The sun in the sky hid behind the horizon again, and night enveloped the earth again. The day's battle also came to an end, and each army sent their situation to the headquarters in Beirut.
The staff officers promptly updated the positions of each unit on the sand table based on the reported situation. While Hoffman and Modelk stood aside, watching the busy officers constantly adjusting the positions of the units.
"It seems that the progress of various departments today is pretty good."
As his partner, Chief of Staff Modelk opened his mouth to comment on today's battle.
However, Modelk's words did not attract the approval of Hoffman. The commander wrinkled his forehead and said, "I don't feel that it is very good. The results reported are a bit lacking."
"It's quite a lot. According to current statistics, the number of prisoners killed and injured by various units has reached more than 7,600, which is already very good."
Facing Modelk's words, Hoffman shook his head and said. "No, it's a little different from what I expected. In my opinion, the number needs to be at least 9,000 or more on the first day of the battle, but currently there are only more than 7,000. This is
problem lies in."
Hoffman's words made Modelk's face become serious. "What do you mean?"
"I don't dare to make a decision now. I'll let the plane conduct a careful reconnaissance tomorrow morning to find out what the problem is."
While Hoffmann and Modelk felt something was wrong, Admiral Wavell, who was far away in the Sinai Peninsula, was also summarizing today's results.
"It looks very good at the moment, and all lines have met our expectations."
Looking at the sand table in front of him, Wavell was quite satisfied with today's battle. Although the losses were larger, the losses were basically troops from the colonies. The troops he had from the mainland and Australia and New Zealand were still intact, which made him
I still have confidence in the next battle.
However, although Wavell was confident, Arthur Smith, his chief of staff, was a little worried. "The enemy's armored forces in the coastal areas are advancing too fast. If they achieve their goals, it will be very detrimental to us."
Faced with the worries of his chief of staff, Wavell comforted him. "Don't worry, Smith. I don't think they are going fast. If it weren't for them to be aware of my intentions, I would even want to open the coastal road to let them go faster."
.I have prepared surprises waiting for them, I hope they like it."
Regarding Wavell's words, Smith, as the chief of staff, thought for a while before giving up and continuing. In fact, he originally had some doubts about this plan, but Lord Wavell was very insistent, and in the end, of course, the commander's opinion dominated.
What makes the two people disagree is the issue of defense in the coastal plain area. In fact, both of them believe that the coastal plain will become the focus of the enemy's breakthrough. However, in terms of response, Smith believes that defense should be layered and the troops should be used to continuously consume the enemy's attack.
pace until the opponent comes to a complete stop.
Wavell does not see it this way. He believes that Smith's method will not work at all on the coastal plain area. Not only will it be consumed by the enemy, but it will also fail to achieve the desired purpose. Because the Palestinian coastal plain is too narrow, with a width of 10-10
Between 15 kilometers, this distance is simply not worth mentioning for the navy. Even the main guns of light cruisers can reach it.
Therefore, for the British army, which is currently losing sea power in the Mediterranean, the coastal area is a difficult area to defend. If there are fewer people, it will not be enough to defeat the opponent's offensive forces, but if there are more people, the enemy's navy can teach itself how to behave.
Although the Romanian Navy currently does not have many main warships left in the Eastern Mediterranean, the 380 and 203 naval guns are enough to scare even fools, so the coastal plains have become a difficult point for defense.
However, unlike Smith, Wavell, as the commander, believed that since the coastal area was difficult to defend, it was not necessary to defend it. Except for the garrison troops in a few coastal cities to strive to become a nail-like existence, other positions should be left to the Romanians. As long as the enemy
If you dare to attack him, let him go and lengthen his supply line.
Wait until the enemy's supply line is stretched, and then use the fist troops prepared by yourself to give a severe blow. The best result is of course to wipe out the enemy who has gone deep alone. Even if it is not wiped out, it will still cause heavy damage. And the fist prepared by Wavell is the first
A mobile corps dominated by the Seventh Armored Division.
Yes, this is the Desert Rats in the original history. And what is different from the original history is that the division currently has two armored brigades (the 4th and 7th Armored Brigades), equipped with 226 tanks of various types, mainly
There are three tanks: Crusader, Valentine, and Matidal.
In fact, these three tanks are at a disadvantage when facing the Romanian R series. Wavell is also very aware of this, so he also prepared a sharp weapon to enhance his anti-armor capabilities, which is the latest 6 tanks of the British army.
pound anti-tank gun.
This anti-tank was developed after the Munich Agreement in 1938. Considering the performance of the tanks of the two countries in the Spanish Civil War, the British Army believed that its own 2-pound anti-tank guns were likely to fall behind in the future, so it ordered
Development began at the Royal Arsenal.
The reason for choosing 6-pounder shells (57mm caliber) is not the calculation of penetration, but logistical considerations. The British Royal Navy began to use 6-pounder guns as shipboard secondary weapons at the end of the 19th century, so there are a large number of domestic factories that can support production.
This medium caliber weapon ammunition.
The research and development of this anti-tank gun was announced in December 1939. The first batch of 96 6-pound anti-tank guns currently produced, except for 48 left for the formation of the expeditionary force, the other 48 have been allocated to
Used by British troops in the Middle East.
The performance of this 57 mm caliber anti-tank gun is very good. When using armor-piercing projectiles, it can penetrate 84 mm armor steel plates at a 30-degree angle at a distance of 500 meters, and it can penetrate a 70 mm armor plate at the same angle at a distance of 1,000 meters.
Steel plate. Of course, this is laboratory data, and it will be lower on the battlefield.
But this can also cause damage to the R20 tank, the most threatening tank in the Romanian army, at a distance of 500 meters. (The Romanian R30 currently rarely participates in combat, so the British army does not know its data very well.)
These 48 6-pound anti-tank guns had already been assigned to the Mobile Corps by Wavell, allowing them to exert sufficient capabilities in this battle.
In order to complete this task, it is necessary to block enemies from other directions. Otherwise, it will not be called luring the enemy deep, but being divided and surrounded.
Therefore, in the Jordan Valley, another place that was easily broken through, Wavell deployed five divisions. They would rely on layers of defense to slow down the enemy's offensive until they were exhausted to a standstill.
Therefore, the officers and soldiers of the 3rd Armored Division and the 6th Armored Division led by Sals still had positions waiting for them to break through.
