Brett's statement is absolutely correct. Talavera is Madrid's gateway to the southwest and is now in a state of confrontation.
If it can be recaptured...or even just make a splash, it will relieve a lot of pressure on Madrid.
However, the current Republican Army is undergoing a large-scale military expansion. There are not many troops that can actually be mobilized to participate in the war, and it is impossible to risk mobilizing strategic reserves for this purpose.
The headquarters originally planned to send the International Column to the southern front shortly afterwards, but the 50th Brigade, a smaller unit, seemed to be a little behind -
Call it a large number, it is essentially just a regiment-level unit; call it a small number, the morale is high, the officers are experienced, but the actual combat power is much higher than that of a regiment.
Therefore, it is very suitable for conducting a probing attack to surprise the enemy in the direction of Talavera, and may even cause miscalculation between the National Army and the Italian Army.
Zhou Changfeng told Schroeder his intention, and the latter was quite surprised.
"Xia, is this Chinese-style war wisdom? I think this is a very risky move. You lack the necessary heavy weapons. If you fight in the plains, your combat effectiveness will not be much higher than that of militia units."
"No, Commander, this is not a military adventure, this is a serious military operation."
"In my opinion, light infantry is not suitable for fighting in plain areas." Schroeder said, his beard curling up. "Mountains and hills are their home ground."
"That's right." Zhou Changfeng said seriously: "So I will try to make my troops heavier to adapt to future battles."
"Then where do you plan to get heavy weapons?"
"Talavera. There is only a rebel brigade that is being replenished, and a regiment-sized battle group of the Italian army."
After a long conversation, Schroeder was finally convinced by Zhou Changfeng and reluctantly agreed to this idea, which in his eyes looked like a weak attack on a strong one.
After submitting the application to take the initiative, the Republican Army headquarters was naturally overjoyed.
I'm worried that I don't have extra troops to attract the enemy troops besieging Madrid. Isn't this a pillow for sleepiness?
Zhou Changfeng was also unambiguous, saying that it would take another month and a half for training. At the same time, he lacked heavy weapons and requested that as many artillery pieces be replenished as possible.
The Republican Army headquarters appeared embarrassed and delayed for a long time before reluctantly agreeing to hand over a reserve weapons depot in Erling.
Erin is a small city located seventy kilometers southeast of Albacete.
After receiving the authorization, the logistics officers of the 50th Brigade immediately organized a convoy of more than 20 trucks to go there and rushed over overnight to sweep them all away.
However, when the excited Zhou Changfeng went to check the harvest the next day, he thought he was dazzled——
2 Le.FH16 105mm howitzers? 3 Skoda M15 75mm mountain guns? 2 Schneider 75mm field guns? In addition, there are some 37mm infantry guns and 2-pound QF1 bang-bang guns.
Even though they are European war antiques with various models, the condition of these artillery pieces is not very good. The breech blocks of some artillery pieces are rusted and most of the paint has peeled off.
Zhou Changfeng, who was speechless, looked at the second lieutenant who led the team over, "Did you bring this back from the museum?"
The latter replied helplessly: "The museum will at least paint them and clean them regularly."
Zhou Changfeng touched one of the mountain cannons unhappily, but his hands were covered with rust and dust.
No, what kind of attitude is this!
In the past, the responsibility for intercepting weapons and equipment could be passed on to local troops along the way, but now even the Republican Army Headquarters is doing this?
Zhou Changfeng almost couldn't hold back the curse. This was really a hot face but a cold butt.
Thinking back to last winter, when Madrid was at its most critical, the 11th International Brigade, which had just been formed and had not even had time to conduct basic adaptability training, received an order to go to the front line.
Although unprepared, the 11th Brigade moved to the front without hesitation. After arriving in Madrid, they rushed directly to the front line and suffered half of their casualties in just forty-eight hours.
The 12th International Brigade, which arrived in the next few days, also entered the university town of Madrid, where the battle was fiercest, with extremely insufficient preparation. They lost almost all of them in twenty days of fighting, with a death rate as high as 40. %, almost empty.
Zhou Changfeng sent a telegram to the headquarters, requesting by name a batch of Ming-made artillery, but he received no reply.
Until that night, he couldn't bear it anymore and called directly, but was told that all the weapons and equipment shipped from Daming to Barcelona had been delivered to the Republican Army on the front line and nothing remained.
Although Zhou Changfeng just had the attitude of giving it a try at first, he was mentally prepared for the current situation. After all, he still had to rely on himself.
Schroeder was obviously dissatisfied with the Republican Army's unauthorized seizure of weapons and equipment that did not belong to them. He chose to send a message to Berlin to condemn such shameless behavior.
But such a "little mistake" seemed insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and his protests received only vague responses.
The only relief was that Schroeder ordered the transfer of a batch of weapons from the International Brigade's reserve warehouse to the 50th Brigade, including:
4 Pak35 37mm anti-tank guns, 4 Flak30 20mm anti-aircraft guns, 8 Soloton S18-1000 20mm anti-tank guns, and 500 .35 anti-personnel mines.
The S-type mine is a special type of landmine, also called a jumping mine. It is different from ordinary landmines that explode when touched. A black powder projectile charge is added below the S-type mine. When the fuse is triggered, the main body of the mine is blown up to a height of approximately 1.5-2m before detonating.
Due to its unique mode of action and the warhead containing about 400 steel balls or steel rods, its killing radius exceeds 60m and its killing effect is excellent. It is nicknamed "Bounce Betty".
It has to be said that the Germans are very talented in developing more efficient devices that can kill people. The S-type mine is undoubtedly quite successful. Historically, after the end of the war, this type of jumping mine was imitated and further developed by countries around the world.
Zhou Changfeng had considered directional mines before, but he did not think much about jumping mines because he felt that the Ming Dynasty should have already conducted similar research, and may even be experimenting, but it has not yet been installed.
But now that he had obtained the real thing from the Germans, he was wondering whether he should take one back with him so that he could compare and contrast. Only by trying it would he know which one was better.
Over the next month or so, everyone in the 50th Brigade was engaged in intense training. The switch to the German training doctrine made many officers very uncomfortable because many of the ideas were different from the education they had received.
For example, the most basic individual bunker, according to German army doctrine, all kinds of foxholes require the construction of additional back (back) walls.
That is to say, after digging a hole, not only an earth wall must be built in front, but also an earth wall must be built in the rear. This is to prevent friendly fire from crossing from the rear and causing accidental damage. It is a relatively special offensive bunker.
And this is just a microcosm.
(End of chapter)
