My Italy

In the autumn, the East African land is dry and rainless, and the withered yellow color looks so decayed.

However, in this dry land, two waves of officers and soldiers are fighting hard. If you look carefully, you will find that except for the differences in military uniforms, the weapons and equipment of these two waves of officers and soldiers are basically the same.

Yes, it was at Carlo's suggestion that the Italian Army's autumn exercises were moved to East Africa.

Currently conducting exercises are the Eighth Army Division and the First Guards Division. The Eighth Division is a very combat-effective unit among the Army's standard divisions, and the First Guards Division is needless to say. The confrontation between the two division-level units is very interesting.

It is precisely for this reason that in addition to attracting the attention of the Italian military itself, this exercise also attracted other guests.

For example, the Abyssinian generals and the emperor Menelik II watched. Of course, it is not known how much they can understand.

As the top general who watched this exercise, the experienced General Simeone did not finish watching it, but he put down the high-power telescope after watching it for a while.

"The result of this battle is obvious. The First Guards Division performed very well, but the Eighth Division will not be able to hold it anymore."

Simeone's words made Major General Pascal, the commander of the Eighth Division, look ashamed. Faced with the accusations from his old superiors, what could he say? The next step was to increase training and learn from failures.

As for the praised 1st Guards Division, Major General Pulev, as the division commander, was not overjoyed. He also saw the shortcomings of the 1st Guards Division in this high-quality exercise.

As for the Abyssinians who were watching, many of them looked at it with blank faces. They only knew that both sides of the exercise were well-trained, and both the offensive and defensive sides played very well. The Abyssinian army, whether defensive or offensive, is far from an opponent.

Many Abyssinian generals privately estimate that if they want to prevent the attacks of the two Italian armies, at least 60,000 people will be needed, and the number of artillery, machine guns and other equipment must reach the same number as the other side. As for the attack, it is simply impossible with less than 100,000 people.

Of course, this is just a guess. Whether it will work or not will only be known after actual testing. Of course, with Abyssinia's strength, it is impossible to have this strength, let alone the idea.

Simeone's prediction was very accurate. After a while, cheers came from the exercise ground. The 1st Guards Division broke through the defensive position of the 8th Division, announcing that the result of the exercise was the victory of the 1st Guards Division.

Faced with this result, Major General Pascal, the commander of the Eighth Division, became even darker.

This exercise was divided into two parts. The Eighth Division attacked and the First Guards Division defended. Then the two divisions changed their identities and started again. Of course, if you act on the offensive side, you will get some beneficial supplements, such as increasing some supporting firepower. However, the Eighth Division failed to defeat the First Guards Division this time, whether offensively or defensively. This made him, the division commander, feel discouraged.

Of course, he wouldn't show it in front of everyone. I saw Major General Pascal walking in front of Major General Pulev with a forced smile.

"Our Eighth Division is heartily convinced that we lost in this exercise. I hope we can get another chance to compete with your division next time."

Faced with Major General Pascal's unyielding spirit, Major General Pulev replied with a smile. "Your teacher also performed very well, but this time it was just bad luck. I hope we can continue to meet in the next competition."

After the two teachers had a brief exchange, the next step was the summary meeting.

The group left the observation platform and came to a simple conference room. As the commander-in-chief of this exercise, General Simeone was the first to speak out, pointing out the shortcomings of the two participating units. However, in general, the victorious 1st Guards Division had fewer shortcomings, while the 8th Division had more points pointed out.

The generals who were observing the scene took out their notebooks and kept writing down Simeone's words.

These people are basically the chief officers of each army, even if they are not the first-in-command, they are the second-in-command. Everyone knows military skills, so they naturally know the gap between their own troops and the two troops in the exercise. It can be said that except for the only three standing divisions in Italy, no other force can be said to be stronger than the two forces in the exercise. Perhaps the three standing divisions are not as good as the two exercise units in some aspects.

Now that you know your shortcomings, what are you waiting for if you don't learn with an open mind?

Should he wait until the army assessment, give himself an unqualified evaluation, and then leave the army in despair?

That's right, the Army now needs to conduct assessments for each unit in order to prevent the emergence of unprogressive unit officers. Although you can't meet the result of retiring after just one assessment, if you fail three times in a row, you will really be forced to retire. This is specially marked in red letters on the assessment standards issued by the Army.

The summary meeting chaired by General Simeone lasted for half an afternoon, and many suggestions were given based on practical problems. When he saw the generals taking notes, a smile appeared on his face. Because this Army Department assessment regulation was issued at his suggestion.

The reason for him to do this was that the Italian generals were too idle. That's right, it's just too idle. The chief of staff is responsible for daily training, but the division commanders and corps commanders basically don't care enough about the troops other than asking about the situation of the troops.

Of course, there are only a few like him who spend most of their time in the military. Simeone believes that the reason why many factions were formed in the army before was because the generals were too idle and made trouble. It's easy for your mind to wander when you're free, and it's easy to make mistakes. Only keeping him busy will reduce the possibility of making mistakes.

Of course, in this era of rapid technological advancement, there is so much to learn. Even he, the chief of general staff, thinks there is not enough time, and those generals should learn more.

When the lights were almost on, Simeone ended the summary meeting.

When he was about to leave, his secretary suddenly came over.

"Admiral, Menelik II, Emperor of Abyssinia, would like to entertain you."

Menelik II was also an old acquaintance. When he heard that the other party wanted to entertain him, Simone decided to go and have a look. The other party is the monarch of an Italian vassal country, and it is impossible to instigate rebellion against him anyway.

"I know, tell him I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay, I'll answer the other person right away."

Located three kilometers away from the exercise site, Menelik II built his palace here. The palace is just a few tents connected together. But considering that there are also many nomadic Abyssinians, you don’t need to worry too much.

Of course today, the big account has been prepared by the servants, and the exquisite food and shiny silver tableware are placed in front of the dining table, waiting for the arrival of the guests. There were only two guests of honor at this banquet. Apart from the host Menelik II, the guest Simone was the guest.

Simone, who didn't keep Menelik II waiting any longer and didn't change his clothes, quickly arrived on horseback.

"Long time no see, my friend."

"Long time no see, Menelik II."

After a brief greeting between the two, the guest of honor took his seat. As beautiful music sounded, a dinner party officially began.

After a while of drinking and drinking, Menelik II waved the servants to leave, and then revealed the purpose of the banquet.

"General Simeone, let me tell you the truth. I have something to ask for at this banquet."

Upon hearing Menelik II's words, Simone raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and he knew that something must be wrong with the emperor. Of course, whether it can help or not depends on what happened.

"Your Majesty, please tell me if you have anything. If I have the ability to help, I will not refuse."

"The thing is like this. Our country is facing the invasion of Sudan and has fought with it several times. Although Sudan has not been able to seize our land, the successive wars have made our people miserable, so our country hopes to get help from your country."

As a senior member of the Italian military, Simeone certainly knew about the dispute between Abyssinia and Sudan over Lake Tana. And he not only knows, but also knows the Italian side's response. That is to allow the struggle between Abyssinia and Sudan to continue and give both parties an opportunity for continued bloodshed.

Yes, Italy's strategy for this battle involving the two parties is to keep them bleeding. Even though Abyssinia was a vassal state of Italy, Menelik II always treated Italy with respect.

The reason is simple. Abyssinia's current situation does not reassure Italy. Comprehensive control of costs is too high, and Italy is unwilling to let go, which feels a bit tasteless. Therefore, the weapons that Italy has sold to Abyssinia in recent years basically guarantee that he can get a small advantage in the fight with Sudan, but if he wants to hurt the Sudanese, he cannot.

Some people may say that since Italy does not sell it, it can be purchased from other countries. This is obviously a layman's statement. As a vassal country, it would be taboo to find a way to purchase weapons alone if it was known. Don’t forget there are so many Italian consultants in Abyssinia. And who can guarantee that no one among them will snitch.

Things like arms need to be used, and there is no way to keep them secret. Therefore, the Abyssinians have no intention of buying from other places.

In fact, the shrewd Menelik II also had some guesses about Italy's approach. But what is the use of just guessing? What is more important between countries is their interests. Italy's interests in Abyssinia are limited, so how can it fully support itself?

This time Menelik II also spent a lot of money and must get Italy's full help.

"This time, our country hopes that Italy can get help from your country in terms of legal and government affairs. At the same time, our country is also willing to go further with your country in trade, such as reducing tariffs each other, and the exploration rights of minerals are also within the scope of negotiation."

Of course, Menelik II could offer such a generous reward only under certain conditions, he continued. "Our country hopes to get help from Italy to purchase 20,000 M88 Carcano rifles, 60,000 Vitri M1870 rifles, 120 Maxim heavy machine guns, and 60 57 and 75 mm artillery pieces. In addition..."

In the narration of Menelik II, Simone immediately calculated that this was the size of the army that needed to be equipped with 100,000 people. Coupled with some of the weapons that were originally retained, the Abyssinians needed to equip 100,000, 400,000 to 50,000 people. The army. Although the 60,000 Vitry M1870 rifles are obsolete in Europe, this is Africa and they are still powerful equipment.

Hearing this, Simone couldn't help but point it out. "Your Majesty Menelik, I have made a rough calculation on the equipment you mentioned, and it is basically worth about 20 million lire. I wonder if your country can afford that much money?"

Yes, Simeone had serious doubts about Abyssinia's financial resources. Wanting Italy to give away freebies might require Abyssinians to pray to God that all Italian top brass have negative IQs. Of course, this may be a bit difficult for the Orthodox Christians of the Abyssinian faith.

Facing Simone's question, Menelik II didn't care and only saw him reply. "Thank you General Simeone for your concern. Our country has raised tens of millions of liras for this purpose. Of course, if your country is willing to accept installment payments, there will be no problem at all. If not, our country hopes to obtain a loan from your country. I believe According to my country’s financial strength, your bank is also willing to lend money to my country.”

At this time, Simeone finally understood what the man in front of him meant. He wanted to use the entire Abyssinia as collateral to seek help from Italy. Of course, after acquiring a huge amount of arms, the Abyssinian emperor will definitely slash his sword at the Sudanese. Even, nay, certainly land and population would be acquired from the Sudanese.

Now, Simeone has to admit that Menelik II is making a huge gamble. If he wins the bet, he will become the hero of Abyssinia; if he loses, he will be ruined.

To this, Simeone could only reply. "It's a big deal and I have to report back to Roma."

"I'm waiting for your good news."