afterglow

Chapter 192 The [-]th International Brigade
Albacete, a city located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula.

As the formation site and training camp of the International Brigade, there are newly built barracks everywhere. Tents, board houses, sheds, and warehouses can be seen everywhere. If you look around the stone-paved streets, there are probably [-] people in a hundred. At least twenty soldiers.

At noon, the sky suddenly became gloomy, and a sudden thunderstorm enveloped the small town that was making preparations.

Amidst the rumbling thunder, the pouring rain poured down.

Zhou Changfeng and his party arrived at their destination on such a day.

Most of the houses are gray-white masonry walls with artificial plastering, and the sloping roofs are mostly made of red terracotta tiles. Driving through the streets of the city, you can only feel the strong Spanish style.

Perhaps there is no shortage of volunteers from all over the world to join the war, but the so-called "thousand soldiers are easy to get, but a general is hard to find." Although the international brigade has no shortage of soldiers, qualified officers seem to be stretched.

If it is further subdivided, there are enough officers at the platoon and company levels, and there is a relative shortage of middle and senior officers at the regiment and brigade levels.

Therefore, the importance of Zhou Changfeng and his party is self-evident.

"...The 105th brigade formed half a month ago is basically Chinese and Vietnamese. Do you agree to go there as a commander?"

"Sorry, Commander, I'm afraid not, I'm not fit to be there."

Schroeder, the commander of the International Brigade, was very surprised. This young man with white hair and beard but full of energy showed doubts, "Can you tell me why?"

"I came here anonymously and secretly. If I go there, my identity will definitely be exposed." Zhou Changfeng spread his hands and replied.

"Okay, I understand your concerns." Schroeder stared at the resume and thought for a while, "The 50th Brigade, it should be very suitable for you, and you can also work with your companions."

As for Brett, Chretien, and Roald, they were originally going to the [-]th Brigade, and they were surprised to learn that Zhou Changfeng was also going with them.

Later, after a burst of crackling typewriters, the adjutants and staff officers handed over several documents of appointment orders and authorizations to Schroeder, and after neatly signing and stamping, the light brown kraft paper became everyone's favorite document. Evidence for appointment.

"Xia, you are our commander now, 'Your Excellency, Brigadier'." Chretien shrugged and pointed to the southeast direction, "I just asked, our brigade is organized over there. "

"Let's go then."

Xia Yunfan is Zhou Changfeng's pseudonym, which he has used since boarding the train in Paris.

In history, there have been seven international brigades organized successively, but now they are different. There is an additional [-]th brigade formed by volunteers from Ming Dynasty, Vietnam, and North Korea.

In addition, because of the large number of volunteers, there are many more than the necessary supplementary soldiers, so the headquarters has built a new [-]th brigade.

The organization of the international brigade itself is relatively small, and the sequence is very chaotic. Some brigades have four battalions under their jurisdiction, while others have six battalions; the [-]th brigade is even more unique. Marshalling is not complete yet.

The compilation site is located in the southeastern suburb of Albacete, and the headless brigade headquarter is located in a villa.The owner of this villa was a businessman, but he was executed and his property was confiscated because he was identified by the Republican Army as having links with the National Army and was suspected of murdering and organizing riots.

There are many banners hanging on the fence outside the garrison, and the gray and white walls of some houses are also painted with red paint with slogans, such as "Bury all ▇▇▇ elements" and "Turn Spain into a grave of ▇▇▇" in English or French sentence.

"welcome!"

Since the call from the headquarters had been called earlier, the brigade headquarters of the [-]th Brigade hastily prepared a welcome ceremony.

Obviously Zhou Changfeng didn't care about this. He asked all the officers of the brigade to come to the brigade headquarters for a meeting, and then wandered around the villa during the waiting time.

It looks luxurious and spacious, but when dozens or hundreds of soldiers live in, its elegance and nobility will no longer exist.

The West in this world has basically no discrimination and contempt for China. For example, some European racists are still arguing that the Chinese should be classified as Caucasians.

On the one hand, these people believe that white people are supremacy, but they are unwilling to lower themselves, and at the same time, they are unable to despise Ming Dynasty, so they have been obsessed with arguing with biologists about the division of races, which can be said to be very funny.

This is actually a microcosm. Even if these guys are like this, let alone the attitudes and opinions of ordinary people in Europe.

It is difficult to break the yearning and myth of the East for thousands of years. The "China craze" in the [-]th and [-]th centuries made Europe even more obsessed.

Perhaps in the eyes of the wise, being attacked by Western barbarians is a great shame, but in the eyes of ordinary Europeans, this is a "failure and lesson in challenging China's status", which makes them dare not despise it even more.

"How could the headquarters send such a young man here?"

"He might not be 30 yet."

"I think Ian has more experience..."

In front of a group of middle-aged people ranging from thirties to 50s, Zhou Changfeng felt a little stressed.

However, the pressure belongs to the pressure, and a guilty conscience must not be guilty.

He glanced at the dozen or so people present, and smiled slightly, "Young means full of energy, which is a good thing for the commander."

Then he said seriously: "I believe that my actual combat experience and theoretical level can effectively command you. I don't like questioning. If I am not satisfied, I will report to the headquarters after the battle is over. Now, I demand absolute obedience."

Such an opening statement was really unexpected. The officers looked at each other in blank dismay. After a few seconds, someone took the lead and stood at attention to salute, "Yes! Sir!"

Zhou Changfeng took the list and checked the officers present and their positions. After getting familiar with each of them, he began to deal with many affairs with ease.

"What's the current situation of the 73rd Battalion? When will the formation be completed?"

"All the equipment planned to be distributed to us has not yet arrived, and the missing rifles and machine guns are not enough to arm the 73rd Battalion." A lieutenant replied helplessly.

"Isn't that a reason? You can't train without weapons? Change of marching formation, maintenance of offensive formation, excavation of fortifications, and response to air raids, these are enough to practice for a month." Zhou Changfeng frowned. : "It is better to wait for the gun than to wait for the gun. We may join the war at any time."

"Yes."

Zhou Changfeng, who had entered the state, began to assign tasks one by one, and asked to stop using the old French army regulations more than ten years ago, and use the German army's training regulations and field regulations.

The doctrine must correspond to the equipment system in order to be effective. He ordered this precisely because a large part of the international brigade's weapons and equipment was additionally provided by the German Society.

Although the weapons and equipment provided by the Germans to the Republican Army did not take advantage of the fire to increase the price, they were paid, while those provided to the International Brigade were free.

It was also a coincidence that someone came to report early the next morning, bringing good news and bad news.

"Sir, our stuff arrived, but... something is missing."

(End of this chapter)