Chapter 5 Ambitions of Rome

Night in Palermo, Silence Reigns.

In Palermo, far from the sounds of gunfire in Malta and the absence of nocturnal activities from the Italian Air Force, tranquility blanketed the night. However, despite the comfortable and spacious bed, Logan found no solace in sleep. Throughout the restless night, scenes of past battles haunted his mind—Dunkirk, White Island, Cardiff. Whether paratroopers, SS troops, or airmen, the Germans' dedication, discipline, and resilience remained their nation's most precious assets in war. As he tossed and turned, Logan couldn't shake the feeling that despite the formidable might of the German forces, they couldn't shake off the effects of their leadership and allies. The inept performance of the Italians had left a bitter taste, and the recent addition of Japan to the Axis Powers, still fresh-minded in the early stages of the war, was now succumbing to the allure of exaggerated self-confidence and neurosis, influenced by a series of victories. If this trend continued, they would inevitably find themselves trapped, just like history had shown.

The dawn broke unnoticed, and the aircraft stationed near Palermo had already moved to frontline airfields in the south and east of the island a day earlier. The morning remained quiet without the buzzing sounds of aircraft. The cool breeze gently swayed the curtains on the balcony. As Logan woke from a dream of a crimson flag fluttering above Buckingham Palace, he couldn't help but wonder—why was there no news from Malta throughout the night?

With these doubts lingering, Logan freshened up, had a simple breakfast, and drove with Augusto to the Italian headquarters. As soon as he entered, he sensed an odd atmosphere—a mix of joy and despondency among officers from different branches of the same country!

It turned out there was news after all. The Italians hadn't taken their "tactical advisor" seriously from the start. Perhaps the initial invitation was merely a courtesy from Italian leadership. Ridiculously, the Germans had even earnestly selected their best paratrooper commander for this mission.

Entering the chaotic command room, Logan was greeted with some good news: one of the castles in the series of fortresses surrounding the Maltese capital, Valletta, had been captured overnight by Italian paratroopers under the command of Colonel Tonini. 120 Italian paratroopers had defeated 240 British defenders. Specifically, 22 Italian officers and 98 Libyan soldiers had defeated 240 soldiers from England, Wales, Scotland, and Egypt.

Although the capture of the Saint Elmo Castle was a significant achievement, the Italian forces still had to overcome the main city of Valletta and its surrounding fortifications. However, the victory not only secured a vital foothold for the Italian military but also dealt a significant blow to British morale. Logan was confident that if it were the German forces fighting, they could capture Valletta within a day. After all, no wall could withstand the bombardment of battleship guns and heavy aerial bombs!

However, Logan didn't see the expected joy on General Sapienza's face. The stout Italian general awkwardly informed his German colleague that two Italian infantry battalions, which landed in Malta the previous night, were unexpectedly attacked by British forces during the night. After suffering heavy casualties, they chose to surrender to the British. However, on their way back to Valletta, unaware that Saint Elmo Castle had fallen, they were ambushed by Italian paratroopers. Suddenly, captors became captives again, and the two Italian battalions arrogantly reclaimed their weapons!

The folly of the Italian Army was somewhat amusing, but the plight of the Italian Navy was a complete disaster. The battleship "Duilio" had struck a mine upon leaving port this morning. It was speculated that a British submarine had laid the minefield during the night outside the port of Catania. The aging warship had taken on 2000 tons of water within a short time and listed severely. With the assistance of several tugboats, it managed to limp back to port. With the flagship incapacitated, Italian cruisers and destroyers had to sail alone. They were supposed to cover the landing of the second wave of Italian troops on the northern and northeastern beaches of Malta. While this task was relatively straightforward, the planned bombardment of the peripheral forts around Valletta was now in jeopardy!

Not only were there tactical inadequacies, but the Roman decision-makers also displayed strategic blindness. The battle in Malta was far from over, and Italian offensives in North Africa and Northeast Africa faced stubborn resistance. Yet, the Italian government, impatient for new victories, had already initiated another offensive: Greece. Allegedly due to Greek "incursions" into Albanian territory, Italy officially issued an ultimatum to Athens, demanding strategic positions to be handed over to Italian forces. These so-called "security measures" were all located on Greek soil, essentially asking the Greeks to abandon their defenses along their border with Italy!

The news arrived before lunch, and during the meal, the Italian commanders seemed to have forgotten about the ongoing battle in Malta. Instead, discussions revolved around how quickly Greece could be conquered: some said two weeks, others four weeks, and the longest estimation was before Christmas. Some even believed Greece would surrender without a fight.

Watching the Italians' arrogance, Logan remained calm. He had no authority to intervene in Italian military deployments, and even if he were given control of the Italian military, there was no way to quickly tidy up this mess.

In the afternoon, the third battalion of Italian infantry was transported to Malta, joining the earlier landing forces. With Italian forces now holding a numerical advantage in the southern part of the island, British defenders were compressed into several isolated strongholds including Valletta. However, due to the lack of heavy firepower from battleships, the first Italian assault on Valletta's main city failed within half an hour with minimal casualties, 42 killed and 61 wounded. Subsequently, the Italian air force intensified bombing raids on British positions. However, from Francesco Boccazzi, Logan learned that the Italian air force stationed in Sicily would begin transferring to frontline airfields in Greece the following day. Consequently, with the Italian military's focus shifting to Greece and their paratroopers having completed their initial airborne operations, Logan felt staying in Sicily was pointless. That evening, he attempted to send a telegram through the Italians to the German High Command requesting to return to Germany, but received no response.

The next day, a coded message was sent via the German embassy in Rome, and quickly received a reply: remain in Italy and closely observe the situation.

This somewhat baffling command finally made Logan suspicious: was this another rotten idea concocted by Goering to keep him at bay?

Whether intentional or not, Logan couldn't tell, but he continued to watch the Italians' laughable performance. With the landing of Italian artillery battalions, the battle for Malta entered the assault phase. Italian paratroopers and infantry gradually captured three ancient cities on the right side of Valletta under artillery support. However, the British had destroyed all the cannons there before retreating, and the Italians struggled to find a breakthrough in the main city of Valletta. After several days, with losses exceeding 200, frontline commanders clamored for being unable to continue the attack. After consultations between army and air force generals, they unanimously decided to use a siege tactic against the British defenders in Valletta.

In Greece, even before the ultimatum expired, Italian troops crossed the border eagerly. However, they encountered the first problem: Greece's mountainous terrain offered few good routes, and those available were long neglected. What's more astonishing was the Italian army's lack of adequate reconnaissance preparation for this invasion. They were even using tourist maps of Greece from the 1920s. Worse still, a winter rain fell a few days before the invasion, quickly lowering temperatures to zero degrees Celsius. Rome was confident of a swift victory, to the extent that the troops were not even equipped with winter clothing, forcing soldiers to attack in autumn clothes on snowy ground, with predictable results!

Facing the formidable Italian legion, Greek forces stabilized their front lines after retreating 50-60 kilometers. On the fourth day of the Italian offensive, Greek Supreme Commander Papagos ordered a counterattack. The Greek army cleverly used the terrain to fiercely resist the Italian advance, resulting in heavy losses for the Italians. At this point, Mussolini finally realized that, despite his belief that neighboring Bulgaria would send troops to support, they didn't come. Furthermore, his secret bribery activities with Greek politicians and generals yielded no results. In this situation, the Italian army once again found themselves in an extremely dire situation.

In Malta, on October 29th, Italian convoys transporting reinforcements and supplies were ambushed by two British submarines. In the naval battle, four transport ships sank, and nearly hundreds of Italian soldiers were lost. Although most of them eventually reached Malta, they were of little help due to the loss of weapons, consuming a large amount of supplies. On the other hand, the British had already moved their war materials to fortified coastal fortresses, and Italian artillery remained silent until November 1st due to a lack of shells. Moreover, the sea transport, just over 50 nautical miles away, was halted for 36 hours due to this attack!

On November 3rd, as the Italian troops invading Greece were retreating one after another, under pressure from Rome, the Italian troops landing in Malta launched a fierce attack on Valletta's main city with the support of two cruisers. In the battle, the mainly Libyan Italian paratroopers once again showed astonishing courage. They used explosives to collapse a section of the city wall and engaged in fierce street fighting with the British using pistols and submachine guns. After more than 5 hours of continuous fighting, the Italian flag finally flew over Valletta.

On the same day, a British fleet from Gibraltar was intercepted by a squadron of Italian Navy destroyers. This time, without the participation of the main fleet, the Royal Navy was finally overwhelmed by the frenzied attacks of the Italians. Unable to receive reinforcements, the remaining British forces in Malta, after two days of stubborn resistance, finally raised the white flag and surrendered to the Italians. This was undoubtedly the most disgraceful scene for the British military in this war!

On November 5th, although the Italian army suffered losses of about 2,500 soldiers from four infantry battalions in Greece, the victory in Malta plunged the entire Rome into unprecedented jubilation. Of course, civilians couldn't see the clumsy performance of their own army, nor could they see that nearly fifty percent of the Italian paratroopers were casualties!

With the fall of Malta, the German High Command finally issued a recall order to Air Marshal Hans Logan, who had been stranded in Sicily for half a month, putting an end to the whole absurd and boring journey.