Chapter four hundred and ninety-six the game between England and France
"Enemy attack!"
"Spread out, spread out quickly!"
"Don't step back, push on, push on me!"
"Sir, I can't stand it anymore!"
"God! We're screwed!"
.......
Violent fire, accompanied by the concussion of the explosion, spread one after another on the French army's Algerian border position.
The soft sand was scattered in all directions by the explosion, and soon after losing the power, it fell to the ground like raindrops. In the billowing smoke, except for the turbid dust and dark scorched earth, what people could see was nothing.
All that was heard were the broken limbs and arms, wailing and screaming.
The British howitzers brazenly crisscrossed the French positions, and their giant Matilde tanks were like piranhas that had smelled blood, appearing in groups in front of the French positions.
The opponents of these tanks were only a group of Algerian colonial levies operating a small number of 37mm anti-tank guns.
This is a heartbreaking picture.
These black soldiers recruited by Berante were very brave and opened fire again and again without fear at the British heavy tanks. However, they were quickly overwhelmed by the torrent of British armor. Everything in sight was
Every place is filled with British tanks.
Further away, many small tanks captured from the Italians gradually jumped out of the horizon. This is the second wave of British offensive to supplement the strength!
On the border between Algeria and Libya, Berante deployed a full 30,000 black soldiers. This number can be said to be too many, but it is definitely not too small.
However, if this long defense line is divided equally, 30,000 troops will not be enough. Even in the special environment of Africa where only important cities need to be defended, 30,000 troops are only a barely qualified standard defense number.
But their opponent was the British army, which was extremely well-equipped with weapons and equipment, and the equipment they received was just some outdated equipment eliminated by the French army.
As for the anti-tank guns, it's not that they don't have larger calibers, but the ones assigned to them are only 37 mm caliber artillery. As Berante's second-rate troops, they were destined not to get the best equipment from the beginning.
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On the British side, an Indian infantry regiment and an Australian infantry regiment, as the vanguard, were advancing hand in hand, advancing rapidly under the cover of tanks.
The officers kept urging the soldiers to speed up. The deserted land of Nokuan was filled with the dense and heavy footsteps of soldiers, coupled with the roar of tank engines and the occasional explosions, it was extremely depressing.
When the vanguard of the British army broke through the defense lines of black soldiers and formally invaded Algeria, everyone believed that this would soon be another British victory in Africa.
The British army chose to attack the northern region of Algeria.
The reason for attacking here is very simple, that is, the central and southern parts of Algeria are all endless deserts. Further south, there is the endless Sahara Desert. In Algeria, the only area that is truly worthy of strategy is its northern region.
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Although the northern part of Algeria is just a combination of mountains and mountains, the environment here is much better than the lifeless desert. The administrative center and capital of Algeria are also at its northernmost point, relying on the
Algiers is a seaport city at the northern foot of the Atlas Mountains in the north.
After opening up the French army's northern defense line, it can penetrate deep into the Atlas Mountains, eliminate the French army's command center in North Africa in one fell swoop, and capture the famous French general Bélante alive. Taking ten thousand steps back, it can also open up a route to the large oil fields in Algeria to the south.
, it is easy to choose a route to occupy these oil fields.
After occupying the French oil fields, they should surrender again in this battle!
Admiral Wavell, who was in the British frontline headquarters, was already smiling proudly at the scenery in the telescope.
In fact, destroying the Algerian oil fields was just a last resort and a last resort. Churchill's order to him was to occupy, or destroy, the Algerian oil fields. In other words, occupation took priority over destruction.
The main reason why Churchill was able to continue to launch this unjust war was because he was motivated by profit. The capitalists in the UK have long coveted the Algerian oil fields in the hands of the French, and have always longed to be like their predecessors in the Americas.
In Asia and in the African colonies, they used plunder to seize the benefits of oil fields.
In fact, this is no longer just a matter of the British. Wavell knew very well that the supplies in his hands were not scarce, but were actually more abundant than before the war with Italy, and the American presence was indispensable in this.
In the Algerian oil fields, this pie is too big. The French should not enjoy it alone. Of course, it cannot be shared only with the Germans!
In order to distribute the interests of the oil fields, not only the British, but also the Americans began to send equipment to Africa to Wavell. This is why Wavell strives to fight this war.
A democratic country still has to give an explanation to the people and the capitalists.
The Algerian oil fields represent the hope of revitalization for the French, and are a source of motivation for revitalization for the United Kingdom and the United States.
In addition, the British Empire's methods are much higher than what the French could imagine.
"It seems that the famous general Berante, who was so praised by the French, was nothing more than this. He only used black soldiers to defend such an important border defense line." Wavell held up his high-power telescope with one hand and laughed loudly.
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In his opinion, he only allowed the 7th Armored Division to detach half of the tanks of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment, and successfully cooperated with the Commonwealth troops of Australia and India to open up the situation.
To be able to rely on the strong to bully the weak and find a suitable breakthrough point with such precision, the methods used by Wavell are actually not very authentic.
That's right, he bribed the traitors within the French army, learned about the weaknesses of the French army's defense in Algeria, and learned about Berante's destiny, which was in the north!
It is not difficult to find a few traitors within France, not to mention that today, when the morale of the French army is low. If you promise a lot of money and arrange a good escape route for them, there will always be a few who are fragile in heart.
However, Wavell still underestimated Berante too much. He did not expect that the other party had set up the northern defense line so weakly. The purpose was not to allow the British army to penetrate all the way, but to take advantage of the opportunity to attack the British vanguard who had penetrated the defense line.
Eat it!
This is a method Berlant learned from Manstein during the Polish campaign, using the defense line as bait to single out the opponent's offensive troops.
These soldiers from India and Australia saw that the breach they had just flowed through was suddenly blocked by white soldiers emerging from the French army's main line.
And when they turned around, they found that in the direction of their charge, dozens of huge, flat tanks filled with vertical spring coils and leaf springs had also appeared unknowingly. This was a tank no less powerful than the British.
French tanks supporting the Matilde tanks sent to attack!
66 French-made B1 heavy tanks!
Obviously, the first battle between Britain and France in Africa was destined not to be that simple and ordinary.