In order to capture Tobrook, Rommel used a very clumsy old method, which was to use large-caliber artillery to attack the solid fortress defense system. However, in North Africa, due to transportation and technical issues, it was difficult for both sides to use giant cannons with a caliber of more than 300 mm, and there were not even many cannons with a caliber of more than 200 mm.

It was obviously not realistic to secretly transport large-caliber artillery to a barren land like Africa, so Rommel naturally thought of the Italian naval fleet with a large number of large-caliber artillery. So a report using the navy to support the army was sent to Africa to Berlin, and a plan called "Large Lightning" in the Supreme Command was released.

The plan was to call three old Italian battleships to carry out an artillery support operation in the Tobrook area. However, when the Italians received this artillery support plan, Mussolini immediately ordered the navy to gather all the forces they could find. The entire Italian Navy was holding a breath, so this time they planned to prove themselves.

So in addition to the battleships that suffered heavy losses in the South Atlantic, Italy found various combat ships they could find. Some old battleships that were originally unsuccessful to provide support to land, so the Italian Navy teamed up with new and old, and brought out a super luxurious lineup of four battleships.

As for why a French battleship appeared here, it was entirely because of another mistake. Originally, Charles de Gaulle's French exile government did not want to stay under others, but several overseas colonies were upside down by the attacks of the Axis powers. So Charles de Gaulle fell in love with the relatively powerful North Africa region and intervened in the competition in the French Somalia region without hesitation.

At this time, Britain actually supported the French government in exile to increase its strength to Africa, so it adopted a default attitude towards the French government in exile interference in French Somalia. This made Vichy France completely unbearable. So Vichy France sent its own navy to join the Italian fleet and retaliated against the Charles de Gaulle government supported by the British and British people.

This time, the Vichy government in France felt a pain in its skin, so it sent the battleship Kubert. Although this old battleship is not suitable for high-intensity naval battles, its five-mounted double-air artillery structure on the side side is simply a terrible killer to support land.

Such a huge fleet has not been fully formed yet, because the French fleet's flagship Richelieu is taking the newly repaired Dunkirk on the way to arrive. If these two battleships are included, there will be as many as 7 battleships gathered by the Axis Group in the waters near Tobrook, and the large-caliber artillery will exceed 50 at that time, and the test of the entire Tobrook defense line will be unprecedented.

The Italian and French navies, which were fighting offshore Tobrook, were different from the last time they helped Germany land in the UK. At that time, the navies of both sides had no experience in cooperation, and were forced to send troops to deal with their errands under the pressure of the German army. Therefore, the navy of Germany landed in the UK was very messy in supporting land shelling.

So this time is different from the last time. The Italian navy was eager to prove its presence in the Mediterranean and was trying hard to show its strength. The French navy came with revenge and was even more attentive than before. So the performance of both sides in Tobrook was much stronger than that in the British waters. Dozens of cannons fired violently, turning the British positions upside down.

The Italians have Tobrook's design drawings. Although this drawing is very sloppy and unprofessional, it is still a very important reference document. Some fire points and trenches can be reinforced and transformed, but some important defense facilities cannot be removed, such as ammunition depots and large barracks, even if they do not have the original design functions, they are definitely important targets worth bombardment.

According to the Italian memory and the reconnaissance photos of German Air Force reconnaissance aircraft, Rommel confirmed most of the military facilities and some hidden important targets. This time, with the support of the navy's giant artillery, he calmly cleared the known enemy gathering area bit by bit.

"Cafour! Your shell did not hit the target, correct 17 meters southward! Yes! Correct southward!" A German artillery school officer with his face pressed on the mirror of the scissor artillery was guiding the artillery on the Italian battleship to shoot and correct. With the help of these observation posts, the Italians found that their artillery could actually be described in the words of precision.

After a long wait, the next round of shooting of the battleship Cafur hit the British defenders' positions. A very strong machine gun bunker was hit by a large caliber shell, and the entire top was lifted up. The fortifications reinforced by reinforced concrete were destroyed due to huge shaking. The bodies of many British soldiers were lying on the surroundings.

"Beautiful! Caful! You hit the target! The opponent was completely destroyed! Now, readjust the angle of the artillery, coordinates, 53, 77! Open fire!..." One after another, the British positions were patronized by large-caliber artillery. The morning passed quickly, and the British discovered that the Germans did not attack any area's defense lines, but most of these defense lines had been destroyed by artillery into a pile of ruins.

In another time and space, several elements that defeated the desert fox Rommel, now have become the winning trump card of the desert fox, which has to be said to be a very interesting thing. The British Mediterranean fleet was drawn due to local defeat, resulting in the entire Mediterranean being controlled by the Italian Navy, which made Montgomery lose the favorable condition for naval artillery support; and at the same time, the loss of Malta made Rommel obtain much more materials than the British troops in North Africa.

Rommel, who was short of supplies in his previous life, had to give up many of the fruits of victory under logistical pressure. Now, compared with the more abundant supplies, the German African Legion showed its sharp fangs to the British.

When the supplies are insufficient, Rommel can launch a series of dazzling offensive operations. Don’t doubt Rommel’s determination to attack when his strength has increased greatly. Once his tank count exceeded 1,000, he issued an order to re-encircle Tobrook and start an attack without hesitation.

Of course, there is another important reason for him to launch an attack immediately: the head of state had instructed the Supreme Command to send a newly established K-Corporate Army to the North African front, and ensured that the Axis powers achieved a decisive victory in North Africa before the arrival of the end of 1940. The goal of this victory included troops entering Egypt, occupying Cairo, and controlling the Suez Canal, extending the Axis powers' hands to the Middle East.

It is no wonder that Akado is so anxious to acquire a German colony in North Africa. In fact, the main reason is that Akado's promise to the entire Jewish consortium must fulfill part of the things. After all, the Jews also want a result, and it is not for nothing to support Akado to squander their funds at will.

After analysis by Augustus and others, Akado decided to decisively demarcate a piece of area in the Middle East and hand it over to the future "Israel", which is almost the same as that of Israel in later generations.

This is also one of the plans of Acardo to disrupt the Middle East. The most important production area of ​​oil in the world will definitely not be controlled by a country in the future, so the situation here is naturally the more chaotic the better. The more chaotic the more it is, the more beneficial it will be for the Germans to deploy their own forces in the Middle East in the future.

In addition, the German senior management decided to give the United States a warning to this consideration, so this time, Acardo instructed Rommel to attack Tobrook, which can be said to be a powerful offensive to a certain extent supported by the right time, place and people.

"Boom!" Another shell fell on the British defenders' positions. This time the shell hit an important ammunition reserve warehouse built underground. Although the ammunition inside had been emptied by the British and the rest was used as a debris storage warehouse, the shells destroyed the entire warehouse, which still made the British feel very distressed. There were 40,000 soldiers' clothing, 3,000 steel helmets and many soldiers' tents and quilts. It would be a pity for anyone to change it.

"Hey? I'm the front line command, yes! The German offensive is still continuing. The opponent's naval artillery is too powerful. We have lost the first-line defensive positions, and the opponent is infiltrating our second-line defensive positions." In the front line command, a division commander from British India was reporting the battlefield situation to the core Tobrook General Command.

Because during the previous German team's attack, a high ground was lost nearby, the German observation post could unscrupulously observe the deployment of British positions and guide their own artillery fire strikes.

"There is no better solution. The most deadly thing now is the German artillery observation post, holding his position. When the opponent's plane cannot take off and bomb at night, we will organize a counterattack and take back the high ground." In the headquarters, Tobrook's commander had just received the order of Montgomery to defend for 13 days. Without any extra troops, he had to rely on the hope of counterattacking at night.

The division commanders of the British Indian troops also knew that in this state, there was indeed no good way to deal with the Germans: if they attacked now, then with the help of superior artillery fire and tanks, the German army could obviously easily repel British troops. This is also the result that the German army most hopes to see that the opponents came out to counter the German armored troops.
Chapter completed!