12dz Chapter 260: Criss-cross
Chapter 260: Criss-cross
That night, Xiu Ma Si led the 1st Tank Division and others to defeat the British troops defending Mishhai. With the assistance of the Engineer Corps, they quickly broke through the Euphrates River, headed north overnight, and attacked Kufai.
Meanwhile, north of Khan Musela, at Khan Mahad, the main force of the German 1st Tank Corps, commanded by Hoepner, encountered tanks from the Chinese 47th Panzer Corps and the 6th Corps. A fierce exchange of fire broke out between the tanks and armored units. Due to the 47th Corps' prior preparations, the Germans' hasty arrival left neither side with much of an advantage. Furthermore, with the onset of darkness, the Germans were forced to withdraw from the battle zone and set up camp nearby, preparing for a decisive battle with the Chinese at daybreak.
Kuang Zhengqi personally commanded Khan Mahad. He wasn't surprised by the initial defeat of the Germans. However, he was deeply dissatisfied with the performance of the 47th Army's British-made equipment. Fortunately, the timely arrival of the 6th and 11th Divisions of the 37th Army gave him the confidence to face the Germans tomorrow.
"Can we contact the nearby US and British air forces?"
Kuang Zhengqi, using a small lighting fixture, stared intently at the map. Suddenly, he turned to his chief of staff and asked a question. The chief of staff didn't hesitate and immediately ordered a nearby staff officer to go to the telecommunications department and request that they establish contact as soon as possible.
The two continued to examine the surrounding terrain and soon reached a consensus. They decided to use several hills in the valley to concentrate anti-tank firepower, let the British tanks of the 47th Army pretend to retreat in tomorrow's battle, lure the German army into taking the bait, and then set up an ambush on the hills to deal a fatal blow to the German army.
Meanwhile, Hoepner and his chief of staff were meticulously analyzing maps and planning tomorrow's battle. The chief of staff, too, pointed to several hilly areas in the valley, asserting that the Chinese would undoubtedly deploy significant forces there. However, he was filled with doubt. The forces engaging him tonight were primarily British tanks. Could it be that the bulk of the Chinese forces hadn't crossed the Saudi desert entirely? Had they simply airlifted in these equipment from British reserve stocks in Iraq?
Hoepner smiled slightly and said nonchalantly, "Chief of Staff, this is absolutely impossible. If the British had such a large inventory of tanks in Iraq, the 25th Army would not have been able to break through Mosul so easily, let alone reach north of Baghdad in just two days."
"General, I remember that the Chinese Army's 2nd Army didn't have so many British armored units. Could it be that they forcibly requisitioned equipment from colonial troops along the way?"
"Chief of Staff, this is a bit unusual. In my opinion, the Chinese army may have received orders and, due to time constraints, brought over part of the newly arrived 7th Army. The 7th Army of the Chinese Army came from India, and most of their equipment is British, which is not surprising."
Hoepner was secretly delighted. "Since we're facing the rookie Seventh Army, this is our chance to break through. Tomorrow, we'll mobilize the entire Third Army and crush the Chinese in one fell swoop!"
At this time, the British Army in Iraq was having a hard time. The main force of the British Army in Iraq consisted of only two armies, the 8th Anglo-Australian Army and the 33rd Canadian Army, which had four armored divisions and two motorized infantry divisions under their command, as well as a number of independent units that were gradually reinforced, with a total strength of about 4.
Of course, the Iraqi security forces under the British Governor-General of Iraq also have about 10 people. These troops are very poorly equipped, with only some small-caliber artillery and machine guns. The weapons used by the soldiers are basically the British Army's bolt-action rifles during World War I. Not to mention tanks and armor, there are very few vehicles such as cars. Some troops are even traditional camel teams, cavalry, etc. Their main task is to clear out the Kurdish independence resistance guerrillas in the north.
A sudden, powerful German mechanized attack from Syria forced the 33rd Army, responsible for defending the north, to retreat while fighting. Following the Allied theater plan, they adopted a delaying strategy. Within a week, despite losing much of the north, they achieved their strategic objectives. Of course, the losses were also immense. Two armored divisions were nearly depleted, and only the motorized divisions were now holding out in Baghdad. Wedemeyer was forced to deploy the 2th Army, which had been preparing to defend Basra. Wedemeyer could only gamble that the Chinese could hold off the German 8st Tank Army advancing from the northwest, buying time for the US and British forces.
The next morning, as the dawn broke, a fierce battle suddenly broke out in the direction of Hiseza, as if the generals of both sides had a telepathic connection.
Zhang Lingpu's 114th Army suddenly launched a furious counterattack against von Bowman's 17th Division and the Turkish Armored Division. Artillery roared, smoke filled the air, and the steel behemoths of both sides engaged in a desperate struggle across the vast expanse of land.
Zhang Lingpu personally commanded the armored forces, breaking through the German lines in one fell swoop, charging deep into the German territory and directly attacking the German logistics and transportation lines. Meanwhile, von Bormann wore a serious expression as he constantly adjusted his tactics, trying to halt the Chinese army's advance.
At the same time, Osipius's 1st Tank Corps launched a new offensive against Najaf. Inside the city, Chinese soldiers put up a fierce resistance, but the Germans, supported by tanks and armor, steadily advanced towards the city center.
Across the river in Kufe, a fierce clash also broke out between the 1st Tank Division of Shoemask and the 17th Brigade. Shoemask's tanks encountered the 17th Brigade's carefully arranged anti-tank positions, with artillery fire and flames rising into the sky.
The German 3rd Tank Army launched a full-scale offensive against the 47th Panzer Corps at Khan Mahdi. Hoepner personally led the 5th Panzer Corps in a fierce advance toward Khan Musela. He wanted to capture Khan Musela as quickly as possible and cut off the Chinese army's connection with Najaf.
Kuang Zhengqi stood in his command post, calmly observing the battlefield situation. He immediately saw through the Germans' intentions; their dispersed forces were exactly what he had hoped for. He decisively ordered the 47th Army to feign defeat and retreat, while simultaneously directing the 11th and 37th Tank Divisions to encircle them from both sides.
The German generals were no pushovers. Hoepner and the Chief of Staff had already made their predictions and plans last night. Knowing that the Chinese would be concentrated in the valley and hills, the 3rd Tank Army would not blindly pursue them into the Chinese core area. Their goal was to crush the rookie British-made Chinese troops, not to attack the Chinese defenses at Khan Mahad.
By this time, news had arrived from Hisesa that the 17th Division had been defeated. The 3rd Tank Corps had to respond swiftly. They needed to quickly defeat the Chinese forces there and then pivot to support Hisesa and secure their logistics lines. Another major German force, the 3rd Army, was approaching from Jordan. This primarily consisted of heavy forces, destined for the final decisive battle with the US and British reinforcements in Kuwait.