2 WAR

Qin Chuan was right; the person on the plane was indeed Erwin Rommel, the man later known as the "Desert Fox."

Of course, at this time, he had not yet earned the nickname "Desert Fox."

Rommel was sitting in the rear seat of the plane, studying the terrain below while comparing it to the map in his hand, his brow furrowed with concern.

Only Rommel knew that, although the German and Italian forces were pushing eastward in pursuit of the British, the German army was actually in a very precarious position.

This was because the British were unaware that the German forces were merely a facade...

Rommel had only one light armored division at his disposal, and even that division did not have its full complement of 150 tanks. In reality, he had fewer than 60 tanks and just over a hundred vehicles.

Because of this, the Führer didn't have high expectations for Rommel. He only hoped that Rommel could hold Tripoli and fend off the British attacks, preventing the Italian forces from being driven out of Libya and losing the Mediterranean.

But Rommel had other ideas. He was always one to take risks, hoping to defeat the vastly superior British forces with the limited troops at his command.

Thus, Rommel ignored Hitler's orders and devised a grand scheme: he had his soldiers use wooden boards and cardboard to create several hundred very realistic fake tanks, which were then driven around the streets of Tripoli in circles.

Rommel believed that British spies in Tripoli would report this scene to their command, leading them to believe that he had enough strength to crush the British forces.

The British took the bait. The next day, when Rommel led the German forces in an attack, the British didn't dare put up much resistance, thinking that any defense would be futile.

This tactic led to significant victories; for instance, the German and Italian forces had been chasing the British for ten days, "recapturing" vast territories with minimal losses.

But the risk was growing by the day.

The British had begun to suspect the true strength of the German forces, as evidenced by the increased number of probing counterattacks in the past few days.

Rommel was well aware of what awaited him if the British discovered his ruse.

"General!" the pilot suddenly exclaimed.

Rommel followed the pilot's gaze and saw several dozen British tanks and a large number of British soldiers lying in ambush on the dunes below, while the German forces, unaware, continued to march forward.

"Damn!" Rommel cursed, then ordered the pilot, "Turn back immediately and warn them!"

"Yes, sir!"

The plane hurriedly made a loop, turned around, and fired several signal flares toward the German forces below amid the sound of machine-gun fire.

"Enemy ahead!" The intelligence was quickly relayed to the front of the column.

Then came another command:

"Prepare for battle!"

"Prepare for battle!"

...

Qin Chuan's heart tightened. They had just finished one battle, and now they had to fight another so soon?!

Fortunately, his position was still far from the front lines, so it seemed he wouldn't be called up.

But then he heard someone shout, "The tanks up front need infantry support. Third Battalion, move out!"

"Move out!"

"Keep up!"

...

It was only then that Qin Chuan suddenly realized that his unit was the Third Battalion.

Qin Chuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He looked around and saw the German soldiers expressionlessly making their final preparations while moving forward with the rest of the unit. Resigned, he could only unsling his rifle from his shoulder... But it was only then that Qin Chuan realized he wasn't even sure if he knew how to fire it.

"Relax!" The baker seemed to sense Qin Chuan's unease and said as he passed by, "We'll win this quickly. Our enemies are best at running away!"

The German soldiers around them burst into laughter.

But Qin Chuan couldn't bring himself to laugh. His throat, already dry as sandpaper, felt like it was about to crack, and even swallowing was difficult.

Before long, the Third Battalion was lined up at the front of the unit, where twenty tanks were waiting in a row, their engines rumbling. The hot exhaust made Qin Chuan feel nauseous, and his stomach churned, making him want to vomit.

Everything made Qin Chuan want to turn around and run, but he held back because he knew that if he did, the "baker" would have no hesitation in shooting him in the back... and that was no joke.

"Prepare!" With that command, the German soldiers clanked their bullets into the chambers and broke into small groups, following the tanks.

At that moment, Qin Chuan noticed a major standing majestically on top of one of the tanks. The officer lowered his binoculars, scanned the German soldiers behind him, and then waved his hand...

The tanks rumbled forward.

At first, the tanks moved slowly enough for the soldiers to keep up on foot.

But as soon as a shell exploded nearby, the tanks began to pick up speed, forcing the soldiers to jog to keep up.

Qin Chuan's legs felt like they were filled with lead. Combined with his reluctance, it was no surprise that he fell behind the group.

He desperately wished the German soldiers would just "forget" about him, but this was clearly a futile hope. The "baker" kept looking back at him, and the sharp look in his eyes told Qin Chuan that he'd better pick up the pace.

"Whistle..."

With a piercing screech, several more shells landed near the column.

One of them hit a tank dead-on. The tank immediately came to a halt, black smoke billowing out before it quickly caught fire. The tank crew inside scrambled to escape, but flames had already engulfed them.

Soon, horrific screams filled the air as the burning tank crew waved their hands frantically, as if trying to grab hold of something or pleading for help from others.

But no one came to their aid. The German soldiers acted as if nothing had happened, simply moving around the burning tank and the soldiers on fire, continuing their advance.

"We should do something!" Qin Chuan couldn't help but say.

"Keep moving!" The baker impatiently ordered Qin Chuan. "Leave them to the medics!"

Medics?!

Qin Chuan couldn't imagine what those medics would find when they arrived. By then, those tank crew members would likely be nothing more than charred remains!

But what Qin Chuan didn't understand was that this was war.

In war, the goal was to unleash maximum combat power in the shortest possible time.

So, saving lives wasn't their job; their job was to kill them!