Tukhachevsky's actions not only surprised Franco and Guderian, but also shattered glasses that broke the Second Republic's government. Because his strategic intention was very clear, he wanted to keep the National Army and the German Volunteers in Madrid.

It can be imagined that once the supply lines of the National Army and the German Volunteers were cut off, even if they occupied Madrid, it would be the last madness. Without supply, they could no longer receive new aid, and they could only wait for destruction.

And this situation is definitely what Guderian is most reluctant to see. The thing he has always been worried about has happened. If he doesn't take decisive measures quickly, he will be done.

Fortunately, Guderian had always been on guard against this move. His main force of the German volunteer army was always in the back and did not invest on a large scale in the battle to attack Madrid. Moreover, he had been closely observing Tukhachevsky's movements. When aerial reconnaissance told him that Tukhachevsky had appeared in Escarona, he immediately ordered the troops to turn on the spot and rushed towards Alanjuez in the direction of the Tagus River. If he could not control the bridges and ferries on the Tagus River, then he and the National Army would be completely finished!

The two mechanized troops started a speed competition. Whoever can control the bridge on the Tagus River first will take the initiative in the next decisive battle. So who wins?

Let's look at Tukhachevsky's side first. His BT-5 tank group quickly assaulted forward, rushed along the highway towards the Tagus River, recapturing Markda and Torijos one after another, and rushing to Toledo. Here he encountered the blocking of the garrison troops left by Guderian.

By the way, Toledo may not have heard of many comrades. But the history is very long. It was built in the Roman era. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Castile (King of Spain). The Tagus River embraces this city. Its architecture is very Spanish and is a famous ancient city.

However, this ancient city became the battlefield for the first head-on confrontation between the Soviet Union and the German Volunteers. In the afternoon of the same day, the first tank registrar of the First Division of the International Column arrived at the outskirts of Toledo. The infantry soon formed a breakthrough from the junction of the German Volunteers' positions No. 11 and No. 12 under the cover of the BT-5 tanks. The German Volunteers at this position could not resist the fierce attack of the International Column and began to panic.

In a critical moment, the garrison troops put their only armored troops into a counterattack (part of the No. 1 tanks left by Guderian to repair them locally). Under the cover of eight No. 1 tanks, the German Volunteer Army's reserves resolutely counterattacked. The tanks of both sides fought for several rounds. Once, the Germans pushed back the international column that was breaking in front, but soon under the firm attack of the armored units that had the advantage of the international column, the Germans' counterattack was defeated.

Tank No. 1 can't really be called a tank, maybe it's more appropriate to call it Krupp tractor. In the face of BT-5, which has absolute advantages in all technologies, Tank No. 1 can only be considered a large tin can with movable iron.

The fierce battle was 5:00 p.m., and the local defender commander Lieutenant Colonel Waller had to call Guderian for help. The latter was very dissatisfied with the former's performance. Now the only one who could buy time for Guderian was Waller. This guy could not hold on for only three hours. How could this work?

Three hours were not enough for Guderian. His troops were more than 50 kilometers away from the Tagus River, and it would take two hours to run even if the No. 1 tank was opened. What's more, the combat marching could not run at all. The enemy's air force along the way caused him countless troubles, and he could only advance forward at most 5 kilometers per hour. In other words, the most optimistic estimate was that Waller would have to buy him ten hours!

"Your headquarters must hold on for another 7 hours, this is a dead order!" Guderian hung up the phone without any discernment, and once again urged his troops to speed up the march, and ordered the Vultures to hold air defense parades for the troops at all costs.

Back to the battlefield of Toledo, the situation was very serious for Lieutenant Colonel Voral. If the tasks assigned by Guderian were not completed, the military law would be of little interest to do anything, and the German Volunteer Army was wiped out. This crime would be too great!

So, the Army Lieutenant Colonel, who was just about to complain, showed off the German fighting spirit and began to block Tukhachevsky's vanguard troops at all costs. The battle was extremely fierce and arduous.

The first company under Voral was guarding the front of Toledo. This unit, with the cooperation of some National Army (two companies) defended stubbornly in the open area. Although it could not get the support of tanks, the Germans repelled the attack of the international column after fighting to the death. The second company on the right wing defended a farm and fought fiercely with the international column around the outer irrigation canal, which once developed into hand-to-hand combat. Finally, with the support of the National Army artillery, the position was tenaciously defended.

In these two battlefields, the Germans used all weapons they could use to resist the infiltration of international column tanks. Many foxholes were crushed by tanks. Tenacious German soldiers often threw the last grenade at the tank before they died in battle, or simply died with the tanks with their bags. In the end, there was nothing they could do. The Germans simply used anti-aircraft guns to intercept the rushing tanks.

Various guns and soldiers' calls were mixed on the battlefield, and both sides of the bloody battle paid a heavy price.

The International Column lost about 20 tanks in a few hours of battle, and the Germans almost wiped out all the companies on the front line. If Voral hadn't gritted his teeth and threw himself into the reserve team, Toledo would have declared lost.

At dusk, Tukhachevsky personally rushed to the front line. After witnessing the bloody scene on the battlefield, the genius military strategist immediately adjusted his tactics, threw all the cannons in one breath, first carried out intensive artillery attacks, and then ordered the infantry and tanks to skillfully use the cover of the terrain to attack forward alternately. He did not pursue the German defense line in one breath, but after encountering nails, he immediately called for artillery fire and then used tanks to attack. After a series of continuous impacts, the German defense line was broken like a tug-of-war.

The fierce battle continued until dark, and neither side chose to rest. The Germans chose to attack the night time. The International Column chose to take advantage of the heat. The two sides collided head-on under the night sky and had a close confrontation. In the face of the superior forces of the International Column, the Germans finally could not bear the strong pressure of the tank troops and chose to retreat.

According to the memories of veterans participating in the war, the tanks of the International Column were under the cover of artillery fire, while firing with vehicle-mounted machine guns, while rushing towards the front at a high speed of 30 kilometers per hour. While the German Volunteer Army had to withstand the attack of artillery fire, they had to overcome the trouble of blurred vision in the darkness, and the final battle was almost in chaos. In the end, a few German Volunteers could not resist, so they hurriedly retreated under the drive of enemy tank tracks.

According to the recollection of the International Column tank ace Ravchenko: "At noon, we rushed to the periphery of Toledo and fought fiercely until 7 o'clock in the evening. We finally approached the city. The German devils here resisted tenaciously and fiercely... A tank No. 1 hid in the dark, and Negelin and I almost discovered it inadvertently. The next action was like we practiced repeatedly in the military training ground. The gunner Vasilyevich took out a shell from the rack, stuffed it into the barrel, and then calmly said: 'Prepare it!' I passed the sight

Observe that the enemy tank was about one hundred meters away from us. The crew did not seem to notice us. They kept firing in another direction with the machine gun on the turret... As the launch tube shook violently, the shell flew out with a whizzing sound and chiseled towards the armor on the side of the enemy's car body. After a dazzling flash, the hatch cover on the top of the turret was pushed open, and a man's head came out of the cigarette. The next moment, the machine gun fired, and the German devil was immediately hit and fell back. After that, no one could climb out of the tank, and it was burning there all the time..."

At about 7:30 pm, Worel's resistance was finally completely shattered, and Tukhachevski finally occupied Toledo, but it was not very meaningful to occupy Toledo alone, because the railway from Madrid to Real did not pass through here. To completely cut off the enemy's retreat, the international column still needs to continue to advance.

Tukhachevsky knew this very well, so after occupying Toledo, he ordered the offensive troops not to stop at any time, and to continue to march in the northeast quickly, and to occupy Aranjues in front of the Germans. Only by controlling Aranjues can the enemy's escape route be completely blocked.

At this time, Guderian was also quickly advancing towards Aranjuez. Like Tukhachevsky, he also knew what this strange little town represents. Only by ensuring that the city is in hand can his troops be safe!

Two armored brigades rushed towards Alanjues and arrived at the city almost at the same time, but the Germans had a slight advantage because their garrison troops still controlled the city. Soon, fierce competition began around the small city:

Afonia, the company commander of the 2nd Company of the Third Infantry Regiment of the International Column, who was in the attack, described the scene of the attack that day: "The back of the hill can be bypassed from both sides, and the cluster steadily advances to the center of the hill, occupying a very ideal shooting position. Our company touched a small bush covered with rut marks on the left side of the hill. About a kilometer ahead of us tilted forward and extended forward to form a pass. At this time, the reconnaissance forces informed me that they had discovered the enemy tanks. Not long after, these tanks appeared clearly in front of me. To be honest, the German tanks were really disappointing. Compared with our BT-5, they looked small and exquisite, with extremely thin firepower, with only two machine guns."

"It seems that these damn German fascist bandits also discovered that we were coming, so they sent tanks to welcome us immediately. The German devils were maneuvering very quickly. One tank of No. 1 passed through a pass that could hardly be seen clearly, and almost flashed away from my eyes. However, the second tank of No. 1 also came out immediately. I picked up the phone without hesitation and contacted the three BT-5 tanks that cooperated with my company: 'Fight towards the pass! Quick!'. At this moment, the third tank of No. 1 was the third tank of No. 1.

He rushed out and was hit directly. The tank soldiers inside were blown out of the hatch, and one of the dead bodies was still hanging on the hatch door. Then there was the fourth two tanks! But the tanks that had been destroyed before had blocked the pass, and it was obvious that they could not pass. Soon it was hit by our tanks who seized the opportunity. There was no explosion this time, and the German devils immediately crawled out of the tank and ran away. The two German tanks before, seeing that the situation was not good, immediately chose to escape."

It seemed all went well. But this day was for the 18-year-old recruit Bogdan. It was his first time to go to the battlefield. But the young man seemed very lucky: "At 7 a.m., the sun rose slowly in the clear blue sky, and the attack began with the deafening guns and cannons. The veterans quickly climbed a hillside and disappeared in an instant. We recruits followed closely behind. When I ran up the hilltop in a small step, and then rushed to the other side with my comrades. Suddenly, a shell exploded between us, and my back was hit. My whole body fell forward to the ground. The entire comrades in the squad disappeared without a trace. I lay in the place where I was hit. My left hand was hit by a shrapnel, almost to

The palm was cut in half, and the right leg was hanging weakly on one side, the blood was flowing, and the body was gradually becoming cold and cold. My good friend Alexander was blown away by the same mortar shell, and a few bloody limbs and uniform fragments were all he left. The health officer ran over quickly. He saw me and rushed to me quickly, bandaging my left hand with gauze. Then he untied my belt and tied my bloody right leg, and then he kissed my forehead and told me to wait in place. He continued to run forward, looking for survivors... About two hours later, the health team finally found four survivors in the row, including me, who lifted me onto a stretcher and shakyly transported me to the rear..."

"Compared with other brothers who died in battle, I was lucky. Although my left hand left some disability, I saved my life. It was my first time to go to the battlefield and was injured for the first time. Soon I was sent back to Leningrad for recuperation and was honorably discharged from the army half a year later. Just when I thought I would stay away from war and casualties forever, a few years later, I met the German devils on my own land again... Joined the war again, injured again and then returned to the battlefield again, I witnessed a lot of deaths, and even stepped into the grave with half of my foot at one point, but in the end I stood in Brandenburg Square with scars and the eager hope of the dead comrades, and witnessed the moment when the flag of victory rose!"

According to Tukhachevsky's order, the focus of the attack was not actually in the Aranjuez city, but in the crucial railway bridge outside the city. Near this railway bridge, Guderian arranged heavy troops to guard it, and the two sides continued to tug-of-war around the railway bridge.

The fierce battle lasted all day, but under the strict defense of the Germans, the International Column almost failed to move forward and was blocked by the Germans three kilometers away from the railway bridge.

"Suspend the attack." Faced with huge casualties, Tukhachevsky frowned. It was not a way to continue to rush hard, "Let the Air Force find a way to destroy this damn bridge!"

After experiencing Ferro's tough battle, Tukhachevsky's expectations for the air force were getting higher and higher. Whenever the local troops were helpless, the first thing he thought of was the air force. However, the air force was not particularly powerful in the first day of the battle. Like the ground troops, they could hardly get close to this railway bridge. The vulture army almost did everything to conduct air interception, and the two sides fought in the sky for a whole day.

"We need more fighter planes!" Gamalnik wrote in his diary, "The stupid Second Republic government always wants to cause trouble with us. They firmly refuse to send air forces to support us. These guys only have Madrid in their eyes. They have hoarded quite a lot of fighter planes over Madrid, claiming that they will firmly stop the enemy from approaching Madrid, even if they get close to Madrid from the air, they will definitely not allow it. This is simply a joke. When the Spanish pilots were flying around the city in our fighter planes, the main force of the enemy's air force had already gone south, and repeatedly fought and tug-of-war with us around the Aranjuez area, and these so-called comrades actually stared at the side and watched the show!"

Faced with the request of Tukhachevsky and the Soviet advisory group for air support, the Second Republic government firmly refused. The reason they gave was that the defense battle of Madrid was not over yet (in fact, Franco had given up his plan to attack Madrid when he saw that the situation was not good), and he could not draw more troops to support the International Column.

In fact, these grandsons actually took revenge on Tukhachevsky and did not obey their orders to defend Madrid. Now that time has changed, Madrid's crisis has been lifted. They have recovered from their breath and chose to take revenge on Tukhachevsky and deliberately did not cooperate.

This made Tukhachevsky so angry that he almost vomited blood. Damn, why is he fighting hard here? It’s not to solve the National Army as soon as possible. OK, at this critical moment, the Second Republic did not want to help, but instead wanted to pull back. This is a teammate of any of the people. Even Tukhachevsky doubted whether the Second Republic wanted to win this civil war.

Tukhachevsky immediately complained to Trotsky. He could no longer bear the stupid Spaniards and even spoke in the telegram: "We should withdraw the international column immediately. The Second Republic is not worthy of letting the Soviet athletes bleed and sacrifice for them!"

Tukhachevsky didn't know that his anger caused a stir in China and even directly led to the collapse of the Trotskyist alliance... (To be continued, please search for Astronomy, novels are better, updated and faster!

ps: Bow to thank the plane wanted criminals, waste people, Chuan Liu Huagui, agz00025, instantly killing Potato and Juventus Comrades!

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Chapter completed!