Chapter 300 A New Queen

"Strait of Gibraltar?" Pétain hesitated and asked, "Your Highness, what kind of support do you need? You know our soldiers have just experienced defeat, and they won't be ready for battle in the short term." He was well aware that the fortress of Gibraltar was one of the most impregnable strongholds globally, and conquering it would require a considerable and costly effort.

This cunning fox! Wilhelm couldn't help but curse inwardly. "Pure artillery support, and your navy only needs to send a few battleships to bombard Gibraltar and Malta." Wilhelm had initially intended for France to cede the battleships "Strasbourg" and "Dunkerque," but the German Navy was more interested in two nearly completed battleships (Jean Bart, Clemenceau) and four aircraft carriers in the French docks.

Wilhelm settled for just one "Dunkerque" class battleship. Given France's current economic situation, it was impossible to complete those ships, and the French were willing to use these unfinished warships to offset a portion of the reparations.

Prime Minister Pétain couldn't help but sigh in relief. It was that simple—just a waste of some artillery shells. "So, how does Your Highness plan to solve the Italian problem?"

Wilhelm looked at Reinhard. "Did the crown prince also die?"

Reinhard nodded confidently. "Yes, according to reliable intelligence, he was shot several times and is undoubtedly dead."

Wilhelm decisively concluded, "Then let Princess Silvia, the crown prince's daughter, take the throne since he's deceased." (TLN: Umberto II never had a daughter named Silvia, and his eldest daughter, Maria Pia, is just 6 years old at the time. I will assume Silvia is a fictional addition to the story.)

Prime Minister Pétain widened his eyes. "Princess Silvia? But she's just a child. Who among her uncles or cousins would accept her as their queen?"

Wilhelm rolled his eyes. "Both our countries support her. Who in Italy would dare to object?"

"..." Prime Minister Pétain looked thoughtful, and Wilhelm signaled Reinhard with his eyes. "Inform General Hans Krebs and General Paul Hausser that the second phase of Operation 'Queen' can be executed." Oh Mussolini, I really don't want you as this backstabbing, self-righteous, know-it-all, hundred-battles-hundred-defeats teammate. You better die soon! (TLN: Emotional damage.)

Although I can't make you immortal, making your infamy last forever is within my power.

Demonstrating German efficiency once again, less than twenty minutes after Wilhelm's order, at a checkpoint on the German-Italian border, an Italian sergeant cheerfully greeted the approaching German sergeant, asking, "Hey, Frank. What's going on?"

Here, originally stationed an Italian infantry company. A few months ago, a German division settled across, and for some reason, His Excellency Mussolini decided to reinforce this small checkpoint with two additional divisions.

Was he afraid the Germans across might suddenly attack Italy? But they were an armored division, while they only had two infantry divisions, and not many anti-tank weapons; a real fight would likely result in their annihilation within minutes.

Fortunately, the two sides didn't engage in combat and kept to themselves. Moreover, since Germany and Italy were not opposing forces, with so many people gathered in one place, various forms of communication and exchange were inevitable. They exchanged cigarettes, alcohol, food, and even organized recreational activities like football matches.

However, today, the usually calm and sometimes filled with laughter border checkpoint was now permeated with tension. Frank ignored the Italian sergeant's frequent glances toward him and chatted as usual. "Anthony, my friend. I heard there's a rebellion in your homeland?"

Anthony nervously watched the intimidating tanks in the distance behind Frank. The German tanks had never been this close to the border before. Today, for some reason, it felt like they were about to charge across. Despite the tension, he responded to Frank's question with a troubled expression. "Yes. I can't figure out how this happened either." He really couldn't understand what had transpired and why Mussolini had committed such a heinous act of regicide.

Thankfully, he was just a sergeant and only needed to follow orders from his superiors without concerning himself too much with the inscrutable political affairs.

"That's really unfortunate," Frank nodded. "But I'm here today because of this matter. We are ordered to disarm you."

"Oh, disarm us? Are you kidding?" Anthony was taken aback when he realized the implications. Disarming them meant going to war, right?

"How could I be joking? We are invited by your new queen to enter Italy and eliminate the rebels. Look, here are the orders from your new queen and the new Minister of Defense." Frank took out two papers from his pocket and handed them over.

"Orders?" Anthony, still bewildered, accepted the two papers Frank handed him. His mind was in chaos, contemplating who the new queen and Minister of Defense were.

Frank kindly reminded, "My friend, I suggest you take these orders to your highest-ranking officer at your base."

Anthony snapped out of his confusion and nodded vigorously. "Oh, yes! I'll go right away."

Watching Anthony rush away, Frank couldn't help shaking his head. This guy is not bad, just a bit simple-minded. If there's an emergency on the battlefield, he could probably get all his subordinates killed. "Anthony, are you planning to run over there? Don't you have a motorcycle?"

"Haha, look at me, nearly forgot."

When Anthony, out of breath, rushed into the division headquarters, two division commanders were having lunch. Seeing the two orders handed over by Anthony, one of them was so startled that the Italian pasta he was chewing sprayed out of his nostrils, while the other almost choked to death on the red wine he had just sipped.

After the chaos settled, the two commanders were deeply troubled looking at the two orders on the table. "Should we support Mussolini or this new queen?" In fact, they both knew Mussolini's actions amounted to undeniable rebellion. However, until now, they hadn't received any orders to return and suppress the rebels. Maybe Mussolini promised many benefits to the high-ranking military officials, gaining their support. Perhaps the royal family had other plans or means?

The commander who was asked straightforwardly shook his head. "Don't ask me; I have no interest in political affairs." A soldier's duty is to obey, and he had no intentions of getting involved in politics unless precise orders were issued from above.

The commander who asked the question scratched his head and changed the question. "Then, should we surrender peacefully, or resist?"

"How can we resist? They are an armored division, and who knows, they might even have the air force behind them." The other side had punched Poland, kicked France, and slapped England. Moreover, the news just in from Anthony suggested that the German armored forces were fully prepared and could attack at any moment. In contrast, they hadn't made any preparations for war, and he was quite aware of this fact.

"If the queen takes over, then we might become allies with Germany, right?"

"Probably? Maybe the queen will even marry Crown Prince Wilhelm in the future."

After staring at each other for a while, they saw the same message in each other's eyes. Suddenly, one of them slammed the table and boldly gave the order, "Announce, all weapons to be stored in the arsenal and handed over to the Germans for safekeeping. Inform the Germans that we will firmly support the new queen's succession."