Chapter 14 Chapter Thirteen The Fierce Battle in North Africa

Italy has always regarded Africa and Asia Minor along the Mediterranean Sea as its living space. When France on the European continent had been defeated and Britain was battered, Mussolini felt that he would challenge the British Empire in Africa and expand Italy’s North African colonies. The opportunity came, and he wanted to restore the glory of the Roman Empire.For Britain, the loss of the North African colonies means that the lifeline of the Mediterranean Sea will not be guaranteed, the oil production areas and other economic interests in the Near East will be lost, and the rule of the Far East colonies will also be endangered.

The Italian army launched two armies in Africa: the Northeast African Army with about 300,000 people, and the North African Army with about 230,000 people. In early July 1940, the Italian army attacked from Ethiopia to the interior of British Sudan and Kenya, and soon expanded to Somalia. After two weeks of fighting, the Italian army defeated the colony composed of Africans and Indians who were inferior in strength and equipment. force. On August 18, the British colonial troops retreated across the strait to Aden. After the Italian army achieved results in East Africa, it decided to take an offensive in North Africa, occupying the main British naval base in the Mediterranean, Alexandria and the Suez Canal.The Italian troops stationed in Libya are the 5th Army and the 10th Army. The former faces Tunisia and the latter faces Egypt. On September 13, 1940, Marshal Graziani commanded about 80,000 people from the 10th Army of the Italian Army to attack eastward from Cyrenaica. After a short period of resistance, the British army retreated in an all-round way.On the first day of the Italian offensive, they occupied the important military town of Sallum and began to pursue it. However, due to the interruption of logistical supplies and insufficient means of transport, they only advanced 50 miles and stopped at Sidi Barrani.Taking advantage of the nearly two months of passive waiting by the Italian army, the British army was supplemented by two divisions. On December 9, the commander-in-chief of the British Middle East Army, Wei Nell, ordered a counter-offensive. Under the command of the Libyan frontline commander, General Aconnor, the British army, led by 275 tanks, adopted a strategy of detour and frontal penetration , Completely defeated the 10th Army of the Italian Army.By February 6, 1941, during the two months of fighting, even Keselum, Bardia, Tobruk, and Benghazi had advanced about 500 miles westward, and the cost of British casualties was less than 2,000. , Captured about 130,000 Italian officers and soldiers.The Italian army also lost nearly 400 tanks and 1,290 artillery pieces.Graziani was almost wiped out and had to retreat to Tripoli, the last foothold.Just when the British army put a little more effort into it, the Italian army could be beaten to peace. Churchill ordered Weiner to leave a minimum number of defenders in North Africa and dispatch the main force to Greece.This left a seed for the prairie fire that ignited in North Africa after the Germans arrived.

At the beginning of February 1941, the British army had assembled 150,000 troops in Sudan and Kenya. With the support of General de Gaulle's "Free French" troops and the Ethiopian army, they began to launch a comprehensive counteroffensive in East Africa.After more than three months of fighting, the Italian army fell apart. On May 20, the Italian governor of Ethiopia and commander-in-chief of the East African Army, the Duke of Aosta, led his troops to surrender, and the Italian army captured about 230,000 people.So far, Mussolini's gamble in Africa has almost been lost. The collapse of the Italian army once again verified Bismarck's words: Italy has a stomach like a lion, but only a set of teeth like a mouse.After the North African colony was almost lost, Mussolini had to put down his airs and ask Hitler for help.Germany's attack on the Soviet Union was imminent at this time, and it was not interested in opening up battlefields outside Europe, but Hitler considered that if Italy lost Africa, it would endanger Mussolini's domestic status, and it might lose a major partner.Therefore, it was decided to send a small amount of troops first to help the Italians maintain the situation in North Africa, and wait for the dust to settle on the European continent before concentrating on cleaning up Africa. On February 6, 1941, Hitler summoned the German tank giant Erwin Rommel and appointed him as the commander of the African Army to go to North Africa to rescue the Italians.According to the agreement between the two parties, all Italian troops in North Africa were under the command of Rommel. In order to take care of Mussolini's face, Rommel was nominally under the command of Bastico, the commander-in-chief of the Italian North African Army.

Germany's Afrika Korps consisted of the 5th Light Division and the 15th Armored Division. In addition, an Italian tank division and an infantry division also rushed to reinforce it.Garibaldi replaced Graziani as commander of the Italian Army in North Africa. On February 12, 1941, Rommel arrived in Tripoli.Two days later, a German transport ship took the risk to transport the first batch of German troops, a battle defense battalion, and a search battalion. After landing ashore the next day, they paraded in the center of Tripoli, and then went to the battlefield with a grand gesture. After 26 hours, it has reached the front line.In order to win by surprise, Rommel ignored the instructions of his superiors to attack in May, and launched an offensive on March 31, the day when the tank regiment of the 5th Light Division had just arrived.

British Commander-in-Chief Weiner judged based on past experience that it was absolutely impossible for the German army to launch an offensive before May, because the German army had to travel far to the Mediterranean to gather troops, which would take a long time.At this time, the main force of the British army had been transferred to the Balkan battlefield, and the troops remaining in North Africa were only two weakened divisions and one brigade, all of which were new troops lacking training and combat experience.General Aconnor is on leave, with General Nim acting in command.Weiner's judgment was not wrong according to common sense, but when he met Rommel, a very talented general, he ignored the unusual personality of his opponent.To make up for the lack of troops with bluff, Rommel magnified the offensive many times by disguising cars as tanks.This method of misleading the truth produced miraculous effects. The British army was shocked by the "powerful offensive" of the German army and collapsed at the first touch.On the day of the offensive, the German army occupied the Aghela bottleneck in one fell swoop.Facing the avalanche of British troops, Rommel continued to expand his victories. On April 3, the African Army captured Benghazi. On April 6, a dramatic incident occurred. Generals Aconnor and Nim, who hurried back to the front line to understand the situation, actually broke into the fast-advancing German forward column and became prisoners in a daze.

Within two weeks, the British army retreated 400 miles in a hurry and retreated back to the Egyptian border. Rommel's German and Italian troops easily recovered Cyrenaica, but behind the German army, the British army still held on to an isolated city of Dobruk. Rommel was like a thorn in his back. On April 11, Rommel began to besiege Dobruk, but the lack of troops led to a stalemate.At this time, the German High Command was going all out to prepare for the invasion of Russia, and did not intend to expand the results of the war in North Africa. Halder sent Deputy Chief of Staff Paulus to North Africa to inspect and stop Rommel from going crazy. At the end of April, the British continued to reinforce North Africa. In mid-May, before all the reinforcements arrived, Weiner launched the offensive code-named "Short Operation".The "Halfaya Pass" was taken in one fell swoop, but was recaptured by the German army 12 days later, and the "brief operation" also collapsed.

In mid-June, the British army launched the "Tomahawk Warfare" operation again, but broke into a trap composed of German 88mm anti-aircraft guns, various cannons, and tanks at the "Halfaya Pass", and the main force of the British tanks was almost wiped out. , lost 90 tanks, while the Germans only lost 12.In another tank battle, Rommel defeated the British 7th Armored Division, whose team badge was "Desert Rats" (which gave Rommel the nickname "Desert Fox").Operations during this period showed that the Italian army was no match for the British army, but the German army's combat capability was significantly higher than that of the British army. On the 4th day after the failure of the "Tomahawk Operation", Wei Nell was dismissed, and Auchinlek took over as the commander-in-chief of the Middle East Army. The British troops from all walks of life in North Africa formed the 8th Army, and General Kong Linghan was the commander.Churchill made up his mind and decided to defeat Rommel's African Army in a short period of time. He sent a large number of reinforcements to North Africa, and even temporarily put the Far East issue aside.

On November 18, 1941, the British army launched an offensive under the command of General Kong Linghan, commander of the Eighth Army.The defenders of Dobruk, who were besieged in the isolated city, also received reinforcements from the sea, preparing to cooperate internally and externally to break the siege of the German army.The strength of the two sides is as follows: the British army has increased from 4 tank regiments to 14, the motorized infantry division has increased from 1 to 4, the air force has 700 aircraft, which is an absolute advantage, and the tank has 710 vehicles, not including reserve positions and The 500 vehicles on the way were transported, and a total of 118,000 troops were invested.The situation in Germany and Italy is: the German African Army has also been upgraded to the African Army, and Rommel is the commander.But he received almost no supplements, still 4 tank regiments, belonging to the 21st Armored Division (renamed from the 5th Light Division) and the 15th Armored Division. He merged some independent artillery units and infantry units into one " African Division" (later renamed the 90th Light Division), there are 6 Italian divisions, 320 aircraft of various types, 320 tanks, and a total of 119,000 troops. at a disadvantage.

When Rommel was about to launch an attack on Dobruk, Kong Linghan launched the offensive first. This was a scuffle with unexpected results.At first Rommel thought it was a "power search" operation by the British army to test the truth.When the 2nd New Zealand Division of the British Army crossed the Abd Trail, which was an ancient slave trade, and approached the Caputso Trail northward, Rommel came to his senses and quickly dispatched the 21st and 15th main armored divisions to prepare to defeat them. On November 21, the 7th Armored Division of the British 30th Army, the South African Division, and the 22nd Brigade went out to Sidi Rajg and advanced towards Dobruk, and the British assault outside the city also made considerable progress.When the two British armies inside and outside were about to join forces, Rommel made a decision and decided to call back the 21st and 15th armored divisions to annihilate the British army that rescued Dobruk first. On November 22 and 23, the two sides launched a tank battle in Sidi Rajg.The German army was experienced and superior. After paying a high price, the German army dominated the battlefield again. The tanks of the British 7th Armored Division were almost wiped out, and the remnants began to retreat.

However, Rommel overestimated the psychological impact of the victory on the British army. On the other hand, he was unwilling to take the opponent bite by bite, and would rather take the risk of "taking over" the opponent in a short period of time.On the second day after the victory in the Sidi Rajg battle, that is, on November 24, Rommel gave up the upcoming victory on the main battlefield, and led the 21st Armored Division and all mobile forces to attack the British army's rear Sallum. .This is the "Rommel sprint" that later historians have mixed reviews.This move had an effect on Kong Linghan. He felt that the situation was over, and he was about to order a full retreat.At this moment, Auchinrek rushed to the front line. He thought Rommel's "sprint" to the rear of the British army was worthless and ignored it. He sent General Rich to take over the 8th from Kong Linghan who had lost his fighting spirit. He commanded the 2nd New Zealand Division to advance to Dobruk as originally planned, break through the German siege line on November 6, and join forces with the defenders.

At this time, the main attacking troops of both sides entered each other's rear, and whoever has the strength to continue the attack will win the final victory.Regardless of the serious crisis in Dobruk, Rommel insisted on taking tough actions in Sallum, but was frustrated because of the unclear situation. On November 27, Rommel finally abandoned Sallum and returned to the east, attempting to annihilate the 2nd New Zealand Division, the main force of the British army, outside the city of Dobruk.After fierce fighting until December 1, the British New Zealand 2nd Division, 7th Armored Division, and South African 1st Brigade all fought hard to break through, and Dobruk was once again isolated.On the surface, Rommel won the victory, but at this time Rommel had lost the air supremacy, his fighter group could not provide air protection, and the gasoline was almost running out. He made the right choice and voluntarily withdrew from Cyrenaica. Begin to gather strength and prepare to counterattack.In this battle, Germany and Italy lost 33,000 people, of which 13,000 were German troops; the British army lost 18,000 people. After Rommel retreated to the port of Brega, he shortened the rear line of communication. In December, the Kesselring 2nd Air Corps was transferred from the Russian front to the Mediterranean. The German Air Force continued to attack the island of Malta. Important naval and air base.The British Mediterranean Fleet was severely hit. Its aircraft carrier "Ark Royal", battleship "Bahan", two cruisers, a destroyer, and two submarines were sunk.In January 1942, not a single Axis transport ship was sunk in the Mediterranean.Under the escort of the Italian fleet, a large amount of gasoline and ammunition were transported to Rommel, and he was also strengthened by 4 tank companies.On the contrary, the land communication lines of the British army have become longer and transportation has become more difficult.The intelligence department of the Afrika Korps pointed out to Rommel: At present, the German army has a slight advantage, and then it will become a balance of power. After that, the British army will have an advantage. Because the British are going all out to fight for North Africa, the number of British troops and supplies will greatly exceed that of the German and German troops. Italian troops.Therefore, Rommel decided to strike first and destroy the British army before it regained its strength. On the night of January 20, 1942, the German army set fire to the villages and towns of Brega Port and a cargo fleet in the port, creating the illusion of continued retreat. On the afternoon of January 21, the group of tanks disguised as trucks suddenly took off their camouflage and quickly launched an attack that detoured the British army. Ridge's 8th Army was caught off guard and retreated hastily.At this time, Rommel had to deal with two enemies, one was the British army, and the other was his ally, the Italians. In order to prevent Rommel's attack, the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army, Cavaliero, deprived him of mobilizing the 10th and 21st Italian Army. the right of the army.Rommel still led the German army in pursuit. He first swayed a shot to the west to deceive Rich, and then quickly rushed east to occupy Benghazi and captured 4,000 enemies.This battle promoted Rommel from lieutenant general to general.When Rommel triumphantly entered Benghazi, he received a telegram from Mussolini allowing him to attack Benghazi. On February 6, Rommel's Afrika Korps stopped their pursuit on the front line of Gachala, preparing for the next round of attack. The victory of the German and Italian troops in Africa made the German and Italian command a little at a loss, and they were hesitant about whether to attack Malta or Egypt in the next step.The island of Malta is known as "the stepping stone of the Mediterranean Sea". It is an important sea and air base for the United Kingdom to control the traffic routes in the Mediterranean Sea. The control of the island directly determines the outcome of the North African battlefield.German Admiral Raeder, Air Force Marshal Kesselring, and Italian Chief of Staff Cavaliero all believed that Malta must be occupied in order to guarantee the continued march to Egypt and achieve the goal of occupying Cairo and the Suez Canal.In February 1942, Hitler agreed to this plan. From April 2, Marshal Kesselring commanded the air forces of Germany and Italy to carry out a joint attack and bombed the island for a month. The army, land and air forces are on the verge of paralysis, creating conditions for the second phase of the army's landing operations.Later, Rommel was able to march smoothly to Alamein, also benefiting from this bombing. Just when Kesselring was preparing to land, and even Rommel was preparing to lead the main force of the African Army to land, Hitler and Mussolini met at Hitler's mountain villa on April 29 to discuss future combat targets in the Mediterranean.Although the Italians understood that Malta must be occupied to drive the British army out of the Middle East, they made it clear that they could not join the battle due to insufficient preparation within the next three months.In this way, the Germans are alone.After discussion, the leaders of the two countries decided: 1. Rommel will launch an offensive at the end of May. If it is possible to capture Dobruk, he will advance to the front line of the Egyptian border, and then the combat target will be turned to Malta; 2. At the latest in mid-June or July. In the round, the Malta landing operation code-named "Hercules" was launched. Once successful, the German and Italian troops continued to advance to the Nile River area in Egypt. The decision of the Greece-Mexico meeting caused a lot of trouble, because the landing operation requires the air force and the army to be closely coordinated in terms of time. Large-scale bombing is carried out too early.When the landing operation was launched, the air attack had to start all over again (in fact, in June and July, the German army was beginning to attack the Caucasus and Stalingrad, and Kesselring's air force had turned to the Soviet-German battlefield). The British navy and air force have gradually recovered, and the pressure on the German and Italian troops on the North African battlefield is increasing.Therefore, Kesselring's attack on the Falkland Islands was considered a failure.The military base on the island of Malta has revived, which will eventually threaten the survival of Rommel's African Army in North Africa, and later force Rommel to make a desperate attack under extremely unfavorable circumstances, because not attacking is tantamount to sitting still and failing. It's just a matter of time.Facts later proved that it was the British navy and air force in Malta who cut off the lifeline of the North African Army in the Mediterranean, and finally caused the German and Italian troops to be wiped out in North Africa.Not taking the island of Malta was one of Hitler's worst mistakes in World War II. As early as March, Rommel made it clear to Hitler and Mussolini that if he could not launch an attack on Malta in June, he would launch a new round of offensive at the end of May, because time could not wait any longer. On May 26, Rommel launched an attack on the British Gachara. The troops and weapons of the two sides were as follows: 3 divisions of the German army, 6 divisions of the Italian army, 560 tanks and 530 aircraft of the German and Italian armies; 6 divisions of the British army , 1270 tanks and 600 aircraft.In terms of artillery, the British army also has a 3:2 advantage, but the British army evenly distributes artillery to each division, while Rommel organizes it into a large artillery unit for mobile use.As far as logistical support is concerned, the Axis powers temporarily controlled the Mediterranean transportation line, but after the fuel and ammunition were transported by sea, they had to go through a long land transportation to reach the front line, and the fuel consumption during transportation was quite large. Rommel's offensive plan was relatively simple. He used two Italian infantry corps to feign a frontal attack near the coast in the north. He personally led the African Army and several armored divisions of the Italian Army to form a real attacking force, bypassing the last part of the Gachara line of defense. At the southern end, then attack the rear of the British Gachala defense line to the north, enter the coastal road to cut off the opponent's retreat, and then take advantage of the victory to capture Dobruk. At 2 pm on May 26, the Italian infantry began a frontal feint attack. At the same time, the German army also put two tank regiments into the front. In the afternoon, all tank troops were withdrawn to join Rommel's attacking force.In order to deceive the enemy and cover the withdrawal of the tanks, many trucks were used to load the propellers of the planes on the desert behind the infantry who were attacking from the front, and the rotating propellers raised dust all over the sky, giving the opponent a feeling that the tank troops were reinforcing The illusion of coming up.And when the moon rose, the "long snake" composed of more than 10,000 various combat and transport vehicles of the "Rommel column" had "swimmed" southward, bypassing the southernmost British defense line at the Birhacker gate stronghold, Turn to the north and attack behind the Gachara line of defense.However, it has been blocked for the next three days. On the 28th and 29th, the situation of the "Rommel Column" was almost on the verge of destruction.Due to the ineffectiveness of Italy's frontal feint attack, the British army was able to quickly transfer its tank troops to deal with it from the front. The British army used the powerful "Grant" tanks aided by the Americans to rush Rommel's supply convoy away. The headquarters of the Afrika Korps was almost destroyed, and Rommel himself was almost taken prisoner. After the crisis, Rommel established a defensive position in the "pot bottom" area. At this time, the commander of the British Eighth Army violated General Auchinleck's repeated instructions to him: Do not disperse the use of tank troops.Ridge threw tank units into the attack around the "bottom of the pot" in batches, and put heavy tanks into the field during the day, making them excellent targets for German artillery.Rich's tactical error led to the failure of the British attack.Rommel cleverly implemented defensive tactics, devouring the tank groups that the British army put in one by one. When the strength was exhausted, Rommel rushed out of the "bottom of the pot".In order to eliminate the hidden dangers of the supply line on the battlefield, Rommel began to besiege Birhakmen from June 2, and encountered unusually tenacious resistance from the defenders of the French 1st Brigade.Rommel captured Birhacker Gate on June 11 after 10 days of heavy attacks from the ground and in the air. When Rommel was trapped in the "pot bottom" area and was attacked by the British army, his situation deteriorated considerably. On the surface, he bypassed the Gachala line of defense and rushed to the rear of the British army, but in fact he was surrounded. At the end of May, a British news organization reported: "Rommel has got into the hunting trap and is firmly trapped. The fox's tail is still swinging." It was interrupted, and it resumed after a few days. The headquarters was also dispersed by British tanks. Several Italian tank divisions under him were also very cunning. They did not know where to hide for two days. ", "The British soldiers seized all our supplies", "The British army surrounded us and occupied Derna", "Rommel, Nainen, and Crowell are all dead" and so on.The German air force who lost contact threw bombs at Rommel's ground troops, killing each other, and there was chaos. On May 29, General Kruwell, the commander of the African Army and a veteran of combat, was captured by the British army because his plane was shot down.But Ritchie was slow to take advantage of this fleeting opportunity, and the hundreds of motorized tanks at his disposal were idle, eventually allowing Rommel to recover. After capturing Bill Hack Gate, Rommel regained the initiative on the battlefield.Then he fought two beautiful tank battles, annihilating 140 British tanks, leaving only 70 British tanks on the battlefield. On June 13, the African Army captured Knightsbridge, an important stronghold behind the Gachara line of defense. Rich retreated in a panic the next day, and the Gachala line of defense collapsed. Rommel took advantage of the victory and rushed to the coast, winning the battle of Gachala , Although the British 8th Army was defeated, the main force was not encircled. The commander of the British Middle East Army, Auchin Lek, instructed Rich to deploy his troops on the Dobrook-Adem line and stick to the Adem position with as many troops as possible. This is the key to defending Dobrook.Rommel also saw this key point. On June 16, he concentrated all his forces to besiege Adem.That night, with Rich's consent, Adem's defenders broke through and fled, thus deciding the fate of Dobruk. On June 18, German and Italian forces surrounded Dobruk. On June 20, the African Army broke into Dobruk under the advantage of firepower and a well-organized coordinated land and air attack.That night, General Klopp, the commander of the British Dobrook Fortress, hesitated between holding on and breaking through, and lost the opportunity. On June 21, the African Army captured Dobruk, and 35,000 officers and soldiers under the British commander Klopp surrendered.The German army captured a large amount of military supplies, and Rommel was promoted to marshal because of his victory.British Prime Minister Churchill later admitted that the fall of Dobruk was one of the biggest blows in his life. He also claimed in the House of Commons with the unique bearing of Anglo-Saxons that Rommel was a great soldier regardless of the catastrophe of the war. According to the stipulations negotiated by Hitler and Mussolini, after the Afrika Korps captured Dobruk, they took a defensive posture on the Egyptian border, and all aircraft and ships were used for the Malta landing battle. After capturing the island, they marched towards the Nile.But Rommel has been dazzled by the victory, and believes that he should take advantage of the current favorable situation and take Egypt in one go. If he waits until Malta is captured, he will lose the good opportunity of the current expansion.Therefore, a few hours after he captured Dobruk, he issued an order to continue the offensive into Egypt.On this day, Marshal Kesselring flew to Africa. He pointed out to Rommel: Without the full support of the Air Force, it is impossible to march to Egypt; Transportation will not be guaranteed.Kesselring believed that the only correct course was to stick to the original plan and postpone the invasion of Egypt until after Malta was taken.Rommel categorically rejected this suggestion. He reported the reasons for striking while the iron was hot to Hitler and Mussolini respectively. Hitler greatly appreciated Rommel's plan. It will appear once, and if anyone does not catch her, it will be difficult to see her again in the future." Despite the great consumption of Afrika Korps personnel and tanks, on the night of June 23, the German advance guard with high morale crossed the Egyptian border and advanced more than 100 miles to Matruh and Sidi Barrani in one day and night. along the coastal road between them. On the afternoon of June 26, the German pursuit force with only 44 tanks launched an attack on the British army which was defending Matruh, whose advantage was several times higher than its own. Rommel personally led the 21st Armored Division with 23 tanks and 600 exhausted soldiers The soldiers attacked.Although the British army has great advantages in all aspects, only the 1st Armored Division of the British Army has 159 tanks (after the war, its generals also admitted that their strength and equipment are sufficient to send the 21st Armored Division and 15th Armored Division of the African Army to the door. Division and the 90th Light Armored Division were completely annihilated), but the British army, which had become frightened, had no fighting spirit.Auchinrek rushed to the front line on June 25 and took over the command of the 8th Army, but he was not confident enough to fight a defensive battle in Matruh, and his generals were afraid of being surrounded, so they rushed to the front line of Fuca Withdrew, and the British army suffered a disastrous defeat. On June 29, the German 90th Light Division captured Matruh Port.Rommel's victory was a bit lucky. If he knew the strength of both sides, he might not have attacked. Because he didn't know his own danger, he still fought so hard that the British had no doubts about his strength and just wanted to hurry up. Getting rid of him, Rommel won a brilliant victory with unconscious bravado. On June 30, Rommel's Afrika Korps began to attack the British Alamein defense line. It seemed that they could step into Cairo, the capital of Egypt, as long as they took another step forward.