Chapter 749: Disguise
"No, no retreat is allowed!" Montgomery firmly ordered: "The order must be strictly carried out and continue to advance according to plan!" ”
Montgomery, of course, had to insist, and it was a challenge to his command and prestige. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoIf he compromised, then he would no longer be able to command the Eighth Army, because things like this would happen over and over again.
Ten minutes later, Montgomery, in his capacity as commander of the Eighth Army, sent a telegram to all armies and divisions aimed at boosting morale: "Gentlemen, this is a turning point in the whole campaign, and a turning point in the Commonwealth Army, the whole world is watching us, and people will remember your contribution to the anti-fascist battlefield." Go ahead, every unit must do it, I mean, any unit of the Commonwealth Army, including the British Panzer Division! ”
Zhang Chi admitted that Montgomery was very skilled in this matter, and although he seemed to be a little flustered, the situation on the front soon improved for the time being, and the troops continued to advance forward, though it was still as difficult as before.
It was only an hour later that Montgomery ordered a halt to the assault and prepared them for camouflage and protection.
It was not the same as a cessation of the offensive by Montgomery and a mass cessation of the offensive, and it was indeed necessary to do so, because the plan was such that they had to camouflage themselves before dawn in case of an air attack by the German army.
The reason why it takes an hour to camouflage is because the camouflage of the British armored division takes a long time...... At this time, the camouflage of the armored division could not be as Zhang Chi did before, and it would be almost the same as putting a layer of camouflage on the top of the tank.
The British armored division was in front of the enemy's defensive line, and the Germans already knew the position of the British army, so the British armored division had to dig a deep pit to drive the tanks down if it wanted to do a good job of camouflage, and then put camouflage on it, so that even if it was discovered by German fighters, it was difficult to bomb on a large scale.
After the daybreak, the Germans really sent a large number of warplanes to reconnoiter and bomb everywhere, and then the troops hiding in the trenches began to complain:
"Why don't you send Chinese troops up?"
"Doesn't the Chinese army have American-style tanks? Maybe it's different when they come up! ”
"Yes, the Chinese troops will definitely be able to solve these problems!"
……
Among them, the South African 1st Division is the most exaggerated and exaggerated, as if the German army will flee as soon as a Chinese unit is sent.
At this time, Montgomery realized that whether or not the Chinese troops would go to war was not only a question of how many German troops the troops could deal with, but also whether they could inspire morale, fighting spirit, and confidence.
Montgomery was a little moved at this time, after all, the current situation was not good for the Commonwealth Army, and what was worse was that the Commonwealth Army could disintegrate at any time, and the German army might turn defeat into victory at that time, which would be a nightmare for the Eighth Army at that time.
So, Montgomery sent a telegram to Zhang Chi through Ramsden to test Zhang Chi's meaning.
Zhang Chi just shook his head and replied: "It's not that I don't want to go up, but in this case, I'm afraid that the Chinese army will end up in the same situation as other troops!" ”
Zhang Chi is telling the truth, compared with the British armored division, the advantage of the Chinese armored division is that the American tanks are faster and more mobile, but if these tanks are driven into the German minefield, what kind of maneuverability can they have?
"So...... How to deal with the current situation? Ramsden asked.
"I don't know!" Zhang Chi replied: "This is simply an attack that shouldn't start!" We thought we were well prepared, but it turned out that it wasn't! ”
Zhang Chi said this to Montgomery, but Montgomery just gritted his teeth and did not refute it, because what was happening at this time made him irrefutable.
On the other hand, Montgomery secretly sent a telegram to London, hoping that Churchill would release the order not to allow Chinese troops to go into battle.
"Like I said before!" Montgomery explained: "We have equipped the Chinese army with all the most advanced tanks, and the Battle of Alexandria has proved that the Chinese army can use them skillfully, and not sending them into battle is tantamount to tying our hands and feet to fight the enemy!" ”
When Churchill received this telegram, he could not help but be annoyed and helpless.
He was outraged that the British Empire had reached a point where it could not defeat the enemy without the use of Chinese troops.
Unfortunately, the battlefield is such a realistic place, not that you can do what you want, if you forcibly prevent the Chinese army from going to the battlefield, it may eventually lead to the defeat of the whole battle, which is not the result you want.
So Churchill called back: "Well, I agree to your request. But no matter what, win this war! ”
Seeing this telegram, Montgomery couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Now at least the pressure from London has been resolved, and all that remains is to convince the obnoxious but crucial Chinese general!
Daytime is the time when the air forces of the two sides compete for air supremacy.
A large number of German and Italian fighters and bombers flew over the battlefield, and when they found a suspicious target, they swooped down to drop bombs or strafe them, and the British Air Force also went all out to fight the German fighters, but because of their numerical inferiority, all they could do was limit the Luftwaffe's actions in certain areas.
This continued until dark, and by night, after a replenishment of supplies and a brief recuperation, the Commonwealth troops again began their difficult advance as planned.
At this time, bad news reached Montgomery's command......
According to the report of the British intelligence officers arranged in El Alamein, the Germans brought in a large number of mines from the sea, and as Zhang Chi said before, the Germans began to actively lay mines behind the line to establish new minefields.
That is, the British troops walked with mines in front, and the Germans retreated with mines on the other side.
This was not a problem, as the British army had occupied some areas as they advanced.
Here's the problem...... The Commonwealth Army's casualties were far higher than those of the Germans, and yesterday alone, the attacking forces suffered 6,140 casualties, missing 6,140 people, and more than 100 tanks and armored vehicles destroyed.
The word "missing" is used here because many people have been left with no bones or no identification by landmines.
It is an obvious fact that the campaign cannot continue like this, and even if the troops do not disobey the order again and stop the offensive, when the battle reaches Libya, the Eighth Army will no longer exist.