Franco's army met with great resistance and was quickly defeated by a frantic counter-offensive by tens of thousands of international columns, whose soldiers were not only fanatics, but also had a large number of Soviet tanks, which played an important role in the street fighting in the city.

It turned out that in the face of military assistance from Germany and Italy to the "nationalist" army of the rebellious Franco, Stalin decided to send military aid to the troops of the Spanish Republic in the civil war, among which were hundreds of tanks. In April 1934, the first tanks and tank specialists sailed to Spain.

A 10,000-ton cargo ship arrived at the port of Cartagena on April 22, 1934, carrying 50 T-26 light tanks and 51 "volunteer" tank specialists. At the same time, the military attache of the Soviet embassy in Madrid, Vladimir? Colonel Golev, arranged for the creation of a training center in Alchena, in the province of Murcia, about 90 kilometers from the port of Cartagena. The Soviet government did not intend to equip the tanks sent to Spain with Soviet crews, but to train Spaniards and members of international columns to operate them. For many of the time of the Civil War, Alchena was the training and technical center of the republican **** tank forces.

The T-26 light tank was the standard infantry tank of the Red Army at that time, and was the most produced Soviet tank before World War II. In fact, she produced more than all other tanks in the world in the 30s combined. The T-26 is a copy of the licensed British Vickers 6-ton light tank, but the turret and artillery are of Soviet design.

The Soviet Red Army, as was the practice of the average European country at that time, used several tanks for specific purposes at once. The slower T-26 tank was used to support the Red Army's infantry divisions, while the BT-5 "fast tank" was intended for cavalry units and deep breakthroughs, much like the British cruiser tanks of the same era.

Due to the nature of the war, the T-26 was the main model of tanks sent to Spain during the war, accounting for 620 out of the total 360 units. The T-26 was not ideal for supporting infantry. It is thinly armored. It looked vulnerable in front of the anti-tank guns of that time. On the contrary, the armor protection of the newer generation of infantry tanks, such as the French Renault R-35 and the British "Matilda" I, is much better. But the T-26 had an advantage in firepower and was armed with a 45-mm dual-purpose gun, which was more effective and versatile than the weapons of the Anglo-French infantry tanks of the same era.

The attack on Brunette revealed the problems and potential of the tactical use of tanks in the conditions of Spain. The Spanish infantry was not trained to work with tanks, and the same was true of the international column infantry. Therefore, in the very beginning of the tank offensive and defensive operations. The Spanish Republican Army and the international column suffered heavy losses.

A lot of T26 tanks were damaged by enemy mines on the road, which was a completely new experience, because in the First World War there were very few anti-tank mines. Having evaded the attack of the field artillery battery of the Franco Nationalist Army, the tanks of the international column approached to attack the main position of the Nationalist Army. During the street battle, a tank was destroyed by ****** filled with gasoline, which was the first time that the "Molotov cocktail bottle" was used in combat in Spain.

After firing at the nationalist troops in the city, the tank regiment of the International Zhang Column began a massive counterattack. After crossing the position of a field artillery battery, the T-26 tank encountered 3 CV3/35 ultralight tanks of the 1st Tank Company of the Nationalist Army, which were armed only with machine guns. Their counterattack against the tank regiments of the international column was therefore also hopeless.

One CV3/35 was destroyed by a tank gun at close range, and the other was pushed into a ditch by a much larger T-26 and turned over. Soon after, the tank group of the international column passed through the city of Brunette, made a circle to the south, and finally stopped in a grove on the southeastern outskirts of the village of Sera. After resting, the tank group again attacked the nationalist army in the village, this time from behind the enemy's front, and rushed out of the village from the southwest. Make peace with the republic ****.

During the attack, three tanks of the international column were destroyed by "Molotov cocktail bottles" and artillery fire. Three more vehicles were damaged, and in terms of personnel, 4 Chinese and 4 Spaniards were killed and 6 wounded. However, the tank group destroyed two infantry battalions and two cavalry squadrons of the enemy, 10 75-mm field guns, 2 ultralight tanks. 20-30 trucks, 5-8 cars, some tank transporters and captured two field guns.

The Spanish Army before the war had two tank regiments: the 1st Tank Regiment was stationed in Madrid and the 2nd Tank Regiment was in Zaragoza. Most of the soldiers of the 1st Tank Regiment sided with the Republic, and their old World War I French Renault FT tanks were consolidated into a single company. Commanded by D. Pergottin, it supported the tank units of the International Column in the battle of Brunette.

The 64 tanks of the International Tank Regiment opened the prelude to a massive counteroffensive with a salvo, and then attacked at high speed, "like an express train", with Spanish infantry and international columns climbing on either side of the tanks. In the end, the International Column tank regiment lost 64 of the 18 tanks in the offensive, several more were wounded, and a fifth of the tank crews were killed or wounded.

In Spain, the most difficult tactical issue is the coordination of the introductory tank. In most cases, this proves difficult, if not impossible. Many republican **** infantry units were demoralized, lacked real combat training and refused to accompany tank combat.

Even the generally powerful international columns found it difficult to work in tandem with tanks. There is little or no such coordinated training or instruction, whether for tank units or infantry units. There is no ready-made procedure for inter-infantry communication, and there is no effective tactical radio. The slower pace of the infantry versus the much faster tank speed when crossing the country was also a problem, as the tankmen always tried to use the speed to avoid being hit by the anti-tank and field guns of the Nationalist Army when they were fired. As a result, the infantry and the tanks supporting them often separated. Tankmen wanted infantry to assist in spotting concealed anti-tank guns. But even if the infantry found out that the anti-tank guns were located, there were no reliable means of transmitting information to the tank crews.

The poorly trained Russian/Spanish crew did not produce much tactical innovation. For example, the use of some tanks as lookout posts against anti-tank guns, or the use of artillery or mortars to fire smoke to protect tanks, such initiatives are rarely or even unattempted. The practice of warfare in Spain caused the Red Army to abandon tank shooting on the move, as it was ineffective and wasteful of ammunition.

The international column and the tank units of the Spanish Republican Army caused great trouble for Franco's army, because the tanks of Franco's army were relatively backward models, and some of them were even in World War I, and Germany and Italy did not have any tanks at this time.

Therefore, Franco set his sights on the 30-ton medium tank and 15-ton light tank developed by Dragon Soul Ordnance for Germany. You must know that a 30-ton medium tank, but with a 100 mm main gun, if you have this tank, Franco is confident that it will hit Madrid within a month. (To be continued.) )