Chapter 254 The puzzling trench! (Second update!) Just as Rommel was about to find a reason to refute his subordinates' words, he saw the communications staff hurried over with a telegram. "Marshal Rommel, I'm afraid our hope of crossing the river is dashed." The communications staff knew that Rommel was about to lead his troops to cross the river. Hearing this, Rommel's heart skipped a beat. Did something happen? As expected, Rommel's face turned extremely ugly when the communications staff member said something. "What? The navies of the four countries gave up the attack on Port Said?" Rommel looked at the telegram in his hand in disbelief. "Yes, Marshal Rommel, the navies of the four countries need to head west to meet the Allied fleet, and the plan to attack Port Said has been cancelled." The communications staff spread his hands and said helplessly. Before this, the navies of the four countries formulated a plan to attack Port Said. This is an important port guarding the Suez Canal.
Since the port was built, it has been controlled by the French and now the British. At any rate, it did not return to the Egyptians. It was not until the disintegration of the British and French colonial system that Egypt slowly regained its sovereignty. In other words, the remnants of the British army led by Montgomery are now in Port Said. Originally, Montgomery wanted to withdraw directly to the south and wait for reinforcements to land from the Red Sea. As a result, Fatty Qiu sent a telegram stating that the Royal Fleet had dispatched its main fleet to the Mediterranean. He must ensure that Port Said cannot be lost. After weighing the pros and cons, Montgomery bit the bullet and retreated to Port Said. Rommel originally wanted to pursue the remnants of the British army. As a result, the Supreme Command sent him a telegram, asking him to lead his troops to the canal, cross the river to support Persia, and cooperate with the Persian troops to cooperate with the German army on the eastern front to attack the Soviet army in the Caucasus from north to south. Originally, he wanted to refuse, but the Supreme Command stated that Port Said would be left to the navies of the four countries to solve the problem. That’s why he boldly asked the troops to rush to the canal as soon as possible. The results of it? Here we are just preparing to cross the river to Persia. Another telegram was sent, asking him to lead his troops to attack Port Said. Isn't this just making fun of him? Orders are changed in the morning and evening. He wanted to scold those idiots in the High Command. But after reading the explanation sent by the Supreme Command, if he cannot repel the Allied main fleet, then all his advantages in North Africa will be wiped out in an instant.
Seeing this, Rommel fell silent. He knew that the High Command was right. “Order, assemble all troops, target Port Said.” Rommel took a deep breath and issued the order. "Marshal Rommel, those tanks..." the subordinate asked again. “We’ll take Port Said first.” Rommel shook his head, and we’ll wait until Port Said is taken. … On the other side, Port Said is a port city located on the Suez Canal. Originally it was a deserted village. Later, with the excavation of the Suez Canal, it slowly turned into a port. At the same time, it also became one of the most frequently used routes in the world. It is also the boundary between two continents. It is the main thoroughfare in the world. Of course, this passage was originally in the hands of the French. Later, due to the war, it fell into the hands of the British army. Out of the importance of this port, the British army would normally station troops here. After the outbreak of the war, this port city became even more important. Before Montgomery came, there were more than 20,000 troops here. Even during the Battle of Cairo, Montgomery was under great pressure and did not mobilize the troops here. It is enough to see that he attaches great importance to this port city and cannot afford to lose anything. Because if this place is lost, it means that the Suez Canal is completely gone. Now at least the British Empire still nominally controls the Suez Canal. Montgomery hasn’t had a good night’s sleep since arriving in Port Said. He simply couldn't figure out why he could still lose so badly even though he had such a huge advantage. The development of the war situation was even worse. So much so that he himself had some doubts, was he really unable to lead troops? If Port Said was not still in the hands of the British army, he would probably have been transferred back to the mainland. Even if I don’t go back, I’m afraid I’ll have to go to Tianzhu. Speaking of Tianzhu! Tianzhu is also in a mess recently, and the Japanese army has occupied a large area of territory.
Even began to attack cities with ports, which meant that the Japanese army wanted to occupy Tianzhu for a long time. This is not very good news. If it weren't for the fact that the Japanese supply line was too long and the troops were insufficient. I’m afraid that the territory occupied now will be even more. Fortunately, these are not his turn to worry about for the time being. Because he could not give Admiral Wavell any support at all. What he has to do now is to hold the canal, and he must not let the Germans take it away. In order to deal with the German tanks, since arriving in Port Said, people have been digging anti-tank trenches outside. The trench is more than four meters long, and the current German tanks will never be able to get through it. Meaning that the German armored force lost its effect. Even so, he still couldn't sleep. Because he was afraid that the Germans would attack him just as he fell asleep. In contrast, Barton ate well and slept well. According to what he said, this battle was not his turn to worry about. "Your Excellency, Commander, we have bad news. The reconnaissance force has discovered the vanguard of the German army. It is expected to appear in our defense area at dawn." Montgomery, who finally fell asleep, heard the voices of his subordinates outside and immediately sat up. He rubbed his confused head. “Is it so fast?” After muttering, he continued. “Order the troops to enter a state of combat readiness immediately. We must defend the Suez Canal to the death and must not lose it.” “Yes.” His subordinates responded immediately. If it were lost here, it would really make a big fuss. At that time, there will be a lot of places to lose. Even the whole of Tianzhu. Thinking of this, Montgomery lost all sleep. He stood up and got dressed, brushed his teeth and washed his face, and walked into the headquarters. Fortunately, including the more than 20,000 troops in Port Said, he had more than 50,000 troops. The combat effectiveness is still good. The only problem is that there are not many heavy weapons. But it’s much better than before! At the very least, they are equipped with a lot of weapons such as anti-tank guns. In other words, holding the port should not be a big problem. Thinking of this, Montgomery felt a lot more confident.
"Lieutenant General Montgomery, I'm afraid the next battle will be very cruel." Lieutenant General Patton received the news and walked into the headquarters and said worriedly. “The German army must want to completely capture Port Said.” Hearing this, Montgomery couldn't help rolling his eyes. This is all nonsense. How can I not know? But he will certainly not give up the port easily. No! Even if he died in battle, he would not abandon Port Said. So, what follows will definitely be a very brutal battle. However, he believed that as long as the royal fleet solved the navies of the four countries, he would definitely be able to win the war by then. “Let all fighter jets be on standby and ready to take off at any time.” I have to say that the British army is very attentive to the management of Port Said and even built a large number of hangars. At the same time, there are also a lot of fighter planes in stock here. There are also many US military P36 fighter jets among them. The . military has produced a lot of this fighter jet, but its performance is average and it is basically sold externally. And this batch of Port Said aircraft are the US military's fighter planes supporting the British army. Originally, the British army looked down upon this thing. After all, they had Spitfire fighter jets. But right now, I don’t have to worry about that much. It would be nice to have a fighter plane. Otherwise, we would really have no choice but to be bombed by German fighter planes. He must stabilize the defense line, defend Port Said, and ensure that the canal is firmly in the hands of the British army. At this moment, at the Port Said Air Force Base, fighter planes have just been towed out of the hangar, and the ground crews have filled them with fuel, weapons and ammunition, etc. It didn’t take long! A sharp air defense siren suddenly sounded in the sky above the base. "Damn it, it's a German fighter plane. All fighter planes take off immediately. All fighter planes take off immediately." The officer in charge of the airport shouted immediately. Some of the ready fighter planes took off quickly, while others continued to add fuel with the efforts of ground crews. In the sky, dozens of German fighter planes appeared in the sky. The first one was the FW190 fighter jet, heading straight for the P36 fighter jets that had just taken off. As a result, several P36 fighter jets were shot down as soon as they met. The strength of these British pilots is no less than that of the German ace pilots.
Not to mention, the fighter jets they drive are far inferior to the German FW190 fighter jets. So he can only be abused. The air bases on the ground faced bombing by Stuka bombers. Fortunately, the anti-aircraft weapons around the base began to take effect. Anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns continued to pour fury into the sky. Two Stuka bombers that had no time to dodge were hit in their tail fins. The Stuka bomber lost its balance and began to spin and fly towards the ground. The pilot decisively opened the ejection seat and parachuted out. The air battle was very brutal, and overall the British army was at a disadvantage. Montgomery was not surprised to receive the telegram. “Can you still hold on?” Montgomery asked. “Yes, but the casualties are too great.” On the other end of the phone, the officer in charge of the airport said. “Continue to persist, even if we use up all the fighter planes, we must persist. Port Said must not allow any loss.” Montgomery emphasized again. "clear." After hanging up the phone, Lieutenant General Patton asked doubtfully. “We still have an airport, why not use it?” You must know that in addition to the airport in Port Said, the British army also has an airport, which is on the north bank of the canal. A few years ago, the indigenous tribes on the north bank of the canal launched a revolt, and Montgomery led troops to counter the rebellion. After the counter-rebellion ended, the British army built an airport there and also stationed troops. The purpose is naturally to shock the indigenous tribes and make them feel more stable. "Wait a minute, the Germans probably don't know about our airport. I'm going to wait for the Germans to withdraw from the airport, and then catch them by surprise." Montgomery shook his head and said. Now it seems that building that airport was the right choice. Meaning that the British army has fighter planes available at any time to ensure a certain air superiority. Hearing this, Barton suddenly realized, and at the same time he couldn't help but admire him. He still had more clever ideas. “The German army is coming?” Montgomery asked without dwelling on this issue too much. "The leading troops have arrived on the battlefield, but the trenches we dug have blocked their attack. Before the trenches are resolved, their armored units will be unable to function and may not even be able to attack." The adjutant said quickly. This is the only good news they have heard in so many days. When I was digging the trench, I thought it was useless. After all, this thing seemed useless at all. But now it seems.
The effect is really great, it actually blocked the German armored forces. "Order all troops to be more vigilant to prevent German sneak attacks. Rommel on the opposite side is not a fool. He will definitely be able to find a way to break the trench." Montgomery is not so optimistic. He believes that Rommel can be turned into a desert fox. He is definitely not a fool. . "yes." On the other side, everyone was dumbfounded when they learned that the British army had dug a trench more than four meters long. The problem that the German army is encountering now is not just the inability of tanks to drive through. Even if the infantry wants to cross, it is not an easy task. More importantly, if the British army suddenly poured water, it would be a devastating blow to the German army. The German troops in his hands were less than 100,000 in full force. With just a few thousand men, there was no need to fight this battle even if he lost several thousand men. “What do you think?” After thinking for a long time, Rommel couldn’t figure out how to solve this problem. In the end, we can only throw this problem to all the staff members of the headquarters, hoping to brainstorm and come up with a solution. As a result, everyone in the command headquarters looked at each other in shock. They did not expect that the British army would dig a four-meter-long trench in order to block their armored forces. Their tanks just drove into the trench and could not climb out. Unless they build bridges, but the British army are not fools. Don’t even think about it! The British army's only artillery must have been staring at the trenches. As long as there is a bridge, we will definitely bomb it as soon as possible. More importantly, building bridges requires wood. There are not so many trees for them in the desert. So there is really no solution. Unless they are willing to use human lives to build a road regardless of casualties. But it was impossible for Rommel to agree to such a thing. Let the Italian troops go? Don't think about it, let them surrender in a minute, that's about it. "Is it impossible to cross this trench?" Rommel said angrily. Port Said is just ahead, and Air Force fighter planes are still exchanging fire with British fighter planes. As a result, the ground troops were trapped in a trench, which was really infuriating. "Marshal Rommel, it would be fine if we could fill this trench." A staff officer thought for a while and felt that the best way was to fill it. There is no other way.
"I've thought about the problem you mentioned, but what should we use to fill it? Do we need people to carry sandbags? What's the difference between filling it with human lives? The British army's artillery fire must be staring at us." It's not like Rommel didn't think about it. this way. If the key person carries it, he will face the bombardment of British artillery fire. It really affects the progress too much. More importantly, no one can guarantee it. Is there only one trench? There will be no more behind? As expected, there will be another update, around eleven o'clock!
(End of this chapter)