Imperial Overlord

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The German army quickly returned to Baierdi in Libya with the oil left by the British in their captured car.

Their successful counterattack this time freed Berdi from the British and annihilated the living forces under the British Army of the Nile.

In this battle, with their own strength of about 3,000 troops, they fought back and captured more than 10,000 British soldiers along the way, and also captured two senior British commanders.

If this can't be called a big victory, then there are too few victories in the past.

Rommel climbed into his car with a smile, and then walked away under the gaze of Marshal Graziani.

Marshal Graziani also knew that the Germans were really gone. He reluctantly allowed his Italian troops to stay, and it was estimated that it was only the end of delivering food to the British.

Therefore, the Italian marshal did not hesitate, shook his head and walked into his car, took the Italian soldiers, followed Rommel's footsteps, and withdrew from the dangerous area overnight.

One of the characteristics of the North African operation is that the infrastructure construction of the two sides here is determined, and neither side can invest too much and large-scale combat forces.

Under this premise, the force will never be enough, and the vast space determines that the rhythm between the attack and defense of both sides is a wide-open mode.

So Rommel didn't have any nostalgia at all, and returned to Baierdi with the troops directly. What he brought back this time was glory and the hearts of countless Italians!

After hitting Matrouh from the periphery of Tobruk, Rommel's army not only captured more than 10,000 British soldiers, but also rescued more than 60,000 Italian troops who had been captured by these British troops.

Now, these captured Italian troops simply regard Rommel's Afrikaans as their savior, which they worship and yearn for in their hearts.

Coupled with the materials recovered from the British, Graziani discovered that his 10th Corps had returned so inexplicably...

Although Italy lost at least 40,000 people in attacking Egypt, after all, the battle was effectively stopped.

The 100,000 Italian army, which is like a frightened bird, is unlikely to go to the front line to fight, but these captured prisoners, as engineering soldiers to build oil fields in Libya, are still much better than the local migrant workers.

Marshal Graziani also believes that this arrangement is very good, at least to find some reasonable things to do for these "soldiers" who cannot fight.

Since the marshal, who knew that the Italian army was not ready for combat and was not suitable for offensive operations, agreed to this arrangement, Rommel unreservedly assigned a lot of work to the Italian friendly forces.

Including the construction of the road from Tobruk to Beldi, and the construction of another brand-new terminal at Beldi to dock supply ships.

Another group, Rommel asked them to take over the construction of the Libyan oil field. And ordered them to complete the basic engineering construction of this oil field next year.

Originally, the German officers were worried that such an arrangement would not arouse dissatisfaction among the Italian grassroots officers and soldiers.

After all, it is a discriminatory act to look down on to let friendly soldiers who have just been rescued do some messy logistical work.

But soon, they found themselves worrying too much - hearing that they didn't have to go to the front to fight, these Italian prisoners nodded happily, and immediately pulled up their camp and set out on the road...

"Mr. Marshal, how many troops do you have now?" Rommel asked Graziani, who rushed back to Berdi with him, looking at the Italian soldiers who were willing to go to the rear to work hard.

The Italian marshal is also very embarrassed now. Seeing his so-called soldiers make such a shameful choice, he also feels that his face is dull.

However, when the German general asked himself how many troops left in Italy to fight, the marshal became infinitely pessimistic.

He turned his head to the side, looked at Rommel, thought about it, and replied, "If it is according to the standard of the troops under your command, Your Excellency General... Obviously, there is no one."

As a soldier, admitting that the other party is better than you is a painful thing in itself. But now, after seeing the combat effectiveness of the German army, poor Graziani really can't think of a comparison.

He reckoned that if the Germans were given all the logistical support they could give the Germans three to four divisions, they could attack and take Matrouh.

Half a month ago, he commanded a total of 10 Italian divisions, but returned in Materou.

The huge gap between the German and Italian armies in terms of combat effectiveness really made the Italian marshal speechless.

"Uh... Your Excellency Marshal! Don't be so pessimistic... I may not have made it clear, I mean, if I launch an attack, how many Italian troops do you have to fight with us." Rommel was embarrassed, and then quickly explained said.

Of course he couldn't demand the Italian army in the same way he demanded the German army. He had already seen the Italian skirmishers who had been "captured twice", and it was better to count on God than to count on them.

What Rommel meant was to use some of the Italian troops that could still fight to make up for Germany's insufficiency in infantry and artillery, forming a complementary group.

Although I don't expect the Italians to have such amazing battlefield performance, it is still possible to use them to do some alerts in non-key defensive directions, including the protection of logistical forces.

That's why Rommel asked Marshal Graziani how many Italian troops he had to keep fighting.

Hearing Rommel's question, Marshal Graziani fell into thought, and he tried his best to raise the standard of requirements for his subordinates, in order to be able to bring these troops to fight with the German army.

After thinking about it, Graziani continued to be pessimistic... He explained the situation of his army to Rommel a little embarrassedly: "Actually, my troops all need to rest. After the fiasco, now their morale is low, It is not suitable to continue fighting."

After explaining two sentences, the poor Italian marshal came to a conclusion that he felt a little embarrassing: "If you plan to counterattack immediately, General, then the troops we can accompany the battle are only about 5,000 people."

Just listening to this answer shows how badly the Italian army was hit by this defeat.

There are almost 100,000 Italian troops, but now it is convenient for the troops to fight back immediately, only a pitiful 5,000...

In fact, Rommel also knew that it was impossible to expect immediate support from Italy in terms of a large number of troops.

Think about it from a different angle: If the Italian army can immediately give Rommel decent reinforcements, why should they retreat from the periphery of Matrouh?

"I know the difficulties in Italy!" Glancing at the already decadent Italian marshal, Rommel comforted: "I know that your troops have suffered heavy losses, and it will take time to recover and rest."

He spoke in a persuasive manner and said to the Italian marshal, "That's why I ordered the retreat from Matrou, didn't I?"

Having said this, he paused and continued to organize the language: "I mean, after 10 days, I will suddenly fight back at the border... Can you provide me with 8,000 to 10,000 troops? "

Listen, listen to other people's arrangements! What is reasonable? What does it mean to think what other people think? Germans not only can fight wars, this kind of thoughtfulness is really masculine!

Shaking his head, some inexplicable thoughts popped out of his mind. Marshal Graziani, who has been reduced to a small subject in terms of identity, is about to be moved by Rommel's thoughtfulness.

"If it is 10 days later... then I can take out at least 8,000 people! Your Excellency General, do you want it?" After being moved, Marshal Graziani gave Rommel his promise.

"I want to attack Matrouh in 10 days. In the field environment, I will try to kill as many British troops as possible, and occupy the port of Matrouh as quickly as possible!" Rommel replied.

In Rommel's consideration, he did not intend to waste too much time on the periphery of Matrouh. After all, it was a situation that any general was unwilling to face with his back against the longest supply line.

So Rommel carefully planned this retreat. He planned to let the British soldiers who had been hit by his offensive compression be forced to disperse.

He then swept the outskirts of Matrouh with a lightning strike ~www.wuxiaspot.com~, eliminating the British troops who had no time to retreat back to Matrouh.

If everything went very smoothly, then he could occupy Matrou almost without a fight, avoiding the embarrassing process of consuming his own supplies on the transport line.

After all, this is a desert, a desert wasteland far from the main battlefield in Europe. Before a war was fought here, the most calculated thing was the consumption of related materials.

It is precisely because the battle scale here is small, the battle space is large, the material consumption is large, and the material preparation is small that so many classic counterattacks can be born.

"However, General, even if I can provide 10,000 people to support you, with the strength in our hands, we are still not sure of occupying Matrou!" Graziani was full of this question.

With less than 15,000 men to capture Matrouh, this is not a very sure option. If Graziani was given the choice, he would rather wait for a few more troops.

"No need, because in these 10 days, the reinforcements I need are almost here!" Rommel said confidently to his friendly marshal.