"What? The 47th Brigade retreated?!"
In the headquarters, Zhou Changfeng, who had just learned the good news from Highland 109, had not had time to be happy. Then he learned the bad news that the 47th Brigade of the Republican Army had been repelled.
Miller, who looked helpless, nodded, "Yes, they claimed to have been attacked by a division and equipped with tanks."
"Nonsense! One division? Have the enemy forces on the opposite side learned to fly these days?" Frowning Zhou Changfeng clicked on the map and ordered: "The reconnaissance company will set off as soon as it is ready. We must understand the size of the enemy forces on the flanks. !”
The battle has just begun, and it's already collapsing?
The defeat of the 47th Brigade directly exposed the entire right wing of the 50th Brigade. The serious military consequences of this are self-evident.
Fortunately, this large area is covered with undulating hills. Although the right wing is exposed, it is restricted by the terrain. The width of the battlefield is limited, and the Italian army cannot launch a large-scale offensive.
Want to attack the rear in a roundabout way? Then you have to make a large circle in depth, but there are other Republican Army units stationed in the depth.
Coupled with the unique advantages of Highland 109, as long as it is occupied, the right wing of the 50th Brigade will remain stable.
Despite this, the news that the neighboring troops retreated in just a few hours after the battle began was undoubtedly very demoralizing and cast a shadow over the entire battle.
The 51st Regiment of the 26th Division of the Italian Army, which suffered a heavy loss on Highland 109, failed to successfully complete the surprise attack, but unexpectedly defeated an entire brigade of several thousand soldiers of the Republican Army.
The latter's vulnerability was such that even the Italians were surprised. At first they thought it was a feigned retreat to lure the enemy deeper. It was not until they discovered that they had not even burned some key documents at the brigade headquarters that they confirmed that these Spaniards were It's a real rabble.
However, the most important Highland 109 is still the key. If we cannot win it, we will not be able to make breakthrough progress.
Because at least in the current campaign concept, the 50th Brigade, which was relying on Talavera, must be driven away, and the National Army and the Italian Army need to occupy a strong and stable assembly area on the south bank of the Tejo River.
Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo, the adjutant of the commander of the 26th Division, adhered to the commander's will and personally crossed the river by boat to the front line.
The leader of the 51st Regiment said helplessly: "These guys have deployed countless firepower points and solid civil engineering works on this hill. There are more than twenty firepower points that have been exposed and confirmed."
Ricardo held the telescope and replied casually after hearing this: "This is similar to what was expected before the war."
"No, no, no, there are still a large number of firepower points that we can't see, twenty, thirty... or even more."
"There may only be two hundred enemy troops directly guarding this hill." Ricardo looked at the thin leader, "Lieutenant Colonel, are you confident that we can capture it?"
The latter smiled wryly and shook his head, pointing to Highland 109 in the distance and said: "Please look at those fortifications. It is difficult to detect their sophistication and complexity without careful observation. Without the support of six-inch heavy artillery, it is impossible to capture it."
Because the ordinary six-fold magnification binoculars could not see clearly enough, Ricardo came behind an artillery scope.
What is it like to observe the fortifications built by the 50th Brigade on Highland 109?
Only then did he realize that Ricardo, who had underestimated his opponent, now felt his scalp numb!
All kinds of civil engineering works are well disguised and constructed. Only a few are easy to spot, while most cannot be recognized at all.
Some hills and cliffs were abruptly cut off by artificial means, and the nearly vertical sections made attacks from several directions impossible; the numerous firepower points located halfway up the mountain and on the top of the mountain seemed to have been carefully calculated, and many of the firing points were carefully calculated. The worlds all overlap, and there are very few dead ends.
According to reports from officers of the battalion that failed in the midnight surprise attack, the other side also deployed at least three mortars on the reverse slope, so that they could safely fire on the invading enemy while avoiding direct fire attacks.
It can be said that no matter where they attack from, the defenders on Highland 109 can concentrate their firepower and hit them head-on. This is a perfect and beautiful civil fortification system that can be described as a work of art. This is the first time the Italians have seen it.
In comparison, the field bunker styles stipulated in our own field doctrine appear dull and eclipsed.
In fact, Ricardo only saw a hazy general appearance. If he knew that in addition to the surface fortifications adapted to local conditions, this hill also had some complex tunnel fortifications, he would probably immediately advise Major General Antonio to cancel the attack plan. .
I would rather go in a big circle in depth than bite this daunting hard nut.
But now they don't know the details of Highland 109, so they think it is still feasible.
Thanks to the efficiency of railway transportation, a considerable amount of ammunition had been accumulated in more than half a month of preparations for the war. Therefore, on June 15th and 16th, the Italian army continued to shell.
The Italian intervention force's aviation unit and the National Army's air force have a clear division of labor. The former is responsible for air strikes on transportation hubs, roads, and bridges in deep areas, while the latter is responsible for bombing discovered targets.
Countless artillery shells and aerial bombs turned Highland 109 into a sea of flames. Originally, there were some sparse shrubs and trees there, but after two days, they were almost gone!
The surface of the hill was blown bare, the big rocks were blown into small stones, the small stones were blown into gravel, and the soil was blown loose.
However, the losses of C Company of the 72nd Battalion, which was hidden in reinforced fortifications everywhere, were very slight. There were only a few dozen direct casualties caused by shelling and bombing, but many people's hearing was damaged as a result.
In the early morning of the 17th, the third battalion of the 52nd Italian Regiment arrived at the offensive starting position, and its commander was Major Enrique.
The night before yesterday, the 52nd Regiment's successful raid on the 47th Brigade of the Republican Army was indispensable to the quick and well-organized Third Battalion. They cut off the connection between the brigade headquarters and the flanking positions, which directly led to the 47th Brigade's attack. of defeat.
"Will there be resistance from above? Hundreds of tons of steel and explosives have been thrown onto the mountain in the past two days." A lieutenant holding a telescope said with emotion.
"Of course there will be resistance." Enrique said calmly: "But we can definitely defeat them."
The fiery red sun slowly rises from the horizon, spreading its rays of light to the earth.
Under the preparation of "boom, boom, boom" artillery fire, the Italian troops of the two companies participating in the attack chose an attack route that had never been attempted before.
When the artillery fire began to extend to the rear, they launched an attack in four pre-prepared echelons. Five CV-33s also accompanied them forward, but stopped at the offensive starting position to serve as mobile firepower points for support.
Company C, which was the first to participate in the attack, was smart. The captain who led the team found that there was a winding ravine along the ridgeline that seemed safe. It seemed that it could be used as cover?
As a result, two platoons of more than seventy Italian soldiers in the first echelon accidentally broke into the killing area arranged under Zhou Changfeng's personal guidance.
Not only are mines randomly buried in this curved ravine, but there are also bunkers with good shooting ranges on the sides. Most of the ravine is under machine gun fire blockade.
After the battle began, the ravine echoed with the unique "thump thump thump" sounds of MG34 and MG13, as well as the "tap-tap-tap" sound of the captured Fiat M7914 heavy machine gun.
Under the blazing fire net, the place turned into a slaughterhouse in an instant. The Italian soldiers were shot and fell to the ground one by one, as if they were neatly shot.
Their escape route was also blocked, and mortar shells fell evenly on their way one after another.
The panicked Italians huddled in the blind corners on both sides of the curving ravine, trying to regain their senses before trying to cope with the situation.
However, before they could take a breath, the French ambushing on the hills on both sides used rifle blanks to launch rifle grenades.
The smoking grenade fell in front of him and rolled to his feet. This was so desperate. Under the successive explosions, the frightened Italian soldiers were blown to pieces.
They fired smoke bombs at the fire points on the hills on both sides. After the smoke rose, they fled back the way they came.
Due to the mortars, the route through the blockade was full of blood and fire, but there were more than twenty corpses scattered along the hundred meters of road.
There were more than 70 people in the two platoons, but in the end less than 20 people were withdrawn alive. In just half an hour, Company C of the 3rd Battalion was unilaterally beaten until it lost its combat effectiveness.
The faces of the survivors were full of shock and fear, and they no longer looked like they had after defeating the 47th Brigade a few days ago.
Knowing that the third battalion also suffered a big loss right from the start, but gained nothing, the other battalion commanders felt inexplicably in a good mood?
Especially the commander of the first battalion who launched a surprise attack the night before but failed - he was already unlucky enough, but Enrique was even more unlucky than him.
His own battalion lost forty people that night, while Enrique suffered more than fifty casualties in this attack, and this time it was launched after such fierce fire support.
Obviously Enrique's popularity was not good. At least everyone in the 26th Infantry Division except the division commander Antonio disliked this pretentious and violent guy.
After the first formal attack ended hastily, the 52nd Regiment organized a second attack again.
Under the cover of several CV-33s, hundreds of Italian troops launched three successive attacks on Highland 109.
Six M35 47mm anti-tank guns were lined up in a row. The exposed targets on Highland 109 were all directly bombarded without exception. The heavy machine gun fire points that were not transferred in time were silenced one by one.
The French volunteers who held their position bombarded the anti-tank guns with mortars and attacked those tanks with anti-tank guns.
The Grw34 mortars deployed on the reverse slope played a key role, and the Italian army had almost no means to counter them.
After being covered by a series of 80mm mortar shells, miserable wailing sounds came from the smoke and dust that had not yet dissipated; one after another, the 20mm armor-piercing tracer bullets pulled out conspicuous light in mid-air and collided directly with the tank. On the front, clusters of sparks burst out.
The Italian army that launched the attack was littered with corpses and wounded soldiers. The medical soldiers who went to rescue them were in a hurry because there were often more than a dozen voices calling for help at the same time!
Obviously, this is another attack with little effect.
"Two days of shelling don't seem to have had a significant impact. I think we should reconsider whether to continue attacking it."
"I think taking this high ground might cost a thousand casualties."
In the temporary headquarters on the south bank, the officers were talking among themselves.
"It's so stupid. The battle plan that has been formulated should not be changed so easily. We must continue to attack!" Enrique shouted.
However, other officers did not agree. Some even retorted face to face: "To capture this hill at a cost of a thousand men or more, do you want to mean that we are willing? Or, you can lead your battalion to continue the attack."
Enrique ignored them and turned to look at Ricardo, "Lieutenant Colonel, I think we can try a special method."
The latter remained calm and asked slowly after several seconds: "What special method are you referring to?"
"poison gas."
"This is in Iberia, not Africa, and this could lead to big trouble."
"But the results are worth it," Enrique insisted, "and there are ways we can cover it up."
Regarding his proposal, the officers present argued endlessly for more than ten minutes without coming to a conclusion.
As the adjutant, Ricardo certainly had no power to decide such a matter, so he chose to ask the division headquarters for instructions.
Major General Antonio did not refuse. The only request was to ensure concealment and not to be blatant.
The reason why he admired Enrique so much was that the two had similar values - treaties were made to be trampled upon, so would a powerful empire care about this? Throughout the ages, no one has been able to sanction the victors; at best, they can only condemn them.
There are actually not many "special weapons" for the Italian army to choose from. They are either erosive poisons or sneeze poisons.
The former can be poisoned by full body contact, which cannot be avoided by relying on a gas mask alone. It is very troublesome to use because a large amount of residue will remain, and decontamination operations must be performed after use, otherwise it is easy to hurt yourself.
The latter is much more convenient. Wearing a gas mask can protect you from being harmed by diphenylchloroarsine gas, which can irritate the human respiratory tract and cause constant sneezing, coughing, and vomiting.
"Prepare special ammunition!"
"Bring the smoke bomb over here!"
Italian artillery observers quietly came to the front line and measured wind direction, temperature, humidity and other data; then, the staff of the artillery regiment began rigorous calculations, including placement, dosage, coverage, etc.
They planned to intersperse the firing of a certain number of smoke bombs in order to deceive others and avoid being accused of overt use of chemical weapons.
Because the smoke produced by red phosphorus or white phosphorus smoke bombs is also toxic and irritating to a certain extent, even if you are accused, you can justly claim that "you just used ordinary smoke screens."
The next day, when the first ray of morning light illuminated Hill 109, the roar of artillery was heard in the distance, and then a series of artillery shells fell.
These shells that were drilled into the soil did not explode, but spewed out gray-white smoke.
The defenders initially thought that the Italians were trying to obscure their sight with smoke bombs, until more and more people had runny noses and tears, and even began to vomit uncontrollably.
(End of chapter)
