The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella near the Florence train station on the north bank of the Arno River, inside the temporary headquarters of the 1st Armored Division of the United States Army. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 Zhou Heng, who had a calm face, looked indifferently at the sunset in the distance, swaying the last ray of light to render the sky a blood-red color, and then disappeared below the horizon, and his thoughts turned a thousand times.

Just over an hour earlier, the Allied command had made a startling message to him. According to the analysis of the information sent back by the spies who were lurking inside the Ming army and operating near Rome, the Allied command believed that the Ming army was about to launch a large-scale airborne operation around Pisa. And a powerful landing fleet has been spotted as it passes through the sea between Corsica and mainland Italy.

Faced with the new offensive that the Ming army was about to launch, Zhou Heng had no way to deal with it. The power in his hands has been used to the extreme. Moreover, it was impossible for him to get more reinforcements.

Now that the Ming were preparing to launch a large-scale airborne landing operation near Pisa, the importance of Florence was rapidly diminished. All the troops that the allies could mobilize at this time must have moved towards the vicinity of Pisa, and even Zhou Heng received an order to send troops to urgently reinforce near Pisa.

"Reinforcements?" Thinking of the telegram sent by Patton, a hint of gloom flashed in Zhou Heng's eyes: "My own side is about to be crippled, where is there any troops to rescue others?" ”

Don't look at the fact that there are still many troops in Zhou Heng's hands now, but most of them are logistics forces and auxiliary troops with little combat effectiveness. Throwing them into a bitter battle won't do much at all. After all, the soldiers had already been sent to the front at this time. And the only reserves are also used by Zhou Heng to save his life, how can he dare to send them to pizza?

In fact, Zhou Heng didn't care about the casualties of the troops. For him, as long as he can realize his intentions, so as to be promoted smoothly and gain greater power. As for the losses of those ordinary officers and soldiers, what does it have to do with him? It's just a bunch of untouchables.

It's just that for Zhou Heng, the order from Barton is not something he can disobey now. After careful consideration, Zhou Heng still decided to transfer the German 219th Infantry Division, which had just been reinforced, back to Pisa. Although the German 219th Infantry Division had suffered heavy casualties after fierce fighting, Zhou Heng could only use them. After all, the American army in his hands continued to fight in Florence until Zhou Heng received the order to retreat.

"Almost, it's time to retreat." Zhou Heng knew very well in his heart that there was no force near Pisa that could be reinforced on a large scale. Once the Ming army launched an airborne and landing operation, it would be impossible to resist with the strength of the Allied forces now stationed near Pisa, and the final result could only be the loss of these two important nodes, which would lead to the complete encirclement of the German heavy army group commanded by Rommel. At that time, unless the Allies launched a large-scale landing operation to rescue Rommel, no one would try to save him.

It's just that the most combat-effective corps near Pisa at this time was the Florentine defenders commanded by Zhou Heng. But they couldn't move. Once out of Florence for Pisa, the Panzer Corps of the Ming Army would follow the pursuit, sweeping through all the troops. No one was able to resist the offensive of powerful armored forces.

Zhou Heng turned around and returned to the map table, looking at the huge map in front of him, the corners of his mouth quietly curled. When the German 219th Infantry Division came, it was very smooth, and it was so smooth that none of the fighters of the Daming Army launched an attack on them. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time, but now that I think about it in light of the information I got before, I can understand it. It was the Ming army who deliberately let them come to Florence to weaken the Pisa garrison.

Let them go back now, even if it's too dark to send air power to stop them. But don't forget, the Ming army has a strong special operations force that has been operating in the Allied areas of northern Italy. The return of the German 219th Infantry Division will definitely not be smooth.

Of course, Zhou Heng is not thinking about the 219th Infantry Division now. He didn't even care about the lives of the American troops, and he didn't care about the lives of the Germans. Zhou Heng is now thinking that once the Ming army's combat operations go well, then he will inevitably retreat here.

Originally, this side was under tremendous pressure, and in the face of the attacks of many elite armored divisions and mechanized infantry divisions of the Ming army, it was already a great strength to be able to hold on until now. If the German 219th Infantry Division withdrew, then he would not be able to resist for long here. Since this is the case, Zhou Heng must consider how to retreat safely.

For Zhou Heng, he had successfully completed the task during his arduous resistance to the Ming elite armored corps in Florence. The final defeat of the Ming army in the airborne raids on the Pisa and Livorno lines had nothing to do with him. The battle in Florence had given him enough qualifications and merit to remove the word "deputy" from his former position. Now that the main purpose has been achieved, it is time to consider how to end it decently. After all, Zhou Heng didn't want to give himself an account on the battlefield.

'Whoosh~~~' Zhou Heng, who was clasping his arms around his chest, was wrinkling and didn't think about how to exit the battlefield when a huge roar suddenly came from outside the window.

Walking quickly to the window, Zhou Heng's eyes suddenly brightened. By this time, the sky had completely darkened, but the entire city of Florence was already shrouded in countless huge spots of light. After dinner, the Ming army resumed its offensive.

For the Ming Armored Corps, even if they did not know about the upcoming airborne raid, they would definitely continue to storm and capture Florence, and then kill in the area around Pisa. This is the reason why they accept a combat mission and will not abandon it on their own without canceling the order. Besides, even if the airborne assault was a great success, Wang Dexiang urgently needed the armored corps to quickly attack through Florence to reinforce the area around Pisa.

The airborne troops were all light infantry, and the German heavy army group under the command of Rommel was killing the area around Pisa, led by German armored units. The Airborne Forces alone could not resist, and the Florentine Panzer Corps had to rush to Pisa as soon as possible.

Whether it is a surprise attack by the air force or a rapid assault by an armored corps, this is a strategic offensive that complements each other, and close cooperation between the two sides is required to bring this campaign to a successful conclusion.

"There's a reason for that." Zhou Heng narrowed his eyes and laughed.

Zhou Heng, who had already achieved his set goal and was about to leave, sent a telegram to Patton soon after giving permission to the German 219th Infantry Division, saying that the pressure here was very high, especially after the Germans left. He asked for more support, or he wouldn't be able to hold on any longer.

Barton was also helpless after receiving Zhou Heng's telegram. Now he simply can't add reinforcements to Zhou Heng in a short period of time. Although it would only take twenty-four hours at most, the Rommel forward troops that had broken through to the north were able to reach the vicinity of Pisa. But just this one day is enough to turn the entire battle situation upside down.

And Barton had something else in mind. The American Expeditionary Force is, after all, the army of the United States, and the German army is the army of Germany. Although they are allies, they are far from being able to help each other desperately. The previous fierce battle in Florence had fulfilled the obligation of an ally, and Patton was reluctant to take all the troops of the American Expeditionary Force near Florence into it.

Patton had received information that it was very likely that the Ming army would launch a large-scale airborne operation near Pisa within twelve hours. Judging from the strategic deployment of the allies at this time, it was difficult for them to resist the surprise attack of the Ming army's airborne troops. Once places such as Pisa are occupied, there is no point in continuing to fight, just the loss of troops in vain.

However, Barton could not blatantly abandon Florence at this time. After careful consideration, he sent a rather vague telegram to Zhou Heng, ordering him to choose whether to continue to hold on to Florence after midnight to see the situation on the battlefield. The practical meaning of this telegram was to see if the Germans could hold Pisa and other places under the airborne raid of the Ming army. If you can't, you can choose to retreat to save your strength.

Zhou Heng understood Patton's thoughts, and immediately began preparations for retreat after the German 219th Infantry Division left in a hurry.

At about eight o'clock in the evening, units of the German 219th Infantry Division, which were rapidly returning to Pisa along the Arno River bank, came under attack near Empoli. They were attacked by the Ming Army's special operations unit, the Call of Duty Force. After the landing, this force was sent to northern Italy to carry out sabotage operations behind enemy lines, and they attacked transportation hubs, material staging areas, communication centers, airfields and other important facilities everywhere in the rear of the Allied forces, causing great confusion and destruction to the Allied forces.

The Call of Duty Force had already received the latest order in the morning to go between Florence and Pisa to prepare for a sabotage attack. And their main goal was to return troops from Florence to Pisa.

The 219th Infantry Division of the German Army is a standard ordinary infantry division, which belongs to the second-rate army within the German army, just look at their numbers. The infantry division, which was mainly from Augsburg in southern Germany, was badly damaged when it reinforced Florence in two phases, and the original force of nearly 17,000 men was reduced to less than 10,000 by the time it retreated. Moreover, the heavy equipment losses were so severe that if the American Expeditionary Force had not provided them with a large number of vehicles, they might not have been able to return to Pisa overnight.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the vanguard of the 219th Infantry Division arrived in Empoli, between Florence and Pisa. At the same time, more than 200 kilometers away, on the numerous airfields outside the city of Rome, the Ming Airborne Forces of two entire airborne divisions were boarding! (To be continued.) )