章節 48: Tugra
In fact, Qin Chuan's plan had another advantage, which was a "feint to the east and attack in the west." This was similar to Rommel's fortune in disobedience: Hitler had ordered Rommel to hold his position and not attack, but this command was intercepted by the British forces. Thus, Wavell concluded that Rommel would not attack. However, Rommel kept pursuing the British forces aggressively up to Mezilli without any intention of stopping.
Similarly, Rommel commanded Colonel Slyne to hold Tengertengle at all costs. The British, upon intercepting this message, would then assume that the German forces were definitely pinned at Tengertengle, so all their plans were based on this premise, leaving other areas unguarded.
Little did they know that Colonel Slyne was also one to disobey orders, so the British would again suffer from being able to decipher German codes.
Of course, these were thoughts Qin Chuan couldn't share with Colonel Slyne, otherwise, he could never explain how he came to know such "top-secret" information... Even in Britain, probably no more than ten people knew of this.
That evening, the First Infantry Corps, under the leadership of Colonel Slyne, left Tengertengle.
To confuse the British, Colonel Slyne also left a platoon of infantry behind.
This platoon, divided into squads, scattered around Tengertengle, occasionally firing shots outside the town and sometimes even firing artillery.
They were ordered to hold their ground until the very last moment, that is, until the British forces breached Tengertengle... At which point they had one final task: to detonate the fuel and ammunition in the warehouse.
As for how this platoon would retreat... no one mentioned it, as it seemed a trivial matter.
But Qin Chuan knew it was not trivial, at least not for this platoon, because they might have to stay in Tengertengle forever.
This was something Qin Chuan found hard to come to terms with—a platoon of over a hundred men, how could they just be discarded and given up on... But then Qin Chuan thought that perhaps this was common on the battlefield, as situations often arise where "sacrificing a few to save the majority" is necessary.
At that moment, Qin Chuan couldn't help but think: "What if it were my own platoon left in Tengertengle to execute the 'final task'?"
Qin Chuan didn't dare to contemplate further, as he couldn't bear the implications of such a scenario. He glanced back at Tengertengle, still echoing with gunfire, almost seeing several German soldiers bidding farewell to photos of their wives and children in the darkness.
Such is war! Qin Chuan sighed.
The troops, led by the scouts, silently moved out of the city, under orders of silence and on foot.
The purpose of the silence was clear, to prevent the British from noticing.
However, the "silence" was not as simple as it sounded. Orders required everyone to fill their canteens to prevent noise during movement. The canteens had to be carried one on each side, and any items that might clink together had to be wrapped in cotton. After preparations, soldiers had to walk back and forth individually to ensure no sound was made before they were deemed ready.
Walking had the same purpose as silence... Driving vehicles would expose their movements as soon as the engines started.
However, this posed a series of problems. Without vehicles, how would they carry supplies?
Ammunition was less of a concern; the First Infantry Corps had used much of it in previous battles, particularly the 105mm howitzer shells, of which only three remained operational after bombings by British planes. Colonel Slyne simply ordered them left behind in Tengertengle.
Without the howitzers, the light weapons' ammunition could be carried by the soldiers themselves. Qin Chuan worried, however... Even with all the ammunition, each soldier only had eighty rounds, plus whatever was left from before, totaling ninety-three rounds. Would this be enough for the troops to advance along the supply line, capture Tobruk, and hold it?
This was a future concern. Many believed that without vehicles, they wouldn't last long in the desert.
This reasoning made sense; the soldiers only had two canteens of water each, barely enough for two days under normal circumstances... If battle ensued and water consumption increased, it might run out in hours.
But Colonel Slyne simply said, "If we run out of water, we'll just take it from the British!"
This reminded Qin Chuan of an old Chinese song: "No food, no clothes, the enemy will provide..."
It seemed Colonel Slyne harbored similar thoughts.
Yet, the German soldiers felt particularly uneasy, evident from the expressions on the faces around him... Although they said nothing, as silence was mandated, their apprehension was palpable.
About half an hour later, the troops successfully passed through the British blockade area.
This is one of the advantages of desert warfare... Unlike other terrains that only require the blocking of a few strategic points or essential routes, like bridges or high grounds, the desert is open everywhere and can be traversed anywhere, making it extremely difficult to completely seal off and requiring more manpower.
After lifting the ban on talking, Werner, who had been holding back, quickly caught up to Qin Chuan and asked quietly, "Sergeant, are we going in the wrong direction?"
"Why do you think that?" Qin Chuan countered.
"Shouldn't we be heading west to rejoin the main force at Mezilli?" Werner said, looking up at the sky, where the North Star shone—Qin Chuan had taught him how to use it to navigate not long ago.
"No, we are not going the wrong way!" Qin Chuan replied.
"But we are clearly heading east!" Werner became somewhat anxious. "We're walking towards the enemy!"
"That's exactly where we're headed!" Qin Chuan answered softly. "You're right, we are walking towards the enemy!"
Hearing this, those around them cast surprised glances at Qin Chuan.
For the sake of secrecy, most of the soldiers were unaware of this plan, even Kuhn was in the dark... The plan was only known to officers at the platoon level and above, of course, Qin Chuan was an exception.
"Sergeant!" Werner continued, "I want to know why we are heading towards the enemy?"
"Perhaps..." Qin Chuan said, "The orders will come down soon!"
Sure enough, as soon as Qin Chuan finished speaking, the command came down loud and clear: "Increase speed, target Tugra!"
"Tugra..." the baker, who often looked at maps, said, "God, we are indeed heading towards the enemy! That means... we are attacking, not retreating!"
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