afterglow

Chapter 199 Breakthrough; Fight for justice!

When the 72nd Battalion's attack was blocked, in the southwest field, the 71st "James Hardy" Battalion also launched a feint attack on the enemy in front of them to confuse the audience and prevent the Italian army from knowing the main attack direction.

The artillery group of the [-]th Brigade did not have much ammunition left, so they turned to continuous shelling with a very low rate of fire to bombard the main position of the Italian army in the southwest region.

"...These evil guys shouldn't exist! Are you ready? Destroy them here!"

The Scottish bagpipes sounded, and "The Blue Hat Across the Border" was played. The melodious music penetrated the entire battlefield, and only the thunderous explosion could temporarily overwhelm it.

To some veterans who participated in the European War when they were young, this song seemed to make them feel like they had returned to the bloody Somme River, surrounded by soldiers who were constantly being cut down by German heavy machine guns. comrades.

Because it was only responsible for the feint mission for the time being, the 71st Battalion did not need to launch an impact on the enemy. In fact, they lay down one after another shortly after leaving the starting position, and then carried out approaching operations under the cover of smoke bombs, digging bunkers on the spot.

It won't be long before they will be firmly rooted a few hundred meters in front of the Italian army's position, forcing the Italian army to be careful, thus achieving a diversionary effect.

In the eyes of the Italians, it is reasonable to launch an attack from the wilderness in the southwest. Who would choose to attack the more difficult and complex terrain first?

The only strange thing is why the opponent's shelling is so weak and the density is very low.

"Sir!" Miller hung up the phone, raised his head and said anxiously: "The attack of the 72nd Battalion was blocked, and they were suppressed by machine gun fire!"

Zhou Changfeng was not surprised by this, and calmly said: "Let the breakthrough team go."

Previously, the 73rd "Lincoln" Battalion followed his instructions and formed two breakthrough detachments based on the two platoons of Company A. Now is the time for them to come in handy.

Armed with submachine guns, rifles, and blasting barrels on their shoulders, nearly a hundred people rushed to the front line after receiving the order.

Wounded Frenchmen were constantly being carried down by stretchers from the front. Passing by these wounded with missing arms and legs and excruciating pain, the soldiers who had been eager to try before seemed to be put in a scoop of cold water-war is by no means a child's game!
"President Jefferson said that all men are created equal and that God has endowed human beings with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To secure these rights, we will pay any price."

"We came across the Atlantic to help the Spaniards resist rebellion and aggression and defend the republic. We fight for justice and ask for nothing more. God is with us!"

The 72nd Battalion's attack on the 109th Highland came from two directions, but the two breakthrough units E and F were not the case. They tried to launch a surprise attack from other directions.

However, the two main directions of attack were not chosen blindly, and the most gentle and easy route was naturally chosen.

Team E misestimated the difficulty of climbing up to Height 109. They used blasting tubes to barely open a passage in the outer minefield, but found that the terrain was steep, and many places had to climb up the cliff drop.

However, their actions were discovered by the sentinels of the Italian army, and the surprise attack turned into a storm in an instant!
A squad of Italian soldiers who rushed over threw grenades indiscriminately, but this did not stop the pace of the American volunteers.

The Italian soldiers suddenly saw a few grenades flying over from the bottom of the cliff, rolled a few times and exploded after landing.

Before they could react after being blown to pieces, several figures turned up one after another.

Corporal Nathan clamped the MP34 around his waist, and with a fan shot, he knocked down three Italian soldiers who had just got up from the ground staggeringly.

"Da da da——" the other people following him also bravely fired their guns, ignoring the rain of bullets.

As more and more people climbed to Height 109 from here, in the hail of bullets, the soldiers of Team E used submachine guns, pistols, rifles, and grenades to crush the more than [-] Italian troops who came to reinforce them.

The defense line of the seemingly impenetrable 109 Heights was torn open from an unexpected place!
Fighting at such a close distance, the breakthrough unit equipped with a large number of submachine guns undoubtedly took advantage of it. A round of 9mm Parabellum pistol bullets flew out of the barrel of the exquisitely crafted MP34, and it was easy to fight in the middle of flesh and blood. A wound the size of a thumb was drilled into his body.

While Squad E was making a mess in the enemy's rear, Squad F launched a ferocious assault from one of the two main attack directions.

Lieutenant Howard, the captain of F Division, held a submachine gun and shouted the words "send them to hell with the flamethrower". Regardless of life and death, he personally covered the flamethrower and rushed through the fire blockade.

"Go to hell!"

The soldier carrying the FmW35 flamethrower aimed the nozzle at an Italian bunker that was shooting crazily, and a dazzling bright yellow fire dragon spewed out!

The blazing flames are rising, the rolling heat waves are coming, and the heart-piercing howls of pain may make people feel frightened at ordinary times, but now they make everyone feel refreshed.

In the burned bunker, some bullets exploded due to high temperature, crackling like firecrackers.

The Italian soldiers covered in fire howled and stumbled to escape from the bunker. Some were lucky enough to be knocked down by the flying bullets, while others were burnt alive until they lost consciousness.

After clearing away the key obstacles, the 72nd Battalion can finally attack again. After being suppressed for a long time, they vented their accumulated anger on the panicked enemy in front of them.

"Long live!!!"

There was a fish belly in the sky, and the very faint light faded a little bit of darkness. The Italian soldiers guarding the 109 Heights were almost terrified when they saw the countless rolling crowds coming to the heights.

They could no longer hold on to the enemy, and the officers repeatedly called for retreat.

After hearing the retreat order, the soldiers turned around and ran back as if they were amnesty, fell to the ground accidentally and continued to run away.

A company of Italian troops who came for reinforcements had just arrived at the ground of Height 109 when they were dispersed by the retreating soldiers.

"Stop!"

"It's the French... Their offensive is too fierce!"

"What? French?!"

"Get out!"

How can the panicked rout soldiers care so much, they just want to stay away from the crazy-looking soldiers of the [-]th Brigade.

Just like that, the more than a hundred Italian troops who reinforced them failed to maintain their own formation, and retreated back confusedly being coerced.

At 5:16 local time, the fiery red sun jumped out of the horizon, and the first ray of morning light sprinkled on the earth, illuminating everything around Talavera.

The bright red flag of the 72nd "Montmartre Heights" Battalion has been planted on the 109th Heights at this moment. It is illuminated by the faint sunlight and flutters slowly under the breeze.

Zhou Changfeng knew very well that the sharp and sudden attack had dealt an unexpected blow to the opponent. Although a breakthrough had been made, the battle was far from over.

He stretched out his index finger and clicked on a place on the map, and said in a deep voice: "The 72nd Battalion rests in place and reorganizes; the 73rd Battalion prepares to launch an attack on the enemy's garrison; deploy the mountain artillery and mortars to the 109th highland."

"Xia, what about the 71st Battalion?" Chretien reminded.

"They continue to maintain the current state and contain some enemy troops. If necessary, I will let them switch to a formal offensive."

"Yes!"

At this point, the Italian army finally realized its situation.

It was not the Republican Army that attacked, but the International Brigade.And all their previous actions on the river and field were just a cover, and the real purpose was precisely the most difficult 109 highlands!

The most important 109 highlands fell after only holding on for a few 10 minutes, and they didn't even hold on until the arrival of reinforcements.

How serious are the consequences of losing the commanding heights?Anyone with common sense knows that things are not looking good right now.

"We must attack now and regain the heights, otherwise we will be completely exposed to enemy fire!"

"Counterattack? Do you know their strength? We have no idea how many of them there are. Counterattack is meaningless!"

"I think we should retreat..."

"No, if they give up here, they can occupy a high place and bombard Talavera on the other side of the river!"

"Lieutenant Colonel, please request aircraft support, we should confirm the current situation as soon as possible."

The Italian officers of the regiment started to argue, and some of them blushed so anxiously that they took off their caps and threw them on the ground, yelling loudly.

"boom!"

A 105mm high-explosive bomb landed only tens of meters away from the regiment headquarters, and the sudden explosion interrupted their dispute instantly.

"Stop!" Archid patted the table with an angry face. "The battle has just begun. Has it been too long of a peaceful life that made you forget how to fight? Now, go to retake the high ground, and the artillery battalion will support the counterattack."

As the order was issued, two companies of Italian troops were organized to launch a counterattack to Height 109.

配属给79团的这个炮兵营的装备很杂，除了12门70㎜山炮之外，还有6门105㎜榴弹炮。

From the beginning of the battle to the present, they have hardly fired a single bullet. Although they tried to fire more than a dozen rounds against the 71st Battalion, which was on a feint mission in the southwest direction, they have not received a formal shelling order.

It wasn't until now that they were asked to adjust their shooting direction and instead attack the 10 Heights that were still under their control 109 minutes ago.

In an instant, more than a dozen explosion spots appeared on the small high place, and the soil, sawdust, and equipment fragments that were blown up scattered and fell like hailstones.

A shell fell right next to the military flag, and the two Frenchmen who went to store the military flag were instantly swallowed by smoke and dust.

The two were thrown flying several meters away, the flagpole was broken into several pieces, and the flag was torn into pieces by the shock wave.

"Hold the line!"

"Enemy infantry is approaching!"

The eardrums were bleeding due to the intensive explosions. The soldiers could only vaguely hear the shouts of others. They wobbled out of the shelter, poked their heads out of the trench, and set up their guns to fire.

Looking around, at least dozens of Italian soldiers are rushing forward.

The gunshots of both MG34 and MG13 are "thump-thump-thump", but the frequency of the former is much higher.

The crossfire formed by multiple machine guns was almost impenetrable, and the few people in the front were knocked down in the blink of an eye, while the rest quickly lay down, and then started shooting with rifles and light machine guns.

Immediately afterwards, both sides began to attack each other with grenades, and the grenade with wisps of smoke rolled in the air and flew over a distance of tens or hundreds of meters before falling to the opponent's position and exploding!

The wounded soldiers were screaming in pain, and among them, those who were seriously injured struggled for a while and stopped moving.

The fierce battle here may not be considered a competition of will, because most Italian soldiers lack the due faith and sense of honor, and there are only a very small number of people who are really willing to risk their lives to come to Iberia to cross their legs.

In just a quarter of an hour, the defeated company suffered 40 casualties.Among them, an 80mm mortar shell that landed in the crowd contributed to six.

The furious Italian army once again carried out artillery coverage, and then extended to the depth with denser blocking shelling to block the follow-up reinforcements of the International Brigade.

But this still didn't work-the other company that took over the attack took more than 100 minutes to advance [-] meters, and was driven back to the starting position by the French with bayonets when they were about to reach a breakthrough.

The price of returning without success was more than 34 casualties. The company commander, Captain Kasapa, was also beaten into a hornet's nest by MG[-], and his entire body was almost smashed to pieces.

Zhou Changfeng realized that now is a good time to take advantage of the victory and pursue it, and he ordered decisively: "Move the headquarters forward and start now. The 73rd Battalion will launch an attack in 15 minutes, and the 71st Battalion is also ready. The subsequent actions will be judged by the previously determined fireworks signal! "

The eager American volunteers quickly crossed the artillery blockade near Height 109 after receiving the order.

Zhou Changfeng moved to Height 109 together with more than a hundred people from the brigade headquarters, and re-arranged the frontline headquarters here.

At this time, the 73rd Battalion had already begun to attack the enemy.

Due to the lack of heavy firepower on our own side, this battle is especially about surprise and fierceness. The faster you move, the more you can disrupt the enemy's deployment.

The heavy machine guns deployed by the Italian army have been firing crazily, trying their best to block the attacking 73rd Battalion. There are at least ten places on the entire front where muzzle flames have been flashing.

The mortars deployed on the high ground began to suppress the Italian positions, and several mountain guns also lowered their muzzles and bombarded the exposed Italian firepower points with as straight a trajectory as possible.

Zhou Changfeng half-knelt next to a tree that was blown down. He saw through the binoculars that the 73rd Battalion's operations were not smooth, and were hindered after breaking through the outer defense line at first.

Seeing that the position was in jeopardy, the Italian army dispatched three armored vehicles to support it.

Since Company A and Company B had no anti-tank weapons, their offensive momentum was immediately stopped.At the same time, because of the heavy casualties, they had to stop in the outer positions that had already been captured and stick to it.

Two platoons of Italians even launched a counterattack backed by the three armored vehicles in an attempt to recapture the position.

However, the Americans wounded one of the armored vehicles with grenade and heavy machine gun fire, and the occupants got out of the vehicle and fled in a panic; Then retreated in a hurry.

Zhou Changfeng was quite optimistic about the weak defense and counterattack of the Italian army. He breathed a sigh of relief and ordered: "Okay, now, put the 71st Battalion into battle, and the 72nd Battalion and the 73rd Battalion will continue to attack and defeat them!"

(End of this chapter)