Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 429: Reinforcements

At 7 o'clock in the morning on the 21st, the German pioneers arrived at Rovereto, which is an important transportation hub in the southern Alps. From here, it turns to the east and can cross the foothills of Pasubio via the intermountain road, from Torre The Belvecino Pass enters the eastern plain of the Po River. It is one of the most prosperous regions in Italy, with ancient cities such as Padua, Vicenza, Traviso and Venice.

Going south from Rovereto, following the Adige River and the railway line, you can enter the Po Plain from the southern pass of the Alcarol Mountain, which is away from the city of Verona, the target of the Ninth Armored Division. Only 20 kilometers away.

The Ninth Armored Division took the southern route as planned. The biggest obstacle at present is the Caeano Canyon on the way. The road here is relatively narrow, the road is close to the cliff, and the galloping Adige is on the other side. The river is a good place to set up an ambush, but as long as you pass this bottleneck, the road ahead will suddenly become clear.

At the same time, the assault group will split a military-level battle group from the eastern front. The task of this unit is to cut off the road from Vicenza to the Gulf of Venice. They will start from Austria and Yugoslavia and from the northeast. Together with the assault group forces that entered the border of Italy, the Italian heavy forces stationed in Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto regions were divided and annihilated in this plain area.

Intelligence shows that Italy has three standard infantry divisions stationed in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, and also deployed an unknown number of air forces. This is not to blame the German intelligence department for slack, it is the Italian Air Force paper. The forces on the surface are too far from the actual situation.

At eight o'clock in the morning, the heavy search platoon of the 9th Armored Reconnaissance Battalion had already rushed through the Caeano Canyon. It turns out that the Italians did not set up ambush here at all, confessed from some Italian highway police captured on the way. Look, they didn't even know that the German army had broken through the border defenses.

At this time, the military and political agencies in the Veneto region have not yet reached work hours, and the staff on duty at night are surprised by the sudden interruption of communications in a series of northern cities. The Italians couldn’t imagine that the German army had hurriedly advanced 200 kilometers in just eight hours and occupied more than 30 Italian villages and cities along the way. The vanguard troops had already rushed out of the Alps and were now heading towards the important town. Verona approached quickly.

Lieutenant General Von Hubiji of the Ninth Armored Division knew that as long as the troops entered the prosperous plains, the concealment of military operations would no longer exist, so he ordered the radio to keep silent until it was activated, and he was still at Ins. Brook's assault group command reported the current progress of the armored division.

Mountain terrain has serious interference to radio signals, so it must be relayed through radio relay stations set up at the Bolzano and Brenner Pass. The communication command of armored forces in mobile operations has always been a problem. Although the division is equipped with a half-track long-range communication vehicle equipped with a 10-meter whip antenna, because the battlefield is too large, it is inevitable that there will be some information transmission with the headquarters. Delay, if you want to improve this situation, you can only move the headquarters and the command center as close to the front as possible, but this will cause some security problems.

So when the reply order from Innsbruck headquarters was passed to the 9th Armored Division, two light companies of the 33rd Armored Regiment and an infantry regiment of the 9th Guard Infantry Brigade were already coming to Vero. It's outside the city.

The Germans have broken through the Alps and are approaching the ancient city of Verona. This news spread to the entire Kingdom of Italy within an hour along with radio waves.

At this time, most Italians were sitting on their balcony enjoying breakfast under the warm sun. Most of them thought it was the broadcaster's sudden nervousness. Everyone knows what the Alps are all about. It takes at least a day even to drive through this mountainous area in a car. How could the Germans break through this moat in just one night, in so many cities and villages along the way Those who live are dead.

Some smart people have guessed the truth. The Germans must have transported the assault troops by rail. Why is no one to be prepared for this? The official responsible for this should be dragged out and shot to death immediately.

But now it's meaningless to use these post-mortem cannons. The Italians really felt the pressure of the war on them this morning. Before, Italians had seen wars in Europe in newspapers and news films. Some cities near the northwestern border were even bombed by the French. It has only been more than a month since the fall of Sardinia, but these things are common in Italy. In the eyes of the people, they are still too far away. Although more and more friends around them are enlisting in the army, they still have to live their lives as they are. What is Mussolini or fascism, the key depends on who can fill their belly.

But this time is different. Anyone who understands maps and has studied history knows where Verona is. Even illiterate people who have never read should know Venice and Milan. The Germans have already rushed into the Po River Plain. Cities like Milan and Venice are destined to fall soon. It is a vast plain with no natural risks at all.

At this moment, even the capital, Rome, no longer makes people feel safe. The Germans can even break through the dangerous Alps, and the Apennines with roads extending in all directions are more like a sieve and cannot be an obstacle to them.

When the Italians discovered that the war was really coming to them, the panic atmosphere was immediately accompanied by various rumors, spreading through the streets like lightning.

"This group of old guys are crazy. This is simply sending us to death." Lieutenant Bernardino took the telegram from his subordinates, and then looked at the first few lines and couldn't help exclaiming.

He commanded the 19th Venetian Infantry Division of the Italian Army. At this time, it was stationed in a small town called Westerino, ready to move towards Vicenza after lunch.

Rome gave him the order to board the prepared army in Vicenza, then go to Bolzano, and then rely on that city to build a line of defense in the nearby mountain pass. And in order to strengthen the lieutenant’s determination to resist ~ IndoMTL.com ~ Rome also assured him that they have mobilized the 28th Aosta Infantry Division to come for reinforcements and are expected to arrive in Bolzano in three days.

In addition, the 12th Sassari Infantry Division and the 133th Lidorio Armored Division, which are confronting the French on the western front, will also be transferred to the northern defense line. The Roman High Command believes that after gathering such a powerful force, Even a powerful German Wehrmacht cannot easily break through the Alps.

Yesterday's telegram was still in the briefcase next to him, and today he actually told him that the Germans had already killed the Venetian Master, can he find something more outrageous than this.

The Roman High Command may not know the current state of the Venetian division, but as the division commander, Lieutenant General Bernardino certainly knows the strength of his subordinates. The Venice Division is almost a deserted division. These guys are stationed in the barracks on the outskirts of Venice as a coastal garrison. The bustling market is full of lights and feasts. The officers and soldiers have long developed a habit of laziness, and the infantry has not accepted it for a long time. Go through combat training.

The morale of the troops plummeted when they heard that they were going to fight against the Germans in the cold mountains. Finally, the officers had been vaccinated early and guarded against the soldiers below, otherwise there would be a large number of deserters last night. Don't think that these guys don't have the guts. If you open a mouth, believe it or not, you will be left with a company commander in one night.

Now Rome actually wants such a force to go to Verona to reinforce the defenders there and resist the German attack. The opponent is still the ninth armored division of the German army, which has long been a fierce name. This is equivalent to bringing this small six thousand People are sent to the execution ground. Yes, you are not mistaken, this infantry division currently has a serious shortage, all of which add up to only 5,600.

: Sorry, the update is a bit late, please understand.

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