Chapter 774 The First Battle of North Africa (End)
When the front line position was attacked, General Catlu had already received the news.
"The Romanians finally gave up."
Facing this telegram, Katruu finally let go of his worries. Because he was not afraid of Romania's appearance. If it did not appear, he would order a slowdown in the attack. He should have received information about the Romanian army currently arriving in Tripoli.
Between 10,000 and 20,000.
As for the Romanian army, Catroux pays much more attention to it than the Italian army. Because the record is there, the Romanian army has been very strong in the past two decades, fighting the Bulgarians, the Austro-Hungarians, the Germans, and the Soviets.
When fighting against the Poles, there was no one to mess with, and the Romanians were victorious.
The British had also sent intelligence before, saying that in the battles on Crete and Cyprus, the Romanian army's combat effectiveness was amazing and it could not be regarded as inferior to Germany.
With so much intelligence showing that the Romanians were difficult to deal with, how could he ignore it as a commander. In fact, after the Romanians landed in Tripoli, Catlu had already made preparations. But now that Romania has shown up, and it has also adopted an offensive approach,
As a commander, Catlu would naturally not be polite.
It's time to use his methods to show the Romanians that France is not afraid of them. The Germans, who were so tough in the previous war, were dragged to death. France is not afraid of the Romanians who have only dealt with the second-line German army.
I saw Catlu giving an order. "Now order immediately, the defenders of Razanhar are ready for defense. Then order Banluk's 51st Division to send the remaining troops to Razanhar for reinforcements. In addition, the remaining troops of the 21st Division are also
Send it there, and ask Colonel Jacques to send his troops to Razanhar."
Facing the incoming Romanian-Italian coalition forces, Catlu had already chosen an interception point, which was Razanhar. To the north is a cliff on the seaside, and the terrain is not suitable for vehicles. To the south is a swamp, which comes from a road called Madir.
The river flows through here, turning it into a swamp that is very rare in Libya. Therefore, Razanhar in the middle is the key point.
In addition, it is also the granary of Tripoli, and the food it produces ensures the living needs of the residents on the fourth floor of the city.
Prior to this, Lazanhar was also the focus of the Italian army's defense, but it was captured by the French army. Catroux deliberately left a battalion of defensive troops in view of the importance of this place. Now the attack and defense are in different positions, replaced by the Italian and Roman troops.
Attacked.
The backbone of the attack on the Italian-Romanian coalition this time was the temporarily formed armored force led by Colonel Jacques. This force was specially prepared by Catlu. In previous battles, Romania liked to use armored assaults so much, how could it not be possible for him to prevent it?
One hand. And the armor in his hand is quite powerful.
In addition to the armored reconnaissance battalions currently owned by each division (equipped with 32 Hotchkiss H35 light tanks and Renault R-35 light tanks), Catroux also has a unit in his hands, the Tunisian 1st Cavalry Brigade.
The brigade is named Cavalry, but is actually an armored force. Its core is the 1st Armored Cavalry Regiment, which has three squadrons of medium tanks equipped with S-35s, and a squadron equipped with H35 light tanks. Each squadron has four squadrons.
Platoon (5 vehicles), plus 1 headquarters vehicle and 2 reserve vehicles, each squadron is equipped with 23 tanks.
In addition to this regiment called armored cavalry, which is actually a tank, there is also a motorized infantry regiment and a mixed artillery regiment.
In addition to its own armor strength, Catlu also transferred nearly a hundred H35 and R-35 tanks from various divisions to supplement the cavalry brigade. The armor level of the brigade has now reached the level of a locally formed light mechanized division.
, now is the time to use it.
Of course, as an excellent commander, how could he allow the Italian-Romanian army to be so reckless? "In addition, send a message to the 19th Division and 28th Division on the front line and ask them to send troops to retake the gap."
Yes, he planned to encircle and annihilate this bold force in the Razan Har area, not even leaving them an escape route. Moreover, as long as this force was annihilated, the morale of the Tripoli defenders would be greatly reduced.
While Catlu was looking forward to the future, the two Luo-Yi commanders were also planning for the next battle.
The Romanian-Italian coalition forces, which had just broken through the front line, were advancing mightily into the French army. Groups of tanks and cars loaded with soldiers were heading towards their next destination, and the smoke and dust they raised could be seen far away.
Behind them, there was a large group of trucks pulling artillery and various supplies, following their footsteps.
In the command car, Antonescu was explaining to General Messe.
"Lieutenant General Messer, I predict that we will encounter the most difficult moment next. The enemy will definitely stop us at the key point of Razanhar."
"So we need to speed up our pace and capture Razanhar before the enemy supports us."
General Messer was not slow to react, and he also saw the difficulties they might encounter next.
"Yes, so marching speed is very important to us."
"Report, we just received news from a reconnaissance plane that a large number of French troops are gathering in the direction of Lazanhar, including a large number of armored troops."
A communications staff officer took the newly translated message and reported it to the two generals who were talking.
"bring here."
Antonescu reached out to take the telegram and began to read it, his brows deepening as the telegram read.
"Take a look."
After reading the telegram, he handed it to General Messer.
Messer received the telegram and saw that the reconnaissance plane had discovered three groups of enemies heading towards Razan Har. One of them was a French force that was only eight kilometers away from Razan Har. Moreover, these enemies were fully equipped and one of them was
There was an enemy force that looked like a division-level armored force.
"We should move faster."
After reading the telegram, Messer expressed his opinion worriedly.
"Immediately ask the armored regiment and motorized infantry regiment to speed up and let them seize Razanhar first. In addition, send a message to the air force and ask them to carry out air strikes to delay the enemy's reinforcements. Especially the enemy armored forces, they cannot be allowed to seize it.
Arrive at Razanhar before us."
Antonescu also knew where the key point was, and must take Razanhar first, otherwise the big thing would be aborted.
"Let my troops keep up. At least we can increase our offensive strength."
Messer also knew that now was a critical time and also put forward his own opinions.
As the two men agreed, the mighty troops immediately split into two parts, with armored regiments and motorized troops speeding up their pace. They wanted to capture the key point of Razanhar before enemy reinforcements arrived.
…
"Woo~woo~woo!"
"Air strike, lie down!"
The shrill whistle caused a French army unit that was marching to stop immediately. They were troops of the 51st Division, and they were ordered to immediately reinforce Razan Har. However, everything went wrong with their reinforcement this time.
, not long after setting off, we were attacked by an enemy air force group.
The incoming fighter planes recklessly killed their comrades above them, making the officers and soldiers of the 51st Division extremely angry.
"Ta, tower, tower..."
Fighter planes strafed through the air, leaving many French soldiers lying in a pool of blood.
"Hurry up and organize anti-aircraft firepower, hurry up."
Without the commander shouting, the French officers and soldiers immediately used the 25mm anti-aircraft guns they carried with them to fight against these air attack aircraft. However, there were too many incoming fighters, and this time they only carried two companies of 12-gun anti-aircraft guns.
One of the anti-aircraft guns was specially strengthened for them. This small amount of anti-aircraft firepower could not scare incoming aircraft.
"boom!"
A 105mm howitzer was hit by an enemy aerial bomb, and the gun carriage was destroyed.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Bombing from the enemy caused them to lose more heavy equipment.
"Damn it, our air force is there!"
The air force that the commander shouted about has been suppressed outside the battlefield by the joint air forces of Romania and Italy. The MS.406 fighter jets currently equipped by the French Air Force are no match for the Italian and Romanian fighters, and they are preparing for this air strike.
Nearly two hundred battles were fought, and it was not a target it could solve.
If the 51st Division encountered air strikes and found it difficult, then the armored troops led by Colonel Jacques found it difficult to move forward. The air strikes they encountered were even greater, and these air strike fighters not only attacked the troops, but also destroyed the roads, which made Colonel Jacques
Feel helpless.
Originally, they were supposed to arrive at Razanhar in two hours, but now they are considered lucky to be able to arrive in four hours.
Razanhar, whom he had never forgotten, now had another scene.
The Romanian and Italian armies, which completely ignored the follow-up troops, were attacking Razanhar.
"Fire quickly."
Facing the incoming enemy, the defenders could only rely on fortifications to resist them and try to hold them back.
But their idea was a bit unrealistic. An R20 tank rolled over a piece of ruins and appeared in front of the defenders' position. There was a sudden explosion of gunfire, as if to stop the tank from coming. But these were all
It was useless, neither the defenders' machine guns nor anti-tank guns could stop their progress.
Speaking of the 25mm anti-tank gun equipped by the French army to the battalion level, this anti-tank was developed in the 1920s. The main target was the wide variety of light tanks at that time. However, this anti-tank gun has already lagged behind, let alone
It is said that it can be used to deal with the most advanced R20 medium tank in the world.
The "ping ping ping pong" sound is the sound of the gun firing at the tank, but its power is not enough to penetrate the R20's armor.
"boom!"
An anti-tank gun was blasted into the sky.
"Bah, bah, bah!"
Vehicle-mounted machine guns also suppressed the defenders' firepower.
Taking advantage of the tanks, the accompanying soldiers rushed onto the battlefield in one fell swoop.
This is the case everywhere in Razanhar. Infantry-tank coordination is the most basic tactic, and it was played very well by the soldiers of the Italian and Roman armies.
What's even more important is that the defenders only have one battalion, while the attacking Roman and Italian armies number nearly 10,000 people. Coupled with the advantages of armored artillery, how can they defend?
After less than an hour of resistance, they abandoned their armor and escaped from what had become a hell for them.
This news also shocked Catlu, because he did not expect that Razanhar would be lost like this. This would cut off the three frontline divisions from the rear. Could this be the purpose of the Italian-Romanian coalition attacking?
Thinking of this, Catlu couldn't sit still. He immediately sent a message to the frontline troops, asking them to hold on immediately. He also sent a message to the reinforcements to inform them of the result, believing that they knew the consequences.
In Razanhar, a battle is about to begin that will decide whether to attack or defend.
