Rasputin of the East

＜ Episode 215 >

Duche, Benito Mussolini, took the bottle helplessly.

“Badolio… give me back my army.”

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Mussolini, who stared blankly into the air, dropped his hand.

The navy that was supposed to end the Yugoslav navy ended in reverse. Many of the main forces of the army also met their end in Greece.

The control of the Mediterranean Sea was also destroyed, and the German forces they believed were defeated in Europe, and were driven out of all territories except Bavaria, Ostmark, and parts of Helvetia.

Now it’s over.

“Double! two bodies!”

A knock on the door was heard. Mussolini did not answer.

“Excuse me!”

The door swung open, and the soldiers entered.

“Are you here to arrest me?”

“Duce, only Duce can save Italy from a crisis. General Kesselling’s request to help support the evacuation of the Italians north of our border. And he said that he would send 340,000 reinforcements from the UK to this place at once, and continue to replenish them.”

“Britain?”

“Yes, the UK has already issued a general mobilization order. It has been declared that millions of additional troops will be sent to France.”

“… Yes, it is.”

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Mussolini stood up.

“Nothing is over yet.”

“Hey, we need to move the army immediately. It is clear to anyone that their next target is Bayern. The German Army, surrounded by Bavaria, is Germany’s most elite unit and has a significant number of the latest equipment and elite troops. When they join our Italian army, they dare to cross the Alps

You won’t!”

For a moment, Mussolini felt even the slightest bit of shame. The war wasn’t over yet, but what were you drinking as if the world had ended?

“Yeah, we have the Alps, we have courageous young men, we just have to fight, we just have to fight until the end with the German and British troops! They can’t cross the Alps easily either, cancer, of course. Their navy is weak, so if they block the Alps well, they will never be able to break through. Besides, we still have Impero.”

It’s not too late. You can still fight.

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Mumbling like that, Mussolini corrected his dressing.

“The US Navy must also be prepared for huge damage to break through Gibraltar, and even if Suez falls into their hands, even if they lose once, they will have to face the Japanese Navy, which has many battleships. Advantage!”

His cry was more of a wish than a truth, but Mussolini’s circuit of happiness was already overloaded to the point of bursting.

“Consult with the Germans immediately to prepare for the rescue of the Bavarian forces!”

“All right.”

***

“Rokosovsky, I appoint you as commander of the German Imperial Military Advisory Group and commander of the Bavarian Front.”

“All right.”

He was the commander-in-chief of the German Imperial Military Advisory Group, effectively the commander-in-chief of the German military government.

Annihilating the remaining enemy forces in Bavaria was also part of his mission, but his actual task was rearranging.

When this was announced, most people thought it was a greeting for the last defeat they suffered.

“Be mindful of civil operations, our final enemy is Britain.”

It is not good to destroy Germany’s national power too much. Although it is possible to take part of the territory, it is possible to rip up Austria if it goes further, but it is also difficult to make the German people too reckless in order to break through the French defense line.

Of course, I will take this opportunity to take all of Prussia’s territory.

“But that’s not to say that the Nazis are indulgences, I’m hoping you’ll do what you did in Anatolia again.”

“All right.”

“Your job is to annihilate the Bayern Pocket and press Italy.”

A kind of ….. by launching a local offensive for floating, the result of reconnaissance using a reconnaissance machine and Spetsnaz members was simple.

These bastards are just… crazy.

What line of defense was at least several tens of kilometers deep, on the tank arcs, on the wire fences, on the minefields, on the piano wire … There was an existing Maginot line, but it was just one of the multiple defense lines strengthened by the German army.

After all, they had broken through the Maginot line, so they should have figured out where the weak point was.

“At a certain distance, there is an anti-aircraft gun tower with a height of about 40 meters and a width of about 70 meters, which can fire on the ground. A new anti-tank gun was deployed, which penetrated the frontal armor of friendly tanks at considerable distances.”

“In addition to the enemy’s main bunker, there are various spare facilities and passageways, so even if an earthquake bomb hits directly, only that section will be damaged, and measures will be taken to prevent damage to other sections as well.”

I read part of the report in front of the generals.

“They are probably laying down a thick defensive line now and hoping that we will attack in that direction. Come out.”

Of course, there was no such guy, and I pointed to a spot to play with my finger.

“According to information from the French Resistance, they are forming a large armored force as a strategic reserve. Does anyone have any opinions on whether they intend to stand by while we launch several offensives and then annihilate us when our forces reach the end of the offensive? I know you don’t.”

It is said that it is the fault of the person who deceived you once, and that if you deceived you twice, it is the fault of the person who was deceived. It’s the same tactic that dazzled us last time, but it’s happening again? Are you crazy?

“The enemy has also fortified all of the Italian and Swiss corridors, which were previously identified as weak points. There aren’t many weak points to pierce through, and although the defense might be low where it is installed on soft ground, it is difficult to roll heavy tanks on soft ground. In other words, it’s hard to have fun with that kind of defense line attacking head-on.”

I tapped the tactical map.

“Don’t you think we need to make a detour to avoid hitting head-on here?”

“If it’s a detour…”

I pointed to the Mediterranean Sea.

“To the sea.”

“But the control of the Mediterranean Sea is not yet complete.”

The opposition that was expected immediately blew in.

“With the destruction of the Yugoslav Navy due to the last operational failure of the air force, neither side can be certain of its control over the Mediterranean Sea. In order to seize control of the Mediterranean Sea, we have to gradually seize Crete, Sicily, Malta, Sardinia, etc.

“At present, most of the Axis powers depend on Italy for maritime power in the Mediterranean. Then why not just subdue Italy?”

“Sir, do you have any plans to subdue Italy without the use of ground forces? You cannot cross the Alps.”

“There is also the Udine Corridor, and if there is still more, can’t we cross the Adriatic Sea and launch an amphibious operation?”

The area that crossed directly from Yugoslavia to Venice via Udine was the only way to enter the Italian peninsula, except for crossing the sea and the Alps.

Of course, it was not without mountains and the terrain was rough, but it was better to move troops than the Alps.

“It’s urgent!”

“Something?”

“The forces of Bavaria have hit Salzburg!”

“Salzburg?”

I looked at the map and made a brief conclusion.

“You’re trying to forcefully break through the Alps.”

“……Is it possible?”

“There are some roads on the Salzburg side, so it’s not impossible, but… Strange, there is one more road.”

“Where are you?”

“It was a major supply route for the enemy as it was connected to one of the few Italians in the territory occupied by them, such as Rosenheim and Garmischfar Tengirchen. In the case of Tengirchen, the road is narrow, so it is not suitable for large-scale evacuation of troops, but Rosenheim has a paved road similar to that of Salzburg, so it can be used sufficiently. We’ve had several airstrikes, but it’s not like they don’t have engineers.”

“then?”

“This is most likely a bait offensive.”

A shallow maneuver to turn their gaze away from the Rosenheim route by sending an offensive in the empty direction, fearing that a large-scale offensive would start if they were to withdraw, and by giving a signal that they would withdraw through the Salzburg direction even if they were to withdraw.

‘Where do these drugs sell?’

I crumpled up and ordered Rokosovsky.

“Rokosovsky.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Erase them.”

Rokosovsky, who was to receive the order, saluted and walked out.

‘By the way, if you want to seize control of the Mediterranean Sea, you’ll have to fight one more time.’

The lack of a battleship was the problem. I wondered if I could borrow a battleship from the US Navy, but I shook my head.

Although they won a great victory at Midway, it could not have been easy for the US Navy to reach the Mediterranean Sea, and above all, there were no extra battleships.

It was no wonder that battleships and aircraft carriers were lost. Not long ago, a 16-inch battleship of the US Navy, which was moving after repairs in Pearl Harbor to support the Panama defense line, was sunk by a torpedo from a U-boat crawling from the waters of Panama to the Pacific Ocean.

Then, a thought occurred to me.

“Where is the Italian main fleet now?”

“They are in their home port, Taranto.”

“okay?”

I drew a line straight on the map.

“Does anyone know what many of our Russian imperial aircraft have in common?”

In response to a random question, the generals looked at each other’s faces.

“The cruising range is longer than other countries’ aircraft. It is essential to defend this vast land. There are several aircraft that are nothing with an operating radius of about 350 km.”

It was then that everyone seemed to understand what I was saying.

“A sortie from Greece is enough to attack Taranto, and there is no need to mobilize an aircraft carrier.”

“then……”

“Attack Taranto at the right time to subdue them.”

“But sir. An amphibious operation is not sustainable if the Italian navy is disabled. The British Navy will send a fleet through Gibraltar, and there is a high probability that supplies will be cut off, and there is a large armored force behind the enemy. Besides, the amphibious operation itself will not be easy.”

“Besides, it is also very hopeful to see that the entire Italian navy will be incapacitated in a single air strike.”

“Know. So I’m not going to attack right now. Because I didn’t tell Rokosovsky to take care of civil operations for nothing.”

With a long-term game in mind at first, I stretched out one finger.

“Is one year sufficient to prepare for the amphibious operation? Tolbuhin?”

“……I’ll do it.”

It was a bit of a disappointing answer, but I sighed.

“Before the amphibious operation, we will attack Crete this year or in the first half of next year. It is also a level to gain experience on the amphibious operation, so I can prepare thoroughly for this.