Rommel's decision undoubtedly made him miss a good opportunity. For that very morning, the remnants of the Anglo-American armoured brigade were still stationed in the desert south of the Primorsky Highway, and they had no idea that Rommel's armoured forces had overdriven them when they were defeated. It was only because of Rommel's pause that they were able to avoid falling into the trap before returning to El Alamein, thus allowing them to escape from being locked in their pockets. Everyone who is proficient in desert warfare knows that the most important thing to fight in the desert is the tank, so Rommel's mistake planted some unfavorable factors in the future.

Just as Rommel's torrent of steel gathered and Alamein was ready to attack, the front and rear of the Anglo-American forces presented two completely different scenarios. On the one hand, there was a fierce battle ahead, with tanks clashing back and forth, firing at each other with artillery, burning destroyed tanks on the battlefield, and billowing smoke filling the desert. In the rear, the news of Rommel's arrival in El Alamein was disturbed, and the retreating crowd was everywhere. The British fleet had withdrawn into the Red Sea, and the chimneys of the Cairo operational command post rose to the sky with pale black smoke from the destruction of archival documents.

CAIRO: People saw all this and thought it was a sign that the Anglo-American coalition was going to flee Egypt. All of a sudden, the train station was crowded with people, all eager to escape from this place of right and wrong. The general mood of defeat has led people to attribute the responsibility for the January fiasco to a command error. In this way, in order to restore morale, the replacement of senior commanders became an inevitable choice. Under these circumstances, Churchill decided that Alexander would succeed Auchinleck as commander-in-chief of the Anglo-American forces in the Middle East, and Goth would be the commander of the 8th Army. Gort, with the rank of lieutenant general, had been commanding an army in the desert for three years, and was still fighting with Rommel near El Alamein. Perhaps as fate would have it, on his way back to Cairo from the front line on a transport plane to take up his post, Gott was hit by a German fighter plane chasing from a high altitude, resulting in the destruction of the plane and the death of the person. As a result, Montgomery, who had made good fortune, was urgently transferred from England by Churchill to fill the vacancy.

Britain is also very troubled about the choice of commander in North Africa, who can withstand Rommel's fierce attack, and in the end it is the decision that the Führer of Windsor helped Churchill make, because Windsor has heard Zhang Jun mention that in the British Army, that is, Montgomery is a little talented, and other commanders really did not let Zhang Jun pay attention, and the British, who had been defeated again and again, had to send Montgomery, who was not very high-ranked, to preside over the war in North Africa, which was a life-and-death duel between millions of troops. And the commander of the American army was Bradley, and now it has become Eisenhower.

In view of this situation, the head of Windsor urgently called US President Roosevelt to discuss the formation of a joint command of the three services between the two countries, and in order to achieve this strategic issue, Roosevelt gave up the post of commander-in-chief of the British and American forces in North Africa, which was immediately obtained by Montgomery, and Eisenhower could only be deputy commander-in-chief. In this way, the problem of command and coordination of the British and American forces has improved to a great extent.

Now the ratio of strength between the two sides is 2 million German SS, 1 million British, and 1.5 million American. The ratio of troops was almost two million to two and a half million, and the German forces were one-fifth less than the British and American forces. Germany was armed with sixteen armored divisions, basically full, copycats, tigers, and fours, each accounting for a third. The Anglo-American armored divisions reached as many as thirty-two, but they were basically medium tanks, and these British and American tanks could only be regarded as the same level as the No. 4 tank.

If the distance between the two sides is 500 meters, the British and American tanks can penetrate the front of the Tiger, because the caliber of the tank guns of the current British and American tanks is much larger than in history, and the threat to the Tiger is still very great. As for the tanks of the Anglo-American coalition against the cottage 99, it is possible to penetrate only by hitting the crotch of the cottage 99.

The Anglo-American tanks were not as powerful as the 88.9 mm anti-tank rocket launchers of the Anglo-American coalition equipped with the SS tanks, which had a vertical armor-piercing capability of 260 mm, and were very powerful. The United States named it "Super Bazooka", and its power has been greatly improved, with the muzzle velocity of the M28A2 high-explosive armor-piercing projectile exceeding 100m/s, the armor-piercing power of 260mm, and the maximum firing range has also increased by more than 1 times to 220 meters.

Although the "Super Bazooka" has been significantly improved in terms of power and safety, there are still many shortcomings: first, the volume and mass of the launch canister are large, although the split launch tube can improve the portable performance, but increase the shooting preparation time, and the second is that the aiming device is relatively simple, and the shooting accuracy of moving targets is not high; Third, the bazooka is non-one-time use, and it needs to be operated and carried by two people, which increases the establishment; Fourth, the design of ammunition estimation is not perfect, there is no muzzle insurance, isolation insurance and self-destruction device and other safety institutions, and it will be limited when used in jungle areas. In addition, the rapid ignition of the engine gunpowder is not ideal, and sometimes the propellant has not been completely burned after the rocket flies out of the barrel for a month, which is not conducive to shortening the length of the launch canister and has a certain harm to the shooter.

The SS cottage 99's hull armor is only 200 mm, but the full hull armor of the cottage 99 is 60 degrees inclined, in this case, the armor penetration of the "Super Bazooka" can only play 60 percent effectiveness, that is to say, when the "Super Bazooka" is tilted 60 degrees on the armor, his penetration ability is about 160 mm, the front of the Cottage Type 99 tank, except for the crotch, can completely resist the "Super Bazooka", but the side and back are powerless, And the vertical armor of the Tiger tank, that is, it will be penetrated at once.

The tanks of the Anglo-American coalition are not to be worried, but the "super bazooka" and large-caliber anti-tank guns of the Anglo-American coalition are the headaches for Rommel, but in the decisive battle in the desert, the armored force is the main assault force, and if in the new situation, the use of armored divisions and the "blitzkrieg" is a completely new topic for Rommel.

……

Born on October 17, 1887, Montgomery graduated from the Sandhurst Military Academy, fought in World War I, and was commander of the 3rd Infantry Division at the beginning of World War II. Before the Battle of El Alamein, he was supposed to be the commander of the 1st Army, which participated in the North African landing program, codenamed "Torch". However, less than 24 hours after he was appointed commander of the 1st Army, he was transferred to the post of commander of the 8th Army and the post of commander-in-chief of the Anglo-American forces throughout North Africa. It was the luckiest thing about his military career. The 8th Army was the largest group army in the Allied forces at that time, and his opponent was Rommel, the "Desert Fox", who had already become famous all over the world.

Montgomery received a telephone call from the War Department at approximately 7 a.m. on 8 January. The short, stocky general had a bird-like appearance, and his high, slightly nasal voice sounded harsh and unfriendly. He and Rommel have many similarities, on the one hand, they are both withdrawn personalities, and among the generals who are in their fellow countries, they have more enemies than friends; Both of them are imperious and arrogant, with the temperament of a professional soldier. On the other hand, both of them are difficult and resistant officers when they are restrained, but they are the best and most insightful commanders when they are allowed to play freely. Both are non-smokers and do not drink hard alcohol, and both enjoy winter sports and pay attention to maintaining good health.

What's even more interesting is that both of them also have a unique ornament or two. Rommel's ornament was his plexiglass glasses, while Montgomery's was an Australian bush hat with the team badge on it. Both had a not-so-good reputation, and Rommel fed swans with chili as a child, taking pleasure in appreciating their suffering; Montgomery, on the other hand, had a reputation as a typical bully during his military school career. However, on the battlefield, as a soldier, the similarities between the two of them no longer exist. Rommel was an orthodox professional soldier and was known for his improvisation and insight; Montgomery, on the other hand, behaved eccentricly, and his orders to his soldiers were:

"Wherever you find the Germans, shoot them."

While Rommel relied entirely on his own intellect in battle, Montgomery was adept at using the wisdom of others and relying on military force to compensate for any shortcomings in his plans.

In Cairo in January, the sun is still shining. Since the weather was a bit hot, Montgomery was still wearing the military uniform he had worn in England when he arrived in Cairo, so the first thing he did when he arrived at the hotel was to send his lieutenant to buy a suit suitable for the desert climate, and then he took a hot shower. Montgomery didn't have any experience fighting in the desert in the past, and it was only after he came here that he truly experienced the unique character of the desert. There are rolling sand dunes everywhere, and only the thorny hump thorn bushes struggle under the wind and sand and grow unyieldingly in this barren desert. The desert climate is like a child's face, and at night when the cold air hits, it can plummet below zero degrees Celsius within an hour.

In addition to poisonous snakes and scorpions, there is also an army of nasty flies. However, those who are familiar with the desert know that the greatest danger in the desert is not these.

…… (To be continued.) )