Before the Battle of Volgograd, Mustache did not trust the combat effectiveness of the Italian army.
This cannot be blamed on Mustache. After the outbreak of World War II, Italy had few bright spots. The Abyssinian Empire still fought like that with its overwhelming superiority in troops. After the southern African army joined the war, the Italian army collapsed rapidly and all the East African colonies were lost.
During the Battle of Greece, the performance of the Italian army was even more astonishing. They were actually defeated by the Greeks. If the Germans had not come to help, the Italians might have been pushed into the sea by the Greeks.
Needless to say in North Africa, Rommel never looked squarely at the Italians and even considered the Italian army to be a burden.
The Italians also gave up on themselves. Rommel did not send Italian troops as the main force. The Italian generals were not angry but very happy. After all, it was not Italians who died.
Based on the performance of the Italian army after the outbreak of the war, Mustache seriously doubted the combat effectiveness of the Italian army. On the Russian battlefield, the Italian army was more responsible for maintaining the German logistics supply line and defending secondary positions on the flanks.
No one thought that the Italian army could perform well on the battlefield.
Even Italians think so.
Anyway, if you can't defeat them, surrender. The Italian soldiers may not be able to coordinate with infantry and tanks, but they are definitely very skilled in surrendering.
The Italians, who had already decided to defeat them, never expected that all the previous enemies of the Russians and Italians were different.
The Russo-German War had broken out for a full year, and Russian prisoners were brutally abused by the German army.
There is absolutely no word "compromise" in Big Beard's character. Just as the Germans abused Russian prisoners of war, the Russians will retaliate against the Axis prisoners of war.
When the Battle of Volgograd first broke out, an Italian army transporting ammunition for the main German army was ambushed by Russian troops.
According to the Russians, the Italian army was completely wiped out and no prisoners were taken.
This is amazing.
The Italian troops who surrendered in various ways in Greece, Africa, suddenly became stronger in their fighting will when they arrived in Russia?
This is simply impossible.
So the truth should be that Italian officers and soldiers definitely surrendered and were then collectively executed by the Russians.
Afterwards, the Italian generals reviewed the situation and found that the Russians' ruthlessness was the main reason why the Italian army was completely wiped out. The German army's oppression of the Italian army was also one of the reasons.
Italy's strength is actually not weak. After all, it is one of the five permanent members of the League of Nations. Even if North Africa takes up most of Italy's energy, the nine divisions Italy sends to Russia are still well equipped and fully manned.
What caught the Italians off guard was that after these Italian troops arrived in Russia, the artillery, armored vehicles, and even trucks equipped by the troops were requisitioned by the Germans. This resulted in the Italian troops transporting ammunition having to use horse-drawn carriages. As a result, they were ambushed by the Russians.
, the transport troops had no time to escape.
Can't run away.
Surrender will result in execution.
The Italians were surprised to find that their living environment in Russia was extremely bad and was simply a desperate situation.
Under this situation, the Italians finally broke out with strong combat effectiveness. On the 24th of last month, the Italian army defending the Don River line on the Volgograd flank was attacked by the Russian army.
The defending Italians tenaciously repelled the Russian tank attack.
In this battle, the Italian army lost about 1,500 people, captured more than 1,700 Soviet soldiers, and also captured many weapons, including more than ten tanks.
These tanks are "Stuart" light tanks provided by the United States to Russia.
The "Stuart" has a total combat weight of only 12.5 tons, an armor thickness of 25-44 mm, and is equipped with a 37 mm cannon, 2 machine guns, a maximum speed of 58 kilometers per hour, a maximum range of 312 kilometers, and a crew of 4 people.
This type of tank was first put into combat in the Philippines. A small number of tanks participated in the battle on the Bataan Peninsula. The British army also used it in North Africa, but the "Stuart" was not highly regarded.
After the United States decided to increase aid to Russia, a large number of "Stuarts" were sent to the Russians as aid.
Russian tank crews also don't like the "Stuart", but it's better to use it than not to use it, not to mention it doesn't cost money, so don't give it up in vain.
The Italian generals are still very satisfied with the "Stuart". After all, it is impossible for the Germans to give No. 4 to the Italians. With the help of tanks, the Italian army's defense line will be more stable.
What the Italian generals did not expect was that after the Germans learned of this situation, they immediately asked the Italians to hand over the captured "Stuarts" to supplement the German troops that suffered heavy losses in Volgograd.
The Italians surrendered again. This time the Germans even had to leave their small number of anti-tank guns. The Italians could only rely on themselves.
A week ago, the Italian "Savoy" cavalry regiment launched a surprise attack on the flank of the Russian army.
The Russians were caught off guard, and they never expected that the Italians would dare to take the initiative.
This time it was another great victory for the Italians. The cavalrymen with sabers defeated two Russian battalions, wiped out one battalion, captured about 500 Russian officers and soldiers, and captured 50 machine guns, 10 mortars, and 4
Howitzer.
The performance of the Italians in Russia fully proves that people's potential is unlimited in desperate situations. In order to survive, the Italians also began to fight hard.
So the problem arises.
If the Allies attack the Italian mainland, how much price is Roque prepared to pay to defeat the desperate Italians?
The Italians fighting on home soil and the Italians fighting away from home are definitely two completely different armies.
"If the Italians can be withdrawn from the war in a peaceful way, then even giving some benefits to the Italians is worthwhile." Roque likes the Italians in the Abyssinian Empire, but does not like the Italians in Russia.
So if a peace-loving country can't pursue art, food, luxury goods, and football, why should it take up arms to fight with the Allies and do things it's not good at?
However, there is still a problem to be solved in order to instigate rebellion against Italy.
The fat bald man hopes that southern Africa can guarantee his power after the war.
This is wishful thinking. Not to mention power, it would be good if Fat Baldy could save his life after the war. Even if the Allies did not hold Fat Baldy accountable, Fat Bald's opponents in Italy would not allow Fat Bald to live.
In terms of war, the Italians may have completely lost the bloody spirit of the Romans.
The Italians are still very good at liquidation.
"So, do we agree to Benito's request?" Alvin has no mental disorder. To him, the fat bald man is no different from George II, he is just the leader of a strange country.
Since southern Africa can accept Greeks, it is natural that it can also accept Italians.
Apart from anything else, the Italians' cooking skills and aesthetics are at least a bit better than those of the British.
"Let's talk about it first. Don't agree to anyone's request easily. Things that are easily obtained are often not cherished by others." Roque will not agree easily. This matter is not nothing to discuss. The main thing is to see how to guide it. History is made of
Written by the victors.
Fat bald head is the best example.
It was not difficult for Fat Bald to gain the right to rule Italy. He did not go through a bloody battle, nor did he pay a high price. At that time, Italy needed a person like Fat Bald, and Fat Bald just happened to appear, so everything fell into place.
In terms of politics, the fat bald man is still a bit naive.
If Rock is sincere, even if he agrees to the fat bald man's request now, there will always be a way to overturn it at any time after the war without leaving any clues.
With Rock's instructions, Alvin's next dealings with Tony Piola will be easy.
Tony Piola is now in Pretoria, enjoying treatment befitting his status.
Tony Piola is a prisoner with a military rank of lieutenant general. Apart from certain restrictions on his freedom in Pretoria, his living conditions are exactly the same as those of generals in southern Africa. He is transported by special vehicles when he goes out.
Tony Piola is not in a hurry. Negotiations cannot be concluded in a day or two. Tony Piola's task is to maintain contact with the federal government of Southern Africa. The direction of the negotiations depends entirely on Russia.
The direction of the battlefield.
If Russia wins, there is nothing to say. Italy will surrender immediately. Whether it is unconditional depends on how badly the Germans lose.
If the Germans were victorious, we would still have to talk.
As mentioned in the previous chapter, there are only two countries in the world that are invincible, so even if Germany defeats Europe, it still has to discuss with Southern Africa and the United States how to rule the world.
Before coming to Pretoria, Tony Piola thought Italy was the best country in the world.
After arriving in Pretoria, Tony Piola felt that Italy still had room for improvement.
Regardless of the war, Italy is indeed quite good in Europe. The warm and pleasant Mediterranean climate attracts countless Europeans to Italy for vacation every year.
The food in Italy is also good. The only people in Europe who can compare with Italy are the French. The UK is a food desert.
Italians love art from the bottom of their hearts. Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, and the three Renaissance masters all came from Italy. Various jewelry produced in southern Africa are mainly sold to Italians in Europe.
What surprised Tony Piola was that compared to Italy, although Tony Piola didn't want to admit it, southern Africa seemed to be better.
The cultural atmosphere in Southern Africa is no less than that of Italy, which can be seen from the museums, libraries, concert halls, theaters and cinemas that can be found everywhere in Pretoria.
Pretoria is positioned as a cultural center, and cultural facilities are definitely indispensable. There are more than 20 public and private museums in Pretoria, large and small, and Stoudemire himself has four of them to his name.
many.
However, the combined scale of these four museums is not as large as the National Museum of Southern Africa donated by Rock.
Tony Piola spent his first week in southern Africa visiting the National Museum of Southern Africa.
A week later, Tony Piola was surprised to find that he had only visited three exhibition halls, and there were four more waiting for him to take a look.
This is only the exhibition part. Through the introduction of the guide, Tony Piola learned that the collections eligible for exhibition only account for about one percent of the National Museum's collection.
A total of 17,000 items are on display in the National Museum.
This number completely shocked Tony Piola.
You must know that the collection of the Louvre in France only has 400,000 pieces.
The Louvre was built in 1204.
In 1204, people in southern Africa were still playing in the mud. The Dutch invaded southern Africa in 1652.
What makes Tony Piola angry is that there are a large number of Italian Renaissance artworks in the National Museum of Southern Africa, including many treasures that can be called Italian national treasures.
Just kidding, if it’s not a treasure, it’s not qualified to be displayed in the National Museum.
"Don't be angry. The way we obtain handicrafts in southern Africa is different from the way you Europeans do. We all buy them with money, and you all rob them." Alvin's attitude towards Tony Piola was very casual.
Tony Piola had not been angry. If Alvin had adhered to his principles, Tony Piola would never have had the chance to visit the National Museum.
"Nonsense, the British and French are robbers, and we are also victims." Tony Piola retorted, apparently thinking that the way southern Africa obtained these works of art was not as noble as Alvin said.
Both of them are actually right.
The way for southern Africa to obtain these works of art is indeed not robbing.
But at the very least, it's a robbery.
And it is not an individual behavior, but the collective consciousness of the entire country.
After the outbreak of the last world war, southern Africa received almost tens of millions of works of art from Europe, and Italy was also one of the victims.
After the end of this world war, we don’t know how many European works of art will flow to southern Africa, which may evacuate Europe.
"Far East, Eastern Europe, North Africa, East Africa, you Italians have the nerve to say you are innocent?" Alvin sneered. In the hundreds of years Europeans have colonized the world, no country is innocent.
"We in Italy also need to expand our living environment, haven't you been doing this too?" Tony Piola argued, everyone is a black crow, no one can criticize anyone.
"No, no, no, there is a fundamental difference between us and you. We have never imposed our will on the people of other countries and forced them to obey us. Southern Africa has never taken the initiative to provoke any war since its establishment.
War." Alvin argued that your notorious old colonial empire is not qualified to be compared with the "lighthouse of civilization" in the future world.
"Yes, you don't take the initiative to provoke war, but you will use other methods to force other countries into a state of war, so how much nobler can you be than us?" Tony Piola was very depressed. This is the real right and wrong.
If you really want peace, Madagascar will have no chance of joining Southern Africa, Brazil will have no chance of joining the Southern African Union, and Italy will never lose East Africa.
When Alvin smiles, he has bullied you and has to accuse you from a moral standpoint.