Bab 64: Supplies
To thank everyone for the energy stones, today I'll be updating four chapters.
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Qin Chuan knew about this because "mobile defense" is a tactic frequently employed by the Germans.
This tactic can be said to have been forced out of them: after World War I, Germany's Reichswehr was limited to 100,000 men. To deal with the threat posed by the superior enemy forces on the Western Front, they developed a mode of defense different from the traditional positional defense... mobile defense.
Its characteristic is that when one's own forces are insufficient in number, they can form a local superiority in troops during movement to defeat the enemy. The key requirement is one's own "mobility." (Note: Many people believe that this is a tactic invented by the Germans, but in fact, many examples of "mobile defense" can be found in ancient China, such as the Mongol cavalry's combat style and General Meng Gong of the Song Dynasty's method of resisting Mongol cavalry.)
The facts proved that this innovative tactic was correct. In World War II, German troops and equipment were often inferior to their opponents, but they relied on rapid maneuvering, interspersing through enemy lines like "lightning." This not only allowed them to attack the enemy's weak points but also to maximize and rapidly deploy their combat power.
On the contrary, the British forces, due to their slow tank speeds and the limited number of mechanized units, appeared to have sufficient troops but actually had few forces on the battlefield at any given time. Many units hadn't even arrived by the time the battle was over. These units, which played no role, were effectively non-existent.
Qin Chuan guessed correctly; the British indeed dispersed their forces along the entire front to launch an attack on Tobruk, aiming, as Werner said, to spread the German forces thin.
However, Colonel Schlein, a veteran from World War I, knew better than to scatter his defenses. Otherwise, each mile would be guarded by only 33 soldiers, meaning there would be only about two soldiers per 100 meters... this would virtually create gaps everywhere.
Colonel Schlein's response was to make full use of the seemingly endless ammunition in Tobruk. He deployed only one battalion on the front line. The German machine gunners in this battalion were fully equipped with British Bren guns and Vickers heavy machine guns, allowing them to fire large volumes of bullets from bunkers at any suspicious point. Additionally, the bunkers were equipped with anti-tank guns, supported by trenches, barbed wire, and mines. Occasionally, a few flares would be fired into the sky, making it nearly impossible for the British forces to advance anywhere.
Meanwhile, Colonel Schlein personally led the 3rd Battalion as a mobile unit within the Blue Line. The mobile units were distributed in company-sized groups in three directions along the front, with a distance of about 12 kilometers between each company. The three companies effectively divided the 30-mile (48-kilometer) front into four segments.
These mobile units were equipped with a large number of armored cars and trucks, some loaded with ammunition and others towing howitzers captured from British depots. Whenever a critical situation arose, such as a British attack supported by tanks, one or two mobile units would quickly arrive at the corresponding position to counterattack the British forces.
Even so, the mobile units were still kept extremely busy under the British attacks. The British would attack from one direction at one moment and from another at the next, leaving Colonel Schlein feeling a bit overwhelmed.
In fact, both Colonel Schlein and Qin Chuan underestimated Major General Evans, the commander of the British 15th Armored Division.
Everything the British were doing was a feint. Their real offensive force was actually positioned in a passageway to the southwest. When engineers lay mines, they always leave such a passageway for their retreating forces to quickly and safely pass through and re-enter the defensive line. Afterward, the engineers would cover the passageway with mines and barbed wire.
The Tobruk defensive line also had such a passageway, but when the engineers learned that the approaching forces were Germans and not British, they hastily laid some mines on the passageway. However, this did not disrupt Major General Evans' plan.
"This passageway is in this low-lying area!" Major General Evans pointed to the map and said to his staff officer, "There are small sand dunes on either side of it... in fact, they can barely be called small mounds, but the less noticeable they are, the less likely the Germans are to detect them!"
The staff officer's eyes lit up: "That's great! We can use a frontal attack to draw the enemy's attention, cover the sound of the tank engines with artillery fire, and then send a force through the passageway to break through the enemy's defensive line and destroy them from within!"
Major General Evans shook his head: "We can't do that, Barrett!"
"What?" The staff officer was taken aback. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to destroy the German forces, yet Major General Evans said, "We can't do that."
"Think about it, what will happen if we defeat these German forces?" Major General Evans said as he walked over to a makeshift table made of ammunition crates and poured himself a cup of coffee.
"They'll retreat!" the staff officer said.
"And then?"
Reminded by Major General Evans, the staff officer suddenly had an "Oh" moment: "They'll retreat to Tobruk port and engage us in street fighting, which would be a big problem for us..."
Evans almost spat out the coffee he was drinking. He looked at the staff officer with disbelief and asked, "Barrett, how did you become a staff officer and earn the rank of colonel?"
The staff officer felt a bit embarrassed because a significant part of his career advancement was indeed due to family connections.
"Is there a problem, General?" the staff officer asked, blushing.
"Barrett!" Major General Evans asked in return, "What do we need most?"
The staff officer suddenly realized: "Supplies! You mean the supplies at Tobruk port!"
"Yes!" Major General Evans nodded, "If we simply defeat the German forces... all we would gain is a meaningless defensive line, a pile of corpses, and a wasteland. The Germans would have ample time to destroy those supplies. Without supplies, do you think we can handle the upcoming battles? The main German forces are still in Mersa Matruh, and they won't let us off easily!"
Hearing this, the staff officer nodded.
It's important to note that the British forces had over 100,000 troops, not including auxiliary personnel. The daily water requirement alone for all these people was 1,500 tons, not to mention fuel, ammunition, and the like.
Realizing this, the staff officer's expression became solemn, understanding that the German forces could potentially cause the entire British line to collapse with just a single match.
"So!" Major General Evans said, "This force will break through the defensive line and head straight for Tobruk port. According to the intelligence we've received, the Germans have only one infantry company stationed there..."
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