144 - Rommel's Desert Dash - The Whole Bloody Afrika Korps! - Gazala - WW2 - May 30, 1942

by Panzer
A thousand planes?
Where the heck did you get a thousand planes?
Students?
And what difference does it make?
I guess you're right.
Planes are planes.
Thousand planes, hey! Awesome!
Wow.
May 30, 1942
Two weeks ago, the Soviets pre-empted a German offensive and
attacked first, and now the Germans do the same, but in North Africa.
This week, Rommel strikes again.
I'm Indy Neidell; this is World War Two.
Last week the Germans launched that pre-empted offensive in Ukraine and by the week's end
had not only stopped the Soviet offensive, but encircled a quarter of a million Soviet troops.
Japan's plans for an upcoming attack against Midway island were cracked and revealed by
Allied codebreakers, and the Allies furthered plans to attack the Axis in North Africa in
just a couple weeks time.
But those plans are literally blown up this week as the Axis beat them to the punch.
The Allies have the edge in pure force- the Germans and the Italians have 400 and 230
tanks ish and are short of infantry.
The Allies have some 850 working tanks and some 150 in reserve.
In Phase One of his operations, Axis Commander Erwin Rommel attempts to crack the British
position from the rear.
Yep.
See, on the 26th, Ludwig Cruewell takes Germany and Italian artillery and infantry and closes
in on the Gazala Line, where they're going to make a big noise as a decoy.
Rommel heads Southeast.
"…British armored cars reported that a heavy concentration of enemy vehicles was moving
in the direction of Bir Hacheim but neither (Allied Commanders) Ritchie nor Norrie made
use of this immensely valuable information."
Stephen Sears writes that a British officer on patrol reported to HQ, "Looks like a brigade
of Jerry tanks coming…
It's more than a brigade, it's the whole bloody Africa Korps!"
And it was indeed some 10,000 total vehicles.
Sears adds, "for some reason, 8th Army Headquarters was slow in getting and analyzing such reports."
This is Rommel's Moonlight Ride, a mechanized dash around the Free French positions at Bir Hacheim.
Early on the 27th, these units overrun the 3rd Indian Brigade south of Bir Hacheim and
force the 7th motorized brigade to Bir Gubi, and the southern flank of 8th Army lies open.