Chapter 123

……

"Sir, we have occupied three quarters of the city of Cordoba. Although the Republican Army is still relying on the terrain, we expect to completely occupy Cordoba tomorrow afternoon." An officer in a German lieutenant general's uniform proudly pointed to the map and told Franco about the current situation: "in the field, my 8th Armored Division has advanced to the South Bank of guadiane river."

As he introduced, he pointed to the border area next to Portugal on the map, and then said, "our army has controlled badahos, and the Republican Army has voluntarily given up there because of the situation. As long as the follow-up troops have no problem in the speed of follow-up, our troops will encircle the central city of caseres next week."

Franco nodded. He was very satisfied with the performance of the German. Standing in front of him was lieutenant general Bok, chief of staff of the German defense forces. His steady command brought Franco's army back to its disadvantage, gradually began to gain a firm foothold, and showed a trend of counterattack.

The second SS Panzer Division, reinforced from Germany, performed well in the counterattack against Cordoba. They disintegrated the Republican defense line outside Cordoba with the fastest speed and led Franco's defeated soldiers all the way back to the city center. Although Franco's military casualty figures made him gasp, after all, the war situation was very good.

The 8th panzer division of the national defense forces made great strides all the way to the South Bank of the Yana River in guava. It is likely to defeat caseres, an important town in central Spain. Once caseres is captured, Franco's army will be united and completely free from the embarrassing situation of being divided.

As a result, the performance of the German defense forces supporting Franco is much better than that of the Soviet Red Army supporting the international column and the Republican Army. At least until now, they have not been defeated in the battlefield where the Germans have joined. They've made great progress along the way, and they look invincible.

"General Bok, where are you going to focus your attack next? It's near the Guayana River, or in Cordoba. " Franco looked at the map for a long time and finally asked curiously.

"My direction of attack was drawn up by the German General Staff Headquarters and even by the head of state himself. For the time being, I only know that the head of state is more interested in caseres. So I'll concentrate my armor and capture caseres as fast as I can as a gift for your 36th birthday. "

"I didn't expect Mr. Fuehrer to be so young!" Franco seems to be very interested in akado: "he is a few years younger than me, but he has become the head of the whole Germany. Even a general like you who is older than him has great admiration for him. "

"The prestige of your Highness has passed countless tests of victory. So we won't question his decision. " "He is like a gift from God to the German people, bringing hope to our suffering nation," Burke sighed with adoration

"If I have a chance, I must see your Highness the Fuehrer." Franco nodded and said, "after Spain ended its civil war and became a strong and free country. I will certainly see your Highness the Fuehrer. "

"Very welcome! General Franco. " Said general Bok, nodding.

"One more question, general Bok." Franco seemed to think of something again. He asked casually: "an experienced general like you should be a very high-level general in Germany, right?"

"Thank you for your affirmation, General Franco." Burke replied with a smile: "we have many famous generals, such as general blauchich, commander of the national defense forces. Although he is young, he is indeed a capable general discovered by the head of state. Of course, there are a lot of people who are better at commanding than I am. "

At this point, Burke deliberately pause, and then made a joke: "before I leave, the Fuehrer told me that he saw that my old bone is about to retire, so he gave me this opportunity to get more pension."

"Ha ha." Franco laughed twice, then patted Bok on the shoulder: "you are a humorous person, different from many old-fashioned Germans. It seems that there is no problem for you to deal with in person. Why don't we go and have a whisky in the evening? "

"It's no problem to have a drink, General Franco, but according to the code of conduct for front-line operations of the head of state, I can only drink three alcoholic drinks a day at most. Of course, I heard that as a general of the national defense forces, the ban can be relaxed to four." Burke said with a smile.

"Then if you become a marshal, you can drink half a bottle." As the situation on the front line became more stable and more favorable, Franco joked in a good mood: "you Germans are really interesting. You have set a limit on the amount of alcohol."

"Long live the Fuehrer!" At this time, an intelligence officer came in, raised his right arm to bock and stood at attention. Then he said, "general, I have just confirmed from the air force commander Colonel Dick that three he-51d export fighters were lost by the Spanish friendly air force around 3:30 this afternoon."

"Conclusion?" Asked Bok, frowning at the intelligence officer.

"The air force has analyzed the process of air combat and confirmed the fact that the technology of Republican fighter pilots has been greatly improved." The intelligence officer took a look at the report and replied, "Colonel Dick speculated that the other side in this air battle was the Soviet pilots, not the Rookies of the Republican Army. Moreover, the aircraft used is also the latest I-16 fighter developed by the Soviet Union. "

"What's up with colonel Dick?" Asked Bok after thinking about it“ Colonel Dick suggested that if conditions permit, our pilots can also go up and have a try. " The intelligence officer looked for a while in the report before finding Dick's suggestion: "he also said that once the need to guarantee air supremacy is determined, he will use the secret weapons of the air force."“ Tell him I approved! Let him do it for himself Burke gave the intelligence book to the intelligence officer and ordered. Then he turned and looked at Franco. "Excuse me, General Franco. It seems that we'll have to wait a few days to drink our wine."“ No problem! General Burke! I'll treat you to a good drink when you win. " Franco said with a smile.