Chapter 421 North African Campaign (1)

North Africa, Libya.

City P.

Early this day, the airport in City P was exceptionally busy. The ground crew worked tensely and orderly to refuel and arm the planes, then towed them to the end of the runway, ready for takeoff. The workload was so immense that even the off-duty pilots joined in the ground crew's work.

After two hours of hustle, a series of Bf 109F, Stuka bombers, Mosquito bombers, and Il-2 attack aircraft took off one after another, forming a massive formation heading towards Egypt.

Standing on the office balcony, Rommel glanced at the sun overhead and sighed, "What a fine day." Libya's climate is warm in winter and hot in summer, with an average winter temperature of 15°C, making it perfect weather for military operations.

After waiting for several months, Wilhelm issued the order to attack Egypt.

The original North African Campaign was a battle between the Italians and the British.

When World War II broke out and the German army was advancing triumphantly in France, Italy, as a member of the Axis powers, was not to be outdone. They sharpened their swords for peace and took the opportunity to send troops to North Africa, attempting to seize the Suez Canal and control the passage from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.

In terms of strength, those familiar with World War II history know what level Italy was at and what role they played in the Axis alliance. However, Mussolini was not satisfied and insisted on undertaking tasks beyond his capabilities.

At that time, the British army had only deployed a small number of troops in North Africa, about 20,000 to 30,000 men. In the first phase of the campaign, Italy deployed 230,000 men in Libya. The Italian army attacked from the border area between Libya and Egypt, where the British only had one reinforced battalion. As a result, the Italian army advanced rapidly, presenting an overwhelming momentum.

However, after the British army regrouped and reinforced, they immediately launched a counterattack against Italy, resulting in 130,000 Italian soldiers being captured.

Having no other choice, Mussolini had to seek help from Hitler: "This can't go on; for the sake of our alliance, you need to lend a brother a hand."

Although the ally was not strong, they were still comrades in the same pot. To assist Italy, the German army sent the so-called "Afrika Korps" led by Rommel.

Initially, the "Afrika Korps" was quite small, with only two divisions: the 15th Panzer Division and the 5th Light Division, equipped with a total of 318 tanks. The supporting firepower consisted of only two independent artillery battalions: one 100mm cannon battalion and one 210mm howitzer battalion. Including logistics and independent units, there were only 55,000 army personnel in total. Yet, they were given the daunting title of "Panzer Group Africa"—which surprised Rommel, even making him wonder if he had indeed become the commander of an army group.

Since it was their first arrival and reinforcements had not all arrived, the British believed that the German support was minimal. Rommel did not dare to act rashly, so he withdrew the ace 7th Armored Division from the battlefield for rest and replenishment. However, Rommel did not wait for all the German forces to arrive. He took advantage of the British redeployment and underestimation, launching a bold offensive and quickly advancing 450 miles south.

Later, Rommel insisted on speed as the top priority, turning from passive to active. Before all reinforcements arrived, to prevent the enemy from knowing his strength, he used cars to create many fake tanks to confuse the enemy. He flexibly used mechanized troops, and within a week, the British army retreated more than 200 miles;

In less than two weeks, the British army retreated 400 miles, leaving only a force trapped in Tobruk. For a time, the "Desert Fox" became famous.

As the saying goes, "What waxes will wane," and afterwards, Rommel was no longer able to advance unopposed as when he first arrived, like sweeping fallen leaves with the autumn wind. Just when Rommel was dominating Africa and the situation was critical, Churchill sent a large number of reinforcements. In July 1941, he also dispatched a famous general, Rommel's formidable opponent, Auchinleck.

Auchinleck's first command in North Africa was the Crusader Campaign. During the campaign, at a critical moment, Auchinleck flew from Cairo to the front line, assessed the heavy losses of the German army, and opposed the British retreat. As a result, the German army also suffered heavy losses, with more than 170 tanks reduced to just over 90. After a series of offensive and defensive battles, although Rommel had once gained the initiative, he was at the end of his tether and eventually retreated westward, with the German troops left in the Egyptian border area surrendering one after another.

The Crusader Campaign achieved its expected goals. It was the first military victory for Britain over Germany in World War II, and even Churchill exclaimed, "Auchinleck saved the campaign; his actions proved his outstanding qualities as a field commander."

The German army's combat strength was very formidable, but they suffered from insufficient troop numbers and lack of reinforcements. Although Italy had more than 300,000 troops, they were virtually ineffective, serving only to create chaos. Of course, later on, due to a lack of supplies, the Italians were forced to make some contribution, which was to let the German army seize a large amount of supplies to alleviate their urgent needs, including vehicles and fuel.

Afterwards, the British army continuously sent reinforcements, and even the United States joined in; Montgomery, who replaced Auchinleck (Churchill's relationship with Auchinleck was not very harmonious. As the Prime Minister and politician, Churchill always hoped that the British forces in the Middle East would continuously bring good news, boosting the morale of the British public and increasing Britain's status in the anti-Axis alliance. However, as a military man and battlefield commander, Auchinleck could not ignore the objective reality on the battlefield and could not sacrifice soldiers' lives needlessly. After arriving in Cairo on August 4, 1942, Churchill urged Auchinleck to launch a counterattack as soon as possible. Auchinleck firmly resisted and insisted that the attack could not be launched until September. In a fit of anger, Churchill revoked Auchinleck's position as the commander of the British forces in the Middle East and the 8th Army), vowed to defeat the German army at a cost of 4 to 1. The British and American allied forces increased to 230,000 men, while the German army had less than 30,000 men, a huge disparity in numbers.

Not only were they at a numerical disadvantage, but the German army was also very strapped for weapons and equipment. For example, the British army had 1,500 aircraft, while the German army had only 350; the British army had more than 3,000 tanks, while the German army had only 260; the number of British artillery was six times that of the German army. Due to the lack of aircraft, the sky was completely controlled by the British. By this time, even Rommel's extraordinary military talent was powerless to turn the tide.

And this time, the entire British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk was encircled by the German army, and the United States had not yet had time to join in; although Britain had provided early support to North Africa, the British troops stationed in Egypt numbered only 50,000.

In contrast, the German troops stationed in Libya had reached 100,000 men, plus 250,000 Italian soldiers and 50,000 French soldiers, a total force of 400,000 completely overwhelming the 50,000 British troops.

There's an interesting saying in later times: "When poor, use tactics to intersperse; when rich, just bomb the hell out of them."

When the number of tanks supporting Libya reached 1,000 and various combat aircraft reached 1,500, Wilhelm instructed Rommel, "No need for fancy maneuvers anymore, just roll straight over them."