This night seemed to be much longer than previous nights. The sound of gunshots and explosions coming from two directions almost never stopped. Although it could not be called intensive, it continued until dawn.
More than a dozen reconnaissance teams returned one after another, and then quickly summarized the discovered situation under the organization of the staff.
They not only figured out the specific terrain direction of this undulating land, but also identified some of the guard posts and strongholds placed by the Italian army in it. A combat patrol also launched a tentative attack, which proved to be quite weak.
But there is one exception, and that is a highland adjacent to the location of the Italian army. The map elevation is 109. It can also be said that the Italian army deliberately deployed its station based on it.
In the morning, more than a dozen officers of different ranks gathered here in the headquarters.
Chretien put out his cigar, stretched out his finger and tapped on the map, and said slowly:
"After the enemy captured this place, they did not continue to go in depth, but stood firm here. This highland is the most critical, it is higher than anywhere else nearby."
"The Italians built a lot of field fortifications here. There are many obstacles such as barbed wire fences, deer villages, trenches, etc., as well as minefields about ten meters wide."
"They sent an infantry company to guard this place, and also strengthened their firepower. There are at least five heavy machine guns. The firepower support points of the main positions are reinforced civil fortifications, and there are also a large number of trenches in the rest of the position."
"We can easily see that it determines the balance of the battle, and the attackers will pay a huge price. Rebel and Italian aviation forces may also attack during the period, which is not good news."
A place like this is like a fire hedgehog. Anyone who touches it will get pricked on the hand.
In the eyes of the officers, the way to attack it is to concentrate a large amount of artillery fire and bombard it repeatedly, once, twice, three times...Use steel and explosives to destroy all exposed bunkers, and then invest a large number of troops to attack continuously.
But it is obvious that the current 50th Brigade does not meet such traditional tactical requirements, so it can only find another way.
According to Zhou Changfeng's order, the 73rd "Lincoln" Battalion formed two breakthrough detachments. Each detachment was formed based on an infantry platoon. It was additionally equipped with fifteen MP34 submachine guns and was equipped with an engineer squad. The latter in addition to carrying a large number of In addition to explosives, it is also equipped with two FmW35 flamethrowers.
"...Now I will confirm the plan and task assignment." Zhou Changfeng picked up the red pencil, drew a circle on the field map where the Italian army was located, and said solemnly: "It's time to end this Italian army unit. "
At the same time, in the Italian army's station...
As the commander of the 79th Regiment of the 38th Infantry Division of the Royal Army, Lieutenant Colonel Alcide is a unique guy. He disdains the identity of an officer and does not care about the so-called "difference."
Unlike most aloof Italian officers, he was quite casual. He often hung out in the military camp and interacted with the soldiers, and even often played the mandolin he was best at in public.
Because of this, he was often criticized by others for his poor style and tarnishing the image of the Royal Army, but Alchid dismissed this.
Largely due to poor popularity, his unit was transferred to such a messy place. While other Italian troops were advancing in full swing, the 79th Regiment was ordered to hold Talavera to cover other friendly troops besieging Madrid. 's flanks.
While the two sides on multiple fronts were fighting back and forth, the Talavera area was extremely peaceful, with only minor fights. After repelling the exploratory attack of the Republican Army's 47th Brigade a month ago, twenty-eight days of peace had passed as of last night.
Last night's inexplicable sudden attack suddenly broke the life they were accustomed to, which made many people wake up from their dreams - we are still intervening in wars on the land of other countries!
Until now, the Italian army is still not sure which force it is facing, because its appearance is a bit strange - although it is wearing a Spanish M26 field uniform, it is wearing a German M35 helmet.
Although most officers had always believed it to be the International Brigade, Alchid and some officers were skeptical.
Because based on past experience, international brigades usually only appear in places with fierce battles, and the Republican Army headquarters often uses them as emergency firefighting teams.
But why did he suddenly appear in Talavera, which had been peaceful for a long time? This is really abnormal.
If something goes wrong, there must be a monster. Does this mean that the Republican Army is going to launch a large-scale offensive?
Once his thinking spreads out, all kinds of strange and weird ideas will come out. Alchid, who calls himself an artist, has always thought that he has a rich imagination, so he came up with it in just a cup of coffee. There are four or five possibilities.
Throughout the day that day, the vast wilderness south of Talavera showed an eerie silence. All units of the 50th Brigade entered the predetermined assembly area one after another, and then rested in place.
Although the confused Italian army was slow to respond, it was at least a qualified army of an industrial country. They organized three motorized search teams to conduct reconnaissance in the southwest, but this was tantamount to a sheep entering a tiger's mouth.
The peripheral security units of the 71st Battalion waited and used rifle grenades and machine guns to repulse these search teams neatly.
When the sun went down, the destroyed Fiat 621 trucks and Benelli M36 tricycles were still burning, and conspicuous flames could still be seen.
"The Italians are too conservative, and it is difficult for me to give them a positive evaluation." Roald, who serves as the commander of the 73rd Battalion, said.
Brett took over his words and continued: "The correct approach should be to reorganize a larger search team and forcefully break through the ambush so that we have to expose ourselves, so that we can understand our situation. I don't know these Italians When will people take war seriously?”
"How do you evaluate this offensive plan?" Roald changed the subject, "I don't know why, but I have a strange feeling...it will definitely succeed."
"This shows that at least you completely trust him now." Brett took off his big cap, shook it, and then put it back on, "He is too mysterious."
"I think Easterners are very mysterious."
"After all, your Norway is too far away from the east."
Although Zhou Changfeng asked all troops to take a good rest during the day and close their eyes to rest their minds even if they couldn't sleep, for most young soldiers, the feeling of being about to join the battlefield of their dreams made their hearts swell.
I can't even sit still, let alone sleep!
Because he had applied for air support, Zhou Changfeng set the launch time of the attack at four in the morning.
This can not only seize dawn, a good time period suitable for raids, but also ensure that we can receive our own air support after encountering obstacles.
"Check the time, check the watch!" Zhou Changfeng held the microphone in one hand and looked at the watch with the other, "...four, three, two, one, twelve o'clock sharp."
At midnight, the bright moon was in the sky, and the surrounding environment was quiet.
The frontline headquarters was located next to a forest. There happened to be a slope two people high, and the headquarters was built on it. Due to the presence and activities of people, the birds inhabiting the woods never returned to their nests after flying away. There was only the sound of the wind blowing the branches and leaves rustling around.
After walking around in the forest for a while, Zhou Changfeng suddenly felt sleepy. After returning to the headquarters, he wrapped himself in a military blanket, lay down on the camp bed and fell asleep.
In fact, he was also very anxious and uneasy, because his job was linked to responsibility, and any mistake would determine the life and death of hundreds of people and the outcome of the battle.
But he couldn't show this restlessness. As the core of an army, as a commander, he could only bury it deep in his heart. In fact, the more calm and indifferent he appears, the more at ease the people around him feel.
At 3:45 in the morning, Miller woke up the sleeping Zhou Changfeng on time. The latter felt that he had just closed his eyes for a moment, as if a few hours had been cut off.
He had dreamed in a trance that Xia Xiaoshi was beside him and asked with concern if he was okay, but he was woken up before he could answer.
"Fifteen minutes left, sir." Miller said calmly.
After waking up, Zhou Changfeng walked out of the headquarters and came to the nearby slope with a pair of binoculars.
This is destined to usher in a fierce and cruel battle. Even though the morale and combat effectiveness of the Italian army are not very good, it is always a big mistake to disrespect the opponent tactically.
What's more, the time, place and people are favorable, and they occupy an excellent location!
In order to pursue their ideals, how many respectable volunteers will sacrifice their lives in the next twenty-four hours?
3:50 in the morning, ten minutes countdown.
"哓哚哚-哓哃——"
Several models of old artillery roared on time, and rounds of 105mm and 75mm shells flew past with varying trajectories, hitting the Italian army's position hard.
Because the number of artillery was limited and the number of artillery shells was only one and a half, Chrétien and Zhou Changfeng agreed that the artillery preparation before the attack should be as short and intense as possible, rather than a long period of continuous artillery bombardment.
This can maximize the deterrence of the enemy under limited artillery fire, but the disadvantage is that the damage to enemy fortifications is not good, and many targets will undoubtedly be missed.
Even so, since the area of 109 Highlands that the Italian army adheres to is small, narrow and lacks depth, the company's troop deployment is quite concentrated. The company headquarters and two platoons are defending the main body of the high ground, and the other platoon is deployed in the southwest of the high ground. direction.
The artillery was limited. In order to increase the firepower density as much as possible, the shirtless artillerymen worked hard and almost pushed the old artillery to the theoretical maximum rate of fire.
The sudden and ferocious bombardment seemed to throw a lot of gravel into the calm road lake, causing thousands of waves in an instant.
In the explosion of "boom, boom, boom", the falling shells blew away countless soil, weeds, and sawdust in the explosion, including fragments of clothes.
A 75mm high-explosive shell from the FK16 field gun collided with great luck and landed on top of a shelter. The structure of this shelter is to dig holes to the side in the trench and then reinforce it with logs.
When this cannon came out of the factory, the German Empire was still there, but things had changed year after year. Some of the artillerymen who controlled the cannon to launch it were even younger than it.
The aging mechanical fuze was a little slower than when it was new from the factory. Even if the artillerymen adjusted the fuze to the prompt state, the fuze took tens of milliseconds to take effect.
This caused the shell to explode after drilling through the soil and flat logs above the shelter. The six or seven Italian soldiers inside were instantly buried in graves dug by themselves before they could make any sound.
"Captain, what should we do?!"
The two officers braved artillery fire and rushed into the shelter where the company commander was located, only to see that the company commander was already shouting into the microphone at the top of his lungs, asking for reinforcements.
The soil and dust shaken by the shock wave fell down separately, like countless mosquitoes flying under the dim yellow light.
3:59 in the morning, one minute countdown, at the headquarters of the 79th Regiment of the Italian Army...
A staff officer was shaking the rocker of the phone anxiously, while Lieutenant Colonel Alchid, who had just woken up, was using another phone to communicate with Highland 109.
"Sir! The shelling... is very violent, we... don't know..."
"Calm down! Stay in your position and don't panic!"
Shelling can not only affect wireless communications, but also interfere with the effectiveness of wired communications to a certain extent. The continuous background sound of explosions makes it difficult for both parties to communicate.
Lieutenant Colonel Alchid walked out of the command post after hanging up the phone. Now he had no idea what the enemy in person wanted to do.
He knew that the other party might be about to launch an offensive, because yesterday he had observed their patrol team measuring the hydrological conditions of the Tejo River, but why were they shelling the hills now?
Are we going to attack Highland 109? Isn't this unreasonable? It's a condescending place that's easy to defend and difficult to attack. Would any commander really choose to attack the toughest target right away?
The Italian army, which has been passively defending and standing still since yesterday, lacks sufficient understanding of the surrounding situation. They are not even sure whether the enemy in front of them is the International Brigade.
The dozen or so artillery pieces of the attached artillery battalion had already been arranged and deployed. The artillerymen had already adjusted the fuses for the artillery shells, but the order was delayed in coming.
There are no anti-artillery radars these days, so it is not easy to determine the specific location and coordinates of the opponent's artillery positions.
Calculating mentally but not intentionally, passive defense is destined to suffer big losses.
Since setting foot on the land of the Iberian Peninsula, the Italian army has not experienced the taste of being bombed for a long time.
Under the vengeful artillery fire, clouds of gunpowder smoke rose up, and various debris fell down one after another. The ground shook slightly in the explosion. It was always one's own direction that poured artillery fire on the other side. At this moment, the two sides exchanged positions, which frightened the Italian soldiers. .
When Lieutenant Colonel Alchid was looking through the telescope, someone suddenly exclaimed: "Firework signal!"
I saw a red flare rising into the sky in the distance, followed by a second one.
In an instant, the previous explosions stopped abruptly.
Alchid's heart tightened. When the prelude to the attack ended, of course it was followed by the interlude.
Just one kilometer away in a straight line, in the rugged undulating land, the 72nd "Montmartre Heights" Battalion had quietly arrived at the offensive starting position a few hours ago, and when the previous shelling started, they Taking the opportunity to enter the impact starting position.
"...Now, it's time to send them to hell! Long live for liberty, equality, and fraternity!"
"Beep beep beep-"
The officer blew his whistle, and the soldiers shouted like a tide.
Taking advantage of the precious opportunity when the Italian army was stunned by the previous short artillery bombardment, they rushed from two directions to Hill 109, a few hundred meters away.
At the dawn of this dry and slightly hot summer day, hundreds of volunteers from France launched an impact against the dense bullets fired by the enemy, fearlessly pounced on the blazing firepower.
At 4:00 in the morning, the attack was launched on time.
"Boom! Boom!"
Rifle grenades and 45mm mortar shells continued to fly down from the high ground and exploded on the ground, flying the shattered soil into the air; wisps of green smoke floated in the crater near the explosion point, and the dry soil was soaked with blood. And become gentle.
Those in front were hit and fell, while those behind jumped over the corpses of their comrades and continued to move forward.
The frightened Italian soldiers fired at the pre-marked path with whatever they had at their disposal.
The "click-click-click" gunfire went on without interruption. In the time it took half a cigarette, the empty bullet casings under the heavy machine gun accumulated into a pile up to the ankles.
Suddenly, the sky suddenly became brighter than daylight. It was the illumination bombs fired by the artillerymen in the Italian army station with 70mm mountain cannons. The pale light bursting out from the burning aluminum-magnesium powder in mid-air instantly dispelled the darkness before dawn.
Accompanying the attacking infantry were two 37㎜ infantry cannons. This light artillery, which weighed only 85㎏, was extremely convenient for providing timely and effective direct-aimed fire support.
The veteran manipulating the infantry cannon felt as if he had suddenly returned to the old battlefield twenty years ago. He aimed at the position with the dazzling muzzle flash, and then suddenly pulled the lever.
"Bang! Boom——"
The 37mm high-explosive bomb with a charge of only 27g is not as powerful as a hand grenade, but it is enough to suppress the Italian army's crazy heavy machine guns.
Yesterday and early today, some reconnaissance teams had already tried to remove some mines from the minefields outside Highland 109 and opened up several four- to five-meter-wide safe passages.
The soldiers of the 72nd Battalion who successfully reached the high ground began to attack upwards. The light machine gun teams equipped with MG13 were scattered behind the surrounding craters, tree trunks, and rocks, firing continuously to cover the attacks of others.
As the distance narrowed to only twenty or thirty meters, the Italian soldiers began to throw M35 grenades. This red cylindrical "can" had good performance, but because the outer shell was stamped from a thin aluminum plate, the number of fragments was very small. It is small and not suitable for use as a defensive grenade.
The one after another explosions set off clouds of gunpowder smoke, and many of the approaching soldiers were knocked down. However, the remaining ones also threw grenades backhand to pay tribute to the soldiers after lying down.
Although the Italian troops in the position were blown up and howling like ghosts, they still contained the 72nd Battalion's attack with the help of reinforced fortifications on the left and right.
The intensive crossfire completely blocked the attack path. The infantry artillery team fired several times in succession but failed to silence it. Instead, it incurred a series of bullets and several people were shot dead on the spot.
"We are suppressed! Need support!"
(End of chapter)
