"The second plan?" Wang Yan looked at Zhang Cheng with some confusion. Pen fun and pavilion www.biquge.info

"Hmm." Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "The General Staff has it, go and tell them to start implementing the second plan immediately." ”

How could a large-scale battle plan like this not have a backup plan? Not to mention the second set of plans, there are eight sets of ten sets of plans. It can be modified at any time according to the progress of the battle. Now that the armored corps was blocked in Florence, Zhang Cheng, who was unwilling to let Rommel go, immediately decided to revise the battle plan and use reserves to block Rommel's way out.

The so-called second set of combat plans was to use airborne troops on a large scale to carry out forced airborne landings on the Pisa and Livorno lines, and at the same time send a fleet of ships carrying landing troops to force the landing. The Ming Dynasty had two airborne divisions near the city of Rome, and there were many landing troops. Coupled with the fact that the Mediterranean Fleet has sea supremacy, the success of this battle plan is very large.

Of course, there will be a huge cost of casualties in doing so. The Germans had a large number of troops in the vicinity of Pisa and Livorno, and there was no shortage of anti-aircraft weapons. Even a large-scale airborne operation at night is bound to result in heavy losses. However, compared to encircling Rommel's main army, this loss was still acceptable. How is it possible to fight a war without losses?

At this time, the Allied forces had a large amount of air power on the Italian battlefield, and when they conducted airborne operations during the day, they were looking for death. The loss of one transport aircraft means the battle loss of dozens of airborne troops. The Ming army could only conduct large-scale airborne operations at night. Moreover, an airborne operation of this scale will inevitably require a certain amount of preparation time, and even if the Ming army has already made all the preparations before, it will not be carried out until the early morning of April 1 at the earliest.

A movement of this magnitude could not avoid the Allied spies lurking all over Rome at this moment. So it has to be a first-time success, otherwise it will definitely pay a heavy price.

In the early hours of March 31, it was dark and the night was deep. In Florence, several yellow, orange and orange flares are lit up on the banks of the Arno River, illuminating the entire banks of the Arno River and the surface of the river.

On the Piazzale Michelangelo on the south bank of the Arno River, thousands of Ming officers and soldiers took advantage of the cover of the ruins to tow swarthy kayaks silently in the direction of the riverbank. Behind them were two armoured battalions of tanks, which, once the battle began, would rush to the riverbank to provide fire support to the troops who crossed the river at night and stormed a nearby bridge.

Zhang Cheng was unwilling to let go of Rommel's heavy army, and Wang Dexiang was also unwilling to let go of Rommel. After the failure of the daytime attack, Wang Dexiang was not discouraged, and after a short rest, he quickly mobilized elite troops again to launch a night attack.

Night raids are tactics in which almost all regular armies have been trained. It's just that few people choose to use it when they have an advantage. It was not that the Ming army was unable to capture Florence, and with their powerful firepower and troops, even the Americans were consumed. The capture of Florence was only a matter of time.

But what the Ming army really lacks now is time. If it weren't for the hurry, the Ming army used powerful artillery and air power to bomb the entire city of Florence for a few days, and sent heavy troops to clean up and occupy the city little by little, the Americans would not have been able to bear it at all. But now that Rommel is about to flee, Wang Dexiang has no time to slowly rectify.

'Whoosh~~~' Several flares rose from the ruins on the opposite bank, and the bright light soon reflected a large area of the nearby snow white. Thousands of Ming officers and soldiers immediately prostrate themselves in the ruins of Piazzale Michelangelo, cautiously observing the situation on the other side.

'Dada~~~'

'Knock Knock~~~'

The concealed firing point of the Ming troops stationed near the river bank was suddenly covered by a burst of machine-gun fire and mortar bombardment, and the target was the place where the flares had just been fired on the opposite bank. The U.S. troops on the opposite side were also not to be outdone, and machine guns and mortar shells were also flying like water. After several minutes of intense firing between the two sides, the troops stationed on the banks of the river ceased fire as if there was a tacit understanding. This was followed by the transfer of positions and the waiting for the next firefight.

"Forward!" Raising his hand and looking at the night watch on his wrist, the commander of the Ming army's night attack unit touched his nose and gestured for the troops to move on. Night raids are very dangerous, especially when crossing rivers at night. Once discovered, the dense rain of bullets will send a large number of officers and soldiers into a desperate situation. However, the Ming army wanted to capture Florence quickly, and they had no other choice. The only way to take this huge risk is to take it.

'Rustling~~~' A small sound sounded near the riverbank, and the officers and soldiers hiding in the Ming army's firepower points in various hidden places watched the officers and soldiers with non-reflective steel helmets on their heads dragging kayaks on the ground and approaching the riverbank. They began to check equipment and ammunition, and once the battle began, they were to provide fire support to the assault force.

The night was silent, and flares would rise in the distance from time to time, and many meteor-like guns and ammunition would fly back and forth. The roar of the guns spread far under the night, and those orange-red spots of light rose up in the air from time to time, bringing a huge shock to everyone. It was the heavy firepower of the artillery on both sides bombarding each other, proving their existence.

'Bang la~~~' A sound of water made the Ming officers and soldiers unnaturally tighten their necks, and the dozen or so Ming officers and soldiers at the front had already pushed a black kayak into the river, and the surrounding Ming troops swarmed up and leaned tightly on the kayak. Holding their respective weapons in their hands, they looked warily at the other side.

As the sound of water continued to sound, more and more kayaks and Ming troops poured into the Arno River. The Ming officers and soldiers sitting on both sides of the kayak rowed hard with the sapper shovels in their hands, urging the kayaks to rush quickly towards the opposite shore.

In a hidden and sturdy bunker in the distance behind the south bank of the Arno River, Wang Dexiang and a large group of senior generals of the Ming army were holding binoculars and nervously staring at the movement on the opposite bank. This action is very important. As long as the first wave of more than 1,000 elite officers and soldiers successfully landed on the opposite bank, then the infantry of the entire regiment and the combat vehicles of the two armored battalions would quickly attack and break through the obstructive river in one fell swoop.

"The moon is bright tonight, and it is not suitable for night raids. And the scale of our attack is not small, and it is very difficult to go completely undetected. The person who spoke was Major General Yang Zheng, chief of staff of the 27th Mechanized Infantry Division, and the first wave of troops crossing the river were all carefully selected from the elite of the 27th Mechanized Infantry Division. If something happens, it will be absolutely nerve-wracking for the 27th Mechanized Infantry Division.

Hearing Yang Zheng's worried words, Wang Dexiang's body paused slightly, looked up at the bright and bright moon hanging in the night sky, pursed the corners of his mouth, did not turn around or speak, just held the telescope in his hand tightly.

Wang Dexiang didn't know that today was not suitable for night attacks, but he didn't have time. Although the main force of the Ming army is rapidly closing the encirclement, the Germans are not lambs to the slaughter, they are also carrying out crazy counterattacks to resist the entanglement of the main force of the Ming army, so as to buy time for the retreat of the troops to the north. Although the Ming army and aviation units did their best to destroy all kinds of traffic and blow up bridges, roads and tunnels, there were still two days at most. If Pisa and Livorno were not captured two days later, the battle would have ended in regret.

Eating hundreds of thousands of elite German troops in one bite, which commander can endure this huge temptation? If you don't fight hard at this time, when will you fight? At this moment, no matter how big the casualties are, Wang Dexiang will resist to the death!

I don't know how long it took, but the nervous senior generals of the Ming army looked at the hundreds of rubber boats that kept rowing towards the other side of the river in the distance. It felt as if time had suddenly slowed down, maybe a few minutes, maybe a dozen minutes. Just when someone couldn't help but want to raise their wrists to check the time, on the north bank of the Arno River, a long series of flares suddenly rose into the air, reflecting a large area brightly, and the figures of the Ming army commandos who had already marched to the middle of the river were instantly exposed!

"Oops!" The senior generals of the Ming army suddenly felt a chill in their hearts and were discovered!

Suddenly, there was a light in the ruins on the other side, as if someone was striking a match. Wang Dexiang, who was pale, knew that it was the muzzle flame of the gun when the Americans were firing!

In fact, the Americans on the other side had already discovered the movement of this Ming army, after all, the night was very bright today, and everyone was very focused on the battlefield. They deliberately waited until the Ming army was halfway through the march to attack, just to kill and injure the Ming army as much as possible.

A long chain of tracer bullets swept across the river. Dense mortar shells rained down and made huge splashes in the river. The rain of bullets was raging, and shrapnel was flying. The completely exposed Ming army's river-crossing troops were hit one after another, screaming and falling into the icy water. The water in this section of the river was soon stained red with blood.

"Assault!" After only hesitating for a few seconds, Wang Dexiang immediately gave the order to attack. In this case, even if you want to withdraw the troops, the losses will definitely not be light, so it is better to give it a go!

Soon, many places outside Florence also lit up, and countless orange-red shells rushed into the sky like Spitfire meteors, tearing through the air with huge kinetic energy and slamming heavily on the American positions on the other side of the river. The huge roar of the engines sounded, and more than a hundred tanks were launched, and the heavy tracks crushed the messy ground and drove towards the river.

Many Ming officers and soldiers held their weapons tightly and dragged kayaks towards the riverbank. At the same time, a number of armored vehicles full of infantry followed the tanks with fenders and drove towards a nearby bridge. The brutal night battle became even bloodier. (To be continued.) )