Chapter 4:
March 8, 1937
Central Spain, northeast of Madrid, Guadalajara The Nationalist faction High Command seemed quite encouraged by Italy's tremendous support.
They were all excited, saying that this time they would retake Spain's capital, Madrid, and break the Republican faction's will to fight…
But whatever the thoughts of those high-ranking people—the bastards who ground soldiers to dust at Jarama—as someone who had to participate in the operation, I was seriously, very seriously, anxious.
The operation is fine. The military force is good, too.
Fifteen thousand of the Nationalist Army's most elite troops, plus 35,000 from the Italian Army, makes a whopping 50,000.
And not just 50,000 plain infantry; Mussolini had supposedly sent everything from his country's armored forces to artillery and fighter aircraft.
The Republican faction's military that participated in the last major battle, the Battle of Jarama, was about 30,000 at most.
Considering the devastating sacrifices made at Jarama, it was certain the Republican faction's available forces would be severely diminished.