Chapter 659: Two Division Commanders
“Where is the 2nd Battalion’s tank position now?” a German officer stared at his map and shouted to the staff officer beside him. Not far from him, a 150mm self-propelled howitzer was firing fiercely. As the commander of the 7th Panzer Division, he was under immense pressure, because his predecessor was the famous commander of the Afrika Korps, Rommel.
After being appointed commander of the 7th Panzer Division, Major General von Prittwitz had spent nearly half a year to secure his position. During this time, in every battle he experienced, he did his best to lead from the front, because that was what his predecessor, General Rommel, had done. He did his best to learn Rommel’s style, striving to integrate himself into the environment of the “Ghost Division,” the 7th Panzer.
So now his command post was less than a kilometer from the front line, and he could even see shells landing not far away. But this German division commander didn’t even wear his steel helmet, only a peaked cap on his head. This was also Rommel’s signature attire; one could say that Major General von Prittwitz had learned it to the bone.
“News just came in, General. The 2nd Battalion of the 1st Regiment is currently attacking eastward from here. One of their tanks has broken down, and two others have been destroyed,” the staff officer reported, pointing at the map. “But they have repulsed the American attack, destroying about 10 American tanks!”
“Order them to speed up the attack! I don’t want the battle to still be going on when General Rommel arrives!” General von Prittwitz said with a frustrated frown. “Also, send out the division’s reserve to push back the American forces to our front. There’s no need for any guard troops here. Issue the order immediately!”
“Yes, General!” The staff officer snapped to attention and quickly ran to the armored command vehicle behind him. It was a command variant of an armored car with a thick radio antenna on top. The interior space was rather cramped, so most commanders preferred to stop and stand outside the vehicle to command rather than squat inside in a relatively safe but crowded environment.
“General! General! A message from the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment. A large number of enemy tanks are trying to break through our front. They are trying their best to intercept them, but the enemy is too numerous. They hope that the division headquarters will move back a certain distance to ensure its safety,” a liaison officer ran to Major General von Prittwitz’s side and loudly reported the latest battle situation.
Major General von Prittwitz looked at the officer with a hint of Prussian aristocratic disdain, reached out, and patted the liaison officer on the chest, as if brushing off some dust. “Have you ever heard of the 7th Panzer Division’s headquarters retreating? To even bring up such a suggestion is ridiculous. Order the division’s reserve to attack and drive the American tanks back!”
“But General! This place is already within the range of the enemy’s artillery! It’s very dangerous!” the staff officer reminded his commander to be careful.
“When General Rommel led the 7th Division across France, the enemy’s machine gun bullets hit his car several times! As the commander of the 7th Division, I must stand with my soldiers!” General von Prittwitz said loudly to his men. After speaking, he smiled and patted the liaison officer’s shoulder again. “Go and tell the commander of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Regiment, that I am here, and I am not going anywhere!”
But at that moment, a shell landed not far away, kicking up a cloud of yellow sand. Everyone was startled by the shell. Several soldiers on guard duty had already clutched their helmets and hit the dirt, but the reckless von Prittwitz still showed no intention of taking cover.
The order had been given, and soon the German tanks around the division headquarters passed von Prittwitz’s position. They were preparing to advance to the sector where the Americans had counter-attacked, to block the American tanks that had broken through the German lines.
BOOM! A shell landed on the other side of the armored command vehicle. The vehicle’s body blocked the blast wave, but everyone was thrown about by the sound of the explosion. Many soldiers saw the officers of the division headquarters being engulfed by the flying sand. They quickly ran to the impact site and found several officers in the dim smoke.
Fortunately, almost all the officers were unharmed, with only a few having their ears ringing from the blast. But when the men found their division commander, they discovered that a piece of shrapnel had unfortunately struck him in the head.
“Medic! Quick! The commander’s been hit! Someone, help!” With the roar of German tank engines and the screams of many soldiers, the medics arrived at the scene at the first opportunity. But they found that Major General von Prittwitz was no longer breathing.
Although the commander of the 7th Panzer Division was killed in action at around ten o’clock that morning, the division, under the leadership of its deputy commander, still held off the fierce attack of the American tank units. By the time their former commander, now the commander-in-chief of the Afrika Korps, Rommel, arrived on the scene, they had even carried out a limited counter-attack.
The battle lasted until 12:10 in the afternoon. The Americans had lost 210 tanks but still showed no sign of retreating. Patton had clearly given a death order; he had no intention of bringing a single tank back to the east of the Suez Canal. However, to eliminate these 210 Allied tanks, Rommel’s tank units had lost 45 tanks, most of which were Panthers, which pained Rommel greatly.
Beside a shell crater, Rommel, covered in sand and dust, saw the body of his subordinate, Major General von Prittwitz. This general, whose bravery was indistinguishable from recklessness, lay peacefully on the ground, as if very satisfied that he could die on such an important battlefield.
Just a few dozen meters behind Rommel, two self-propelled quad 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns were adjusting their firing angles. They were responsible for the air defense of the Afrika Korps’ general headquarters. The American attack had been repulsed, and this area had become relatively safe.
“What’s the position of the flank attack? Has the damn radio communication been restored yet?” Rommel asked his chief of staff after staring at his subordinate’s body for a long time. His mood seemed very bad, and his voice had a rare hint of anger.
Just as he asked, a soldier on sentry duty suddenly fired a warning shot. Everyone looked in the direction of the sentry post and saw a huge British command vehicle speeding towards them in the distance.
That vehicle was a special British command car. The German army had destroyed this type of vehicle before, so Rommel had seen its wreck. But the front of this vehicle was painted with the unique symbol of the American army, a white five-pointed star. So even Rommel was confused, unable to tell if it was a British or American vehicle.
“British? American?” Rommel muttered with a frown. On the other side, the guards were already preparing to engage the enemy. Soon, a Panther tank drove over, its turret pointing at the approaching British command car. This British command car was a real behemoth; its body was huge, looking like an elephant.
“Prepare to fire!” The officer in charge of the guards had already shouted the order. But Rommel on the other side waved his hand and loudly countermanded the order to fire. “Have you ever seen an idiot attack a tank with a car? Wait until they get closer, let’s see what these fools want to do!”
Soon, the vehicle stopped next to Rommel’s command post, right in front of the dark muzzle of a German tank. The people inside opened the door, and they were all wearing German uniforms.
“Hey! This is the American command car I captured! Why are you pointing a cannon at my trophy?” It was Lieutenant General Streicher, commander of the 7th Panzer Corps and another panzer division. He strode dusty-faced to Rommel and proudly showed off his achievement. “I’ve pushed back the American tank units on the flank. My men are now pursuing the remaining American soldiers.”
“Are you crazy? Streicher! How dare you drive a British car up to my command post? I almost gave the order to blow up your junker!” Rommel shouted, pointing at Streicher.
“It’s alright! General! If that had happened, at worst you would have just lost two panzer division commanders in one day,” Streicher laughed loudly, then pointed to the British car behind him. “This thing has a lot of space inside, and it’s very suitable as a command post and a room. I brought it especially for you.”
“Don’t do that again next time, or I really will give the order to fire and blow you to kingdom come!” Rommel punched Streicher on the chest, then walked with a smile towards the really nice-looking special armored command car. “This car is not bad. I like it very much. At least I can stand up and stretch inside. Where are your troops now? Mark it on the map for me.”
“My troops have cut into the left flank of Patton’s forces. They can only retreat into the desert now. I’ve ordered a pursuit for 50 kilometers, then they’ll return here and await orders,” Streicher said, pointing at the map to report his gains. “The sandstorm is a bit heavy, and the antenna on my command car was broken by the wind a few hours ago, so communication was cut off.”
“300 tanks. Patton has lost about 300 tanks. Isn’t it a bit too early to retreat at this time?” Rommel suddenly felt that something was not right and immediately issued an order to halt the offensive. “Patton still has a reserve force that he hasn’t committed to battle! We need to tighten our formation!”
Published: 2025-09-15T05:58:26.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-02-11T12:24:47.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c659-two-138920667
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