"It's been a long time since a brigade-sized air battle has broken out in central Italy, right?" When the situation on the front line reached the ears of Richthofen, who was directing the battle in Belgrade, he threw away the pencil in his hand and said with some confusion. AT FIRST, THE GERMANS THOUGHT THAT THE OTHER SIDE HAD ONLY DEPLOYED LIMITED AIR DEFENSE FORCES HERE, AND BOMBER SQUADRONS ATTACKED THE ARTILLERY POSITION ONE AFTER ANOTHER, BUT THEY WERE UNSUCCESSFUL, EITHER FORCED BACK BY THE OPPONENT'S DENSE 90MM AND 40MM ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS, OR WERE SHOT DOWN BY FIGHTERS CIRCLING IN THE AIR, THE OTHER SIDE SEEMED TO INTEND TO TAKE THE LAST OF SOME AIR FORCES TO MEET WITH THE GERMANS, ACCORDING TO THE RETURN OF THE FRONT, THE AIRSPACE NEAR THE OPPONENT'S ARTILLERY POSITION HAD ABOUT 2 SQUADRONS OF FIGHTERS AT MOST.

It stands to reason that this amount of strength was nothing to the Luftwaffe. But everything is time-sensitive. It takes a long time for the front line to send the intelligence over. If you wait until your side comes out with the results and then mobilize your air power, the other party may have already finished fighting and running away! According to the intelligence on the front line, the other side should be a train gun, and after it took nearly 1 hour to blow up the entire airport and make it unusable, it immediately began to call it a day and evacuate, and fled in the direction away from the battlefield. According to the speed of the train at 50 kilometers per hour, by now, 3 hours have passed, and the other party has run 150 kilometers away. Then the Luftwaffe had to find the target from the train running on the railway and then attack, which was also a little more difficult, and the fighter unit covering for it could naturally go after the train guns were evacuated, and it would not give the Germans a chance to fight hard at all!

The destruction of the airfield meant that for a long time the German airborne forces could only maintain their combat effectiveness through ammunition and supplies dropped by air. Infantry weapons are okay to say. The key is artillery and ammunition. Although the glider can land in the open field, the landing site must at least be flat, and the Italian artillery is very dedicated. Not only did they go through the yard and shells, but they also destroyed some of the gliders that landed in the clearing, and although it was easy to fill a hole in the ground, it was not easy to move the multi-ton wreckage. Nearly 100 tons of shells were fired in 60 minutes, and this kind of loss can be recovered quickly, but only if you have enough sappers and materials! It's a pity that the Germans don't have either!

The sudden blow not only made the Germans' plan to continue using the airfield in vain, but also inflicted heavy losses on the German paratroopers defending the airfield. Just after it was lowered yesterday, today it is covered by 6-inch artillery, and the hastily constructed fortifications are simply not able to withstand the high-explosive shells of large-caliber artillery. The French, who were hugging the grass and beating rabbits, also taught the nearby German paratroopers a lesson.

On the afternoon of the second day of the airborne landing, the reinforced US and French armies arrived on the outskirts of Foligno with the support of the remaining air force and anti-aircraft artillery. The defenders who remained in the vicinity of the city and had not yet been eliminated were ready to fight back. Ridgway and his regiment were one of the units whose strength was relatively well preserved. Although the German Army was not supported by the rear, it still had a firepower advantage under the cover of the air force. Taking advantage of the weakness of the opponent's defenses, the two train guns of Andosal and Garibaldi, who knocked the opponent's head, did not dare to risk their lives again in the daytime. The real showdown will kick off at night! At that time. Two train guns will once again go to the next preset position to provide fire support to the attacking troops!

However, this does not mean that both parties can sleep well during the day. The Germans were busy building fortifications, and the harassment and probing of the American and French troops never stopped. As night slowly falls and the Second Empire's eagles return to their nests, a fierce night battle finally breaks out!

Today is the time to decide life and death. As the regiment commander, Li Qiwei also carried a Thomson submachine gun. "It's really a trick, the weapons specially produced for war, the first users were gangsters and police." Ridgway checked the magazines and then began to make final arrangements for the battle plan to his subordinates. "Our long-range artillery fire will focus first on the barracks in the west. Then part of the reinforcements outside the city will launch a feint, and the main force will launch a general attack from the airfield, and we will also copy the enemy's rear at the same time. The battle began at 8 p.m. We must end the fighting before dawn and at least drive the German paratroopers out of the city. Only then can our firepower destroy them, and if we only occupy the periphery, and not mix with the Germans, then tomorrow the opposing air force will be able to wipe us all out during the day, so our task is simple, which is to rush in! Rush into the city at any cost, then divide the enemy! Here are the specific tasks, and the commanders of each battalion and company will look at them again. ”

Just after 8 o'clock! The roar of long-range artillery is coming as scheduled! The fire of the distant artillery was so conspicuous in the dark night that standing on a high place, Li Qiwei could see that the sky in the distance was imprinted dark red. The shells screeched and landed on the firing points marked by the daytime reconnaissance, and after about 10 minutes of attack, the shelling began to extend to the rear, and from time to time buildings were smashed to pieces by shells weighing up to 45 kilograms. The Germans seemed to be asleep, and there was no response, and after about half an hour of shelling, the rumble from the dark night meant the beginning of the American attack, and several Grant tanks that had managed to escape the Luftwaffe attack to reach the front line began to charge, and the 75MM howitzers on the sides of the hull and the 37mm cannon on the roof of the car spewed deadly flames from time to time. Behind the tank, there is a large number of infantry, who cover behind the tank. And the Entente forces in the north-western corner and to the east are also preparing to attack!

"The Americans really have no memory, just half a month ago, they organized the advance of our armored forces in the city, and today, they actually use the same method against us, what a death!" Paul said as he looked at the American tanks in the distance that were firing from time to time in the night. Suddenly, there were several loud noises in the advancing American tank units, and two Grant tanks stopped, one was blown into the track, and the other was blown into a burning iron box because it overwhelmed a large charge of anti-tank mine. The loss of the tank force caused chaos, and the Germans waited for this opportunity, the light mortars deployed in the city made one flare larger, and the slowly descending magnesium flare instantly exposed the attacking troops to the strong light, in the dazzling light, many American soldiers subconsciously stopped, blocking their eyes with their hands.

The fire of the German lines, which had been silent a few seconds ago, was activated in an instant! The screeching sound of the MG machine gun like tearing an oilcloth resounded throughout the battlefield, and more than a dozen tongues of fire writhed their deadly bodies in the air, sweeping down a large number of infantry directly from both sides, and the heavy mortars hidden in the city also began to fire a salvo! Although it did not last long, in just a few minutes, machine gun and mortar fire cut the attack to pieces, and the remaining tanks tried to continue the attack, but soon when the screams of anti-tank guns were heard in the night, the troops in charge of the feint decided to retreat sensibly, because according to their estimates, since the anti-tank guns had been pulled over, the large forces of the opposing side should have been attracted to it.

"Pull up all the artillery that you can use, M2 machine guns, anti-aircraft guns, and field guns. Pay attention to the positions of the opponent's mortars just now, knock them out first! Ridgway ordered loudly on the phone. In this attack, the U.S. forces almost threw in a qiē firepower. Even the swatter squads, armed with various anti-aircraft guns, went into battle and leveled the anti-aircraft guns to shoot. THE FLAMES OF THE FOUR 20MM MACHINE GUNS SHONE IN THE DARK NIGHT, AND THE DEADLY RAIN OF BULLETS SWEPT THROUGH THE QIĒ THAT TOUCHED EACH OTHER, WHETHER IT WAS A BUNKER, A PILLBOX OR A BUILDING, IT COLLAPSED LIKE A DECAY UNDER THE DENSE HIGH-EXPLOSIVE BOMB STRIKE.

"We still underestimated the firepower of the German paratroopers. They had the most advanced light weapons of their time, and the supporting firepower such as mortars and recoilless guns was beyond our imagination. The night helped us reduce the intensity of our air strikes, but it also weakened our firepower. What seems like a crazy shot doesn't work very well! Ridgway recalled afterwards.

Flares fired by both sides flew in the air, and the direction of the attack immediately turned into daylight. Ridgway's various copycat fire support vehicles carefully roamed out of the range of the enemy's anti-aircraft artillery, suppressing the exposed German firepower points with machine guns. When the Germans artillery began to fire at a positive rate. The spirits of the Grim Reaper will retreat into the cover of the smoke screen. Supported by superior firepower, the infantry began to attack and successfully strategized the first line of defense outside the city.

With the sound of bullet casings exiting the chamber, a German soldier looked ugly at the American battlefield still flaunting its might in the distance. Just now this artillery group tried to attack a half-track vehicle 700 miles away. THE TWIN 40MM CANNONS ON IT WERE SO ABOMINABLE THAT THEY KNOCKED OUT AT LEAST 4 POINTS OF FIRE ONE AFTER ANOTHER. AND BECAUSE THE SHOT JUST NOW EXPOSED THE POSITION OF THIS 50MM ANTI-TANK GUN, THE PYTHON COMPOSED OF TWO SHELLS SOON SWEPT IN DIRECTLY, MAKING THE RECORD OF THIS HALF-TRACK VEHICLE BECOME 5!

"All troops are withdrawn to the 2 line, which is carried out immediately." At this moment, Studentt's voice rang out in the command headquarters. "I'm hovering over you right now, all troops are withdrawn to the second line of defense inside the city, and our comrades in the Air Force will help us clear our ground targets. Repeat, execute the command immediately! ”

"The street lamp squad can be dispatched, tell them, their guidance and positioning will directly determine the direction of the war." Finally, Stedent suddenly remembered something and added. Half an hour later, Daredevil is about to appear! And Foinho will be their first killing field!

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 for the tip~~~~. (To be continued......)