Chapter 699

When Montgomery crawled out of the trench, there was a fire site ignited by a incendiary bomb about 100 meters away. The fire was beating and burning near the building, and charred bodies and other craters could be seen around.

He was dragged back to an underground headquarters which had been dug up in recent months because of the need to strengthen the defense of Alexandria. Before he could get back the report of the damage caused by the bombing, he heard the hoarse air defense alarm sounded again. The harsh sound reverberated in the sky, which made people feel a kind of despair.

One hundred butcher bombers from Crete once again visited Alexandria. Although they still did not damage the port facilities, they dropped more bombs in other cities. In terms of the loading capacity, the butcher bombers were obviously much more than the do-217 bombers. Therefore, the second bombing only used air bombs, not napalm incendiary bombs, But the damage is not much less.

Collapsed buildings and debris piled up in the streets, originally spacious streets have now been blocked by bricks, looking for the bodies of their relatives and friends in the ruins of people everywhere, constantly crying for the debris on the ruins, constantly wandering around the still burning buildings.

The sound of explosion was still coming. It was the second explosion after some munitions and combustibles were affected by the bomb. From time to time, a mass of black smoke would rise in the distance. The whole periphery of the port was blown into ruins, and only a few buildings were not destroyed by the bomb.

When Montgomery came out of his basement headquarters again, it seemed that the port of Alexandria he saw was not the beautiful port he knew. There were thick smoke and debris everywhere. The prosperous port city is no different from hell now.

Holding a sandbag with shrapnel in it, he frowned and looked into the slightly red sky. The German shelling still hit the positions in the suburbs, one after another. Although it was not as loud as the explosion in the city, it was as dull as hitting people's hearts. These distant explosions remind people all the time that the war is far from over and everything is just the beginning.

Just when the city was greeted by the overwhelming German bombers for a long time, the British garrison outside the city was also worried about the situation of the friendly forces inside the city. Because the high-density bombing destroyed many telephone lines, the front-line forces in many places could not contact the rear headquarters and logistics departments.

"Sir! There was chaos on the radio. There were calls for help and shouts everywhere. We couldn't reach general Montgomery The radio operator raised his head and looked at the British division commander waiting anxiously. On the other hand, beside the two telephones, the staff officer and the telephone operator also shook their heads helplessly.

The whole communication is in chaos. It is estimated that the telephone line has been blown up or burnt out. In short, the division headquarters has been unable to contact the military headquarters and the general command of the group army. It has just repulsed an Italian attack, and the ammunition consumption has reached a very worrying level.

The people who rushed to contact the rear supply department had already set out, and now there was no news. It seems that even if the huge material supply station was not destroyed by the bombers, there is no manpower and energy to distribute so many materials demanded by the front-line forces.

"We can't wait any longer. Send someone to drive the two remaining trucks back! In any case, we need to find some ammunition first, and we can let go of the drugs and troops first! " The chief of staff seized the phone for more than a dozen times and found that there was no response in the receiver. Then he said helplessly to the division chief: "it seems that the loss in the port is bigger than expected, and the situation of collapse has appeared."

"The first batch of people sent out should have arrived there, and it is estimated that they will bring back the exact information soon." The division commander took a look at the burning city not far away, and then looked back at the Italian flag flying in the distance. He sighed and shook his head. He carefully studied the map of the defense area on the table.

For the sake of the war, everyone knows that these soldiers are dying, and they are still hopelessly struggling for the British friendly forces in other directions. They just hold back the time of the German army as much as possible, and block Rommel's eastward March, so as to strive for a trace of poor dignity for the future of the sun never setting empire. At least now almost all the British here understand that Britain in the future can no longer become a world power. It can only be regional and will be suppressed by both allies and enemies.

However, the war is still going on, and their battle is not over yet. However, at this moment, everyone is desperate for their future. No one feels that they can avoid this disaster, and no one feels that they can live until the end of the war.

Outside his command post, Montgomery saw some signalmen coming from the West and south. Many people sent soldiers to look for his whereabouts because the grass-roots units could not contact him. The city is a mess, and few people can remember that they once had a commander named Montgomery. However, the signalmen tried their best to restore part of the communication and contacted some front-line troops. The fighting in the periphery continued. The bombing made the British lose several blockhouse garrison areas in the periphery, which can be said to be a heavy loss.

"Shrink the line! I'll speak after communication is restored. " Montgomery looked at the soldiers who came to him. Finally, he opened his mouth a little tired. His voice was a little low. He didn't have the high voice and spirit for so many days. He looked lonely and sad. At his side, the chief of staff reluctantly announced the loss of this bombing. Almost all the ammunition and weapons piled up on the ground waiting for distribution were destroyed. Several Stukas also deliberately patronized the sites where the materials were stored. Almost half of the wounded died in the attack, and two thirds of the drugs and beds were lost, So on the whole, the shortage of drugs is more serious. At least 5000 wounded people of various degrees, 900 soldiers were killed in this unprecedented bombing, and at least 7000 civilians were killed in this catastrophe. What's more, today's night, more than 50000 people will be homeless. At that time, the situation here will be more chaotic“ Ammunition! The front line needs more ammunition! Can someone help collect some ammunition? " A British official standing on the truck yelled at the listless wounded squatting on both sides of the road. No one answered his cry, and the wounded sat there as if they had lost their souls without saying a word. Many Indians looked at the British soldiers on the truck in horror. The habit he had developed for many years made him used to succumb to the rule of the British. Common sense told him that the British were too powerful to be provoked. However, he saw with his own eyes that many British were torn apart by a bomb dropped by an airplane with an iron cross painted on its wing, I saw the British soldiers crying to avoid the destruction of the German plane. Some British soldiers gave up some spare ammunition in their hands, and some of the smarter light wounded knew that they could not find a place to sleep in the city tonight, so they boarded the truck and returned to the front line as supplementary soldiers. At least there was a shelter trench there, which was much safer than the city. As for the danger, it was not dangerous here? As a result, several rounds of bullets were thrown into the truck, as if they were giving alms, but more people were indifferent. The scene looked chaotic and even out of control. In the end, it was several soldiers carrying two boxes of ammunition and a machine gun on a armored vehicle that stabilized the army's heart“ There is not much ammunition. I don't know if the Germans and Italians will fight at night, but I can only promise that you will resume the normal supply of ammunition tomorrow morning. After all, there is too much chaos here. Some underground ammunition depots have been destroyed, and some have been buried. We need time to clean them up. " The officer in charge of the logistics department pointed to the place not far away where there was smoke and explosion and explained that he was too busy to find the direction, but still could not satisfy the soldiers who came to each position to apply for ammunition supply. Montgomery, standing on one side, looks at everything in front of him. His heart is like a knife. He has been fighting for his ideal and persistence here for so long. Today, he realizes that all this is just a pitiful struggle. Churchill, for his insistence, laid Britain in ruins. The century old empire collapsed overnight, but he was still stubborn on this road. As a result, he turned another place into a piece of scorched earth“ Let's all go back! If we resume communication in the evening, I will give you an account! " Montgomery seemed to have made up his mind. He took a look at the position of the sun and said to the soldiers around him, "no one should bear all this. It's time to end this senseless war." My choice, after all, is different from Churchill's! With such a sentence in his mind, Montgomery turned and walked back to his air raid shelter. Then he gave an order to call all the division commanders of the 9th group army to the headquarters for a meeting. Then it came out that the British troops would surrender in the evening. Then the British special envoy rushed to the German position for negotiation, and then rushed back to his own defense line as soon as possible, bringing back the news that Rommel accepted conditional surrender. Rommel promised that the British soldiers could return home instead of being sent to the terrible concentration camp.