Stephen heard it right, that word was indeed "reinforcements", the reinforcements have arrived!
To be honest, although Stephen heard the word "reinforcements", in his heart he did not believe that the Italians would really have the courage to come to the rescue.
If the Italians could really defeat the peripheral British troops surrounding Highland No. 3, they would not be chased and beaten by the British troops all the way, and would eventually have to ask the French army in Algeria to take them in.
In fact, the effectiveness of the Italian army's counterattack has never been very good.
An Italian major general who was almost shot by Berante asked for meritorious service and was spared from being shot because his wife's cousin's wife was Mussolini's mistress.
As a result, two days later, the Italian major general who was supposed to appear around Highland No. 3 and lead troops to rescue the siege actually appeared on the British position.
Of course, he did not occupy the British position. He directly led the Italian troops to the British and surrendered.
But Stephen still waited for reinforcements, from Germany.
There are not many reinforcements, only two battalions in total.
However, this support force was very heavy. They were personally led by the German General Rommel, the commander of the German-Italian Africa Army!
The reason why Rommel, the army commander, only brought two battalions to support was actually very simple, because not all of Rommel's Africa Army was delivered to him.
It is said that the 15th Armored Division arrived early, but in the final analysis, there is only one armored reconnaissance battalion, one infantry battalion, and one combat defense artillery battalion that are ready for battle. The other troops are still on their way here.
Even equipment is still piled up in Italian ports. Many armored troops have arrived at northern Algerian ports, but their tanks are still in Italian ports, waiting to be loaded onto ships.
As for the 30th Infantry Division, which is scheduled to arrive later, I heard that it is on the way. Its vanguard, Lieutenant General Hans, who has followed them, has just arrived in the Algerian capital, but it will not be a while until they are assembled and formed into combat effectiveness.
It can be done.
Therefore, what Rommel, the army commander, could really use was a reconnaissance battalion, an infantry battalion, a combat defense artillery battalion, and a logistics column.
It is impossible for the logistics column to be sent to the front line unless it is absolutely necessary. And the mobility of the combat defense artillery battalion is not enough to allow them to rush to the front line in time.
Regarding the two battalions brought by Rommel, in addition to the reconnaissance battalion, which relied on its own armored transport vehicles and Panther tanks to drive to the battlefield, the other infantry battalion was a seconded Italian transport vehicle and rushed to the front line with the reconnaissance battalion.
As a result, although Rommel's men were small, their combat effectiveness was first-rate.
In just one round of strong attacks, Rommel penetrated the outer British front line that the Italians had not been able to shake for several days, destroyed 4 British tanks and an armored vehicle, killed and wounded more than 100 British soldiers, and then launched an attack.
After passing through the British blockade, we arrived at the left flank of Highland No. 3.
"No matter which commander he is, when he is attacking a position, he will suddenly find that troops with powerful armor suddenly appear behind him. He will probably be panicked, right?"
Sitting in his armored command vehicle, Rommel had a conceited smile on his lips.
With the cutting-edge force of a reconnaissance battalion as the spearhead, and the subsequent advancement of an infantry battalion, it was actually very easy to win over the back of the British army whose energy was distracted by offensive tasks.
"Order the troops to launch the attack as planned." Rommel waved his hand lightly and ordered.
16 modified Panther tanks were arranged in a triangular formation, and 18 similarly modified wheeled armored vehicles were evenly distributed on both wings of the Panther tanks. Towards the rear of this triangular formation, two companies of German infantry
, properly maintaining the pace of coordinated attacks between tanks and infantry.
These 16 Panther tanks did not belong to the armored reconnaissance battalion. They were tanks temporarily transferred by Rommel from an armored regiment that had not yet been fully established.
If we only relied on the armored reconnaissance battalion's communication tanks, command tanks, and those wheeled armored vehicles, the combat effectiveness of the armored forces in Rommel's hands would not be very high.
Because of this, he did not care about the integrity of another armored regiment and forcibly brought all 16 Panther tanks that had just arrived from that regiment with him.
It was this battle group improvised by Rommel that was inserted into a British infantry position in a cone shape, but it showed considerable attack power.
This was a battle that the British army had never experienced when fighting the Italians and the black soldiers recruited by the French army.
The German infantry has semi-automatic rifles such as the G43, which are very reliable and accurate, medium tanks such as the Panther tank that are as heavy as the French B1 heavy tank, and more powerful than those Italian soldiers and those French soldiers.
Black conscripts have better combat quality and level.
The British army originally considered it an easy task to attack the No. 3 position guarded by the French colonial troops. Although it was not captured for a while, it was only a matter of time.
After all, those black soldiers temporarily recruited by the French army were very naive in terms of marksmanship and tactical execution.
Fighting against such an opponent is not too difficult.
If it weren't for Stephen, the French military officer, who had some knowledge of trench warfare and built good fortifications, it would have been impossible to last until now simply relying on the combat capabilities of a division of black soldiers recruited by the French army.
Of course, if we say that Stephen, these fortress troops who were originally part of the Maginot Line, were French officers brought to Africa by Berante and had a thorough study of the fortifications of trench warfare.
Then, the aspect that Rommel, a commander from Germany, studied most thoroughly was the use of elite force to launch attacks.
Fortunately, Rommel's German soldiers were more skillful in executing Rommel's tactical instructions than Stephen's Algerian soldiers.
"If the force is doubled, I can overturn the British positions one by one." Rommel, who had already led the troops and defeated the British left wing of position 3, calmly stepped off his armored command vehicle and faced the French in front of him.
Walking to the military frontline command post.
Behind him were the German infantry who had just ended the battle and still carried a strong murderous aura. They were strong and sturdy, standing neatly and solemnly in two rows, spread out in two relatively straight lines.
Dozens of tall and mighty German tanks and armored vehicles also turned off and parked outside Stephen's tent used as a frontline headquarters, causing his black soldiers to curiously poke their heads around to see these steel behemoths brought by German friendly forces.
, pointing.
"Are these our friendly troops?" A guard outside the tent asked softly to his companions.
He really didn't expect that their friendly forces would be such a tough and powerful team. They would have so many steel chariots that looked very powerful just by looking at them.
The wide tracks of the Panther tank, the 5 mm thick skirts on both sides of the tank, the slender and powerful gun barrel, and the sloping and thick armor are all more impressive than the British tanks that black soldiers have seen these days.
Shocking.
"Yes! They are all our friendly forces!" His partner, another guard, nodded happily and said excitedly.