"What do you say? Rommel transferred the defenders near Pisa to Florence for reinforcements? Looking at Wang Yan, who hurried over to report the latest information to him, Zhang Cheng, who had just gotten up and was still wearing silk pajamas, asked with a surprised face, "Are you sure?" ”

"Yes, Your Excellency!" The excitement was indescribable, and Wang Yan, who was flushed, nodded vigorously and shouted loudly, "This is the latest news sent by the high-ranking mole we arranged within the German army, and Rommel has already issued an official transfer order more than two hours ago!" ”

"That's true. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info" The corners of Zhang Cheng's mouth curled slightly, and he shook his head with a chuckle. I was worried that the German resistance in the area around Pisa was strong and that a forced airborne landing operation would cost a lot of casualties, but I didn't expect that it was just a good sleep, and the good news came by itself. The Germans, who were empty of troops, any way to stop a powerful offensive?

"Do you know why? Where did those German units go? Are there any reinforcements coming? After adjusting his mood, Zhang Cheng asked out loud.

"According to the Mole's report, because of the heavy casualties of the defenders in the city of Florence, in order to resist the attack of our army, the German 219th Infantry Division, which had been stationed there, had to be urgently transferred to Florence from the nearest area of Pisa to reinforce it." Wang Yan thought for a moment, and then said: "The 112th Infantry Division of the German Army, which was originally stationed in ******, was ordered to go south to Pisa to take over the defensive mission. As for now, the Pisa and Livorno lines are defended by only a few battalion-sized troops. ”

"Good." Zhang Cheng nodded with satisfaction, and someone brought a pillow when he was sleepy. Originally, the second plan that was risky and doomed to heavy casualties was because the armored corps that attacked in a roundabout way failed to successfully take Florence, but they didn't expect that now things would turn around. The strong offensive of the Ming armored corps in Florence instead helped the forced airborne landing operation near Pisa. The cooperation between the east and the west is too tacit.

Zhang Cheng walked to the side of the wine cabinet, opened the wine cabinet, poured two glasses of whiskey, handed Wang Yan a glass, and then came to the sofa and sat down. After pondering for a moment, he looked up at Wang Yan and ordered in a deep voice, "Order the army aviation and the special combat team to attack with all their strength immediately, and no matter what, they must hold off the German troops who are moving south from ****** to reinforce them." At the same time, he telegraphed to Wang Dexiang, ordering him to advance the time of the airborne operation, not to wait until the early hours of tomorrow morning, and to start the operation as soon as it gets dark tonight. Also, the landing force can now depart. ”

"Yes." Wang Yan, who had just sat down on the sofa, hurriedly responded.

"And." Zhang Cheng took a sip of the wine glass, looked at Wang Yan, and said in a deep voice, "You go and tell Xiao Hongbao to protect our traces and purposes as much as possible." Don't be caught by the Germans so early. It would be better to be able to deceive the Allies into thinking that we were preparing to move troops to Florence for reinforcements. This is of great significance for the eventual direction of this campaign. ”

Smiling, Zhang Cheng looked at Wang Yan with a relaxed expression and said, "Let me see your ability to engage in intelligence work." ”

"Yes!" Wang Yan's gaze narrowed, and he nodded vigorously with a serious expression.

For example, if you want to completely hide from the enemy in such a large-scale military operation, it is nonsense. So much troop movement, so much material build-up. How is it possible not to detect any movement at all? Is it true that the enemy's spy has a head filled with Yonedako? If that were the case, the war would have ended long ago.

Zhang Cheng knew that it was impossible to completely conceal the matter, but he hoped that Xiao Hongbao, who was in Italy, would be able to play a role and delay the time, preferably until the airborne troops boarded the plane. Zhang Cheng's words just now are extremely important to those who do intelligence work like Wang Yan and Xiao Hongbao, and this will be an excellent time for them to show their abilities.

On the morning of 1 April, Wang Dexiang, who had been commanding operations on the front line in Florence, had already returned to Rome on an army airline plane to prepare for the airborne landing operation after receiving a telegram from the General Staff Headquarters. He did not update the generals on the Florentine front on troop movements, but ordered them to intensify their offensive against Florence. The reason is simple: to attract the attention of the Germans as much as possible.

Throughout the day, several Ming armored divisions and mechanized infantry divisions took turns to storm the city of Florence. After hard fighting and great cost, they finally broke through the Arno River defense line with the support of strong firepower, and built a number of strong bridgeheads on the other side of the river. and used great firepower to inflict heavy losses on the German army defending Florence.

With about three U.S. divisional units, including the U.S. 1st Panzer Division, and most of the German Army's 219th Infantry Division, which had arrived near Pisa, the Allied forces totaling more than 60,000 were numbered less than 40,000 by the evening of April 1. With huge casualties, the Allied defenses were already crumbling.

The brave attack of the Ming army made the defenders feel overwhelming. In particular, at night broke through the Arno River and laid a bridgehead position. By daytime, the Ming army had readjusted its combat methods, and no longer blindly pursued the combat strategy of rapid assault and direct attack on Huanglong. Instead, start doing it in a steady way. The Ming army originally had an advantage in all aspects, and once a safe way of fighting was used, the defenders basically had no chance.

After daybreak, the Ming army first readjusted its deployment and captured the clay hills around the city of Florence, such as Fiesole, Settignano, Poggio and Belrosgado.

After occupying the commanding heights on the periphery, the artillery observers of the Ming army and the ground liaison officers of the army aviation were soon stationed at the commanding heights to guide the artillery groups and the bomber units of the army aviation to drop precise attacks on various targets in the city.

After breaking through the Arno River, the morale of the Ming army was greatly boosted. Tens of thousands of troops and large numbers of armored vehicles rushed into the city center. The attacking and defending armies fought fiercely in the vicinity of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore, Giotto's Bell Tower, San Giovanni's Chapel, the Uffizi Gallery, the Bagillo Gallery, the Palazzo Vecchio, the Romantic Church, Piazza Siniore, Palazzo Pitti and other prestigious buildings.

Many of the positions in the city of Florence have changed hands several times, and each time they are captured, they call for a frenzied round of artillery fire to cover them, turning these famous buildings into piles of ruined ruins.

If later generations of collectors and artists saw that the collection was up to . Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Vinci Giotto and other famous masters of art have been reduced to ashes and dust in the rounds of shelling and fierce ground battles, and they may vomit three liters of blood and die on the spot.

However, in this era, because of the strong rise of the Ming Dynasty, the dominant culture in the world in the real sense is the culture of the Eastern civilization circle. Just like the Chinese language that traveled all over the world with the big ships and cannons of the Ming Dynasty, oriental culture is the mainstream of this world. Works of art such as those in Florence are nowhere near as valuable in this era as they are in modern time and space. Of course, they still have their value. It's just that the officers and soldiers on the battlefield don't care about what works of art are not works of art.

For soldiers on the battlefield, these sculptures and paintings are no more meaningful than a box of bullets or a roll of bandages, and they are not as meaningful as a pack of refreshing cigarettes. What kind of art do you talk about on the battlefield of life and death? These are times of war!

The fiery sunset renders the clouds on the horizon into a churning sea of red. The fighters of both sides, which had been raging in the sky all day, waved their fists at their opponents in hatred after running out of the last ammunition, and finally returned to their respective flights. On the ground, which was covered in thick gunsmoke and dust, the officers and men of both sides, who were exhausted after a long day of bloody fighting, were finally able to rest for a while.

At this time, the Ming and Allied forces in Florence occupied about half of the city area, and the positions between the two sides were staggered, vertical and horizontal, and it was completely a situation of you having me and me and you.

At this time, it was already dinner time, and the allied armies and the Ming armies, which were deeply influenced by the Ming culture, invariably ceased fire and began to eat. Except for the occasional exchange of fire and artillery shelling by artillery units on both sides to prove their presence, the entire noisy battlefield finally died down.

"It's time to eat!" The Municipal Stadium in the north-east of the city of Florence (Stadio Frankie, home of FC Fiorentina. In a nearby block, the smell of food wafted from the headquarters of the heavy tank battalion of the Second Armored Division of the Ming Army. A large number of Ming officers and soldiers ran out from everywhere and gathered around the cooks, ready to enjoy their dinner.

"All go back to their posts!" Look at the mess in front of you, and then look at the Allied positions not far away. Lin Shuo, who had a black face, stood on a Tiger tank and shouted angrily: "All go back to their respective posts!" The cooks bring the food everywhere! No one is allowed to leave their place without an order! ”

It's still on the battlefield. With so many people gathered around with such a big thorn, it was really impatient to wait for the artillery to blow up. Although both sides have conventions and rules, this is also a tradition left over from the hundreds of years that the Ming Dynasty has ruled the world. But this is a battlefield after all, and who knows if the person on the other side will send a cannonball as an appetizer while you eat? You must know that the name of the person on the other side is called the enemy!

The same scene took place almost everywhere in the city of Florence. Both the Ming and Allied forces had already regarded each other as mortal enemies after fierce battles. It is not incomprehensible to have a black hand in disregard of the conventions.

War is the most cruel thing. (To be continued.) )