87

Two months before the start of Operation Hannibal, the German Air Force and the Italian Air Force had been engaged in a bloody battle in the sky.

The Italian Air Force, which boasts that it has made great progress thanks to Balbo's efforts, had out-of-date biplanes such as the CR.32, CR.42, and Ro.44, as well as the C.200 Saeta, as its main fighter aircraft.

On the other hand, the German army they had to deal with was rolling the Bf109, Bf110, and Fw190.

When a battle broke out, Italian fighter planes often plummeted to the ground, emitting smoke.

The Italian Air Force, which was inferior in performance and lacked the number of fighter jets due to the fighting that had been going on for two months, had no choice but to allow German planes to invade the skies of its homeland.

Unlike the Bf109, Fw190, and Stuka, which have been active on the battlefield so far, the He 177 Greif (Gryphon) heavy bomber, whose field service had been delayed due to engine problems, was put into service for the first time.

The He 177, which could fly at a speed of up to 565 km at an altitude of 6,000 m and carry a maximum of 7,200 kg of bombs, was a masterpiece created with great effort by Walter Weber and Heinkel.

Although it was unable to be used in the originally planned match against France due to engine issues, it was able to be used in the match against Italy.

"I'm finally getting to fly in the sky on this thing."

Senior Captain Wolfram von Richthofen, who participated in the Spanish Civil War as a member of the Condor Legion, muttered.

Even though he was a senior captain, he personally took control of the controls to fulfill his desire to drop a bomb on an enemy city with his own hands.

Not only Richthofen, but also Weber wanted to go on a bombing mission, but Hitler and Goering were desperately opposed to one of them, so Weber had to remain on the ground.

Richthofen, recalling Weber's tearful appearance as he saw him off, spoke in a cheerful tone.

"Well then, we have to do our part as well, Marshal Weber. "Isn't that right?"

"you're right!"

The bomber crew members, who suddenly had the 'tremendous good fortune' of being sent into combat with their superior commander, responded with loud voices.

Richthofen, who was satisfied with his subordinates' answers, soon realized that he had reached his destination.

"Drop the bomb."

The He 177's bomb bay opened and bombs fell towards the ground.

Twelve cities in northeastern Italy, including Bolzano, Trento, Udine, Verona, and Venice, were heavily bombed by the German Air Force.

For Italians, it was the first large-scale air raid they had experienced since the outbreak of World War II.

***

"W-what is it?"

"It's a German air raid, sir!"

A deputy rushed to Graziani, who was taken aback by the sound of a siren that rang out of nowhere during a meeting with his staff, and shouted.

"air raid? "Air raid?"

"Yes, Your Excellency! "You must quickly evacuate to a bomb shelter!"

While Graziani and his staff hurriedly evacuated to the shelter, the adjutants and soldiers gathered various maps and operational documents in the conference room.

For Italians who had never experienced an air raid before, the German army's first air raid came as an enormous shock.

Just before the iron door of the bomb shelter closed, Graziani could hear a loud explosion.

Even after the iron door was closed, heavy drinking continued to be heard. Every time an explosion sounded, vibrations were transmitted to the shelter and the light bulb on the ceiling flickered.

"oh my god. An air raid. "The Germans are dropping bombs on Italian territory..."

Graziani could not bear to speak.

His unfocused eyes were directed towards the ceiling of the shelter.

The gray ceiling reflected in his eyes looked like the coming future, making him even more anxious.

***

June 20, 1940

Bolzano, Italy

"Your Excellency, are you conscious?"

"Keuung······."

Major General Giovanni Messe answered the question of his staff, who looked down at him with worried eyes, with a question instead of a definite answer.

"···What happened to me? "I don't remember anything."

"The air raid alarm sounded, so he took refuge in a bomb shelter, but ended up falling down the stairs."

Messe, who belatedly recalled the memory, blushed with embarrassment. As she was taking refuge in a bomb shelter, she lost her footing and hit her head. She sucks.

"Anyway, I'm glad you came to your senses. "Are you in pain?"

The military doctor who treated Messe said. Messe shook his head.

"I'm fine, so please treat the other wounded soldiers."

The military doctor bowed his head and left to treat the wounded soldiers. He told the military doctor he was fine, but he still had a headache and felt sick.

"Bring me some water. "I'm thirsty."

"All right."

After drinking the water brought by the soldier on duty, my heartburn got better. But suddenly I had an ominous feeling.

"What date is it today?"

"It's June 20th."

"June 20th? "No, I passed out for a day?!"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

It's already a shame that I fell down the stairs, but I fainted for a day. Messe felt like she was losing her senses.

Messe, who finally came to his senses, asked hastily.

"What about the wires? "What happened while I was passed out?"

At that moment, Messe's lieutenant ran up and shouted.

"Your Excellency, the defense line of the 131st Armored Division has been breached!"

The color disappeared from Messe's face after hearing the adjutant's words.

It was as if I was being beaten, I fainted, and when I finally opened my eyes, news came that the front line had been breached.

Ah, my God...

***

While Messi was still unconscious,

The Italian 131st Panzer Division's Centauro defense line was subjected to fierce attacks from the German army.

"The Germans are coming! Everyone prepare for battle!"

The soldiers of the Bersaglieri Regiment, one of the few units considered elite among the Italian army, which was considered too shabby for a military that claimed to be a great power, calmly prepared for battle when the German army appeared.

The German army attacked with the 4th Panzer at the forefront.

The Italian army's newest tank, the M13/40 tank, opened fire on Panzer 4 running along the road.

"Distance 600, armor-piercing bullet! launch!"

The M13/40's 47mm 32 caliber tank gun spit out sparks.

The armor-piercing bullet flew in a straight line and hit the front armor of No. 4, but did not penetrate the armor and ricocheted.

The tank commander gritted his teeth as he saw the enemy deflect a shell.

"Damn it. "It bounced."

"Reload!"

For the Italian army, which used popular tanks such as the L3 tankette and the M11/39, the M13/40 was a proper tank with a good balance between attack and defense.

By Italian military standards at least.

Unlike the M11/39, which reduced combat power by mounting a secondary weapon, a machine gun, on a rotating turret and actually mounting the main gun, the main weapon, on the hull, the M13/40 has a main gun mounted on a rotating turret, enabling 360-degree aiming, and a diesel engine. It was installed to reduce the probability of an explosion, and a radio that was not present in the M11/39 was installed.

The Italian military leadership judged that this was an average performance, but in the eyes of Germany, which had already deployed the Panzer 4 on the front line and was even in the process of developing a new heavy tank, it was nothing short of laughable.

In order for the M13/40 to destroy Tank 4, it could only penetrate by targeting the sides or the rear or targeting the turret at a close range of 100m.

In contrast, Panzer 4 was able to comfortably penetrate the frontal armor of the M13/40 at a distance of 2 km, assuming it hit.

As the gunner reloaded the shells, the tank commander fired the main gun again. But this time too, the results remained unchanged.

Tank 4, which had stopped moving, turned its turret here and there and then aimed its heavy main gun in the direction where the M13/40 was ambushed.

The tank commander's face turned white when he saw the gun of No. 4 pointed at him.

"God······."

That became the tank commander's will.

When Tank 4's 75mm main gun fired, the M13/40's turret was blown off.

The four M13/40s that made the preemptive attack on the No. 4 tanks failed to capture a single enemy tank and were all destroyed.

Although all the tanks were destroyed, the Bersaglieri soldiers did not retreat and fought against the Germans.

As a unit that had been renowned as an elite unit since the Crimean War, the fighting spirit and combat power of each soldier was on a different level from other Italian army divisions.

"Yaaaa!!!"

Bersalieri's young sergeant rushed towards Panzer IV with a Molotov cocktail and was shot down by a machine gun.

However, a soldier approaching from the opposite direction threw a Molotov cocktail towards the engine room.

The Molotov cocktail exploded, causing a fire in the engine and forcing the tank crews to leave.

The fighting spirit of Bersaglieri's soldiers was more shocking than expected to the German army, who had become accustomed to the Italian army only running away or surrendering.

The German soldiers, who had ridiculed the Bersalieri soldiers wearing helmets decorated with black grouse feathers and called them clowns, could not help but be embarrassed by the sight of the soldiers fighting like lions.

When Bersaglieri soldiers armed with firebombs and grenades stuck to the tank, the tanks and infantry following them had to fire machine guns to knock down the enemy soldiers on the tank.

The Germans had already lost two Panzer IVs due to close combat by Bersalieri's soldiers.

What the tanks could not accomplish, a single infantryman armed with a Molotov cocktail was able to accomplish.

However, the war situation could not be reversed solely by the courage of the soldiers.

The Bersalieri soldiers fought as best they could against the Germans supported by tanks, but their limitations were clear.

"There's a machine gun emplacement at 2 o'clock!"

"Fire!"

Tank No. 4 advanced slowly while protected by infantry, blowing away everything around it with its main gun and machine gun.

Each time the 75mm gun fired, the machine gun emplacements were blown away one by one.

Once the machine gun position was suppressed, the infantry came forward and suppressed the trenches, and then the tanks advanced again and blew up the next position with their main guns.

The German army, having broken the resistance of the Bersalieri regiment, advanced straight that way and occupied Bressanone.

Next to Bressanone was Bolzano, the primary target of Operation Hannibal.

***

June 21, 1940

New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany

"How many days do you think it will take to reach Bolzano?"

-It will be reached at the earliest this evening, or at the latest tomorrow afternoon, Mr. President.

"Hmm, it's faster than expected. No, is it natural since the opponent is the Italian army? Anyway, I understand. Please do your best."

Rendulic was confident that he could capture Bolzano, the primary objective, today or tomorrow. He's a man well-versed in mountain warfare, so you can trust him.

I thought it would be difficult to advance because the Alps are famous for their rugged terrain, but I was worried for no reason.

When the friendly forces began their offensive, the Italian army began to retreat along the entire front, and even places that were expected to take some time to occupy were surprisingly easily captured.

Elite divisions such as Centauro and Ariete stubbornly resisted and inflicted considerable losses on our troops, but ultimately failed to defend and were routed.

To date, most of the major transportation routes in the Alps have been taken over by our forces, and both advancement and supply are progressing smoothly.

"Anyway, I think the name of the operation is truly appropriate. "Hannibal, isn't it a truly exquisite name?"

When it was time for a break, Kaitel started flattering as if he had been waiting.

It was I who came up with the idea to name this operation after Hannibal, the famous general who led an elephant unit across the Alps to attack the Roman army.

At first, the name of the operation was going to be Achse, as in actual history, but the name Hannibal seemed more appropriate, so it was called Hannibal.

"It's just a name I gave for fun, but I think the flattery is too much."

I was afraid that if I said anything else here, I would hear harsh flattery throughout the break, so I kept quiet.

"I'm thirsty, probably because I've been talking so hard throughout the meeting. Krause, bring me some lemonade."

Krause quenched his thirst with a glass of lemonade and sat down on the sofa to rest for a while before attending the meeting again.

The air raid on northern Italy using He 177s was a great success.

All 12 cities targeted suffered damage that far exceeded expectations, and our forces lost only three Do217 bombers.

"The Italian Air Force is no match for our Air Force. Even if there is only one Bf109 floating around, the Italian fighters will be busy running away, haha!"

Göring, who was confident that the Italian Air Force could not even keep up with the Luftwaffe, kept his promise.

The Italian Air Force suffered so much damage that it could be considered virtually annihilated, making normal operations impossible.

In actual history, the state of the German Air Force in 1944 was the current state of the Italian Air Force.

"Richthofen says why not bomb Rome as well? "He boasted that if the Führer gave him the order, he would turn Rome into a sea of fire as soon as tomorrow."

"I have little courage, but that is enough. "If you bomb Rome for no reason and only inspire the Italians to fight back, you will get tired."

Of course, if Italy does not give up the war until the end, we will of course proceed with bombing Rome.

I'm holding on because I think the war will end before then. Goering responded to my words with his snort.

"What do you have to fear, like the resistance of Italian bastards? They are busy running away or hiding even when our fighter planes fly by. Even if they struggle, you can just swat them like flies. "Isn't that right?"

"The Marshal of the Reich is right. The Italians aren't even a handful away. "It's just deplorable that the Navy has no opportunity to participate in this war."

Wow, Leder agrees with Goering. It's a sight I've seen several times before, but the more I see it, the more amazing it becomes.

Leder said the delivery of the French Navy's ships is proceeding without a hitch.

The French Navy sent surveillance troops in preparation for scuttling the ship, but the French Navy was surprisingly cooperative and is now said to be having fun.

It seems like the threat with the country and colonies worked. You can rebuild ships, but you can't do that with territories and colonies.

***

same time

England, Plymouth

"You've finally arrived in England, Colonel."

"It was a very long journey."

"What's the fuss about just arriving in England? "What I have to do from now on is Taesan."

After getting off the ship, de Gaulle responded stiffly to his subordinates.

De Gaulle's subordinates, who were excited to finally arrive at their destination in England after a long journey of ten days, scratched their heads in embarrassment at their superior's command.

It was truly a miracle that De Gaulle survived the fierce battle.

If the bomb had fallen even 1 meter further forward, he would have been blown to pieces along with the tank without a trace.

De Gaulle, who survived but fainted with two broken legs and burns on his face and hands, was pulled out of the tank by his men and sent to a field hospital.

While receiving treatment at a field hospital, de Gaulle heard the news that France had surrendered to Germany and headed to Spain with his staff, where they boarded a ship and arrived in England.

France surrendered, but he had no intention of surrendering to Germany.

He intended to fight forever until his country was free again.

"We lost the battle, but we did not lose the war. "The real war begins now."