klisemfg Chapter 251: Adjustment of the Troops of Kuang Zhengqi
Chapter 251: Adjustment of the Troops of Kuang Zhengqi
德军第25集团军是元首精心准备的部队，特意从东线抽调精锐力量组成，包括- 第 9 坦克军（198、221、227师）、第 26 装甲军（162、212、257师）、第 34 装甲军（132、290、291师）、第 42 装甲军（125、246、252师）、第 52 摩托化步兵军（111、253、296师），另有党卫军第11军，其中，所辖党卫队霍亨施陶芬师、欧根亲王师都是党卫队的精锐部队。
Colonel-General Hans von Salmuth was appointed commander of the 25th Army and concurrently commander-in-chief of the German-Turkish Allied Forces. After careful consideration, he decided to divide the main Allied force into two components. The first, consisting primarily of the German 26th Panzer Corps and the Turkish 1st, 3rd, 9th, and 11th Armies, aimed to rapidly penetrate Jordan and Palestine, thereby forming a pincer attack with Field Marshal Rommel's Afrika Korps and annihilating the main British forces along this front. After linking up with the Afrika Korps, this force's primary mission was to ensure the unimpeded supply routes from the Mediterranean coast to the Egyptian front, while also firmly securing the Suez Canal to prevent an enemy counterattack.
Hans von Salmuth personally led the remaining German and Turkish forces to quickly capture the key Iraqi city of Basra. Once Iraq was successfully captured, they would then detour to the Arabian Peninsula to link up with Rommel's 1st Army advancing eastward. They would then launch a joint offensive to completely capture the Arabian Peninsula. After Rommel's Afrika Korps linked up with the 26th Army and other units, the 1st and 3rd Tank Corps of the Afrika Korps would be detached from the Afrika Korps to form the 1st Tank Army, which would join the Middle East campaign.
In this way, Germany would be able to control oil resources and gain more strategic advantages. This would be very fatal to the United States, Britain and the Allies, because once the German-Turkish coalition took over Iraq, Iran, which has always had close ties with Germany, would inevitably join the Axis powers, which would have a far-reaching impact on India, Britain's backyard.
The United States and Britain quickly made new deployments. The African theater led by Eisenhower was expanded and officially renamed the Middle East and Africa Theater. General Wimed flew urgently to Baghdad. At his request, the 2nd Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force was withdrawn from the battlefield in central Egypt and urgently headed to Bandar Alam. The troops were required to quickly cross the Red Sea into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and then cross the Arabian Peninsula to reach Kuwait.
Kuang Zhengqi, who received the order, obviously did not realize that the situation had reached such a serious level. For the 2nd Army, crossing the Arabian Peninsula would be a severe test that the Chinese army had never experienced before. Of course, Kuang Zhengqi's worries did not stop there. The expeditionary force had just occupied Samalut, and the 7th Army was still fighting with the German 5th Tank Division. The 7th Army, which had little experience in tank cluster combat, was unable to defeat a German tank division for a long time. If the 2nd Army withdrew immediately, once the German 5th Tank Division escaped, the German army would discover the expeditionary force's weakness, and Rommel would make another major move, concentrating his forces to blitz the 7th Army, which would be very fatal to the Chinese expeditionary force.
Kuang Zhengqi quickly discussed with Wang YW and believed that the entire 2nd Army must not be withdrawn at this time. The 7th Army originally only had two armies under its command, with only one tank division, two armored divisions and three motorized divisions, with a strength of nearly 2. The total number of tanks now added up to less than 1.
The 7th Expeditionary Army's organization was modeled after the British Army. Each tank division consisted of two tank regiments, one anti-tank regiment, a supporting artillery regiment, and other auxiliary units. Each tank regiment had 84 tanks/tank destroyers, while the anti-tank regiment had 34 tanks/tank destroyers. Together with the division's headquarters' four tanks, this totaled 4 tanks/tank destroyers, including 202 tanks and 168 tank destroyers. The armored division consisted of one tank regiment, two armored regiments, and one artillery regiment. This totaled 34 tanks/tank destroyers/tank destroyers, including 128 tanks and 84 tank destroyers. The motorized infantry division consisted of a single tank battalion with 34 tanks and an anti-tank battalion with 34 tank destroyers.
The Second Army's organization was modeled after the US Army, with each tank division comprising three tank regiments and supporting elements such as rocket artillery battalions, engineer battalions, and armored infantry battalions. At this point, the US Army had yet to engage in actual combat with large-scale German tank formations, and its divisional structure was still small, lacking brigades. Its organization was largely modeled after the British Army. However, the Indian Expeditionary Force, which had defeated the Japanese German tank divisions, also provided inspiration. Each tank regiment was a mixed unit, consisting of two tank battalions, an anti-tank battalion, a rocket artillery battalion, and a self-propelled howitzer battery. The tank battalion consisted of 2 tanks, while the anti-tank battalion had 3 anti-tank destroyers. Together with the regimental headquarters' two tanks, the total number of tanks/tank destroyers was 2. The division had 34 tanks and 16 tank destroyers. The armored division consisted of one tank regiment, two armored regiments, and supporting elements. The armored regiment consisted of one tank battalion, two anti-tank battalions, and one artillery battalion, totaling 2 tanks and 84 tank destroyers. An armored division has a total of 214 tanks and 48 tank destroyers.
The 2nd Army's three corps comprised three tank divisions, two armored divisions, one anti-tank division, and six mechanized infantry brigades, vastly outnumbering the 3th Army in both manpower and equipment. Their combat experience and superiority completely overwhelmed the 3th Army. This was the primary reason the 2th Army was so defeated against the German 1th Tank Division. Rommel's Afrika Korps tank divisions consisted of 6 tanks and 7 tank destroyers, roughly comparable to the British tank divisions of the Expeditionary Force. However, German tanks were far more formidable than American and British tanks, particularly the Tiger and Panther G tanks. In a one-on-one battle, American and British tanks would be utterly defeated. Fortunately, the American M7B7 tank destroyer was far more formidable than the German Panzer IV; otherwise, a single American tank division would have been too daunted to confront a single German tank division.
After consulting with Wang YW, Kuang Zhengqi decided to swap the 28th Armored Corps with the 47th Corps. The 7th Corps would be assigned to the 28th and 36th Corps. These included one tank division, two armored divisions, two motorized divisions, and two mechanized brigades, with over 1 tanks, which should be sufficient to counter the Germans. The 2nd Army, comprising the 2th, 2th, and 500th Corps, would immediately move south, crossing the Red Sea via Bandar Alam and entering Saudi Arabia.