While Shaposhnikov and Timoshenko were busy retreating, let us temporarily shift our attention from the snowy Eastern Front to dusty North Africa, where Montgomery and Rommel were still engaged in a brutal tug-of-war.

The 29th Northampton Volunteer Cavalry (armoured battalion size) of the 2nd Armoured Brigade, as a reconnaissance unit of the 11th Armoured Division, finally received the order to attack, and the subordinate A Squadron began to move forward. Unlike in the past, the accompanying infantry did not advance in armored vehicles, but learned from the style of the Red Army and used Cromwell tanks to carry the infantry directly. This was due to the fact that the commander of the 11th Panzer Division, Major General Roberts, believed that it would be easier for tanks to break through the German lines.

When Squadron A entered the battlefield, it found that the battlefield was chaotic, with destroyed tanks and various vehicles everywhere, sporadic fighting continued, and the remnants of the German army were still putting up stubborn resistance.

At that time, the smoke from the explosion obscured the sky, and the commanders of several tanks who were leading the vehicles had to poke their heads out of the turrets to observe, so as to find a way through the mess. However, the commanders soon discovered that this had the added benefit of being able to immediately pull out their revolvers against the German grenadiers who were holding magnetic anti-tank mines and trying to charge at Cromwell.

By the time Team A cleared the road of German resistance, it was already about two o'clock in the afternoon, and half an hour later the main force reached the high ground south of the battlefield. The British tank units, which had not yet formed their formation, collided head-on with the 4th tank group of the 5th Company of the 12th SS Panzer Regiment here.

The 5th Company and the 7th Company were originally going to go to another position to block the gap, but who would have thought that they would collide with the British on the way. A fierce battle broke out between the two sides immediately, and the platoon commander of the 3rd platoon of the 5th Company, Waley. Second Lieutenant Kendler described the scene in a later combat report:

"When we're marching in. Suddenly, on the road on the left were a number of enemy tanks and armored vehicles of various models. They are trying to capture the positions of our troops. Soon our tanks were put into battle. There are losses on both sides. Just a few meters in front of me, Sergeant Brechertz, who had his upper body exposed outside the turret, was smashed to pieces in the head by a direct hit. At the same time, we found that a group of British tanks had already passed through the positions of our infantry, and we could only retreat under the cover of sand and dust while fighting......"

At this time, General O'Connor, commander of the British 8th Army, ordered the 11th Panzer Division and the 29th Panzer Brigade to throw the remaining three battalions into battle, tearing through the German lines as much as possible and reinforcing Squadron A of the 2nd Volunteer Cavalry in Northampton, which had arrived earlier.

At the same time, accompanied by the 7th Royal Tank Regiment, the 9th Battalion of the Cameron Scottish Rifle Regiment also arrived on the battlefield. When the first tank had just climbed the heights that had previously been abandoned by Squadron A of the 2nd Volunteer Cavalry in Northampton. German machine-gun bullets flew past the scalp of the commander who poked out of the turret. Immediately after that, the No. 4 tank of the German 5th Company immediately opened fire, and two British tanks were destroyed in an instant, although the British tanks immediately returned fire, but the British army, which had no good marksmanship, still found nothing after being destroyed by four tanks, and had to retreat in disarray.

A little to the west, the German Panthers were still firing at the tanks of the British 4/7th Praetorian Dragoons, and the British boldly threw in another armored battalion, the Sherwood Volunteers, but the 6th Company of the German 12th Panzer Regiment quickly blocked their way.

At this time, the main force of the British 11th Armoured Division was advancing according to plan, and the 2nd Volunteer Cavalry of the 29th Armoured Brigade Fife-Forfar was responsible for covering them. However, shortly after its departure, the unit reported being attacked by Tiger tanks and losing a number of personnel and vehicles.

But according to the records of the German side. There were no Tiger tanks, only the old-fashioned Tank Four. Fortunately, the British had an overwhelming superiority in strength and quickly defeated these No. 4 tanks.

At noon, Commander Meyer finally got some good news: "A Tiger tank company of the 101st Heavy Armored Battalion of the SS will go to support his troops." At the same time, Rommel promised to provide two panzergrenadier battalions.

It's just that these reinforcements are still on the way, and they can't help immediately. The British armoured forces and infantry had basically broken through Meyer's defensive line, so much so that Meyer had to organize all the men in the regimental headquarters who could hold guns, the artillery that had lost its artillery, and a reconnaissance company to put into the gap in the defensive line. Although Meier put all the old bottoms together, he still couldn't close all the gaps.

On the other hand, the British again increased the pressure, and the 11th Hussar Regiment of the 29th Armored Brigade of the 23rd Panzer Division (this was a battalion-sized unit) was ordered to rush to the battlefield. Later in the afternoon, they went on the offensive, and with them were two companies of the 8th Battalion of the rifle brigade. Captain Cabel, who led his team, recalled: "The village was in ruins, our infantry was still clearing the enemy house by house, and there were gunshots from time to time on the other side of the village, and in the middle of the road lay dead goats, and on the other side was a German half-track with many German corpses behind it. ”

Seeing the pill of the German defensive line, Meyer had to give an order to Ziegler, the commander of the 8th Company of his last reserve: "The right flank of our line has collapsed, you must rush there at once, hold back the enemy's footsteps and block the road, but unfortunately I don't have any infantry to send to support you." ”

Ziegler immediately replied: "Our tank engines have started, the hatches have been covered, and your last few words have been drowned out by the sound of tank tracks......"

Without wasting time, Ziegler and his four tanks rushed over at once to assist Major Pree's 2 battalion in arming. Preece himself went to the front line by car and Captain Ziegler to check the situation, and found that if the British continued to attack tomorrow, their positions would be the only way for the British to pass.

Shortly after Preece broke up with Ziegler, the unlucky major ran headlong into a British patrol and was killed instantly. However, the British patrol, consisting of Scots, did not know how they contributed to the main force's attack the next day.

On the other side, the headquarters of the 2nd Battalion of the 12th Panzer Regiment of the German Army, which had lost its commander, left three seriously wounded and began to retreat, and the remaining seven people successfully escaped under the cover of darkness and wind and sand. At the same time, Captain Ziegler's 4 tanks held the road. They covered the retreat of the 12th Battalion of the 2nd Panzer Regiment all night. However, due to the lack of troops. The defense line of the 12th Battalion of the 2nd Panzer Regiment and Captain Ziegler can be described as crumbling.

Before dawn. Captain Ziegler was leading the tanks forward to reconnoiter when he suddenly spotted a wave of friendly troops, and the grenadiers were lying asleep in foxholes, completely unaware of the impending danger. When Ziegler warned them of the imminent attack by the British, the weary grenadiers thought that their tanks were close by and that they needed nothing to fear, so they went back to sleep.

In desperation, Captain Ziegler had no choice but to leave, but soon the slumbering grenadiers would regret it. Ziegler was gone for less than five minutes. The projectiles fired by British mortars and howitzers smashed into their heads and faces, and they couldn't run away when they woke up, and they were blown into scum in an instant.

Leaving aside the story of Captain Ziegler, let's briefly review the results of the British Army's "Arena" operation since its inception.

In the first three days of fighting, the Germans lost 7,300 men in the fierce battle (880 killed, 2,300 wounded, 4,120 missing). Although the Afrika Korps recorded this phase of the battle in its combat log as "a completely successful defense", in fact the Afrika Korps was already at the end of its power, as Meyer, who had exhausted all reserves that day, said: "If there are no reinforcements tonight, tomorrow I will no longer be able to stop any breakthrough of the British." ”

The problem is that Rommel's side is also really nervous, and there are no reserves on hand at all. The east wall can only be demolished to make up the west wall. At the same time, the British decided to launch a new offensive the next day. Their plan was to attack in two directions at the same time, but the British were in a little trouble, because of the large number of people they fell into a traffic jam, and they tossed and turned from the second half of the night until dawn to complete the preparations for battle.

The battle on the right was the first to be fought, and the 227th Battalion of the 10th Brigade Highland Light Infantry Regiment launched a tentative attack, but was quickly repulsed by the well-ambushed four tanks of Captain Ziegler. After the clever Captain Ziegler found that the enemy on the opposite side was only a group of light infantry, he ordered that no artillery should be fired, and only machine guns were used to suppress it, and the British army's tactics were quite rigid, always "infantry in front, tanks in the rear", which was well known to the German army for a long time.

After the British infantry had been beaten away, the British tanks were late, and this time the No. 4 tank, which had been in ambush for a long time under Ziegler's orders, opened fire at the same time. Soon the British tankmen crawled out of the burning tanks, many of them covered in flames...... It was an unpleasant start for the British officers and men, after which the other two companies of the battalion were badly lectured by Captain Ziegler as they advanced along the same path.

To add insult to injury, soon after, an even greater disaster befell the British, the battalion headquarters was suddenly attacked by several German Black Panther tanks, many of the battalion headquarters vehicles were hit and set on fire, and the British artillerymen, who were closely following the infantry, had to turn the anti-tank guns backwards 180 degrees. But the four-pounder could only tickle the Panthers, and the British, caught off guard, were immediately destroyed with three anti-tank guns and two tanks.

At that time, Lieutenant Braley, who was waiting for the order to attack in the Churchill tank, soon noticed the sound of fierce explosions and chaotic noises coming from the rear, and he raised his binoculars to see that the four Panthers were in full swing, crushing all the infantry of the 10th Battalion, only two hundred meters away from him. Soon the Panther tank discovered the Prime Minister's presence, and with the sound of a cannon, the Prime Minister's head was blown off.

The failure of the offensive and the heavy casualties made the British infantry begin to hate the armored units that fought with them, and many complained afterwards: "When we need them most, they have nothing to do behind!" ”

It was not only the 10th battalion that was attacked by the Panthers, but on the other side, the Germans were not so lucky. At that time, the 5th Battalion of the Prince of Cornwall's Light Infantry Regiment of the 214th Brigade of the 43rd Division of the British Army was on its way to the friendly army, when it suddenly heard the roar of the engine and the sound of the tracks shaking the ground.

The frightened British then saw the tall black turret, and the four Panthers quickly ran over. The four British soldiers at the forefront jumped to the sides of the road for cover, while the unsuspecting anti-tank battery of the battalion was still ramming into the muzzle of the gun. Soon, a 6-pounder anti-tank gun was torn to pieces by a direct hit, and then the Germans bombed another one, but at this time, two German motorcycles walking next to the Black Panther were knocked to the ground by the British. The Panther, who had lost his scout, began to hesitate. The British troops, who came to their senses, hurriedly took advantage of the cover of the terrain to organize 4 PIAT bazooka groups. Knocked out the two Panthers and 9 German soldiers at the head.

Lost the cover of the infantry. The black panthers, who couldn't understand the reality of the British army, quickly retreated, of course, the British were actually afraid of beating the wolves with a hemp stick, and after beating the black panthers away, they didn't dare to come forward to pursue.

At the same time, Ziegler's four tanks repelled several rounds of British attacks, making his side of the line look impregnable. But by noon, Ziegler's good fortune was over. In order to get a better view, he was spotted by the British while moving from a well-camouflaged concealed firing point. Soon the fragile tank No. 4 was hit and caught fire, and Ziegler and two other members of the crew were badly burned. After that, as the remaining three No. 4 tanks ran out of fuel, they had to retreat and resupply. At this time there was nothing left to organize the British forward.

For the Germans, if a day ago they could say that they had done a "successful defense", but now the situation is very serious. The British completely wedged their lines, taking control of the roads and communication arteries. Its forward force opened a salient three kilometers wide and about 8 kilometers deep. At the same time, reinforcements from the British army continued to pour in, with the meascan strength that Rommel had at hand. There is no possibility of plugging the opening.

Of course, regardless of whether it is possible to block the opening, for Rommel, he must block it, if it is not blocked, there is only a dead end, and it may be slightly easier to block the dead end. To Rommel's dismay, however, the British began to move faster. The reason is simple, Churchill was not satisfied, and Montgomery was not happy. In order to satisfy the above two masters, the British soldiers could only reluctantly try their best.

The first goal of the British was to take the last important German position at the "top" of the salient, Heights 153. Tanks of the British 23rd Hussar Regiment, bathed in the morning light, destroyed and wounded a No. 4 tank of the 5th Company of the German 12th Panzer Regiment south of Heights 153, which had been reinforcing the defenses of Heights 153 overnight on Rommel's orders.

Then the tanks of the 23rd Hussar Regiment, under the cover of the infantry of the 8th Battalion H Company of the rifle brigade, began to attack the 153 heights. This 153 Heights has a large range, with some places being flat and others being uneven. When the British were about to reach the top of the hill, they spotted a German artillery observation post, which had been set up in the German howitzer unit northeast of Heights 153.

The tanks of Squadron B of the 23rd Hussar Regiment continued to move forward, and Squadron C took cover. Squadron B encountered resistance from a small number of German troops on the heights during its advance, and one tank was destroyed, while German tanks near the heights opened fire on them. The British stubbornly believed that it was the Tiger tank and immediately called the Royal Air Force for a ground attack, but it was still nothing more than the old Tank 4.

Under the cover of the air force, C Squadron and H Company of the 8th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade stormed the top of the mountain, and the Germans stationed at the top of the mountain soon couldn't parry, and sent to the rear like snowflakes: "The British are on the top of the mountain, a Sherman tank is less than four meters away from me, for God's sake, don't call, they will hear the bell." We'll look for an opportunity to withdraw ......."

In order to confirm the situation on the high ground, the Germans sent a reconnaissance team to the top of the hill to check the situation, but they were quickly driven away by the British with machine guns, and they also lost two people. But the Germans observed that there were only two tanks on the top of the hill, and all that remained were machine guns and anti-tank guns. So the Germans quickly decided to launch a counterattack to drive out the British.

20-year-old Sergeant Kremachi, who took part in the battle, recalled: "After a quick build-up, our tanks began to advance towards the 153 heights. We walked very carefully and always covered each other's advances. As I walked through the sand and into the clearing, I used my telescope to observe the situation ahead. Nothing suspicious was found, though, and I ordered to move on. But just after walking more than ten meters away, he was suddenly attacked by artillery fire! I immediately shouted: 'Reverse!' Reversing! My driver, Schneider, reacted quickly and immediately reversed at full speed and backed, letting the British's attack go to naught. ”

By this time, the situation on the heights had changed significantly from before, and the British army reinforced 6 Shermans and an infantry company. When the Germans bombarded the top of the hill with mortars, in retaliation, the RAF bombarded the southern slope of the heights and any suspicious targets nearby, covering the entire heights with dust and smoke from the bombardment. This also led directly to the failure of the first attempt by the Germans to recapture the heights.

Over the next three days, the Germans organized five counterattacks and tried to retake Heights 153, but Montgomery apparently realized the importance of the heights and continued to strengthen its defenses, committing 25 tanks, 15 anti-tank guns, and two battalions of infantry.

It was not until three days later, when the entire German line of defense was in a state of fragmentation, that Rommel had to abandon this futile attempt. Because at that time, even if the 153 heights were recaptured, there was no point in recapturing them, the defeat of the German-Italian forces was inevitable, and if they didn't retreat and run away, the only outcome would be to be dumpled by the British army! (To be continued.) )

PS: Bow and thank you for the drunken maple, xxxxxxjj, = can't help it=, the wind and water, the word Yi, the Bright Templar and Comrade Juventus→!