After the North African Campaign, the fighting in North Africa had completely stopped. The German and Italian forces either surrendered or retreated to the Italian mainland. North Africa completely became an area controlled by the Allies for more than half a year.
Therefore, even though the gunfire sounded, Grote did not order the troops to enter combat mode. Although a company of Shermans only had 12 vehicles, they could move sideways in North Africa unless they encountered a large group of soldiers fighting.
"What's going on?" Occam also heard the gunfire.
It sounded really scary, ranging from sparse to dense, with the sound of grenade explosions in between. Grote sent a total of four half-track vehicles to investigate.
"Don't worry, we can handle it." Grote was confident. Those who were qualified to become scouts were all experienced veterans. In the words of later generations, they were special forces.
In fact, most special forces are basically developed on the basis of scouts.
The exception is Southern Africa. As early as during the last world war, Southern Africa had already established units dedicated to special operations tasks. Now, all three armed forces in Southern Africa have special forces.
"That's great!" Occam breathed a huge sigh of relief.
As the tank force has developed to this day, the armor has become thicker and thicker, and the firepower has become stronger and stronger. The Sherman's total combat weight has reached 35 tons, which is actually not suitable for use in desert areas.
Looking at Rommel's fate, we know that armored forces in desert areas are severely limited. The heavier the tank, the better. Heavy tanks are not as effective as light tanks in the desert.
The mobility of a tank is also one of the important criteria for measuring the performance of a tank.
Although the performance of the Sherman is good, it is just a mediocre vehicle in the desert due to too many limitations.
Now that Grote is willing to take responsibility, Occam is happy and relaxed. He is commanding the troops to set up camp and prepare to sleep in the wild at night.
"Send your tanks over to seize the high ground on the left and right. We must first establish defensive positions." Grote has rich experience, and tanks are the core fulcrum of defensive positions.
"Okay, no problem." Occam agreed happily, but his expression was sarcastic.
Didn't you say you don't need us?
Now is not the time to argue about this issue. Occam is very aware of the importance of terrain. He and Groat are both captains, but they have to obey Groat's command. This makes Occam very unhappy.
If you have any opinions, you can talk about them later. Orders must still be obeyed.
The desert is not flat, but continuous sand dunes that go on and on.
Second Lieutenant Rutherford from Montana led two tanks to the sand dunes on the right side of the convoy to set up defenses. The height of the sand dunes was a bit high and the slope was very steep. Second Lieutenant Rutherford went in a big circle before arriving at the predetermined location. He was alone.
The two tanks were not even accompanied by infantry.
"Putting aside the war, this is really a spectacular scene. The desert also has a charming side, it is so beautiful." Nelson, the commander of the vehicle from North Carolina, couldn't help but sigh. The desert in the evening is indeed beautiful.
Some people hate the desert.
Some people like the scenery in the desert, especially when looking up at the sky at nightfall, the bright Milky Way stretches across the sky, and the silent environment has a strange beauty, which makes people truly feel how insignificant human beings are.
"Cheer up, buddy, it looks like we have to take turns tonight." Second Lieutenant Rutherford is the platoon leader. He has participated in the North African Campaign and the Sicily Campaign and has rich experience.
"No problem." Before Nelson finished speaking, the "hissing" sound of burning gunpowder suddenly came from not far away.
"Bazooka" Rutherford warned while getting into the turret and closing the top cover smoothly.
boom
A rocket hit Nelson's tank, erupting into a huge and dazzling fireball.
Before Rutherford had time to rejoice, a rocket hit his turret.
The rocket launcher was probably located far away and did not penetrate Sherman's armor.
Death penalty can be avoided, but living crime cannot be escaped. Rutherford huddled in his seat holding his head, with a splitting headache. The vibration of the turret has not disappeared. Sound waves are the biggest threat to the tank crew.
"What the hell is going on? Doesn't it mean that the enemy doesn't have heavy weapons?" Nelson's wail came from Rutherford's earphones.
It's good that he can still talk, at least it means he's still alive.
Rutherford said nothing and kept his eyes close to the periscope, searching for the enemy's location.
"God, I was hit again. I have to retreat, otherwise I can't guarantee that I can withstand the third shot." The tanks commanded by Nelson were hit one after another, and the situation was very bad.
No matter how strong Sherman's defense is, it has a limited value and cannot have an infinite health bar.
Rutherford observed carefully and finally discovered that on another sand dune about 100 meters away, two enemies wearing camouflage uniforms and holding rocket launchers were aiming at the tank commanded by Rutherford.
Although the desert is vast as far as the eye can see, it is not without any cover. Camouflage clothing can provide maximum protection for soldiers.
"Fire, fire!" Nelson's howl came from the earphones. His shooter was in a hurry and instead of firing immediately, he threw a smoke bomb.
Smoke grenades are used to cover the movement of tanks. Whether attacking or defending, a large number of smoke grenades are needed.
Rutherford got out of the turret, grabbed the high-level dual-purpose machine gun on the roof of the car, and aimed at the enemy's position and fired wildly.
The effect was immediate. 100 meters is almost the limit range of the rocket launcher. The high-level dual-purpose machine gun has a long range. The two shooters were hit by Rutherford before they could launch the rockets.
The crisis has not been resolved.
While Rutherford was firing wildly, the tank commanded by Nelson suddenly accelerated and left the battlefield, shamefully becoming a deserter.
Rutherford said nothing and continued to aim at the next target.
The enemy was still very powerful. They had at least ten rocket launchers and were divided into five teams and kept shooting at the tanks commanded by Rutherford.
珰
A rocket hit the Sherman's body, and a crashing sound was heard immediately.
Rutherford gradually despaired. The number of enemies was too great. The tanks' tracks were blown off and repairs were made everywhere in the wilderness.
Nelson was also unlucky.
The tank he was commanding had just turned around, when a dozen bearded men swarmed up and howled wildly. One bearded man forcefully opened the top of the Sherman, and then threw a smoking grenade into the carriage.
"God bless" Nelson shouted desperately. It was impossible to survive at such a distance.
Rutherford's tank fled even more wildly. When passing by Nelson's tank, Rutherford's mouth twitched twice but said nothing.
A general cannot escape death in battle, which is also a good destination for soldiers.
Lucky for Rutherford, the enemy did not pursue him.
He ran all the way to join the convoy. Before Rutherford could take a breath, Occam gave the order to retreat.
"Enemies are everywhere, we must evacuate immediately." Occam explained to Grote.
Although the tank force is powerful, it is not invincible. As long as the weakness of the tank is grasped and targeted combat is carried out, the armored force will suffer heavy losses.
The enemies on the opposite side are obviously experienced. Although they do not have heavy weapons, rocket launchers can still pose a fatal threat to tanks.
Before Occam finished speaking, the sound of mortar firing suddenly came from the distance.
It would be damned if the soldiers were scattered.
Before Grote could speak, the sound of howling artillery shells was heard in the air.
Boom boom boom boom
Tanks are immune to mortar shells, but trucks carrying drilling equipment are not.
A truck was hit by a mortar shell, and the container body was torn apart as easily as paper.
After the smoke cleared, the straight drilling rig was twisted into a twist. A soldier and an engineer died on the spot, and five or six others were injured and were in urgent need of medical rescue.
"Retreat, retreat immediately." Grote didn't want to wait for death, and wanted to leave here as quickly as possible.
"Sir, we must put on our equipment." Moulton, a senior engineer from British American Petroleum, was wearing a steel helmet, which looked nondescript.
"There is no time, sir, we must leave immediately." Grote was decisive. It was no time and he still cared about these minutiae. It was obvious that he couldn't distinguish the priorities.
"We have to take the equipment with us," Moulton insisted.
"Whatever you want, we're leaving anyway, goodbye!" Grote ignored it, leaving the green hills behind and not worrying about running out of firewood.
Looking at the tank speeding away, Moulton sighed and jumped into a truck next to him.
From the outbreak of the battle to the end, which lasted only twenty minutes, the US military suffered less than ten casualties, but more than thirty drilling workers died.
During the retreat, a shell hit a truck carrying drilling workers. Although there were still people in the truck surviving, Grote and Occam did not stop to save people, but left directly.
All the drilling equipment must have been lost. That night, Eisenhower ordered a U.S. military team to go to the scene of the incident.
The enemy was nowhere to be found and all their equipment was destroyed. After clearing the battlefield, it was discovered that several people had died of excessive blood loss. If treated promptly, they would have survived.
When the news came out, some people were surprised, some were gloating about the misfortune, and some were still frightened because they didn't know the identity of the attacker.
"Eisenhower was very angry and vowed to take revenge, claiming that he would make the enemy pay a heavy price. Now we are also very curious about the identity of this group of people. Their fighting methods have many similarities with us." Patton shook his head repeatedly.
If weapons are not considered evidence, combat effectiveness is really unclear.
The source of the weapons is easy to explain. As the war continues, an unknown number of individual weapons have been consumed in southern Africa. It is normal for some of them to fall into the hands of the enemy.
To put it bluntly, if the southern African army really wanted to take action, it would be more likely to choose American or British-style equipment. Anyway, the blame is placed on others, and it cannot be done so obviously.
There is no way to explain things like combat effectiveness.
As we all know, the combat effectiveness of the British army is a tragedy. Even if the regular British army takes action, it probably will not be so clean and efficient.
"What's so strange about this? If we take action, no American will be able to escape." Alvin looked down on Americans. Even U.S. troops with combat experience could only do that.
"The Americans are severely weakened. It will be at least a month before the next batch of drilling equipment arrives in North Africa. Where are the people from Adan Company?" Patton put this question behind him. The Americans could not rely on them for the time being, but they still had to rely on them.
own people.
"It will arrive in North Africa in about a week." Alvin is still looking forward to Adan Company. He wonders if someone will attack Adan Company's drilling team by then.
The most nervous people now are not the Americans, but the British.
Alexander could not resist everyone's siege, and Winston still had to step forward.
Winston took the initiative to contact Rock, not only for the North African oil fields, but more importantly, to discuss the focus of the Allied attack in the next year.
In the third year of the world war, the situation has become basically clear. The Axis powers are retreating steadily, and the Allies have turned to counterattacks on various battlefields, especially Russia, which has taken the greatest credit.
Such a meeting must not be without Russians.
Big Beard agreed to hold the meeting, but he hoped that the meeting would be held in Russia, at least in the vicinity of Russia.
"What are the Russians worried about? Are they worried about being put under house arrest by us?" Stoudemire revealed the Russians' plan in one sentence. Even if Winston hated the bearded man, he would not risk the world's disapproval at this time.
"Don't think that this kind of thing can't be done in London." Henry knew London. If Britain had a bottom line, the world war would never break out.
From 1930 to the outbreak of the World War, Britain and France had countless opportunities to prevent the situation from deteriorating. They seemed to have lost their minds. Instead of stopping it, they only added fuel to the fire, which eventually led to the outbreak of the World War.
This mistake was made more than once. Britain and France were equally responsible for the outbreak of the last world war.
"What do the Russians say?" Rock actually doesn't want to leave southern Africa, but for unified action next year, it is indeed necessary to hold a meeting.
Yang Smuts, the "Tehran of Persia", cherished his words like gold. On the issue of oil fields in North Africa, Yang Smuts and Stoudemire and Henry had serious differences.
Regarding the issue of dealing with the oil fields in North Africa, Yang Smuts, considering the unity within the Allied forces, suggested that Southern Africa support the British in exploiting North African oil, and that even if there were any issues, they should wait until the end of the war.
Both Stoudemire and Henry had a clear attitude that they would never give the British a chance to control the oil fields in North Africa. Henry even said harshly: If you want us to support the British in owning the oil fields in North Africa, then please first hand over the Suez Canal to the joint jurisdiction of the League of Nations.
The issue of the Strait of Gibraltar is not yet obvious. The UK only has the ability to block the Strait of Gibraltar, but does not have the power.
The Suez Canal is different. This canal is completely controlled by the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom can close the Suez Canal at any time, and all ships will have to bypass Cape Town.
"Reply to Prime Minister Winston, I will arrive in Tehran on time." Roque also wanted to meet Winston. During this period, the relationship between Southern Africa and the United Kingdom was a bit bad, and the two needed to communicate in person to resolve some misunderstandings.
For example, the drilling team sent by the Adan Company to North Africa was not actually competing with the British to seize control of the North African oil fields, but was joining forces to prevent the expansion of American power in North Africa.
