About the same time, Toulouse.
In the afternoon, the sky was clear, the sun was shining brightly, and the weather was a bit hot. There were long queues in front of the cold drink stalls or ice cream parlors on the streets. The citizens seemed to think it was worthwhile to wait ten minutes under the bright sun to buy ice cream.
As the largest city in southwest France, Toulouse has a long history and its architectural features are also very conspicuous - many houses here retain the character of rose red bricks.
This is why Toulouse is called the City of Roses, even though it does not produce roses. The romantic French praised these brick walls in their poems as "rosy red in the morning, turning to lavender at noon, and turning to true red in the evening."
If Paris represents romance and fashion, then Toulouse represents nature and simplicity.
In the afternoon, many citizens gathered in the central square to take a walk, bask in the sun, and drink coffee, which was leisurely and comfortable.
However, on a bench under a big tree in the corner of the square, there were two different figures sitting.
"Oh, what on earth was he thinking? He is obviously good, but he wants to take risks..."
"Some people are indeed happy to do this. They will draw their swords to help when there is injustice. I can only say that Commander Zhou is a man with lofty ideals."
Xia Xiaoshi, who was looking sad, stared at the ice cream cone in her hand, "But this is against the law, Sister Zhen'er. If it is made public, you will definitely be punished, and it will also affect your career."
Since Xia Bing was a member of the Criminal Division, Xia Xiaoshi was naturally more sensitive to this.
The woman next to her is the navy lieutenant civilian Qin Zizhen who came with her. She has a figure that looks like a ridge when viewed from the side and a peak on the side. It can be said that men are enthusiastic about it and women are jealous.
Qin Zizhen smiled slightly and said, "You are worrying too much. Even if it is not known to the outside world yet, even if it is known, it is not difficult to avoid punishment."
Of course, this is just a word of relief. If this matter is really revealed, no matter how bad it is, he will still be convicted. As for whether it is an understatement of symbolic punishment or a normal punishment according to standards, it depends on the wishes of the big bosses.
If it is to prevent others from learning from others, then it is definitely not appropriate to be lenient, otherwise it will be tantamount to condoning.
But...since ancient times, or in recent decades, this kind of special treatment has not been uncommon. It seems that one more exception this time is nothing?
Xia Xiaoshi, whose eyes were full of melancholy, sighed softly and said softly: "That's it for now. I just hope he can return safely. We will talk about the future later."
"There is no need to be so worried. Commander Zhou is now the chief officer and does not need to go to the front line. He will definitely be able to escape unscathed in the end." Qin Zizhen thought for a while and added: "According to him, he will leave when the battle between the two sides ends. return."
The series of turns of events these days are really speechless. I rushed all the way to "take care of" him, only to find that Zhou Changfeng was not there. It took me a few days to find out that he had gone to Spain, which was a mess.
If Xia Xiaoshi just wanted to punch him twice in the chest, then Zhu Lingjing wanted to pick up a whip and whip him hard.
And this may be the reason why Zhou Changfeng has been sneezing in the past few days. Unsure of the reason, he thought it was because he caught a cold because he only wore short-sleeved shirts when he was patrolling at night.
June 14th.
The moderate rain that lasted for more than an hour gradually stopped and the dark clouds dissipated, but what followed was a neat formation of bombers in the sky.
Not long after, a rumble of explosions came from behind, like a series of thunder.
It's another air raid. Over the past half month, dozens of air raids of varying sizes have made the 50th Brigade accustomed to them.
Roads, bridges, warehouses, transfer stations, etc. have all suffered varying degrees of damage, and logistics capacity has dropped by half.
The National Army and the Italian Army, who are facing the enemy, have organized many reconnaissance operations in recent days, very persistently, again and again.
Although it can be detected seven or eight times out of ten, there are always fish that slip through the net.
Everything indicates that the battle is coming.
"...This may be our last war in Spain. Maybe this fall or winter, the international brigade will leave. What the future of Spain will be, I don't think we know, but this means Should we give up the fight? I’m afraid not.”
"The results that we and thousands of volunteers have achieved with their blood and lives may not be the final victory, but a glorious deed that will forever be recorded in human history. Here, we no longer consider The interests of oneself and the country are irrespective of race, class or party.”
"This at least proves that human beings do not always follow social Darwinism, and imperialism is not the only one. But the reality is that in the long term to come, such noble behavior is unlikely to become the mainstream of praise."
"In the case of uneven distribution, not many people will be willing to save money and save money to help strangers in another part of the world. So, I want to ask, do you regret coming here? For the pursuit and ideals that are not understood by the public, you voluntarily undertake The cost of life?”
Zhou Changfeng's unscripted speech was not an impassioned speech at all, and in Chretien's view it was not a qualified pre-war speech - instead of boosting morale, it threw questions to everyone.
"What is 'volunteer'? It must be a decision made on your own after the consequences and results are clear. This is not forced conscription."
"Well, Xia, you always do weird things."
That night.
The climate is quite cool, and the round bright moon seems to be embedded in the starry night. The moonlight spreads over the wilderness like a thin layer of white gauze.
Six kilometers upstream from Talavera, rubber boats silently crossed the Tejo River. Countless figures swayed onto the river beach, surrounded by only the sound of boots stepping on the sand. A slight rustling sound.
One battalion of the Italian 26th Infantry Division used the cover of night to successfully cross the Tejo River without being exposed, followed by the second battalion.
The Italians were uncharacteristically bold. They planned to cross the river at the junction of the defense areas of the 50th Brigade and the Republican Army's 47th Brigade. After gaining a foothold, they would directly launch a surprise attack on Hill 109.
Although in theory it is more secure and feasible to attack the 47th Brigade first, the Italian military staff believed that this would expose one's side prematurely, causing the 50th Brigade to be more vigilant.
It can be said that they did not take the Republican Army seriously. The International Brigade was a difficult opponent, and the top priority was Highland 109 - it was condescending, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The party occupying it would undoubtedly take the initiative.
Major General Antonio believed that he was fully prepared. If the surprise attack on Highland 109 failed, the follow-up troops would immediately hold on to the river beach position and storm the 47th Brigade of the Republican Army in an effort to repel it. In this way, the right flank of the 50th Brigade would The flanks will be completely exposed.
He was determined to stand out in the prelude to this decisive battle and let the world witness that the Italian army was not a third-rate army that would become disgraced by bullying the weak.
At this moment, on the artillery position on the north bank, a row of mountain cannons and howitzers were neatly deployed. The artillerymen were ready to carry out a sudden fire attack after the battle started.
After forming the team, a battalion of more than 400 Italian troops took one platoon as the leading unit, and the rest formed three levels of echelons at the back, slowly approaching the 109 Highland Formation in the dark.
"what is that?"
"They seem to be people? A lot of them!"
The two Frenchmen in charge of perimeter security were chatting quietly when they noticed the approaching large group of people.
The bright moon in the sky provided good visibility. Under the moonlight, the two were sure that these guys were enemy troops trying to sneak attack at night.
Just when one of them was about to fire a warning shot into the air...
Suddenly, a flash of light appeared, and a "boom" explosion came from there.
An unlucky Italian infantryman stepped on an M25 mine, which is commonly used by the Italian army today. It has a pressure fuse and contains 400g of TNT or nitrostarch explosives.
Unlike modern landmines that pursue "crippling but not killing", today's anti-infantry landmines have not yet changed their killing ideas, so they often contain hundreds of grams of explosives, and their power cannot be underestimated.
These mines were left behind by the defeated Italian army. Everyone reset their safety, dug them out, and then re-buried them on the forward positions.
The broken body was blown away, and several people around him also suffered.
The huge explosion of the mines spread very far at night and could be clearly heard for several kilometers. The soldiers of the 72nd Battalion, who woke up from their sleep, immediately took their guns and entered the position, while those on duty had already controlled the mortars and fired illumination bombs.
"Bang! Bang!"
After a few crisp sounds, the lighting tube hanging under the small parachute emitted a dazzling white light, and the bright brilliance illuminated the dark earth in an instant.
The Italian soldiers who had not yet recovered from the surprise of encountering landmines lowered their heads under the stern scoldings of officers and non-commissioned officers. Some of them were temporarily blinded because they subconsciously looked directly at the flares.
"Blast the minefield! Company A attacks immediately!"
Now that it was discovered, the surprise attack suddenly turned into a strong attack.
The Italian army knew very well that they only had one chance. If the assault failed, they should retreat immediately to prevent being attacked from both front and rear.
The blasting tube with the fuse pulled was thrown into the minefield. The huge explosion detonated nearby mines, and the sound of booming and booming was heard for a while.
Immediately, more than a hundred Italian troops quickly passed through this narrow passage, then spread out into a sparse offensive formation and rushed up the hillside.
Several firepower points halfway up the mountain went off, muzzle flashes flashed, and six or seven Italian soldiers fell down like wheat cut by a sickle.
Amidst the "click, click, click" gunfire, the fierce crossfire like a sudden storm beat the Italian troops who were trying to attack by force into howling ghosts.
The corpses that had been beaten into a hornet's nest rolled down the hillside with a gurgling sound. Some people couldn't avoid it and were knocked down by the corpses that looked like rolling logs and rolled down together.
"Take cover!"
"Mortar fire, suppress!"
The officers were shouting, but their voices were completely obscured by the noisy gunfire like firecrackers.
The smarter Italian soldiers crawled and fled to the foot of the cliff, taking advantage of the blind spot of machine gun fire to gain a moment of respite.
It's just that this time was too short. Before they could think about their current situation, grenades fell down like hailstones.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
This is not over yet. The heavy weapons company of the 72nd Battalion, which has already marked various areas for shooting Zhuyuan, is already using mortars to fire. He only needs to look at his notebook and adjust the shooting direction and elevation in half a minute. .
The dull explosions and screams were mixed together, and the Italian army's offensive path suddenly turned into a purgatory of flesh and blood.
The entire hillside, cliffs, and trails are littered with corpses in various forms of death. The dying wounded are crying out for help, but how can the medical soldiers who are unable to protect themselves have the energy to save them?
Bullets are raining down, and nowhere seems to be safe here, it's a complete slaughterhouse!
Looking over there from a distance, the entire hill looked like a fire hedgehog, with muzzle flashes and explosions flashing everywhere.
Another company and battalion headquarters that were not involved in the attack were deeply shocked by this bloody scene. Six Fiat heavy machine guns and a dozen ultra-light mortars opened fire almost wildly, trying to suppress the firepower point on Highland 109.
As a result, the firepower of the defenders was weakened, and the defeated generals, who had no fighting spirit, almost fled.
Some desperate guys were so focused on escaping from that land of right and wrong that they forgot about the dangerous place they came from. As a result, they plunged into a minefield and were immediately blown away.
The first stage of the Italian army's attack was disintegrated in this way, leaving dozens of corpses but no progress at all.
They fired two red and one yellow signal flares into the sky, and then the Italian artillery position on the north bank of the Tejo River opened fire.
The 70mm mountain cannon, 75mm field gun, and 105mm howitzer were all roaring, and shells fell like raindrops one after another.
Under the night, there were bursts of flashes of light on Highland 109, and the deafening sound of explosions reached the ears a few seconds later, which could be described as shaking the earth.
In the ten minutes of fire support, rapid fire took up half of the time, which can be said to be quite rapid.
However, the rest of the Italian army refused to continue the attack. The commander of Company B righteously objected to the "pointless attack" mission, and the soldiers also shouted in support.
The Italian major who led the team took advantage of the slope to get off the donkey. He also knew in his heart that this attack had already failed tactically - the key to a surprise attack was to surprise the enemy. Since it was discovered in advance, it was actually destined to be impossible to succeed.
The 71st Battalion used heavy machine guns and mortars to see off the evacuation of these self-righteous Italian troops until they disappeared into the night.
However, just because the 50th Brigade could easily take on this sneak attack, it does not mean that other troops can as well.
At this moment, the Italian troops of the third battalion also crossed the Tejo River, and the second battalion made a decisive decision and launched a decisive surprise attack on the 47th Brigade of the Republican Army.
The Italians also gave full play to their creativity and managed to piece together two simple large rafts using wooden boards, scrap tires and empty oil drums to transport two CV-33 ultra-light tanks across the river.
The light and brittle little tank worked wonders now. If it were a normal tank, it would be absolutely impossible to transport it across the river on a raft.
Two CV-33s "showed off their power" on the Republican army's position, and the Italian army accompanying the attack also performed quite actively.
The Forty-seventh Brigade was severely beaten by such a sudden and violent attack. The nimble Italian small tanks ran rampant and even reached a place less than a hundred meters away from the brigade headquarters.
For a time, several positions fell one after another. The 47th Brigade, which was caught off guard, thought it was attacked by an entire Italian division.
"They're everywhere! We should retreat!"
(End of chapter)
