my head

Rommel's decision undoubtedly made him miss the opportunity.Because on that morning the remnants of the Anglo-American Armored Brigade were still in the great desert south of the Corniche, unaware that Rommel's armor had overtaken them as they retreated.It was only because of Rommel's pause in the attack that they had to avoid falling into the trap before returning to Alamein, so that they narrowly escaped from being sealed in the pocket.Everyone who is proficient in desert warfare knows that the most important thing to fight in the desert is the tank, so Rommel's mistake planted some disadvantages for the future.

Just when Rommel's torrent of steel gathered in Alamein and was ready to launch an attack at any time, two completely different scenes appeared in front and rear of the British and American coalition forces.On the one hand, there is a fierce battle ahead, with tanks clashing with each other, firing at each other with cannons, the destroyed tanks on the battlefield are burning, billowing thick smoke fills the sky over the desert.In the rear, people were panicked by the news that Rommel had arrived in Alamein, and there were retreating crowds everywhere.The British fleet had already retreated into the Red Sea, and light black smoke from the destruction of archives was rising from the chimney of the Cairo combat command post into the sky.

Cairo: People saw all this and thought it was a signal that the Anglo-American coalition forces wanted to flee Egypt.All of a sudden, the train station was crowded with people, all eager to escape from this place of right and wrong.The general feeling of failure made people cannot help but attribute the responsibility for the disastrous defeat in January to a command error.In this way, in order to restore morale, the replacement of senior commanders has become an inevitable choice.Under such circumstances, Churchill decided that Alexander would succeed Auchinleck as the commander-in-chief of the Anglo-American coalition forces in the Middle East, and Gott would be the commander of the 1th Army.Gott.rank of lieutenant general. For three years, he has been commanding an army to fight bitterly in the desert.At this time, he was still fighting Rommel near Alamein.Perhaps it was fate, but on the way Gort took a transport plane back to Cairo from the front line to take office, he was hit by a German fighter jet chasing from a high altitude, causing the plane to crash and death.As a result, Montgomery, who had good luck, was urgently transferred from England by Churchill to fill this vacancy.

The British also had a lot of headaches about the candidates for the commander in North Africa. In the end, it was the decision made by the Head of State of Windsor to help Churchill who could withstand Rommel's fierce attack.Because in the days when Windsor and Zhang Jun wanted to get along, I heard Zhang Jun mention that among the British Army, that is, Montgomery was a little bit talented, and the other commanders really didn't let Zhang Jun pay attention. Therefore, he had to send Montgomery, who was not yet a very high rank, to preside over the war in North Africa. This was a life-and-death showdown between millions of troops.The commander of the US military was originally Bradley, but now he has also become Eisenhower.

Britain and the United States summed up the lessons of failure.The two teams do not belong to each other, and command is very inconvenient.Coordination is even more impossible to talk about. In view of this situation, the head of state of Windsor urgently called President Roosevelt of the United States to discuss the formation of a joint command of the three armed forces between the two countries. This position was immediately obtained by Montgomery, and Eisenhower could only be the deputy commander in chief.As a result, the command and coordination of the British and American coalition forces has been improved to a large extent.

The current comparison of the strength of the two sides is that the German SS has 200 million, the British 100 million, and the US 150 million.The comparison of military strength is almost 200 million to 250 million, and the German military strength is one-fifth smaller than that of the British and American coalition forces.Germany is equipped with sixteen armored divisions, which are basically full, and the copycats, tigers, and No. 32 each account for one-third.The Anglo-American Allied Forces have as many as [-] armored divisions, but they are basically medium-sized tanks. These British and American tanks can only be regarded as the same level as the No. [-] tanks.

If the distance between the two sides is 500 meters, the British and American tanks can penetrate the front of the Tiger, because the tank guns of the current British and American tanks are much larger than in history, and the threat to the Tiger is still great. Of course, the Tiger can also be sideways. Reverse the car and destroy these British and American tanks 500 meters away.As for the tanks of the Anglo-American Allied Forces against the Shanzhai 99, they can only be penetrated by hitting the crotch of the Shanzhai 99.

The tanks of the Anglo-American coalition forces are not as powerful as the "Bazooka" 88.9 mm caliber anti-tank rocket launcher equipped by the British and American coalition forces. The vertical armor penetration capability of this thing is 260 mm, and it is a very powerful weapon.The United States named it "Super Bazooka", and its power has been greatly improved. When firing the m28a2 high-explosive armor-piercing projectile, the muzzle velocity exceeds 100ms, the armor-piercing power is 260mm, and the maximum range has also doubled to 1mm. rice.

Although the power and safety of the "Super Bazooka" have been significantly improved, there are still many shortcomings: First, the volume and quality of the launch tube are too large. Although the split launch tube can improve portability, it increases the Shooting preparation time, the second is that the aiming device is relatively simple, and the shooting accuracy for moving targets is not high; the third is that the rocket launcher is not disposable and requires two people to operate and carry it, which increases the preparation; Safety mechanisms such as muzzle safety, isolation safety, and self-destruct devices will be subject to certain restrictions when used in jungle areas. At the same time, although the mechanical trigger fuze is simple, it cannot guarantee the instantaneous explosive performance of ammunition.In addition, the rapid combustion of the engine gunpowder is not ideal. Sometimes the propellant has not been completely burned after the rocket flies out of the cylinder, which is not conducive to shortening the length of the launch cylinder and is harmful to the shooter.

The body armor of the SS copycat 99 is only 99mm, but the entire body armor of the copycat 60 is inclined at 60.00 degrees. In this case, the armor penetration of the "Super Bazooka" can only be used 60% efficiency, that is to say, when the "Super Bazooka" is facing armor inclined at 160 degrees, its penetration ability is only about 99mm. The front of the copycat Type [-] tank, except the front of the crotch, can completely resist "Super Bazooka", but the sides and rear are helpless, and the vertical armor of the Tiger tank is about to be penetrated in one fell swoop.

The tanks of the Anglo-American coalition forces are not enough to worry about, but the "Super Bazooka" and large-caliber anti-tank guns of the Anglo-American coalition forces are what gave Rommel a headache. But in the decisive battle in the desert, armored forces are the main assault force. Under the current situation, making good use of armored divisions and "blitzkrieg" is a new topic for Rommel.

……

Montgomery was born on October 1887, 10, graduated from Sandhurst Military Academy, participated in World War I, and served as the commander of the 17rd Infantry Division in the early days of World War II.Before the Battle of Alamein, he was originally assigned to serve as the commander of the 3st Army Group to participate in the North African landing plan code-named "Torch".However, less than 1 hours after his appointment as the commander of the 1st Army, he was transferred to the commander of the 24th Army and also served as the commander-in-chief of the Anglo-American coalition forces throughout North Africa.It was the luckiest thing in his military career.The 8th Army was the largest army in the Allied Army at that time, and his opponent was the already famous "Desert Fox" Rommel. If he could defeat a famous opponent with the 8th Army, he would naturally be famous. Yang the world, become a radiant general star.

Montgomery received a call from the War Department at about 1:8 a.m. on January 7.The short, stocky general had a birdlike appearance, and his high, slightly nasal voice sounded harsh and unfriendly.He and Rommel have many similarities. On the one hand, both of them are withdrawn in character. Among the generals they travel with, they have more enemies than friends;On the other hand, they were both formidable and resistant officers when restrained, but when left to their own devices they were the best and most ingenious commanders.Neither smokes nor drinks hard alcohol, and both enjoy winter sports and keeping fit.

Even more interesting, both of them also have a unique ornament or two.Rommel's ornament was his Plexiglas glasses, while Montgomery's was an Australian bush hat with the team crest on it.Both have had a notorious run of reputations, with Rommel feeding swans laced with peppers as a child and taking pleasure in admiring their pain; Montgomery had a reputation as a typical bully during his military school career.On the battlefield, however, as soldiers, the similarities between the two of them no longer existed.Rommel was an orthodox professional soldier, known for his adaptability and deep insight; Montgomery was an eccentric man, and his orders to his soldiers were:

"Wherever you find Germans, kill them."

While Rommel relied entirely on his own intelligence in combat, Montgomery was good at using the wisdom of others, relying on military strength to make up for any flaws in the plan.

In Cairo in January, the sun is still scorching.Due to the hot weather, Montgomery was still wearing the military uniform he had in England when he arrived in Cairo, so the first thing he did when he arrived at the hotel was to send his adjutant to buy a set of outfits suitable for the desert climate, and then washed them thoroughly. a hot bath.Montgomery didn't have any experience in fighting in desert areas in the past, and he didn't really appreciate the unique personality of the desert until he came here.There are undulating sand dunes everywhere, only the thorny hump bushes struggle hard under the wind and sand and grow unyieldingly in this barren desert.The climate of the desert is like a child's face. The weather is still suffocatingly hot at noon, and when the cold air hits at night, it can suddenly drop below zero degrees Celsius within an hour.

In addition, besides poisonous snakes and scorpions, there is also an army of annoying flies.However, anyone who is familiar with the desert knows that the biggest dangers in the desert are not these.

... (To be continued..)