Taking advantage of the great sacrifice of the 8th Royal Irish Legion, General Montgomery won what he needed most:

Time!

Kantara's defensive positions were strengthened, which gave Montgomery a boost of confidence in holding on.

And he himself, too, personally appeared on the front line in Kantara.

Until this time, he didn't know that it was Erwin who was standing opposite him. Marshal Rommel!

The face-to-face showdown between them is finally about to officially begin

The first to appear in Kantara was still Rommel's most trusted 90th Light Armored Division. And the tight defense of the Allies also made the commander of the 90th Light Armored Division, General Kempf, not dare to act rashly, but directly reported what happened here to Field Marshal Rommel.

At 9 a.m. on November 12, the main forces under the command of Field Marshal Rommel arrived on the battlefield.

Kantara was heavily guarded and fortified, which surprised Rommel. Despite the psychological preparation, it is shocking that the enemy was able to organize such a defense in such a short time.

But at this time, Rommel has no choice, and the only thing he can do is to grit his teeth and take Cantara!

At this time in Ismailia, German units also attacked. Once Kantara and Ismailia fell into German hands at the same time, the gateway to Cairo was completely opened.

At 9:10, Rommel received a telegram from Cairo that it was Ernst. Sent by Marshal Braem. In the telegram, Marshal Ernst told Rommel to give it a go and resolutely launch a surprise attack on Cantara!

Seemingly. Field Marshal Ernst was already somewhat prepared for this situation

Rommel gave it a go!

The Luftwaffe also participated in the attack on Kantara in time, and a large number of German fighters appeared in the air, and the British Royal Air Force launched a life-and-death struggle for air supremacy!

There is a fierce battle in the sky. There was also fierce fighting on the ground.

A large number of tanks and soldiers strangled together, and the explosion of "boom" was enough to break any undetermined person. This also tested the nerves of the commanders on both sides.

Casualty reports were sent to Rommel and Montgomery, but they did nothing to help the two commanders, whose nerves were cast entirely out of steel.

They don't care how much they lose, there's only one way for them to end it all:

Victory!

The Italians' Rito Io division was finally late, and Rommel threw all of these untrustworthy allies into the battlefield before they could give the Italians a chance to breathe.

The Italians, of course, will complain. But what can be done about it? Who made the Germans now the dominant force on the battlefield?

Just before the Battle of Egypt broke out, the leader of Italy, Mussolini, had a strong appeal against the German Marshal Adolf. Hitler complained angrily that the Italian generals were not getting the respect they deserved in the African theater. Those German commanders simply used his generals as cannon fodder.

And Adolf. Hitler's answer was also very simple: "Honorable leader." Are you going to ask me to remove Marshal Ernst or Marshal Rommel from office and let them lose this war? ”

Mussolini then shut up

This stupid and arrogant leader is still very clear about one thing, if there is no command of Field Marshal Ernst in the African theater. Without the heroic fighting of the Germans. The Italians had long since been driven out.

Now, the same mentality is true of Rito Io.

They had to listen to the Germans, otherwise no one could describe what fate would befall them.

This time, the Italians were much better than before, and they did their best to attack the enemy's positions, and although they were defeated again and again, at least the enemy suffered a lot of losses.

Moreover, when the artillery units of the Italians rushed to the battlefield. The situation has improved again.

The strength of the Italians' artillery fire is still breathtaking.

Their artillery fire was able to cover any corner of the battlefield, which gave Rommel a question that may never be answered:

The Italian army with such powerful artillery fire. Why do you behave so badly on the battlefield? No, it's not bad, it's just ridiculous.

God knows when these Italians will do something ridiculous on the battlefield

The Ritoio Division, supported by artillery fire, once again organized a new round of attacks against the enemy, and this time they behaved much better, actually breaking through some enemy positions.

God, this is a real breakthrough, and even the Italians themselves dare not believe it

The morale of the Italians was high and decided to continue to perform some good miracles on the battlefield, so they began to maintain a continuous assault posture.

But they soon became annoyed by their decision.

The British counterattack is coming!

Montgomery quickly and completely encircled the Rito Io Division with the 42nd and 44th Royal Tank Regiments and the 1st Armored Brigade, and launched a ferocious attack on it.

At this point, the Italians were completely panicked, and their commander hissed and demanded that the Germans immediately meet them and break through

And when he got this information, Rommel laughed.

He then ordered the Italians to hold on to their positions, and told them that the Germans were trying to open a gap in the enemy's encirclement and try to get the Italians out.

And after this telegram was sent, Rommel immediately ordered the 90th Light Panzer Division to make a feint to rescue the Italians, and at the same time personally commanded the 15th Panzer Division to launch a surprise attack on the British 4th Hussar Regiment!

He had decided to sacrifice the Rito Io, just as Montgomery had sacrificed the 8th Royal Irish Legion!

Hit back at the British the way the British!

The 4th Hussar Regiment, which was severely unprotected on its flanks, had to face the menacing onslaught of the Germans alone. In addition to throwing all of the 15th Panzer Division, Rommel also threw all the strength of the Italian Ariette Division and the 6 Egyptian rebel brigades that arrived later into the battlefield.

The 4th Hussar Regiment could hardly hold back such a large and frantic attack

While the casualties of the Italian Rito Io Division were increasing by the minute, the casualties of the British 4th Hussar Regiment were also increasing dramatically.

Faced with this situation, Montgomery also tried to reinforce the 1st Battalion of the 6th Rajputana Rifles and the 3rd Battalion of the 7th Rajp Regiment, but they were repulsed by the Germans who were waiting for them.

Now Montgomery and Rommel must race against the clock to see who can crush the encircled enemy first.

In order to encourage the Italians to stay the course, Rommel used some tricks, and he constantly used telegrams to tell the Italians in the encirclement, that the Germans had opened a gap somewhere, and that the Germans were approaching.

Although not even a single German was seen, the successive telegrams gave hope to the Italians

And so the "miracle" really happened:

Under the fierce onslaught of the enemy, the Italian Rito Io Division did not collapse immediately!

Maybe this is a normal thing for other troops, but when it comes to the Italians, it has to be described as a miracle

As for the British 4th Hussar Regiment, the performance can be described as outstanding.

Under the attack of the enemy's absolute superiority, although the 4th Hussar Regiment suffered unbearable casualties, these British still struggled to hold on.

At 10:30, Rommel ordered all the artillery left in the rear of the Italian Rito Io Division to be thrown into the bombardment of the enemy.

As a result, the casualties of the 4th Hussar Regiment had become bloody.

Countless British people died under artillery fire and enemy attacks, the ground was dyed red, and the corpses were piled up like hills.

The 4th Hussar Regiment was on the verge of collapse.

Italy's Rito Io Division is also on the verge of collapse.

At 10:45, Rommel ordered a general attack, which the 4th Hussar Regiment could not withstand.

Positions collapsed in several places.

German tanks and soldiers have already rushed in.

Now, the end of the 4th Hussar Regiment has arrived!

The large number of casualties makes people look shocking, and those German tanks that flaunt their might on the battlefield seem to be announcing the arrival of victory.

Of course, the Germans will also lose an Italian division, but who cares about that?

The demise of the 4th Hussar Regiment came at 11:30. Their commanders were killed in large numbers, and their soldiers were killed to a terrifying level.

In this battle, more than 80% of the soldiers of the 4th Hussar Regiment were killed or captured, and some chose to surrender.

Who will win and who will lose this contest? Montgomery or Rommel? Now it seems difficult to say that Montgomery lost his 4th Hussar Regiment, and Rommel had no hope that the Italian division of Rito Io would survive.

However, at this time, a telegram that shocked Rommel was delivered to him, and the Italians angrily asked what the reinforcements had not yet arrived!

"Haven't the Italians collapsed yet?" Rommel now had great doubts about the authenticity of this telegram.

"Yes, our air force also conducted reconnaissance, and the Italians are still resisting!"

"Oh God!" Rommel was completely shocked, the Italians actually insisted until now, this is a thing that even God would be moved to tears, and at this moment Rommel immediately found a good side in it.

"The whole army launched an assault, let the Rito Io Division hold on for another two hours!"

The unbelievable thing happened on the battlefield of Kantara! (To be continued......)