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Among the many member states of the Holy League, Italy is undoubtedly the most miserable country. Because of its geographical location, this country is destined to be China's first target of attack! China¡¯s three main bases in the Mediterranean, whether Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily, are all very close to Italy. Germany can use Italy as a springboard to attack China's bases in the Mediterranean. This was also the plan Germany adopted when it launched a sneak attack on the Chinese Air Force and Naval Aviation at the beginning of the war!
After an arduous battle, China finally regained air supremacy over the Mediterranean, and then immediately launched a landing operation on Italy! The 20th Group Army of the Chinese Army landed in Naples and doubled the number in Naples. It severely damaged the Italian army that came for reinforcements and wiped out more than 100,000 enemies, which also included Italy's most elite 2nd Armored Division.
Although there are still millions of troops in Italy at this moment, these troops were basically recruited after the war started. Even if they are equipped with the standard weapons of the German Army, it does not seem to turn them into heroic warriors! Therefore, when the main force of the Chinese Army's 20th Army began to march toward Rome, the entire Italian government was panicked. The King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III, fled Italy immediately and went to Berlin, Germany to seek help. Of course, this was only in name. In fact, he was seeking refuge! Although Vittorio Emanuele III hates China very much, he also hopes to avenge his past humiliation. But after seeing that there was no hope of victory, he still chose to save his own life first. During the last world war. He was running for his life. Fleeed to the Vatican. But the Chinese don¡¯t even give the Pope face in the Vatican. Therefore, this time Vittorio Emanuele III fled Italy directly!
After King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy fled Italy, all the power of the country was handed over to Prime Minister Mussonili. Mussonili only needed to send a telegram to Vittorio Emanuele III. Just report it! As for the military aspect, the Italian Army Chief of Staff, General Badoglio, is in charge.
On January 17, the 20th Army of the Chinese Army was approaching Rome. The leading force, a powerful search battalion directly under the 20th Army, was less than 40 kilometers away from Rome. The Chinese once again came to Rome. Much to the consternation of the Italian government. Although Rome had assembled more than 500,000 troops at this time, the Chinese Army's 20th Army only had a total of more than 200,000 troops. But the Italian government still has no confidence in holding Rome. Many Roman residents began to flee Rome and seek refuge in the countryside before the main force of the Chinese Army's 20th Army arrived in Rome. Among them, there are many wealthy people living in Rome and some political figures. Of course, the Italian cabinet members are still in Rome. However, no one knows how long they can stay. As long as the Chinese Army shows signs of attacking Rome, they will definitely flee as soon as possible!
Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini was in a state of disarray. Cabinet members kept asking whether the Italian Army had the strength to withstand the Chinese attack. If you can't resist it, then simply abandon Rome and retreat to northern Italy, or even go directly to Germany to form a government-in-exile in Germany. Such a view is very popular among senior Italian government officials! In their opinion, they couldn't defeat the Chinese anyway, so they might as well run away and escape to Germany. After Germany defeats China, they can just go back to Italy! Of course, if Germany is defeated by China, it will not matter. The wealth they have is enough for them to live a prosperous life!
Mussonili didn¡¯t want to just flee Italy. He was an ambitious man. He came from a humble background and finally became the Prime Minister of Italy. If he gave up now, all his efforts would be in vain! If he escapes Italy and goes to Germany, although he will still be the Prime Minister of Italy, his power will be greatly reduced, which is not in his interest!
However, if he stays, once Rome is captured, he will become a prisoner of the Chinese, and his life may even be threatened! This made Mussonili a little embarrassed and didn't know what to choose!
On the evening of January 17, Mussolini summoned General Badoglio, Chief of Staff of the Italian Army, to seek his opinion!
"Your Excellency, Chief of General Staff, is the Army confident of resisting the Chinese attack?" Mussonili asked straight to the point.
"Premier, please rest assured that the Army will do its best to ensure the safety of Rome. Now we have gathered 500,000 people in Rome, and more troops are on the way! The expansion of the army in the northern region has also accelerated, and soon We will have more troops!" General Badoglio said!
It¡¯s just that Mussonili didn¡¯t care about this nonsense, but was very cold-blooded. He asked directly: "Your Excellency, Chief of General Staff, I want to hear the truth! If we hold on to Rome, how much can we hold?"
General Badoglio hesitated for a while, and then said: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we no longer have any advantage except our military strength! The Chinese have the advantages of tanks, heavy artillery and aircraft, although our military strength is greater than theirs." Much more! But if they are determined to attack Rome, we can withstand it for a week at most!"
Mussolini¡¯s face suddenly turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. The 500,000 Italian troops could only resist the Chinese for a week. The combat effectiveness of the Italian Army was too rubbish, right?
"What if we retreat to the north? Use the terrain in the northern mountainous area to deal with the Chinese!" Mussoniri continued to ask!
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, the road facilities in the northern mountainous areas are backward, and Chinese tanks and armored vehicles cannot go there! We can hold on! However, it will be quite difficult! Without the support of the plains in the central and southern parts, our logistics supplies will We all rely on the Germans! It is foreseeable that Germany will not give us much support! After all, now all countries are expanding their armies crazily, and the Germans have suffered considerable losses under the Chinese counterattack. The support they can give us is Less! Therefore, if the Chinese do not invest in new troops, we may be able to persist! However, if the Chinese invest in more troops, we may not be able to persist for long!" said General Badoglio. .
Mussolini now had no expectations for the Italian army. Whether he held on to Rome or retreated to the north, the end result was the same. So, why do they continue to fight this battle?
"Your Excellency, Chief of General Staff, if this is the case, then why are we still fighting this war?" Mussonelli asked.
"Uh! Your Excellency, Prime Minister, Italy joins the Holy Alliance, which is strongly requested by His Majesty the King. And at the beginning, we also believed that Germany could gain an advantage in the war. Even if Italy would pay a certain amount of losses, it would still be lost after the war. It¡¯s been made up for! But I didn¡¯t expect the battle situation to develop like this!¡± Admiral Badoglio said with a wry smile. The Luftwaffe's sneak attack did indeed gain an initial advantage! But this advantage did not last long. Just a few days later, the Chinese Air Force dispatched a large number of reinforcements from China, easily defeated the German Air Force and regained air supremacy in the Mediterranean region!
"Humph! His Majesty the King has fled to Germany!" Mussonelli said with some dissatisfaction. Mussolini was very dissatisfied with Vittorio Emanuele III's behavior of running away when the situation was bad and leaving the mess to him!
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, tell me, what should we do? I guarantee that the Army will obey your arrangements!" Badoglio said. At this moment, he also understood that Mussonili must have had a plan when he summoned him!
"Your Excellency, Chief of General Staff, I think we can no longer continue the war! In the last war, Italy suffered heavy losses! If we continue to fight this time, we will lose millions or even more people. ! The people are innocent, they should not become victims in the war between great powers! There is no need for Italy to get involved!" Mussonelli said with a face of serving the country and the people!
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, what do you mean?" General Badoglio asked.
"Surrender to the Chinese. Only by surrendering to China can Italy survive! Otherwise, Italy will be completely finished!" Mussonelli said firmly.
General Badoglio hesitated for a few seconds, and then nodded. As the commander-in-chief of the Italian army, he knew better that if the fight continued, Italy would have no chance of winning, so it would be better to find someone to surrender!
"Haha! Very good, Your Excellency, Chief of General Staff, the people will definitely thank us!" Mussonelli said with a smile!
Afterwards, Mussolini sent a special envoy to meet with General Zhang Ruifeng, commander of the 20th Group Army of the Chinese Army, and made a request for surrender to him. Mussoniri only had one request, and that was that after Italy surrendered to China, he should continue to be the Prime Minister of Italy!
In this regard, General Zhang Ruifeng did not dare to make a private decision and immediately asked the theater headquarters for instructions. The theater headquarters also reported directly to the Imperial Emperor Wang Yuze.
In the end, Wang Yuze agreed to Mussonili¡¯s request. Anyway, with China's current strength, even if Mussolini becomes the dictator of Italy, he will not pose any threat to China!
On January 20, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini officially announced Italy¡¯s surrender to China! (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature. The novels will be better and updated faster!