0p0 Third Reich Episode 305
Third Reich Episode 305
Chapter 473 The Great Victory in North Africa (for Subscription)
After Graziani took over the position of Marshal Balbo as Governor of Africa, he flew to Tripoli the next day, and then came to the North African Fortress Tobruk, Libya, planning the Italian Army's attack on the British Army in North Africa.
Although Graziani has 23 troops in North Africa, the British army in intelligence is only about 3.
However, under such an advantageous situation, Graziani still did not dare to attack the British army rashly.
The reason is very simple, because he has always had a feeling of fear of the British army, and this "fear of the British army" also made him very cautious when making every step of attacking the British army.
In fact, this is why Mussolini initially assigned the war in North Africa to Balbo rather than to Graziani.
But now, Balbo's landline was shot down by his own people.For a while, Graziani, who is afraid of the British army, can only be allowed to take the lead.
"Come here, bring me a topographic map." In the war room, Graziani lit a cigarette and preached to his subordinates.
"Yes, General." The staff officer was in a pile of thick documents.He took out a map of North Africa that has been in use since two years ago and handed it to Graziani.
"Where is the main force of the British army?" Graziani took a puff of cigarette and asked calmly, looking at the map.
"Report to the general, according to our previous intelligence, the British army is currently entrenched in a small Egyptian city called Salum at the junction of Libya and Egypt." The staff officer said.
"The main force of the British army has more than 2 people here, and most of them are light infantry. There are only more than 200 tanks, more than 100 artillery pieces, and less than 200 aircraft." The staff officer continued.
But Graziani, the new marshal, still dare not "underestimate the enemy".
Although, like Balbo, he is also a marshal of the Italian army.But Graziani's character... To put it mildly, he is much more cautious than Balbo.To put it bluntly, he is as timid as a mouse.
He asked cautiously, "Are you sure the British army only has so many troops?"
"That's right, Marshal, there are only so many. If our army attacks across the board, with our strength superiority, we will definitely win a big victory!" The staff officer who had been with Balbo before was obviously very confident.He described to Marshal Graziani the strategic concept set by Balbo before, and hoped that Marshal Graziani, who took over, could make up his mind, firmly implement Balbo's tactics, and make every effort to attack in one fell swoop.
However, Graziani turned his head and said: "Don't underestimate the enemy, the British have a lot of tricks. If we are not careful, maybe we have to suffer from them."
In the end, Graziani, with an army of 23.4, took a full 23 Italian troops with him for the sake of prudence before he dared to attack the Egyptian border, leaving only 4 soldiers to maintain order in the rear.
Because he was too worried about the British army, he also sent 5 Italian troops as the vanguard to inquire about the reality of the British army in Sallum.The 18 army led by him only dared to advance slowly.
But who knows, before the vanguard of the Italian army arrived in Sallum, the British army had already abandoned the city and fled, leaving only the officers and soldiers of the vanguard of the Italian army who arrived in Sallum, staring wide-eyed.
"The British army is nothing more than that!" Marshal Graziani at the rear, when he heard the news that the British army had fled, he immediately gained confidence.
The general, who was usually scared out of his shadow by the British army, was very happy, thinking that now he finally had the opportunity to show his skills in front of Prime Minister Mussolini.
In his eyes, the scene of the leader praising himself at the war meeting of the three armed forces has even emerged.
"Order all the troops to advance quickly, chase the British and show our momentum!" Graziani, who was full of confidence, was uncharacteristically ambitious and wanted to wipe out all the British troops in North Africa in one fell swoop.
It may be because he stayed with Mussolini for a long time. I have to say that Graziani has learned Mussolini's shortcomings of "give some sunshine and it will shine".
"However, if we advance rashly like this, what if the British army has an ambush?" A staff officer who was also left behind by the Balbo Command stood up and said worriedly.
"What? Ambush? It's a joke. The British army has been defeated and fled. Where did the ambush come from? What we should do now is to take advantage of the victory and chase them down completely, understand?"
Graziani has apparently completely forgotten his previous fear of the British army, and now all he thinks about is making great achievements.
"Our military strength is several times that of the British army, and the number of tanks, aircraft, and armored vehicles is more than double that of theirs. Even if they have an ambush? Can they still defeat us with their small number of troops?"
Because the British retreated without a fight, Graziani can be said to be very majestic, and at the same time regained his long-lost self-confidence.
He continued: "Don't think about it so much, just follow my orders. Also, send a report to the leader and tell Rome that our army has conquered Sallum and is now steadily advancing into Egypt."
"Understood, Marshal, I'm going to issue a combat order." After hearing this, the staff officer nodded half-understood, and then went to the telegraph room to draft a telegram.
Therefore, after receiving Graziani's order, the frontline troops bypassed Salloum without any scruples, and directly advanced to Matruh, an important town in northwest Egypt, pointing their swords at Alexandria and Cairo.
On the way to Matruh, the Italian army happened to pass through a small town called Sidbairani.
This small town is located in the middle of Sallum and Matruh. Although the terrain is open, the interior of the town is relatively complicated, and it is a good place to ambush infantry.
Graziani's vanguard was dutiful and quickly reported the situation to him.
And Graziani is not a fool to be able to achieve the position of marshal.
Along the way, he also felt more and more that something was wrong.
The British army retreated nearly 30 miles to the east without firing a single shot, which is not in line with common sense anyway.Unless, their commander is a person who is less courageous than himself... No, it should be unless their commander is a person who is more cautious than himself.
But isn't that too cautious?
The 30-mile strategic buffer zone can be lost at will!
Immediately, Graziani IQ Online ordered 5 front-line troops to prepare for combat normally, and 18 follow-up troops to be divided into east, west, and south routes to encircle the strategically important Sibairani.
At the same time, Graziani also sent 3 battalions of Italian armored units to cover the light infantry units to take the lead. Artillery units and the air force provided fire support and slowly advanced towards Sibairani.
Soon, when their forward troops reached a distance of about 500 meters from the town, they were suddenly attacked by unknown firepower from the town.
Immediately, Graziani, who had been prepared for a long time, immediately ordered the Italian army to quickly fire back.
At the same time, the air support and ground artillery support called by Graziani also went into battle together.
Sidi Birani instantly turned into a sea of flames, and the British soldiers ambushing in the town lost their temper instantly and misfired one after another.
"Hahahaha, Chief of Staff, did you see that sea of flames? This is the big meal I prepared for the British army. What do you think?" Graziani held a high-power telescope and saw Sidi Birani from a distance. The sea of flames, happily boasted to the chief of staff.
"Commander, I think the artillery fire is enough to kill the British army twice." The chief of staff also replied excitedly.
However, apart from the chief of staff brought by Graziani and the other 2 author staff, the other staff left by Marshal Balbo looked at the smiling faces of Graziani and his party, and wondered. Why worry.
After several rounds of bombardment, Graziani quickly ordered an attack across the board in an attempt to wipe out all the British troops in the city of Sibairani in one fell swoop.
After giving the order, Graziani returned to his combat headquarters with peace of mind, happily lay down on his recliner, closed his eyes and began to look forward to his future.
"How will the leader reward me at that time? Will he continue to promote me or reward me with endless glory and wealth? Or award me some medals and gold?" Graziani thought about it, and fell asleep with a sweet smile caught.
By the time he woke up, the Battle of Sidbairani had basically ended.
At this time, his chief of staff was standing in front of him holding a battle report with a complicated expression on his face.
"How did our army gain?" Graziani asked the chief of staff as soon as he woke up.
"Report to the general, our army has completely wiped out the defenders of Sidbairani. But..." the staff officer replied timidly, his voice was very low, as if he had made a mistake.Especially the word "but", if the battle hadn't basically ended and there was no interference from the sound of guns and guns, these two words might not have been heard.
"But what?" Graziani asked anxiously.
Main text Chapter 474 Chain counting (asking for a reward)
"However...but there is only about one regiment of British troops guarding Sibairani, less than 3000 people." The staff officer replied, his voice trembling, his eyes full of fear, for fear that Graziani would Will take it out on him.