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On the evening of June 21, 1940,
Bolzano fell to the Germans.
After receiving a report that the German army was advancing toward Bolzano, Messe judged that it was impossible to capture Bolzano, so he set fire to supplies in the city and fled to Trento with his staff.
When he arrived in Trento, Graziani was preparing to leave Trento.
Staff members from the headquarters were busy destroying important documents, and soldiers were busy loading supplies onto trucks.
"You mean Verona?"
"Yes, Verona. Even the Germans won't be able to come there any time soon."
Graziani predicted that Trento would soon fall to the Germans and decided to head further down to Verona.
After ordering his troops to defend the front line without retreating even an inch, Graziani and Messe left for Verona.
Between June 21st and 22nd, Udine also fell to the German army.
The fall of Udine was more fatal to Italy than the fall of Bolzano.
In contrast to Bolzano, which is located in a mountainous area, Udine is located in a plain area.
The fact that even Udine had already fallen meant that the German army had advanced to the plains where they could freely deploy their specialty, mobile warfare.
***
June 22, 1940
Latjana, Northern Italy
"Haha, this is it! "This is it!"
Rommel smiled brightly as he looked at the march of Panzer IV and Sd.Kfz 251 armored vehicles advancing vigorously.
Hanging around his neck was the Knight's Cross, awarded directly by the Fuhrer for his outstanding performance in the French War.
As soon as the French War ended, Rommel's 7th Panzer Division received orders to move to Austria to participate in the Italian War.
The staff sighed heavily when they heard that they were about to take a break and be sent to the front again, but Rommel was overjoyed. He said that a good opportunity has come to recreate his past glory.
"This taste is perfect. "Isn't that right?"
"Hahaha, that's right..."
The staff, who were general-level officers, smiled awkwardly at Rommel's words.
Occasionally, shells fired by the Italian artillery would land and scatter fragments, but Rommel paid no heed and kept his upper body straight.
"Your Excellency, it's dangerous, so you should lower your posture a little-"
"It's dangerous. Should we be scared by this kind of bombardment that seems like a child's play? I'm Rommel, Rommel. "When I was younger than you, I fought hand-to-hand with Italians."
There was no staff member who did not know that Rommel's great performance in the Battle of Caporetto had begun to make his reputation known.
Still, I was worried that it was too risky for a captain, not just an officer, to take precautions, but Rommel did not seem to care about his own safety.
"Anti-tank gun in front!"
The Bler 47mm anti-tank gun operated by the Italian army fired continuously, but the only damage to the German army was one tank No. 4 with its track cut off.
When the anti-tank gun appeared, the tanks stopped moving forward all at once, turned their turrets, and opened fire in the direction from which the shells came.
Because the gun mantlet was omitted to cut costs, the Bler anti-tank gun had no means of protecting the anti-tank gunners from bullets or grenade fragments.
As soon as a grenade landed near an anti-tank gun, the Italian anti-tank artillerymen were rolling around on the ground.
"Those idiots. "I wonder how they attacked me without proper camouflage."
Rommel clicked his tongue involuntarily at the pitiful behavior of the enemy army.
"Even though times have changed, they still seem to be stuck in 1917. No, it actually feels more regressive. "It's hard to believe that their ancestors were the Romans who founded the Roman Empire."
"The ancient Romans, armed with spears and bows, would have fought better than those guys."
Rommel's most trusted subordinate, Captain Hans von Ruck, also nodded.
If you gave the ancient Romans and the modern Italian army the same weapons and made them fight against each other, the Romans would likely win.
When the last anti-tank gun position was blown away by a barrage of 75mm grenades, all that was left for the Italians were rifles, grenades, and machine guns.
Two companies of Italian troops remained in the trenches, but their morale was low.
The soldiers who saw anti-tank guns being blown away by a single shot from a tank gun just trembled in fear.
How can a tank fight with rifles and grenades? They're telling you to die outright.
"The enemies are still. "I think the group was scared."
"Of course it is. "There's a tram over here."
Rommel laughed at the Italians who did not even fire, but tried to refrain from shedding blood whenever possible. He instructed his tanks to urge the Italians to surrender.
-Listen to the Italian army. Your country has already lost the war. Wouldn't it be better to return home alive than to die in vain? Drop your weapons and surrender. We will not shoot anyone who surrenders.
Through large loudspeakers attached to each platoon, the Germans encouraged surrender.
The Italian soldiers who heard the German army's broadcast looked at each other and then slowly crawled out of the trench.
"Get the kids down and disarm them. "Let's hurry because we have a long way to go."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
***
June 23, 1940
Trento, Italy
"Come on, let's all go out!"
"run!"
White parachute flowers bloomed in the dark blue sky.
When the German paratroopers who jumped out of the Ju52 transport plane opened their parachutes all at once, the Italian anti-aircraft artillerymen, who were relieved that the air raid was over, were put on alert again.
"emergency! Bisaang!"
"Enemy is descending! "It's the German airborne troops!"
"Start shooting!"
The anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns that had been cooling off began firing again, and the soldiers' movements became faster as the officers shouted.
The number of paratroopers who died from being shot by machine guns or falling to their deaths due to holes in their parachutes began to increase.
The point at which the airborne troops, who were treated as elite troops in all armies around the world, became most vulnerable was the point of descent, which was a characteristic and identity of the airborne troops.
Since humans do not have wings, they have no choice but to descend by parachute.
While parachuting down to the ground, the only thing a paratrooper could do was pray to the sky.
No matter how good a veteran soldier was, he was bound to be defenseless while descending.
'quickly!'
The paratroopers desperately hoped to reach the ground even one second faster.
The soldiers prayed more earnestly every time they heard the screams of their comrades falling into a beehive under enemy anti-aircraft fire or falling due to a hole in their parachute.
When they finally reached the long-awaited ground, the airborne troops pressed a button to release their parachute gear and immediately entered a combat stance.
Under the direction of Hitler, who pointed out that there were many problems with the one-point parachutes used by the German military so far, a new two-point parachute was developed and issued, which had a slower descent speed than the one-point parachute, but was somewhat controllable and could withstand a greater load.
Thanks to this, German airborne troops were able to fight right away without having to search for separate containers carrying their main weapons.
Soon a fierce firefight broke out between the Italian army and German paratroopers.
"Aaaah!"
The Italian army, armed with the Carcano, a bolt-action rifle, was outgunned by the German paratroopers, who had automatic weapons such as the MP38 and StG39.
The Italian soldiers, who had taken the enemy lightly due to their small numbers, were taken aback by the unexpectedly powerful firepower of the enemy.
Thanks to the activities of the comrades who landed on the ground earlier, the chances of survival for the paratroopers who jumped out of the transport plane later increased sharply.
The battle, which seemed to have the advantage of the Italian army at the beginning of the battle, was soon developing in a direction favorable to the German army.
L3 tanks came to the rescue to support the allies who were struggling against the Falschrumjaegers, but they did not help the fight at all.
The paratroopers, who were confused because they thought a tank had appeared, laughed at the sight of the car-sized L3 and approached from a direction out of the enemy's line of sight, placed a grenade under the machine gun and ran away.
When the grenade exploded, the machine gun barrel was bent and L3 was rendered unable to fight.
Then, the paratroopers who killed the Italian anti-aircraft gunners and captured the Breda 20/65 anti-aircraft gun turned the handle and aimed at the Italian L3s.
As the anti-aircraft gun burst into flames, L3's armor was pierced like a sheet of paper.
When the five L3s that launched a counterattack were instantly destroyed, the Italian army completely lost its will to fight.
They fled, leaving behind their dead and wounded allies.
"Damn it, when is the ammo coming?!"
As the paratroopers who had landed in the rear rampaged, the Italian army, which had been struggling to block the Germans at the front line, fell into confusion.
"If we keep going like this, it will break through! "When are you going to send me the damn ammo?"
- Immediate support is impossible due to the enemy airborne troops dropping to the rear.
"what? Enemy troops descended on your rear? No, then what should we do?"
-Currently clearing out enemy forces. If you hold on just a little longer...
"hey? hey!"
The Italian battalion commander looked down at the radio that had lost contact and turned his head when he heard the battalion commander's voice looking for him.
"Battalion Commander! The 2nd Company's defense line has been breached! The 1st and 3rd companies are also on the verge of being breached! "When will the ammunition arrive?"
"······Ammunition will not arrive."
"yes?"
Hearing the battalion commander's words, the battalion commander felt more than embarrassed but also absurd. Ammunition is not coming?
"What do you mean by that...?"
"I just communicated with the regimental headquarters, and they say there is chaos because enemy paratroopers have landed in the rear. By the time the rear is cleared, the Germans will have reached Trento."
The unit commander felt the strength draining from his body. The battalion commander had already collapsed on the floor, as if he didn't even have the strength to stand properly.
"Damn it, I didn't become a soldier just to see this-"
The battalion commander, who was laughing helplessly and trying to light a cigarette, disappeared in a white flash of light along with the unit commander. A huge crater appeared where they were.
"Fuck, you're a monster!"
"Run away!"
The Italian army was busy running away in front of Broombear's majesty, which destroyed the enemy's command post with a single grenade. Or quietly raise a white flag.
The descendants of the Roman Empire, which ruled all of Europe, were busy running away from the barbarian descendants whom their ancestors regarded as insignificant.
The army of the New Roman Empire that Mussolini had recreated was collapsing like a sand castle.
***
June 24, 1940
Berghof, Berchtesgaden, Germany
Operation Hannibal was a much greater success than originally planned.
Our troops had already taken control of Trento, and Rommel had advanced right up to Venice.
The Italian Navy has abandoned Venice, and only a small number of naval ground forces remain in the city, barely holding a defense line with remnants of the army and air force.
The generals were delighted with the unexpected victory, but at the same time they were anxious.
Brauchitsch said that the advance was so fast that he suspected it might be a ploy by the Italian army.
"That is unlikely. So you don't have to worry."
However, thanks to my knowledge of the future, I knew what kind of army the Italian army was, and dismissed the generals' anxiety.
"If the Italian army had that much intelligence, they would have advanced all the way to Vienna while we were fighting in Norway or France. And, if they are planning to draw our troops deep into the siege and destroy them, what about the Italian soldiers who are still surrendering one after another? "Isn't that too large a number for bait?"
"Hmm, that's true too."
There are countless cases of people getting seriously injured while looking down on their enemies, but if the enemy is the Italian army, you don't have to worry about that.
Even in 1940-1942, when the Axis powers were at the peak of their dominance, the Italian army showed all sorts of disgraceful behavior and greatly contributed to raising the blood pressure of its ally Germany, so what must it be like now that it is at war alone without any allies?
However, not all Italian troops were the same, and in the case of the Ariete Panzer Division, our forces had to completely lose 16 Panzer 4 tanks and 800 men before accepting their surrender.
In return, all of Ariete's tanks were destroyed and its troops were reduced to 20% of their original number, but they fought quite well for an Italian army.
In addition, the Folgore Airborne Division, which received rave reviews from its allies, the Germans, and its enemies, the British, and the Royal Italian Navy's special unit 'Decima Flotilia MAS (X-MAS), which used human torpedoes to destroy two Queen Elizabeth-class battleships. )', but you don't have to worry about these guys.
Folgore has not yet been created, and since the war is strictly focused on ground warfare, there is no opportunity for X-MAS to be active.
You have to have an enemy to fight, so how can you fight if Germany doesn't border the Mediterranean Sea?
"Is there any news from inside Italy yet?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Fuhrer. "We obtained important information from within Italy from an SD agent infiltrated in Rome."
Heydrich, who had little opportunity to play for a while, smiled for the first time in a while.
"It is said that not only the King, but even the National Fascist Party turned their backs on Mussolini. Even Ciano, Mussolini's son-in-law. Only Mussolini is unaware of this fact and indulges in drinking and playing with women. Italians are also growing tired of war, and an increasing number of men are running away to avoid military conscription."
"In other words, it would not be strange for a coup to occur at any time."
"you're right."
A whistle came out of my mouth. Mussolini's fall is already a planned process, and as soon as Mussolini falls, Italy will beg for negotiations.
In other words, the war is over. The long-awaited victory is coming.
When the war in Europe ends, all that remains is the Pacific Ocean. Sooner or later, Japan will eventually have a fight with the United States, and all we have to do is sit back and eat popcorn.
Or should we take the appropriate number of cases and participate in the war? If we send an armored division to help drive out the Japanese army from the central plains, we might have something to eat in the Pacific. For example, Kiauchou.
really. The Korean Peninsula cannot be left out.
If nothing else, shouldn't I avoid the country I was born in being taken over by communists or being divided?
While I was thinking about the fate of my country that would one day come, Kaitel delivered unexpected news.
Completely new news that has never been expected before.
"Mr. President. "This is a cable from the military attaché in Belgrade."
"Belgrade?"
Isn't Belgrade the capital of Yugoslavia? Why does that pop out in the current situation?
As I read the telegram that Kaitel gave me, a question mark appeared in my mind.
-Yugoslav army troops are gathering in Zadar and the Istrian Peninsula.
… .What does this mean again?
