The sun rises again, and a new day also begins. But for the two sides fighting in Alem, the arrival of this new day means that the battle is about to begin.
At the foot of the mountain, the Abyssinians, led by priests and patriarchs, were performing their last prayers before the war. Judging from their pious expressions and meticulous movements, the Orthodox Church has a high prestige in the local area.
While the Abyssinians were preparing to pray before the battle, the Italian troops on the mountain were not idle either. They continued to reinforce their trenches with shovels and other tools in their hands.
Yesterday's battle made the Italian officers and soldiers feel the pain of not having a bunker, so after the battle, they rushed to repair a trench overnight. This was also thanks to the fact that they considered that they might be attacked by the enemy when they set out, so they brought a large number of digging tools with them.
The time for the Abyssinians to pray soon passed, and as the sun gradually rose in the sky, the two sides who were well prepared began another day of fighting.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!"
The artillery was the first to speak, and the Abyssinian artillery from down the mountain fired a bombardment at the Italian position held on the mountain.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!"
The 6th Mountain Brigade that was stationed on the mountain was not idle. Facing the enemy's shelling, the Italian army, which also carried a large number of artillery, also began to counterattack.
A fierce artillery battle broke out between the artillery of the two sides.
While the artillery was dueling, the Abyssinian infantry was not idle either. Under the leadership of their officers, they launched an attack on the mountain.
Tens of thousands of Abyssinians, armed with their own weapons, bent over towards the top of the mountain.
"The enemy is coming, prepare!"
The junior officers who were lying on the ground observing immediately called their soldiers to prepare for battle when they saw the enemy approaching.
Viewed from above the battlefield, Italian officers and soldiers formed a circular position, surrounded by a large number of Abyssinians.
It was not until these Abyssinian officers and soldiers entered the firing range of three to four hundred meters that the firepower from the position began to fire.
"Bah, bah, bah~"
Intensive firepower hit the attacking Abyssinian officers and soldiers. The Abyssinians, who were at a disadvantage due to the attack, each used the terrain to hide their figures, and also used their rifles to fight back.
"Quick shot."
The officers were constantly in the trenches, directing the soldiers to fire, and at the same time observing the situation on the battlefield. Wherever the enemy appeared, they were responsible for commanding the soldiers to suppress them.
"Boom!"
An Italian soldier lying in the trench looked at a junior officer who was directing the soldiers to attack and pulled the trigger. The Abyssinian officer who was waving his arms had a trail of blood on his chest, and his whole body was covered with blood.
He fell heavily to the ground. And the morale of the Abyssinian soldiers around him that had just been boosted dropped back.
"Crack!"
There was a gunshot, and an Abyssinian soldier who emerged was hit. There was blood on his shoulder, and he screamed in pain.
However, on the battlefield, although the defending Italian army had a terrain advantage, the Abyssinians had an absolute advantage in numbers. Moreover, the guns and ammunition strongly supported by Britain and France were not vegetarian.
"Crack!"
An Abyssinian soldier hiding behind a boulder aimed his rifle at an Italian soldier who was shooting. He gently pulled the trigger, and the gunpowder pushed the projectile out of the gun chamber and hit him hard.
The Italian soldier who was hit let out a heart-rending cry, causing his comrades to drag him to the back of the position. Here, the medical soldiers wearing red cross armbands were checking his injuries before treating him.
Whether to send the patient to a field hospital behind the scenes or to receive treatment on the spot.
If there is much difference between the Italian army and the Abyssinian army, then the medical soldiers are definitely the biggest difference. Whether it is equipment or training, they can be outsourced or trained by military consultants, but for this reason
Planting medics won't work.
Although this kind of military unit that requires professional medical care may seem inconspicuous, it can really improve the morale of the army. Because for soldiers, knowing whether they are injured or not has a very big difference. And this is also a modernization of the army.
One of the important symbols of the military is that having medical soldiers who can save lives and heal the wounded is something that makes both officers and soldiers feel at ease.
As for the Abyssinian side, it is estimated that the number of people who know the word "medic" will not exceed three digits, so for them, the only way to survive the injury is to toughen up, and of course there will be blessings from the priests. As for whether they can survive, in addition to relying on
Apart from yourself, you have to look at God’s will.
On the battlefield, the defenders continued to reduce the number of attacking troops, but they also suffered a certain amount of casualties. Although this number was inconspicuous, it could not be ignored. However, in the end, it was the Italian army that relied on its own equipment and technical and tactical advantages to defeat these casualties.
The Boabissinians drove off.
However, as the Emperor of Abyssinia, Johannes IV, he would not give them any time to rest. With a wave of his hand, another troop roared and attacked the mountain.
This Johannes IV took full advantage of the human sea advantage. He divided his troops into five troops and let them take turns to attack the defenders.
Facing the successive attacks of Johannes IV, the Italian officers and soldiers who could not get any rest could only grit their teeth and persevere.
However, as its commander, Major General Pascal will not just watch his troops be attacked by the enemy in turn. He also rotates the troops to take a rest, but he may only take one or two battalions to rest, and he needs to repel the enemy.
In the short period after the attack, each battalion could basically have more than an hour of rest. Although it was not worth mentioning compared with the Abyssinians, this was indeed his only way.
You must know that there are too many enemies, and he does not dare to let too many people rest.
Of course, the Abyssinians' successive attacks had little effect at first, because at this time the Italian army was full of energy and could respond quickly. However, by the afternoon, the soldiers who had gone through high-intensity fighting all morning were already
Physically and mentally exhausted.
Although it seems that soldiers only need to be on the battlefield, lying down in the trenches and pulling the trigger, but in this process, they need to observe the enemy's movements at all times, and at the same time, they also need to mainly avoid possible dangers, in addition to the roar of injured comrades and the explosion of artillery shells.
Etc., need to be excluded. These will make soldiers highly nervous, and it is very tiring to maintain such a state, so many times a soldier cannot fight for a whole day, and they also need to take a rest.
However, in the battle of Alem, the soldiers who lacked replacements could only grit their teeth and persevere.
As the commander, Major General Pascal can temporarily replace a small number of officers and soldiers to rest, but this cannot relieve the mental pressure of the officers and soldiers at all.
Therefore, in the afternoon, the Abyssinians were once fifty meters close to the position, and they could rush over with a single charge. This forced Major General Pascal to temporarily terminate the small-scale rotation and let the officers and soldiers block this wave of attacks.
After the sun went down, the Abyssinian attack for the day ended. Although the Abyssinians suffered as many as 11,000 casualties that day, the officers in charge saw the enemy's exhaustion. If not for Abyssinian
There are too many Bisinians with night blindness, and someone might even suggest fighting at night.
On the other side of the position, the Italian officers and soldiers who had repelled the Abyssinian attack were slumped in the position, wishing they could have a good sleep right away.
However, the officers will not let them rest like this. They need to eat first and then find a safe place to rest. Moreover, they are busier than the soldiers. They need to count casualties, weapon losses, and whether ammunition is sufficient.
As for the commander, Major General Pascal looked at the statistics and sighed. This is not because the number of casualties was too high. In this day's battle, the Italian army suffered less than 800 casualties. Although it looked good,
But Major General Pascal knew that if he suffered a few days of fighting like this, he might not be able to wait for General Simeone's reinforcements.
"We cannot continue to fight like this. We need to reduce our defensive area and allow our soldiers to get adequate rest. A battle like this today cannot continue."
Colonel Zelos, who was also worried about the future war, asked, "Then what do you want to do?"
"We need to be ready to abandon the hills to the west!"
Facing Zelos' inquiry, Major General Pascal expressed his inner thoughts. The mountains to the west are much shorter than those to the east, so for military purposes, Major General Pascal chose to give up.
"Is this too hasty?"
Facing Major General Pascal, Colonel Zelos asked. It was not that he opposed abandoning the hills to the west, but that if he retreated too early, it would greatly increase the enemy's morale, and if he silently gave up the defense of the hills, the same would happen.
The morale of the officers and soldiers below was poor.
"Let's do this. Gather the main supplies and carriages here. If you can defend the west side, defend it. If you can't, retreat back."
After thinking about it, Major General Pascal decided to take it slow, but a lot of work that needed to be prepared in advance could be started.
Of course, for the two of them, the best solution is General Simeone's reinforcements.
Speaking of Simeone's reinforcements, is the general ready?
