My Italy

Chapter 218 Battle of Tirana (Part 1)

Major General Hashem and Major General Halder in Tirana were very surprised by Colonel Abriz's request for help.

It had only been a day, and the defensive Colonel Alibiz was already complaining. You must know that the 1st Brigade of the 16th Division had 5,000 troops. In addition, Major General Hashem assigned him to the artillery and other units, which is more than 6,000 people. people.

Such a large number of troops were attacked by an enemy division and were beaten for help in just one day. This made the two men's already high evaluation of the Italian army rise to another level. (I later learned that the combat effectiveness of the Italian army also fluctuated greatly)

"What should we do in the face of Colonel Abriz's request for help?"

But since they asked for help, they had to take action anyway, so Major General Halder asked about Major General Hashem. After all, it was his troops who were defending in Walla.

Major General Hashem, who was looking at the map, gritted his teeth and said after making some choices. "Let them pull back after a day of fighting."

"What?"

Major General Hashem's words surprised Halder. You must know that retreating so quickly would have a huge impact on the morale of the army. It would make the soldiers think that the enemy was too strong and they would fight for a day or two. Let the 16th Division 1 The brigade withdrew.

Despite this disadvantage, Major General Hashem still believed that withdrawing the 1st Brigade was the best option. Because their purpose is not to defend Tirana, but to use the place to delay the Italians. So the purpose is different and the approach is also different.

And more importantly, they are short of troops. They only have two divisions in Tirana, of which his 16 divisions have been deployed to Wola and Vachari respectively, and there are only 31 divisions in the city. If you want For reinforcements, 31 troops must be deployed, which is not conducive to the subsequent defense of Tirana.

Although there are three regiments of local signs of recruits, the combat performance of these recruits is questionable. During the previous battle of the 21st Division in Durrës, the local recruits gave people a very unreliable feeling.

Therefore, instead of continuing to fight the enemy in Vola after testing the quality of the enemy, it is better to ship the enemy in. No matter how hard Tirana is, it is worse than Vola. At least Tirana has a large number of buildings that can provide enough for two divisions. Zhou Xuan's space, while Wola only has field fortifications, and they are temporary civil fortifications. How can this block the enemy.

In addition, the rifles used by the enemy perform well at medium and long distances, which is also one of Major General Hashem's considerations.

So later, after Major General Hashem stated the factors he considered, Major General Halder also expressed his approval after being silent for a while.

After all, compared with reputation, maintaining strength to fight the next battle is more important.

Their military strength does not support the wave war. If they can preserve their strength, it is a wise choice to stay in Tirana.

Now that the two of them have decided, they will naturally notify Colonel Abriz in Wola.

Although Wola is only 16 kilometers away from Tirana, considering the road conditions, the retreat can only be done at night.

When the order from Tirana arrived, Colonel Abriz, the commander of Vola, also breathed a sigh of relief. My master just needs to block today for one more day.

"Immediately order the troops to increase their firepower without considering the issue of ammunition."

The order from Colonel Abriz allowed the defenders to start using ammunition. This change immediately attracted the attention of Major General Pascal.

"The enemy is trying to escape."

Faced with the changes in the garrison's position, the experienced major general immediately spoke out what the enemy was thinking.

"So what should we do?"

The chief of staff beside him immediately asked.

"Let the fourth regiment cancel its combat mission and rest immediately until the order is given."

It was obvious that Major General Pascal did not intend to let the enemy get his wish, he wanted to leave a deep impression on the enemy.

However, the next battle continued, and the two armies continued to fight in Wola. Although the Ottoman army was at a disadvantage, after opening up their ammunition supply and increasing their firepower output, they still withstood the 8th Division's offensive.

As for the attacking Eighth Division, there was only one Durrës port in the rear, and a large number of troops needed to disembark at this port, so their ammunition was not as sufficient as their opponents.

So when the sun sets, the day's fighting is over.

After seeing the enemy retreat, the garrison officers and soldiers were also busy resting and eating to replenish their physical strength.

Of course, they didn't know about the retreat yet, but they were thinking about tomorrow's battle. Of course this is only limited to officers and soldiers at the company and platoon level. As for the officers above him, they already knew the news, but considering the previous battle, they did not inform the following.

Now that the battle is over and night has fallen, there is nothing to say, so the matter will naturally be announced. Therefore, when they learned that they were about to return to Tirana, the officers and soldiers of the first brigade were very happy.

Of course, the troops that retreat first are already ready, and the logistics troops are the priority to retreat. The artillery came next, and then the infantry. Moreover, the retreat was not done in one fell swoop, but in batches. The second regiment, which had suffered more losses, came first, and then the first regiment.

The chief of staff led a group of staff officers and clearly arranged the entire retreat plan.

As for Colonel Alibiz, the brigade commander, he needed smart troops to fight during the day, and waited until dusk to take a closer look at the plan.

After watching the logistics troops leave, Colonel Abulizi immediately spoke. "Chief of Staff, you can take the headquarters and the artillery and withdraw together. I will take the regiment and withdraw last."

Efficiency is important on the battlefield, and the chief of staff is not a mother-in-law, so after agreeing, he immediately led the rest of the headquarters and joined the retreating artillery team.

By the time the artillery troops withdrew, it was already past eleven o'clock in the evening. The reason why the time is so fast is that although the first two do not have many troops, they have a lot of supplies, so they need a lot of vehicles. And in the dark environment, it is impossible to go very fast.

Since it was now empty, it was naturally the second regiment's turn to retreat. So under the leadership of the commander of the second regiment, its officers and soldiers marched toward the rear in company units.

After doing this, Colonel Abriz was about to order a regiment to prepare to retreat, when a burst of gunfire attracted his attention.

"What's going on? Go and have a look."

Gunfire coming out at this time is definitely not a good thing. You must know that most of the troops are gone now, and this is the time when the position is most empty.

The guard quickly entered the night with his order, but he came back within two minutes. Not only did he come back, he also brought a signal soldier. The signal soldier's words greatly surprised him.

"What, the enemy is attacking at night!"

After hearing the words of the signal corpsman, Colonel Abriz immediately felt the seriousness of the matter. After taking a look at the large army that had already left, he turned around and ordered.

"Inform the commander of the first regiment immediately and order him to stop preparations for retreat. I will guard the position with him."

That night, gunfire rang out in Walla throughout the night. At dawn, hundreds of Ottomans fled from Walla under the guidance of the sun, but Colonel Abriz was not seen among them.

As for the news about Colonel Alibiz, no one knew, but someone later picked up his gun at the position.

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