0p0 Third Reich Episode 333
Third Reich Episode 333
Just as the Italian commander, General Garibaldi, was drafting various telegrams to inform the French side, an officer of the Roman Supreme Command also handed in the long-overdue joint combat order from the Roman Supreme Command.
At this time, Garibaldi had arranged for the war supervisors sent by Berente to enter 70.00% of his troops.
As for the remaining 30.00% of his troops, it was reserved for Rommel to form the African Group Army.
An order issued by Italian Supreme Commander-in-Chief Mussolini required the Italian Governor General Garibaldi in North Africa to immediately organize Italian troops to help the French army organize a counterattack on the border between Algeria and Libya.
In the telegram, Mussolini specifically indicated that this was the opinion of him and the General Staff. Of course, when Mussolini gave the order, he thought that the French army could last at least ten days and a half months.Otherwise, he would have ordered the Italian army to go to rescue the siege.
Therefore, Garibaldi personally went to the Ministry of Communications, and reported the current serious situation directly to the Italian Supreme Commander Mussolini by telex machine.
The chief of staff of the Italian army stationed in North Africa, after issuing the order just discussed, immediately organized the staff of the combat department to draw up an operational plan to support the French army.
Now time is very tight, the Italian army will support the French army earlier, and it will have more hope of defeating the British.
When drawing up the support plan on the border, Garibaldi also paid attention to the No. 5 and No. 3 highlands where the 4th Colonial Division of the French Army is located.
Therefore, this competent Italian general who Mussolini said he had lost the battle made a truly competent decision-send troops to support the 5th Colonial Division of the French Army, and then cooperate with the French Army to counterattack Ejelet and regain the lost ground!
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The actions of the British army can be described as very fast. Garibaldi's Italian army had just completed the combat deployment to support the French army, and Wavell's British army had already advanced to the defensive positions built by the French army around the No. 3 and No. 4 heights.
But the movement of the Italian army is not too slow.
The individual leading infantry divisions of the Italian Mixed First Army had reached less than 3 miles from the French defense positions on the 4rd and 10th hills.
The current situation is that the French Colonial 5th Infantry Division was divided and surrounded by the British on several hills on the No. 3 and No. 4 Heights, but the Italian army attacked the British troops who surrounded here from a farther position. Go on the offensive.
Major General Anthony, who was in charge of commanding the British offensive force, judged from the results of several attacks that among the points held by the 5th Colonial Division of the French Army, the French position on Height 4 was currently the weakest.
In order to prevent the surrounded French army from successfully breaking through or counterattacking, the British army must first remove a black infantry regiment nailed to the No. 4 Height by the French army and destroy the French army's flanks.
As the commander-in-chief of the French army, Berente, in order to keep this nail embedded in the encirclement of the British army, waited for the arrival of the Italian army, and even used the few air forces in his hand to support the 5th Colonial Infantry Division.
The purpose of the British army is already obvious. They just want to take the No. 3 and No. 4 highlands at all costs, and then occupy or destroy the vast oil fields behind the highlands.
Although Berente's small French air force, with the cooperation of Garibaldi's African remnants of the Italian Air Force, has jointly obtained air supremacy on some battlefields, the British Air Force's aircraft are still insisting on fighting against French and Italian aircraft. In order to interfere with them, so that they cannot bomb the British troops attacking the high ground with all their strength.
At the same time, the British army also mobilized enough artillery units, and used the large number of artillery captured from the Italian army before, to bombard the French positions continuously.
Therefore, the colonial regiment position on the French Army's No. 4 Heights has been bustling since dawn in the morning.
The British army first used artillery to bombard the two hills held by the black French soldiers for half an hour.
These two small highlands are the strongholds of the black regiment's defense. Once they fall, facing the British army with superior strength and firepower, the French army on the 4th highland will inevitably be defeated and annihilated.
The more important the place, the stronger the firepower of the British army.
As a result, the British army rained heavy artillery shells, covering almost the entire defensive position of No. 4 Heights.
Although Highland No. 4 underwent some emergency reinforcements at the request of Colonel Jefferson, many fortifications were quickly destroyed under the indiscriminate bombing of the British army, and some temporarily built anti-burst holes It was also bombed, and none of the French soldiers inside were spared.
What is even more unfortunate is that the command post of the Black Colonial Regiment stationed here was one of the first fortifications to be destroyed.
Unfortunately, the hidden part of the regiment's command post was originally built fairly solidly, but there were two howitzer shells fired by the British army immediately, which hit the regiment's headquarters impartially.
As a result, the French Colonel Jefferson, who was directing the operations in the regiment headquarters, was blown to pieces on the spot, and the radio station set up in the regiment headquarters was also blown up, making the regiment's connection with the headquarters of the 5th Colonial Infantry Division almost impossible. child interrupted.
After the bombing ended, when a regiment of soldiers came out of the anti-gun hiding place, they found that their commander and division staff had died, leaving only the broken eaves and walls and various limbs. .
The regimental commander of the Jefferson Regiment basically died in this bombing.This can only be done by the French white battalion commander and acting head of the first battalion.
In fact, of the three battalion commanders of this regiment, only the battalion commander of the first battalion is left. If the first battalion commander is killed, the Jefferson regiment will no longer have a French white commander.
The commander of the first battalion was also very grateful that he escaped the disaster because he did not stay around the regiment headquarters when he was bombed by the British army.And just a few minutes before the command post was bombarded, Colonel Jefferson had just informed him to go to the regiment command post to discuss combat missions.
Now he can only immediately take over the command and lead a regiment with less than one battalion remaining to continue to stand firm.
Soon, the British army launched a fierce attack on Height No. 4 again. With the cooperation of an armored battalion of the [-]th Armored Division, the British Army slowly advanced in an orderly and calm manner.
Highland No. 4 is urgent!
Seeing that the defense was hopeless, the French army on Height 4 had no choice but to retreat to Height 3.The commander of the first battalion chose to take the remaining two companies of black soldiers under his command and retreat to Height 3, where he and the French army resisted the swarming British army.
However, as expected before the war, after the British occupied Height No. 4, the British army took advantage of the geographical advantage, condescending, and launched an offensive on the flanks of Height No. 3. After a while, the French army on Height No. 3 suffered nearly 300 casualties.
"Damn it! How long does it take for the Italians to arrive? We're going to kill them all, why don't they come?" Seeing the heavy casualties of his army, Major General Stephen of the French army who was sitting on Height 3 in person finally couldn't bear it anymore.
I saw him yelling, "Go! Call me Jefferson, I want to ask him what kind of battle he fought, and he lost the No. 4 highland to me!"
"Master, Colonel Jefferson has died." Stephen's adjutant reminded in a low voice: "Don't think about Height 4 anymore, let's concentrate on guarding Height 3 now."
In fact, it was not only the No. 4 highland that was bombarded by the British army at this moment, but even the No. 3 highland where the division headquarters was located was also bombarded by the British army for half an hour.
It was only because of Major General Stephen's insistence in advance that the fortifications on this high ground were stronger than those on No. 4 high ground, so the casualties were smaller.
As a result, the British army also found that the effect of their bombardment here was obviously not as good as that of the No. 4 highland. Except for a small number of black soldiers who were injured and some soldiers who moved slowly during the British bombardment were killed, No. 3 The French army on the high ground did not suffer great losses.
And the commanders of the regiments under Stephen's command are basically fine, the command system is still relatively complete, and they can still get in touch with the division headquarters.
On the other hand, after a new round of bombardment by the British army, the ground forces also began to attack Height 3.
Their tactics are still the same old ones, the tanks and armored vehicles are at the front, and the infantry follow the tanks and armored vehicles like black ants.
Because the 5th Colonial Division is a black unit, it is not well equipped. It is only equipped with 18 anti-tank guns, 6 of 47 mm caliber and 12 of 25 mm caliber.
Major General Stephen attached great importance to the anti-tank guns in his hand, and built semi-underground fortifications specially for these anti-tank guns.
However, in the shelling of the British army just now, two 25mm anti-tank guns were still blown up, and there was also a 47mm anti-tank gun. Because the sighting equipment on the gun was damaged, it could only be carried out by the artillery visual method. Shooting, of course, the accuracy of shooting will not be so accurate.
"Haven't the Italians arrived yet?" Stephen roared after repelling another round of British offensive with difficulty.
"Master, I have received news from the Italian army!" A staff officer suddenly reported to Stephen, his voice was crying: "The Italian frontline commander said that they ran out of ammunition in the round of attack just now, It is temporarily impossible to launch a new offensive."
"They asked us to find a way to hold on for a while longer, because it may take a long time to replenish the ammunition." The staff officer finished the last sentence in the telegram sent by the Italian commander with some exhaustion.
With a plop, Major General Stephen fell to the ground angrily at the words sent by the Italian reinforcements.
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In fact, man is such a kind of animal. You just tell him that he may not believe it from the bottom of his heart. He will be convinced of many things only when he sees it with his own eyes.
Now, the retreating Italian officers are using their lives and the lives of the soldiers to test whether the machine guns of the French War Supervisors are loaded with bullets, and to test whether the French have the courage to shoot at the Italian soldiers.
"Sir, the order we received was to continue to attack until the British army surrounding the French No. 3 Heights was wiped out. Now, the British army is still on the ground, so we just ran away. Will everyone be shot by the war supervisor?" An Italian staff officer reminded his battalion commander.
His battalion commander slapped his chest swearingly, and said to his subordinates righteously: "What is running away? We have no bullets. This is a glorious retreat."