In this way, Xia Xiaoshi learned about Zhou Changfeng's illness the next day, and two officials from the Ministry of War came to inform him.
The latter told her that if necessary, please pack your bags and go to France to take care of him. It happened that the counselors and military attachés of the Ming Dynasty Embassy in the Netherlands were to be rotated, and the Ministry of Rites had already booked a flight, so she could take her with her.
Xia Xiaoshi agreed without thinking. When Xia Bing from the lower office arrived home, she saw both mother and daughter looking anxious and worried.
Of course, Gao Lingling must only be worried about her daughter.
After learning about the situation, Xia Bing felt extremely surprised. He could not figure out why such a strange situation occurred and why he needed his family to accompany him.
Even though this barely makes sense according to the rules - because the notice requires relatives to accompany him, and for Zhou Changfeng, the only two people who meet this requirement are his eldest sister and his fiancée, and the latter has a higher priority than the former.
Looking at the rare diplomatic visa, Xia Bing became even more confused. How did he get this special thing?
He called the Department of Rites and Affairs for verification, and the other party responded in the affirmative.
In fact, in addition to several counselors and military attachés, Xia Xiaoshi was accompanied by two navy civilians, a man and a woman. They claimed that they were also ordered to "take care of" Zhou Changfeng and would go with her, which made her even more confused.
Is he that important? Is a lieutenant colonel in the Navy worth spending so much time on?
Everything seemed so hasty, and with doubts, Xia Xiaoshi boarded the Youyun II passenger plane nervously and embarked on a long journey to a foreign country.
Two days later.
After completing the infantry and artillery coordination training, the 50th Brigade was conducting actual combat training before the battle. The sound of gunfire made the place seem to have turned into a battlefield.
This was the result of reduced training time. Zhou Changfeng originally planned to conduct regular field training for another week, but the Republican Army headquarters repeatedly emphasized that there may be changes in the enemy forces in the direction of Talavera and requested the 50th Brigade to move out as soon as possible. .
However, Zhou Changfeng knew that this was a lie, so he kept perfunctory and delayed for several days. He did not start preparations for the war until two days ago.
"Sir, this is a message from the headquarters. They requested..."
"I won't read it, throw it away."
The platitudes of Republican headquarters have no value and are nothing more than an emphasis on necessity and an urge to change.
Miller smiled wryly, crumpled up a piece of telegraph paper and threw it into a nearby trash can, and then asked: "Are we still going to leave as planned?"
"Of course." Zhou Changfeng answered simply.
They are reluctant to give me equipment and they keep urging me. Who would be happy with this?
For more than half a month, Zhou Changfeng, apart from personally organizing training for each battalion and company, spent the rest of his time analyzing the current situation in Spain.
Although the Republican Army has stabilized its position, it is still at a strategic disadvantage. It can be said that without the important foreign aid of the German Society, their outcome will not be much different from that in history.
However, as the saying goes, bystanders are clear and the authorities are confused. Politicians in the Republican government do not seem to realize this. These Spaniards are still fighting tirelessly and even want to change the president again.
On the day before departure, Chretien learned another news, that is, the diplomatic pressure from Britain and France had made the Spaniards' attitude toward the International Brigade increasingly wavering. There were rumors that some people were considering disbanding the International Brigade. International travel.
When a group of officers were whispering, Zhou Changfeng said meaningfully, "When they begin to succumb to the foreign policies of Britain and France, the countdown to defeat will begin."
The French would certainly not allow an alternative Spain influenced by the Germans to appear to their west, and the same was true for the British.
After waiting and watching for so long, I am afraid that the two countries have secretly chosen the side of the National Army, and may even have exchanged diplomatic memoranda - under what circumstances will Britain and France recognize the regime of the National Army.
But the soldiers of the International Brigade do not know this. Most of them are gearing up to fight to the end with what they consider to be an extremely evil opponent.
The train bound for Los Naval Morales kept clanging for nearly twenty hours. Two trains carrying dozens of wagons successively unloaded more than 2,000 people from the 50th Brigade and all their equipment. .
This place is only about 40 kilometers away from the front line. Being so close to the enemy is an exciting thing for some people, especially those in their twenties. They are already thinking about who to compete with in the future. Killed more enemies.
Those veterans in their forties who had participated in the European War seemed much calmer. They knew the horror of the battlefield and that any flying bullet could kill them.
In a sense, they may be more brave and fearless than ignorant young people.
"This is not a suitable place to stay in the city. Go camp in the western suburbs and report all known information in a timely manner."
"yes."
The city of Talavera de la Reina is built along the river, with most of the city on the north bank of the river.
This is the largest river on the Iberian Peninsula, the Tejo River, which flows from east to west and finally flows into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon, Portugal.
According to known intelligence, most of the 96th Infantry Brigade of the National Army, which is still being reorganized, is stationed in the city, on the north bank; one battalion is stationed on the hills of the southeastern suburbs, on the south bank.
The regiment-level unit of the Italian 38th Infantry Division is in the far southwest suburbs of the city. Its camp is on the south bank, bordered by the Tejo River to the north and a range of mountains and hills to the east.
In terms of overall terrain, the south of Talavera is a large area of hills and undulating terrain. This rugged area is up to ten kilometers wide from east to west.
This is undoubtedly an excellent place in Zhou Changfeng's eye. If it were a flat plain with vast plains, it would not be suitable for him.
"It's been quiet here for the past month, and there haven't been many infiltration operations by both sides," Miller looked at the battle briefing in his hand and stated: "The largest battle was the firefight between platoon-level patrols two weeks ago. "
"Do you have the reconnaissance results of the enemy's main positions, bunkers, and minefields? They didn't do nothing, right?" Zhou Changfeng stretched out his hand and drew a circle on the map.
The "they" he refers to refer to the 47th Brigade of the Republican Army and the "San Bartolome" militia battalion that are confronting the enemy here.
"Uh...sir, they only conducted reconnaissance of an area three miles wide to the southwest, last month."
"Are they on vacation? They haven't even done basic work for such a long time?"
"Xia, things are always so bad in Spain." Brett seemed to have expected such a situation.
Zhou Changfeng couldn't help but rolled his eyes, then pointed at the map and ordered: "The reconnaissance company will infiltrate due south and southeast to find out their defense situation in the hilly area; the 71st Battalion will mobilize units to form four platoons. Combat patrols, ready to support or conduct combat reconnaissance."
"yes!"
Now that a combat patrol has been organized, Zhou Changfeng has already made up his mind to start a small-scale battle in advance.
He focused his infiltration on the large hills on the south bank of the Tejo River, but in order to attract the enemy's attention, he asked the 72nd Battalion to organize a reinforced platoon-level infantry detachment to conduct fire reconnaissance southwest of the Tejo River.
This is a mediocre move to attack the east and attack the west, preventing the enemy from knowing our army's intentions.
After a short rest for a night, the entire army officially moved towards the front line.
On the afternoon of the next day, the headquarters of the 50th Brigade was set up on the southern slope of a hill less than fifteen kilometers away from Talavera, and the three battalions were deployed in an inverted triangle, two in front and one in back.
Each unit is dispatched according to the given tasks, and the personnel and equipment of each unit are carefully selected to ensure that they are led by at least three veterans.
Company C of the 72nd Battalion used a platoon to reinforce two MG34s and a GrW34 mortar to form a feint attack detachment. There were about fifty people. They approached the river in the wilderness and then went upstream for about two kilometers.
The setting sun at dusk stretched their shadows very long. The new recruits were nervous and excited, but there was no other color on the faces of the veterans. They had been looking left and right vigilantly.
At this time, someone shouted: "Eleven o'clock direction, enemy sentry!"
I could only see a few bright spots that were flickering a few hundred meters away?
The officer leading the team picked up the telescope and observed carefully for several seconds but could not see clearly because the sun was about to set and they were now in a backlit position with limited illumination. Ordinary telescopes were not capable of observing in this situation.
"They are smoking, there is no mistake." A veteran said firmly: "Nineteen years ago in Amiens, I saw with my own eyes several German recruits who did this and were blown away by artillery shells."
This is indeed the case. In the bunker in the distance, four Italian soldiers smoking cigarettes were chatting boredly, wondering whether they should eat something to fill their stomachs after the changing of the guard.
Since they were performing fire reconnaissance, the infantry unit immediately chose to deploy on the spot. The three squads were lined up, two MG34s were placed on the left and right wings, and the mortar was placed in a small depression diagonally behind.
"Fire!"
"boom!"
A W34 80mm mortar shell roared out, drawing a parabola in the night and landing in the Italian camp about one kilometer away.
After the ear-piercing sound of breaking through the air, the shell exploded, and a truck was overturned on the spot. The leaked gasoline instantly turned it into a blazing bonfire.
The few Italian soldiers here who were in the outer security positions were stunned - when did the enemy touch them under their noses? !
They reacted immediately, firing flares into the sky and opening fire.
When the yellow signal flares soared into the sky, one of the soldiers used a Breda M7930 light machine gun to fire several bursts in the general direction. However, he was immediately met with a barrage of intense bullets.
The unique "thump, thump, thump" gunfire of the MG34 roared in the wilderness, and the trumpet-shaped flash suppressor only slightly reduced the muzzle flash. The flickering bright yellow flames were particularly conspicuous in the night.
The Italian army's response could be said to be quite slow. When the first flare they fired took off, two minutes had passed since the first shell landed in the camp.
This unit of the 72nd Battalion did not stay long, but quickly moved its position to prevent being identified by the Italian army.
The Italian army, which mistakenly thought it was being attacked by the Republican Army, was startled. Several Fiat heavy machine guns deployed on the main position opened fire one after another, immediately revealing their position.
Several Brescha M35 45mm light mortars also poured ammunition in the general direction. This little thing with special ammunition feeding mechanism and full of Italian characteristics uses blank ammunition to push the ammunition, which can push 480g high-explosive ammunition. It launches about 500m away and the rate of fire is very fast.
Heavy machine gun tracer bullets passed through the dark air, as if a knife cut through the black curtain, and the high-explosive bombs that kept exploding were like fireworks that suddenly appeared on the ground.
After fighting for a while and changing places, the detachment changed its position four times during the firefight that lasted for an hour and a half. It was not until most of the ammunition was exhausted that it quietly retreated.
Because the situation was unknown, the Italian army, which did not dare to take the initiative at night, chose to stay in retreat and only fired back in the general direction.
It can be said that although the two sides fought extremely fiercely and with flames blazing into the sky, the actual effect was very limited. The Italian army had only a dozen casualties, and this unit only suffered four casualties and one casualty.
Just when the attention of the Italian army was almost completely attracted by this infantry detachment, which seemed to have hundreds of people but was actually only a few dozen people, several groups of the reconnaissance company successfully penetrated into the hilly area from the southeast.
Their main task was to find several suitable routes and at the same time confirm whether there were enemy guard posts and mines in this area.
"boom!"
The sudden explosion frightened everyone who had their hearts in their throats. The recruits were still in a daze, but the veterans were already lying down.
The painful cry for help came immediately. It turned out that someone had just stepped on a landmine.
"Get the bandage quickly!"
"Enemy! Two o'clock!"
"Bang-bang-"
Several Italian troops suddenly appeared diagonally ahead, and a brief encounter broke out instantly.
"Da da da da——"
The distance of only a few dozen meters is quite close in terms of tactics. In this close combat with low visibility, how can the bolt-action Carcano rifle be compared with the Steyr submachine gun?
Although the six-person reconnaissance team lost one member due to the mine, the remaining members still easily defeated these helpless Italian soldiers, and only one person escaped.
"We've been exposed!" Someone asked while holding a bandage to the comrade whose left leg was broken by a landmine, and asked: "Should we leave here?"
"No! Owen, take him back, we have to find a way, it should be near here!"
Since there is an Italian guard post here, it means that there must be their stronghold or camp nearby.
Corporal Nathan, who led the team, once served in the 1st Red Division of the US Army and participated in the Battle of Cantigny, which was the first battle after the US military crossed the ocean and arrived in Europe.
He rummaged through the corpses of several Italian soldiers and found nothing of value except personal belongings, and then led the other two people to continue infiltrating deeper.
Throughout the night, such scenes continued to occur in this vast hilly area.
But compared to the sporadic small fights here, the high-profile infantry detachment in the southwest attracted more attention.
Zhou Changfeng dispatched another combat patrol to support them. Before dawn, they approached the river beach in front of the Italian army.
After launching smoke bombs, they poked a long measuring rod into the river, pretending to measure the hydrological conditions of the Tejo River.
The Italian troops in the distance could only take a vague look. In their eyes, this was undoubtedly ironclad evidence that "the enemy will cross the river to fight"!
Starting today, I will try two chapters in one chapter. After all, it is a war story.
(End of chapter)
