Chapter 491: Four Countries
In the yellow sand, a German officer saw the first soldier of the 7th Panzer Division to come into view. The soldier carried his rifle dejectedly, his body covered in dust, his face muffled by a tattered scarf.
He was wearing a pair of Italian army shorts, with puttees wrapped around his legs and a pair of desert-yellow military leather boots. He walked with a stagger, his steps heavy, like an Egyptian mummy, a somewhat frightening sight.
A German soldier quickly climbed out of a trench and ran towards his comrade, pulling out his canteen as he ran. He unscrewed the cap and held it out to the German soldier who was returning to the camp.
The soldier took the canteen, pulled off his scarf to reveal his dry, chapped lips, and poured the fresh water into his mouth as if it were the finest champagne in the world, capable of curing all the ailments of his body. With a series of gulps, he drank the canteen dry. He nodded gratefully to his comrade who had been stationed at the relay station and said in a hoarse voice, “I am eternally grateful.”
Soon, more and more soldiers appeared in the desert. On the other side, German tanks and armored vehicles had also begun to enter the German-occupied area. They had received supplies and fuel, and the scene was somewhat chaotic.
A convertible car drove into the camp area. After being stopped by the guards, it was quickly allowed to pass. The car drove all the way to the deeper German camp, stopping in front of a well-camouflaged forward defensive position.
Rommel, dragging his exhausted body, jumped out of the car. He threw his gloves onto his seat and strode into the temporary wartime command post. In this command post, General Friederici of the German 7th Infantry Corps and the commander of the Italian army, General Garibaldi, were waiting for Rommel, who had just arrived.
“Heil Führer Akado Rudolph!” Friederici said, snapping to attention as he saw Rommel walk in. “General, it’s been a hard journey.”
“Heil Führer!” Rommel returned the salute. He then took off his sand-covered trench coat, tossed it onto a nearby chair, glanced at the seated Italian General Garibaldi, and, after a nod, asked, “Why wasn’t I supplied with fuel and ammunition to launch a local counter-attack this evening?”
“General Rommel, the Führer’s telegram arrived yesterday afternoon. The High Command has given strict orders for us to rest and consolidate on the spot, to stabilize the situation first,” Friederici said with a helpless smile, handing the message to Rommel. “So, we were ordered not to provide any logistical support for your counter-attack plan.”
“Such a good opportunity, missed just like that,” Rommel said, slapping the table in frustration. “If you had given me two divisions, I could have pushed another 100 kilometers east, back to the position I retreated from. I could have annihilated at least two more British divisions, maybe even captured a few thousand Americans!”
“Your troops need to rest. What they need most right now is hot food and water, and a good night’s sleep in a tent,” the Italian General Garibaldi said, spreading his hands. “Not another battle.”
Rommel took the hot coffee that General Friederici handed him. He looked at the steaming black liquid, which reflected his own face. “You are right. I really do need to rest. I’ll rely on you, General Friederici, to guard against a British and American attack. I’m going to get some sleep.”
“Have a good sleep, General,” General Friederici said with a smile. “The Führer’s order has not relieved you of your command as commander-in-chief of the Afrika Korps, so the command of the subsequent campaigns will still rely on your decisions.”
“He didn’t relieve me of my command?” Rommel was stunned, then fell silent. He had not expected that after such a disastrous defeat, Akado’s trust in him would remain unchanged. Not only had he not been blamed, but he hadn’t even been stripped of his frontline command.
“Of course he didn’t relieve you of your command,” Friederici said with a smile. “But the Führer asked me to remind you not to attempt to counter-attack any British provocations for the next three days. After all, our troops need to rest.”
Rommel nodded, then relaxed. He leaned back in his chair, rested his head on his dusty trench coat, and fell asleep.
Hearing Rommel’s light snores, Friederici stood up and, along with Garibaldi, tiptoed out of the concealed temporary command post. After closing the door, Friederici pointed helplessly at the room. “This Erwin, he’s occupied our command post and kicked us all out.”
“General Rommel is also very tired. I heard he hasn’t had a proper night’s sleep in several days,” Garibaldi said, his hands behind his back as he walked out, looking at General Friederici. “I know you were prepared to counter-attack, but you’ve been holding back. Can you tell me why?”
“A few days ago, General Rommel launched the Tunisia campaign. The entire operational plan actually violated the orders of the Army High Command,” Friederici said with a smile to General Garibaldi. “And General Rommel’s relentless pursuit led to this painful defeat, so I can only be more cautious.”
Garibaldi said nothing, just looked at Friederici with a smile, as if waiting for him to continue.
“Alright! I admit there were other thoughts involved,” Friederici said with a helpless sigh. “Rommel disobeyed orders, but I cannot continue to do so. After all, I have to prove to the Führer that while there is one somewhat unstable Rommel in North Africa, the other, Friederici, is a steady hand… Only then can we complement each other and put the High Command at ease.”
Garibaldi nodded. “This is what I was afraid of as well, which is why I advised you not to act rashly. If you were to launch a counter-attack this time, even if you were victorious, nine times out of ten, either you or General Rommel would be transferred out of North Africa.”
This time, it was Friederici who was looking at Garibaldi with a smile, also waiting for him to explain his words.
“Alright! I surrender!” Garibaldi explained jokingly. “My own command ability is mediocre. If I didn’t also have some political foresight, how could I have gotten to my current position?”
“You Italians! If only you would take some of the effort you put into other things and put it into fighting, how great that would be,” Friederici said, shaking his head as he walked away. “I’m going to inspect the troops who have fallen back. If you’re interested, you can come with me.”
“Interested! Of course I’m interested! It’s not often one gets to see the Germans fleeing in disarray!” Garibaldi said with a laugh, following him. He had just returned the jab Friederici had made about the Italians.
“General Patton! We didn’t even launch a single probing attack, and we’re just running away like this?” Montgomery asked, sitting in a car and looking at Patton, who was constantly gazing into the distance.
Patton held a cigar between his fingers, blew out a cloud of smoke, and said with a smile, “I am an advocate of the attack, but I am not an idiot! If there was an advantage to be had, you, Montgomery, would have taken it yourself. Why would you wait for me? You halted your attack in the south this afternoon because you were waiting for Rommel’s counter-attack, right? Did you not know that at that same moment, I also ordered my forces to set up a defense?”
“It’s a pleasure to cooperate with a smart person,” Montgomery laughed along. He pointed to the Anglo-American forces retreating beside the car. “In any case, I don’t want to spend the night in front of the German positions. That would be too dangerous. Rommel’s force is no longer capable of counter-attacking, but who knows when the other German forces might attack.”
“This time, it was a successful opening. My objective has been achieved. So a retreat is a retreat!” Patton said with great pride. “I have seen several of the Germans’ new weapons. We routed the main force of the German army, so their weapons were quite comprehensive. Most of them are already being transported to Cairo to be sent back to the United States for research.”
“You Americans, you always have to get something out of it,” Montgomery said teasingly.
“The MP-44 assault rifle, the G43 rifle, the MG42 general-purpose machine gun, and the wrecks of Panther tanks and wheeled armored cars,” Patton chuckled, listing them off as if they were family treasures. “These are all good things that America wants to study carefully. It’s a pity we didn’t shoot down a single Fw-190D. That’s a regret.”
“With your American forces so openly participating in the battle, won’t it arouse the hostility of the Germans and lead to a declaration of war between the two countries?” Montgomery asked. He truly hoped that this American action would provoke the Germans and lead to a declaration of war. Then the world situation would be a different story; at least Britain would no longer be isolated and helpless.
“That’s not my concern. I am only responsible for fighting and winning the war,” Patton said, closing his eyes to enjoy his cigar, and said no more to Montgomery. Politics was clearly not his strong suit. Before he had come here, his superior had warned him to keep his big mouth shut.
Instead, his staff officer, who was sitting in the front, turned around and explained with a smile, “In fact, the relationship between the United States and Germany has not been very good since ’37. The German submarine force has constantly provoked us by sinking our American merchant ships, and the German officials have been evasive and have ignored our protests. So this time, when we sent troops to North Africa in the name of volunteers, they can’t really say anything about it.”
Montgomery nodded and asked no more questions, instead focusing his attention on his map. He wanted to carefully analyze the German army’s next move, to prepare his defenses before the campaign began.
Published: 2025-08-30T04:12:25.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2025-11-29T16:57:04.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-491-four-137683306
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