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

Chapter 47 Apparent Criticism, Substantial Praise

Montgomery has chosen to park his motorhome near the Air Force Command Post for the time being.

This motorhome was captured by the British Army last year from Lieutenant General "Big Beard" Bergonzoli, commander of the Italian 23rd Corps. It was originally his command vehicle.

After taking over, Montgomery decided to make it his personal bedroom.

(The two pictures above show the interior of the RV, where portraits of Rommel and German generals are displayed on the walls and tables. This was one of Montgomery's methods of "studying the enemy.")

That day, Montgomery went to bed at nine o'clock sharp as usual, but tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.

Montgomery knew why.

Although he pretended to know Thorne's theories beforehand, he knew in his heart how much of a psychological impact they had on him.

Is this tactic really feasible?

Is it better than "crushing warfare"?

Montgomery is reluctant to admit it, but the answer is obvious.

"Crushing warfare" places infantry in front of tanks, going from one extreme to another of "desert mobile defense".

Thorne's theory, however, is flexible, versatile, and highly adaptable, with almost no weaknesses.

Montgomery took out his pocket watch and looked at it. It was already past eleven o'clock at night. He simply sat up and decided not to go to sleep.

He sat on the edge of the bed in a daze for a while, then suddenly got up and walked to his desk. After sitting down, he glanced at Rommel on the desk, picked up a pen and started scribbling on the draft paper.

Montgomery was conducting a war game exercise.

This was his habit; he believed that combat required calculation, and that calculation should be as objective as possible.

Only by accurately calculating every step taken by both sides can one strategize effectively.

He systematically listed Thorne's tactics on the manuscript paper, and then methodically advanced the tank units towards the enemy positions according to Thorne's description.

He was then surprised to discover that, as long as the accompanying infantry were good enough, they could always mobilize other units to launch just the right attacks on the enemy.

"God!" he exclaimed.

"Is accompanying infantry the core objective?"

"Are other equipment, such as tanks, artillery, and even aircraft, also tentacles that accompany infantry in striking the enemy?"

"They're like... independent, self-contained strike units?"

Montgomery grasped some of the core concepts.

This theory is close to the concept of modern combined arms forces, the most typical example being the combined arms battalion, where battalion-level units can achieve coordination between air, infantry, tanks, and artillery.

However, this is highly dependent on communication and the quality of personnel. The more advanced the communication and the higher the quality of personnel, the lower the unit level that can achieve coordination.

For example, during World War II, it was basically impossible to achieve battalion-level combined arms operations; at least regimental-level or higher operations were required, and the coordination was mostly limited between infantry, tanks, and artillery. The air force relied more on guesswork and initiative.

After thinking for a while, Montgomery finally made up his mind and picked up the phone to call Degangan's dormitory.

Degangan was already asleep when the phone call woke him up. He turned over, yawning, and slowly answered the call.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice tinged with impatience.

He assumed it was some ungrateful staff officer reporting a fire due to a fuel leak.

Otherwise at this time...

Suddenly, he heard Montgomery's voice come through the receiver: "Freddy, did I disturb your rest?"

Degangan was instantly startled awake, quickly sitting up and unconsciously straightening his posture: "No, General. I'm just... a little surprised. Usually you..."

He glanced at the clock on the table; it was one in the morning.

Is this still the Montgomery he knows? He's never called this late.

Montgomery didn't waste any words with him:

"I need 100 artillery pieces, BL 4.5-inch caliber, contact me now."

"And there are still shells, at least five basic loads."

"No matter what method I use, I hope to see them at the port early next month!"

(The image above shows the British Army's BL 4.5-inch (114mm) field gun. Its features include high mobility and long range, but its disadvantages include low propellant charge and insufficient power, with only 1.8 kg of propellant. It was mainly used for counter-battery operations (destroying enemy artillery or guns does not require a large amount of propellant).)

"Yes, General!" Degangan replied.

After putting down the microphone, he did some mental calculations: at the beginning of next month, which is about half a month, the only one who can make it is the Indian.

Thinking it over, Degangan immediately got up and put on his uniform; he needed to contact headquarters right away!

At the same time, I felt strange:

Why did the general suddenly rush to mobilize so many cannons and shells, and all of them were the same type?

Are more than two thousand cannons on the defensive line not enough?

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Like Montgomery, Lieutenant General Ramsden was also having trouble sleeping.

His command post was located 18 kilometers from Borg Arab, behind the Mittellia Ridge, which was also the base of the 10th Armoured Division, providing excellent hiding places for British tanks.

Despite a long day of travel, he felt no sleepiness.

He was smoking one cigarette after another in the bedroom, the ashtray was piled high with cigarette butts, and the room under the light was filled with smoke, like a steamer after boiling.

"Infantry, accompanying infantry," he muttered to himself, his eyes filled with regret, his face slightly distorted with emotion.

"People, not machines, win wars!"

"I say this every day, but I haven't actually applied it to the war!"

"I'm as stupid as a pig, utterly foolish!"

(Note: The internal slogan of the 8th Army was: "Men, not machines, win wars." This means that it is people, not machines, who win wars.)

Ramsden regretted the Battle of Knightsbridge; if he had known Thorne's theory earlier, he wouldn't have suffered such a devastating defeat.

"I need reforms," ​​he said, but then found himself in a dilemma.

Reform is no small matter. Too many officers are used to the old way of fighting, and their tactical thinking cannot be changed in a short period of time.

unless……

Ramsden thought of Ochinleck, his former superior.

Most of the armored corps officers were former subordinates of Ochinleck, and they trusted the battle-hardened Ochinleck more than Montgomery, who had never commanded armored forces.

If Ochinlek had been on my side, even just by sending a few telegrams or making a phone call, he could have cleared the way for reform.

But soon, Ramsden found himself in a predicament once again.

That's impossible; the "Desert Mobile Defense" tactic is Ochinlek's tactic.

Now you want to tell him that there is a tactical theory that might be better and superior, and get him to support it?

This is tantamount to slapping him in the face while simultaneously forcing him to stand at attention!

After thinking for a while, Ramsden came up with a seemingly feasible solution.

"I should thoroughly discredit Thorne's theory," he muttered to himself.

"In that case, the general might even say: 'Not bad, this tactic is somewhat novel; perhaps we can give it a try!'"

"Yes, let's do it!"