12dz Chapter 144: Battle of Nasser
Chapter 144: Battle of Nasser
On August 1943, 8, the 12nd Mechanized Infantry Regiment of the New 80th Division of the Second Army and a battalion of the 28th Mechanized Brigade advanced into the area between Kom Om Bu and Nasr City, approximately 82 kilometers north of Aswan. The Axis defending Italian infantry brigade hastily withdrew, allowing the Allies to take over Nasr City and establish defensive positions there. A search company from the 5037th Brigade continued north, attempting to enter Kom Om Bu.
The 5st Search Platoon, consisting of two M1A2s and two armored vehicles, accidentally broke into a German forward defense position outside Komongbu and discovered several German tanks. On the sand dunes not far away, there were several German 1mm anti-aircraft guns. In the low sand valley farther away, there seemed to be a large number of hidden armed forces.
The search platoon was driven back by German firepower and had to retreat. At the same time, they reported the anomaly they had discovered to their superiors. At the same time, the Allied Air Force had discovered the Komong infantry line through reconnaissance, and a large number of German tanks were approaching.
Kuang Zhengqi immediately ordered the 82nd Regiment and the 5037th Brigade to reinforce their positions. He also ordered the newly formed 114th Tank Division to advance north, with the 7th Division following behind. The newly joined US 1st Armored Division was to advance up the west bank of the Nile River, aiming to capture the towns of Sabhayya and Binban on the west bank. These locations, elevated, were ideal for artillery support east of the river. Kuang Zhengqi planned to station the army's heavy artillery regiment there.
82团装备有18辆M4谢尔曼、6辆M5A1，6辆M6B1追猎者歼击车，16具火箭炮，12门37mm高射炮，6门75mm榴弹炮、6门105mm榴弹炮，128辆M2装甲车，36辆其他装甲车、各式汽车80多辆，已经武装到牙齿。全团3800余人，完全按照美式标准编制。5037旅的这个营属于侦察搜索营的性质，拥有6辆M5A1轻型坦克、12辆M4谢尔曼、6辆M6B1歼击车,24辆装甲车和其他辅助车辆，全营700余人。
The arrival of the main force would take some time. The Germans, having apparently realized their exposure, used an armored regiment as a guide to attempt to retake the city of Nasser, which had been lost to the Italians. Colonel Zhou Xuhui, commander of the 200st Battalion, 600th Regiment, 1th Division during the Battle of Tonggu, had been with Kuang Zhengqi throughout his career. This time, he was transferred to the Second Army with Kuang Zhengqi, commanding the 82nd Regiment. He was now temporarily appointed commander of the Nasser garrison.
Another unexpected figure was also in the 28nd Regiment of the New 82th Division. He was Zhang Lingpu. Due to the same historical reasons, Zhang Lingpu was dismissed and almost shot. Huang Wei found Luo Zhuoying and Zheng Dongguo for help and transferred him to the Expeditionary Force in a roundabout way. This time he took the initiative to be demoted again and served as the deputy commander of the 82nd Regiment with the rank of colonel.
Kuang Zhengqi's confidence in sending the 82nd Regiment northward stemmed not only from his confidence in the current equipment and combat capabilities of the various units, but also from the fact that the commander and deputy commander of the 82nd Regiment, one of whom he had personally trained like a student, and the other a formidable battlefield expert, were highly anticipated.
As expected, Zhou Xuhui called Zhang Lingpu and the US Army battalion commander (5037th Search Battalion) Major George Glasdin. After a while of discussion, the three of them came up with a battle plan to concentrate all tanks for a defensive counterattack.
The three men planned this: the 82nd Regiment's two mechanized infantry battalions, supported by regimental artillery fire, would exploit Nasser's small size but significant elevation, exploiting the complex terrain to gradually halt the German advance. Zhang Lingpu would lead the tank battalion and the search battalion's tanks, forming an assault group and waiting for an opportunity to charge into the German camp and disrupt their position. Meanwhile, Major George would lead the M2 light tanks and M5 tank destroyers to flank the enemy. Twelve tank destroyers, backed by twelve light tanks, would covertly ambush the German tanks, potentially achieving unexpected results.
The plan of the three was not perfect, but if implemented properly, it would not be impossible to severely damage the German tank regiment or even the tank division. At least there would be no problem in holding out until the main force arrived.
Just as Zhou and his men had finished their deployment, artillery fire from the German 212th Tank Regiment arrived. A German tank regiment typically consisted of a tank battalion (51 tanks), a grenadier battalion (18 tank destroyers and other anti-tank weapons), an artillery battalion (36 guns of 75mm or larger), and auxiliary companies (air defense, communications, engineering, logistics, and repair). The regimental commander was a colonel, the tank battalion commander a lieutenant colonel, and the grenadier and artillery battalion commanders majors. A German tank company consisted of three platoons, with a total of 17 tanks (including the company commander's tank).
Zhou Xuhui was personally in charge of the city of Nasser. The German artillery fire was very intense. The 15-minute bombardment was efficient and targeted. The entire city of Nasser was now shrouded in smoke and yellow sand and dust.
While Zhou asked each battalion and company to count the casualties, he also ordered each unit to speed up the repair of fortifications. The endless yellow sand blocked the vision of Zhou and others, and also blocked the vision of the German tank soldiers. This meant that the battle between both sides was destined to be carried out in a gray haze.
The German tank regiment was using the same old trick. The British and American troops were obviously fighting in the endless yellow sand and were very afraid of not being able to find friendly forces. They often retreated across the board for no apparent reason. This tactic of the German army was repeatedly used in battles throughout North Africa.
However, the troops they encountered at this moment were mainly Chinese. During the years of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, China had become very accustomed to defensive operations under harsh conditions. This yellow sand and dust fog was just right for them to secretly engage the enemy and destroy the enemy.
Sure enough, the German army, with a tank company and a grenadier company as the vanguard, rushed into the gray city of Nasser. According to Zhou's deployment, the front-line troops decisively abandoned the front-line positions and let the German army advance straight in.
Soon, the undulating and complex terrain of the city, coupled with the traps deliberately set by the 82nd Regiment, blocked the German tanks. The grenadiers were forced to search forward, which gave the 82nd Regiment an opportunity to split and annihilate the German tanks.
"Da da da--", "Tu tu tu--", "Boom-boom-boom--", the sounds of gunfire and explosions came one after another, and the German grenadiers were ambushed.
The German army was not to be trifled with either. The MG42 general-purpose machine gun made a chainsaw-like sound, "Da ah da da da da da da ah——", and bullets rained down, leaving holes everywhere they went.
The German tanks began to ram left and right, destroying houses and obstacles that blocked their path. Their parallel machine guns also fired continuously, clearing out anything suspicious. Behind them, however, demolition teams, in groups of two or three, were already in action, unleashing new sticky jet bombs and Molotov cocktails on the German tanks. While the metal jets from the exploding jet bombs couldn't destroy the tanks, they could cause fatal damage to the crews inside. Meanwhile, the raging fires caused by the Molotov cocktails forced the German tank crews to flee their tanks, exposing them to the 82nd Regiment's various firepower.