January 19, 1942. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info near the Cassino Peak, more than 60 kilometers north of Naples, the Ming army in the north and the German and Italian troops in the south are engaged in a fierce battle.

Rommel, the supreme commander of the German army in Italy, set out south from the vicinity of Rome with more than 100,000 elite German and Italian troops to try to relieve the nearly 200,000 German troops encircled in the southern part of the Italian peninsula. However, because the Ming army had the advantage in the sky, it violently attacked and bombed all kinds of transportation facilities and roads. Coupled with the fact that the mechanized Ming army was very fast, Rommel's troops had already encountered the Ming army that was heading north to Rome when they reached the vicinity of Cassino Peak.

In fact, in addition to the faster movement of the Ming Army, another important reason why the German army moved south so slowly was that Rommel was waterproofing.

As an excellent commander, Rommel knew very well that the surrounded German troops hundreds of kilometers to the south were no longer saved.

Although the strength in his hands was very strong, Rommel, who had fought with the Ming army in North Africa, knew very well that with this strength in his hands, he could not break through the defense line of the Ming army and go hundreds of kilometers south to rescue the besieged German army. The only way to rescue those forces is to have a strong sea force and break the dominant position of the Ming Navy in the Mediterranean.

However, when the main force of the German navy returned to the northern seas, where there was no war, the French navy, which was cowering in the southern ports of France, was unwilling to attack and fight the Ming navy in any case. To try to change this pattern through operations on land is simply a dream.

Rommel was unwilling to put his troops in for the sake of doomed defeat. All he wanted to do now was to hold on to Rome and save the Kingdom of Italy from collapse. At the same time, it is necessary to buy time for the mobilization of troops and supplies from within the country to come for reinforcements.

Rommel chose the central mountain range of central Italy. On the eastern front, near the Adriatic, tens of thousands of German troops retreating from the south, together with local defenders and reinforcements from the mainland, held the Ortona line. The terrain is difficult and the winter is rainy and wet, making it suitable for large-scale attacks. What's more, Rome wasn't over there.

The battle plan to enter Rome via Route 5 from near Ortona was abandoned by the Ming army. Because the roads there were really not suitable for large-scale mechanized warfare, and they were far from Rome. Wang Dexiang was reluctant to take a long detour to redistribute troops. He chose to attack the city of Rome directly north from Naples.

According to Xiao Hongbao's operation, as long as the main force of the Ming army approached the city of Rome, there would be great changes in the Kingdom of Italy.

Routes 6 and 7 from Naples to Rome are the best options on the offensive road. Highway 7 runs north along the west coast, but the part south of Rome into the Cambridge marsh was flooded by a German dam. The road is practically abandoned.

Route 6 crosses the entire valley of the Lili River and passes from the foot of the Cassino to Rome. The gate to the south of the valley is in the town of Cassino, built behind the mountains. The German defenders stationed on several surrounding peaks were able to effectively cut off the entire road. If the Ming army wanted to go to Rome, it had to capture Cassino Peak.

In the vicinity of the Cassino Peak is the fast-flowing Lepido River. This rushing river starts in the middle of the Apennines, flows through Cassino and then flows into the entrance to the Lili Valley. After that, the river turns here and continues to flow towards the sea. And if the Ming army wanted to go to Rome, it had to break through the river valleys, rivers, and the all-important peak of Cassino.

It took only one day for the Ming army to break through the Lepido River, crushing and capturing tens of thousands of Italian troops. On the 18th, the demoralized Ming army rushed into the Lili Valley, crushed the German and Italian troops stationed there, and then continued to advance in the direction of Cassino Peak.

By the time it was the 19th, the Ming army, which had been advancing all the way, finally encountered strong resistance.

In addition to the defenders who had already been stationed here, Rommel who had traveled south from Rome also came to the vicinity of Cassino with a strong force. Facing the German and Italian defenders, who had an absolute geographical advantage and had strong reserves, the Ming army that ran headlong had to be defeated after dark after a whole day of fierce fighting on the 19th.

After losing hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles and thousands of soldiers, the calm Ming army began to seriously study how to break through this strong defensive line.

Route 6 to Rome passes through the town of Cassino at the foot of the towering Cassino Peak. The Germans deployed heavy troops on the town and on the surrounding peaks, and condescended to deliver a fatal blow to the attacking Ming army. On the top of the main peak of Cassino is an ancient Monastery of Cassino founded in the Middle Ages, which is one of the famous monuments in Italy. The monastery has also become a focal point of contention between the two sides.

Most of the artillery units of the Germans were deployed behind the mountain peaks, and if they wanted to launch an artillery bombardment on the attacking Ming army, they had to pass through the artillery observation posts on the front line. And there was no better vantage point on the entire battlefield than the Abbey of Cassino. If the Ming army wants to suppress the defenders, it must knock out this observation post.

Similarly, in the town of Cassino at the foot of the mountain, Rommel, who was adept at using armoured troops, stationed batch after batch of armoured troops in battalion and company units. When the Ming army attacked, it also sent armored troops to counterattack in waves.

The roads here are narrow and there are many buildings. Coupled with the dense and precise artillery fire of the German army, the 36th Panzer Division, which took over the 2nd Panzer Division as the forward duty on the 19th, suffered a huge blow. The town of Cassino is littered with the remains of tanks and armored vehicles left behind by the destruction of both sides, as well as huge craters.

In order to destroy the dense German artillery fire, Wang Dexiang asked the army aviation to increase the intensity of bombing. However, the Germany at this time was not the Germany of the late World War II in modern time and space history. With many allies and the support of wealthy Americans, the Luftwaffe was very powerful. After the continuous reinforcements from the German mainland after the landing of the Ming army, the number and strength of Kesselring's fighters were still able to fight with the Ming Army Aviation.

The aerial bombardment was not only effective but also remarkable. The attack along Route 6 was blocked by Rommel with waves of armored counterattacks. In this case, the Ming army could only set its sights on Cassino Peak.

The 71st Infantry Division of the Ming Army, a local unit originally stationed near Mumbai, India, to suppress local resistance. After the start of the war, the unit was rapidly expanded into a fully manned mechanized infantry division. And from the relatively safe and peaceful India of Mumbai, he was transferred to Tobruk to garrison, and then in the crucial Battle of Tobruk, in the face of the German army's crazy siege and desperate resistance, successfully held the important Tobruk, and paid great contributions and sacrifices for the success of the battle.

After becoming famous in the Battle of Tobruk, the 71st Infantry Division, which suffered heavy losses, went to Sharm el-Sheikh, a famous tourist destination on the Sinai Peninsula, to rest. After a long period of replenishment, the infantry division, which had been replenished with a large number of new recruits, regained its combat effectiveness and was assigned to the Southern European Theater of Operations and sent to Sicily. By the time the Salerno landing began, the 71st Infantry Division was naturally taken to Europa as a second wave. When the Ming army was preparing to forcibly capture Cassino Peak, the 71st Infantry Division was the unit named to be responsible for the attack.

"Commander." The commander of the 71st Artillery Regiment under the 71st Infantry Division of the Ming Dynasty came to Yi Yanxue's side and said with a wry smile: "The mountain peaks here are too high. Those German artillerymen were hiding behind the peaks, and the artillerymen could not see their position, and there was no way to suppress fire. ”

On the morning of the 20th, the 71st Infantry Division, which had arrived at the front line last night, launched a tentative attack on the main peak of Cassino in the early morning. But it was beaten back by the heavy shelling of the German army. The intensity of the German artillery fire made Yi Yan's bloody eyelids jump from afar.

Because of his outstanding performance in the Battle of Tobruk, Yi Yanxue not only received a medal, but his military rank was also promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. However, he refused the order to go to other units to take up a position at the army level, and he applied to remain in the 71st Infantry Division.

In his own words, he watched too many of his brothers of the 71st Infantry Division die when he was in Tobruk before, and he could no longer do without this unit. As for going to a unit at the level of a group army and thus reaching even more brilliant heights, he himself did not care.

"What did Lu Hang say?" Yi Yanxue, who was frowning, put down the telescope in his hand and asked in a deep voice, "Can they destroy the artillery positions of the Germans?" ”

Artillery is the king of land warfare, and this title is definitely not said casually. It has been proven through hundreds of years of wars and countless lives and blood. The soldiers knew best the power of the intensive artillery bombardment. It is no exaggeration to say that a single artillery fire destroyed an army.

Thus, the actual primary task of artillery between the two sides on the battlefield is to destroy and suppress each other's artillery units. It's like in the drama, those who bomb artillery positions indiscriminately, and people who have a little formal military training will not do it.

"Army aviation said that they could not ensure the destruction of the artillery positions of the Germans." "They say that the Luftwaffe is very strong in resistance, and the Germans have deployed a large number of anti-aircraft weapons near the artillery positions. Not only could the Army Air Force destroy the artillery positions of the Germans, but it could not even guarantee the safety of the observation and firing aircraft. ”

"What?" Yi Yanxue, who was frowning, raised his head and looked at the fighters of both sides flying in the blue sky, and pursed the corners of his mouth unnaturally, "This battle is not easy to fight." (To be continued.) )