Also deployed by Blucher on the Elbe line were two brigades of the International Column. The international column composed of internationalist fighters from all over the world www.biquge.info about 5,000 people in a brigade, of which more than half are Tang people, but there are very few regular troops of the Tang Army, and even if there are more volunteers who have joined the international column after retirement. The establishment of the international column is the establishment of columns-brigades-squadrons and squads, because of the small scale, the columns are equivalent to brigades, and the brigades are reinforced battalions, with personnel of 600-800 people; The squadron was actually equal to a company, with more than a hundred people, and some squadrons were also strengthened; A squad is equivalent to a platoon, which is basically an establishment of more than 30 people.

The two international columns deployed on the Elbe Line numbered about 1,500 men, which made the German army have more than 7,000 men and nearly 8,000 troops on the Elbe Line. Of course, this strengthening can only be regarded as better than nothing, because the strength of the Prussian army on the other side has also been strengthened, and Saxony has put about 10,000 remnants of the Prussian army under the command of Field Marshal Karl I, so that the opposite side also has more than 40,000 troops, that is to say, the troops under the command of Karl I are between six and seven times the strength of the German defense.

After several days of marching, the advance of the Prussian army had reached the banks of the Elbe, and Karl I looked over the river and listened to the reconnaissance report.

"The rebels had taken full control of the west bank of the Elbe a week earlier and had organized a local mob to forcibly destroy all the bridges over the river within an 80-kilometre width. The rebels have a lot of explosives, so this is not difficult for them. If our army wants to cross the river, it must temporarily erect a pontoon bridge. ”

The current of the Elbe is not considered turbulent, and the difficulty of the bridge operation is not too high. But Karl I was still worried. The name of the German commander on the opposite side had never been heard of. But it's obviously not easy to get along with. The Germans had built several strongholds along the entire line of defense, and although Karl I could choose to cross at any point along the entire length of the river, the Germans were able to react quickly and take countermeasures. What's more, crossing the river at any location is only a purely theoretical situation, and if the boat and bridge operations are carried out, the Prussian army needs to consider many problems such as geology and river width. Karl I was always attentive to advances in military technology, even though many of the Prussian armies were not equipped. But he had heard about it.

One thing that made him very greedy and worried was the infantry radio produced in Datang. At this time, it was no secret that the Tang people mastered radio communications in Europe, but the Tang people did not open up radio technology to European countries, and only sold cable telegraphs to European countries. Karl I had long heard that in the units of the Don Army, the grassroots units were generally equipped with infantry radios, which greatly increased the ability of infantry units to conduct coordinated operations.

If the Prussians attacked a point on the Elbe, the German army in charge of defense would soon be able to attract a large number of friendly troops to support them in a short period of time, and this ability made Karl I very jealous.

However, after all, Karl I, who was deep and spicy, had led troops for many years. Although he still had some scruples about the German army, he was extremely conscientious and professional. Will fight every battle he commands. Immediately after leading the vanguard to arrive, Karl I set about arranging several infantry regiments to launch a rush operation.

The Prussian army did not try to build a pontoon bridge over the Elbe with a width of 1-2 miles in the first battle, which was obviously not an easy task. Even though the hydrological conditions of the Elbe are relatively good and the flow rate is not fast, it is very difficult to complete a pontoon bridge that is more than a kilometer long for the Prussian army, which does not have much expertise in this area. So the Prussian army was able to use only a part of the crossings on the Elbe. The Germans, of course, were not stupid, and before they entered the Elbe, they had already destroyed all the crossings on the other side of the river, an operation that was widely supported by the local population. Even some ferrymen actively supported the actions of the Germans, burning their own ferries and boats with their own hands.

This also made the Prussian army face a very embarrassing situation when preparing to attack, that is, it was difficult for them to erect pontoon bridges on the river, and at the same time there was a lack of ferries and boats to cross the river. In this way, the Elbe River blocked the Prussian army on the east bank, and tens of thousands of Prussian troops could only blow their beards and stare at them.

Karl I ordered his soldiers to start cutting wood and building improvised boats to cross the river. Originally, Karl I wanted to recruit local farmers and boatmen to help, but before the arrival of the Prussian army, most of the local people had already fled the area, and the Germans brought these people to the west bank of the river to complete a fortified wilderness, which made it difficult for Karl I's Prussian troops to get supplies on the east bank of the river, and could not use local manpower to serve them. Even things like building boats had to be done by the Prussian soldiers themselves. In order to avoid trouble, the Prussian army's shipbuilding operations were very low-key, trying not to be detected by the Germans.

However, Karl I underestimated the capabilities of the German army, which was undermanned along the entire line of defense, but had the support and help of a large number of revolutionary masses, who were hiding on the banks of the river to conduct reconnaissance. The shipbuilding operations of the Prussian army did not escape the eyes of the masses and were quickly reported to General Julius, who was sitting at the front.

When Julius learned of this, he reacted immediately. He mobilized the artillery battalion of the 108th Regiment of the 3rd German Division, which was also equipped with 105-mm howitzers used by the former Tang Army, and built an artillery position on the opposite bank of the Prussian shipbuilding site, and 18 howitzers immediately began to bombard the Prussian shipbuilding site.

The sudden artillery bombardment stunned the Prussian troops, and the soldiers had to drop all kinds of timber and half-finished ships and retreat. Karl I hoped that the Prussian artillery would be able to counterattack the German artillery, but was told that they could not do so, because the Prussian artillery, with an average range of only three or four kilometers, could not shoot the German artillery with an artillery position three kilometers from the river bank on the west bank. Moreover, if they were to set up artillery positions on the east bank, then they would also be directly under the cover of German artillery, and it would inevitably be difficult to operate and cause losses.

Karl I also did not expect such a quick reaction from the Germans, and the good use of the advantages of range and firepower to disrupt the shipbuilding operations of the Prussian army. Within the firing radius of the entire artillery position, it was difficult for the Prussian army to gain a foothold, and a vacuum was formed by the German army. (To be continued.) )