afterglow

Chapter 145 Bloody Battle University Town
The imperial court really wanted the war to last longer, and the purpose was very straightforward, and the sharp performance of the Germans seemed to add a lot of weight to the balance of victory.

Since November, after Spain officially signed three agreements with Ming, its Ministry of Finance issued an administrative order to melt all precious metals in its inventory to support the war.

The first batch of molten gold was more than [-] tons, with a total value of about [-] million U.S. dollars, not including silver.Thirty percent of the real gold and silver was shipped to Guangzhou and finally to Nanjing; in addition, another [-] percent was shipped to Berlin.

在广州装船起运的第一批军械物资就包括50辆二六式坦克、120门十二式80㎜榴弹炮、300门二八式80㎜迫击炮、26000支二一式步枪、400挺二十式重机枪，以及大量的子弹与炮弹，第二批与第三批物资还在转运与检查中。

The Ming court, which made a large amount of war money during the European War, is already familiar with this, and the delivery speed is quite fast, and it must be able to get five-star praise from buyers.

While the cabinet ministers in the Wenhua Palace were discussing how to "grab" more real money from it, on the Iberian Peninsula on the other side of the world...

The sunshine in Madrid in winter is warm, and the temperate continental climate makes her day and night temperature in the last month of 7936 in Qiyuan 8-12 ℃.

Madrid can be said to be a unique "Tale of Two Cities". In addition to the urban area, there is also a huge university town in the northwest suburbs.

The former capital of the Spanish Empire has long lost its splendor, and the urban areas that have gathered the efforts of many architects have been reduced to ruins under the devastation of shelling and air raids.

The university city, which inherits knowledge and wisdom, has also been reduced to a killing place full of blood and fire. In addition to broken bricks, empty cans, and bullet casings, there are also book pages and shredded papers torn by the explosion shock wave. .

Also due to the temperate continental climate, the frequency of rainfall in Madrid in winter is much higher than other places.

In the light rain, broken corpses rotted in the muddy water accumulated in the bomb crater. The wounds of the corpses were swollen and deformed, and the exposed yellow-white fat was full of wriggling maggots.

"Lucio! How many bullets have you collected?"

"One hundred... oh no, 120! And four grenades!"

At dawn, under the morning light and in the mist, two young men in their early 20s were collecting usable ammunition from the corpses of both the enemy and us in this area.

Their actions startled a few black crows that were pecking at the dead man's eyes. They flew up with a clatter, but the two of them didn't panic at all, and they were used to it.

From October onwards, the main force of the National Army under the command of General Leo marched straight along the Toledo Avenue towards Madrid in an attempt to quickly capture the capital.

The National Army, which is bound to win, is well-equipped and well-trained, and with the direct help of the Italians, the front of the army is not unsharp.

Therefore, the Republican Army lost the courage to defend the capital. After the airport fell into the enemy's hands, the front of the National Army was only twenty kilometers away from the city, so the government quickly decided to withdraw.

However, the left-behind militiamen and the citizens of Madrid did not give up hope. Even though they were short of weapons and ammunition, they were well-organized and their morale was high, and they resisted the fierce attack of the National Army with their flesh and blood.

Facing the enemy's superiority in land and air, and the scorching firepower, entire rows and companies of defenders fell on the ground, it can be said that they are using their own blood and lives to slow down the pace of the enemy.

When the sun jumped above the horizon at about thumb height, the mist began to lift and visibility improved.

Each of the two young militiamen carried three or four rifles on their bodies, and the canvas bags they carried were also filled with the ammunition they had collected, but at this moment, they seemed to hear a strange movement.

The sounds of "crack" and "puff puff" came from a distance, and the two of them stood there and listened for a while, then opened their eyes wide and looked in that direction.

After a while, a ferocious tank came into view, followed by two, four, eight...

A tank company of the National Army, about 33 Italian-made CV-26 ultra-light tanks and Russian-made T-[-] tanks are rushing here!

"Didn't they shell first?"

"Run! They want to sneak attack!"

The terrified two ran away, shooting into the sky while retreating.

Running and running, when they were out of breath, they suddenly saw three soldiers in different military uniforms and two motorcycles parked beside them.

Black and gray jacket, cap badge in the shape of a hammer and compass, and holding a Steyr MP34 submachine gun. This is a group of the second platoon and the first squad of the armored reconnaissance company belonging to the Red Eagle Legion.

Obviously, the two sides did not understand each other's language, and they finally figured out the current situation through chattering and gestures.

"Tank!" An exempt soldier suddenly pointed to the northwest direction and shouted the word panzer.

Several people followed the sound and could vaguely see rows of tanks in the thin morning fog that was about to dissipate in the distance.

The junior non-commissioned officer who led the team put down the binoculars, took out the flare gun and loaded an orange flare, then fired it into the sky, and then fired another red flare.

Orange means that the enemy has been found; red means that the enemy is in an offensive posture and is entering the security area.

Although the three Germans remained calm, the two militiamen could not sit still.

After a while, when the last wisp of mist dissipated, the roar of tank engines came from behind.

A row of tanks painted with a unique dark gray paint appeared, and the Iron Cross painting was very conspicuous; the turret hatch of each tank was opened, and the commanders were wearing earphones, with half of their bodies exposed outside, passing by continuously Gestures and radios communicate with each other.

Immediately, they spread out to both sides in a two-way column, turned into a horizontal line, and slowly stopped.

"Enemy armored vehicles, eleven o'clock direction! Prepare to fight!"

One after another, the commanders retracted into the turret and closed the hatch.

The 4 No. II command tanks in the company headquarters at the forefront of the team did not move in place, and four platoons, a total of 20 No. II B tanks drove forward, lined up in a line.

In this way, just a few minutes later, the first tank battle in history broke out at a place 4.3㎞ northwest of the University City of Madrid.

The Fiat CV-33, which weighs no more than three tons, has very weak firepower and armor, and they hardly pose a threat with only machine guns.

"No wasting firepower! Don't shoot those little things!" The captain in the command vehicle shouted.

Those Fiat CV-33s are like toy cars at the moment. How could the 6.5mm heavy machine guns on them penetrate the frontal armor of the Panzer II?

However, the T-26, which is quite different from it, is quite fierce in terms of firepower. The 45mm long barrel gun can outshine all opponents in this era.

"boom!"

At a distance of less than 600 meters, a 45mm armor-piercing projectile easily penetrated the turret of a No. [-] tank, penetrated the armor and exploded inside!

The UBR-243 shell is actually an APHEBC, armor-piercing high-explosive shell with a small amount of explosive inside the warhead.

The No. 112 II B-type tank stopped immediately, and there was no more movement, only wisps of blue or black smoke drifted out from the gap, and the flesh and steel of the tank soldiers merged into one.

(End of this chapter)