German intelligence sends an urgent dispatch to Rommel.
A British convoy carrying a hundred thousand tons of
military supplies will arrive in Alexandria in early September.
That's only a couple weeks away. It's clear the one path
to victory is for the Afrika Korps to strike now,
before the Eighth Army takes control as the force
with overwhelming military power.
Rommel's plan relied upon his tried and true actions.
It's what got him here. First, he strikes his opponent's
more fortified positions in the north as a distraction
while Rommel's armor swiftly turns the 8th's southern
flank. The Brits then find Nazis attacking their back.
Panzers dash to the coast. surrounding the Eight Army.
Strangled of their supplies the war in North Africa
comes to an end for the British.
On the morning of the attack, as Axis forces assembled
their formations, a fleet of British bombers flew overhead,
dropping bombs as they breezed by.
The Brits were on to them. So much for
Rommel's hoped for surprise.
German armor became bogged down in unexpectedly
complex fields of mines. They were hit with artillery
and, always, there were the bombers overhead.
Casualties were heavy but they were making progress.
The problem was this intense fighting had put them
far behind their critical time schedule.
When you look at it now, Rommel's plan was a
real roll of the dice. For starters, he had only
two days worth of petrol when he needed seven.
He had to count on unreliable sources to provide
his tanks the petrol needed to continue their attack.
Fuel was in short supply. Delivery was sporadic.
His armored punch stumbled.
The desert became increasingly hostile
for Rommel and his Afrika Korps.
The Americans would arrive soon.
Africa was to become even more harsh,
forbidding. It was to be a death sentence
for Axis forces.
* * * * *
OVER EASY
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