Admiral Murray has been pondering how to defend against the enemy's machines that can crisscross the battlefield. He couldn't think of it himself, so he mobilized everyone to think about it together. So the officers in the command began to think about how to deal with the enemy's strange machine that can crisscross the battlefield after finishing the work in hand.

And after some investigation, British intelligence finally learned that this weapon has a very special name: tank.

At that time, the head of the British intelligence service was stunned after getting this information, is this kind of naming this weapon a water tank?

Shouldn't this be called a tracked combat vehicle?

Of course, British intelligence knew not only the name, but also that Italy had been studying tanks for a long time. However, due to the excellent secrecy of the other party and the lack of awareness of the intelligence personnel, it is difficult to pay attention to a single word.

It is not enough to know this, but also to know the performance of the weapon and the advantages and disadvantages of all aspects, and of course it is better to collect its drawings.

However, it will take time, and the fact that so much information can be found in just two or three days is already an excellent demonstration of the ability of the British intelligence services, for which they have also lost several excellent intelligence officers who have been lurking in Italy for more than ten years.

Admiral Murray did not get much information in a short period of time, so he could only think of solving the problem of enemy tanks first. In a series of brainstorming, many ideas were also come up, such as using 1-pounder and 2-pounder guns as counterattack weapons, and the 57mm rapid-fire guns on battleships could also be removed and used, as well as preparing explosive packs to be thrown by brave soldiers or placed under enemy tanks.

Of course, these are all things that can only be used with equipment, and there is a solution without equipment, that is, to widen the current trench by 1-2 meters, so that the current trench with a width of 2-2.5 meters becomes a trench with a width of 3-4 meters. That's right, this is the common anti-tank trench in later generations, but the trenches have not yet deepened at this time.

The idea of widening the trenches was quickly supported by Admiral Murray, and at this time the Allied troops in El Alamein picked up digging tools and began to widen the trenches.

It is to be said here that it was only after the order to widen the trenches along the entire line arrived that the soldiers realized that there were not enough digging tools, and Admiral Murray urgently transferred them from the rear. However, the soldiers found that most of the digging tools were used, and much of the dirt on them was still there, apparently from the Egyptian people.

However, when the defenders widened their positions, the Italian offensive returned. In the direction of the Mitellia Ridge, the Eighth Army of the Central Line, with the assistance of more than forty tanks, overcame the defensive forces consisting of the British Twelfth Army and captured the Miteria Ridge in one fell swoop.

Similarly, on the Southern Front, the Assault Corps, which consisted of the 10th Army, with the assistance of more than 30 tanks, conquered the front-line positions of Deir Abyad and Bab Katara in one fell swoop.

At this point, the first line of defense of the British army at El Alamein was broken. The 120,000 defeated troops stationed in the first line of defense could only retreat to the rear. Although their losses were not large (only 30,000 men), the losses of their weapons and equipment were not small, and the blow to morale was no different.

For example, the Australian 2nd Division lost more than 4,000 men in the battle at Miteria Ridge, while the officers and men of the retreating Australian 2nd Division were demoralized, and the incidents that disturbed military discipline such as desertion, alcoholism, gambling, fighting, and rape continued to be more serious

Originally, in Admiral Murray's plan, the first line of defense was intended for the attrition of the Italians. As long as they have killed and wounded a large number of enemies and consumed enough ammunition, the valiant defenders can withdraw to the third line of defense, which will absorb the attrition of the enemy and make a counterattack.

It can be said that in Admiral Murray's mind, the first line of defense will hold out for at least 15 days. But now it has been broken in 3 days, which fully shows how much damage to morale is done to the morale of being helpless in the face of tanks.

If there is no weapon to deal with the tank, which kills all sides on the battlefield, then the soldier will not be able to hold the position at all, and the tank that cannot cope with it will make the soldier fearful, and the loss of the position is only a thought.

In the face of the enemy's five lawless tanks, Admiral Murray had limited capital in his hands, and could only deploy 1 or 2-pounder guns and 57 mm guns in key areas. For example, El Alamein, Rwa Isat Ridge and other places, as for the Alam Nail Ridge and Deir Munasib further south, they can only rely on anti-tank trenches and explosive packs.

There is no way to order the things in your hand, and it is definitely not possible to sprinkle pepper noodles, you can only focus on defense, and the more important line of El Alamein and Ruvaisat Ridge is even more important.

And while Admiral Murray was carefully calculating, the Italian army, which had conquered the front-line position, launched another attack.

"No. 1 fires!"

On the Petrarch, the No. 1 turret, which had turned to aim for land, roared, and the two 305-mm guns in the turret spewed flames, sending two shells into the target area.

In a fortified position in El Alamein, a loud explosion was heard. 305-mm shells hit directly, and no one survived this huge explosion.

In the face of the attack of naval guns, the defenders of El Alamein only had small and medium-sized coastal defense guns, and their maximum caliber was only 5 inches, which was no match for naval guns at all.

In addition to naval artillery, more than 600 artillery pieces of the Fourth Army and the 2nd and 4th Separate Artillery Regiments were also shelling the positions of the defenders of El Alamein.

At this time, the defense of the first line of El Alamein was the 1st and 2nd armies of the Japanese Dispatch Army, which had five divisions and 140,000 people, plus the 4th Army deployed on the third line, the total strength of the Japanese Dispatch Army was as high as 200,000. This was exactly what Japan had promised to send to the European theater, and Britain had placed it all in Egypt.

These Japanese soldiers were considered by Admiral Murray to be very good soldiers, so after consulting with the commander of the Japanese Dispatch Army, Field Marshal Okubogong, they were assigned to defend the most important Alamein. This shows the importance that Admiral Murray attaches to the Japanese troops.

As for Okuhoko, a general who was not from the Choshu Domain during the Russo-Japanese War, nor was he from the Satsuma Domain. To be able to become a marshal and become an earl in the army controlled by the Choshu Domain, this is not enough merit, and it is simply impossible. In fact, Marshal Okuboko and the military god Nogi Noshinori are called the two representatives of the Russo-Japanese War Army.

Compared with the different evaluations of Nogi Noshinori, the evaluations received by Okubogong are quite uniform, and they are basically praises such as modesty, integrity, and ability.

However, this Marshal Obaogong is not without his shortcomings, that is, compared with his excellent military talents, it is not too much to call him a political idiot, because this man does not want to get involved in politics.

So after receiving the honorary title of marshal in 1911, Obaogong was actually already semi-retired.

When the war broke out, Japan joined the Entente and agreed to send troops to Europe. At this time, who will lead this army has become a problem, because this group of veterans who participated in the Russo-Japanese War, dead and retired, there are only three or four suitable people at present, and after deducting the current inability and unsuitable candidates, Obaogong has become the only one.

Later, this marshal, who committed all kinds of sins in the First Sino-Japanese War, became the commander of the Japanese dispatch army with 200,000 troops.

However, at this time, Marshal Obaogong looked at the position that was constantly shelled, although his face did not change, but his heart was dripping blood. The brutality of the world war far exceeded that of the Russo-Japanese War. Although the fortifications built by the soldiers were good, under such heavy shelling, their casualties were bound to be not small.

"Your Excellency Commander, Major General Teppei Kitaoka reports that the positions of the 2nd Separate Artillery Wing were hit by enemy artillery. They have now stopped shelling and are shifting positions. ”

Listening to the report of the communications staff officer, Ao Baogong, who looked at the sand table marking each unit, opened his mouth and asked. "How many cannons did they lose?"

"Five 115-mm howitzers were destroyed in this shelling, and 146 officers and soldiers were lost."

"The loss of more than half of the artillery, plus the artillery losses of other units, in just half a day, we lost half of the artillery, notified the divisions to stop the artillery battle and wait for my order."

"Hey!"

After the communications staff officer left, Okubogong rubbed his swollen temples, which had too many cannons in the Iraqi army (the Japanese abbreviation for the Chinese character for "Italy" is "Italiya").

At this time, he remembered the fierce artillery fire of the Iraqi intervention army in the First Sino-Japanese War, which was too impressive, and he was the commander of the Fifth Division at that time. Feel the power of the enemy's artillery for yourself. Later, this also became one of the temptations for the military department to attach importance to artillery, and now it seems that the imperial army is still too far behind in artillery.

(End of chapter)