The battle of El Alamein is needless to say about the importance of the Entente. If El Alamein's Allied forces were to lose, they would withdraw from the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Western Mediterranean would also fall to the upper hand, which would be a great defeat for the Entente camp.

And the British know this. Therefore, London has already stated that it will do everything in its power to defend Egypt, defend the Suez Canal, prevent the Italians from attacking the Indian Ocean region in vain, and the victory will definitely belong to the side of the just Entente.

In fact, the army of the El Alamein Entente was at a disadvantage, and the British were so stubborn at this time that they were not afraid that they would not be able to come to Taiwan in the future?

One of the important reasons why the British made such a big deal about defending Egypt was that the British and French bonds in the United States did not go well. Although there were American capitalists to help with propaganda, there was one thing that could not be changed, and that was that the Allied camp invaded the territory of the Entente camp.

Whatever you say, but the battle is on the territory of the Entente, and you have to be believed when you say that you have the upper hand and defeat the alliance camp.

Therefore, Egypt, which is of great strategic significance, cannot have the slightest bad news coming, even if it retreats step by step, it is a planned retreat after inflicting a large number of casualties on the enemy.

Although the battle of El Alamein was still fierce in the mouth of the Entente and there was no winner or loser, judging from the actions of the Allied navy, there were already clues.

The bright moonlight shone on the harbor, making the situation in Alexandria clearly visible in the dark night, at this time, the ships lined up in a long line to leave the port, they did not whistle, except for the power noise of the ships, they all silently followed the tail lights of the ships in front, quietly traveling.

And these ships, in addition to nearly ten cruisers and destroyers, are all kinds of transport ships, special vessels, etc. These are all indispensable auxiliary ships for a fleet, and the departure of these ships casts a shadow over the current war.

At this time, on the Orion, the flagship of the Combined Fleet in the harbor, the three fleet commanders were watching the fleet move.

"The 3rd Destroyer Formation has departed, and the warships of Port Said have been dispatched. Major Fran of the airship brigade sent a telegram that his airship formation was in position and would not spare any enemy battleships. ”

"Got it, you go down."

After sending the communications officer away, Lieutenant General Robbeck, the commander, turned to look at the two colleagues. "At the moment the situation with El Alamein is not very good, and our fleet must be transferred to the Indian Ocean. If our fleet is lost in the Mediterranean, then who protects the Indian Ocean? ”

As he spoke, the commander set his sights on the deputy commander, Lieutenant General Fornell, and his purpose was self-evident. Since the announcement of the transfer of the fleet to the Indian Ocean, the mood of the French naval officers and sailors has been wrong. Although there were explanations from the upper echelons, the retreat from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean could not calm the discontent of the French officers and soldiers.

Think about it too, at the beginning it was said that it was destroyed with the British Mediterranean fleet, a fleet formed by the Italians and the Austrians. As a result, the battle was not fought, but was brought to Alexandria by the British, saying that they wanted to learn from the Italians to unite and fight the enemy. Fight it, the French officers and soldiers have nothing to complain about.

But now you're saying you're going out of the Mediterranean Sea for the Indian Ocean, isn't that funny?

Everyone is in the navy, and the basic ability to understand is still there. This exited the Mediterranean, how to protect the French coastline in the Mediterranean.

The lack of military power in the Mediterranean is not a chance for the enemy to swim. So the French officers and soldiers were very angry, angry that they had abandoned the Mediterranean, angry that they had lost the people on the Mediterranean coast, angry that the commanders kept changing their missions.

So the morale of several French battleships was not high, which was naturally looked at by the top of the fleet. And as the commander of the fleet, Vice Admiral Robeck, of course, needs to pay attention to this situation.

"I have urgently asked the families of these officers and soldiers in my country to write a letter and send it over, believing that this will relieve some of the pressure on the officers and soldiers. In addition, I also prepared some food and wine to treat me, and also arranged for people to go to some prostitutes in the city, believing that this series of measures will greatly boost the morale of our officers and soldiers. "Lieutenant General Fornell has put his approach to justice.

In the face of Lieutenant General Fornell's approach, Lieutenant General Robeck did not say anything, but mentioned it. 'These things need to be stepped up, the situation in El Alamein is not good at the moment, we need to prepare early.'

Lieutenant General Robeck's words startled the two lieutenant generals.

At this time, the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Yoshimatsu Shigetaro, asked directly. "How can it be so fast!"

It is no wonder that the chief of staff exclaimed, because he had been in constant correspondence with the commander of the dispatch army, Marshal Obaogong, and the marshal had only said before that although the losses were great, the position was still impregnable.

Obaogong did not lie, on the front line of El Alamein, although the Japanese 1st and 2nd armies lost more than 70,000 men in more than ten days, they withstood the onslaught of the Fourth Army. Even the tanks on which it relied were destroyed by Japanese officers and soldiers, nearly a dozen of them. This greatly appreciated Admiral Murray, who believed that the Japanese army was far more resilient than other armies, and its overall combat effectiveness was not lower than that of the native army.

So what went wrong?

Only then did Lieutenant General Robeck speak his mouth and give the answer. "In the morning, the Anglo-Indian troops stationed at the Alam Nail ridge could not resist the Italian offensive and withdrew from the area."

Lieutenant General Robeck didn't even look at the other two because it was a bit embarrassing. On all fronts of El Alamein, the Allied forces fought fiercely with the Italians, and although it was not easy for the various forces, they still held out, while the Anglo-Indian troops were defeated. This breakthrough is very likely to lead to a collapse of the whole line, and it is impossible to explain it.

"But rest assured, Admiral Murray has sent out the 5th and 8th armies in reserve, and I believe that soon we will recapture the position."

The 5th and 8th armies in the mouth of Lieutenant General Robeck are the troops formed in the British mainland and the core of the British army in Egypt. Together with the 7th Army, they were known as the three main forces of the British army in Egypt.

Obviously, Lieutenant General Robeck meant that the attack formation formed by these two armies must be able to recapture the lost Alamnayir Ridge.

"May the two armies successfully recapture their positions!"

Lieutenant General Fornell gave a blessing at this time.

"May them all the best!"

While the top brass of the Combined Fleet was blessing these two troops, the officers and men of the 5th and 8th armies were scolding their mothers.

"Damn, why is the enemy firepower so fierce."

At this time, the dense firepower on the Alam Nail Ridge position suppressed the British officers and men who could not raise their heads.

"How can the enemy's firepower be so strong?"

No wonder the British officers and men were puzzled, and after receiving that the Alam Nail Ridge had been broken by the enemy, they immediately set out and arrived in only three hours. It was a surprise that the enemy had set up positions so quickly.

In fact, this is not surprising, because it was the Eighth Army led by the crown prince who attacked the Alam Nail ridge. The abundance of weapons, coupled with the concentration of weapons by Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Brasso, the 17th Army currently defending the Alam Nail Ridge has nearly two corps of light and heavy weapons.

This also led to the fact that the British offensive could not be opened and crashed into a dense net of fire.

At this time, at the rear of the position, Commander Roblan looked at the battle in front of him, and his confidence in holding the position was even more abundant.

"Wait for the next artillery bombardment of the enemy, and withdraw half of the troops in the front-line positions back."

"Yes, Commander."

Commander Roblan's approach was very simple, that is, to make the enemy think that his strength was greatly reduced, and to devote more troops to stick to the other side, so as to lay the foundation for the annihilation of these two armies.

At this time, the sky was full of Italian planes, and there was no possibility of hiding the British troops at all.

That's right, after getting the news that the enemy's two armies were coming, Lieutenant General Brasso had already decided to eat each other. Although he only has three armies, it is not easy to eat each other. But Lieutenant General Brasso thinks it's a bit difficult, and it's really that easy that is the problem.

Lieutenant General Brasso's arrangement was for the 17th Army to defend the enemy's offensive, while the 13th and 15th Armies were to encircle from the left and right flanks. It doesn't matter if the enemy finds out, a siege on three sides can only lead to the rout of the enemy, and it is not a loss at all to follow the enemy's defeated troops to rush to the third line of defense.

Just as Commander Roblan was observing the enemy situation, he saw the communications staff officer hurriedly running over.

"Report, Lieutenant General Brasso sent a telegram ordering us not to show weakness to the enemy, but to directly counterattack."

"What!"

Lieutenant General Roblan was taken aback at this order, what was the situation.

"The telegram didn't say why."

Faced with the surprise of the commander, the communications staff officer handed over the telegram.

(End of chapter)