After Crown Prince Vittorio arrived at the Eighth Army, its offensive began immediately.
After occupying Gabes, the 15th Forward Division immediately set off after two days of rest. At this time, the follow-up troops had followed up, and their 15th Division was heading towards Shah'al, 80 kilometers away.
In addition to the Algerian 14th Division, which was defeated by them, there is also the Tunisian 3rd Division. According to intelligence, the Tunisian 4th Division stationed in Sfax also sent a regiment to Shaal, which now has 21,000 troops.
Human strength.
However, for the 15th Forward Division, he did not pay attention to even the two colonial divisions. In terms of various weapons and equipment, the two colonial divisions stationed in Shah'al could not keep up with one of his divisions. In the most critical aspect,
In terms of artillery, none of the three divisions can match it.
In this case, what is so scary about the 15th Division? It is better to pay more attention to the tribal cavalry that appear and disappear during the march. These natives are obviously ordered by the French to monitor and harass his supply lines.
The 15th Division took the lead as the vanguard, and the 2nd and 4th Cavalry Divisions on the left wing were also clearing the flanks of danger. As for the right wing, it was the Italian Navy. On this sea, it was absolutely safe with the protection of the Italian Navy.
At this time, the 2nd Cavalry Division had just passed through the Federje Salt Marsh, which is a branch of the famous Jared Salt Marsh. It is only 30 kilometers away from the Gulf of Gabes. At this time, the 2nd Cavalry Division was in front of the central part of the salt marsh.
OK, their destination is Sidi Mansour. According to the previous airship reconnaissance report, there are five to six thousand tribal cavalry gathered there. It is obvious that they are preparing to contain the Eighth Army's attack from the flanks.
Some people may ask why these tribal cavalry did not leave since they were detected by the Italian airship. Those who say this are obviously people who do not understand life in the desert Gobi.
Because you need water to survive in the desert, and gathering five or six thousand cavalry requires an astonishing amount of water, which only a few desert water sources can provide. This is just like the previous annihilation of the rebel tribes in Libya. You can run into the desert, but I
How do you live if you repeatedly raid an oasis where people can live?
Of course, this requires familiarity with the oasis wells in the desert. In Libya, Italy attracted the Berbers who specialized in living in the desert. As for Tunisia, this is even simpler. Italy has penetrated for nearly thirty years, plus the same
To win over the Berbers, we can tell you where there are oasis wells and how many people they can support.
Therefore, it is not easy to come out of the desert to carry out an attack. One or two hundred people may be ignored (it will not be effective in attacking), but hundreds, thousands, or thousands of people cannot do without an oasis as a camp.
"Reporting to the division commander, the guide said we are still forty kilometers away from Sidi Mansour."
"Okay, you go down."
At this time, Timothy looked at the tired team behind him and ordered. "Commander, order the team to stop and rest for an hour. Tell them that they have to travel all night tonight."
Timothy's order caused the Second Cavalry Division to stop. At this time, the officers and soldiers took out water bean cakes from their pockets and fed them to the horses they were holding behind them. He could rest later, but he must first let his beloved
The horse will eat some first.
Yes, you read that right. At this time, the horses of the Second Cavalry Division were led and not ridden like in the movies or pictures. In fact, when marching in the desert, the horses are usually led. As for riding in the desert,
The sight of galloping horses is basically unlikely unless a battle is imminent.
Because horses are delicate, what should they do if they are tired when they go to the battlefield? Some people may say that in this case, they should prepare more horses for daily riding, but have they considered the supply issue?
Horses not only need to eat more, but also need to eat well. This will increase the burden on the cavalry unit. Moreover, transportation in the desert is difficult, and increasing transportation volume is simply a disaster, so there is no need for the cavalry to carry too many horses in the desert.
At this time, the officers and soldiers of the Second Cavalry Division were feeding the horses and resting. At this time, the moon had already hung on the branches, and the one-hour rest time had come.
"Set off!"
At this time, the messenger shouted the order to set off, and the officers and soldiers of the Second Cavalry Division embarked on the journey again.
At this time, a breeze blew in the cool desert, causing the officers and soldiers of the 2nd Cavalry Division who were preparing to march to hum in comfort.
The scorching heat that came during the previous hot weather during the day also dissipated in this gust of wind. The moonlight fell on the officers and soldiers, making them particularly conspicuous. Under the guidance of the bright moonlight, the 2nd Cavalry Division advanced towards Sidi Mansour.
…
Sidi Mansour is an oasis named after the Sidi Mansour Salt Marsh. It is located in a low-lying land east of the Sidi Mansour Salt Marsh. The rich groundwater provides local residents with their daily irrigation needs.
Therefore, the residents of Sidi Mansour make a living by growing dates, olives and raising sheep. However, due to terrain and water sources, planting and breeding can only be carried out within two kilometers of Sidi Mansour, so the area is permanently
With a population of only more than 200 people and belonging to a small tribe, it can be considered a worry-free life. However,
Now, the residents of Sidi Mansour are crying because they have been driven out of their houses to be used by tribal leaders, and even their own farmland and pastures have been occupied. There are soldiers setting up tents to rest everywhere. Listen to them
They said they would use this place as a base to fight against the Italians who invaded their territory.
It was dawn at this time, and there was still a peaceful atmosphere in Sidi Mansour. It was the moment when people fall asleep the most.
At this time, in the desert outside the oasis, a group of people were constantly observing the situation in the oasis.
"The natives are the natives. They didn't even leave a sentry. You can't blame others for being so careless."
Major General Timothy put down the telescope in his hand and said to himself. The Second Cavalry Division arrived here at three o'clock in the morning. Regardless of fatigue, after a short rest, they waited for dawn to launch an attack. As long as they can defeat the enemy here
, then they can have a good rest in the oasis, which is much better than in the desert.
"Report, all regiments are ready to launch, just waiting for your order, division commander."
After listening to the news brought by the communications troops, Timothy, as the division commander, immediately ordered.
"Okay, immediately order the artillery regiment to fire a base amount of ammunition in a rapid fire manner, and then each regiment will immediately launch an attack. I will have lunch at Isidi Mansour at noon."
"As you command!"
Three minutes later, the rumble of artillery sounded from behind, and 36 75mm cavalry guns roared, followed by continuous explosions in Sidi Mansour.
"What's going on?"
Major Bekas, who was awakened by the sound of shelling, jumped out of bed. From this, we can see his military quality. However, at this time, Major Bekas was not proud of his military quality, because he kept ringing
He knew from the explosion that it was the sound of a 75mm cavalry cannon, and the continuous explosions told him that there were at least thirty of them. It was obvious that there was a division-level cavalry, which was really bad. So he didn't care about wearing it.
clothes and ran out of the house immediately.
And his decision was a wise one, because as soon as he left the door with his front feet, he heard an explosion from his back feet, followed by the sound of the house collapsing and the screams of the servants.
However, coming out did not make Becas feel better. He saw a tribal chief pulling him and shouting, "Mr. Becas, did you say that we will not be attacked by the Italians?"
"Chief Maliki, anything is possible on the battlefield, but I will try my best to let the boys of your tribe survive. Your Excellency, the enemy is about to attack now. We need to repel the enemy attack first, okay?"
After finally persuading the chief to leave, Becas walked to a deserted place, mounted a horse and ran to the north. What were he thinking when he relied on these natives to resist the attack of an Italian cavalry division.
At this time, shouts came from behind him, and groups of Italian cavalry were seen charging toward Sidi Mansour with rifles raised high, which made Bekas run even faster.
The battle at Sidi Mansour ended at noon, just as Commander Timothy said.
The well-equipped Second Division's sneak attack on the indigenous troops would have been delayed until the afternoon. Not to mention, the initial bombardment had wiped out the tribal leaders, these tribal warriors who lacked organization.
If you can still resist bravely, then it must be God’s coming.
In this battle, the Second Cavalry Division annihilated more than 5,000 tribal cavalry at the cost of more than 400 people, of whom more than 3,800 were captured, and only nearly a thousand escaped.
The battle of Sidi Mansour was just an ordinary battle for the Second Cavalry Division, but for the Tunisian tribes, it was an earthquake. After this battle, the pro-French tribes slowly began to alienate
The French, as for the neutral tribes, also began to move closer to Italy.
Although they clearly see everything Italy is doing in Libya, if they don't move closer to Italy at this time, their fate will be doomed. In order to have a chance to stay, each tribe can only take a chance.
Although the tribes in Tunisia are moving closer to Italy, for the Italian army, the approach of the natives is dispensable. Everything must be won by themselves to capture Tunisia. Therefore, the battle will still continue, but it may be more convenient to find a guide.
, which helped determine Italy's attitude towards the future of the Tunisian tribes.
I saw that many readers felt it was unreasonable for Greece to join the Allied Powers. Let me give you a real example. When Germany was at its peak defeating France in World War II, Yugoslavia tore up its agreement with Germany and announced its intention to join the United Kingdom. Everyone knows the result.
This was still the time when Britain and France had begun to decline in World War II, and there were countries that couldn't see clearly, let alone World War I. These countries didn't have God's perspective, how could they know who would win?
As for Greece joining the Allied Powers, I have already said that on the one hand, the interests are large enough, on the other hand, Greece is pro-British, and at the same time there is enough cognitive inertia.
In addition, we cannot use the current perception of Britain as a benchmark against the United Kingdom in the First World War. Now it is not too much to call it the shame of the Wuchang. The First World War was at its peak, just like how we look at the United States now.
Okay, that’s enough explanation. I hope you can continue to enjoy the following content, which will be more exciting later.
