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

Chapter 45 When the snipe and the clam fight, the fish in the moat suffer.

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"Sir," Ramsden glanced at Thorne, his tone laced with sarcasm, "Command is certainly full of talent; even a captain can discuss tank tactics with us!"

Montgomery gave an "Oh," and retorted coldly, "You think he's not qualified to discuss tank tactics with you?"

"No, of course not." Ramsden turned his gaze to Montgomery, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Perhaps this was Montgomery's way of giving himself a hard time as a new leader, he thought.

"England respects freedom of speech, sir." He dodged Montgomery, displaying a magnanimous demeanor: "Of course I don't think he's unqualified to discuss tank tactics just because he's a captain."

Then he slowed his speech and raised his voice, spitting out each word through clenched teeth: "But he needs to have the ability in that area!"

As he spoke, he puffed out his chest and stared directly into Montgomery's eyes, as if to say: I'm not afraid of you, bring it on!

Thorne was curious: Who was this guy? How dare he go head-to-head with Montgomery?

Montgomery wasn't angry; he remained calm.

But those who know him know that the more this happens, the more serious the consequences become, because at this point Montgomery believes there is no need to talk anymore, and he has already regarded the other party as an irrelevant outsider.

"Herbert," Montgomery said calmly.

"Let's start by talking about your 'achievements'."

"During the Battle of Gazala, you were the commander of the 1st Panzer Division. Your troops were too scattered and lacked fighting spirit, so they were broken up by the German armored forces and ultimately lost half of their tanks in a rout."

"In the Battle of Knightsbridge, you commanded the 2nd Armored Brigade in a counterattack. The brigade was equipped with 40 M3 Grant tanks, 36 of which were destroyed in 10 minutes, and the entire brigade was almost wiped out."

Ramsden's face flushed red and then turned pale as he remained silent, speechless. This was indeed a dark chapter in his history.

So Thorne knew who this lieutenant general was: Ramsden, commander of the 10th Panzer Corps.

The Battle of Knightsbridge, which he commanded, is still referred to as "Black Saturday" by the British Army. British officers and soldiers are terrified of it and dare not even send the "M3 Grant" into battle again.

Montgomery knew he had hit a nerve with Ramsden. He smiled slightly, stared into Ramsden's eyes, and asked in return:

"After experiencing such a defeat, do you still believe that others are not qualified to discuss tank tactics with you?"

"I'd like to know where your confidence comes from?"

Montgomery believed that it was better to listen to the opinions of ordinary soldiers than to use incorrect tank tactics without realizing it, because even if they were wrong, they couldn't be that far off.

Ramsden's insistence on placing tanks in front of soldiers was undoubtedly a huge mistake.

Ramsden, however, did not think so.

"Sir," he turned to Thorne, a sneer playing on his lips, "then, Captain, you must have a 'brilliant' record, right?"

They say that, but they don't really believe it.

What “brilliant” achievements could a captain, especially a captain serving as a staff officer in the command post, possibly have?

What Ramsden didn't realize was that his words were precisely what Montgomery had carefully woven for him.

From the beginning until now, Montgomery has never called Thorne by name, nor has he been in a hurry to reveal Thorne's identity.

This is the moment we've been waiting for.

"You guessed right, Herbert, he does indeed have a distinguished record." Montgomery smiled smugly and gestured with his chin toward Thorne. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself, Captain?"

Thorne realized he had been used.

Montgomery's move was essentially using Thorne's achievements to suppress Ramsden.

But Thorne had no choice but to step forward and salute Ramsden: "Coach Thorne, General!"

Ramsden's expression suddenly changed.

Thorne...

He looked at Thorne incredulously, then turned to Montgomery.

The latter was looking at him with a victor's smile, and Ramsden realized he had been careless.

"He... he's the one," Ramsden asked with difficulty, "the one who single-handedly buried the German 5th Panzer Regiment?"

Montgomery nodded gently, peeling back Ramsden's scars bit by bit, a smile of enjoyment on his face:

"You must remember the designation of the German 5th Panzer Regiment, right?"

"Your unit was defeated twice by the German 5th Panzer Regiment, and you yourself were wounded twice as a result."

"I think you should thank the captain; he avenged you and your fallen men, Herbert."

"And it was extremely thorough, swift, and efficient; one could even say it was done effortlessly!"

Montgomery, mimicking Ramsden, spoke extremely slowly and loudly, emphasizing each of the last few words: "Without any effort, not even a hair's breadth!"

Ramsden gritted his teeth, glanced at Thorne standing to the side, and large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Montgomery, secretly pleased with himself, turned to Thorne and asked knowingly, "Captain, how's the fighting at the Alexander Coulomb Factory going? How many enemy planes have we shot down in total?"

"A total of 41 were shot down, General," Thorne replied. "Including 13 fighters and 28 bombers."

Although Thorne was unwilling to get involved in their conflict, there was no room for maneuver.

"Very good." Montgomery smiled and raised his glass in a salute to Thorne. "You have once again proven your ability, proving that you deserve your position and rank, and even far exceed them."

Ramsden's face turned very ugly.

He understood the implication in Montgomery's words: Montgomery was implying that he was incompetent and unworthy of his current position and rank.

"Now!" Montgomery leaned closer to Ramsden, water glass in hand. "Herbert, do you still think the captain isn't qualified to discuss tank tactics with you?"

Ramsden swallowed hard.

"Sir," he said, trying to remain calm.

"I admire the captain's ability and achievements; I admit it was a miracle."

"but……"

"He used the quicksand of the salt marshes to do all this, which does not mean he was familiar with tank tactics."

Ramsden's counterattack was brilliant, and now it was Montgomery's turn to hesitate.

Thorne was an oil salesman, Montgomery thought, and he probably had never even touched a tank, so of course he wouldn't know anything about tank tactics.

After considering it for a while, Montgomery simply posed the question to Thorne:

"Lieutenant General Ramsden is the commander of the 10th Armored Corps, Thorne."

"He meant that we should position the tanks in front of the infantry to attack the German lines."

Do you agree with this statement?

This is clearly putting Thorne on the hot seat.

To agree with Ramsden would be to reject Montgomery.

However, if he says "disagrees," the focus of the conflict shifts to Thorne, and he will offend Ramsden, a powerful figure.

Thorne was instantly caught in a dilemma.