Probably startled by the sharp offensive of the 50th Brigade, the national army stationed in Talavera on the north bank of the Tejo River was silent, and had no intention of taking the initiative to attack.

The few detachments that were cautiously probing by the river were also bombarded by a burst of artillery fire, and the artillerymen turned the captured Italian artillery around and fired a dozen rapid shots in one go, then put away the artillery and quickly moved it.

In this way, the two sides looked across the river, and the Spaniards on the other side of the river watched as the volunteers happily swept away the countless supplies left behind by the Italians.

In terms of equipment, the 50th Brigade has no shortage of light weapons - Kar98k, MG13, MG34, MP34, S18-1000 are all first-class good things, but they lack the barrel to suppress artillery.

Although this battle did not completely annihilate the more than 2,000 Italian troops, it was still a complete victory, and it was not aimed at the goal of annihilation in the first place.

Six 105mm howitzers, 12 75mm mountain guns, 11 81mm mortars, and three 47mm anti-tank guns undoubtedly swept away the 50th Brigade's predicament.

As for the rest, what Calino rifles, Breda light machine guns, Fiat heavy machine guns and other weapons, everyone dismisses them, in Europe, where the per capita industrial countries are born, the strange things of the Italians really can't get into everyone's eyes.

For example, the Breda light machine gun, Roald's assessment is "terrible, nowhere is it reasonable".

The barrel is long, the barrel is short, the bolt structure is extremely complex, and the large shell pressure leads to frequent cartridge case rupture; The ammunition feeding system is even more frustrating, in order to be able to use the five-round magazine of the Carcano rifle, the designers designed an exposed transverse magazine, which is very susceptible to dust and jamming.

The design of the whole gun can be described as very strange and frivolous, and I am afraid that even the much-criticized crooked handle will have to bow down.

"Italian cannon...... Zhou Changfeng, who was full of interest, patted the barrel of a cannon, and then wondered: "Why are they all so old?" ”

Someone pointed to the inscription on the cannon and replied: "This cannon was made by the Skoda Arsenal in 15 years, and it is already in its twenties." ”

What Zhou Changfeng didn't know was that this artillery was actually the Austro-Hungarian M15 104mm howitzer at the earliest, and after the end of the European War, more than 200 were handed over to Italy, and the expanded chamber was transformed into 105mm and continued to serve today.

After all, the title of a third-rate industrial country and a disgrace to the great powers is not in vain.

At this time, Miller, who looked happy, walked over and saluted: "Sir, the results of the battle have been reported to the headquarters, what shall we do next?" Evacuation or garrisoning? ”

"Stay and hold here, of course." Zhou Changfeng stretched out his hand and pointed to the ground, and said with a smile: "I don't know why, I have a feeling that they will misjudge the situation." ”

His hunch was not unreasonable, in fact, until now, the Italian army and the national army have not figured out how many troops the other side has.

Although according to the information sent back by the informant, in addition to the 47th Brigade of the Republican Army, which has long been stationed here, there is only the 50th Brigade of the Intercontinental Brigade that has just arrived.

Intelligence showed that the 1st Brigade of the Republican Army did not participate in the war, which means that from beginning to end, it was only the 50th Brigade, which was more than 2,000 people and was only equivalent to a regimental unit, fighting alone.

And then... It took them only a few hours to defeat a regiment of Italian trenches and fortifications?

Who believes this? Anyway, the Italians don't want to admit it, otherwise they are saying that they are waste.

Lieutenant Colonel Alcid was well aware of this, and claimed that at least 5,000 enemy troops had taken part in the battle, accompanied by a sizable field artillery group.

The staff of the Italian and Nationalist armies were greatly surprised by this, and what did it mean that such a field force was sent to Talavera with the appearance of the Intercontinental Brigade and an unknown number of other troops?

Does the IRA want to take the initiative to launch an offensive here to break the current stalemate?

If you speculate in this way, it is possible that a heavy army group is being deployed in this direction, and whether they will continue to launch a large-scale offensive and achieve a breakthrough in one fell swoop.

In that case, the rest of the national and Italian forces attacking Madrid would be in danger, and they would have to retreat immediately. In this way, Madrid, which had been surrounded on three sides for half a year, was relieved.

Strategically speaking, the situation will be directly reversed, which is absolutely unacceptable to the Nationalist Army.

Over the next few days, the 96th Infantry Brigade of the National Army organized reconnaissance detachments to cross the river in the upper and lower reaches of the Tagus River, trying to find out the details of the opponents in front of them.

The 50th Brigade, on the other hand, put on a posture of not leaving, and continued to build on a large scale on the garrison originally left by the Italian army, further expanding and strengthening the field fortifications.

The 47th Brigade of the Republican Army also made corresponding measures, and also sent reconnaissance units and patrols to operate around within a radius of several tens of kilometers.

The actions of the two were extremely misleading, and although the information sent back by the informants and spies unanimously proved that the IRA had no intention of launching an offensive, the National Army General Staff decided not to accept it after much consideration.

They quickly deployed two infantry divisions, an infantry brigade, a field artillery brigade, and a number of long-gun militia units, totaling 30,000 troops.

The Italian intervention forces were also quite cooperative, sending the 26th Infantry Division, which was resting in Segovia, in the direction of Talavera.

In just a few days, it seems that the delicate balance on the long front is about to be broken?

For a time, the density of military trains coming and going on the railway network was much higher than before, and this was naturally discovered by the reconnaissance planes of the Republican Air Force.

Sensing the other side's unusual behavior, the Republican Army Command speculated that the Nationalist Army had misjudged its own intentions and deployed troops in advance to prepare for a defensive counterattack in order to prepare for a possible large-scale offensive.

After some discussion, the military advisers to the German Society's General Staff Committee in the Republican Army suggested that the opposite should be done and a false shot should be taken.

Since the other side has transferred these units to Talavera in the center line, the troops in other directions will naturally be less.

You might as well take advantage of the situation on the northern or southern front and launch a counteroffensive, so that the Nationalist Army will lose sight of one or the other!

One wrong step, one wrong step, so that we can gradually grasp the strategic initiative and reverse the tide of the war little by little. After six to twelve months, it is time to find fighters for a strategic decisive battle.

On the whole, this suggestion can be said to be very appropriate.

However, the IRA command was not interested, and a rhetoric akin to the "quick victory" theory circulated among the government and senior generals, and there was much support among the people, as well as the recent new president.

The Republican Army believes that its own strength is now relatively sufficient, and has expanded to a huge scale of 1 million, and at the same time, it has also purchased a large amount of weapons and equipment from the German Society and the Ming Dynasty, and its military strength is not what it used to be, and it has the conditions for a strategic decisive battle.

The headquarters envisaged the mobilization of four to six divisions first, then six more divisions as the second echelon, and two divisions as reserves, with a total strength of 150,000 troops.

They planned to engage the opponent in the first echelon, induce the opponent to increase troops, attract its main force, and finally launch a strategic decisive battle; At that time, the own side, which has about 100,000 troops, will definitely have the upper hand.

Whenever there is a strategic miscalculation, it is very terrible.

Throughout human history, tactical brilliance has not been able to prevent strategic defeat, and such examples are not uncommon in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad.

“…… The command ordered us to remain as we are, except for regular reconnaissance operations on the north bank of the Tagus River. ”

When Zhou Changfeng, who was in the command headquarters, learned the general idea of the Republican Army Command, he couldn't help but complain: "This is a joke, right? Why do they think this way? Who gave them confidence? ”

In fact, he did not know the specific deployment, but he could almost guess what the IRA was planning based on just some deployment information he had learned.

For example, four infantry divisions are moving here, and all units on the southern and northern fronts have received orders to "strictly prohibit active offensive under any circumstances."

"It's really weird, they seem to be full of confidence." Chrétienne, with a helpless face, shook her head.

"Although the current Republican Army has many troops, their quality is very limited." Roald looked calm and commented: "In this state, the decisive battle ... Very risky, I don't think they can have an advantage. ”

"If that's true, then they're gambling with the fate of Spain! It's stupid! Miller said angrily.

In the newly built brigade headquarters, a group of officers of the 50th Brigade were discussing.

How much water is there in this so-called army of one million, and is there a little bit in the upper echelons of the Republican Army?

In the beginning, because of the factional struggle within Spain, a large number of officers were ostracized, and instead of joining the Republican Army, they went to serve the National Army.

Therefore, the quality of the Republican Army has always been worrisome, filled with a large number of militiamen and ordinary people who have been conscripted, and they have been defeated.

The Red Eagle Legion has been sparing no effort to reorganize these troops, and it has taken half a year to give them the appearance of a regular army.

But just after learning a few kung fu moves, I want to go to the ring?

What is this, isn't this the typical "advantage is in me"?

"What can I do? These guys not only joked about their fate, but also sent soldiers and civilians to their deaths, which is the sorrow of Spain. Zhou Changfeng said as he picked up the red wine bottle and poured half a glass into the goblet, "It's hopeless." ”

It has to be said that the Italians really enjoy it, even if the defeated 79th Infantry Regiment is not a long-term stay, but its various daily necessities are still very complete, and some things can even be called luxury.

Not to mention anything else, there are more than a dozen electric fans left behind. The field kitchen is equipped with cooking equipment and utensils, and the supply warehouse has many boxes of chocolates, canned fruit, candy, and even hardcover wine.

These things made the 50th Brigade feast on their mouths and enjoyed themselves.

What is even more surprising is that there is a separate dental tent next to the field hospital, which has a complete range of tools.

As a long-standing problem that accompanies the history of human development, dental disease can be seen everywhere, and the army is no exception - due to the difficult battlefield environment, soldiers often have no time to pay attention to their oral hygiene, and rotten teeth are almost inevitable, so dentists have always been visible in the army.

As a Norwegian reserve officer, Roald usually worked as a dentist and he had his own practice; Now that he has a full set of equipment, he has taken up his old job in his free time.

And Zhou Changfeng was also fortunate to experience the experience of filling teeth in this foreign country, although he felt that it was not in a hurry, but Roald insisted that it was better to deal with it as soon as possible.

The "smack" drill grinds on the first molar, removes the residual caries with a probe and scoop, etchs it with a phosphoric acid solution, and finally fills it with amalgam.

"Alright." Roald put the tool back into the iron plate next to him and said with a smile: "Xia, now you don't have to worry about a toothache in the future." ”

The previous feeling of soreness made Zhou Changfeng's heart palpitate, and he walked out of the tent with his face covered, only to meet Miller who came to ask for instructions.

"Some reporters are coming, sir, are we going to let them in?"

"Journalists? How many people? ”

"Six."

Zhou Changfeng casually explained: "It is forbidden to move around freely, the four areas of A1, A2, B1, and C1 are not allowed to enter, and other places must also be accompanied to take pictures." ”

The reporters who were allowed to enter the garrison were excited, and they walked and filmed all the way, as if they wanted to record every plant and tree in the place.

However, in addition to the real British, French, and American war correspondents, there are also two Ming people who pretend to be reporters.

Someone asked to meet with the commander of the 50th Brigade and interview him about his views on the battle situation, but Zhou Changfeng certainly disagreed, so he refused the request for an interview.

The rest of the reporters just spread their hands to express regret, but the two wise people were not.

As they walked around, they kept knocking at the accompanying soldiers, "What kind of person do you think your commander is?" ”

"Very young, very energetic, full of oriental wisdom."

"I think so too. What puzzled me was, why didn't he go to the 105th Brigade? It's all Orientals there. ”

"Maybe he doesn't want to be recognized?"

The soldiers chatted casually, anyway, it had nothing to do with military information such as weapons and specific deployment.

These words made the two reporters who claimed to be from Daming look at each other - could this be it?

The feeling of being so close to the truth made them very excited, but it was difficult to show it, and they didn't know how to confirm their identities by knocking on their physical characteristics, because in the eyes of Westerners, most Chinese people look similar.

Fortunately, when they walked around the camp, they happened to meet Zhou Changfeng and his party who were going to the front line to inspect.

Although they were more than 20 meters apart and passed by without stopping, the two "reporters" were still overjoyed.

Damn it! This appearance, he must be right, it is definitely him!

They could no longer hold their breath, so they said to one of the officers who were traveling with them, "Please go and tell your commander that his fiancée is looking for him!" ”

(End of chapter)