In the port of Benghazi, an Italian officer was enjoying a rare leisure time, looking at the calm sea, puffing on the smoke from the burning cigarette, and leaning comfortably against a pile of goods. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Because Germany wanted the little-known port of Sirte, Benghazi is still under Italian control, and the Italian military is responsible for its construction.

A huge pier is being built here, and unlike the floating dock used by the Germans, this is a real permanent fixed pier.

Above the wharf, cranes and other facilities have already begun to be equipped, and in the distance, several Italian freighters are preparing to dock to unload cargo and transport valuable oil resources.

Benghazi is already full of extracted crude oil and refined gasoline as Libyan oil fields rush to transport oil despite losses, and several oil-burning transit stations have been set up to maintain transportation.

If it weren't for the backwardness of Libya's infrastructure, and if it weren't for the size of the oil fields themselves, there would have been more gasoline barrels piling up here.

Because there was so much oil extracted that the oil barrels were not enough at one point. So Benghazi also dug a huge oil tank inside the port, like a huge black swimming pool.

There are at least dozens of tons of oil in this oil storage tank, and there are piles of materials around it, including tents, cement, and even steel bars and other construction materials transported from Italy.

Because of the rapid expansion, a large number of workers shuttled to the construction site every day, and the Italian soldiers guarding the place also enjoyed a peaceful time.

"Good morning, Mr. Lieutenant." An Italian businessman walked over, looked at the Italian officer who was smoking, and politely took off his hat in greeting.

He couldn't help but smile dissatisfied, because he was the owner of the steamer that had docked to unload the substance. Running back and forth these days may make more money than he has earned in the past two months.

"Hello! Mr. Donion. The Italian officer was clearly in a good mood, because the weather was fine today, and he also had a smile on his face: "What is the thing that was shipped today?" ”

"It took me a lot of effort to get a whole boatload of food from civilian supplies, and it cost me a lot of money." The merchant named Donion replied with a smile.

Then he leaned over to the Italian officer, still smiling, and whispered, "Two cans of caviar, and a basket of bread, plus good bacon...... I've got it for you. ”

Hearing this "menu", the Italian lieutenant's eyes obviously became more kind, and he nodded with a smile: "Thank you, I'll let my subordinates help unload your goods, and no one can delay your business, right?" ”

This is the power of bribery, and at any time, it is always more efficient to come up with a certain benefit to get everyone on the thief ship together than to do business.

"It's such a safe place, I can't believe that our fighter jets patrol so diligently." Squinting his eyes and seeing the black dots flying on the sea, the merchant Donion sighed with emotion.

He had been running back and forth on this route for a long time, and the British Navy and Air Force were rarely in his sight, so he barely felt the risk of war.

"Airplanes? Patrolling aircraft? Ten minutes ago, our patrol plane had just returned home, and it was unlikely that any of our planes would be here at this time. The Italian lieutenant replied nonchalantly as he waved to his men standing in the distance.

If he wants to take advantage, he naturally has to help with some unloading work. They are counting on local dock workers to do their work, and the total throughput of the port of Benghazi may not reach the expected figure in a lifetime.

So, most of the Italian garrisons stationed near Benghazi made cameos as porters in order to get something good, or to smoke a few more cigarettes, or to drink two more cheap drinks.

"Isn't that an airplane?" Hearing the lieutenant's denial, Donion frowned, pointed to the sky in the distance, and asked.

His question finally caught the lieutenant's attention, and with the palm of his hand he built a pergola on his forehead, and the lieutenant looked at the sea in the distance.

It didn't matter, the black dot in the distance was already approaching at this time, and the outline of the plane had already been revealed.

It was, of course, not an Italian plane, but a Swordfish attack aircraft of the British Navy. The aircraft has been modified to have a very large range, but the number does not seem to be much.

"My God!" The Italian lieutenant, startled by the sight in front of him, quickly turned around to alert his soldiers, but when he turned back, he swept over most of the entire dock.

In the distance, ammunition and various food supplies were piled up, and on the other side were mountains of gasoline barrels and tanks full of crude oil......

It was a huge bomb, except for the tent where he smoked, and non-flammable and explosive materials such as military uniforms, the rest of the place was almost plastered with warning signs prohibiting smoking.

Well, even the place where he smoked was actually non-smoking, but unfortunately the Italian soldiers stationed here managed to find a place where they would not be ignited and exploded by the smoke, and naturally regarded this place as a "smoking area" for the entire port.

"Airplanes! Enemy planes are coming! Fast! Sound the battle alarm! With great difficulty, the poor lieutenant finally regained his soul and shouted the warning he should have shouted a minute ago.

Unfortunately, his shouts did not immediately attract everyone's attention, and several Italian officers in the distance were still smoking in the clearing, while the officers in the distance heard his shouts clearly and burst into laughter.

The British had not taken any real action against Benghazi for at least a month, and the bombing, the blockade at sea, had disappeared without a trace as the Germans marched on the land of North Africa.

The Italian soldiers stationed here seem to have forgotten the fact that they are still at war.

After all, if the British were going to attack, the largest port was Alexandria, and the port closest to the front line was Alexandria...... Even if it's 10,000 steps back, it's more realistic to go to Matroux than to Benghazi, isn't it?

Judging by the way the port of Benghazi is now stockpiling materials, they are not at all prepared to meet the enemy - it is simply a large warehouse that is stacked with how to do it.

As for defensive measures, there may not have been any new defensive weapons added here since the beginning of the war. Anti-aircraft guns were pitifully small in number and scattered in all directions.

Because of negligence, it is not known whether there are gunners next to these anti-aircraft guns at this moment, and it is simply impossible to expect these anti-aircraft guns to shoot down these British planes.

"Enemy planes!" The lieutenant had already seen the black shadows flying by, it was a biplane, and his shouts really caught the attention of the friendly troops. However, to use a classic language to describe the national football team to describe the Italian defenders at this moment, that is: there is not much time left for Italy!

"My God! Enemy! Enemy! Finally, the second Italian officer realized the seriousness of the problem and shouted along.

With his shouting, the air defense siren, which should have sounded a long time ago, finally began to sound for a long time: "Woo...... Woo......"

"Boom!" Without making the Italians wait long, the British Swordfish attack planes dropped bombs hanging under their wings on top of the mountain of gasoline barrels in the port of Benghazi.

So, with only one explosion, the gasoline barrels were ignited like firecrackers, and one after the other exploded, turning into brilliant fireworks.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The scale of the British bomber formation, which originally consisted of only a dozen planes, was instantly increased tenfold by the flammable and explosive materials piled up in the port of Benghazi.

A series of explosions made the entire port seem to boil, and a British Swordfish attack plane flew too low, and was shot down by the flames of the explosion on the ground, crashing into an ammunition warehouse in the distance.

Then, the ammunition depot with a large amount of ammunition inside exploded, joining in the massive destruction.

The whole of Benghazi was covered in flames, and the oil storage tank was ignited by the fire, as if it were a huge lighthouse, blazing, bursting and rolling, and it was estimated that it would not be extinguished for a long time.

"We ...... We were attacked! "The commander of the defenders of Benghazi, Italy, who was not in the port area, but in his own home, looked out the window and lost his strength holding his lover's arm.

He saw gasoline canisters rushing into the sky like cannonballs, and he saw huge flames blazing the sky in the direction of the harbor.

Even if the British planes turned around and left at this time, Benghazi was completely finished, it had been bombed into ruins by its own supplies, and it was estimated that a year would not be enough time to restore it to its pre-war appearance......

"It's over! Finished! It's all over! He grabbed the clothes from the sofa, put them on himself, and went out, the hostess of the room was wearing pajamas, and one of her breasts was still exposed, but she forgot to cover it.

She also saw the explosion in the distance through the window and heard a loud noise in the distance. She had never seen such brilliant fireworks, and she had never imagined that war would be so beautiful.

Of course, for her man, it may be more despair now...... And for the Italian defenders in the port of Benghazi, many were blown into the sky before they even had time to despair.

Even Cunningham himself never imagined that his attack would achieve such a huge result.

On October 13, 1940, Benghazi, an important port in Libya, was attacked by the British Navy and left in ruins.