Chapter 19 war in the mediterranean

In the first few battles of the Mediterranean theater, the German and Italian attempts to seize control of Egypt and the Suez Canal were very obvious.The process of carrying out these campaigns has confirmed an obvious fact: the great stretching of lines of communication, both vertically and horizontally, has certain effects.These campaigns also demonstrate the importance of taking the indirect route. In September 1940, Marshal Graziani of Italy began an offensive from Libya to Egypt.In terms of troop strength, the Italian army's victory in this offensive should be without doubt, because their number is much larger than that of the British army stationed in Egypt.However, the mobility of the Italian army is very limited: on the one hand, it is due to the low degree of mechanization, and on the other hand, it is due to the lack of efficiency of administrative leadership.Therefore, after advancing 115 kilometers across the western desert, the Italian army was stopped in the Sidi Barrani area and stayed there for two months.

General Weaver, commander-in-chief of the British Middle East Army, decided to use the Western Desert Corps to carry out an assault on the Italian army.This Western Desert Corps was later organized into the Eighth Army, commanded by General Aconnor.From the planning point of view, this operation is just a raid with a large number of troops, rather than a regular offensive, because it is expected to hit and go.At that time, there were only two divisions under Aconnor, one was the Seventh Armored Division and the other was the Fourth Division of the Indian Army.According to the plan, the Fourth Division of the Indian Army would withdraw to the Nile River immediately after the attack, and then transferred to Sudan, because it was being threatened by Italian troops from Eritrea and Abyssinia.

The attack, however, had decisive results.Arconor's troops moved across the desert and out to the rear of the Italians.This surprise attack, which had a paralyzing and subversive effect on the enemy, both physically and psychologically, was an example of the use of the indirect route.The surprise attack took place on December 9, 1940.The greater part of Graziani's army was immediately cut off, thirty-five thousand were taken prisoner, and the remainder fled in terror to their former defenses.The 7th Armored Division pursued closely behind the retreating Italian army, quickly broke through the border defense line, and then carried out another maneuver in an attempt to encircle the retreating enemy, and cut off the intention to withdraw to Bardia shortly afterwards. Army Remnant.

If the British High Command had not stuck to its original plan, and had not immediately transferred the Fourth Indian Division back to Egypt, then the entire campaign against the Italians might well have come to an end here.Due to the lack of infantry support, the 7th Armored Division was of course unable to break through the Italian defenses at Bardia.In this way, a delay is a few weeks.Only later did a new infantry division, the Australian Sixth Division, be transferred from Palestine.On January 3, 1941, the British captured Bardia and took 40,000 prisoners.On the 22nd, Tobruk was captured and another 25,000 people were captured.

Graziani's remnants retreated through Benghazi towards Tripoli.The pursuit of these troops, one of the most distinguished and daring attacks of the war, is a fine example of the indirect line.On February 5, the 7th Armored Division completed a leap across the desert, the purpose of which was to advance out to the coastline south of Banga.The advance detachment of the division advanced 270 kilometers in just 36 hours through an inaccessible and unfamiliar terrain.At this time, the British army was immediately divided into two parts: one part was led by Colonel Combe, who blocked the enemy's retreat in the Bedavum area and set up an obstacle; the other part was the 4th Armored Brigade led by Brigadier General Canthal. the enemy until the enemy surrenders.The combined strength of these two British forces amounted to only three thousand men, but their tact and courage in fighting the Italians, who were greatly superior in numbers, resulted in the capture of twenty-one thousand men.

With such a small number of troops, the British army miraculously captured the Cyrenaica (now known as Bargay) area.This is what they did not expect.It is now impossible to stop the advance of this force on the road to Tripoli.The surviving Italian troops were not only too poorly equipped to block the attack of the opponent's tanks, but also their main force had been completely wiped out, and they were greatly shaken psychologically.Aconnor strongly advocated pursuing the victory and making full use of the decisive victory at Bedavum.He believed that a new assault could be launched without delay as long as fresh supplies could be obtained.However, the British government decided not to continue the attack, because it wanted to divert troops for that ill-fated expedition to Greece.Weaver received an order to leave only the minimum amount of troops to guard the Cyrenaica area.Akonor returned to Egypt, and the garrison was put in command of less able men.At this time, the advance troops of the German African Army led by Rommel had already arrived in Tripoli.In order to save their Italian Allies from destruction, Germany's aid came too late, but it finally arrived.In this way, a North African campaign was carried out for more than two years.During this period, the position of the British in Egypt was repeatedly and seriously threatened.

Rommel launched his first counterattack at the end of March, but his strength was barely a division.By means of a hasty march at night, he rounded the flank of the British army, advanced into the rear, and thereby destroyed their advance troops.Then, he made another feint like a siege, forcing the main force of the British army to surrender in the Mekili area.Rommel's counterattack was carried out suddenly, thus improving the effect of the assault.In just two weeks, he drove almost all the British troops out of Cyrenaica.Only a small British force retreated into Tobruk, and later became a thorn in Rommel's side.However, when the German troops advanced to the Egyptian border, their supply lines were stretched too far, so Rommel had to stop.

In June 1941, the British army received new reinforcements and attempted to attack Libya.The plan for this campaign was once called the poleaxe.In the battle, the British army basically adopted the method of frontal attack, and seemed to show their ambition to win.Rommel, on the other hand, adopted the method of far-reaching assault. He crossed the desert with tank troops and carried out a well-planned counter-assault to the flank of the British army, which not only stopped the British attack, but also turned the whole situation in his favor. In November, the British launched a larger offensive.At this time, General Auchinlek succeeded Weaver as the commander-in-chief of the British army, and the British army stationed on the Libyan border was reorganized into the Eighth Army, with General Konnihan as the commander.The offensive began on November 18, and the British continued to advance on the flank of the desert, approaching Rommel's rear.However, since the direct route was adopted many times in tactics later, and when encountering the enemy's tank force, they always wanted to use the method of frontal assault to destroy it. The strategic advantage obtained by the British army at the beginning by adopting the indirect route was completely lost.In this way, the British army instead fell into the net cast by Rommel.

In order to deal with the numerical superiority of the British mechanized forces and their greater mobility, the Germans tactically took the indirect route skillfully, luring the British tanks into the nets they set up.There, the German army had already concealed tanks and powerful 88mm artillery.This time, Rommel also highlighted his combat characteristics as in the last battle of the long-axe: using new defensive and offensive methods, and taking actions to deceive the enemy.These are the characteristics of modern mechanized warfare, which is to follow the principle: before making a surprise attack, you must first use your own shield to blunt the enemy's sword.As a result, the British army not only lost its strategic advantage, but also lost its advantage in the number of tanks to a large extent.Both psychologically and physically, the stability of the British Eighth Army was undermined.By November 23, therefore, Connihan was planning to call off the attack and withdraw to Egyptian territory in order to regroup his forces.

The next day, Rommel saw that the situation had developed for decisive action.Therefore, he immediately dispatched a rapid force, risking a detour to the Eighth Army's desert flank, crossing the border and entering the rear of the British army.The German tank troops quickly rushed to the rear of the British army, causing chaos and terror in the British army.If the right to advance and retreat of the British army had been completely in the hands of Connihan, then the outcome of this battle would have been German victory.However, at this critical juncture, Auchinlek personally rushed to the front line by plane, and he resolutely ordered the British army to continue fighting.Two days later, Auchinlek returned to Cairo, and he immediately appointed Li Teqi to replace Konihan.Thanks to Auchinlek's personal intervention, the British army was able to turn defeat into victory and advance far.But his decision, compared with Rommel's strategic attack, seems to be more of a gamble.Although the British army suffered from Rommel's strategic attack, they still kept their reserves in their rear.For the British army, one of the greatest blessings is that when Rommel's troops advanced to the border of Cyrenaica, they did not find the two huge military supply warehouses of the British army.The advance troops of the British army later relied entirely on these two warehouses for supplies.As for why Rommel failed to discover these two warehouses, it seems that it is because the British Air Force has air supremacy.

Rommel's far-reaching assault was of course a failure.Therefore, the loss he suffered when he failed was also quite serious.At that time, he led three tank divisions of his own (two German divisions and one Italian division), beyond the border of Cyrenaica, and thus separated from the rest of the army.At this moment, the remnants of the British army, which had been scattered by Rommel, took the opportunity to resume their activities in the rear. They regrouped and took offensive actions again. Contacted the garrison of Tobruk.This is also an example of taking risks.It shows that when the basic force remaining in a certain place is not strong enough to carry out long-term resistance, it is a risk to use only part of the force to carry out strategic attacks. After several days of hard fighting and constant adjustments to the deployment of the army, Rommel finally gained some tactical advantages, but the advantages were only temporary and did not improve his situation.His losses at this time were more serious than those at the beginning of the campaign.His tanks have dwindled considerably, beyond what he can support.What's more serious is that the British army is continuously receiving a large number of reinforcements.On December 6, Rommel was forced to stop fighting in the Tobruk area.Beginning to retreat towards An|El|Ghazala, and later retreated to the border of Tripolitania (now known as Terra Bruce). Here, Rommel used the method of turning from defense to offense again, and achieved amazing achievements.On December 27, 1941, the British army launched an offensive.At this time, Rommel first defended and blocked the enemy's offensive. Then, he made a detour from the flank and entered the enemy's rear, forcing the British army to fight on the reverse side, and finally surrounded the British army.A week later, German transports arrived and Rommel was reinforced with a considerable number of tanks.This is the first time reinforcements have been received since mid-November.Considering that the British army had lost a large number of tanks in the latest battle and had stretched the line of communication excessively, Rommel immediately decided to use his advantage to counterattack.When the British still thought that Rommel had not recovered, Rommel suddenly launched a counterattack and broke through the enemy's defense line in one fell swoop. Then, taking advantage of the chaotic situation of the British army, he launched a surprise attack from the side of the desert. Captured the British base in Benghazi, forcing them to retreat towards Ghazala.In this way, more than half of the area taken by the British army was recovered. For the next three months, the battle line was largely stabilized in Gazala's position.The British Eighth Army adopted a line deployment, which was more suitable as a starting position for launching a new offensive, but not very conducive to a well-organized defense.This time it was Rommel who took the lead, and he took active action.On the night of May 26, 1942, he carried out a wide roundabout maneuver with his tank force in an attempt to surprise the British army.However, before the German tanks could reach the coast and cut off the British defending the Gazala area, the German troops were stopped by the British.Rommel then turned to the defense, and made his back tightly against the British minefield.This gesture made the British army believe that Rommel had fallen into a desperate situation with no way out, and it was imperative to surrender.However, the counterattack of the British army was too direct, and instead made itself fall into the trap set by Rommel.This trap was designed by Rommel when he turned to the defense at the beginning of being blocked, and it was quickly deployed.Trapped in the trap, the Eighth Army almost exhausted its reserves and was finally unable to repel another attack from the flank by Rommel. As a result, it was broken by the Germans one by one.In this way, the British army was divided into two parts: one part retreated to the Egyptian border, and the other fled to Tobruk.Rommel's tank troops first swept across the south of Tobruk, giving the impression that they were pursuing the Egyptian border. However, after a while, they turned around and headed north. Before the British had time to organize their defenses, They suddenly attacked the city of Tobruk from the rear.Physically and psychologically, this operation was a masterpiece of the indirect route.The German army broke through the British defense line at the weakest link, destroyed the defenders in one fell swoop, captured almost all the garrison troops, and seized a large amount of military supplies and transport vehicles.These things meet their needs to continue their offense for a long period of time in the future. After that, Rommel took advantage of the prestige of victory and closely pursued the remnants of the Eighth Army retreating through the Western Desert, and almost reached the Nero Valley.The Nile River is the main artery of Egypt.If Rommel really occupied the Nile River and then seized the Suez Canal, then the position of the British Empire in the Middle East would soon be shaken.At this critical juncture, Auchinlek had no choice but to intervene in person.He took command of the Eighth Army and organized the defeated troops to form a line of defense at Alamein.Alamein is a narrow passage in the desert, a choke point towards the Nile.In this way, the pursuit of Rommel's troops, due to the sudden and stubborn resistance of the British army on the basis of the new defensive position, naturally could not continue to advance.At that time, Rommel's troops were not only weaker than the British army in number, but also very tired after marching for a long distance.Rommel had attacked at several points in an attempt to penetrate the position, but Auchinlek also used indirect means to fight back, and similarly chose other points to attack the German army.Although his tactics were not enough to defeat the Germans, they severely weakened the enemy and shattered Rommel's plans. Soon after, British reinforcements arrived at the front.Churchill, wishing there would be no further delay, ordered the British to begin the offensive.However, Auchinlek, who had relatively rich combat experience, disagreed. He suggested to wait a little longer so that the newly arrived troops could familiarize themselves with the characteristics of desert warfare in terms of tactics.As a result, Auchinlek was replaced, Alexander took over as commander-in-chief of the British Middle East Army, and Montgomery was assigned to command the Eighth Army. At the end of August 1942, Rommel once again took the lead and launched an attack on the British Alamein position.However, his plan was once again shattered by the British defensive tactics.At that time, the southern half of the British defense line was only covered by minefields, and there were no other defensive facilities, while the main force of the British infantry was deployed on the strong defensive positions in the northern half.Therefore, Rommel decided to use armored forces to attack through minefields.He attempted to lure out the tank forces stationed in the rear positions of the British army so that they could attack.For Rommel, this was a fruitless offensive, and he lost a large number of tanks as a result.The British 7th Armored Division cut off his southern flank as he was squeezed between the diagonal positions and the minefields on his flank.However, after all, the British army failed to shrink the network port in time and failed to surround the German army. Rommel still withdrew from the dangerous situation, but since then, the initiative on the battlefield has gradually shifted from Rommel to the British army. Due to the continuous increase in the number of troops, weapons and supplies in Montgomery's hands, the situation on the battlefield changed drastically.After a long period of preparation and very thorough preparations, which, incidentally, lasted longer than Auchinlek could have imagined at the time, the Eighth Army finally went on the offensive at the end of October 1942. .The British army that launched the offensive this time has huge advantages in terms of aircraft, artillery and tanks.Even under these conditions, however, the fighting was intense and lasted a week, as the limited width of the front made it impossible to maneuver around and surprise the Germans from the rear or flank.After continuous fighting, Rommel's troops were severely weakened, and with insufficient fuel, they almost lost their mobility.At that time, most of the German oil tankers transporting fuel to Africa were sunk by Allied submarines in the Mediterranean Sea.Due to the lack of fuel, the mobility of Rommel's troops was greatly reduced, which largely determined the outcome of the battle.In this way, once the German army suffered defeat on its overstretched forward position, it would be difficult to organize a solid and reliable defense in the middle area. It could only return to the original base and retreat to the supply line that could meet the minimum needs. When the battle began, Rommel was in Vienna for medical treatment.After he learned the news of the British attack, he immediately returned to the front by plane.Rommel analyzed and judged the situation and decided to withdraw his troops to the Fuka position, which is 100 kilometers west of Alamein.If this move of his is really realized, it is likely to disrupt Montgomery's overall plan.However, Hitler did not approve of this plan and ordered him to stand still and not take a step back.In this way, the German army fought tenaciously before the disastrous defeat, and finally fled in a hurry.In this retreat, Sammel showed his usual tact and vicious methods.He used all motorized transport engineers and withdrew his own elite troops. For those troops lacking mobility and combat experience, mainly Italians, they abandoned the battlefield regardless of their lives. The British were unable to cut off Rommel's retreat because their pursuit lacked the flexibility it should have and the expected encirclement maneuver lacked sufficient depth.At the beginning, the depth of the British maneuver was too small to surround the main German army retreating along the coastal road.Later, they conceived of a far-reaching encirclement maneuver to penetrate all the way to the burnt cross area near Matruh (about 200 kilometers west of Alamein), but due to heavy rains and insufficient fuel, they still failed to achieve their goal .At the time, this rain band could have been circumvented by a larger maneuver across the desert.However, the main reason why the British army lost the great opportunity to encircle the German army is because of this fact.They used most of the transport vehicles of the three armored divisions to load ammunition, so fuel was naturally not available after the pursuit began. In this way, Rommel was able to escape from the tiger's mouth.The British army wanted to use tank troops to form a pair of pincers to pinch him, but failed. After the German army escaped, they retreated westward and reached the vicinity of Aguila, the westernmost point in the Cyrenaica region. He stayed at the rear defensive position of the army, which was already 1,100 kilometers away from Alamein.During the rapid retreat of two weeks.Rommel got rid of the pursuers behind, and continued to destroy along the way. He did not suffer much loss in terms of personnel and supplies, but made the pursuers nothing.When the Germans retreated along the Gulf shores in the Benghazi area, the British could have used their air force to attack the retreating enemy by air, but this would have required the use of forward airfields in the field, which were not then available to attack Army cover.The Air Force commanders had been ready to take the risk, but Army Command did not allow them to.Rommel's lightning counterattacks in the past had already left a deep psychological impression on the British army, so they did not dare to act rashly.However, the balance of forces this time was too disparate. Not only did Rommel not have the ability to carry out such a sudden counterattack, it was even impossible for him to persist in resistance for too long in the Agera area. The Eighth Army rested for three weeks, mobilized its forces, and then began to attack the Aguila position.But when the British army was just about to launch an offensive, Rommel slipped away immediately.Although the British took a roundabout maneuver to cut off Rommel's rearguard, they still broke through before the British could complete the encirclement.The German army has been retreating, and finally gained a firm foothold in the Bueratson area, forming a strategic barrier, which is 320 kilometers away from Agera.Rommel only stayed here for three weeks, and when the Eighth Army had just mobilized its forces and was ready to launch its next attack in mid-January, he retreated west again.This time, Rommel retreated 560 kilometers without stopping, passed by Tripoli, and reached the Maris defense line in Tunisia.The reason why Rommel kept retreating was not only because of his weak force, and most of the supply ships were sunk by the Allies, but also because the British and American Allied forces had landed in Morocco and Algeria in November 1942. The new situation that had formed was not in his favour. The landing of the British and American allies on the west coast of Africa began immediately after the British offensive in the Alamein region.The distance between the two places is four thousand kilometers.This could be considered an indirect route against Rommel in Libya and his threat around the Nero Delta.Strategically, its success is exactly proportional to its suddenness.According to the original plan, the Allied forces only planned to land on the Atlantic coast in Morocco.It was a purely frontal attack, which would give the French enough time to organize effective resistance.The port of Bizerte (Port of Binzet) in Tunisia is a general hub of the North African theater, and the attack of the British and American Allies is almost 2,000 kilometers away from Bizerte, so the Germans still have time and ability to strengthen Its French military partners resisted the forces of the Allied invasion.Fortunately for the Allies, two landing points on the Mediterranean coast were added to the plan, that is, simultaneous landings near Oran (now known as Vahlan) and Algiers.On the issue of the Allied landings, the diplomats of the United States and Britain made great efforts to reach a tacit understanding with those in power in France that they did nothing about it.The Allied landings were thus successfully carried out in several places, and at once had a decisive influence on the French forces on the west coast, where resistance had hitherto been tenacious. The Allied landings near Algiers shortened the distance to the port of Bizerte.The Allies are now only six hundred and fifty kilometers away.A small motorized detachment could drive as far as Bizerta and Tunis with no serious obstacles other than possible obstacles on the mountain roads.In addition, if you land or land near these cities by sea or airborne, you will not encounter serious resistance.But the Allied Naval Command saw that the navy was too far beyond air cover to attempt even a small landing.At that time, the Allied land operations also appeared to be overly cautious. However, the Germans were very sensitive to the Allied landings, even though these landings had exceeded their expectations.From the third day after the Allied forces landed, the German side quickly dispatched troops to Tunisia, using all available transport planes and small ships crossing the sea.Although the total number of German troops transported to Tunisia was not very large, when the advance detachment of the Allied First Army reached Tunisia's approach two and a half weeks after the landing, the Germans still blocked them. Five months of stalemate ensued on the battlefields of North Africa due to German resistance.During this period, the Allied forces once held an arc-shaped mountain position, blocking the port of Bizerte and the city of Tunis from the west and south.As far as the long-term situation is concerned, this defeat of the Allied forces later turned into a favorable factor, because this stalemate forced Germany to send additional troops to Tunisia from the sea.Therefore, relying on their own maritime superiority, the Allied forces first obstructed the supply and transportation of the German army, and later deprived them of the opportunity to withdraw their troops from the sea.It is an irony of fate that Hitler had to send a relatively large number of troops to defend Tunisia, but he could not use such a large number of troops to capture Egypt at the beginning.Since both Germany and Italy sent a large number of reserve forces to North Africa through the Mediterranean, where they were actually stuffed into their pockets, the Allied forces saved a lot of energy when they later invaded Europe.For Hitler, just as Spain was for Napoleon, North Africa became a strategic bait, and finally he couldn't eat it, and he couldn't stop it.Moreover, the events that followed both cases were the invasion of Russia.Simultaneously fighting in Africa and Russia put Hitler under excessive strain.Two fronts at the same time presented him with insurmountable difficulties, which made him repeat the mistakes of Napoleon, and finally made a complete defeat. The Battle of Tunisia in 1942 began with the first counterattack by the German army.For the Allies, it was also a complete surprise.Two armies on the Allied side, the Seventh Army in the west and the Eighth Army in the east, were trying to crush the Axis forces and pinch them to death.The high command of the Axis army saw this danger, so it took precautions in advance and decided to strike first, trying to destroy the opposing two armies one by one.At the time, the conditions in place for this purpose were actually more favorable than they appeared at first glance.Those German reinforcements that had arrived in Tunisia had been organized into a new army under the command of General Arnim.As for the Rommel Group Army, when its remnants retreated westward and reached the supply port, they also received new supplementary troops and weapons and equipment.Rommel estimated this temporary favorable change and decided to conduct an interior battle in Napoleon's way.This is to use the central position in the middle of the Allied forces to carry out separate attacks on the Allied forces on both sides one after another, in order to defeat them one by one.If he could first defeat the U.S. Seventh Army, which was threatening the German army from behind, he would be free to deal with the British Eighth Army, whose strength was already weakening due to the growing supply lines. According to the plan, this operation was promising, but in actual execution of the plan, it encountered great obstacles. The reason was that Rommel had no control over the forces he needed to complete the mission.After the battle began, the Arnim Army Group took combat operations independently; even Rommel's most combat-effective 21st Tank Division was transferred to Arnim and sent to the rear to cover The retreat and supply route of Rommel's Army Group, which Rommel intended to use for the main assault. The immediate target of the German counterattack was the U.S. Second Army, which consisted of a French division.The front of the army is about 150 kilometers, but its main force is deployed on three roads that pass through the mountains and lead to the sea. on the channel.These passages are so narrow that, once they are occupied, the defender feels secure in his position.At the end of January 1943, the German 21st Tank Division made a sudden leap forward to the Feid Pass and destroyed the garrisoned French garrison before the American reinforcements arrived, thus opening a new window for their continued attacks. door.The assault alerted Allied Command to anticipation of imminent and more powerful assaults directed at other locations.As General Bradley said in his memoirs: This kind of thinking on the Allied side is simply a wrong assumption. On February 14, the real assault began.The Germans continued to attack from the Fede Pass.Arnim's deputy commander, Ziegler, was in charge of the frontline command.The U.S. armored units were the first to attack them, but after the German 21st Tank Division was deployed, on the one hand, it contained the enemy from the front, and on the other hand, it made a detour from its right flank, went around to the U.S. rear and carried out an assault.In this battle, the U.S. military lost more than 100 tanks.Rommel once urged Ziegler to continue attacking in the dark in order to fully expand the results of the battle. However, Ziegler stayed in place for forty-eight hours and did not move forward until he received the order from Arnim.But he only continued on for forty kilometers, and stopped again at Sbetra, because the US military had concentrated its forces there and made a defensive deployment.Even in this case, he still defeated the American army, but the fighting was quite fierce.The U.S. forces retreated and regrouped to defend the Kasserine Pass.By this time, Rommel had withdrawn a detachment of tank troops from the Maris defense line and ordered them to pass through Gavosa and carry out an assault further south; Occupied the U.S. Army's Tiriput Airport from a long distance. At that time, Alexander had just taken over the unified command of the two Allied armies.After he went to the front line to inspect, he wrote a report and said: The situation I saw was much more critical than originally expected. The Kasselin area was completely chaotic. The U.S., British and French troops were all mixed together. The defense plan also lacks a clear and unified command.He went on to say that if Rommel had broken through our thinly defended line at the Siddorsari Ridge, he would have encountered no natural obstacles in his next attack to the north, which would be enough to destroy our defenses. The stability of the entire line of defense in Tunisia necessitates a total retreat, if not annihilation of the entire army. In another place, Rommel also wanted to take advantage of the enemy's chaos and terror, and use all existing mechanized forces to switch to a full-scale offensive. Out onto the main line of communication between the Allies and their Algerian base.Aerial reconnaissance reported that the Allied supply depot at Tebessa was covered in flames.But he found that Arnim did not want to take such a risky move; he had to go to Mussolini for help in disappointment.This makes time slip by minute by minute.It was not until the morning of February 19 that Rome replied, agreeing to switch to a full-scale offensive. However, the order stipulated that it should develop in the direction of Terra, which is due north, instead of following Rommel's original plan and focusing on the northwest direction. Bessa was targeted.Rommel believed that this change in the direction of attack was inexplicably shortsighted and dangerous, because it would bring the attacking force too close to the enemy and would cause the German army to run into the enemy's strong reserve. The results of the incident proved that Rommel's worries were not wrong.Because the direction of this attack was exactly what Alexander expected, and he happened to make good preparations there.Alexander had given orders to the commander of the army group to concentrate all his tank forces and defend the direction of Terra with all his strength. At the same time, he also quickly transferred the British reserve there from the north.If Rommel had been able to fight according to his plan, then it was clear that the Allies would suffer another defeat. At the same time, the American forces were also building up forces on the approach to Terra.They fought tenaciously in the defense of the Kasserine Pass.因此，直到二十日黃昏時，德軍仍然未能突破防線。一九四三年二月二十一日，德軍一度突進了泰拉，但是很快就被剛剛趕到的英軍預備隊趕出來了。這樣，隆美爾看到了已經沒有取勝的機會，便於二十二日決定結束這次進攻，開始慢慢地向後撤退。二十三日，羅馬發來新指令，任命隆美爾負責指揮軸心國在非洲境內的全部軍隊。可是，這已經太晚了。 分析一下德國人這次反攻的情況，可以獲得研究間接路線的重要材料。一方面，這次反攻很明顯地表明，喪失時機會使一切有利的條件都化為烏有，另一方面，可以強調指出，為了達到突然襲擊的目的，求得物理上的間接性，必須進行深遠的迂迴機動。 由於隆美爾受命統一指揮軸心國軍隊的時間實在太晚，軸心國一些部隊因而多受了一次挫折。當時，隆美爾已經來不及撤銷阿爾尼姆在北面的進攻計畫。阿爾尼姆曾把矛頭指向盟軍在突尼斯境內的陣地，這是一種過於直接化了的進攻，實施結果，不僅使阿爾尼姆自己遭到了失敗，同時也使隆美爾無法從這一地段及時抽調兵力去向蒙哥馬利進行反擊。 給隆美爾造成的這個遲誤，對於整個戰役的前途有著很大的影響。在二月二十六日以前，蒙哥馬利用於對付馬里斯防線的第一梯隊兵力，僅僅只有一個師。在這段時間內，蒙哥馬利本人和他的司令部很耽心，拼命地工作，企圖趕在德軍發起進攻之前恢復兵力上的平衡。這樣，到三月六日隆美爾開始實施突擊時，蒙哥馬利的兵力已經增加了三倍，除了手裡掌握的四百多輛坦克以外，另外還有五百多門火炮，而且都進入了發射陣地。出於時間上的耽擱，隆美爾想以優勢兵力實施突擊的機會也就消失了。到三月六日黃昏時，隆美爾的進攻即被盟軍阻止，德軍損失的坦克達到五十輛以上。這一損失對於德軍下一階段的作戰行動是有嚴重影響的。而且，就在這時，他們更損傷了一個隆美爾，他因為疾病和失望，飛回歐洲去了，一直沒有再回來。 一九四三年三月十七日，盟軍方面開始發動進攻。巴頓將軍指揮的美軍第二軍首先實施了突擊。這次進攻的目標，是要切斷德國非洲軍在突尼斯方向的退路，斷絕他們兵員補充和物資補給的來源。但是，巴頓的進攻行動非常謹慎，也很遲緩。德軍在山地隘路附近阻住了巴頓的部隊，守住了通向沿海地帶的各條接近路。這次防禦戰的勝利又鼓舞了德國人，促使他們再一次發動新的反擊，不過，並沒能突破美軍的防線，卻使自己損失了約四十輛坦克。這一失利不僅使德軍的裝甲突擊力量進一步受到削弱，而且使他們在後來陷入了更加艱困的境地，以致再也不能抵擋蒙哥馬利的進攻。 盟軍終於取得了最後的勝利。這與其說是他們實施突擊爭得來的，還不如說是德軍錯誤地採取進攻行動的結果。德軍在進攻中使力量伸展過度，盟軍才得以獲得翻身機會，使戰事的進程產生了有利於自己方面的變化。德國人進行了一系列毫無效果的反擊，把所有的庫存補給品都消耗乾淨了。如果不是這樣，他們還可以繼續拖長這場鬥爭結局的時間。 第八集團軍對於馬里斯防線的進攻，是在一九四三年三月二十日夜間發起的。主要突擊直接指向正面，其目的是想突破靠近海岸的防線，打開一個缺口，以便使裝甲師能夠從那裡進入戰鬥。此時，一個新西蘭軍在艾哈馬方向完成了深遠的迂迴機動，前出到了敵人的後方，其目的是要牽制住駐在那裡的德軍預備隊。可是，盟軍的正面攻擊並沒能在德軍防線上打開足夠大的缺口，因此，經過三天激戰以後，蒙哥馬利便改變了自己的計畫。他稍事後撤，改向內陸方面溜進去，即派遣第一裝甲師緊跟在新西蘭軍一個師的後面前進，抵達敵人的後方，這是一種騎兵式的突然躍進，忽然地從右翼轉到了左翼，很像瑪律波羅在拉米伊所採取的行動，只是規模更大而已。因此，這次行動也稱得上是歷史上表現了戰術靈活性的一個傑作。當時，英軍裝甲部隊不得不通過一個谷地，而在谷地兩側正配置著德軍的反坦克炮。可幸的是，那時恰好刮起了一陣飛沙的風暴，蒙哥馬利得以避免一場厄運。然而即令如此，英軍的攻擊還是在艾哈馬防禦陣地面前被德軍所阻止。這樣一來，德國人儘管面臨著被合圍的威脅，不得不放棄馬里斯防線，但他們仍然守住了通路，沒有遭受多大損失使安然地撤退出去了。 德軍只從艾哈馬向東後退十五公里，隨即停駐下來，沿著阿卡利特河的乾涸河床重新設防。這條河臨接著加貝斯狹穀，一面是山，另一面連著海，其陣地的正面非常狹窄。當時，美軍已從南面繞過艾古塔爾，企圖趁德軍被英國人牽制著時搶先占領德軍預期設防的地點，並從背後去進攻德軍。可是，美軍還沒有來得及從高地躍到平原，就被德軍阻止住了。直到四月六日淩晨，在黑暗的掩護之下，第八集團軍才開始向阿卡利特幹河實施進攻。這個戰術性的奇襲，突破了德軍的防禦，但英軍並未能擴張戰果，因為日出以後，德軍即進行了頑強的抵抗。然而，德軍已把三個殘破坦克師中的兩個師派去對付美軍的進攻了，他們缺乏必要的預備隊來繼續投入戰鬥，因而在第二天的夜間撤出了防線，迅速地沿著海岸向突尼斯城退去了。 四月八日，盟軍方面又採取了一個切斷德軍退路的措施，其辦法是派遣第九軍穿過馮杜克通道實施突破，一直衝到德軍後方的海岸線上。可是，由於盟軍的步兵不能為坦克開闢通路，坦克部隊在進攻的第二天就只能獨自行動，得不到步兵的支援，以至在勇敢地通過雷區時遭到了很大的損失。這樣，他們雖然突破成功，但時間已經太晚，而且僅靠一些坦克也切斷不了沿著海岸實行退卻的德軍部隊。幾天以後，德軍的兩個集團軍已完全匯合到一起，並且沿著從南面護衛突尼斯城的一道山地弧線進行了設防。表面看來，他們可以在那裡進行相當長時間的抵抗，或者，也可利用這個由於迅速退卻而獲得的喘息機會向西西里島撤退。 隆美爾的非洲坦克集團軍，從阿拉曼到突尼斯，總共實行了三千二百公里的長距離撤退。這在軍事史上是一個很卓越的事件，特別是其最初和最末兩個階段。從馬里斯防線到突尼斯的退卻路線，要經過一條狹長的走廊，沿途一側經常有著盟軍部隊，所以隨時都有受到敵人攔截的危險。隆美爾完成的這個色諾芬式的成就，在近代史上似乎頗難找到第二個。不過，就在這同一個冬天，也還有另外一次大撤退，似乎足以與它媲美：其危險性差不多相等，長度要差一點，但是在執行時的條件也許還要惡劣一些。這就是克萊斯特集團軍群從高加索腹地的撤出。當時，克萊斯特的部隊必須經過羅斯托夫那個瓶頸地區才能向西撤退，由於俄軍已經從頓河不斷向南進攻，使德軍隨時處在受俄軍側翼突擊的威脅之下。 這兩個例子令人信服地說明：只要用得技巧，執行有力，現代化的防禦將具有很大的抵抗能力。此外，通過這些例於還可看出，突擊敵人後方的可能性總是有限度的。由此又可說明過去老經驗提供的新教訓：專靠地理上的間接路線還是不足以保證進攻的獲勝。兩個例證說明，在每次開始的時候，進攻方面都有相當數量的兵力威脅著退卻部隊的後衛，但卻總是不能把敵人合圍起來，而最後還是讓敵人溜走了。將會遇到危險的方向，即預期從那裡實施突擊的方向，總是看得很明顯的，因而使守方能夠有效地利用防禦的優勢，來充分保障自己部隊的安全。所以，必須事先採取心理上的間接路線，以求首先破壞敵軍的穩定性，為徹底擊敗敵人創造一個先決條件。 德軍迅速地從阿卡利特幹河陣地撤退出來，並成功地粉碎盟軍阻撓這個撤退的企圖，給德軍最高統帥部提供了很好的機會，只要他們願意，可以把大部分兵力撤回到西西里島。德軍當時構成了一條由突出部形成的新防線，從突尼斯城南面七十五公里處的恩費達維里起，那裡正瀕臨著哈馬梅特海灣，一直延展到比塞大以西，到達塞拉持角。盟軍方面想要集中力量對德軍的新防線發動一次重大的進攻，至少需要有二個星期的喘息時間。而在這個時間內，恰好出現了多霧的天氣。這又可以使德軍的上船和轉運獲得一種掩護，因此，德軍部隊的大部分都可以用海運和空運的方式撤退出來。 然而，德軍最高統帥部卻決定要儘量延長非洲戰役的時間，認為這樣要比撤退軍隊和在歐洲南海岸組織防禦更好些。即使在突尼斯，德軍所據守的防線也仍然過長，其周界約為一百六十公里，這是因為想要同時保住突尼斯城和比塞大港。德軍為著同時防衛兩個據點而分散了兵力，結果使自己陷入了左右為難的窘境，讓同盟國方面獲得了突擊其中任何一個目標的理想機會。 在新的進攻開始以前，亞歷山大調整了軍隊的部署。他把美軍第二軍從南面調到了北邊的海岸上，用去進攻比塞大港。就進攻目標來說，也即是從右翼方面調到了左翼方面。同時，他又把第九軍北調，插在第五軍和法軍第十九軍之間，因為這個軍已經編入第八集團軍，現在成了盟軍的右翼。一九四三年四月二十日，第八集團軍開始向德軍的左翼實施進攻。可是，昂菲達維爾外面的走廊地帶，寬度實在太小，因而進攻速度很慢。到二十三日，進攻即已停止。四月二十一日，第五軍從左面向通往突尼斯城的山地一線實施了突擊。二十二日，第九軍從右面進攻古貝拉特地區，其任務是以坦克突破敵人的防線。該軍以坦克實施突破的目的沒能達到，只是使敵人的防線受到了損害，喪失了少量坦克。此後，在整個戰線的大部分地段上，戰鬥都暫時停止了，而且一拖就有二個星期。但是，北面的美軍和一個軍的法屬非洲部隊還在前進，達到了距離比塞大約三十公里的地點。 這時，亞歷山大再一次調整軍隊部署。在右翼，在古貝拉特地區，也即是在突尼斯城西南面五十公里左右的地方，他只留下一部分掩護兵力，而把第九軍的主力調到了左翼，集結在第五軍的後面，並且還從第八集團軍的編成內抽出第七裝甲師和印軍第四師，用去加強他們的實力。與此同時，他又實行著一個非常巧妙的欺敵計畫，用以掩護這些部隊的調動。他故意給敵人造成一種印象，似乎盟軍的下一步進攻必定會發自右翼，即來自南方。由於蒙哥馬利指揮的戰鬥力最強的第八集團軍仍然停駐在南方翼側，便使這個欺敵計畫增加了效果。欺騙產生了作用，阿爾尼姆將軍仍然把自己的主力擺在南方側翼。當時，阿爾尼姆要識破敵人的欺騙陰謀是困難的，因為盟軍方面控制著制空權。當盟軍發起進攻以後，他也很難於變更兵力部署。這樣，盟軍利用自己在空軍力量上的巨大優勢，不僅把德軍的飛機完全控制住了，而且使德軍無法變更部署，不能進行補給運輸。 五月六日拂曉時，由何羅克斯將軍指揮的第九軍，集中了自己的全部力量，在一個極狹窄的正面上，開始發動進攻。衝擊開始以前，進行了炮兵火力準備。在通向突尼斯城的米德傑爾德谷地中一個大約三公里寬的地段上，使用了六百多門火炮，進行了強有力的炮火襲擊。拂曉以後，空軍又對敵軍陣地進行了威力強大的轟炸。在震耳欲聾的爆炸聲中，德軍很快即被擊潰。印軍第四步兵師和英軍第四師突破了敵人的防禦。出於戰線伸展過長，德軍的防禦兵力是很單薄的，而且缺乏縱深。防禦中的突破口打開以後，盟軍的第四和第七裝甲師馬上湧了進去。可是，它們卻花了不少時間去消滅敵人陣地中的小型抵抗據點，因而到當天黃昏時候，僅僅前進了幾公里。突尼斯還在二十五公里以外。 直到第二天，即五月七日的早晨，事情還很清楚，儘管盟軍的攻擊力量很強大，特別是空中轟炸的威力很大，但是德軍並沒有癱瘓，只是再也無力採取戰術上的任何反措施了。當天下午，英軍裝甲師的先頭部隊突進到了突尼斯城。於是，第六師轉向南面，第七師轉向北面，繼續挺進，其目的是要在德軍部隊當中造成更大的驚恐和混亂，以加速其崩潰。差不多與此同時，美軍和法軍也突進到了比塞大港。這樣，德軍在北部地段上的抵抗就完全被摧毀了。 在南面地段，德軍仍然有著撤退到緊接崩角那個半島之上的可能性，並且有可能在那裡組織防禦來進行相當一段時間的抵抗。不過，這個可能性很快就喪失了，因為第六裝甲師很快突進到了敵人的後方，切斷了他們撤向半島去的道路。最後，軸心國的軍隊全面崩潰了。同盟國方面俘虜的敵軍人數超過了二十五萬。 這樣一來，由於盟軍採取了聯合的突擊，在空中使用飛機，在敵後使用坦克，同時向敵人發起進攻，德軍統帥部的計畫終於完全破滅了，部隊的抵抗力徹底瓦解了。德軍遭到失敗，主要原因是盟軍破壞了他們的指揮體系和交通線，使他們既感到預備隊不足，也感到補給品匱乏，從而使士氣和戰鬥力受到很大影響。 德軍遭到失敗的另一個原因，是他們基地的位置距離前線實在太近。這些基地一旦被盟軍佔領，馬上就在士氣和補給方面對部隊產生強烈影響。盟軍搶奪了這些基地，不僅立即在基地人員中間引起恐怖，而且恐怖之波很快就會傳到其他地區，因為後方人員與前線戰鬥部隊比較起來，往往更容易喪失士氣。基地喪失以後，德軍背海作戰而產生的失望情緒，隨即加強起來，因為這時的制海權和制空權完全掌握在盟軍手裡。 值得注意的是，亞歷山大的作戰計畫，和一九一四年馬恩河戰役的計畫，以及拿破侖的一些典型戰例的計畫，頗多暗合之處。當然，這種暗合並非是故意的。這種作戰的特點是，當敵人被鉗制在正面的時候，應該立即從某一個側翼實行迂迴。這種機動本身並不一定具有決定性的意義，但它可以創造一種有利的條件來實行決定性的突擊。由於害怕翼側受包圍，德軍不得不伸展自己的戰線，以預防這種危險，於是就為盟軍提供了向其防禦中的薄弱地段實施決定性突擊的有利條件。 亞歷山大的行動在開始時期是遇到了困難的，因為敵人的兩個側翼都有很好的掩護，但他結合使用了機動性、靈活性與軍事計謀，終於奪得了勝利。 我們看到，亞歷山大在開始時採取了一系列調整部署的佯動措施，從而吸引了德軍的注意力，穩住了敵人的兵力。當德軍預計到了亞歷山大將在某一方向突破他們的防線時，亞歷山大利用了自己失利的機會，把壓倒優勢的兵力調整到了另外一個方向。他在調動自己的部隊時，故意進行佯動，似乎是把兵力調向德軍的左翼，而實際上卻是調到右翼，即調向敵人的中心地點，而在那裡，他原先是遭到過失敗的。這樣，竟使德國人受到了欺騙，充滿著信心，認為自己在那個方向上的實力是非常雄厚的。由於多次吸引住了敵人的注意力，就使他們離開了盟軍所選擇的主要突擊方向，而使自己在集中力量進行突擊時能夠獲得最大的效果。同時，一旦有利條件已經形成，他也就獲得了向任何一個目標實施突擊的機會。 關於非洲戰役的最後階段，本書進行了比較詳細的探討。這是因為在戰略的物質方面和心理方面，它都提供了一些可供研究的資料。特別明顯的是，它可以提供一個客觀性的教訓，以來顯示欺騙敵人的各種措施和採取間接路線的各種形式。