afterglow

Chapter 205 Chapter [-]

"What? The 47th Brigade retreated?!"

In the headquarters, Zhou Changfeng, who had just learned the good news from Height 109, had not had time to be happy when he learned the bad news that the No.40 Seventh Brigade of the Republican Army had been repelled.

Miller nodded helplessly, "Yes, they claimed to have been attacked by a division, and they were equipped with tanks."

"Nonsense! A division? The enemy army on the opposite side has learned to fly these days?" Zhou Changfeng frowned and clicked on the map, ordering: "The reconnaissance and search company will set off after preparing, and we must find out the size of the flanking enemy army. !"

The battle has just begun, and it will collapse immediately?
The retreat of the 47th Brigade directly exposed the right wing of the [-]th Brigade, and the serious military consequences of this are self-evident.

Fortunately, this large area is full of 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 detour and attack the rear?Then you have to make a big circle in depth, but there are other Republican Army units stationed in the depth area.

Coupled with the unique advantages of the 109th highland, as long as it is occupied, the right wing of the [-]th Brigade will remain stable.

Nevertheless, the news that the neighboring troops retreated within a few hours of the battle was undoubtedly very demoralizing and cast a shadow over the entire battle.

Although the 109st Regiment of the 26th Division of the Italian Army, which suffered a big loss on the 51th Heights, failed to complete the surprise attack, it unexpectedly defeated an entire brigade of several thousand people from the Republican Army.

The latter was so vulnerable that even the Italians were very surprised. At first, they thought they were pretending to retreat and lure the enemy to go deeper. It was not until they found out that they hadn't even burned some key documents of the brigade headquarters that they confirmed that these Spaniards It's a real mob.

However, the most important highland 109 is still the key, and without it, breakthroughs cannot be made.

Because at least at the current stage of the campaign concept, the [-]th Brigade, which is dead on the opposite side of Talavera, must be driven away. 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 deputy commander of the 26th Division, followed the will of the commander and crossed the river by boat to the front line.

The head of the 51st Regiment said helplessly: "These guys have arranged countless firepower points and solid earthworks on this hill. There are more than [-] firepower points that have been exposed and confirmed."

Holding the binoculars, Ricardo casually replied after hearing the words: "This is about the same as what was predicted before the war."

"No, no, there are still a large number of firepower points that have not appeared where we can't see them, twenty, thirty... or even more."

"There may be only 200 enemy troops directly guarding this hill." Ricardo looked at the thin regiment commander, "Lieutenant Colonel, are you confident in capturing it?"

The latter shook his head with a wry smile, pointed to Height 109 in the distance and said: "Please look at those fortifications. It is difficult to find their exquisiteness and complexity without careful observation. Without the support of six-inch heavy artillery, it is impossible to capture it."

Since ordinary six-times magnification binoculars couldn't see clearly enough, Ricardo came behind an artillery mirror.

What kind of experience is it to observe the fortifications built by the 109th Brigade on the [-]th Highland?
It was only then that he realized that Ricardo, who had underestimated his opponent, only felt his scalp go numb!
All kinds of earthworks are camouflaged and constructed very well, only a few are easier to spot, and most of them are not recognizable at all.

Some hills and cliffs were artificially truncated, and the nearly vertical section made it impossible to attack from several directions; the countless firepower points on the mountainside and on the top of the mountain seemed to have been carefully calculated. The world is overlapping, and there are very few dead ends.

According to the report of the officer of the battalion that failed in the surprise attack at midnight, the opponent also deployed at least three mortars on the reverse slope, so that they could open fire on the incoming enemy safely without being attacked by direct fire.

It can be said that no matter where the attack comes from, the defenders on Height 109 can concentrate their firepower and give them a head-on blow. This is a perfect civil engineering system that is so beautiful that it can be described as a work of art. This is the first time the Italians have seen it.

In contrast, the style of field bunkers stipulated in one's own field regulations is dull and eclipsed.

In fact, Ricardo only saw a vague general outline. If he knew that besides the superficial fortifications adapted to local conditions, there were also some complicated tunnel fortifications on the hill, he would definitely immediately advise Major General Antonio to cancel the attack plan. .

It is better to detour a big circle in depth than to gnaw on this daunting hard bone.

But now they don't know the details of the 109 Heights, so they think it is still feasible.

Thanks to the high efficiency of railway transportation, a considerable amount of ammunition had been stockpiled in the preparations for more than half a month before, so on June 16th and [-]th, the Italian army continued to shell.

The Italian Intervention Army's aviation unit and the national army's air force had a clear division of labor. The former was responsible for air strikes on transportation hubs, roads, and bridges in deep areas, while the latter bombed discovered targets.

Uncountable shells and aerial bombs completely turned Height 109 into a sea of ​​flames. Originally, there were some sparse shrubs and bushes there, but after two days, almost nothing remained!
The surface of the hill was blasted bare, the big rocks were blown into small stones, the small stones were blown into gravel, and the soil was blown loose.

However, the loss of C Company of the 72nd Battalion hiding in the reinforcements was very slight. The direct casualties caused by shelling and bombing were only a few dozen people, but many people's hearing was damaged as a result.

In the early morning of the 52th, the [-]rd Battalion of the [-]nd Regiment of the Italian Army came to the offensive starting position, and its commander was Major Enrique.

The night before yesterday, in the successful raid of the 52nd Regiment on the 47th Brigade of the Republican Army, the rapid and well-organized Third Battalion contributed a lot. They cut off the connection between the brigade headquarters and the flank positions, which directly led to the retreat of the 47th Brigade.

"Will there still be resistance up there? In the past two days, hundreds of tons of steel and explosives have been thrown onto the mountain." A lieutenant holding a telescope said with emotion.

"Of course there will be resistance." Enrique said lightly: "However, they can definitely be defeated."

The fiery red sun slowly rises from the horizon and sprinkles its rays on 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 not been tried before.

When the artillery fire began to extend to the rear, they launched an attack in four echelons prepared in advance. Five CV-33s also advanced with them, but stopped at the starting position of the attack to serve as mobile fire points for support.

Company C, which took the lead in the attack, was being clever. The captain who led the team found that there was a winding ravine beside the ridge line that seemed safe, as if it could be used as a cover?
As a result, more than seventy Italian soldiers from the two platoons of the first echelon broke into the killing area arranged by Zhou Changfeng himself in a daze.

Not only are there randomly buried mines in this curved ravine, but there are also bunkers with good shooting range on the side. Most of the ravine is under the blockade of machine gun fire.

After the battle began, the unique "thump-dump-dump" sound of MG34 and MG13 echoed in the ravine, as well as the "tap-tap-tap" sound of the captured Fiat M7914 heavy machine gun.

Under the fiery net of fire, this place turned into a slaughterhouse in an instant, and the Italian soldiers were shot and fell to the ground one by one, as if they had been shot neatly.

Their escape route was also blocked, and one after another mortar shells fell evenly on the way they came.

The panicked Italians huddled in the dead corners on both sides of the curved ravine, trying to recover and then try to respond.

However, before they could catch their breath, the French ambushing on the hills on both sides fired rifle grenades with empty rifle cartridges.

The smoked grenade fell in front of him and rolled to his feet, how desperate it was. Under the explosions one after another, the terrified Italian soldiers were blown to pieces.

They fired smoke bombs at the firepower points on the hills on both sides, and when the smoke rose, they desperately fled back and forth.

Because of the mortars, the route through the blockade was full of blood and fire, but there were more than two dozen corpses scattered here and there on the road for a hundred meters.

There were more than 20 people in the two platoons, and in the end, less than [-] people retreated alive. In just half an hour, Company C of the [-]rd Battalion was unilaterally hanged in this way until it lost its combat effectiveness.

The faces of the survivors were full of undecided fear, and they were no longer the same as after defeating the 47th Brigade a few days ago.

Knowing that the third battalion also suffered a big loss when they came up, but got nothing, the rest of the 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 to return—he was unlucky enough, but Enrique was even more unlucky than himself.

His first battalion lost 40 people that night, and Enrique suffered more than [-] casualties in this attack, and this time it was launched after such fierce fire support.

Obviously, Enrique's popularity is not good. At least everyone in the 26th Infantry Division, except for the commander Antonio, doesn't like this pretentious and violent guy.

After the first official offensive ended hastily, the 52nd regiment organized a second offensive again.

Under the cover of several CV-33s, hundreds of Italian troops launched a three-stage assault on the 109 Heights.

Six M35 47mm anti-tank guns were lined up, and the exposed targets on the 109 Heights were all directly bombarded without exception, and the firepower of the heavy machine guns that were not transferred in time were silenced one by one.

The French volunteers who held their positions used mortars to bombard the positions of the anti-tank guns, and at the same time attacked the tanks with anti-tank guns.

The Grw34 mortars deployed on the reverse slope played a key role, and the Italians had little means of countering them.

After being covered by a series of 80mm mortar shells, a miserable howl came from the smoke and dust that had not yet dissipated; one after another, the 20mm armor-piercing tracer bullets pulled conspicuous light in mid-air, and directly collided with the tank On the front, clusters of sparks burst out.

The attacking Italian army can be said to be littered with corpses, wounded soldiers everywhere, and the medical soldiers who went to rescue were in a hurry, because there were often more than a dozen voices calling for help at the same time!
Obviously, this was another attack with little success.

"Two days of shelling didn't seem to have had a significant impact, and I think we should reconsider whether to continue attacking it."

"I think it might cost 1000 casualties to take this high ground."

In the temporary headquarters on the South Bank, the officers were talking about each other.

"It's too stupid. The battle plan that has been formulated should not be changed so easily. We must continue to attack!" Enrique said loudly.

However, other officers disagreed, and some even retorted face to face: "If you are willing to capture this hill at the cost of 1000 people or more, does it mean we are willing, or you can lead your battalion to continue the attack."

Enrique ignored them, but 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."

"It's in Iberia, not Africa, and it's going to cause big trouble."

"But the payoff is worth it," insists Enrique, "and there are ways we can cover it up."

Regarding his proposal, the officers present were arguing endlessly, and after arguing for more than ten minutes, no conclusion was reached.

As an adjutant, Ricardo certainly didn't have the power to decide this kind of thing, he chose to ask the division headquarters for instructions.

Major General Antonio did not refuse, the only requirement was to ensure concealment and not to be blatant.

The reason why he admires Enrique is that the values ​​​​of the two are similar - the treaty was made to be trampled on, would a powerful empire care about this?Throughout the ages, no one has been able to punish the victors, at most they can only condemn them.

There are actually not many "special weapons" available to the Italian army, either erosive agents or sneeze agents.

The former can be poisoned by contact with the whole body, and it is unavoidable to rely on the gas mask alone. It is very troublesome to use, because there will be a large amount of residue, and it needs to be decontaminated after use, otherwise it is easy to hurt yourself.

The latter is much more convenient. Wearing a gas mask can prevent you from being harmed by diphenylchloroarsine gas, which can irritate the human respiratory tract and cause you to sneeze, cough, and vomit continuously.

"Prepare special ammunition!"

"Bring the smoke bombs here!"

Artillery observers of the Italian army quietly came to the front line and measured data such as wind direction, temperature, and humidity; then, the staff officers of the artillery regiment began rigorous calculations, including landing points, dosage, coverage, etc.

They planned to intersperse it with a certain number of smoke bombs in order to deceive others, so as not to be accused of overtly using 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 they are accused, they can justly claim that "only ordinary smoke bombs were used".

The next day, when the first ray of morning light illuminated Height 109, the sound of rumbling artillery was heard in the distance, and then a series of shells fell.

These shells that penetrated into the soil did not explode, but gray-white smoke spewed out "sizzling and buzzing".

At first, the defenders thought that the Italians were trying to obscure their sight with smoke bombs, until more and more people had a lot of nose and tears, and even began to vomit uncontrollably.

(End of this chapter)