Battle of the Third Reich

Breaking free from the drag of Badogrio and Ziano, Mussolini tried his best to calm his emotions. In the twenty-four hours after the declaration of war with Germany, no one could understand the heavy pressure on him.

Mussolini is proud. He believes that he has a talented mission. He will save Italy, which is sinking in ignorance and chaos. He is destined to be the savior of this country. He is Caesar, Augustus, and should be contained. Enter the annals of history, let the children and grandchildren sing the great people for thousands of years.

But the reality is extremely cruel, and the Italy he leads simply cannot stand the test of war. This country is poor in resources and has no conditions to exist independently of European society. In the past three centuries, Italy has exhausted the characters accumulated by its ancestors. The once great city-states have all become smoke clouds. The last glory of the Roman Empire has also been buried in the dust of history.

"Notify the Gendarmerie and arrest Cavliani!" Mussolini said, pointing at Niano.

Then the imperial leader turned his gaze to the chief of staff's face. He frowned and asked, "If I give you the ships and convoys you need, can the army guarantee to recapture Sicily!"

"No!" Badogrio replied exceptionally simply, while shaking his head vigorously to correct it.

"Why! We have fifteen infantry divisions there." Mussolini's eyes became dangerous and sharp.

"I told you that this is not just a matter of number. The nearest infantry divisions lack ammunition and supplies, and the shortage of weapons is also very serious. If we decide to support Sicily, it will take about three to four days. It is estimated We can assemble a force with five infantry regiments. And as I pointed out earlier, without the support of the navy, we simply cannot send them to the island." Badogrio said while walking to the long In front of the table.

"The Navy will be dispatched, and it won't take too long after dealing with the current problem, I can guarantee it." Mussolini interfaced, but he seemed hesitant.

"If you have the support of the navy, the army should be able to solve this, right. This is the responsibility of the army." Mussolini reached out and gestured at the map.

"In theory, it is true, Your Excellency, but in fact, no matter what plan we come up with, the time is too late, and the Germans will not give us time to rest." Badoglio took one from the table Red pencil, drawn a few lines on Sicily.

"At the moment they have broken through the beachhead, I don't know how they did it, but considering the combat effectiveness of the German Army, okay don't talk about this first." Looking at Mussolini's ugly face, Badogli Au decided not to over-excite the Caesar before ending the talks.

"This is the defense line of the Aosta Infantry Division, and here is the defense line of the Naples Infantry Division. You can see that it should be integrated." Badogrio drew an arc behind the southern coastline of Sicily.

"But we don’t know what happened, the link between the two divisions has been broken. The German Army is very good at breaking through the weak points of the position, and then develops to the depth and the wings, destroying the supply point and commanding the assault troops in depth. The center, and then with the two roundabout forces, wiped out the troops in the siege circle. The weak position where the two forces took over was the German's favorite breakthrough point." Badoglio threw the red pencil on the map.

"The training levels of several other infantry divisions in the south are no different from those of these two infantry divisions. If we send them to that island now, it would be tantamount to sending these soldiers to death."

"The Italians are not afraid of sacrifice. We have firm conviction and determination." Mussolini lowered his head and stroked the map, saying that his mood finally calmed down, and the intense excitement left behind a lot of frustration. .

"My Excellency, Prime Minister, I'm afraid we must give up Sicily now, this is the most sensible choice at present." Badoglio put the military cap on the table.

"No, we can't give up Sicily. As long as I'm the Prime Minister of Italy, I will never make a decision to give up my country." Mussolini stared at Badoglio, and the Field Marshal could clearly see the redness around the pupil Bloodshot.

"The current retreat is temporary, otherwise we will lose more, Your Excellency." Badoglio picked up the red pencil and made a huge circle on the tip of the boot on the map of Italy.

"We have only two poorly equipped coast divisions here, and like the four coast divisions on Sicily, those troops are said to have collapsed in the first place. So if the Germans are preparing to land in Italy from here, we There is simply no way to stop it."

"So what is your plan." Mussolini looked down at the map for a while, and apparently he was persuaded by the facts Badogrio told.

"My plan should be the one proposed by the Headquarters after consultation, which is to immediately build up the strength of several southern provinces and build a line of defense between Salerno and Mesa Ponte, which is expected to take about five days. We estimate that Germany For the time being, people cannot launch the second landing operation. It takes time to allocate materials or organize fleets.

We can strengthen the defense lines of the southern provinces in the gap left by the Germans. And only one line of defense cannot stop the Germans. We also need to establish second and third lines of defense in the rear, which requires the mobilization of all the troops of the Italian Army in the south. We calculated it to be approximately 32 infantry divisions. ".

"God, this is almost half of the Army's total." Ziano exclaimed.

"The actual strength is not that great. We need to recruit Italian men of the right age to join the army. Although we don't have much time to train them, we can at least teach them to pull the trigger." Badogrio marked the follow-up on the map The location of the two lines of defense.

"This plan is very good, I am very satisfied." Mussolini glanced at Ziano, then nodded at the chief of staff.

"I’m glad you will agree with this plan, but if you want to complete this plan, I need to obtain your written authorization, because we have to mobilize the strategic material reserves of the five major provinces in the south to requisition the civilian transport needed, and A sum of money is used as a salary for recruiters." Badogrio said a bit embarrassed.

"No problem, you will get my authorization, supplies, supplies, personnel, ammunition, vehicles, funds, everything you can think of, I will give it to you, as long as you can guarantee that it will stop the Germans from moving forward. "" Looking at the sincere expression on Mussolini's face, if he hadn't figured out the leader's details before long, Badogrio was almost moved by him.

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency, I will give you a written application and a list of items that will be needed when I go back." Badogrio slightly bowed.

"But what about the enemies to the north, have you forgotten the enemies to the north?" Ciano could not see the little theater where the monarchs and gentlemen were in harmony, he interjected again.

"Of course I have not forgotten, Your Excellency Minister!" Badogrio replied loudly. The Field Marshal gave a glance at the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This was indeed a **** and deserved to be cleaned up by his husband.

"As far as the current strength is concerned, we have assembled four infantry divisions in the Apennines defense line. In Florence, our fourth army is ready to go." Badoglio used a red pencil to draw a line north of the Italian central mountains. Horizontal line.

"From Pisa, through Florence, Arezzo, Castello all the way to the Adriatic Sea, we will build a solid line of defense. The Roman Headquarters unanimously decided to call it the Mussolini line of defense. In order to express the determination of the Italian people to resist, as well as support and respect for the country’s leaders.” Badoglio again owed, Mussolini's face looked pretty good at that time.

"How many troops are the command headquarters planning to put here." Mussolini asked, touching his chin.

"Twenty-two infantry divisions, we need to gather all the troops around the Midwestern Italy and Rome, including the black shirt." Badogrio replied respectfully.

"You mean to mobilize the Roman garrison troops? Tenth Motorized Infantry Division? With all the black shirts?" Mussolini hesitated. These troops are his final national reserve.

"We have been unable to withdraw the troops on the French border. Your Excellency the Prime Minister, the French have broken through the border." Badoglio finished his glance at Ziano again, and the foreign minister was short on the spot. Halfway.

"These **** Gauls." Mussolini also turned his face and gave Ziano a glance, as if the other party was the culprit causing all this.

"If you follow your plan, how long will it take to build this line of defense." Mussolini asked.

"About four to five days, before we could mobilize some troops in front of the [Mussolini] line of defense to build a slightly simpler line of defense. It only took four or five days for the Germans. I believe we can still do this. It can be done." Badogrio replied.

ps: sorry, this chapter is late today, thank you for your consideration.

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