A German Panzer Division, a Spanish Quasi-Panzer Division, and five German Infantry Divisions of the German-Spanish Combined Corps have been divided into two routes, cutting off the main communication arteries such as the El Escorial Highway and cutting off the retreat route of the Republican Second Line of Defense.

Rommel's Panzer Division, although it only had light combat vehicles such as tank No. 2, was enough to show its terrifying crushing combat effectiveness in the face of the backward Republican army. Under the impact of the torrent of steel, the temporary People's Guard of the Republican Army collapsed almost at the touch of a button, and a large number of them surrendered.

The People's Guard, which had gathered by faith in this way, did not lack the courage to fight. But the chilling abandonment of the government, and the desperate armoured fighting vehicles of the German army, drained them of their courage in the slightest.

Looking at the fluttering Iron Cross flag of the German army, every Republican soldier who tried to resist could only feel a deep-seated sense of powerlessness. They could not even pose the slightest threat to the German tanks and were forced to break through.

One position after another was broken through, and one unit after another was collectively annihilated. A few were able to retreat to the rear positions, and the majority were either killed or surrendered.

It is conceivable that when the soldiers of the Republican Army saw the machine guns in tank No. 2 calmly killing their own death squads, and saw the defense line that they thought was impregnable collapse in an instant, what was left in their hearts? Only despair!

The Germans are definitely not the "young master soldiers" like the propaganda. They have efficient coordination tactics, an excellent non-commissioned officer command system, and a rapid deployment method. There are such excellent soldiers and tactics, and military technology that far surpasses that of Spain. How can such an enemy be something that a militia like the People's Guard can withstand?

Not to mention the Republican Army, which represents half of Spain, even if the entire Spanish army is pulled together, it may not be possible to withstand the attack of 5 German armored divisions!

Take the German Fifth Panzer Division in front of you as an example, wherever it appears, the defense zone will be completely eroded. It was like an invulnerable monster, no matter how many troops or dense positions were, it couldn't do the slightest damage.

This is a typical asymmetric war! This is the latest mode of war!

As commander of Germany, Rommel quickly mastered this mode of warfare. And Darage, who is barely counted as Rommel's temporary opponent, has obviously been blinded by this new mode of warfare. The war has been out of the trench warfare familiar to the Republican Army, and the panicked Republican Army can only do now to rout.

Rommel, who had just moved to the new headquarters, looked at the newly marked operational map with satisfaction. The Republican second line of defense collapsed much faster than he had imagined, and in just one night, there were no longer any enemy positions on the operational map in this section.

All the blocking positions did not play a role in blocking the attack at all, but on the contrary, they sent the troops to the mouth of the 5th Panzer Division more quickly. Fortifications built to the standards of permanent positions were not much different from the rout of temporary positions.

Rommel has determined that his plan to take Madrid in a week will be successful. At that time, he will be the first German general of the new generation to achieve such a huge victory!

From the selection of the timing of the attack, the formulation of the offensive line, to the decision on the pursuit plan after the breakthrough, it was all completed by his command team. During the whole process, he did not get any guidance from the country. Reinhardt has given him almost unlimited autonomy, and he is on the verge of repaying the game with an unprecedented victory. Once Madrid is captured, the end of this war will be sealed. The rest is nothing more than the death throes of the Republican Army. No matter how happy you are, you will definitely die!

The only thing that made Rommel a little concerned was that his opponent had recently transferred 30,000 regular troops and 50,000 militias to the southern front. In this way, his results could easily be misconstrued as being achieved by the cooperation of Gamballa and Franco. It is clear that this was not Rommel's intention.

The reason why he waited so long to attack was to train the Spanish troops with six divisions under him, to master the speed of the advance of these German divisions, and to avoid the phenomenon of disconnection between the two armies. Moreover, Reinhardt, who picks the door in China, even has to be provided by Franco for the aviation gasoline used in the plane. As a result, the 50 Me-109 fighters under his command have not dared to make large-scale sorties, and it was not long ago that Franco scraped together enough aviation gasoline to send it to him.

"Speed up the assault! The task of clearing the rear was left to 5 Spanish German mechanics. The 5th Panzer Division and the Spanish 1st Panzer Division advanced first, and within 5 hours, they had to take the D2 heights, the front of the Republican Army's third line of defense! ”

Rommel has been waiting for too long, and since the previous forbearance has become a joke in the mouths of many colleagues, then he will let the current results become a victory in the eyes of those colleagues!

The two armored divisions of the German-Spanish Combined Corps, which formed two arrows that broke away from the group, formed the last line of defense to Madrid in a centripetal assault formation. At this time, it was less than 72 hours from the date of Rommel's departure!

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"General, Commander Rommel of the German-Spanish Combined Corps sent a telegram suggesting that we stop the offensive on Bilbao. Set up a defensive line on the spot and gather reserves to the south. An Italian liaison officer sent Gabala a telegram that had just been sent by Rommel.

After a few glances at Rommel's "suggestion", Gambala smiled bitterly: "Got it." Reply to Major General Rommel for me, Bilbao is about to be taken by us, and now it is on the back of a tiger, and the front-line troops cannot be withdrawn. The Italian expeditionary force could only try to take Bilbao as quickly as possible and then deploy. ”

As for Rommel's suggestion, Gambal actually completely agreed. The results of the German-Spanish Combined Corps had long been heard by him, and once Rommel took Madrid, the war would be won by more than half. Whether Bilbao can take it or not doesn't matter anymore.

However, the leader of the country, Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, insisted that the Italian expeditionary force must take Bilbao, the capital of the Basque Country. He saw this as an opportunity for the Italian army to demonstrate its strength and increase Italy's international influence.

If the situation were the same, Gabala would not have objected to Mussolini's plan. But now, Rommel's original prediction came true, and the IRA sent an international column and 10,000 militias north to Burgos, and these reinforcements gathered the rout of the front line and established a series of blocking positions. The pace of the Italian expeditionary force's offensive had been completely slowed down.

Rommel had already reminded himself that the five German armourers in the north belonging to the German-Spanish Combined Corps had also been transferred through the Italian Expeditionary Force. However, he Gabala still failed to break through the Republican army's resistance.

On the southern front, Franco's forces had stopped advancing and moved on the defensive along the entire front. Everyone is well aware that at this time, compared to Rommel's offensive, the results in other directions are already negligible.

Italy's leader, however, is clearly not a man willing to budge. That idiot didn't know the slightest bit of military common sense except for his fantasy. Let such an idiot lead, Gabala's heart can only be sad and desolate.