Chapter 49: Surprise
As the soldiers marched, each one felt uneasy, wondering: Why are we still advancing towards the enemy? Do we have enough supplies and ammunition? Where are the reinforcements?
But an order is an order; there was no room for argument or doubt, so the soldiers had to follow the troop and jog towards Tugla.
Tugla was over thirty kilometers from Tenggertengel, and they were about to reach their destination just before dawn the next day.
At that moment, an unexpected "surprise" occurred…
As the troops moved under the cover of night, unbeknownst to them, several armored vehicles had joined their ranks.
Normally, having a few vehicles accompany a marching unit wouldn't be unusual, so the soldiers didn't pay much attention and allowed the vehicles to march along with them for a while; even Qin Chuan hadn't noticed anything odd at first.
However, as they continued, Qin Chuan sensed something was amiss... The troop had left Tenggertengel without a single vehicle, not even Colonel Slyne was in a vehicle, so where did these armored vehicles come from?
If they were recon vehicles captured from the British, that might make sense. But the troop was on a covert march, so how could they have captured several noisy armored vehicles to accompany them?
Especially when one of the vehicles, blocked by soldiers, lightly honked its horn, Qin Chuan grew suspicious... Why would an armored vehicle honk its horn, especially when they were about to reach their attack target? Weren't they worried about revealing their position?
Thus, Qin Chuan signaled to his men, and a dozen soldiers with their rifles stopped the five armored vehicles.
"What's the matter, Sergeant?" Kuhn rushed up, surprised by Qin Chuan's actions. He thought the vehicles were carrying officers, and Qin Chuan's behavior seemed self-defeating.
Unexpectedly, the driver of the armored vehicle stuck his head out and cursed, "Don't block the way, damn it!"
Kuhn was startled by the curse and quickly raised his rifle at the armored vehicle... The driver had spoken in English.
Qin Chuan, rifle in hand, approached the vehicle and commanded in English, "Sir, if you want to live, turn off the engine and open the doors!"
The driver seemed to understand and his face turned pale, but he slowly raised his hands as Qin Chuan had instructed.
From the back of the vehicle, another sleepy voice asked, "What's happening, John, why are we stopping?"
"Ge-General…" the driver stammered, unsure of how to respond.
Hearing this, Qin Chuan realized they had stumbled upon a major capture... Generals, in the armored vehicles? British army generals?
Qin Chuan was right; indeed, there were British army generals in the vehicles, not just one, but four, across five vehicles, along with their aides, who had all been dozing, rendering them useless until now.
The generals were Major Generals Philip Nimm and Richard O'Connor, along with two brigadier generals who were staff officers.
These were no ordinary figures (indeed, no one who attains the rank of major general in a war is ordinary).
Major General Philip Nimm was the current commander at the Cyranni Headquarters, essentially commanding all frontline British forces at the time.
Richard O'Connor was even more extraordinary... He had been Nimm's predecessor and had recently led the British forces in a crushing defeat of the Italian army, capturing 130,000 Italian soldiers and officers.
This victory had greatly enhanced General O'Connor's reputation, leading to his promotion to Commander-in-Chief in Egypt, with General Nimm taking over his duties.
However, Nimm was less fortunate... While O'Connor faced a crumbling Italian army, Nimm faced Rommel's 5th Light Armored Division landing in Africa, and was beaten back all the way here.
Wavell thought that part of the reason for the defeats was Nimm's poor command, so he sent the previously successful General O'Connor to "assist" Nimm in hopes of turning defeat into victory.
But who could have expected... General O'Connor had barely been there a few days before he stumbled right into the German forces.
Hearing that two generals had been captured, the surrounding German soldiers gathered to see the British generals for themselves.
"Welcome, Generals," Qin Chuan said to a bewildered Nimm and O'Connor stepping out of the vehicle, "I think you made the right choice!"
General Nimm glared fiercely at the driver, remarking, "Well done, John. We really should award you a medal!"
"Don't worry, General!" Qin Chuan responded as he disarmed Nimm and the others, "We will award him a medal!"
The German soldiers, many of whom understood English, burst into laughter at this.
The driver, looking resigned, probably thought this was the most ridiculous thing he had ever done—delivering four generals straight into enemy hands.
But perhaps it wasn't entirely his fault. First, no one expected to encounter a large German force outside Tenggertengel, and second, it was still dark, and the desert dust on the windows made it impossible to distinguish whether the troops were British or German.
But now, it was too late for regrets, and the driver had to accept his fate.
Soon, Colonel Slyne also arrived, having apparently seen photos of Generals O'Connor and Nimm and recognized them instantly.
"My God!" Colonel Slyne exclaimed, "General Nimm, General O'Connor... are you here to capture me?"
The Germans laughed again.
"Well done, Sergeant!" Colonel Slyne clapped Qin Chuan on the shoulder before taking the generals away, "We're off to a good start, aren't we? It seems your plan was right!"
Then, as the guards escorted Generals Nimm and others away for interrogation to gather more intelligence, Qin Chuan noticed the German soldiers around him staring.
"What's the matter?" Qin Chuan asked. "It's just a few captured generals, and you all played a part!"
"It's not about capturing the generals!" the baker said.
"Then what is it?" Qin Chuan was puzzled.
"So..." Bazel said, "This crazy plan was your idea?"
Qin Chuan then realized what the issue was.
"I just made a suggestion to the Colonel!" Qin Chuan explained. "I didn't expect him to agree!"
Bazel shook his head in admiration, "Sergeant, you know my reaction when I heard this plan? I was stunned... because I thought it was just a gamble, but after giving it some thought, it made sense. I can't believe the man who came up with this plan is standing right in front of me... well done!"
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