.“ Report, Army Lieutenant George only returned from injury and is now coming to report! ”

Hearing this familiar voice, General Pershing, who was writing at his desk, did not immediately stop writing.

"Oh, it's Lieutenant Patton! The injuries are all healed! Welcome back!

When Pershing had finished writing a line and put the pen down, Barton replied:

"Thank you, General!"

"Sit down!" Pershing motioned for Barton to sit down at the table in front of him, and then looked at the young officer in a spirited dress with his hands folded. Pershing knew that only those who had just returned from the team would have such spirits, and look at the officers and soldiers outside, which one was not gloomy, blank-eyed, and irritable.

It seems that the mental pressure brought by the unfavorable "suppression of bandits" is indeed very great.

"General......

"I've been recuperating for more than half a year, and I'm ready to come back for a big job?" The smile on Pershing's face was a little reluctant as he spoke.

Patton puffed out his chest, "Yes, General! After staying in the room for a long time, I started to rust from top to bottom! Please give me the task as soon as possible! ”

Pershing looked him up and down, Patton was still wearing an old blue-gray army coat, and Pershing had changed into a new winter coat of the earthy yellow, which was more suitable for field combat in style and color.

"You go to the logistics office to get a new set of military uniforms in a moment, and then go to Lieutenant Colonel Andrew, and he will arrange for a new position in the staff department for you!"

Patton was Pershing's adjutant before he was injured, and this position was naturally taken over by someone else during his recuperation, and now that he has returned from injury, Pershing has no choice but to arrange another position for him. Although the work of the staff of the expeditionary force is somewhat busy, it is not dangerous and can come into contact with many promising figures, so it can be regarded as a small fat shortage in the eyes of the people.

But to Pershing's surprise, Barton was not going to accept the new position.

"Uh-General, I have a small request. We hope you'll approve it! ”

"What request?"

"I want to go to the troops below!"

Pershing thought for a moment, "It just so happens that the National Guard, which has recently been transferred from the country, lacks experienced commanders!" But I must warn you that the soldiers, though they were as well organized and equipped as the regular army, fought like peasants! ”

"I'm going to turn them into a bunch of tigers!" Barton said confidently.

Pershing picked up the pen again and quickly wrote something on another piece of paper, and said in his mouth:

"Then Lieutenant Patton, I now promote you to Provisional Army Major, and you will be in charge of the 7th National Guard Regiment from Arkansas! Well done. Give Mexicans some color and voila! ”

"Yes!" Patton's eyes were filled with hope, and although he was only commanding a militia unit, he was sure that they would become an elite division in his own hands. In this way, the opportunity to realize one's ambitions is even more distant.

More than 200 kilometers away from the US military camp, the German "advisory group" finally arrived at the Zapatista peasant army in Morelos, and the "mercenary group" that arrived in Mexico together had to enter the base area from the port in batches due to its large number.

The day after the advisory group arrived, Zapata personally convened a meeting of the senior generals of the peasant army. It was only then that General von Kolesenstein's German advisory group learned that the situation in Mexico was far more serious than in the report -- the US expeditionary force currently stationed in southern Mexico had exceeded 60,000 men, and after receiving a large number of reinforcements, the density and intensity of the "encirclement and suppression" carried out by the US troops had greatly increased.

The patrol has also expanded from the periphery of the previous major cities to some mountainous areas. At the same time, the U.S. military has strengthened its defense of logistics and material depots. Under these circumstances, it was difficult for the Peasant Army guerrillas to achieve as fruitful results as they had in the past in attacking small groups of US patrols, convoys, and warehouses. Some of the guerrillas also lost a lot of fighters as a result.

As a member of the advisory group, Rommel also attended this meeting, which was crucial for the peasant army. After heated discussions, Zapatista finally made a decision: to change the current combat method of using small-scale guerrillas to attack and harass the other side, and in addition to continuing to use guerrillas to attack and harass small targets, concentrate part of the forces and organize them into battalion-sized combat units, and fight ambush warfare and encirclement warfare against lone US patrols and small transport convoys, so as to make the US troops painful and frightened and force the US Government to withdraw its troops.

At the end of the meeting, Rommel received his first assignment on arrival in Mexico - to reorganize and train the 23rd Battalion of the Peasant Army, which was put into operation a month later.

Train an infantry battalion as a general. It looked a little shabby, but Rommel was not disappointed. He learned from the German officers who had come to Mexico earlier that this was the first time that the peasant army had completely handed over the management and command of battalion-level units to the Germans.

Three days later, Rommel, the "general of the Mexican peasant army," arrived at the camp of his troops in another place full of hope, and although he had prepared for the worst, he could not help but feel lost when he saw the less than 300 people in front of him and the team in different costumes.

"Captain Ghart, assemble them!" Rommel gave the first order to his aide-de-camp, the Spanish interpreter, and the only German in the unit besides him.

"Yes!" In the German Army, Jehart, who had the rank of sergeant, was a captain in the Mexican Peasant Army. He turned and trotted in front of the Mexicans and yelled:

"Assemble!"

One by one, the Mexicans stood up and looked at the yelling fellow, and moved slowly towards him in amazement.

"Assemble! Act fast! Ghartt roared again.

Still, it took a full five or six minutes for the last Mexican soldier to join the chaotic queue in front of the Germans.

Jehart was a little annoyed by the casual attitude of the guys.

"Line up in 4 rows, immediately!"

There was a commotion in the crowd, and when the commotion stopped, the neat queue did not appear, on the contrary, more than 200 people were still huddled together as before.

"4 columns!" Jehart angrily held out four fingers to the Mexican.

There was another commotion, but the result did not change.

"Alright, Ghart!" Rommel walked up to the almost frantic Ghedhardt, scanned his eyes back and forth in the crowd, and then asked Dhart to tell them that those over 40 years old would stand in the first row, those aged 30 to 40 would stand in the second column, those aged 20 to 30 would stand in the third column, and those under 20 years old would stand in the last column.

Jehart was puzzled and passed on the order, and after a while, the 4th team was not very straight, and although the length of the horizontal team was different, after all, it was no longer crowded together like before.

Rommel himself walked over and adjusted the queue, and after a few minutes, four relatively neat horizontal lines were surprisingly formed.

Under the adoring gaze of Ghart, Rommel walked back to him and gave his second command:

"Captain, count their ranks and equipment!"

This time, the statistics took some time, but at least it didn't give Captain Ghalhardt the same headache as he had just done.

In the process of counting, Rommel carefully observed every person, every face and every movement in the team.

"Report to the general, there are 3 generals, 7 colonels, 9 majors, 17 captains, 12 ensigns, and 220 soldiers here! It was armed with 205 rifles, 48 pistols, 4 machine guns, 39 grenades and 8 mines, and no mortars or artillery. ”

Jehart reported the results with a look of embarrassment, and when he found that the ranks and numbers of the peasant army were completely disproportionate, his previous excitement was swept away. According to this situation, there are a total of old Mexicans here who are his superiors, and there are actually 3 people on the same level as Rommel!

Faced with this unexpected situation, Rommel frowned and thought for a while, then said:

"Tell them that from today onwards, each column is a company, and the first, second, third, and fourth platoons are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th companies respectively, and everyone must remember their position! Over the next week, the hardest trained in each company will be appointed company commander. Of course, their ranks will remain, and when the unit is redisbanded as a guerrilla unit, they will still take on their former positions in their respective partisan units! ”

After Gerhardt conveyed Rommel's order, there was a usual commotion in the ranks below, and people looked back and forth, but after the procession calmed down again, fortunately the queue remained the same.

Rommel looked at his troops with stern eyes, and when Jehart had trotted back, he gave his fourth order:

"Let them practice disbanding and assembling 10 times!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Ghart's faithful execution of the order went.

Rommel was still standing in the sun, watching the Mexicans' every move.

About a quarter of an hour later, the 10 disbandments and assembly training ended in the trumble of the Mexicans. Although these guys may seem slightly dissatisfied, no one should forget about their queue.

"Let them stand right!"

Rommel gave the simplest order and walked to the middle of the line again, this time he checked the weapons in the hands of the officers and soldiers one by one, and the most familiar to him was the Mauser series, especially the Mauser 1898 rifle, many of which were brand new, and it seemed that the weapons smuggled in by Germany were indeed very important assistance to the Zapatista peasant army. In addition to the Mauser series, the soldiers also held rifles of different styles and calibers, such as the Springfield style of the United States, the Manlicia style of Austria, the Colonia style of France, and the rifles made by the Mexican arsenal.

There are also many types of pistols equipped by officers, including revolvers and magazine-type pistols, the most of which are American, and different models of Colt revolvers, accounting for about 7 percent, and some from Britain and France. Rommel counted, no more, no less, just right, that is, the total number of officers here. Rommel asked Jahaj if they were officers who could be armed with pistols, and he was told that he could be an officer in the peasant army with a pistol.