In the midst of the rolling yellow sand, a British tank burst out of the thick fog formed by the sand and rushed towards the defensive positions of the Italian army. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Behind it, another British tank broke through the sand, rolled up more sand and hurried forward, equally heroically facing the Italian tank.

The M11 tank is really not very advanced, but it is the middle force of the Italian armored forces.

Now they had to face an attack from the British Panzer Division, and although the number of tanks thrown in by both sides was not very large, it was a fierce armored battle.

Who would have thought that more than 200,000 Italian troops, and almost 30,000 British troops, would be decided by this encounter?

The British attacked, with the 7th Panzer Division. They were ordered to attack by Admiral Azibald Percival Wavell, the British Supreme Commander of the Middle East Theater.

What Li Le failed to guess was that what he was most worried about was the British Compass Operation that led to the collapse of the Italian army in North Africa, and just kicked off itself at another time and place.

Admiral Wavell threw in his most elite armoured troops at the end of the Italian army, and had been watching the rest.

Unlike the now exhausted and scattered armoured armoured forces of the Italian army, the armoured armoured units of the British army were now more combat-ready and more threatening.

In the yellow sand, the Italian army did not expect such a fierce counterattack by the inferior British army, they were accustomed to that kind of low-intensity conflict, and for a time they could not immediately enter a defensive state.

The British tanks quickly achieved their first success, as an Italian M11 tank was destroyed by shells.

There were 10 Italian M11 tanks parked around the exploding Italian tank, but the Italian army was in a panic and all abandoned the vehicles and fled.

It took the poor Italian army half an hour later to realize that their flank, the south side of the road, had been pierced by the British armoured forces.

Graziani's headquarters telephone rang incessantly, and part of the communication network, which had been built with great difficulty, was completely paralyzed by too many telephones.

As the commander, Marshal Graziani did not know what had happened to his troops, only that the British army was counterattacking, but he did not know the strength and purpose of the other side.

"Sir! The British launched a counterattack in the south! It's the South! Our signal corps rushed over and informed with his mouth! This is true! An Italian officer hurried into the headquarters and reported the situation to his marshal.

He was very vague about what he said, except that he had received news from his own armoured forces that artillery was heard on the south side of the road, and that a large number of Italian troops were retreating.

At this time, Marshal Graziani did not expect that this was a full-scale counterattack by the British army, and he judged that it was only a small-scale test made by the British armored forces.

So he gave his armored forces the order to counterattack - without knowing the strength and purpose of the opponent's forces, he ordered his army to counterattack!

And while he ordered his troops to fight back, his tank forces were suffering their own catastrophe.

Twenty Italian tanks and more than 10 armored cars were destroyed by the British tank assault, accompanied by about 300 Italian infantry, all of whom became prisoners of the British tanks.

The Italian commanders did not yet know that a nail had been driven into their flanks and that they were in danger of a total collapse at any moment.

Marshal Graziani, on the contrary, waited, waiting for the return of the forced retreat of the British after the counterattack of his flank armored forces.

What was frustrating was that when his order was finally conveyed to the two southern divisions of the Italian army, the two divisions were already busy retreating and running away.

As a result, the Italian 10th Army Corps, in a state of confusion and, as in history, was in danger of total annihilation.

"What are you kidding?" Marshal Graziani could not believe his ears when he learned that the armored forces and infantry divisions on his flanks were collapsing and had begun to retreat.

On the one hand, he did not know that the British attack was so fierce that more than 40 of his tanks scattered in the desert had already been destroyed.

On the other hand, he didn't know that the British army was desperate to counterattack this time, and actually threw in all the armored troops in his hands - a whole 60 tanks!

"Let the retreating two divisions be deployed in place! I command them not to take a step back! Marshal Graziani, while making amends, opened his mouth and gave the order for the transfer.

He pointed to the map and continued to give the order for reinforcements: "Let the most elite Blackshirts reinforce them!" Help them stabilize their defenses! ”

While he was deploying his troops, the British army launched an artillery bombardment from the front, and this time began.

The British troops with their backs to Matru were well supplied, and the shells rained down like drops, kicking up a cloud of sand on the Italian lines.

Seeing the falling shells in front of his eyes, Marshal Graziani finally realized that the British were fighting back in full force, and what he feared most had happened.

In this situation, he did not have a very good solution, and the after-effects of Mussolini's forcible order to attack Matru were now finally exposed, and his lack of supplies and supplies made it impossible to stabilize his defenses.

"Concentrate on ammunition! Hold your own defensive position as much as you can! Marshal Graziani weighed it up and chose to stay put.

This is hundreds of miles of barren mountains and mountains, and there is not even a water supply station along the way, so it is simply an existence close to barren land.

If the rout begins from such a place, how many people will be left to retreat to Baierdi, only God knows.

By that time, the entire 10th Army Corps had already collapsed, and what would be used to hold on to Tobruk and Baierdi?

If these two places are lost, then what is he losing troops for so many days?

In addition, if he does not fight the British here, what will he Graziani give to the leader Mussolini?

Isn't he joking with Mussolini's displeasure that he has not attacked Matru all this time, and now he is leaving almost without a fight?

After weighing the pros and cons, Marshal Graziani made the choice of defending to the death, after all, the army he now has in his hands still has an absolute advantage in numbers.

Unfortunately, his flank had been broken by 60 tanks from the British, and his decision to hold the road left his army to hold on to the vicinity of the road, but unable to flank the British.

Soon, the British tanks, having routed two divisions of Italian troops, began to fight in the direction of the road, and wherever they went, the Italian troops were on their backs and could not organize a decent resistance.

"Marshal! The British are storming our flanks, and if they continue to hold out like this...... We're done! "When the situation became more and more critical, some staff officers had to persuade Graziani once again.

They don't want to fight to the death here to the end, and even if they all die now, there is nothing to be gained.

In addition to Marshal Graziani, more people thought of retreating backwards, waiting until it was advantageous to stop the retreat and hold their own lines.

At this stage of the battle, the fool also knows that the Italian army is simply capable of fighting without any intentions.

The rearguard was retreating, and the army in the center was barely coping with the counterattack of the British troops coming to flank...... The troops on the front line are under great pressure and are in danger of collapsing at any moment.

Graziani felt that things could hold on a little longer, and he could let his reserves counterattack south, provided that the infantry on the front line could hold on for a while longer.

"I personally command! The main force of the legion counterattacks south! Let's eat the British armored units on the flanks first! And then back to the frontal British infantry! Marshal Graziani, who did not want to retreat, finally struggled.

In fact, the losses of the Italian army at this time were not huge, and most of the army did not join the battle, except for a few divisions on the flank, which were disrupted.

After all, 200,000 troops are not a small number, and these troops are distributed in a vast space and will not be disrupted and annihilated together.

So, the army closest to the Italian General Command began to turn, and dozens of M11 tanks were launched, ready for battle.

These troops were going to give the British troops rushing on the flanks head-on, and many of the main Blackshirts were ready, because they were better supplied, and their morale was still very high.

"As long as they survive this attack, the British will be at the end of their crossbows! That's when we got the initiative back! In the face of adversity, Graziani thought of good things that were inspiring.

He encouraged his men: "If we defeat the British today, Matrux will be ours tomorrow!" ”

Indeed, as he said, most of the more than 30,000 British troops were engaged in this counterattack, and they really did not have much reserve left to defend Matru.

It is not surprising that Graziani guessed this, just as the British could guess that he was undersupplied, he could probably guess the dilemma of the British army's lack of strength.

Now the question is whether he will be able to hold out until the dawn of victory! Or rather, can he repel this thunderous blow from the British army.

"Sir! Sir! Just when Marshal Graziani thought that the outcome was uncertain, an Italian officer ran into his headquarters in a panic.

As soon as he entered the door, the sad officer cried out a message that made Marshal Graziani almost vomit blood: "Front! Troops on the front line! It's crashing! ”