Johnson knew this communications officer named Frank, and the situation he reported back really made Johnson feel nervous.
The 131st Regiment actually stopped moving forward even after receiving reinforcements from two companies of the Guard Battalion, and was even forced to retreat.
This is not a good sign! Once the 131st Regiment retreats, the situation of the 768th Regiment will be even worse. After all, the two regiments have almost always been advancing in parallel.
At this time, Wavell on the other end of the phone also urged anxiously: "Johnson, you can't hesitate any longer, otherwise your attack may be in danger of failure! We must take drastic measures to reinforce the front line immediately. I
Now order the 974th and 775th regiments of the Australian Army to be sent to reinforce you."
Johnson was also unscrupulous. After learning that Wavell had decided to assign the two Australian regiments to himself, he quickly made corresponding arrangements: "Give me the order. When the 974th Regiment arrives, it will immediately follow Staff Frank into the city and attack
Implement reinforcements for the battle in the city center. The 775th Regiment will not move for the time being after arriving, but it must be ready for battle and be ready to join the battle on the front line at any time. In addition, send a report to the Australians to ask where they are now? How long will it take?
Came here?"
"Execute it immediately." Johnson waved his hand and ordered to his subordinates.
"Yes, General Johnson, I will execute it immediately!" After Frank replied, he immediately walked out of the hidden area where the headquarters was located to execute the latest order given to him by Johnson.
In fact, Frank also murmured a little in his heart. He was surprised as to why Johnson only sent one regiment of the 974th Regiment to reinforce, instead of both regiments.
In fact, it is difficult to say how long this small amount of troops can maintain the frontline offensive. Maybe Johnson just wants to stabilize the frontline and not retreat.
After all, it is only right to have a regiment in hand. Now that the entire 24th Division's strength has been depleted, if any unexpected situation occurs, it is always beneficial to have a reserve team in hand.
In fact, Major General Johnson, the commander of the British 24th Division, really had no confidence in conquering the city of Ejele by relying on his own division alone.
The current situation of the 24th Division is very bad, and only after the arrival of the Australian Army can they have enough strength to launch a continued attack on Ejele, an important city on the Algerian border.
Otherwise, if the 24th Division alone launches a forced attack, it is very likely that it will face failure, and may even be driven out of the city again by the French army in the city.
When General Randolph, commander of the British 13th Army, who was fighting on the mid-range front, saw the emergency telegram sent by the 24th Division, he was also very surprised.
There is a reason why the 24th Division has always been placed on the front line of assault. This division has always had a good record in the past. Generally speaking, it is the division with the strongest combat effectiveness among the three divisions in the army.
Moreover, although the division commander, General Johnson, was very young, as far as he knew, since the war with Italy began, this young general had been giving him constant surprises.
But now in front of Ejele, an inconspicuous African city, this young division commander sent an urgent telegram.
What does this mean? It means that he really needs reinforcements.
Randolph knew Johnson very well, and it was impossible for Johnson to ask him for help unless absolutely necessary.
In this telegram, Johnson stated that the fighting situation in Ejele was very serious, and even mentioned the possibility of failure of the attack. General Randolph believed that this was by no means alarmist, and was very likely to become reality.
Randolph frowned as he looked at the telegram. The chief of staff on the side had not yet read the telegram, so he asked: "General, what's wrong?"
Passing the telegram in his hand to the chief of staff, Randolph said worriedly: "This is a telegram from the 24th Division. Take a look. The situation there is very bad."
The chief of staff took a look at the telegram with confusion and felt the same anxiety.
He also knew Johnson, the young division commander, very well. He had known Johnson since shortly after the war began.
It is impossible for Johnson to lie about the military situation. The current situation can only show that Ejeleri's French army is indeed very powerful in combat effectiveness, and the strength of the 24th Division has been reduced to a very dangerous situation.
After thinking for a while, the Chief of Staff said: "It seems that the situation of the 24th Division is very bad. It seems that their tasks are a bit too heavy. With the current status of this division, it is impossible to complete the task. I think they have tried their best.
.”
After a pause, the chief of staff continued: "I suggest that you immediately seek the opinion of Commander Wavell and try to issue a new order to the 24th Division, ordering them to stop attacking the city and just maintain the existing front line."
The chief of staff is the former commander of the 24th Division and Johnson's old superior. He is very affectionate for this division. Now that the division is about to be wiped out, he finds it difficult to accept this situation.
Even if the 24th Division has a well-known young division commander, and even if this division is the main force of the 13th Army, such continuous use, keeping this division at the forefront of the southern end of the front, still makes this division almost become a battle.
He's just showing off, which is what the chief of staff doesn't want to see.
Of course, Randolph is also a responsible person.
The order for the 24th Division to first capture the city of Ejle and then move westward to capture the Algerian oil fields was personally issued by General Wavell. Generally speaking, if you want to change this order, only General Wavell or Prime Minister Churchill can speak personally.
Change.
But the current situation is that the 24th Division is no longer able to complete this task, so he, the commander, wants to stand up and take on this responsibility and change the order himself to avoid General Wavell and the headquarters from holding Johnson responsible.
If the superiors want to be held accountable, then I, as the military commander, should take the responsibility for changing the order.
"Well, your suggestion is correct. Let's go and draft a report message to the headquarters, report the actual situation of the 24th Division, and propose that the 13th Army Headquarters has issued an order to suspend the 24th Division's attack on Ejele City.
.At the same time, a message was drafted to the headquarters of the Australian troops, questioning why they were moving so slowly. This was an act of delaying the fighter plane! They were ordered to march at a rapid pace and arrive at Ejele City within two hours. After arriving, they were
The Australians are responsible for attacking and occupying Ejele City, while the 24th Division is only used as an auxiliary offensive force." General Randolph ordered solemnly.
"Stop! Signal soldiers, immediately hand these two telegrams to the Communications Section and ask them to convey General Randolph's order immediately!" The chief of staff hurriedly drafted the telegram and handed it to Randolph for signature. He immediately asked Dolan to
The driver of the armored car in which the husband was sitting stopped and called a communications soldier riding a motorcycle tricycle to give the order, asking the other party to quickly send the message to the car where the Communications Section radio station was located.