait until dawn before attacking!" The staff officer advised: "The troops are exhausted from a day's journey, they cannot launch an attack, not to mention that we do not have air aid yet!" ”

"Barrett!" Evans shook his head and said, "You think I don't know this? But you think we'll be able to wait until tomorrow?! ”

"Why not?" The staff officer asked.

"Look here!" Major General Evans pointed to Tobruk on the map and said, "Tobruk is a port, and the port has the advantage that even if we surround it on land, the enemy can still send reinforcements from the sea. Do you think Rommel is a fool who, in this case, would not send reinforcements to Tobruk and watch us trap these Germans to death? ”

Hearing this, the staff officer couldn't help but be embarrassed, he should have thought of this.

"It is very likely that the enemy's reinforcements will depart from Benghazi......" Major General Evans analyzed as he looked at the map: "It is more than three hundred nautical miles from Benghazi to the port of Tobruk, and we assume that the Germans began to prepare reinforcements at the moment of the capture of the port of Tobruk, then...... Reinforcements could have arrived in Tobruk in seventeen hours, and six hours had already passed! ”

Saying that, Major General Evans rolled up the map and looked worriedly at the defense line covered with barbed wire in front of him: "In other words, we can only attack them at night, otherwise...... When their reinforcements arrive, it will be even more difficult to conquer it! ”

"But how are we going to attack such a line?" The staff officer's face was a little pale: "And it's still night!" ”

The staff officers' fears were justified, the British were not good at night battles, especially armored divisions......

This has to do with the will of the British army to fight...... The weaker the will to fight, the more afraid of night battles, because night battles often involve hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, even if there is no hand-to-hand combat, squatting alone in the dark in the trenches or foxholes, at any time the enemy will suddenly rush in front of you...... This in itself is a test of will and courage.

On the other hand, it is also related to the equipment of the British army.

For example, the tanks of the British army do not have the ability to fight at night, and the air force does not have the ability to fight at night...... As a result, the British always tried to avoid night battles with the enemy, because this was almost the same as having the British fight with their hands tied.

But now, Major General Evans believes that he has no choice.

"Think on the bright side!" Major General Evans said: "We have more than 10,000 men and more than 100 tanks, and the enemy has only more than 1,000 people, so we have a great superiority in strength!" And ......"

And the latter words Evans did not say, this is a secret that only a few high-ranking officers know.

(Note: At this time, the British armored division implemented a two-brigade system, that is, one division and two brigades, each brigade was about 10,000 people, and the full division was about 20,000 people equipped with 300 tanks.) ）

On the other hand, Qin Chuan also realized that the British army would launch an offensive tonight, for the same reasons as Major General Evans, especially when the time was not on the side of the British army...... The longer the time dragged on, the greater the depletion of supplies for the British army, which was very dangerous for the British army to lose Tobruk.

But even so, Qin Chuan still fell asleep.

He was asleep on the beach near the pier, and all the idlers on the pier had been driven away...... This was for the safety of the materials in the warehouse, and Colonel Slain was worried that British troops or underground organizations would infiltrate and blow up the warehouse, so he blocked the port and did not allow anyone to enter.

The troops blocking the port were of course Qin Chuan's battalion.

It was a good errand, and the soldiers could even take a comfortable bath in the sea near the harbor during their breaks...... Of course, not all soldiers were treated in this way, because the warehouses still needed to be guarded and the ports needed to be defended.

The only one who can get this honor is Qin Chuan's second company...... In fact, Qin Chuan was the only one who had the permission of Colonel Slain.

"Sergeant!" Colonel Slane said to Qin Chuan after everything had stabilized: "You performed well in this battle, without your advice, I don't think we would have been able to capture Tobruk smoothly." In recognition of your merits, I have decided to give you half a day off, and you can use whatever you want here, including the supplies in the warehouse......"

"Sir!" Qin Chuan said: "This is not just my credit, in fact...... My men, my platoon, and our company ......"

"Okay!" Colonel Slane interrupted Qin Chuan's words: "I can only go until I can, so let's all take a half-day vacation!" ”

The soldiers couldn't help but cheer loudly, and many soldiers even warmly hugged Qin Chuan to thank him.

The first thing the soldiers did was to take a bath...... After spending so much time in the desert, there's nothing quite like taking a cozy bath in the azure waters followed by a drink of English port wine from the warehouse under a parasol.

Timo Werner got a sheep from nowhere...... Later, I learned that Werner used the beef cans in the warehouse to exchange with the local people, and Werner originally wanted to exchange for a pig, but he couldn't find a pig in Libya and had to use sheep to make peace.

The soldiers slaughtered the sheep and made a fire, and then roasted the lamb by the beach.

"Is there a better life than this?" The baker drank in the sea breeze and said, "If I had written to my family that war had been so enjoyable, they would have thought I was crazy!" ”

"Don't talk about them!" The big bear munched on the mutton and mumbled, "I still can't believe it...... God, I really enjoyed a campfire dinner by the sea! ”

"It's our sergeant, isn't it?" Werner raised his glass: "To Sergeant!" ”

"Sergeant!" The soldiers raised their glasses.