From the outbreak of the war to the present, Liu Zhaocheng, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese African Expeditionary Force, has always been watching everything on the front line.

Liu Zhaocheng has been patrolling the troops digging trenches on the front line. He ordered his African Corps to be prepared to "launch a surprise attack from any direction."

He was looking forward to a bigger fight coming soon. The British army was obviously gathering troops for a new attack, but they were facing the difficulty of running out of supplies.

On March 21, Liu Zhaocheng came up with a latest plan, and then he issued the order "The time is ripe for attack."

On the morning of the 22nd, he briefly revealed his plan to his trusted subordinates Zhang Lingfu and Rao Guohua. "The armored corps will deal with the enemy forces gathered south of Gangsa. Now that our troops outnumber them, we will launch a surprise attack on them."

Attack and annihilate them in one fell swoop!”

Liu Zhaocheng declared categorically.

However, how can we keep the secrets that are crucial to the surprise attack? Liu Zhaocheng personally compiled a list of commanders who could participate in this secret; artillery was prohibited from firing back indiscriminately; all trucks were prohibited from driving towards the enemy during the day.

Instead, he deliberately kept the convoy moving westward until dusk, then turned around and headed toward the enemy under cover of darkness; the tanks and artillery were carefully camouflaged. He even hid this secret from the Chinese Supreme Command

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Liu Zhaocheng made the most stringent regulations: the orders of the Armored Corps were posted on the notice boards of all inns leading to the front line along Gangba at the moment the attack was launched. The attack launch time was 8:30 a.m. on March 21.

At noon on the 21st, Liu Zhaocheng decided to launch an attack.

He ordered Zhang Lingfu to lead his troops to feint towards Gangba to lure the enemy, and he led his troops to attack Sagom directly from Gangba and loot the British equipment and supplies.

At dusk on the 22nd, Liu Zhaocheng set out from his headquarters. At this time, there was a sandstorm again, and then there was another heavy rain. There were still 24 hours of exhausting deserted villages and wild mountains waiting for Liu Zhaocheng ahead of him.

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Liu Zhaocheng once again shocked the world.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, the marching column of the British Indian Division was advancing rapidly on the road north of Sagom. Liu Zhaocheng commanded several tanks and armored vehicles to cross the mountain peaks in the pouring rain, descend from the sky in the east, and attack the coastal road.

There were deep ditches on both sides of the road, and the Indian division had nowhere to hide and was instantly destroyed. The Chinese ** team captured hundreds of transport trucks.

Below the road, flames and explosions rose into the sky, lighting up the entire port.

The British troops in Sagom were in chaos and fled in a hurry.

Sagom changed hands. Liu Zhaocheng seized a large amount of loot, including 1,000 trucks.

On that day, Nanjing was plunged into jubilation by the good news coming from Africa. The radio station interrupted other programs to report Liu Zhaocheng's victory.

The next day, President Wang Hengyue generously praised Liu Zhaocheng's meritorious service in his speech and announced that he would be promoted to the rank of Army General.

Never before had such a young commander achieved such a high military rank.

The huge victory brought Liu Zhaocheng's reputation to an unprecedented peak. Encouraged by the victory, the soldiers willingly followed him on the battlefield.

His command car with the swaying radio antenna, his familiar figure standing on the car, and his graceful appearance of issuing orders to the commander with short words and unique gestures all proved that he could do what was needed at exactly the moment.

Strike the enemy where the attack is launched.

Liu Zhaocheng poured his strength into every soldier.

Everyone called him by his first name, which was a genuine admiration. The boys understood their commander-in-chief: he spoke directly to them; he was honest with them; often harsh but also knew how to praise and encourage.

They know how to make suggestions and explain complex issues to them in simple terms. Liu Zhaocheng and his men have established loyalty and friendship in the desert, and everyone understands and admires him infinitely!

But Liu Zhaocheng was not satisfied. He began to make his own major plans again.

He will start conquering all of Manim again!

Reinforcements are also coming in a steady stream, and reinforcements are arriving slowly.

Strict and meticulous training began. The newly added infantry must learn how to attack enemy positions under the cover of smoke screens and tanks; officers must learn how to act like tank fire observers and request artillery support from the rear in a timely manner; how to set up false targets. He

Personally organized a tank repair company to use trucks to modify fake tanks.

The soldiers were in high spirits. They ignored the heat and thirst, and were not afraid of hard work. Their skin was tanned like brown animal hides, as if they had been roasted by the hard and gray sand of the desert. Whenever Liu Zhaocheng walked into them

In the middle, they suddenly glowed.

Liu Zhaocheng continued to improve his action plan and marked the action steps on the map. He made arrangements to the army commanders and asked them to briefly convey them to the division commanders. The focus of the British army's combat plan was to make the Chinese attack

The team is under its own control and cannot move freely in the open desert.

But they were completely wrong. The British defenses could easily break through and move down the coast into the desert.

The entire defense line was defended by the British 50th Division and 201st Brigade, the South African 1st and 2nd Divisions, the Indian 5th Division and other units. One million landmines were laid along the defense line, cutting off all traffic from Manim to Manim.

An ideal desert trail. The entire defense line is very well designed. The core is several heavily defended fortresses. All strongholds are equipped with powerful artillery, infantry and armored vehicles with sufficient supplies. At the same time, behind the main defense line, there is also a powerful mobile force.

Reserve force, approximately two divisions of armored and motorized troops.

The original intention of the British army's deployment was to adopt an offensive posture, but they were not prepared to meet Liu Zhaocheng's offensive.

In addition, they accumulated a large amount of supplies on the forward base, which made the British commanders feel wary and did not dare to mobilize their armored forces casually, otherwise their bases would be in danger of being exposed. But in Africa, there is endless horizon as far as the eye can see.

The desert is dominated by motorized troops, and mechanized warfare and tank warfare can give full play to their advantages. Non-motorized infantry troops can only show their value by sticking to preset positions. They can fight to the end, and once their positions are breached, they

They will only become targets of killing by motorized troops.

At 9 a.m. on April 12, Liu Zhaocheng held a combat meeting. He briefly introduced the current enemy situation, and then introduced his own combat plan; in order to win this victory and cover up the attempt to flank the south flank, he first launched a frontal assault from the north.

The breakthrough and feint attack forced the enemy to dispatch armored troops and lured them to one end of the Manimu defense line; the main force launched an attack from the desert end of the defense line at dawn the next day, and arrived at the starting position for the attack on Shabaruk on the third day. On the 13th, Liu Zhaocheng commanded the infantry again

Officials briefly introduced the plan

There is always a calm before the storm. Liu Zhaocheng would sit in front of the map almost every night and discuss the situation in a low voice with his subordinates.

Liu Zhaocheng set the day of the attack on April 16, 1943. A decisive battle was about to begin. The troops all entered their positions on time. Before the battle, the battlefield was terrifyingly quiet.

At 12 o'clock on the 16th, two Chinese infantry corps launched a fierce attack on the Manim defense line on time. The British army noticed that the tanks of the Chinese Army had gathered there all afternoon, roaring and roaring, raising dust all over the sky, covering the

The setting sun was setting in the west. The dust that filled the sky was stirred up by the propellers on cars equipped with aircraft engines as they circled the desert. As dusk approached, there was only one tank battalion left on the position. The main force of the Chinese ** tank battalion had already

He slipped away at 19:00 in the evening and rushed to participate in the scheduled battle against the enemy's flank.

Liu Zhaocheng drove to the front line. At 20:30, Liu Zhaocheng gave an order, more than a thousand tanks rumbled into action, and the assault force set off south. He checked his compass, speedometer and watch from time to time. On his right wing was the African Army

and the 26th Light Armored Division, and on the left was the 11th Army with 228 tanks.

At 3 o'clock in the morning on April 17, Liu Zhaocheng arrived at the troops' first stopping line, which was a desert outpost 60 kilometers away from Shabaruk. This meant that the troops had successfully bypassed the British defense line without encountering resistance.

The troops all stopped to take a break and replenish oil and bombs. The African Army formed a formation with Zhang Lingfu's 21st Armored Division on the left and Rao Guohua's 26th Armored Division on the right. Each division was organized for battle.

More than an hour later, the Chinese ** team continued to rush towards the rear of the defense line. The British army resisted fiercely.

For several hours, the Chinese ** team made no progress. At 11:30 in the morning, the 26th Light Armored Division occupied Assançon. But the situation of the African Army was not good-it was with the British 4th Armored Brigade and

The Indian Army's 3rd Motorized Brigade encountered an encounter near Birhamat.

Division commander Rao Guohua sent an armored battalion to bypass the right wing and launch a surprise attack on the enemy.

The British tanks withdrew hastily, temporarily clearing the way forward.

On the 18th, Liu Zhaocheng failed to completely annihilate the British troops behind the Manim defense line. That night, Liu Zhaocheng found 1,500 lost supply vehicles in the south of the battlefield and organized a huge supply convoy. On the 19th, Liu Zhaocheng personally led the supply convoy from

The rear of the Manim defense line drove towards the Afrika Korps, finally alleviating their urgent need. This time they grasped the most important key. The situation immediately improved, and the British offensive was contained. Liu Zhaocheng established the Armored Corps headquarters

, the entire legion regained contact.

In the early morning of the 20th, each division advanced to the designated position. At this time, Liu Zhaocheng learned that a large number of British troops were stationed in the Bliss area; the 10th Army had crossed the British minefield and established a bridgehead in the east. At noon, the 10th Army

The 10th Army got in touch with the assault force, and the Chinese Army surrounded the British army in Bliss. In the afternoon, Liu Zhaocheng drove to the 10th Army to discuss the battle plan. Liu Zhao admitted that the British minefields protected the Chinese Army.

To the northeast of the force, the British 105th Brigade in Brisse and the French 1st Brigade in Manim should first be annihilated, and the southern end of the Manim defense line should be cleared, and then the attack should be continued.

Just as the Chinese ** troops stepped up their actions, the British army hesitated and acted slowly, thus missing the opportunity. On the 21st, Liu Zhaocheng organized an attack on Bliss. The British army resisted extremely tenaciously, and the Chinese ** troops made slow progress.

The next day, the battle continued. The Germans sent an air force squadron for support. The squadron's infantry rushed forward wave after wave. The battle was extremely fierce, and the two sides engaged in desperate hand-to-hand combat. Liu Zhaocheng witnessed this with his own eyes.

Spectacular scene. In the afternoon, the Chinese troops broke through the British positions across the board and captured 3,000 British troops.

The next step is to attack Manim.

Liu Zhaocheng adjusted his armored forces and made careful arrangements for his next move. British artillery fire bombarded his breakthrough from time to time in an attempt to block the supply convoy of the Chinese Army.

From the evening of April 28 to the morning of April 29, the 26th Light Armored Division and the 1st Infantry Division began to approach Manim. They passed the minefield without suffering any losses and blocked the way out to the east of the fortress. However, the British and French defenders refused to surrender.

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At noon, the 26th Light Armored Division attacked the fortress from the northeast and the Infantry Division simultaneously from the southeast.

The French defenders in the fortress were extremely tenacious and the battle was very tragic. It lasted for several days from April 29 to May 3. This was the first time Liu Zhaocheng encountered such a fierce battle. He, an infantry tactician,

Experts are also deeply shocked by this.

The French army's position system was very solid and complete, with trenches, bunkers, machine gun bunkers and anti-tank gun emplacements all over the place. The artillery and air force bombings were also helpless. The squadron consumed huge amounts of ammunition and suffered heavy casualties.

The engineers of the Chinese ** Corps used their corpses to open up a path for the follow-up troops. At the same time, the German Air Force also played an important role, dispatching more than 1,600 combat aircraft during the offensive.

Subsequently, the African Army rested and reorganized, and Liu Zhaocheng obtained some new tanks. He regained the initiative and was able to free up troops to deal with the Manimu defense line and organize a counterattack. The British army suffered heavy losses, only the tanks were lost.

He bought more than 400 vehicles. At this point, Liu Zhaocheng became the real owner of this war zone.

On the evening of May 11, Liu Zhaocheng commanded the 21st and 28th Light Armored Divisions, together with the 3rd and 37th Reconnaissance Battalions, to march to the north of Manim.

The British Manimu defense line was directly under serious threat. For this reason, British commander Montgomery transferred an armored brigade. On the 12th and 13th, Liu Zhaocheng commanded two large-scale tank battles. As a result, the British army suffered another loss.

Nearly 140 tanks were lost and only about 70 tanks were left.

In the early morning of the 14th, the British army was forced to begin to withdraw the remaining troops from the Manim defense line. When night fell, the Chinese Army controlled the road!
To be continued...