Chapter 660: The Fastest Reinforcements

While Rommel’s and Patton’s forces were entangled, in the rear of the German front line, a group of Italian soldiers was using various machines and other individual equipment, trying every means to level a field airstrip. The bustling construction scene was proof that the scale of this massive project was quite large.

Italian soldiers did not seem to be very suitable for fighting on the front lines. They were weak on the attack and unreliable in defense, like a leaky roof. But once they were taken off the battlefield, these soldiers were full of energy. Their construction work was meticulous, and the quality was excellent.

So, after this operational plan was drawn up, Rommel had ordered two corps of Italian soldiers to secretly build a large number of frontline airfields. As for what these airfields were for, no one knew.

“The Germans just love to make a fuss. When they have nothing to do, they build fortifications, dig trenches, and then scout the terrain and gather intelligence everywhere, like machines that can’t be stopped,” an Italian soldier complained to his comrade as he leveled the sand around the runway with a shovel. “I was grateful at first that they brought us here so we didn’t have to fight on the front line, but then they gave us this job, and we’re exhausted all day long.”

His companion replied without looking up from his work, “Come on, we’re lucky. I heard the Blackshirts have suffered thousands of casualties. To be able to build an airfield in such a safe place is already a very good job. If there were really a shortage of troops at the front and they sent us up, that would be truly miserable.”

No one knew what these temporary German frontline airfields were for. These airfields had no pre-set anti-aircraft positions, nor any cover. What was most pitiful was that apart from some refueling and supply trucks, there were very few ground maintenance personnel.

These places could have been just false targets to confuse the enemy’s air force, or temporary runways for damaged aircraft to make emergency landings. As for why so many field airstrips were being built, that was not something an ordinary Italian soldier could know. They were just responsible for building, endlessly building.

“You should have seen the German canned food the Blackshirts get. Now that’s what you call real food.” Once he started complaining, everything seemed like unequal treatment. This Italian soldier had seen the supplies for the Blackshirts, which were on par with those of the regular German army. It naturally made these second-line Italian soldiers extremely envious.

Originally, the food supply for the Italian army was not bad, but Rommel had no intention of distributing the supplies from his long supply line evenly. He ordered the frontline troops to receive supplies at or even above one hundred percent of their needs, while the second-line troops were maintained at a seventy or even fifty percent level.

This resulted in the second-line Italian units receiving very pitiful supplies. The garrisons in many places only had two meals a day, while the Blackshirts and the German army’s own troops, who were advancing with them, had canned food and roasted flour every day, and sometimes even beef and chocolate.

“You think that food is for free? Eating it means you’re going to the battlefield. Are the British easy to mess with? It’s only because the Germans are better. If it were us, Tunis would have been lost by now,” an old Italian veteran said with a sigh. “You guys are new, you haven’t heard that story…”

“What story?” The several young Italian soldiers who had recently arrived in Africa had clearly not experienced the rout of the Italian army at the hands of the British, so they were very curious about such things.

“Sigh, before the Germans came, our general didn’t listen to advice and insisted on provoking the British. We were utterly defeated. I was in the rear guard at the time, so I wasn’t surrounded and captured. But I heard that when the British reported on capturing Italian troops, this is what they said.” The old Italian soldier paused for dramatic effect, and only when everyone’s curiosity had reached its peak did he continue, “The British said: ‘We have captured 5 acres of Italian officers, and 200 acres of Italian soldiers’…”

“…” Now everyone knew why they had been stuffed into the German engineering corps to build these frontline field airstrips. With such a fine foundation laid by their predecessors, it seemed they would need more than just courage to get to the front line.

“We have captured approximately 5 acres of officers, and 200 acres of Anglo-American soldiers!” Just as a group of Italians were lamenting the shameful record of their predecessors, a German officer was proudly reporting the day’s battle results to Rommel.

Everyone had thought that Patton was holding back his reserves for a hidden counter-attack plan. The entire engagement was filled with an air of conspiracy. In the end, the German army decided to ignore any potential trap Patton might have set and threw their superior armored forces at the core of Patton’s army.

The Germans had gathered the largest tank force they could muster, including 40 Tiger tanks and 110 Panther tanks, forming an attack group that fiercely assaulted the core position of Patton’s army group. There, they destroyed about 40 of the Americans’ newest M4 Sherman tanks, and then the entire Patton army group completely collapsed.

The main force of Patton’s army group, which they had been so wary of and on guard against, never appeared on the battlefield. There wasn’t even a decent counter-attack, and the entire army group was routed by the Germans. The battlefield turned into a one-sided chase. The performance of many American soldiers was a stark contrast to their previous actions. They readily raised their hands in surrender, a complete reversal of their stubborn resistance in the past.

This was because a terrifying rumor had spread among them: “Alexandria has changed hands, the British 9th Army Group on the flank has collapsed. A large number of German soldiers have appeared in the rear of the entire army, and the 8th Army Group has been encircled by the Germans.” This rumor was even directly corroborated by the fact that the 8th Army Group’s command headquarters had begun to retreat. Everything was collapsing like a landslide.

Sitting in his armored command vehicle, Patton’s face was filled with fatigue and dejection. Even his favorite cigar was not in his mouth at this moment. Beside him was the retreating main force of the 8th Armored Division. This was Patton’s “nest egg,” all the valuable assets he could take with him now.

As for why he had abandoned his frontline troops and chosen an almost humiliating escape, it all had to be traced back to a few hours ago. Because a few hours ago, Patton’s supply line in the area south of the line from Cairo to Alexandria had suddenly been cut. His rear guard was ordered to counter-attack, but the intelligence that came back shocked everyone.

The intelligence showed that German troops had appeared on the supply line and in the rear, and in very large numbers. As for where this fatal German force had come from, Patton really had no clue. All he could do was lead all the American troops he could find to break out to the east, retake the supply line, and retreat to Cairo.

A major battle that Patton and Montgomery had painstakingly organized had suddenly collapsed in a rapidly deteriorating situation and ended in an anticlimax. The German army had achieved a complete victory from a stalemated battlefield. Soon they would encircle Alexandria from the flank, or rather, they had already tactically encircled the port.

And after that, Rommel’s army would water its horses at the Nile. The garrison in Cairo was simply incapable of stopping the devastating advance of the German army. The final defense of the Suez Canal would depend on the few troops that Patton had managed to lead away.

“Dammit! Where did these damn Krauts come from? Has there been any reply from the British? Still no news?” In the swaying armored car, Patton asked his operations officer, his face pale.

He had been forced to abandon the majority of his troops and flee with his elite units. This was an absolute humiliation for him. His carefully prepared counter-attack plan could not be implemented. His idea of wearing down the German effective strength and dragging the war into a stalemate had been smashed to pieces by the enemy before it even began.

“There are eyewitnesses who claim to have seen a large number of German planes flying west. Some say they are bombers that took off from Turkey, others say they are bombers from Crete. But no one saw these planes drop bombs, so we can’t confirm the situation yet,” the operations officer replied to his commander, putting down the walkie-talkie in his hand.

“Planes? It’s paratroopers!” Patton’s eyes suddenly lit up. He knew that if possible, he might still be able to gain some advantage in this situation before escaping. If the German troops in his rear were indeed paratroopers, then they would be unable to stand up to his armored torrent.

“It’s paratroopers! The German paratroopers from Crete! They didn’t withdraw to the German mainland. They were on Crete, waiting for this surprise attack! They are the fastest reinforcements, the German troops that can reinforce Rommel at the fastest speed!” In Alexandria, Montgomery slammed his fist on the table and roared at his panicked subordinates. “Draw troops from Alexandria and counter-attack immediately! Is there any news from General Patton? Go and get in touch with him! Quick!”

“General! General Patton must be retreating. After all, unlike us, they didn’t see the huge German air fleet,” a staff officer said, his face as sorrowful as if his own mother had died. He had personally seen at least 500 German planes fly over the lines between the two sides. Due to a delay in air defense communication, by the time the British anti-aircraft guns opened fire, only a dozen German planes had been shot down. After all, no one had expected the Germans to appear from behind them, so by the time they reacted, most of the anti-aircraft gun positions had been bypassed by the Germans.

Published: 2025-09-15T06:00:05.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-02-11T12:24:47.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c660-fastest-138920696

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