afterglow

Chapter 208 Chapter [-] Ends; Victory Towards Defeat
The division commander Sakarov witnessed the whole process in the artillery mirror, and the head of the [-]th regiment who was still proudly saying "this time we will surely achieve a breakthrough" was very embarrassed.

He faltered: "They... how dare they bombard indiscriminately?!"

The scene just now made Sakarov's thoughts drift back to more than ten years ago. After a while, he said leisurely: "Fortunately, there are not many such people. The other Spaniards are just a group of guys who are busy fighting among themselves."

So far, the Tsarist Russian Intervention Army has basically exhausted its vigor, and the two brigades and four regiments have suffered losses to varying degrees and need to rest for a period of time.

For the volunteers who are still tenaciously holding their positions under such a fierce offensive, the [-]th Infantry Division has changed from initial doubts to fear—their tenacity seems to have surpassed the scope of normal people.

Even though they were covered in bruises and ragged clothes, they still used all weapons and means to resist the attacks again and again, and then fought with the reinforcements who arrived to the end, as if they didn't care about their own lives.

At the same time, in the headquarters of the [-]th Brigade, Zhou Changfeng asked again in a hoarse voice: "Where are the Germans? Have you made contact?"

"I don't know, they are still implementing radio silence." A communications staff officer replied.

At this time, there was a rumbling explosion.

Nobody cared, everyone was used to this routine bombardment.

Suddenly, a 152mm high-explosive bomb hit directly above the headquarters, and five kilograms of TNT explosives exploded instantly, and a huge shock wave swept across a radius of tens of meters!

The brigade personnel in the headquarters were almost knocked to the ground, dizzy, and their ears were buzzing.

Zhou Changfeng staggered to his feet, looked around the dusty surroundings, and subconsciously took a deep breath, only to be choked and coughed repeatedly.

Command exposed?Impossible, otherwise it wouldn't have just dropped one round, obviously it was a missed shell.

Fortunately, the headquarters of the [-]th Brigade was built quite solidly—three partition walls were built separately; A large caliber shell was fired.

There is still no news of the troops that launched the counterattack in the battle plan. Although the news received yesterday was that they arrived at the battlefield at about ten o'clock, who knows if it will go well.

It can be said that the 5th Brigade has been completely disabled, and it may collapse at any time. It is completely relying on the "last [-] minutes of the decisive battle" to hang on.

Any one variable now could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

"Sir, D1 area observed enemy infantry moving into the starting position of the attack."

"what?"

What Zhou Changfeng didn't know was that just last night, another brigade of the national army crossed the Tejo River. After a few hours of rest, they were thrown into battle.

At the moment, there seems to be only one choice left before him, but it is undoubtedly extremely difficult.

Worried that the brigade headquarters would be wiped out by the shells just now, Chretien rushed over and relieved when he saw this: "We have done our best, Xia, we should retreat."

At this moment, the sound of the plane's engine suddenly reached everyone's ears.

However, the air defense sirens that should have followed were not heard.

"Airplane!" Someone rushed into the headquarters and shouted: "Our airplane!"

Zhou Changfeng walked out of the headquarters, looked up and saw six planes flying slowly in three formations.

Single engine, inverted gull wing, fixed landing gear, you don't need to think about what they are.

He turned his head and ordered sharply: "Follow the standard procedure, launch smoke bombs to mark the enemy!"

According to several air-ground coordination pamphlets printed by the Red Eagle Corps itself, the artillery immediately fired two red smoke bombs, one on the left and one on the right, at the newly discovered enemy attack starting position.

Six Ju-87A "Stuka" dive bombers flew over the position of the [-]th Brigade, then adjusted their course, and dived towards the target in attack formation.

The current Stuka is only an early model, and there is no "Horn of Jericho" that can make a sharp sound.

The Stukas who dived at a large angle dropped one after another SC-250 250kg aerial bombs, and the fragments flew across. The hundreds of National Army soldiers who were preparing to attack just now were in bad luck!

"Boom! Boom!"

Billowing smoke rose into the sky, and some body fragments were blown hundreds of meters away.

Seeing this scene, the exhausted [-]th Brigade couldn't help cheering in unison.

The twelve rounds of 250㎏ aerial bombs dropped by six Stukas quickly disintegrated the offensive that the National Army was about to launch.

At 9:49 in the morning, a company of the [-]th Infantry Division of the Tsarist Russian Intervention Army, which was on alert, was unexpectedly attacked more than ten kilometers southwest of Talavera.

After a brief shelling, dozens of tanks III, II, and I charged forward in wedge formation, followed by thousands of motorized infantry.

The frontal width of their attack was more than 1000 meters. Facing the torrent of steel, more than a hundred Russian troops were almost helpless, and their position was easily broken by the Red Eagle Army.

After days of attacks, the Tsarist Russian Intervention Army, Italian Intervention Army, and Spanish National Army were all exhausted, and only part of the other troops in rotation had arrived.

The Germans who pinpointed the timing were like punching a sleepy person, and the armored battalion and motorized infantry regiment, who were at ease, began to boldly break through in depth, regardless of their own being trapped behind enemy lines.

On a front about 11 kilometers wide, the Red Eagle Corps is the spearhead of the attack, the No.14 International Brigade is on the right, the [-]th International Brigade is on the left, and the No.[-] Division of the Republican Army is behind. The troops launched a large-scale attack on the enemy on the south bank of the Tejo River!
The lines of defense of the Eighth Infantry Division of the Russian Army were like hastily built wooden sheds, kicked to pieces.

In just a few hours, the powerful Red Eagle Legion completely penetrated a depth of more than ten kilometers, and reached the Tejo River in one breath, dividing the Tsarist Russian Intervention Army and the Spanish National Army here into two.

The surging two international brigades also attacked, and all the defense lines were in a hurry.

Due south, the No.30 Second Infantry Regiment under the Eighth Infantry Division of the Russian Army was attacked by the No.11 International Brigade, which was basically composed of volunteers from Tsarist Russia.

Hence such an ironic scene - two Russian armies fighting fiercely on Spanish soil.

Later, the tank soldiers of the Red Eagle Legion encountered an opponent they had never seen before—the T-35 tank, a heavy tank with multiple turrets. Ton.

These lumbering creatures had been transported by the Russians from the north bank with great difficulty, and were intended to be used for subsequent attacks. Unexpectedly, their first battle was to help stabilize the crumbling position.

The characteristics of the multi-turret offset the Germans' tactical advantages. Three T-35s and eight T-26s cooperated closely to repel the two sieges of the Red Eagle Army tank battalion. The motorized infantry regiment used the Pak35 anti-tank gun Shooting at them doesn't help either.

Seeing that the torn hole might be sewn shut, the commander, Colonel Felix, was extremely anxious, because his own plane had just left, and it seemed that there was nothing he could do now?

At this time, he suddenly saw a heavy anti-aircraft artillery company being deployed not far away, so he didn't care if it was appropriate, and immediately ordered them to rush to the front line for support.

In order to prevent these cumbersome and tall anti-aircraft guns from being discovered by the enemy when they were deployed, the German army arranged dozens of smoke canisters on the front line about one kilometer to block the line of sight.

Braving the stray bullets that flew from time to time, the NAG900 heavy truck dragged the Flak36 88mm anti-aircraft gun to a place less than one and a half kilometers away from the enemy's forward position. The wicker box containing the three shells was moved down.

When the clouds of smoke gradually dissipated, the Russian army was surprised to find that four artillery pieces suddenly appeared on the opposite side?
"Boom!"

An 88mm PzGr tracer bullet flew out of the muzzle at a speed of more than 800 meters per second, drawing a clear white light in midair.

Two seconds later, the shell accurately hit one of the T-35s, and the 50mm armor was easily pierced. The shell penetrated into the interior and exploded, killing the occupants inside and detonating the accumulated ammunition inside.

The T-35 was like a lit firework, spouting flames in all directions, and the turret was lifted a few meters away...

"The situation is very good, Xia. The Russians and Spaniards have already shrunk their defenses. It seems that several units have been divided. Now it's their turn to be beaten!"

In the headquarters of the [-]th Brigade, Blake called to report the observed changes in the situation.

Now, the offensive and defensive momentum has changed.

Looking at the map again, Zhou Changfeng felt that the tight string in his heart was finally loosened.

He breathed a sigh of relief, and said leisurely: "It's over."

As he said that, he turned and walked towards the back passage, but just after taking two steps, he felt darkness in front of his eyes and collapsed on the ground.

Hearing rapidly disappears, everything is completely silent, and finally loses consciousness completely.

The military doctor who rushed over didn't care about the blood stains all over his body. After checking, he took off his stethoscope and said with a smile, "He's asleep, don't disturb him."

Contrary to the stereotype, commanding a large army to fight is also a very tiring task. It is far from being as easy as strategizing and pointing a few words at the map. It can be said to be an activity that involves both physical and mental strength.

In the last four days and three nights, Zhou Changfeng only rested for 10 hours in total, and among them, there were fragmented time of several [-] minutes. The quality of sleep can be imagined.

This time he slept very deeply, without dreams, and when he opened his eyes, he found that he was already on a train that was moving "bang bang bang bang".

A battalion of the No.14 Division of the Republican Army and the No.11 International Brigade took over the position of the 20th Brigade; the third division of the Russian Army in the west and the two brigades of the National Army have been completely divided and surrounded; .[-] The Sixth Division saw that the situation was not good, and decisively withdrew to the north bank of the Tejo River.

Not surprisingly, the more than 2 people in the west are already on the plate, and the victory of this counterattack is close at hand.

Zhou Changfeng stared out the car window for a long time, and finally sighed softly: "I'm afraid this is a victory that is heading for failure."

In the afternoon of the next day, the [-]th Brigade returned to Albacete, where the International Brigade was formed.

There were more than 2000 people when they set off, but now there are less than 25 people with minor or serious injuries. The death rate of more than [-]% is exaggerated.

The organizational system of the whole brigade no longer exists, and theoretically there is no need to make up for it. Disbanding on the spot is probably the best choice.

Historically, during the thirteen-day Huachuan blockade, the 58th Division lost about 30% of its personnel, and this was already a brutal battle.

At the headquarters, Zhou Changfeng offered to resign to Commander Schroeder, who did not refuse.

"Thank you, you have performed a miracle."

"It's not me, it's us."

Schroeder, with complicated eyes, stood up straight and saluted with a standard raise of hands, Zhou Changfeng immediately returned the salute.

After a while, he hesitated and said: "To be honest, sir, I think the hope of victory in this war... is very slim."

Schroeder smiled, and asked a question that sounded easy to answer but was difficult to answer, "Are you willing to participate in a battle that is sure to lose?"

Zhou Changfeng didn't hesitate, "If necessary, of course I will."

"A lost battle may be for the victory of the battle; a lost battle may be for the victory of the war." Schroeder said calmly: "If the war must be lost and still resist to the end...that is to defend Dignity, keep a trace of the will to fight, if you give up, it means real death."

He was silent for a while, and then added: "Berlin has asked to stop organizing volunteers to come. Maybe when winter comes, the international brigade will withdraw from Spain."

This is the inevitable result of political influence. The Anglo-French Non-Intervention Committee has been putting pressure on the German Association for more than half a year, and its attitude and methods have become increasingly tough. There are also differences within the German Association.

At the same time, the Spanish government is also deliberately lowering the publicity for international travel - as an ancient country with a glorious history of hundreds of years, the Spaniards have a strong sense of national pride.

Even if the original intention of the International Brigade is noble, it is a group of foreigners after all. It is undoubtedly a matter of hurting the self-confidence of the nation to let foreigners play the leading role in the civil war.

The day before it was disbanded and split up, the [-]th Brigade organized a simple ceremony to commemorate this unit that had only existed for more than three months.

Chretien delivered a speech instead of Zhou Changfeng, "...we don't know what the future will be like, but we have come and resisted. We hope that the world will have a better tomorrow without war, discrimination, and oppression. Decades later , if possible, I think we may be able to return to the place where we once fought. Here I sincerely thank and wish everyone."

The three battalion flags of the [-]th Brigade were all dilapidated, covered with bullet holes and traces of gunpowder smoke, and it was difficult to make out the words on them; the brigade flags were relatively better.

Blake, Chretien, and Roald kept three battalion flags respectively, while the brigade flag was handed over to Miller by Zhou Changfeng.

Before leaving, in addition to various notes and pamphlets from this period, he also brought an S.Mi.35 jump mine with the warhead charge removed.

In fact, he was still a little confused about whether to go along with the MG34, but since it was too troublesome and not very necessary, he gave up.

In the early morning of the 26th, Zhou Changfeng boarded the train to the border town of Puqiseda.

(End of this chapter)