Chapter 490: The Rout

Rat-tat! Rat-tat! On the battlefield, the German machine guns roared. The sudden attack threw the newly arrived American soldiers into a bit of a daze. They were not the battle-hardened soldiers of Germany; these new recruits from various American states couldn’t even figure out which direction the attack was coming from.

“We’re under attack! The Germans are firing from all directions! My God! We’re pinned down behind a sand dune, their fire is extremely heavy, we can’t cross the designated area!” an American officer shouted into his radio to his superior. Beside him, a newly set-up American heavy machine gun team was frantically pouring out ammunition, but they looked clumsy, and God only knew where their bullets were going.

An American tank platoon struggled to aim at a German armored reconnaissance car but found that their main cannons were ineffective against the fast-moving four-wheeled vehicle. It was difficult to hit a moving target, especially for American rookies who had never experienced real combat.

The American armored unit responsible for the frontal assault suffered an even more tragic fate. They were stunned by their German counterparts. A dozen or so German tanks began their attack from a distance of nearly 1,500 meters, and two lightning-fast volleys cost the Americans a devastating loss of nearly twenty tanks.

Soon, the American army’s first attack was repulsed by the Germans. However, the Americans also discovered that the German forces opposite them were not as strong as they appeared. After a limited counter-attack, these German opponents withdrew and began an organized retreat.

“They must have spotted the British forces on the flank. It seems this fellow named Erwin Rommel has some skill,” Patton said, smoking his cigar and looking at the operational map as he spoke to his staff officer. “Our losses were not small. Even when weakened, the German army is still very effective. The German armored forces on the main front are trickier than I imagined. I can’t think of an effective way to deal with these German tanks.”

“Arranging for an air strike might be a good idea, but fighting for air superiority with the Fw-190D is no easy task. I’ve heard from the British pilots that the German fighter pilots are very skilled and can handle their planes with great proficiency,” the staff officer said to Patton with a pout.

“Combat effectiveness is forged in battle. I know that the performance of German tanks and planes is not bad, but this time they’re up against us, and it won’t be so easy for them,” Patton said with a sneer. “Gather as much information on the German army as possible. That’s one of our purposes for being here. Today we beat Rommel, and that’s worth opening a bottle of champagne to celebrate!”

On the other side of the battlefield, the German army was also thrown into a daze by the American attack. Reports of defensive lines being breached and ammunition running out were coming from everywhere. Rommel issued a variety of orders from his command vehicle, and only then did he manage to stabilize the German positions.

He ordered his right-wing forces to deploy to the flank, making a show of a desperate, last-ditch stand, guarding against the British Eighth Army that was circling around to his south. Then he had his left wing hold its position to the death, not retreating a single step even if it meant firing their last round of ammunition.

Then, Rommel personally led the 30 most powerful Panther tanks he had at his disposal in a counter-assault against the American forces on the main front. It was this counter-assault that repulsed the aggressive American troops and allowed the German army to safely withdraw from the battle.

Immediately after, Rommel’s operational posture became less than elegant. He ordered the armored forces to retreat 110 kilometers to rendezvous with General Friedrick in the rear. And so, a retreat that was even faster than his advance began.

As he retreated, Rommel reviewed the battle reports. He discovered that his opponent had changed from the British to the Americans, a foe the Führer had always been wary of. These American troops were more difficult to deal with than their long-time British opponents, which, in a way, also proved the foresight of Führer Akado.

“The individual firepower of the Americans is stronger than the British. Their rifles are this type…” a staff officer said, handing a captured American M1 Garand rifle to Rommel. “I hear that this rifle has only just been issued in America. It was developed to counter our G43 automatic rifle. It’s a bit heavier, but its performance is very good.”

To strengthen the combat effectiveness of the American soldiers under Patton’s command, the American high command had also gone to great pains. They had studied the German army’s weapons and equipment from the information provided by the British and had urgently procured a batch of M1 Garand rifles as individual weapons to counter the Germans’ MP-44 and G43 automatic weapons.

Of course, they had also strengthened the frontal armor of the M3 tanks, learning from the Germans and temporarily welding steel plates and hanging spare tracks and even sandbags on the front of their tanks. However, judging from the results of this battle, the frontal armor of the M3 was still no match for the long-barreled 75mm cannon of the Panther tank.

More importantly was the news that American soldiers had appeared on the battlefield. Rommel knew that this was the most troublesome thing. The Führer had been trying his best to avoid a direct confrontation with the Americans. Now it seemed that these efforts had been in vain. The Americans had appeared on the battlefield, fighting the Germans to protect their interests in the Middle East and North Africa. Although the combat effectiveness of these Americans was similar to that of the British, their appearance still put a lot of pressure on Rommel.

He could no longer accurately estimate the strength of the British forces opposite him. All the intelligence from the Italians had become outdated with the addition of the American forces. The combat effectiveness of the British Eighth Army had to be re-evaluated, and the scale and nature of the American forces had to be investigated as soon as possible.

“Our fighters just patrolled the vicinity and drove off the harassing British bombers, but good luck can’t be with us forever. We must accelerate our march and shake off the British and Americans!” Rommel said, looking at the operational map. After a long pause, he finally stopped his thoughts and spoke.

“It’s not all bad news. The radio just reported that a reconnaissance company has joined our ranks,” the staff officer said, pointing to a location on the map for Rommel. “They brought two armored reconnaissance vehicles with 40mm cannons that can be fired at a high angle. It seems General Friedrick also sensed that our situation was not good, so he made some arrangements in advance.”

Rommel seemed even more depressed. He took off his military cap, scratched his hair, and sighed before saying, “That just proves that the High Command already knows we’ve been defeated. I failed to create a miracle. I failed to take Tobruk.”

This time, the German army had suffered a disastrous defeat. About 30 trucks had been destroyed by their own men, 14 tanks had been destroyed or blown up by their own crews, about 700 soldiers had been killed or captured, 50 seriously wounded had been left for the British, and another 200 lightly wounded were retreating with the army. Of the full 3,000 German soldiers who had advanced with Rommel, nearly a third had been lost in this one battle.

Now he could only lead his troops in a continuous retreat, all the way back to the vicinity of the relay station where General Friedrick was located before he could stabilize his position. One of the advantages of desert warfare is that if you win, you can instantly advance several hundred li, and your record sounds astonishing. Of course, one of the disadvantages is that if you lose, you might be routed for several hundred li overnight, and your defeat sounds incredibly tragic. But in fact, whether it was Rommel routing the British or the British routing Rommel, the actual results were not that great, at least much smaller than many people imagined.

The yellow sand was vast, and the road of retreat was no easier than the road of advance. In the preceding days, Rommel had led these soldiers to relentlessly pursue the British Ninth Army through sheer willpower. Now, that spirit was spent, so the road home seemed even more dangerous and terrifying.

Troops were constantly falling behind and going missing. After a day of retreat, Rommel gathered his forces and took a headcount, finding that of his 2,000 men, only 1,810 remained. A full 190 men had been buried by the yellow sand or had been killed in the pursuit by the British and American forces. And after one more night, when Rommel led his troops out again in the morning, he could only take 1,770 men with him.

At this moment, Rommel finally understood the pain the British Ninth Army had felt when he was hunting them. He had finally bought his lesson with blood, once again proving the correctness of the old Chinese saying: “Don’t pursue a desperate enemy.”

The tragic Rommel found that he couldn’t even organize a local counter-attack. His army was almost out of fuel and ammunition. Even if he could beat back the Anglo-American forces, he would be stranded on his escape route due to a lack of fuel. So he could only retreat in a straight line to the west, without even the courage to look back.

On the second afternoon of the retreat, Rommel finally saw his first glimmer of hope. Three Crusader helicopters brought him the fuel he desperately needed and a small amount of ammunition. Although this was not enough for Rommel to turn back and counter-attack, these supplies undoubtedly brought hope to the fleeing German soldiers.

When people are fleeing in a boundless desert, they can fall into despair due to a lack of water and food. This despair is sometimes the most fatal thing. Many times, the dead have already reached the edge of the desert but have collapsed on the last few kilometers of the road due to their own despair.

Before the helicopters arrived, Rommel’s force had been on the verge of collapse. Thirty-six hours of flight had reduced these elite German troops to 1,500 men. But these few helicopters had saved Rommel, giving his troops courage and hope once more.

After sending off the three helicopters, the German “Desert Fox” licked his dry lips. He sat in his convertible, had already spread out a map, and was thinking about how to rendezvous with General Friedrick as quickly as possible to launch his revenge counter-attack.

Published: 2025-08-29T02:49:43.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2025-11-28T08:41:35.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c490-rout-137601540

Advance chapters at Nightjar Reads · nightjarreads.com