World War II: Starting with the defeat of the Desert Fox

Chapter 60 Vulnerability

Meanwhile, at a tank base 2 kilometers from Borg Arab's command post, a debate was taking place in a newly partitioned office.

Only Ramsden and Thorne were inside.

Perhaps it was the high temperature at two o'clock in the afternoon, but Ramsden was a little irritable. He slammed a stack of documents heavily in front of Thorne:

"Take a look at this, Captain."

"I think you still don't understand the situation you're facing."

"The Germans laid at least hundreds of thousands of landmines along our frontal defenses, which stretched for tens of kilometers and even 5 to 7 kilometers inland."

(Note: Historically, Rommel planted 50 landmines along the defensive lines, earning the area the nickname "Devil's Garden.")

Thorne was quite surprised: "Hundreds of thousands? How did they manage to get so many landmines in such a short time?"

The German supply lines were in a state of semi-blockade by the British. If transporting oil was difficult, transporting landmines would be no exception.

Ramsden looked slightly embarrassed: "A significant portion of them were British landmines."

Thorne then realized that the British army had suffered a series of defeats, and the German army had captured countless supplies, including landmines.

It's ironic that Rommel used British landmines to stop the British advance!

"That's not the point, Captain," Ramsden reminded him.

"Thousands of artillery pieces were deployed in the minefield at the same time, at least half of which were anti-tank guns."

"Do you know what this means? They're prepared to counter our tank assault."

As he spoke, he took out several more photos and placed them in front of Thorne:

"Look at this, a PAK38 anti-tank gun."

"This is a PAK40, and also an 88mm anti-aircraft gun."

"They hid these guns very well, and the air force could not find them at all. The 88mm anti-aircraft guns were even in bunkers, and even if you walked right up to them, you could only see the barrel."

(The two images above show the German anti-tank guns PAK38 and PAK40, respectively. The PAK38 was the mainstay at the time, while the PAK40 was an elite weapon capable of penetrating the British Matilda from the front.)

Ramsden continued:

"This is a trap set for us, understand?"

"Unless our artillery shells can plow through every inch of this land and clear out all the landmines."

"Otherwise, we'll become targets for German anti-tank guns once we go in."

Thorne countered, "So what?"

Ramsden stared at Thorne, his tone softening:

"You know what to do, Captain."

"You should cut ties with us and go back to headquarters to advise Montgomery."

"We won't blame you; this is the fate of armored forces."

Ramsden had sensed the danger long ago, and he went to great lengths to recruit Thorne in order to give the troops a glimmer of hope.

What he didn't expect was that the time would be so short, so short that even God couldn't change it.

Thorne laughed. "Is that what you wanted to say?"

Ramsden didn't answer, he just shrugged, as if to say, "What else?"

Thorne replied:

"You know what their goal is."

"They want to pull me down from my pedestal, to make me feel comfortable as their stepping stone, or rather, their puppet."

"So stop with the nonsense, we're all in the same boat."

Thorne knew that if he compromised today, he would have to put in several times, or even dozens of times, more effort to regain it in the future, especially his prestige in the army and the trust of his soldiers.

Ramsden stared blankly at Thorne for a long while before finally nodding: "Alright, tell me your thoughts, Captain."

The implication is that if there are no good ideas, then it's better to go back to headquarters; there's no need to make unnecessary sacrifices.

Thorne pondered for a moment and analyzed:

"I think Montgomery is more terrifying than the enemy."

"Because we don't know what orders he will give us, nor are we sure what level of 'reinforcements' he will provide."

Ramsden nodded in agreement:

"So we need to prepare for the worst."

"There was no artillery support, no air force or infantry, only armored corps."

As he spoke, Ramsden pointed to the map:

"Moreover, the troops are dispersed."

"Because my armored divisions will, as usual, be divided and assigned to infantry units in the form of companies and platoons."

"As for your coordinated combat tactics, that's probably the prerogative of the 7th Armored Division."

Thorne nodded helplessly.

The current state of the British Army is that Hobart's dual-tank tactical theory has taken root.

Although Montgomery accepted Thorne's "cooperative operations" tactics, he would naturally assume that it was a tactic used only by "cruiser tanks," that is, units responsible for infiltration and breakthrough.

For a frontal attack, it should be "infantry tanks," otherwise how can infantry attack without tank cover?

Therefore, the 10th Armored Division would be cut up and assigned to the infantry.

The result is that the available space is further reduced, or even eliminated.

After a moment of silence, Thorne said, "The model group might not; it will most likely be used as a reserve team."

Ramsden paused, then realized: "Yes, Montgomery always believed that the Grant tank was not suitable for frontal assaults."

This was the shadow cast by the painful lessons of the Battle of Knightsbridge: the tall hull of the Grant tank was always spotted by the enemy from afar and turned into a fireball, making it even less effective than the Crusader in frontal attacks.

Just then, Thorne incorporated all the Grant tanks into the model unit.

Therefore, Montgomery is unlikely to split up the sample group and instead organize it into a reserve team.

If not, Ramsden, as the corps commander, also has the authority or the right to make suggestions.

Thinking of this, Ramsden chuckled self-deprecatingly:

"That's great, we have a sample group we can use."

"There are a total of 73 Grants, of which 21 are faulty."

"We will use them to break through the mine-strewn and anti-tank lines, and then defeat Rommel's Afrika Korps!"

Clearly, he still had no hope.

Thorne remained calm:

"We can look on the bright side, Lieutenant General."

"If the model group is used as a reserve team, it has the right to choose."

"What I mean is, we can choose any position to attack."

The term "reserve force" refers to mobile warfare; it is used to fill in any position where armored forces are insufficient.

It inherently possesses a considerable degree of freedom.

Reminded by Thorne, Ramsden instantly understood what he needed to do.

"Therefore, our primary task is to scout the German defenses," he said. "Ideally, we should find a suitable point of attack."

Thorne nodded: "Over sixty kilometers, we can't miss a single spot. We need reconnaissance results within a few days, any problems?"

"Leave it to me." Ramsden's expression was grave. "Hopefully there's a loophole, but don't get your hopes up too high!"

His opponent was Rommel, and he was not one to easily leave any openings for his opponents.

Even if there are loopholes, they could still be traps!