My Italy - Chapter 679, Battle of Nice (6)

The train station is the transportation hub of Nice, where people go to and from Nice. Charming sunshine and comfortable temperatures make Nice an ideal place for a winter vacation in France.

Although this was the beginning of the 20th century, there were not many people visiting Nice.

However, after the war broke out, few people came to Nice to travel, and the train station was too clean. Today, the train station is bustling with crowds of people and various vehicles inside and outside the station.

At this time, a rumbling train came to a stop, and the platform that had just been cleared was about to welcome a new crowd. When the train stopped, the soldiers on the platform immediately opened the doors of the boxcars, and the officers and soldiers who had spent most of the day riding here from Marseille immediately went down to the platform.

The officer leading the team looked at the time and loudly ordered his soldiers to line up and count the number of people. After spending three minutes solving these problems, under the guidance of others, the teams lined up and walked quickly outside the station.

These officers and soldiers who got off the train were all from the 23rd Division, which was the reinforcement sent by General Ebbett this time.

Outside the station, there are various vehicles arranged by Lieutenant General Fast, the top commander of the Nice region and the commander of the 16th Army, including the most advanced Sophia trucks and horse-drawn carriages that rely entirely on stored energy. These vehicles are to allow them to rush to Lescarenes more quickly, where they want to join their defenders and jointly block the fierce offensive of the enemy’s 11th Army.

At this time, Lieutenant General Fast was talking with Major General Costa, the commander of the 23rd Division, on the second floor of the station.

“Major General Costa, this is the intelligence about the enemy’s 11th Army as of two hours ago. In addition, I have sent a regiment of troops to reinforce Lescaren. I hope it can be of help to you.”

At this time, Major General Costa took the file containing the intelligence and opened it directly without hesitation and read it. At this time, rescuing dangerous situations was like putting out fires. He couldn’t stop for a moment, so he didn’t have much time left. Lieutenant General Fast also understood it quite well, so he was not dissatisfied with his approach.

However, when Major General Costa saw the information, his expression suddenly turned cold and he said. “The Italians are less than eight kilometers away from the Colin Bridge. Why hasn’t the bridge been blown up?”

When faced with Major General Costa, Lieutenant General Fast searched for it, took out a stack of telegrams and handed it to him. “Take a look. This is a telegram from the commander of the garrison occupying the east side of the bridge.”

After receiving this stack of telegrams, Major General Costa finally saw the reason why the bridge was not blown up. The reason why he did not blow up the bridge at first was because he wanted to recapture the bridge and ensure the retreat of the defenders at Buro Pass. For this reason, he prevented the Italian soldiers from making suspicious moves several times in a row.

When the Burrow garrison was defeated and defeated, they wanted to blow up the bridge again, but the Italians on the opposite side were unwilling. Let’s put it this way, the two parties are only separated by the Colin Bridge, which is more than a hundred meters away. This distance determines that whoever has ideas about the bridge will be blocked by the other party. Even at night, with flares from both sides turning night into day, no one stood a chance.

After reading this stack of telegrams, Major General Costa finally understood the reason why the Colin Bridge was not blown up. At this time, he just sighed and said. “I hope the 71st Division can capture the Italians who cut off the bridge and save the retreating friendly forces.”

After reading the latest intelligence, Major General Costa certainly knew the battle situation of the 71st Division. Several consecutive attacks failed to capture the enemy’s position, and he suffered greater losses. Although the enemy’s position has a complex structure and air superiority, this is enough to prove that it is impossible for the 71st Division to conquer the enemy’s position in a short time.

So according to the latest intelligence, the enemy is only eight kilometers away from the bridge, so the fate of the French army east of the bridge has been doomed.

When Major General Costa, commander of the 23rd Division, was talking to Lieutenant General Fast, there was a new situation on the east side of the Colin Bridge.

At this time, in the mountain col east of Colin Bridge, a large number of French officers and soldiers, with gray heads and faces smelling of gunpowder smoke, were sitting here to rest, nearly a thousand of them. If you observe carefully, you will find that these people are basically bare-handed, and very few of them have weapons in their hands. In addition, there are almost no heavy weapons, and the actual number is miserable.

Yes, this was the vanguard of Bro’s defeated army. It carried no heavy equipment, had low morale and was in panic. This was all caused by having no retreat and being pursued by the 11th Army.

For the defeated French troops now gathered at Colin Bridge, if they want to get out of this predicament, they can only start from two aspects.

The first is to open the Colin Bridge to give the troops a way out. But this is not easy. Although there is the 71st Division attacking on the opposite side, they can cooperate with the Italian army on the west side of the bridge to attack, but now there are two problems.

There is a terrain restriction. If you want to seize the west side of Colin Bridge, it is definitely best to pass through the bridge. However, the bridge is only ten meters wide and the width is limited. If we attack from here, the casualties will be heavy. When attacking from the valley below the bridge, the terrain is very steep, and the difficulty of attacking from above is not much better than attacking from the bridge.

The other thing is time. Even if a lot of troops are left behind to defend, it can still last up to 6 hours. It would be very difficult for the French army on the east side of the bridge to capture the Colin Bridge within this time period.

In addition to opening up the bridge, there is another way, which is to climb over the mountain. Climb over the remaining mountains of the Alps on both sides to avoid the danger of being annihilated. However, the path up the mountain is not easy to walk, and some people may leave it behind and abandon it later.

These two methods also represent radicalism and conservatism. Now that the French army has retreated, it does not know how to choose when faced with these two options. The main reason why the army doesn’t know what to choose is the differences between the two commanders.

“Major General Beckett, I disagree with you. The terrain on the left side of the bridge is too disadvantageous to storm. I have learned from Lieutenant Colonel Kaman before that the enemy’s firepower on the opposite side is very fierce. In addition, the attack channels are limited. It is a very difficult task to conquer within a few hours. Don’t forget, the soldiers are very tired and cannot defeat it for up to three attacks. They will definitely riot.”

“Major General Aquino, I know your thoughts and I also understand the dangers involved, but do you understand the dangers of climbing over the mountains? As far as our location is concerned, the mountains are full of small roads and there is no way to use vehicles. What is needed We need to carry food and ammunition ourselves. Moreover, the small road also means that we move slowly. As long as the enemy is faster, it is very likely to cut off our road.

In addition, the slow movement also determines that if we take a small path next, it will not only increase the risk of being annihilated by the enemy. Besides, if we plunge headlong into the mountains, the next battle will have nothing to do with us. Major General Aquino, do you know what consequences this will bring to us? “

“Of course I know.”

Faced with Major General Beckett’s words, Major General Aquino immediately retorted. “This is at least better than us being prisoners. Look at our soldiers. They had no confidence in being defeated after passing through the mountain pass. Many of them even lost their weapons. You rely on them to help you seize the opposite position. I think it is Thinking too much. As long as the enemies behind us appear, they will definitely surrender immediately. And our two divisions have been captured by the Italians. This is not good news, even if we return home in the future, there will be no good results. “

It was obvious that Major General Aquino did not think that Major General Beckett’s method of storming was effective. Although he was only the deputy commander, he would not stand idly by when faced with the life and death of the troops.

“Major General Aquino, your view is too pessimistic.”

“No, this is my result after comprehensive consideration based on our current situation.”

At this time, the dispute between the two commanders allowed the defeated troops to rest here temporarily. However, both of them knew that continuing to argue like this would not bring good results to them, so they both tried to speed up the persuasion.

At this time, a piece of news brought the dispute between the two to a conclusion.

“Report, Lieutenant Colonel Jire sent news that their blocking position was breached by the enemy.”

This news immediately silenced the two generals who were arguing. The two battalions led by Lieutenant Colonel Gire are their second line of defense. If the enemy breaks through the third line of defense 3 kilometers away from them, then they will become the turtle in the urn.

“Now order the troops to retreat through the trail, and ask the defenders here to withdraw as well. Each person will carry three days of rations. We will evacuate from the northern trail to Lewan. And inform the 71st Division on the opposite side of the news of our evacuation. In addition, let the soldiers All the heavy weapons we cannot take away will be destroyed and will not be left to the Italians.”

At this time, faced with a series of orders from Major General Aquino, Major General Aquino did not refute. It seems that this radical general also agreed with this.

The defeated soldiers at Bulo Pass did not wait for the road to be opened and chose to climb over the mountain.