Chapter 187: Brutal Street Fighting
The week leading to the end of the month became an all out struggle for air superiority between Germany and Soviet Russia.
The outcome, however, was obvious from the beginning.
Even after Soviet Russia brought out the I 021 fighter, a model developed by imitating the appearance and engine technology of the Bf prototype from Germany's Weapons Research Institute, the aircraft carried fatal flaws from birth. Technical deviations, misunderstood engineering, and even partially fabricated industrial reports turned these fighters into deformed children the moment they left the factory.
Against the Bf 109, they were always at a disadvantage in one on one combat.
Against the FW 190, they could barely fight back at all.
In a single week, Soviet Russia lost more than fifteen fighters and two bombers.
Germany, by contrast, maintained almost zero casualties. Only one fighter, riddled with bullet holes after being ambushed, managed to return to the airfield. The greatest loss of the week was an old bomber shot down by antiaircraft fire.
More importantly, Soviet Russia and the Spanish Communist Party were not facing only Germany.
The Italian Volunteer Army and the Falange Army began their battles for the two major cities of Barcelona and Salamanca. The Italian Air Force soon became the second threat pressing against the skies of Spain.
To prevent the port city of Barcelona from falling into Italian hands and accelerating Italian shipping, the air forces originally supporting Madrid had to divert nearly half their strength eastward.
The number of Soviet aircraft over Madrid became visibly insufficient.
Soon, they could no longer even carry out effective harassment or distraction. The German Black Hawk Legion gradually seized control of the skies above the capital.
Stuka dive bombers and He 111 medium bombers began roaring over Madrid.
Strategic bombers still in the experimental stage and heavy bombers that had only just entered production also appeared above the city.
Germany turned air combat into an air show, with lives collected as the price of admission.
Railways were blown apart.
Trenches and towers were destroyed in swathes.
Under the lens of war correspondents, Madrid faced a hell even more terrifying than Salamanca.
Amid endless air raid sirens, reporters pressed their shutters again and again. By the time the black and white photographs were developed, many of the faces captured in them had already become posthumous portraits of Spanish Communist Party soldiers and members of the International Brigade.
But even so, they fought to the death.
They resisted the Spanish Forward Army that entered the city, dragging them into brutal street battles and block by block struggles.
A full month passed, yet the Forward Army captured less than twenty percent of Madrid's urban area.
The German instructors seconded from the Street Fighting Blood Wolves Infantry Division were shocked by the enemy's tenacity, the cruelty of the fighting, and the sheer refusal of the defenders to collapse.
At the front line command post, the Blood Wolves officers sent to guide urban warfare stared silently at the casualty figures that grew larger every day.
Fortunately, the Blood Wolves themselves were not directly participating in the war.
Faced with such a tough opponent, even they would likely lose a few teeth.
Thinking of this, one officer handed a sniper manual to the Spanish officer beside him. The manual had been drafted from the Wehrmacht's own experience in street fighting.
"Change your method."
The German officer tapped the manual.
"Select a group of good marksmen and aim for their officers."
The Spanish officer looked down.
The German continued, "Without command, formations break. A large group of disorganized soldiers is much easier to handle than an organized squad."
Inside the city, the battle for the buildings continued without pause.
Two medics from the International Brigade, carrying medical kits and panting heavily, rushed toward a rooftop position under the cover of two squads.
When they reached the top, they saw wounded men everywhere.
One soldier had lost a leg. The wound had already begun to show signs of infection.
Another had taken a bullet through the collarbone. The flesh around the wound was swollen, inflamed, and beginning to fester.
The sight made the medics' eyes redden with anger.
One of them turned and shouted at the men escorting them, "Weren't there supposed to be only two wounded? How are there so many?"
Before he could finish, a loud voice rang out from below.
"Take cover. Bombing."
Boom!
The entire building trembled.
Dust fell from the ceiling. Cracks spread along the walls. Somewhere below, glass shattered and someone screamed.
The two medics had no choice but to perform only basic measures to stop the bleeding.
Germany was the sole producer of penicillin, which meant the Spanish Communist Party could not purchase the expensive medicine through ordinary channels. They could only rely on black market acquisitions at absurd prices or aid from sympathetic internationalists.
The quantity was pitifully small.
They had received only four doses.
But how could four doses save more than a dozen wounded men?
At the rear, inside the Spanish Communist Party command center, Quartermaster Token was venting his anger at Finance Minister Sila and President Zamora.
"Why are we shipping gold to Soviet Russia?"
His voice trembled with frustration.
"We will not forget Soviet Russia's aid. After the war, when peace comes, I will sell even my shoes to repay this debt."
He pointed toward the reports on the table.
"But not now. We can use this gold to buy medicine. Weapons. Ammunition. Food."
His eyes were bloodshot.
"It should be spent, not handed away under the excuse of safekeeping."
Zamora patted his shoulder and glanced at the Cheka special envoy from Soviet Russia sitting nearby.
Then he lowered his voice and said, "This is unavoidable, Token. Our comrades from Soviet Russia are also considering the possibility that this gold may be seized by the rebels. Besides, Soviet Russia's aid to us is not small."
"Not small enough to be worth six hundred tons of gold."
Token's voice rose again.
"I will agree only if they provide aid worth six hundred tons of gold."
Seeing that he could not be persuaded, Sila could only wave his hand.
The guards stepped forward and escorted Token out of the room.
Afterward, Sila picked up the pen and signed the gold safekeeping agreement with the Soviet envoy.
Disagreement did not arise only within the Spanish Communist Party.
Zhukov and Pavlov also developed tactical differences.
Zhukov believed that the previous poor performance of the tanks did not tell the whole story. The tanks of the German Army and the Spanish Forward Army had also performed poorly inside the city.
In his view, the limited armored forces should be withdrawn from Madrid. They should bypass the capital and drive directly toward Salamanca, Germany's central stronghold, in order to relieve pressure on the offensive.
Pavlov, however, repeatedly insisted that tanks could only serve as supporting forces in this battle.
The argument grew increasingly fierce.
Unable to convince Zhukov, Pavlov finally accused him of being influenced by the Germans. Then he slammed the door and left, declaring that he would no longer participate in the command of the Third Armored Division.
A helpless Zhukov could only remain alone before the map.
After staring at it for a long time, he issued an order for the Third Armored Division and the attached Spanish Second and Third Armored Divisions to disengage from combat.
Of course, this was not the only problem.
Cheka agents, who had been tasked with controlling the International Brigade, considered anti Trotsky sentiment even more important than anti German sentiment.
They quietly began investigations into independent factions and Trotskyist elements within the Spanish Communist Party.
They also targeted a considerable number of International Brigade members, people who had come to Madrid to fight street battles against the Forward Army with their own flesh and blood, and who had hidden beneath German air raids in ruined buildings.
For those who had come into contact with Trotsky himself or even merely read his writings, the Cheka compiled a special list.
Small batch arrests soon began.
And just as internal strife took root, Italy, in an ironic twist, became the force that eased Madrid's situation.
.....
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