Chapter 27 March
After passing on Alphredo's experience, Qin Chuan realized that many cars encountered similar problems... Car soldiers were used to filling the tires with air before setting off, but the air-filled tires were particularly hard. In addition, the rear compartment was carrying a lot of fuel, water and supplies, which made the tires easily sink into the sand.
After discussion, the logistics forces believed that some load should not be reduced, that is, some supplies should be abandoned... But these supplies are the guarantee that the troops can pass through the desert. While they were hesitating, Alphredo's experience came: "If the wheels are stuck in the sand, let the tires be let go!"
At first, these officers and soldiers of the logistics army did not believe that this would solve the problem. They did so with the mentality of giving it a try. Unexpectedly, the cars were miraculously no longer sinking, which allowed the logistics army to easily solve a headache problem.
"Good, Frick!" After receiving the telegram of the related reaction, Bazel said to Qin Chuan: "You found two very useful people and made another great contribution!"
"Sir!" Qin Chuan said: "Part of this is Alphredo's credit. In fact, it was his idea to deflate the tires!"
"Alfredo?"
"Sir!" Qin Chuan looked at the Italian lieutenant beside him and said, "He is Alphrey's how many lieutenant!"
"Oh!" Bazel quickly understood, and then said to Alphrod's Captain: "Second Lieutenant, thank you for your help. I will report to your superiors and tell them your outstanding performance in our army!"
"Thank you, sir!" Alphredo was overjoyed when he heard this. You should know that this was a report of the German army's meritorious service. So far, no Italian has received such an honor. If he gets it... he will have a bright future!
After Bazel left, Alphredo said to Qin Chuan: "Thank you, Frick!"
"No, this is what I should do!" Qin Chuan replied.
This is true. On the one hand, Qin Chuan is unwilling to take other people's credit for himself, and on the other hand, it is also an apology for dragging Alphredo into the water.
The march was smooth at the beginning, mainly because of the tour guide Bushra. There is a reason why ancient business travelers would find such a path. They occasionally find a few undried wells on the road... Although the well water is not much and it has a bitter and salty taste, at least some food water can be supplemented for emergencies.
At this time, Bushra would always fill the empty water bags and hang them on the camels... Those water bags are made of sheepskin, flip the inside and outside the sheepskin, and then apply tar extracted from bitter watermelon seeds for anti-seepage treatment, and then it becomes an excellent water bag.
Bushra even introduced us to this bitter watermelon that grew in the Sahara Desert... It is a sandy plant with fruits slightly larger than passionflower. The fruits are rich, sweet and scented.
However, most of the plants that survive in a severely dehydrated environment like the desert are poisonous, and bitter watermelon is no exception. Eating it will cause nerve paralysis and diarrhea... Diarrhea in the desert is not a joke, it may kill you.
This experience was quickly passed on to the entire army, so the German soldiers knew that they should control their mouths.
Three days later, the soldiers gradually adapted to the desert environment and then became relaxed.
"I don't think there is anything scary about the desert, right?" said Big Bear: "If you continue like this, it's not difficult to walk for another ten days!"
"Our speed is faster than expected!" The baker said while looking at the map: "If I was not wrong, we should have walked 160 kilometers in these three days, an average of more than 50 kilometers a day. At this speed, we can almost reach our destination after walking for another seven days!"
The baker wanted to know if his judgment was correct, so he asked Alphredo to ask Bushra about the situation.
"It's not that easy!" Bushra's answer was: "We're actually walking on the edge of the desert these three days. The next few days will be the center of the barren land. For four consecutive days, we will not have any wells to replenish water until we arrive at the Oasis of Mses!"
Hearing this, the soldiers couldn't help but remain silent.
Werner couldn't help but ask: "Is our water enough for four days?"
This problem was quickly reflected in Bazerna and then spread to the military commander.
The answer from the Military Control Commission made everyone feel relieved: the water is enough for the entire regiment to use for six days.
After a while, Werner said as if he was remembering something: "Hey, brothers! That is to say... With the water we had replenished along the way, we carried only enough water for nine days in total, but we planned to go through this desert in twelve days. Did I remember wrong?"
"No, you remember correctly!" Big Bear replied: "In other words, we should have to march in this damn desert without water!"
The soldiers' faces became very ugly. They all knew exactly what this meant: water was in the desert like air to people... When they had it, they could not feel its importance or even its existence. If it was gone, it would be fatal.
"We should thank Frick, don't we?" Werner said. "He made a very right decision, which almost saved us all!"
The soldiers expressed their agreement, and the eyes that were thrown towards Qin Chuan were a little grateful. Keller, who had been following Qin Chuan, even shone with respect and pride in his eyes.
However, Qin Chuan did not dare to bear this glory. He studied this history and knew that half of the German regiment could eventually walk out of this desert and reach his destination Tenger Tenger.
However, because they were severely and very tired in the desert, they even discarded all their heavy equipment and a large amount of ammunition... It would be good if they had the strength to walk in the desperate situation of the desert, but they would not care about whether there would be ammunition to fight in the future.
Therefore, this regiment did not play its due role, that is, to cut off the British army's logistics supply line and block the British army's retreat.
This also indirectly led to the failure of Rommel's first Battle of Alamein... The main force of the British army and a large amount of equipment successfully escaped Rommel's encirclement, and it was these troops and equipment that played an important role in the subsequent battles.
Of course, these are all later stories.
Chapter completed!