Chapter 431

In Ugsur, the 8th Division of the rebel army had already set up simple fortifications and was waiting for the French to arrive.

In the command center, Lieutenant Colonel Hutier held a baton and said to the sand table, "According to the intelligence reported by the scouts, the enemy stopped advancing 30 miles away.

Obviously, they've already discovered us. The enemy is very vigilant, so the ambush plan that we prepared was immediately canceled. "

The French had been operating in Egypt for a long time, so they naturally had many trusted aides. The news of the 8th Division appearing in Ugsur couldn't be kept a secret.

After a great defeat, the French were now like chickens that were frightened by the bow of a bow. Any sign of trouble would arouse their vigilance. It was impossible to ambush them.

Fajinhan grumbled, "Who knows what those idiots behind us are doing. They actually missed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

The ambush plan was built on the premise that there were pursuers behind them. Only when they were being pursued by the enemy would the French not have time to think and rush into the ambush area in a panic.

Unfortunately, the rebel army was slow. By the time they reacted, the French were already dozens of kilometers away.

One step slower, and they would always be slower. The rebel army, whose marching speed was trash, naturally couldn't catch up with the French who were in a hurry to escape after the distance was pulled apart.

The fact that the French could still set up camp after realizing something was wrong was enough to show that the pursuers behind them weren't giving them much pressure.

Potiorek said in fairness, "This is normal. Blowing up the Aswan Dam not only severely damaged the French army, but the rebel army also suffered heavy losses.

With this happening, the rebel army is bound to panic, and the conflict between the higher-ups will intensify.

To be able to gather troops in such a short time and catch up with us, Lieutenant General Jarrett must have put in a lot of effort. "

Hutier nodded and directly led the topic to the battle. "From the current situation, the situation is still in our favor.

No matter how slow they are, the presence of pursuers can put pressure on the French.

In a sense, it was also a good thing that they didn't fight the French directly.

If they really fought, the weak nature of the rebel army would be exposed, and the French might even counterattack.

If the enemy doesn't come, we'll just wait here. Time is on our side.

If Adolf doesn't want to be caught in a pincer attack, he has to charge through here within five days.

We've already seized all the main roads and set up a simple defensive line, but that's still not enough.

In terms of combat power, the 8th Division is at most equivalent to a second-line French infantry regiment. Even if we have so many advantages, it's still difficult to defeat the enemy in a head-on battle.

Next, it's time to test everyone's knowledge. You must be flexible and adapt to the situation on the battlefield. Only then can you keep the enemy here. "

The optimist Major Potiorek laughed. "Rest assured, Lieutenant General.

The optimist Major Potiorek laughed. "Don't worry, Lieutenant Colonel. We can't afford to provoke the main force of the French army, but how can we not deal with a group of defeated soldiers?

If the scouts weren't wrong, more than half of the French soldiers were unarmed. They couldn't possibly fight us with fire sticks, could they?

If We can't, we can't fight, we have. If Division, we, we will, we, we.

Lieutenant Colonel Hootier rolled his eyes. "Major Potiorek, I hope your performance on the battlefield is just as optimistic.

If we destroy them, the French will have to take a detour. If they did, the French would have to make a detour.

Crossing the Sahara Desert from Isna to the River Valley Province, the narrowest part is no more than a hundred kilometers. As long as you are willing to pay the price, it is not impossible. "

Then, there was nothing else. It was impossible to split up and intercept them.

With the 8th Division's pitiful combat power, splitting up would be suicide. With the 8th Division's pitiful combat power, splitting up would be a suicide mission.

Steinhausen said, "This is the last choice. The French are not prepared for a desert march. Blindly crossing the Sahara Desert will cost them a lot.

The French will only risk marching through the desert after they're sure they can't open a gap from us. "

After hesitating for a moment, Hutier made a decision. "Intercept them first. Once we find the French entering the desert, we'll immediately carry out the bandit plan.

I don't care about the cities. The young men and women of the surrounding towns and tribes have to be incorporated into the army. Then we'll hurry and advance along the Nile River.

Try to enter the delta before the French return. Leave the French in ruins. Let them … "

…

The crackling of gunfire marked the beginning of the battle. In the absence of cannons, it was like setting off firecrackers.

Compared to his high spirits when he arrived, Governor Adolf, who was holding a pair of binoculars, looked particularly haggard, as if he had aged twenty years.

"Governor, it's too dangerous here, or …"

Before the guard could finish, Adolf interrupted, "It doesn't matter. If God wants to summon me in advance, it's a good thing."

Although he was not in the country, Adolf knew that many people wanted to burn him to ashes.

He could imagine that he would not end well when he returned. As a soldier, it was better to die on the battlefield than to be tried in a military court.

After a pause, Adolf asked, "Where are Colonel Markelo and the others?"

"Calculating the time, they're about to cross the Sahara Desert," the guard replied.

Marching in the desert required too many supplies. Without enough preparation, it would be suicide. Naturally, Adolf could not gather them in a short time.

There were not enough supplies for the entire army to leave together, but it was still possible to let the French soldiers leave first. As for the Egyptian soldiers, they were worthless, so it didn't matter how many they lost.

At their peak, the counterinsurgency army could easily tear apart the blockade of the 8th Division, but not now.

After the baptism of the flood, the French soldiers who escaped had lost all their heavy weapons. More than two-thirds of the soldiers even lost the rifles they carried with them.

They could not be blamed. They could not even protect themselves in the water. Their weapons had become a burden to escape, so they naturally had to throw them away.

The soldiers who kept their weapons also had very few bullets in their hands. Although some weapons and ammunition were collected from the cities along the way, it was still a drop in the bucket.

Each person had less than ten bullets, and every bullet they fired meant one less bullet.

Governor Adolf was not crazy to tear apart the enemy's defense line with a group of defeated soldiers and a lack of guns and ammunition.

War always required sacrifices, and at this critical moment, Adolf showed his decisive side. He stayed with the Egyptian soldiers to attract the enemy's attention and cover the retreat of the French soldiers.

Of course, the war still had to be fought. How could they fool the enemy if they did not work hard?

If the rebels found out that the main force of the French army had escaped and went straight to Cairo, the defenseless Cairo might not be able to hold on.

If Cairo fell, France's situation in Egypt would be completely ruined. As the governor of Egypt, Adolf still had a sense of responsibility.

He stayed here to delay the rebels and buy precious time for the French army to return to Cairo.

Adolf heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the news. Pretending to attack also consumed ammunition. At this point in the battle, the rifles in the hands of many soldiers only had one more bayonet than fire sticks.

Once the weapons ran out of ammunition, the show would be exposed. At that time, they would not be able to fight even if they wanted to. They would only have two choices: escape or become prisoners.

Camels and water bottles, these essential tools for desert marching, had already been taken away by the French army. Those who stayed behind would find it difficult to escape.

Just as he was about to put down his binoculars, the scene that Adolf was most worried about happened. The enemy launched a counterattack.

"Oh no, the enemy has discovered our true strength. Pass down the order, order the troops to immediately move to the east and meet up with Gussel! "

This was not a good path. Not only did they have to cross the desert, but it was also better than running into the desert unprepared to die.

…

A motley crew was a motley crew. After launching a counterattack, the 8th Division was quickly thrown into chaos.

Seeing the enemy escape, the rebel soldiers gave chase. They did not care about the orders given by the rear commander and acted completely according to their own will.

Hutier was so angry that he stomped his feet. From beginning to end, he did not give the order to attack, but in the end, his men had already killed their way out.

Major Steinhausenberg, who was the first to launch a counterattack, was now also dumbfounded. He had clearly only ordered a tentative counterattack, but it suddenly became a full-scale counterattack.

Fortunately, the enemy was also in chaos. Otherwise, the enemy would have seized the opportunity and pushed them back, and he would have become the laughing stock of the Austrian army.

Not only them, but the Austrian officer who was commanding the battle also fell into self-doubt.

Who am I?

Where am I?

What am I going to do next?

…

The comedic victory had a huge impact on Hutier and the others.

Many of them had deep doubts about their military command ability, and they no longer had the arrogance that they had when they first came out.

In the evening, the rebel soldiers who had chased out returned to the camp one after another.

The best among them still had a few heads hanging on their waists, and they proudly shuttled back and forth in the camp, as if showing off their bravery.

The soldiers who found nothing chose to lower their heads and avoid them, as if they were too ashamed to face anyone.

Seeing this barbaric scene, the faces of the people in the command center did not look good.

Hutier, who was older and more knowledgeable, said calmly, "Don't be angry. These people with heads hanging on their waists should be from tribes.

This is their tradition. They hang the heads of their enemies on their waists to prove their bravery.

After staying in Africa for a long time, you will get used to it. The most barbaric tribes are still the cannibal tribes. If you were lucky enough to see that scene, you would think that today is nothing.

However, this is all in the early years. These dangerous people are no longer in Austrian Africa. Perhaps they still exist in the colonies of Britain, France, and Portugal. "

The seemingly calm Huti Er had only heard about it from others. Even though he had come a few years earlier than these people, he had not caught up with the colonial movement.

The first to recover was Fajinhan. He sighed and said slowly, "What a barbaric world, but this may be a good thing for our next mission.

It's a pity that the main force of the French army escaped. If we had known that they were so short of ammunition, we would have launched the attack earlier. "

…