Chapter 641: Why Not Take the Bait?

For the northern regions of Africa, the boundless yellow sand was the unchanging main theme. It was incredibly hot here, and everything could be related to the temperature.

A lizard lay lazily on a rock. A small pile of dry, withered bushes in front of it was its entire world. It relied on its skin to absorb the heat from the sun’s rays to raise its blood temperature, accumulating enough energy to move.

The rumbling of cannons in the distance seemed to have nothing to do with it. Human activity here was still not vast enough to change the face of the earth. This was still a region ruled by nature, and everything here maintained a relatively primitive appearance.

Compared to the lizard, humans in the desert did not seem to be very fond of the distant sun. The persistently high temperatures were extremely uncomfortable, yet they could not take off their clothes to resist the heat. To reduce the evaporation of sweat and maintain moisture on the surface of the skin, they had to wrap themselves up tightly, covering as much of their bodies as possible.

Rommel stood in his car, holding his binoculars with both hands and looking into the distance. That was where his troops were launching their attack. The air was filled with the smoke of gunpowder and the continuous roar of cannons. However, due to the distance, he could only see the black smoke rising on the horizon and the fighter planes in the sky, which had shrunk to small black dots.

The very air shimmered and rolled due to the heat, and all the scenery on the ground was distorted by the heat waves. An old scarf was wrapped around Rommel’s neck, covered in yellow sand and looking worn out. But he still liked to wear this scarf with its slightly tattered edges, because it was something his wife had sent him from their homeland.

He deeply loved his wife and cared for his family, appearing to be a flawless good man, a rare model husband. And when he worked, he possessed the unique rigor and thoroughness of a traditional German man. One could say he was a larger-than-life character who would only appear in storybooks.

Schörner had not disappointed. This general, known as “The Beast,” had launched a new round of offensives with his not-yet-fully-assembled army as soon as he arrived on the North African front. The German army swept through Egypt, breaking through three of Montgomery’s defense lines in one go. They were now fiercely attacking Alexandria. Once that city was captured, the situation in Egypt would be irreversible.

What was frustrating was that the resistance shown by the British troops was much greater than estimated. They defended every line at all costs, fighting fiercely with the German army for every trench. Rommel launched repeated assaults, but in twenty days of continuous attacks, they had only advanced a short distance.

“General, my troops need to rest, and your troops need to rest too! Please order a halt to the offensive. At the very least, we need to find a way to transport the artillery shells from Tobruk before making further plans!” Standing by Rommel’s car, the Italian General Gariboldi requested a halt to the attack. In the past few days, his Italian 1st Corps had launched 17 fierce attacks on the British positions, losing 41 tanks and a large number of infantry. Yesterday, he had inspected the frontline troops and found that the Italian soldiers were in rags and sallow-faced, no different from beggars.

After all, not all countries’ armies had the astonishing combat effectiveness of the German Wehrmacht. The newly arrived Romanian expeditionary force in North Africa was clearly not adapting well to the harsh desert environment. This unit, incorporated into Schörner’s army group, performed very poorly. After one battle, they were relegated to logistical tasks such as guarding warehouses.

To speed up the offensive, Rommel had played his trump card today. He had ordered a regiment of armored troops to join the attack, launching an assault on the flank of the British defense line not far away. The two sides were currently engaged in a fierce battle. The final outcome would depend on the reports from the front.

“The first wave of attack aircraft has run out of fuel. They have notified us and are returning to base,” an air force liaison officer said, walking up behind Rommel with a file. After saluting, he said loudly, “The second wave of bombers has already taken off and is in formation. They are expected to arrive over the battlefield in 7 minutes.”

Not far behind Rommel was the general headquarters of the entire Afrika Korps. A dozen huge radio antennas were erected there, and a dozen armored command vehicles were parked together. A spiderweb of wires connected to each vehicle, eventually converging and plugging into the back of a truck carrying a diesel generator.

The German Air Force’s dominance over the skies of North Africa was much greater than imagined. At least in North Africa, there were none of the latest modified P-40s with Rolls-Royce engines. The Allied air power here was still mainly composed of old British Hurricane fighters and the most primitive P-40s. These planes were clearly no match for the battle-hardened German Fw-190Ds. Therefore, when the German Stuka dive bombers visited the British positions time and again, they rarely encountered Allied fighters taking off to intercept them.

But Montgomery was no slouch either. While he wasn’t a great strategist on the offense, he was definitely more than capable on the defense. The defense lines he had set up were crisscrossed, with specially reinforced key defensive works every short distance. This forced the Germans to eliminate them one by one, preventing them from making large-scale penetrations and breakthroughs.

The two sides fought repeatedly for the same ground. Due to the visual distortion caused by the ground temperature in the desert, things close to the ground were difficult to see from a distance. Therefore, the troops on both sides were fighting at extremely close quarters, and the high casualties were to be expected.

Just this morning, the commander of the 12th SS Division, Kurlov, was hit in the head by a stray bullet while directing the battle at the front and was killed instantly. This loss caught Rommel off guard. However, the 12th SS Division, under the command of its acting commander, then advanced 8 kilometers and captured 700 British soldiers, avenging their former commander.

“Never think about what we can do after Alexandria falls! Gentlemen, it will never fall!” In front of Rommel, across the battlefield and deep into the British lines, Montgomery was giving an impassioned speech to his generals. “We cannot lose Egypt, never!”

In one day, the British army had lost two generals, and two divisions had been completely crippled. But it seemed the British army had no intention of retreating another step this time. They defended their positions to the last man, not taking a single step back.

The losses were almost unbearable. In twenty days of combat, the British had lost over 29,000 soldiers killed, more than 40,000 wounded, and about 10,000 captured. They had lost three entire defense lines, and the fourth was riddled with holes. But they had made the Germans pay a heavy price as well. Rommel had lost 170 tanks and assault guns, most of which were shoddy Italian models. In addition, the Afrika Korps had lost over 9,900 killed, and another 18,000 wounded and missing.

Montgomery’s mood was actually quite good. He had successfully defended his position with his 9th Army Group, which had greatly boosted his confidence and his grasp of the situation in Africa. Behind him, he still had General Patton’s 8th Army Group, an entire army group in reserve. Almost all of the Allied tanks and armored vehicles in North Africa were in the 8th Army Group’s hands. As soon as the time was right, Patton would lead his troops westward in a defensive counter-attack to defeat Rommel’s Afrika Korps.

“Rommel is nothing to be afraid of! As long as we hold the defense lines here and here, Alexandria will become our most solid supply base in the rear! Gentlemen, the fate of the British Empire rests on this battle. Please fight to the death and give your last effort for your country!”

“General! Rest assured! The two divisions of the 9th Army Group’s 9th Corps, with Alexandria at our backs, will not retreat a single step!” The most important position in the entire defense line had been assigned to Montgomery’s most elite troops. They were responsible for defending the outskirts of Alexandria to the death, holding out until General Patton launched his counter-attack.

Unlike other defense lines, the defenses here were meticulously planned and had the cover of naval warships and the coastal artillery of Alexandria. Rommel had not committed too many troops to attack here. It seemed the Germans wanted to encircle Alexandria from the flank first, as they had with Tobruk, and then slowly conquer it.

“Rest assured! On the flank of Alexandria, we will also fight to the death and not retreat a single step!” the commander of the 19th Corps also pledged to Montgomery. With these two forces holding the line, Rommel would have to make a huge detour to bypass Alexandria, which would leave a massive opening for Patton in the rear.

Just as the Germans had dug a huge trap for the Soviets in Poland, in North Africa, Montgomery had also set a tempting trap for Rommel. The bait was Alexandria, the most important port in North Africa. It all depended on whether Rommel would take it.

“Take the bait! Why not take the bait?” Rommel said, pointing at the map to show his attack plan to Gariboldi, Friederici, and other generals. “To encircle Alexandria from the flank is risky, but I don’t think it’s an unrecoverable mistake!”

“But, General, we still haven’t seen Patton’s 8th Army Group. If we are counter-attacked by Patton during the encirclement, our losses will be very heavy!” Friederici was more conservative and did not approve of such a risky plan.

“Don’t worry! General Friederici, we still have a force we haven’t committed yet, so… Alexandria will be ours!” Rommel thought of the daring operational plan sent from the Wolf’s Lair and couldn’t help but smile.

Published: 2025-09-14T06:51:53.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-02-04T19:01:06.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c641-why-not-138854415

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