The defense line of the new city also had a big gap due to the rebellion of Colonel S. Casado in the middle line of defense. The rebellion of Colonel S. Casado allowed the National Army to occupy a large area without bloodshed, while the left and right sides of the Republican Army were It was separated by Colonel S. Casado's German defense zone without taking care of both the head and tail, and was in a disadvantageous position.
Former comrades-in-arms became sworn enemies. The sudden defection of Colonel S. Casado made the already shaky defense line immediately become riddled with holes. Not only that, Colonel S. Casado had ordered his subordinates to The troops penetrated into the old city, so when Colonel S. Casado led the troops to defect, the unprepared Old City Republican Army was attacked by the traitors who came in the name of supporting friendly forces.
They can realize their ideals and work for the Republic, and of course they can work for themselves and the National Army. When the Republic cannot give them what they need, it is reasonable for Colonel S. Casado to defect. Spain was far behind before. Before the left became dominant, the fight between the left and right factions was fierce. Even Colonel S. Casado himself did not know which side his soldiers were leaning towards.
As an important force in the defense of the new city, Colonel S. Casado's troops had a large number of Soviet-made weapons distributed by the Republic. Unfortunately, they soon used these Soviet-made weapons to attack the Republic who had placed high hopes on them. The army went to war.
The two sides were originally on the same front and knew each other thoroughly, so at first Colonel S. Casado used all his strength. Colonel S. Casado's deployment was to divide his troops in half and cooperate with the German army all the way to the old enemy. To attack the city, prepare to take down the old city first with internal and external cooperation. Half of the people will stay and stick to the middle line of defense that they should defend, resist the attacks of the Republican Army on the left and right, and facilitate the entry of the German troops behind.
The surprise attack by Colonel S. Casado's rebels caused heavy losses to the Republican Army in the old city from the beginning. They never dreamed that artillery fire would hit them from behind. You must know that on the battlefield, people turn their backs They handed it over to their most trustworthy person, but this most trustworthy comrade betrayed them.
At the same time, the SS Gendarmerie Regiment took advantage of the Republican Army's shock and was well prepared to cooperate with the attack. The overwhelming sound of artillery resounded throughout the world again. At this time, the Republican Army in the old city had been surrounded to some extent. '. The friendly troops behind were fiercely attacking them, while the terrifying Germans were in front, especially the troops wearing black uniforms. They were simply the representatives of death. After so many days of fighting, the Republican Army found that this black troops seemed to They simply ignored death and were simply an army composed of lunatics. Now they also started to attack again. Although the Republican Army, which was attacked from both sides, persisted, they were still beaten back.
The snipers that once filled the Germans with fear have been lost after so many days of fighting. Although war is the fastest way to train soldiers, if the replenishment is not fast enough, it will become a one-sided massacre, a massacre of civilians by professional soldiers. Although the Republican Army is still resisting the German army these days, But the price paid was several times or even more than ten times that of the German army. Those on the battlefield now are no longer the elite Republican Army of the past few days, but the farmers who are now mobilized.
Several days of street fighting also cost the German army a lot. Now, in addition to the SS, the Wehrmacht, which did not originally pay attention to street fighting, is paying more and more attention to street fighting. Maybe they also understand that it is no longer the kind of technology that was used in World War I. There is a war of attrition in the wild where there is no content. The two sides may not meet each other and cannon fire every day.
For this reason, the German army is now becoming more and more cruel. Originally, the Wehrmacht did not want to destroy the structure of the old city too much, because the old city is a very famous tourist attraction in Spain and even around the world. It is very famous in itself. The Wehrmacht takes into account its own They don’t want a large-scale war to destroy its reputation, but more and more people are dying in the war. This idea has long been forgotten. Like the SS, they don’t care whether the building in front has a few It has a history of hundreds or even thousands of years. Anyway, as long as there are Republican troops hiding inside, they will be bombarded with artillery first.
In order to prevent individual tanks from being besieged by the Republican Army, Lin Wei ordered the tank groups to move forward alternately in groups of three to five, compressing the space of the Republican Army bit by bit and isolating them in a single building. In the end, the National Defense Forces, who had survived several days of hard training in street fighting, rushed into the building and engaged the Republican Army in hand-to-hand combat.
Podols is an ordinary corporal in the National Defense Forces and the squad leader of the 9th Division of the National Defense Forces. At this time, he was leading his soldiers to fight against the Republican Army in a white two-story building. The splashing blood and the wailing screams did not affect him even a little bit. The scene in front of Podols The Republican Army officer was staring at him, not paying attention to the fighting nearby. He was a ruthless character. Since you didn't move, Podols didn't have time to waste time with you. He relied on his long sword and long hands to slash at you diagonally.
Even a warrior with the best swordsmanship has to block the threat in front of him before he can counterattack. The Spaniard lost the opportunity and could only raise his sword to accept the attack. However, he underestimated the power of Podols, and the scimitar raised in both hands could not stop him. He couldn't help but chop violently, and the knife was not broken. It was a good knife, but the Spaniard still screamed. Half of Wang Gang's big knife cut into his shoulder, and his collarbone was broken.
The severe pain aroused the blood in Spain's body, and he struck Podols' head with a backhand knife. The distance between the two was only half a meter. Podols couldn't escape from such a close distance. Seeing this situation, Podols Si took a step forward, closing the distance between himself and Spain, quickly pulled out the dagger from his waist, and wiped off the Spaniard's neck neatly.
The Spaniard felt a chill on his neck, and then it seemed as if all the strength in his body had been taken away. He fell down with a look of reluctance and wide eyes.
Hand-to-hand combat should be the most brutal contest. Although the Germans had an advantage in numbers, their numbers could not play a huge role in a small area. People on both sides kept screaming and falling. In just a moment, there were people on the ground in the house. A lot of corpses fell down from both sides who were no match for us. The most powerful thing about hand-to-hand combat was that there were no wounded. Both sides fought to the death. A wounded soldier might be carried to the hospital for treatment, but all his blood would be drained by the time he got to the hospital. Podols was covered in blood, and he couldn't tell which was his own and which was his opponent's. Finally, there were no enemies in front of him, and when Podols finally felt relieved, bursts of darkness hit him, and he fainted.
The bloody battle could not defeat the Republican Army, but the biggest enemy of the Republican Army was themselves. The rebellion of Colonel S. Casado affected the psychology of the Republican Army even more, making them doubt their ideals. In addition, The fierce SS troops in front and the two-sided attack from the friendly forces made the Republican Army in the old city finally unable to bear the huge psychological burden and collapsed.
There was no warning, and the military police could not figure out why the Republican Army, which had been fighting to the death just now, collapsed. Everything was so traceless. The well-trained soldiers immediately turned into farmers. The Republican Army fled in all directions, and the military police would not Let go of this God-given opportunity and engage in pursuit. This is the military police's favorite combat mode.
The tank group chased the Republican Army like a bereaved dog. The mentally collapsed Republican Army had no intention of fighting and scattered in all directions. In just half a day, the military police captured the old city where countless brothers died and spent several days unable to advance even an inch. The biggest good thing about the fall of the old city was that the military police finally no longer had to fight in this narrow place. , which is not conducive to the performance of tanks at all.
Franco also occupied most of the urban areas facing him. In the direction of the new city, although the Italian army made little progress and only occupied a few streets, it has basically ruled out the possibility of the republic government fleeing. So far, Madrid has Two-thirds were controlled by Franco and Germany.
On December 30, 1936, the Battle of Madrid came to an end. The Republican Army was surrounded. Although they were still resisting tenaciously, this left-wing country that once terrified the entire Europe was strangled by the right-wing forces represented by Germany and Italy. The final outcome is that everyone believes that Germany and Italy are just, and no one will shed a tear for the Spaniards, not even the Spaniards themselves.
As the final battle, the German army, Italy and the Spanish National Army cooperated for the first time in Madrid. The three armies concentrated nearly a thousand heavy artillery for bombardment. The bombardment started at midnight and lasted until the early morning. The loud noise was heard all night long. , many Republican soldiers fell together with the buildings in the city that may have been hundreds of years old, and were buried in the deep ruins.
At 6 o'clock in the morning, everyone received the order to launch a general attack on the city of Madrid. The Germans, Italians, and Portuguese rushed in from all directions. Victory was in front of them. Everyone burst out with strong fighting passion. The Republican Army suddenly discovered that in front of them The enemy charged as if they didn't care about casualties at all. Getting rid of the narrow streets of the old city, the No. 4 tank in the hands of the military police once again played its role, venting the suffocation suffered in the street fighting and constantly harvesting the corpses of Republican soldiers.
Fall of Plaza Mayor
Fall of La Villa Square
The Gate of the Sun fell
Bad news spread to the headquarters of the Republican Army one after another, challenging the nerves of those in power who had lost their lives in the West Mountain, making them feel that the end was coming. The fifth column continued to release news in the city, and many Republican troops had surrendered completely. I no longer had the courage to fight the enemy fiercely some time ago.
The rumbling sound of cannons is so clearly visible at this moment, and the people in power of the Republic already know that their end has come. Franco had already publicly announced that he would not let them go.
In front of the government building, the defenders who are still loyal to the Republic formed the last line of defense. They guarded the place with their bravery and loyalty. These people were from almost all ages, but they all had perseverance on their faces. It could be seen that, They are all the best communist fighters, ready to live and die with the Republic at this last moment.
The Italian army had already reached the front of the government building, but they still allowed these soldiers to push back. As time slowly passed, more and more dispersed Republican soldiers passed through the layers of siege and came to the front of the government building. Fighting with them, both sides were so jealous here that they didn't care what weapons they had in their hands. Basically, everything they could get was used in the battle.
From the window of the building, dozens of Maxim heavy machine guns fired wildly at the enemies who dared to attack. The brutal street fighting also drove the Italians crazy. They rushed to the government building without any scruples, and the front of the government building was stained red with blood. streets. The belief in revenge caused the Italians to immediately attack wave after wave without taking any rest.
Due to heavy losses, the Italians brought in 40 heavy artillery pieces from the rear for shelling. Finally, several large holes were opened under the building. Crazy people immediately rushed in. Inside the building, the Spanish Republican Army and the Italian Army fought repeatedly. The battle situation was very serious. At this time, the SS military police and part of the National Army had completed the cleanup of their own areas and came to support the Italian army.