On 26 October, the Republican Army, trapped in Marta, decided to launch a counteroffensive called "Revenge" that night, aiming to inflict heavy damage on the Nationalist Army's new 9th Infantry Division on the heights east of the city and to revive the sluggish morale. This rebel division relied on the favorable terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and blocked the hundreds of thousands of Republican troops in the city of Marta.

As long as this "nail" remains, the situation of the IRA in the city of Marta will continue to be unfavorable.

At present, there are about 8,000 people in the national army on the high ground, with 3 heavy howitzers of 150mm caliber or above, 12 mountain guns of 75mm caliber, 6 37mm anti-armor guns, 20~25 mortar runs and about 50 heavy machine guns. The defenders used these heavy weapons to fortify the entire Highlands.

In addition, there is also an armored battalion equipped with 17 French "Renaults" deployed on the back of the heights, which can be used as a mobile force to not only run out to reinforce friendly positions on both flanks of the heights, but also to cross the heights to carry out countercharges.

Franco's semi-encirclement was only on the east side of Marta, and he deliberately left a large retreat for the Republicans to the west, in order to force the other side to retreat himself, so that he could take the city as bloodily as possible.

Although the generals on the Republican side had average command ability, Franco's strategic intention was still very clear, so some cowards who did not want to confront him head-on supported the retreat.

"Gentlemen! If we retreat, we should jump into the sea. ”

Lieutenant General Durutty, the commander-in-chief of the Colonial Republican Army, clapped the map and shouted.

The terrain of the Spanish colony resembles a large mountain that tilts to the west, and the Astra region is the summit of this mountain, and Marta can even be said to be the "top of the mountain". If the Republican Army retreats again, it will be a slippery downhill road behind, and the Nationalist Army on the opposite side can take advantage of the situation to drive them directly into the sea.

"I have made up my mind that the goal of this counteroffensive operation is to inflict heavy damage on the enemy's living forces. Wait a minute, and when you get back, you will immediately inform the troops to begin preparing for military affairs, but do not tell them that they are preparing to attack. Don't disclose too much information before the start of the operation, so as not to startle the snake, do you understand!? ”

After the meeting ended, Duruti came to the window and looked at the city outside the window with a very solemn expression.

At this time, Duruti still had 150,000 troops in his hands, and these people had been chased by the national army like rabbits for hundreds of kilometers in the past nearly a month. Every time the troops passed through the wilderness, they were bombarded indiscriminately from overhead. They had to flee to the city for refuge. Over time, the soldiers realized that it was safest to stay in the city, and a ridiculous disease called "out-of-town phobia" began to spread among the army.

If you want to use such soldiers to fight a counteroffensive, you can imagine how bottomless Duruti is in his heart. But compared to these soldiers who were about to be defeated, there were still two troops in Marta City that maintained high morale.

One was a volunteer of the Iberian Anarchist Federation. These guys, who used to cause chaos for the government, are now unequivocally in favor of the republican government. And organized a significant number of troops. But the force refused to accept the command of the Republican generals. They only fought the national army, and no one else obeyed their orders.

This is where it feels strange, the anarchists in Spain actually help the Spanish government to fight the war, and they don't listen to orders at all, aren't you really the monkeys invited to tease?

And in addition to this comic force, the other one maintains high morale. It's the Soviet Panzers!

Unlike the Republican Army, which feared a mutiny and did not dare to tell the soldiers to prepare for a counteroffensive, Rezenov told his men about the preparations for the counteroffensive at dinner on the evening of the same night as he persuaded Lieutenant General Durutti. And the hairy people who are not afraid of the sky and the earth seem to have heard some great good news, and they are as happy as crazy.

The gap in the will to fight is so big!

On the 26th. The Soviet volunteers began to maintain and recondition their mechs from noon to keep them in the best condition. And when they were nervous and busy, a certain idler who did not participate in the attack "again" came to visit.

“Hi！ Guys, here I go again. ”

"Why are you here again?"

"I'm sending you some condolences! Don't tell me you don't want to take two bites before you go. ”

"Oops! Why didn't you say it earlier? Come on, come on! Please inside, please ...... inside."

Although Zhao Jian was not popular with the Soviet soldiers at first, after he took out a few boxes of domestic Erguotou for a "condolence", Zhao Jian successfully gained the friendship of the other party, and even Rezenov was a lot kind to him. Maozi's temperament is like a stain, it seems to be stubborn, but it will be washed off with alcohol.

In fact, Zhao Jian's initiative to approach these Soviets was not simply an attempt at a certain Mao Mei, he mainly wanted to collect some actual combat numbers about armored aircraft from the other party. China started late in this field, and the airframe and pilot have no actual combat experience, and it is better to bring back some valuable information for reference than to work behind closed doors at home.

At present, the two types of mecha brought by the Soviets are light in terms of tonnage. There's not much to say about the T-26, a knockoff of the British Vickers, except for the 45mm tube that's pretty good. In comparison, the high-speed mecha of the BT-5 beast type is much more distinctive!

The Soviet BT series of high-speed mechas, the prototype of which came from the American "Christie" armored hound, is characterized by a wheeled structure on its limbs, which can maneuver at high speed on the road. There is a drive lever in the cockpit, as long as the mech remains in a prone position, the lever can be pulled down to immobilize the limbs and switch the power to the wheeled system, so that the machine can move on the road like a car.

In conventional mode, BT-5 can also use a cheetah-like running posture to reach a speed of 50~60 kilometers per hour off-road, although this will make the pilots inside tired to the point of cramps in their limbs, but if it is a short-distance charge, the BT-5's explosion will be even more amazing.

In private, Zhao Jian and Mao Zi, who have a good relationship, learned that among the pilots in the whole team, the control level of the BT-5, if Christia dares to call the second, then no one dares to call the first! When the other party was still at the Moscow Armored Forces Academy, she was able to speed the BT-5 to more than 80 kilometers per hour, and no one in the academy has been able to surpass her record.

Thanks to her incredible speed and terrifying stance in battle, Krisgaard has always been nicknamed "the female leopard of the Soviets" by her teammates. And when it comes time to attack at night, this female leopard's mecha will be the tip of the entire sharp knife group! (To be continued......)

PS: Because the tank became a mecha, I pondered for a long time how to "pinch him" the famous Christie system. At first, I wanted to set it as an "anti-joint system", but I thought it had nothing to do with "wheel integration", so I gave up. It wasn't until last night when I went for a walk in the square after dinner that a girl in hot pants passed me on a roller skate, and I stared at each other's breasts...... The roller skates pondered for a moment, and finally came up with the right idea.

Thank you! An unknown roller skating girl!