"What? The offensive failed again? The Germans began a local counterattack? They still have reserves? Behind the armored command vehicle, General Auchinleck dropped his headset aside and looked at the map hanging on the side of the armored vehicle beside him. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

In the wind, the map turned a corner, and it made a clattering sound. However, most places can still be seen clearly, Auchinleck looked at the area above and snorted a little unwillingly.

He knew that Rommel's troops had not fully entered Cairo, and in this case, it was already very dangerous to continue the attack on Benha.

For the British army, the situation was now overwhelming, and it was already necessary to retreat.

"Concentrate the armored forces, and after fifteen minutes, retreat in the direction of Tanta, and if we continue to fight, we will be in danger of being bitten by Rommel's army." Auchinleck was a very experienced general, and he sensed danger.

In fact, it is a dangerous threshold that is deduced in the mind after precise calculations.

Auchinleck put himself in the role of Rommel, and after eliminating some artificial and unfavorable factors, he calculated that the German armored forces had almost returned to the vicinity of Benha.

You can't take the risk of continuing the offensive here, after all, if the German armored forces chase after you, you may bite the British 7th Panzer Division and kill all the way to Tanta.

At that time, it will not be the British 7th Armored Division that is in danger, including the South African 2nd Infantry Division, which suffered heavy losses a few days ago, and the Australian 7th Infantry Division, and the entire newly formed Nile Army Group will face the danger of being flanked or even surrounded.

"Let the troops withdraw from Tanta, pay attention to concealment, and don't make any trouble." After Auchinleck finished the order, he began to pack up the papers in front of him.

……

Rommel, who was already on the verge of reaching Benha, stood on the side of the road, watching his tanks begin to move north one after another, with a tired expression on his face.

His troops had been fighting for almost two days and one night, and at this intensity, he was reluctant to continue to fight.

If it weren't for the fact that the British army was desperately attacking Benha, he would have even been ready to stop the offensive and wait until tomorrow to attack.

However, the British army was storming Benha, and the 10th Mechanized Infantry Division was indeed fighting very hard. The British army was relatively well prepared, and it was also very advanced from the rear Tanta, and it was very convenient to supply and so on.

"Report!" An officer came over and handed Rommel a telegram: "Sir, news has arrived from the 10th Mechanized Infantry Division that the British have stopped attacking and seem to be preparing to retreat. ”

Rommel was stunned when he heard the news, and then smiled - for him, or for both parties, such a choice was definitely a win-win.

If the British army continued to entangle in the Benha area, he would have to let the tired German army continue to attack north, and the problem with this was that the tired German armored forces would definitely lose a lot of money because of the fact that they were left behind, among other reasons.

These losses were the ones Rommel was unwilling to bear, or rather the price he was not willing to pay in such a sure victory.

Now, General Auchinleck has consciously stopped the offensive and defensive battle of Benha, and has taken the initiative to retreat to Tanta, which can at least avoid the attrition of the armored forces of both sides near Benha.

As the commander of the German army, Rommel did not want his troops to continue to fight in a tired state, and as the commander of the British, Auchinleck also did not want to be bitten by Rommel, the desert fox.

Tacit understanding, this time is a very happy thing. Auchinleck retreated at this time, and Rommel immediately decided that he should compensate for such an interesting opponent.

"Order the troops to stop and rest, we will go to Benha now, it will be useless, the British attack has stopped......" With a smile still on his face, Rommel opened his mouth and gave the order to his men to rest.

Hearing this order, the German commanders' expressions were obviously relaxed, and their faces were also relaxed with a look of relief that they had not seen for a long time.

"Great! Order the troops to stop! The general ordered! Stop moving forward! Rest in place! An officer turned his head loudly and shouted to the radio communication vehicle in the distance.

Tanks on the road began to stop on the side of the road, and some of the tank infantry jumped out of the tank, ripped off their pants on the side of the road to release water.

Many officers and men of the tank armored division slept on the hatches of the tanks, letting the wind and sand from the desert blow on their faces.

"We don't have to chase Auchinleck?" An officer pulled out a cigarette, put it on his parched lips, walked up to Rommel, and asked softly.

"I can't catch up, and I don't plan to really catch up, to be honest, the troops are so tired that I want to sleep myself." Rommel unscrewed the kettle, took a sip of boiling water that smelled of gasoline, looked at the horizon in the distance, and replied.

"Understood, I'll close my eyes for a while...... Too sleepy. The officer sat next to Rommel's car with a cigarette in his mouth, leaned on the wheels and enjoyed the shade on the side of the car, and fell asleep.

People are like this sometimes, if you have to concentrate on work, you may not feel trapped when you fight for two days in a row.

But when the goal is canceled and there is no reason to stick to it, the feeling of sleepiness that has not slept for two days will suddenly come out, and people will not be able to open their eyes all of a sudden.

Since Rommel ordered his army to stop and rest, he had already made up his mind. He made up his mind that if Auchinleck did retreat and leave Benha, he really wouldn't pursue the British 7th Panzer Division.

Now, of course, Rommel is thinking about something more far-reaching. He didn't want to think about whether to chase Auchinleck now, because he had already made up his mind not to chase the other party.

He was thinking about how he would eat the British group in front of him if Auchinleck retreated to Tanta and held on to Tanta.

These include the South African 2nd Infantry Division, the British 10th Armoured Division, the British 7th Armoured Division, and the Australian 7th Infantry Division.

"I've given you a chance, and I hope you don't waste such a precious opportunity! After my troops have rested, if you are still in Tanta, then the Egyptian campaign will be completely over! Rommel looked at the horizon and muttered to himself.

At this time, Rommel's plan had already been formed in his mind, he wanted to use a surprise attack to encircle the British army at Tanta, and completely annihilate the British army.

After eating these British troops, Germany would have no enemies in Egypt, and could occupy the Suez Canal without blood, so that the British Mediterranean fleet could completely roll out of the Mediterranean.

As for whether Auchinleck will give Rommel the chance to settle the war in North Africa once and for all, of course not.

Auchinleck, who was also an old general, retreated and on his way back to Tanta, he found that Tanta was already desperate.

"We have to give up Tanta at once, it's no longer ......," Auchinleck said to his men, sitting in an armored car.

"To give up Tanta, we are giving up the last line of defense near the Suez Canal!" The commander of the 7th Panzer Division was aching for his losses, and was thinking about recovering his losses while he was fighting a defensive battle in Tanta.

Now, however, it was clear that Auchinleck had planned to abandon the fortifications around Tanta and was preparing to retreat to the vicinity of Said.

So he subconsciously asked, after all, Port Said is the last stronghold of the Mediterranean naval fleet, and the army retreated to the past, which can be regarded as completely squeezing out the navy.

If the artillery of the German army could shell Port Said at any time, then this port could not be used as a supply base for the navy at all, and at this time the navy could only withdraw, either to the Indian Ocean or to take the risk to Gibraltar.

Both of these options are something that the British are unwilling to face, and they are also situations that Auchinleck is unwilling to face.

"Then we have to give up, if we continue to confront the Germans in Tanta, then Rommel will dare to let his Panzer Division go directly to Mansoura and Zifta...... We were surrounded. Auchinleck said depressedly.

He is now facing a very different situation, that is, after entering the Nile Delta, there are significantly more places to attack.

Before the loss of Alexandria, both sides had only one offensive path to choose from, so the defense could be focused.

The situation now is that there are other places in Cairo that constitute the diversity of offensive lines. This makes the defending side begin to take care of one side at the expense of the other, which further exposes the problem of insufficient defensive forces.

"So, we have to retreat to Mansoura?" The commander of the 7th Armored Division became depressed and asked.

Mansoura could be defended, but it was not a really safe defensive position for the entire Nile Army.

If Rommel had broken through to the Suez Canal from the south, Auchinleck would have had to continue to retreat, and he would have to retreat in the direction of Port Said.

At this time, if Rommel's army took advantage of the distance and forced the Suez Canal, it was still possible that the Nile Army Group would be surrounded west of the Suez Canal.

"It's not safe, but let's go to Mansoura for a day of rest! And then continue the retreat to Port Said......" Auchinleck said of his plan, with a palpable sense of powerlessness.

He took over the battle too late, and he had too few troops at his disposal - which put him in a very passive situation. This situation was caused by Admiral Wavell and Alan Cunningham, and the series of defeats not only destroyed British troops in North Africa, but also a large number of buffer zones.