My Italy

In the city defense headquarters of Tirana, Lieutenant General Javad Pasha was listening to a report from the commander of the 16th Division, Major General Hashem.

"Lieutenant General, the defense we currently deploy in Tirana is mainly divided into two parts. One part is deployed at the key points of the mountain passes of the Dinara Mountains, Wola and Vachali. This is mainly responsible for my 16th Division, and the other Part of it is deployed in Tirana as a mobile force, which is under the responsibility of Major General Halder's 31st Division, and is ready for reinforcements at any time. "

When Major General Hashem was talking, he couldn't help but glance at the Lieutenant General. After seeing that he had no objections, he continued to speak.

"The reason for this arrangement is that although the Dinara Mountains are not high and not very wide, only about five kilometers, there are only small roads in the mountains and heavy weapons such as artillery cannot be passed at all, so we only need to send a small number of troops to monitor .”

Major General Hashem then explained the weapons and ammunition reserves of the garrison in Tirana, as well as the training of new recruits.

As he introduced these situations, Lieutenant General Javad Pasha, the supreme commander of Albania, had a preliminary understanding of the situation in Tirana.

"Very well, you did a great job."

After praising the two men, Jawad Pasha continued. "Next, you need to consider your retreat arrangements if the war goes wrong in the future."

Lieutenant General Jawad Pasha's direct words made the two of them look at each other.

In fact, Lieutenant General Javad Pasha said this out of necessity.

Early this morning, after receiving the news that Major General Ataturk had returned with the 21st Division, Javad Pasha was shocked by the huge number of casualties.

There were more than 10,000 casualties, and only over 6,000 people retreated. How could he not be surprised by such heavy casualties.

Although Durres is located on the seaside, which is not conducive to defense, such heavy casualties made Lieutenant General Javad Pasha feel that he could no longer fight like this.

Facing the words of their immediate boss, the two of them were very moved. Who wants to see their troops suffer heavy casualties, and as generals, they also know that Tirana, where they are stationed, is not a place to stay for a long time.

So after hearing what their boss said, the two nodded at the same time after a brief silence.

After seeing the actions of the two men, Javad Pasha was also very satisfied. As long as the two men could make the troops suffer little losses, it would be very beneficial to the subsequent defense based on the Dinara Mountains.

Just when Javad Pasha wanted to continue chatting with the two, there was an announcement outside the door. "Your Majesty Commander, Major General Ataturk has arrived."

Now that the person the boss wanted to summon had arrived, the two of them naturally chose a reason to escape without losing sight.

When he walked out of the door and met Atatürk, he stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder to show encouragement.

Atatürk took a deep breath and stood at the door and spoke loudly. "Report, Commander Ataturk of the 21st Division is here to report."

"Come in."

The tone is obviously different from the previous two division commanders.

Faced with this situation, Atatürk could only bite the bullet and walk in.

"Do you know why I called you here immediately?"

Jawad Pasha, who was sitting motionless on his chair, asked him in a calm tone.

Facing Jawad Pasha's question, Ataturk lowered his head and answered apologetically. "Know."

"why?"

"I didn't lead the troops well this time."

Facing Ataturk's words, Javad Pasha stood up immediately and threw the documents aside. His head was covered with scattered documents, and Ataturk stood there without daring to move.

"Atatürk, you are very capable, right? Have I ever taught you before that you should not be so desperate in Durrës? If the terrain is at a disadvantage, be smart and withdraw as soon as possible. How did you lead the 21st Division? Casualties So big."

Faced with Javad Pasha's scolding, Ataturk was ashamed. "Teacher, I was wrong."

Yes, Jawad Pasha was the former commander of the 21st Division, but this happened several years ago, but after all, there is still such a thing as feelings. Seeing that the troops he had led before were beaten to a semi-crippling state, it was inevitable to get angry.

As for Atatürk, although he was scolded by his old superior, he felt much more at ease inside. It's better to be scolded than to be polite. This means not treating yourself as an outsider, but still treating him as a confidant.

Sure enough, his confidant was different. After some scolding and after Jawad Pasha had calmed down, he spoke. "Next, you take the 21st Division and retreat to Prilep. I will ask 6,000 people from the newly sent batch of supplementary troops to give priority to the 21st Division. The same goes for the weapons and equipment."

Prilep is already in the North Macedonia region. It can be said that the 21st Division only needs to restore its combat effectiveness as soon as possible, because they are already about to withdraw from the Albanian region.

This is the kind of treatment that can be replenished as needed. If the motley crew of future generations of anti-Japanese war fighters see it, they don’t know how their eyes will turn red.

But you still have to do something after taking advantage, and then Jawad Pasha said again. "This time I will replenish you with soldiers and equipment. You must train these new soldiers within a month and be ready to be recruited by me at any time. By that time, if the 21st Division's combat effectiveness cannot be improved, I don't think you, the division commander, will do it. ”

Give a sweet date and sound the alarm. Jawad Pasha holds the key to hiring people.

Faced with his encouraging words, Ataturk stood up and made up his mind as if he had been given a shot of blood. "Teacher, don't worry. If something goes wrong here, you don't have to ask, I'll take off the uniform myself."

"Very good. I see your determination. It depends on your performance next."

Javad Pasha, who put on a friendly expression, then pulled Major General Ataturk down and sat down. "Currently, the 21st Division is the only unit that has fought against the Italian army. Tell us about your feelings about fighting against the Italian army."

Faced with the teacher's inquiry, Ataturk certainly knew why. Although the situation of the Italian army has been known from the data, the paper and actual feelings are two different concepts. It is obvious that Javad Pasha needs the information his client knows.

So regarding the specific situation of the Italian army, Ataturk told his superiors based on his own feelings. This lasted for more than half an hour. Most of the time he was talking, and Jawad Pasha was listening and taking note of it. Sometimes he would also think about what he said and ask questions that interested him.

After Atatürk finished speaking, Javad Pasha said to him. "You haven't slept all day, so you're probably very tired. Go get some rest."

After sending Atatürk away, Javad Pasha summed it up. In total, Ataturk said a few points. The first Italian army had very good weapons and equipment, and the Italian soldiers had a higher shooting accuracy than them at medium and long distances.

Second, the Italian army has very good tactical coordination and likes to use insertion tactics.

Third, the Italian army's fighting will and morale are very good, similar to that of the 21st Division. They can often launch offensives even after suffering more than half of the casualties.

Of course, there are many other points, but Jawad Pasha believes that the points he summarized are the main factors.

Of course, he also learned from Ataturk that the 8th Division of the Italian Army was fighting against him. He knew that this unit was considered elite in the Italian army, so the status of other units was slightly reduced based on the above situation, that is The strength of the Italian Army.

After feeling the bottom line, Javad Pasha believed that he needed to make corresponding deployments based on the characteristics of the Italian army.