The soldiers ran all the way to the second line of defense, chased by bullets and shells, and they thought they were going to stop to help, but Bazel ordered: "Keep retreating until the tanks can't reach you!" ”

With the exception of Qin Chuan, all the German soldiers were puzzled by this order...... Running to a distance that a tank can't hit, doesn't it have to be at least a kilometer away? What's the difference between that and running away?!

But come to think of it, the German soldiers continued to retreat as ordered, after all, who would want to stay longer if they could leave this damn battlefield?

The third line of defense, like the second, was full of German soldiers who were ready to defend, and when they ran further back, they saw sappers laying mines in the face of stray bullets and artillery fire, which made the soldiers pause, because they were not sure whether they had mines under their feet.

A nearby engineer lieutenant seemed to see through the soldiers' minds and shouted at them: "Keep going, we won't waste mines on you fools!" ”

Werner made an indecent gesture to the engineer ensign, and then continued along the communication trench.

The communication trench came to an end after a while, and at the end was the tank position, and the remaining 15 "No. 3" tanks of the 5th Panzer Regiment were well hidden in the pit, but Qin Chuan noticed that several tanks had been buried in the sand, and it was obvious that this was a good thing done by the enemy's artillery bombardment...... The sand is very soft, and the crater needed to hide the tank is very deep (note: the No. 3 tank is 2.44 meters high), so it can be collapsed by a few shells or bombs in the vicinity.

This is no small matter for the tank, because once the tank is started, this sand will cover the tank exhaust pipe and be sucked back into the engine...... If this happens, the tank will never be able to drive.

Colonel Albridge seemed to be prepared for this, as was often the case with armored regiments, and he ordered all tanks to be turned off and the exhaust pipes to be covered.

Now all they have to do is dig the tank's exhaust pipe out of the sand, and then the tank can be started and driven out.

Groups of German soldiers retreated from the defensive line, and the tanks slowly drove out of the bunkers, then adjusted the turrets to aim the barrels in the direction of the British.

"What are they doing?" Seeing this, the baker couldn't help but ask, "They don't want to use tanks to stop the enemy!" ”

The German soldiers knew what the baker meant, and in the previous battles the "No. 3" tank had proved to be unable to penetrate the "Matilda", so it was almost a death attempt to do so.

But soon the German soldiers found out that it was not as they thought, because the "three" tank was also fleeing...... They looked like they were covering the retreat of the infantry, firing one or two shots in the direction of the British as they retreated.

This reaction of the Germans excited Colonel Gna, the commander of the 2nd Panzer Regiment in the British Army.

"Look, the Germans have been defeated by us!" Colonel Gerner put away the binoculars and said, "They're running away!" ”

"Yes, Colonel!" The staff officer said, "But they are afraid that they will not be able to escape in this way!" ”

Colonel Gerner nodded: "Their tanks must cover the infantry, and the infantry cannot be transported by car...... Because our artillery will bombard their cars into the sky. That is, they could only retreat at the pace of infantry like this. Unless their tanks will leave the infantry behind and retreat alone! ”

"I guess the Germans wouldn't do that!" The staff officer said.

"Then they will have to choose between surrender and death!" Colonel Gerner said: "Order the armored forces, go at full speed and do not give the Germans any chance!" ”

"Yes!"

Lieutenant Colonel Burton, commander of the British armored battalion, soon received the order to "go full speed".

Lieutenant Colonel Bolton couldn't help frowning.

The situation in the British army was not as optimistic as Colonel Gerner thought, and Lieutenant Colonel Burton, who had a wealth of combat experience, knew that the British armored forces were actually in a dilemma.

If the British tanks did not speed up their pursuit, the Germans would flee all the way and lay mines all the way behind...... Although the British could clear mines with mortars and grenades, and the British army was well supplied, the problem was that the amount of mine-clearing was completely disproportionate: for every mine planted by the Germans, the British could need dozens of shells to clear it, and it was not always possible.

After a long time, the British army's supplies and ammunition will soon be depleted, and the Germans may even turn defeat into victory.

If Colonel Gerner had been ordered to chase at full speed, this problem might have been solved, but the problem was that it was an extremely hot afternoon, and the "Matilda" tank was already half paralyzed before it could catch up with the enemy.

After thinking about it, Bolton gave a compromise order: "Order the tank to move at 12 miles per hour!" ”

12 miles is about 20 kilometers per hour, which is faster than before, but not the upper limit of the Matilda's prone failure.

But even so, it didn't take long for Burton to receive two reports of failures.

"These damn tanks!" Burton scolded.

Sometimes he even wanted to push behind the tank to make it faster, because it was almost enough to bring the enemy infantry into range and go on a killing spree......

Of course, Lieutenant Colonel Bolton did not know that this was actually a deliberate attempt by the Germans to keep a close distance from the British and keep fishing for them.

In fact, it was not difficult for the infantry to escape from the pursuit of the "Matilda" tank, and they only needed to disperse into several teams to escape by car in batches, but the Germans preferred to play this "cat and mouse" game with the British in the desert.

The Germans suffered a loss, they were fully armed and running wildly under the scorching sun, and they had to brave the artillery bombardment that the British had followed all the way, and from time to time a few people were lifted high into the sky and fell on all fours.

Every now and then, Qin Chuan felt a little sorry in his heart, because this idea was his own, and in the end, if it didn't succeed, Qin Chuan didn't know how to face his comrades.

In fact, not only Qin Chuan was anxious, but Albridge was also anxious......

He held up his binoculars and looked at the British troops, who should have been stuck in the sand now, but the British tanks were still on the rampage.

Was the Scout a mistake in detection?

No, in order to make sure that this area would trap the Matilda, Colonel Albridge even experimented with a "Three" tank to increase the load.