Albacete is a city located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula.
As the formation place and training camp of the International Brigade, there are newly built military camps everywhere. Tents, board houses, shacks, and warehouses can be seen everywhere. Looking at the stone-paved streets, I am afraid that among a hundred people there are at least Twenty soldiers.
At noon, the sky suddenly turned gloomy, and a sudden thunderstorm enveloped this small town that was undergoing intensive military operations.
Amidst the rumble of thunder, heavy rain poured down.
It was on such a day that Zhou Changfeng and his party arrived at their destination.
Most of the houses have artificially plastered gray-white masonry walls, and the sloped roofs are mostly made of red terracotta tiles. When driving through the streets of the city, you can feel the strong Spanish style.
Perhaps there is no shortage of soldiers from all over the world who volunteer to join the war, but as the saying goes, "A thousand troops are easy to come by, but a general is hard to find." Although the International Brigade has no shortage of soldiers, qualified officers are in short supply.
If we break it down further, there are enough officers at the platoon and company levels, but there is a relative shortage of middle- and senior-level officers at the regiment and brigade levels.
Therefore, the importance of Zhou Changfeng and his team is self-evident.
"...The 105th Brigade formed half a month ago is basically composed of Chinese and Vietnamese people. Do you agree to serve as commanders there?"
"Sorry, Commander, I'm afraid not. I'm not fit to go there."
Schroeder, the commander of the International Brigade, was surprised. This young but energetic old man with white hair and beard showed doubts, "Can you tell me why?"
"I came here anonymously and secretly. If I go there, my identity will definitely be exposed." Zhou Changfeng spread his hands and replied.
"Okay, I understand your concerns." Schroeder stared at the resume and thought for a moment, "The 50th Brigade should be a good fit for you, and you can also work with your colleagues."
As for Brett, Chrétien, and Roald, they were originally going to the 50th Brigade. They were all surprised to learn that Zhou Changfeng was also going with them.
Later, after a burst of crackling typewriters, the adjutants and staff handed several documents of appointment orders and authorizations to Schroeder. After neatly signing and sealing, the light brown kraft paper became everyone's I have proof of appointment.
"Xia, you are our commander now, 'Your Majesty the Brigade Commander.'" Chretien shrugged, pointed to the southeast and said, "I just asked, the place where our brigade is organized is over there. "
"Then let's go."
Xia Yunfan is the pseudonym Zhou Changfeng gave himself, and he has used it since he boarded the train in Paris.
Historically, there have been seven international brigades, but now it is different. There is an additional 105th Brigade formed by volunteers from Ming Dynasty, Vietnam, and North Korea.
In addition, due to the large number of volunteers, in addition to the necessary supplementary troops, there were many more, so the headquarters established a new 50th Brigade.
The establishment of the International Brigade itself is small, and the order is very chaotic. Some brigades have four battalions, and some have six battalions. The 50th Brigade is even more unique. It currently only has two battalions, and the third battalion has not yet been added. Grouping completed.
The place of formation is located on the southeastern outskirts of Albacete, and the headquarter of the brigade, which can be said to be leaderless, is located in a villa. The owner of this villa was a businessman, but he was executed and his property was confiscated because he was suspected of conspiracy and organizing riots by the Republican Army.
Many banners were hung on the fence outside the camp, and the gray-white walls of some houses were also painted with red paint with slogans, such as "Bury all ▇▇▇ elements" and "Turn Spain into a tomb of ▇▇▇" in English or French. sentence.
"welcome!"
Since the call from the headquarters had been made previously, the headquarters of the 50th Brigade hastily prepared a welcome ceremony.
Obviously Zhou Changfeng didn't care about this. He asked all the officers in the brigade to come to the brigade headquarters for a meeting, and then walked around the villa while waiting.
It looked luxurious and spacious, but when dozens or hundreds of soldiers moved in, its elegance and nobility no longer existed.
There is basically no discrimination or contempt for China in the West in this world. For example, some European racists are still arguing that Chinese people should be classified as white.
On the one hand, these people believe that white people are supreme, but they are unwilling to lower themselves, and at the same time they are unable to despise the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, they have been obsessed with arguing with biologists about racial classification, which can be said to be very funny.
This is actually a microcosm. Even these guys are like this, let alone the attitudes and opinions of ordinary people in Europe.
It is difficult to break the longing and myth of the East for thousands of years. The "China fever" in the 17th and 18th centuries made Europe particularly obsessed with it.
Perhaps in the eyes of Ming people, it was a great shame and humiliation to be attacked by Western barbarians, but in the eyes of ordinary Europeans, this was a "failure and lesson in challenging China's status", which made them dare not look down upon it.
"Why would the headquarters send such a young man here?"
"He's probably not even thirty yet."
"I think Ian has more experience..."
In front of a group of middle-aged people ranging from thirty to fifty years old, Zhou Changfeng could not help but feel a little stressed.
However, pressure is pressure, and a guilty conscience cannot be tolerated.
He glanced at the dozen or so people present and smiled, "Youth means plenty of energy, which is a good thing for a commander."
Then he said seriously: "I believe that my practical experience and theoretical level can effectively command you. I don't like to question. If you are not satisfied, I will report to the headquarters after the battle is over. Now, I demand absolute obedience."
Such an opening statement was really unexpected. The officers looked at each other in confusion. It took several seconds before someone took the lead and stood at attention and saluted, "Yes! Sir!"
Zhou Changfeng took the list and checked the officers present and their positions. After getting familiar with them one by one, he began to handle many affairs with ease.
"What's the current situation of the 73rd Battalion? When can it be organized?"
"All the equipment planned to be distributed to us has not yet arrived. The missing rifles and machine guns are not enough to arm the 73rd Battalion." A lieutenant replied helplessly.
"Isn't this a reason? You can't train without weapons? Changing the marching formation, maintaining the offensive formation, digging the fortifications, and responding to the air attack. These are enough to train for a month." Zhou Changfeng frowned. : "It is better for people to wait for guns than for guns to wait for people. We may join the war at any time."
"yes."
After entering the state, Zhou Changfeng began to assign tasks one by one, and requested that the old French army doctrine from more than ten years ago be stopped and that the German army's training regulations and field doctrine be used instead.
The doctrine must correspond to the equipment system to be effective. He ordered this precisely because a large part of the weapons and equipment of the International Brigade were additionally provided by the German Society.
Although the weapons and equipment provided by the Germans to the Republican Army were not taken advantage of and increased in price, they were paid, while those provided to the International Brigade were free of charge.
It just so happened that someone came to report early the next morning, bringing good news and bad news.
"Sir, our stuff has arrived, but...a part is missing."
(End of chapter)
