My Italian: Chapter 663 Battle of Tunisia 2

Immediately after Prince Vittorio arrived at the Eighth Army, its offensive began.

After occupying Gabes, the forward 15th Division set off immediately after two days of rest. At this time, the follow-up troops had followed up, and their 15th Division was heading towards Shaal, 80 kilometers away.

Here, in addition to the Algerian 14th Division, which was defeated by them, there is also the Tunisian 3rd Division. According to intelligence, the Tunisian 4th Division stationed in Sfax also sent a regiment to Shaal, which now has 21,000 troops.

However, for the forward 15th division, he didn't even pay attention to the two colonial divisions. In terms of various weapons and equipment, the two colonial divisions stationed in Sha'ale couldn't keep up with one of his divisions. In the most critical artillery, the three divisions are even worse.

That being the case, what's so scary about the 15th Division? It's better to pay more attention to the tribal cavalry who appeared indistinctly during the march. These natives were obviously ordered by the French to monitor and harass his supply line.

The 15th Division took the lead as a vanguard, and the 2nd and 4th Cavalry Divisions on the left wing were also sweeping away the danger on the flanks. As for the right wing, it is the Italian Navy, which is absolutely safe under the protection of the Italian Navy in this sea.

At this time, the 2nd Cavalry Division had just crossed the Federje Salt Marsh, which is a branch of the famous Gered Salt Marsh, which is only 30 kilometers away from Gabes Bay. At this time, the 2nd Cavalry Division was advancing in the middle of the salt marshes, and their destination was Sidi Mansour. According to the previous airship reconnaissance report, there were five or six thousand tribal cavalry gathered there. It was obvious that they were preparing to contain the Eighth Army's attack from the flanks.

Some people may ask why these tribal cavalry did not leave now that they were detected by Italian airships. People who say this obviously don't understand life in the Gobi desert.

Because you need water to survive in the desert, and gathering five or six thousand cavalry, the water consumption is amazing, and only a few desert water sources can provide it. This is just like annihilating Libyan rebel tribes before. You can run into the desert, but I repeatedly raided oases where people can live. How should you live?

Of course, this needs to be familiar with the oasis water wells in the desert. In Libya, Italy attracted Berbers who lived in the desert. To win over the Berbers, where there is an oasis well, and how many people can support their lives, they can all be marked for you.

So it's not as easy as I thought it would be to come out of the desert to carry out an attack. One or two hundred people may ignore it (it can't play the role of attack), but hundreds of thousands of people are inseparable from the oasis as a camp.

"Report to the commander, the guide said that we are still 40 kilometers away from Sidi Mansour."

"Okay, you go down."

At this time, Timothy looked at the exhausted team behind him and ordered. "Order, order the team to stop and rest for an hour. Tell them to travel overnight tonight."

Timothy's order made the Second Cavalry Division stop. At this time, the officers and soldiers took out the water bean cakes from their pockets and fed them to the horses behind them. I can wait and rest, but I must let my beloved horse eat first.

That's right, you read that right, the horses of the Second Cavalry Division are led away at this time, and they are not riding like in movies or pictures. In fact, when marching in the desert, the horses are generally led. As for the scene of galloping horses in the desert, unless a battle is about to take place, it is basically impossible.

Because the horse is delicate and tired, what should I do when I go to the battlefield. Some people may say that if this is the case, then prepare more horses for daily riding, but have you considered the issue of supplies?

Horses not only eat more, but also eat well. This will increase the burden on the cavalry unit. Moreover, transportation in the desert is difficult, and increasing the transportation volume is simply a disaster, so there is no need for cavalry to carry too many horses in the desert.

At this time, the officers and soldiers of the Second Cavalry Division fed the horses and took a rest. At this time, the moon had already hung on the branches, and the one-hour rest time had come.

"Set off!"

At this time, the messenger shouted the order to set off, and the officers and soldiers of the Second Cavalry Division embarked on the journey again.

At this time, the cool desert blew a breeze, which made the officers and soldiers of the Second Cavalry Division who were preparing to march utter a comfortable hum.

The dry heat that came during the hot weather during the day also dissipated in this gust of wind. The moonlight fell on the officers and soldiers, making them particularly conspicuous. Under the guidance of the bright moonlight, the Second Cavalry Division marched towards Sidi Mansour.

…

Sidi Mansour is an oasis named after the Sidi Mansour Salt Marsh. It is located in a low-lying land east of the Sidi Mansour Salt Marsh. The abundant groundwater provides local residents with daily irrigation needs.

So the residents of Sidi Mansour grow dates, olives and raise sheep for a living. However, due to terrain and water sources, planting and breeding can only be carried out within two kilometers around Sidi Mansour, so the resident population of this place is only more than 200 people, and they belong to a small tribe, so they can live comfortably. But now, the residents of Sidi Mansour are crying because they have been evicted from their houses for the use of tribal leaders, and even their farmland and pastures have been occupied. Soldiers who set up tents to rest are everywhere here, and they say that they want to use this as a base to fight against the Italians who invaded their territory.

It was dawn at this time, and Sidi Mansour was still in a peaceful atmosphere, and it was the moment when people fell asleep the deepest.

At this time, in the desert outside the oasis, a group of people are constantly observing the situation in the oasis.

"Indigenous people are natives, and they didn't even let go of a sentinel. You can't blame others for being so careless."

Major General Timothy, who put down the binoculars in his hand, was talking to himself. The Second Cavalry Division arrived here at three o'clock in the morning. Regardless of being tired, after a short rest, they waited for dawn to launch an attack. As long as the enemies here can be defeated, they can rest in the oasis, which is much better than in the desert.

"Report, all regiments are ready to launch, and we are waiting for your order, Commander."

Listening to the news brought by the communicator, Timothy, the division commander, immediately ordered.

"Okay, immediately order the artillery regiment to fire a base ammunition in rapid fire, and then the regiments will attack immediately. I will have dinner at Esidi Mansour at noon."

"Obey!"

Three minutes later, the rumble of gunfire sounded from behind, and 36 75mm cavalry guns roared, followed by continuous explosions in Sidi Mansour.

"what happened?"

Major Bekas, who was awakened by the sound of shelling, jumped out of bed. From this we can see his military quality. But at this time, Major Bekas was not proud of his military qualities, because he knew from the constant explosions that it was the sound of 75mm cavalry guns, and the continuous explosions told him that there were at least thirty above the door. Obviously there is a divisional cavalry, which is really a big deal. So he didn't care to put on his clothes, and ran out of the house immediately.

And his decision was wise, because as soon as he stepped out of the room, he heard the sound of explosions from his back feet, followed by the sound of the house collapsing, and the screams of servants.

But coming out didn't make Bekas feel good. A tribal chief pulled him and shouted. "Mr. Bekas, do you mean that we will not be attacked by the Italians?"

"Chief Maliki, everything is possible on the battlefield, but I will try my best to keep the boys of your tribe alive. Your Excellency, the enemy is about to launch an attack. We need to repel the enemy's attack first, okay?"

After finally persuading the chief to leave, Bekas went to a deserted place, rode a horse, and ran northward. Relying on these natives to resist the attack of an Italian cavalry division, what are you thinking.

At this time, shouts came from behind him, and a group of Italian cavalry rushed towards Sidi Mansour with their rifles held high, which made Bekas run even faster.

The battle at Sidi Mansour really ended at noon, as Commander Timothy said.

The well-equipped second division attacked the native troops, it would be a ghost if it could be delayed until the afternoon. Not to mention, the initial bombardment wiped out those high-level tribes in sevens and eighties. If these unorganized tribes fighters can resist bravely, it must be the coming of God.

The Second War Cavalry Division annihilated more than 5,000 tribal cavalry at the cost of more than 400 people, of which more than 3,800 were captured, and only nearly a thousand escaped.

The battle of Sidi Mansur was just an ordinary battle for the Second Cavalry Division, but it was an earthquake for the Tunisian tribes. After this battle, the pro-French tribes slowly began to alienate the French, and the neutral tribes also began to move closer to Italy.

Although they can clearly see everything Italy has done in Libya, if they don't move closer to Italy at this time, their fate will be doomed. In order to have a chance of staying, each tribe can only gamble.

Although the tribes in Tunisia are moving closer to Italy, for the Italian army, the approaching of the natives is dispensable, and everything needs to be captured by oneself~www.mtlnovel.com~ So the battle still has to continue, just looking for a guide It may have been a little more convenient at the time, and this helped determine Italy's attitude toward the future of the Tunisian tribes.

I saw that many readers felt unreasonable for Greece to join the Allied Powers, so let me tell you a real example. When Germany defeated France in World War II, Yugoslavia tore up the agreement with Germany and announced to join the United Kingdom. Everyone knows the result.

This was when Britain and France had begun to decline in World War II, and there were countries that could not see the form clearly, let alone World War I. These countries do not have the perspective of God, how can they know who will win?

As for Greece joining the Allied Powers, I have already said that on the one hand, the interests are large enough, on the other hand, Greece is pro-British, and at the same time, there is enough cognitive inertia.

In addition, we can't use the current British cognition to benchmark against the United Kingdom in World War I. Now it is not too much to call it a shame of the five permanent members. The First World War was in full swing, just like we look at the United States now.

Well, that's all for explaining, I hope everyone can continue to enjoy the following content, which will be more exciting later.

(end of this chapter)

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