When the commander of the Australian 26th Division received this stern telegram from the military headquarters, he was almost reaching the border between Algeria and Libya.
From this telegram, it can be seen that the situation of the 24th Division in front is very bad, and the attack on Ejele City may fail. This also brings an opportunity to the Australian division commander, a rare opportunity to make a contribution.
Johnson, the commander of the 24th Division, has a good reputation for outstanding ability in the entire 8th Army and even the entire British Army in North Africa. General Wavell and other generals have always habitually reserved the opportunity for meritorious service and awards to the 24th Division. This
It also made the commander of the 25th Indian Division and himself feel a little bit embarrassed. Just before setting off the day before yesterday, he met Commander Bryan of the 25th Division and had a few chats. The other commander said half-jokingly and half-seriously that there was only the 24th British Division.
He is the darling of the British army, and the remaining two Commonwealth divisions are just soy sauce.
Brian was dissatisfied, and the commander of the Australian 26th Division knew about it. The cause was in the previous battle to capture Benghazi. Brian originally thought that he would win the battle to capture Benghazi, but he did not expect that he would be defeated by the 24th Division in the end.
Johnson, who was about to take the credit from his hands.
The situation is different now. According to the latest order from the military headquarters, the Australian 26th Division will immediately take over the right to attack the city after arriving at Ejele City, while the 24th Division will only serve as an auxiliary offensive task at best.
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It seems that the 24th Division's attack on the city is about to fail, and he will lead the Australian troops as the main attack!
This was an order from the military, and it was also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Thinking of this, the commander of the 26th Division felt that he was full of passion. He immediately asked a combat staff officer to convey orders to the two regiments he brought with him. The entire division immediately began to march quickly, and they would see Egypt in an hour.
Jelay City.
Of course, the 26th Division originally had three regiments, but one regiment was eaten by the French army along with an Indian regiment when it was transferred to participate in the northern battle. So now the 26th Division only has two regiments left.
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The chief of staff of the 26th Division who was standing by felt a little strange about this order from the division commander.
He discovered that the division commander had become inexplicably agitated after receiving a telegram from the army headquarters, and he even directly issued an order for the entire division to march urgently.
Out of his own responsibilities, the division chief of staff carefully reminded: "General, asking the entire division to march quickly will make the troops very tired, and it will also cause some logistics units to fall behind. Are there any latest instructions that would make you decide to do this?
Woolen cloth?"
"Look at this order from the headquarters. The military department requires us to arrive at Ejele City in two hours and then take over the main offensive task from the 24th Division. It seems that the 24th Division's attack is very likely
It failed. In order to realize the campaign intention set by General Wavell, we cannot delay and must speed up our advance. One more minute of delay will mean one less chance for us." The division commander handed the telegram in his hand to the chief of staff to read.
road.
After receiving the telegram and reading it, the division chief of staff had to agree that the division commander's opinion was correct.
This was an order from the military, and there was no way he could continue to question it.
However, he still secretly complained about the division commander's righteous words. The division commander obviously ordered the emergency march when he saw an opportunity to make meritorious deeds. Otherwise, why would the troops have been marching at a normal speed since setting off from Benghazi until now, instead of before?
Rush march?
Of course, it is impossible for the division chief of staff to say what is on his mind. After all, it is enough to know this kind of thing in his heart.
Besides, now the Australian 26th Division has an opportunity to make meritorious deeds, which is also beneficial to the Chief of Staff himself. If his unit finally captures Ejele, then as the Chief of Staff of the 26th Division, he cannot escape the credit.
Thinking of this, he also echoed the division commander: "It seems like this. We must resolutely implement the orders of our superiors. In order to win the victory, our division should rush to Ejele City as quickly as possible."
Almost an hour later, the 974th advance regiment of the 26th Division arrived at the border between Algeria and Libya.
Previously, when the 24th Division led by Johnson passed the border, they deployed an armored vehicle and a platoon on both sides of the checkpoint to guard the checkpoint. After all, this checkpoint was a key point on the rear communication line of the 24th Division. In order to ensure that his troops
He must ensure the safety of this level without being destroyed by other French skirmishers.
Therefore, when the leading group of the 26th Division arrived here, after simple negotiations, the troops of the 26th Division began to pass through this border checkpoint.
The guarding troops at the checkpoint immediately reported the situation to the 24th Division headquarters.
The first person to receive the report was Noel, the chief of staff of the 24th Division. After receiving the report telegram from the checkpoint guarding force from the staff of the Communications Section, he immediately ran into the command room where Johnson was located.
As soon as he entered the door, he loudly and happily said: "Division commander, good news! The 974th Regiment, the leading regiment of the 26th Division, has begun to pass the checkpoint on the border. The other 775th Regiment is expected to arrive in half an hour."
But when he finished his report, he found that Johnson had a sad expression on his face, as if he had not heard his report.
Next to Johnson was Captain Butler, the division guard battalion commander covered in dust.
When Noelle walked up to Johnson, he asked Johnson: "What's wrong? Commander, what happened?"
Before Johnson could answer, Butler, who also had a sad expression on the side, said: "I just came down from the front line and brought bad news to the division commander. Captain Jess, the deputy battalion commander of the third battalion of the 131st Regiment, died.
.He is the division commander's cousin. I have known him before. He once performed a meritorious service and saved the general of the army, but he died here unexpectedly. I witnessed the whole process of his sacrifice, while leading a combat team to attack.
, he was beaten into a sieve by the enemy's machine gun..."
Johnson said nothing. He took off his military cap, feeling very sad in his heart.
Jess is his cousin who grew up with him, and they both joined the army together.
Although his position and military rank have been continuously promoted, he has also been thinking of ways to improve the positions and military ranks of his only few relatives and friends. However, Jace's command ability is still not good enough, so Johnson can only promote Jace.
was promoted to the position of deputy battalion commander.
What people didn't expect was that this young and optimistic young man died in the battle of Ejele City, which made Johnson very sad.
Hearing the bad news brought by Butler, he thought again of his younger brother who used to find ways to come to his place to look for cigarettes whenever he had the chance.
In fact, Johnson has a very close relationship with Butler, Jesse, and Noah, the leader of the 974th Regiment. This close relationship is known to everyone in the division.
The division chief of staff also heard about the friendship between them, so after hearing what Butler said, he quickly said to Johnson: "I didn't expect that Jesse would die like this. It's a pity that if he could survive until we win,
How wonderful that day would be... We have many outstanding soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the British Empire and our empire on which the sun never sets in this war. They are heroes worthy of our eternal memory! But
People who die cannot be resurrected, General Johnson, please have your condolences."
