German troops arrive in three weeks.
Tanks of the 15th Panzers, 120 of them,
off load at the end of May.
Two months from now.
Two months gives the British time to train
their green troops. It gives them time to
plot their fields of fire, fortify positions,
string barb wire and lay mines.
The Tommy's are untested.
Their leadership green and uncertain.
The speed of desert warfare should
knock them for a loop.
Italians generally perform better when led by Rommel.
But in this frontal assault the Brits are stubbornly
holding their ground.
Then, late in the afternoon, Rommel delivers
a sharp armored hook into the coastal flank
of the British line. The English defense collapses.
Mersa el Brega falls to the Nazis.
Two months early.
How much time do you think armies put into
practicing retreat? It's not easy to do.
In this instance the British formations disintegrate.
Military order becomes a mob heading for the exit.
Rommel's forces stay close on their heels,
gobbling up territory all along the way.
* * * * *
OVER EASY
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