In North Africa, Admiral Wavell, who had just received the news of the capital relocation notice from Gott, looked at the telegram with some disbelief and chewed it over and over again.
In the telegram, Gott had made the situation very clear. The situation in London could not be worse, and Prime Minister Churchill was even madder and ranting and cursing.
In London, no one can preside over the overall situation and turn the tide. Lord Gott said frankly that what he can do now is to withdraw as many troops as possible to the island of Ireland to lay a good foundation for future landing defense battles.
In addition, Gott also informed Wavell in the telegram that the mainland side had no chance to make a comeback. All the mainland army could do was to delay as much as possible and do its best to protect the island of Ireland.
The island of Great Britain, the largest of the three British islands, is destined to be completely lost. Although the German army has only captured a small part of the island of Great Britain, because the last main force of the British army is concentrated in the London area, London cannot be saved, and there is no one behind it.
Troops can be used for defense.
Even though England has not yet completely fallen, and Scotland is unscathed, the sad thing is that the British army no longer has the strength to defend the lands that have not yet been lost.
This is a typical example of losing people in order to survive, and as a result, both people and land are lost.
"Commander, it seems that Lord Gott on the mainland can't hold on anymore." Wavell's adjutant, who had read the telegram, whispered at this time: "The future of the British Empire depends on us."
"Count on us..." Wavell repeated softly.
After a moment, Wavell said with a helpless smile: "The mainland is counting on us, but who can we count on? Our army's military strength was already at a disadvantage, and now it is no longer possible for the mainland to provide any assistance to North Africa. If the war goes well, it will be okay.
But now..."
"When the right armored force attacked the outer positions of the Alphaya Pass, it encountered a powerful German anti-tank gun and suffered heavy losses. Of the 39 tanks in the first wave of attacks, 35 were killed by the Germans.
Damn powerful anti-tank gun destroyed.”
"There is a Matilda tank regiment in the middle. As the spearhead, we originally planned to quickly capture Fort Capuco." Wavell gritted his teeth and confided to the adjutant with difficulty: "We did not encounter a strong force like the German army in the middle.
Anti-tank guns, what we encounter are basically the most common 37mm anti-tank guns in the German army."
"But our armored troops in the middle cannot defeat the German armored troops deployed in the middle!" Wavell said, covering his head as he was about to collapse.
"On the left, our 7th Tank Brigade equipped with cruise tanks originally planned to outflank the German flank, but was ambushed by the German flank on Hafed Ridge and retreated to its original position."
His adjutant also knew what Wavell said.
Wavell's original plan was to achieve a breakthrough and achieve the strategic goal even if one of the three attacks was successful.
As a result, it now appears that none of the three-pronged offensive was successful. On the contrary, several offensives were ambushed and counterattacked by the German army in advance.
Especially the new anti-tank guns that appeared inexplicably by the German army are even more powerful. Wavell was surprised to find that none of the tanks in his hands could withstand even one shot of the powerful anti-tank guns of the German army.
Damn it!
In fact, the British army concentrated one section each of the 4th Indian Division and the 22nd Guards Brigade in the Alfaya Valley, and the divisions launched an attack on the pass from both sides. As a result, German artillery of unknown origin happened to be fierce at the pass.
Launched, they suffered heavy losses.
In the first real large-scale tank duel between Britain and Germany in Kapuco, the British army tried their best and only slightly suppressed the German tanks that were outnumbered by their own.
In the report, the frontline troops have reported that the number of German tanks is significantly less than their own. This means that there must still be a large number of German tanks that are similar to the number of British tanks in the armored forces but have not appeared.
The most terrifying enemy is the enemy who does not appear, which makes Wavell feel guilty and timid.
"Commander, should we withdraw the troops now?" the adjutant suggested, somewhat at a loss.
At this time, the adjutant thought of General Montgomery who was staying in Egypt. Before the war started, Montgomery warned that this time the offensive forces would be too scattered and the offensive would be ineffective.
As a result, now, everything is as predicted by Montgomery. The three-pronged offensive is very difficult. Rommel's African Army and the German army alone are fighting so hard for the British Commonwealth Army.
Coupled with the Italian troops under Rommel, as well as the French and Italian troops in the hands of Berante and Garibaldi, Wavell's British troops in North Africa suddenly seemed "under great pressure".
"Order the center to strengthen the offensive, concentrate the armored forces to capture Fort Caputso, then occupy Musse nearby, and detour the German defenders of Halfaya to retreat!"
Wavell finally had no choice but to order his strongest line of troops, the center army with the most abundant armor, to strengthen the attack.
"After occupying Halfaya, we must ask the German prisoners what kind of anti-tank guns they used to hit our tanks." Wavell added with lingering fear, thinking of his own huge tank losses.
...
"The British army is going to attack Kaputso Fort, then we will give Kaputso to them."
At the same moment, in the headquarters of the German-Italian Africa Army, Rommel confidently joked to his subordinates.
His last attack failed due to a serious lack of troops, which made him lose face.
But this time, Rommel, who commanded the complete German-Italian Africa Army, found that before he even exerted any force, the British Army Wavell's side was almost unable to hold up and fell.
In Rommel's hands, there was also a German armored regiment, an Italian light armored division, and two Italian infantry divisions that were not engaged in the battle. It was just the 30th Infantry Division deployed by General Hans on the wings and the two troops sent by Rommel to the center.
An armored regiment was able to defeat the British troops without even making an advance.
Since the British army started the battle so softly, it will be much easier to handle next.
Rommel smiled slyly, and immediately ordered: "Leave Hans in the German defensive positions near Caputso Fort and Musse, transfer it to the two Italian divisions, deliberately lose to Wavell, and force his troops to
Put it into the Halfaya Valley. In addition, let the reserve German 2nd Armored Regiment and the Italian 15th Light Armored Division pass through Sidioma and attack the flank of the British army in the center."
After giving the counterattack order, Rommel easily picked up a kettle on the table and drank the water in a relaxed manner.
In Africa, water is also a scarce resource. As the strength of the three-nation coalition continues to grow, the pressure on the supply of drinking water is increasing.
Now, even Rommel, the commander-in-chief of the German-Italian Africa Army, drinks a limited amount of water every day. Every time, Rommel only opens the kettle to drink water and relax after finishing a meeting.
Rommel drank water immediately after issuing the counterattack order, which actually meant that he believed that the combat meeting was over and there was nothing more to say.
