bookrandom Chapter 252 Encounter
Chapter 252 Encounter
Rommel, by then focused on Palestine and Jordan, had broken through British defenses in the Sinai Peninsula and was advancing towards Jerusalem when his 1st Tank Army was suddenly stopped by a US force. It was then discovered that elements of the US Fifth Army had already landed near Jaffa and were advancing towards Jerusalem. To protect Jerusalem from destruction, the US forces allowed the Germans to occupy the city and then engaged the German 5st Tank Army outside the city, engaging in fierce fighting.
Rommel was also very surprised by the quick reaction of the United States and Britain. While ordering the 1st Army to increase the intensity of the attack, he issued instructions to the 26th Army, ordering it to turn around as soon as possible, rush over from the Golan Heights, and together with the 1st Tank Army, drive the US and British forces into the sea!
At Nazareth in northern Palestine, the German 162nd Panzer Division and a division of the Turkish 3rd Corps engaged a fierce battle with a British forward motorized division. The unprepared British were completely routed and forced to retreat to the village of Yam, a key stronghold in Haifa Port. By then, the German-Turkish heavy artillery was ready to bombard the port. At a critical moment, the British battleship HMS Royal Bess, risking aground, approached and fired at the German and Turkish artillery in Nazareth, suppressing them. Then, braving the artillery fire, the British 7th Tank Division, which had once achieved glory alongside the Chinese Expeditionary Force in the East Indies, landed under the personal command of General Strang and once again demonstrated its tenacious fighting power. Landing only a single tank battalion, accompanied by a mechanized infantry regiment, they forcibly broke through the German defenses and attacked the German heavy artillery positions, disrupting the German position and buying time for the British.
Slim, who joined the African battlefield with Mountbatten, had been promoted to general and took over as commander of the 8th Army. After receiving the news of the successful beach landing of the US military, he immediately ordered the 8th Army to also take a beach landing. He landed at Nahariya opposite the Haifa Bay, occupied the northern area of Yam village, defeated part of the Turkish 3rd Army that was pressing over, and opened up a second landing point.
The fierce fighting outside the city of Jerusalem also came to an end. A US tank division fought desperately with the German army. Both sides suffered heavy losses and had to stop fighting. The two sides formed a standoff with the city of Jerusalem as the boundary.
The next day, Lieutenant General Walter Weiss's 26th Army arrived at the Golan Heights. By then, the British had already reached a massive force after a night of beach landings. One German army and one Turkish army were simply unable to drive the British back into the sea. Thus, the German-Turkish coalition occupied the Golan Heights and confronted the British along the line from Safed to Greater Palestine and then to Nazareth. Hans von Zalmud, in Iraq, urgently communicated with Rommel and ordered Walter Weiss's troops to establish a strong defensive line on the spot, attempting to pin the British forces down along the narrow northern coastline of Palestine.
Similarly, the 1st Tank Army had no way to break through the US positions. With the arrival of follow-up troops, Rommel also decided to establish a defense line along the Jerusalem-Khalil line to suppress the US troops along the coastline.
By this time, US and British high-ranking officials realized that forcing a fierce battle with the Germans in Palestine was pointless. The Germans had already captured Jordan and other areas, and the US military would be subjected to repeated bombing raids from the Balkans, the Italian Peninsula, and Turkey by the German, Italian, and Turkish air forces. The limited area would make it impossible to operate. Therefore, they decided to quietly withdraw under the cover of darkness.
On the 30th, the German-Turkish coalition forces completely occupied the eastern Mediterranean coast, including Palestine, Jordan, etc. The German 1st Tank Army immediately marched eastward, occupied Amman the next day, and marched straight to Iraq.
Back to Kuang Zhengqi. Departing from Bandar Al-Alam, after crossing the Red Sea, they arrived at Medina, a holy site in the Arab world. Not wanting to stir up religious conflict, Kuang Zhengqi ordered his troops to avoid the holy city and begin their journey across the desert. At that time, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was deeply concerned about an invasion by the German-Turkish coalition, particularly the Turkish army. Having only recently broken away from the Ottoman Empire, they feared a return to Turkish rule. However, with no clear direction for the war, Prime Minister Mohammed secretly agreed to allow the US and British air forces to deploy, approving the Allied crossing of the country. Thus, with the guidance of the locals, the Second Army's movement through the Nafud Desert was somewhat assured.
On October 10, the vanguard of the 3nd Army crossed the Nefud Desert and appeared in the small town of Arar, on the border between Iraq and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, a panzer regiment of the German 2st Tank Army also arrived here by mistake, completely unaware that they had crossed into Saudi Arabian territory.
The battle erupted suddenly. A tank regiment from the 2st Tank Division, the vanguard of the 1nd Army, immediately engaged the German armored regiment. Unexpectedly, the Germans, caught off guard by the surprise attack, realized they had taken the wrong path and, believing they had encountered the Saudi Arabian garrison, were carrying a large quantity of American and British equipment. They immediately signaled to the Chinese troops, stating they had taken the wrong path and intended no offense. After an interpreter explained the situation, the Chinese commander immediately instructed their guide to inform the enemy and order them to evacuate Saudi territory.
After receiving reports from the front and checking maps, Kuang Zhengqi concluded that the German Afrika Korps had entered Iraq. At this point, Kuang Zhengqi was unaware of the Afrika Korps' reorganization. Based on map calculations, the Afrika Korps' front was now overextended, offering ample opportunity for interception and annihilation. Immediately, despite the fatigue of the reorganization, he ordered the 6th Army to move westward along the Ar-Ar, following the camel trade route, rapidly advancing through the Hamad Hills and into eastern Jordan, severing the German supply lines. He led the 47th and 114th Armies, following the German retreat route, seeking the main force of the German 1st Tank Army and launching a surprise attack.
The border area between Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia is a typical seasonal desert area. It is the transition season between autumn and winter. The river channels are dry and the weeds are withered, providing a good hiding place for the armored forces.
The Germans also encountered difficulties. They were completely unaware that the terrain and environment here were vastly different from those in North Africa. While the vast expanse was desert, it wasn't the kind of desert found in North Africa. Rather, it was a seasonal semi-desert, transforming into grassland during the spring and summer rainfall. The nomadic peoples of the three countries had a very vague concept of national boundaries. Therefore, this area was effectively a shared nomadic zone among the three countries, and the people here had no concept of nationality.
The German army mistakenly entered the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia because the guide was not clear about the national border. The German army had received instructions from the headquarters not to enter the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the time being to avoid expanding the front line and affecting the operation to capture the major wealthy areas in the Middle East.