Battle of the Third Reich

Just as the two mountain veterans were feeding themselves, the second lieutenant Piero in their mouth was leading the company's adjutant to carry out a routine inventory of the materials on the horse-drawn carriage carried by the troops.

The lieutenant celebrated his thirtieth birthday on the Alpine front two months ago, while celebrating the third anniversary of his service at the Verona battalion, and since then he has truly become a veteran, integrated into this The small collective became a member of the brave mountain eagle.

It can be said that the grassroots soldiers of the Italian army were very united at that time, and the soldiers watched each other for life and death. Many German troops could not do this. If the Germans did not have strict discipline, the internals would have been a pot of porridge.

The Italian Alpine troops, because of the special type of mission, have long established their own style, and the soldiers in the troops are intimate like brothers. Because on those icy peaks, in addition to the ice pick in your hand, you can only rely on your fellow comrade-in-arms. It is in this harsh environment that the soldiers have forged unreserved trust and friendship with each other and the dedication of self-sacrifice for collective willingness.

The interpersonal relationships built under such special conditions are exceptionally strong, and at the same time bring a strong fighting power to this group. But correspondingly, this kind of group has also become unusually exclusive. It is difficult for foreigners to integrate into this group. They must spend a lot of time proving their value to the veterans and obtain everyone's approval through a rigorous test. .

The basic power of the Italian army has not only been in the hands of the officers, but the real maintenance of the Italian army is the volunteer veterans and middle and lower sergeants. If the low-level officers do not follow the rules, they will easily be aerialized by their subordinates in various names. It is very similar to the Japanese Army. This is a common problem that arises when the internal class of the army is torn apart.

The Italian officer class and soldier class are simply two-faced creatures. Although Mussolini publicly expressed his opposition to the noble treatment of senior officers in the army, the extravagant life he personally enjoyed made these orders unconvincing. Don't mention any constraints on officers.

The soldiers will seriously obey the orders of their superiors, but privately do not expect them to show the slightest respect for the colonel and the generals. This situation is very dangerous, because once the constraints and deterrent forces given by the ranks are lost, the organization of the military will not be able to bear much pressure.

Piero's rank is too low, so it is easy for the soldiers to treat him as his own, plus the usual character and personality is very good, and at the same time respect the "unwritten rules" in the army, showing on the battlefield Only after the brave enough quality and commanding ability above the standard, the second lieutenant was finally accepted by all the veterans and became a member of the Alpine Eagle.

Unlike other officers and men, he is one of the few members of the Fascist National Party in the Verona mountain camp, and he is the only real-powered officer among them. Of course, this little second lieutenant is not enough to make the Fascist National Party attach importance to it, but this identity allows him to gain a lot of voice in the middle-level command of the army.

No one knows that the second lieutenant has actually lost the trust and expectations of the party he has already joined. In his opinion, if this organization is not completely changed, then sooner or later it will drag the Kingdom of Italy to death. And what is happening now has obviously verified the second lieutenant's prediction.

The battalion commander was a brainy Savoy barbarian, but this time he was extremely alert. If it wasn’t the major who saw the problem in the headquarters plan, it must be what he got from those private channels. News.

Anyway, Lieutenant Piero can’t control that much anymore. As an officer, he can obey the orders of his superiors, but it doesn’t mean that he will give away his life like a fool. He is not alone, but still Commanding a mountain infantry company means that he must be responsible for the lives of these 74 brothers.

Sacrifice for the country is the mission of the soldiers, but letting the soldiers die for Mussolini and the Fascist National Party is definitely not a reason to be motivated.

The Germans have publicly chanted the slogan. The head of state declared that he was not an enemy of the Italian people. The Third Reich did not have any territorial claims on the Kingdom of Italy. They only wanted to overthrow the incumbent Roman government and free the Italian people. Liberated from Mussolini's evil dictatorship, let the glory of freedom once again shine on the ancient land of Apennine, and return power to the Italian royal family, parliament and the free Italian people.

Speaking of Germans, these slogans are very appetizing for some Italians, and even make people feel that it is an Italian who wrote these propaganda slogans.

Mussolini has offended a large number of forces from top to bottom in the past ten years, not only those Socialist parties and conservatives who hated him from the beginning, but also those former comrades within him who are against him. Of those far-right veteran party members, Mussolini started mercilessly.

More seriously, when Mussolini was still trying to perfect his dictatorship, he did not know some of his actions, and had violated the Savoy royal family who had always stood behind him and supported him.

Mussolini really envied the German head of state. Although we all know what was going on in Germany at the time, Mussolini did not know that he only saw Hitler's power, and no one could control the head of state. Thought, no one can contain and limit the power of this head of state. In the eyes of this Caesar, this is what a dictator really should have.

So Mussolini tried to learn that Hitler began to scramble for power. During that time, his title continued to increase. The Italian dictator used all means to concentrate the scattered government power on himself.

This change in Mussolini made the Italian royal family feel worried, even with some fear. The members of the royal family and the royalists began to worry that the prime minister had been affected too much by the German head of state. It is hard to say that he would one day want to become Hitler in Italy, and then overthrow the royal family as a national leader like Germany. He has 2.6 million members of the Fascist National Party. If the army is to be drawn again, changing the dynasty will not be a difficult task. Since then, the royal family has gradually pulled away from Mussolini, and they have maintained a high degree of vigilance against the leader's every move.

"Wait until the village of Alock and add some fresh water. Don't let the soldiers go alone to fetch water below the valley. Savannah's stream is very fast and accidents are easy to happen." Piero tightened the rope at the mouth of the sack. Filled with crusty white bread baked in Florence, this is the most important ration on the way of the three companies in the Verona battalion.

"Lieutenant, how long do we have to delay here." a corporal asked.

"Are you in a hurry?" Piero said with a smile.

"No, I just want to know when I can get to my destination." The corporal said, touching the back of his head, just as he had been beaten by his colleagues.

"I honestly don't know, even if you ask the commander the answer is the same, we can only obey the orders of the Roman Commander, we can only go where they let us go." Piero took out of his pocket Cigarette case, scattered around the people around him.

"It won't work like this, we must rush to build a defensive position before the enemy attacks, the group of generals above can't even understand this truth." The veteran finished, and put him on the shoulders of his comrades, Cigarettes lit up on the other party's lighter.

"Even if you know the truth, how could the generals not understand it, or I would apply to the above to transfer you to the general's staff." The second-row platoon leader smiled and patted the man's shoulder.

"Forget it, sergeant, you can't understand the report you wrote."

"Nonsense, I just don't know how to use modifiers."

"Okay, Marlow just said nothing wrong. We rushed to the defense line early. We can take the time to build a position and be familiar with the surrounding terrain. But I also have a message to tell you now." Piero stopped the soldiers from playing. .

"Is it good news? If it's bad news, don't talk about it. We have heard enough in the past two days."

"I don't know whether it is good news or bad news. When I went to the camp, Major Robert just now," Piero said. He first reached out and looked to the left and right, then lowered his voice.

"It's the bald scoop from Rome." The second lieutenant's words caused the circle of officers and men to laugh softly.

"The bald man told me that the Germans had completely occupied Bologna in the morning."

"How come so fast, doesn't it mean that we assembled three infantry divisions in Bologna?" The second-row platoon's face became a little ugly, and one of his brother's troops was stationed on the outskirts of Bologna.

"The specific situation is not very clear, and you also know the strength of the German Army. Besides, they also have the air force and armored forces." Piero smoked.

"Only three days after the beginning of the war, the Germans won Bologna, and their advance speed was too fast." A soldier said with a shake of his head.

"Sicily has also fallen, and I dare to guarantee that the Germans will land on the south side." Another soldier said he knew the strategy well.

"Of course they will do it, otherwise why would it take so much effort to occupy Sicily." Some people scoff at this kind of hindsight.

"I heard that the French have already taken Genoa." a soldier said.

"Where did you hear it, how can I not know the news." The comrades on the side expressed surprise.

"Passing that village in the morning, I went to buy cigarettes. The owner of the shop told me that according to him, it was mentioned on the French radio."

"This must be a rumor from the French." Conspiracy theories have always had a market.

"If Geana also fell, wouldn't they be attacking along the coastline." Some people expressed concern.

"So aren't we meaningless if we die by the Apennines?" Rarely can I say something.

"The line along the sea is all mountainous, and the terrain is very complicated. It is not easy for them to break through." This is obviously a geographer.

"Enough, okay, let's not talk about the unconfirmed news first, Lieutenant, I didn't understand what you said earlier. Bologna's fall is obviously bad news that can't be worse." The second-row platoon leader shot hard Clapping stopped the soldiers' discussion, and he turned his head to ask Piero.

"Someone asked, and I thought no one cared about it." Piero took a hard breath.

"Okay, it's easy to say. The Germans captured Bologna, confirming that the Roman headquarters' judgment was correct. The German's offensive line has been determined. We can now adjust the deployment and focus our efforts on the enemy forces in this direction. . The Germans' advanced troops should have entered the mountains at this time. We may not have to rush to the front line to build positions. For us, it can be considered good news."

Piero threw his cigarette butts on the mountain road, then stretched out his foot and crushed it.

ps: I'm sorry that it's a little late. I ask for a monthly ticket to ask for a recommendation ticket. I want to click and subscribe.

Thanks to tzyh98, tzyh97, twilight consul, coyote of the wind 1978, ba pants p59, tigertank, rongin, angel's farewell, book friend n24694420dtdbk, eastern frontier, another newbie, God penalized a few dozen book friends reward. (To be continued.)

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