Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 473: Taranto (Part 1)
At 12 o'clock noon on October 29th, the Italian Prime Minister Mussolini held an unconditional surrender to the Greater German Empire on behalf of the Italian government at the surrender ceremony held in the National Parliament Building in Rome. The signing representative sent by the German side It is General Jodel, the head of the Operational Bureau of the Third Reich Command.
It's really because at that time the powerful marshals in the German army headquarters all ran back to Berlin for a meeting, leaving only the front-line commander to top the tank in Italy.
Yordel changed four pens when signing, so the full name of Alfred Joseph Ferdinand Yodel was signed on the surrender letter, which is said to be a trick he heard from the head of state , And the Chief of Operations personally believes that these pens will be the best memorials and gifts.
Mussolini maintained a calm leadership style throughout the ceremony, which made the British and French representatives who participated in the ceremony feel admired. They originally wanted to see the embarrassing side of the proud dictator, but There is no loss or frustration on Mussolini’s face. Obviously, this war and the farce-like coup have taught him a profound lesson, allowing him to finally recognize the reality of Italy and where he should stand. position.
The ceremony of Italy's surrender to France and Britain will be held on the second day. This is the only request made by Mussolini. The Kingdom of Italy cannot surrender to three countries at the same time. He believes that only from the time of declaration of war, Germany It should be distinguished from English and French.
Italy admitted that it had been defeated, and the news spread across Europe in a flash, but the people didn't seem to be very interested in it, because it was already doomed. Europeans are more concerned about the establishment of a new European order, because the surrender of Italy means that the state of war in Europe is completely over, and Europa finally ushered in peace and tranquility.
The prospect of the European Union proposed by Germany now seems to be very tempting. According to the plan of the German head of state, European countries may really live in harmony, and countries will be free from war forever.
Germany has become the leader of Europe, and German has become the official language of choice among governments. In the financial market, the mark, the British pound, and the franc have become the main trading currencies. At this time, Schacht’s sophisticated financial skills can be seen. With the prestige of victory, the mark’s currency value has not risen significantly. It maintains a one-to-four ratio with the British pound. As for the U.S. dollar, Europe is still on the gold standard at this time, and Schacht never thought of **** the mark to the U.S. dollar.
"The lira is rapidly depreciating, and Italian society must regain confidence." Dr. Schacht pointed at the document in front of him with his finger and stated to Xu Jun.
"Mussolini is going to come to Berlin to have a meeting with me. His deputy economic minister has resigned." The German head of state stood with his back on his back and stood in front of the window sill of the command office, admiring the street view downstairs through the white window screens.
"My head of state, according to the latest news, that deputy minister jumped off his balcony three hours ago." Weirler reported from the side.
"Is it a murder or an accident?" Xu Jun turned his head with a look of surprise, he was surprised that the big chin could retaliate against the betrayer so quickly.
"It’s not what you think, my head of state. We believe it is caused by excessive mental pressure, and we judge that similar things within the Italian government will be frequent in the future. Some people All of them were put on the downfall of Mussolini. No one thought that you would help Mussolini to come back to power." Weierle replied respectfully.
"My head of state, we can't just sit back and watch the economic collapse of the Kingdom of Italy, which will cause a chain reaction in the European financial industry." Schacht wanted to bring the topic back.
"I have discussed your proposal with Prime Minister Chamberlain and President Petain. We agreed that Italy can offset part of the war compensation with physical objects, shares of factories and mining enterprises, and other state-owned assets. If necessary, we can also subscribe for one. An Italian national debt. You still need to discuss the specific amount with the ministers of economy in Britain and France." Xu Jun walked back to his desk and picked up the report from the Ministry of Economy.
"This is really great. I started to prepare as soon as I returned. In addition, some domestic banks want to obtain government permits to allow them to invest in Italy and give Italian companies low-interest loans." Schacht hesitated. The Nazi government had strict control over banks, and he had made many rules.
"You can give these banks a license, but you must be careful to avoid the outflow of foreign exchange. You are an expert in this area. I believe you know how to solve this problem. At the same time, we should also encourage German companies to participate in Italian economic activities. , Italy has a lot of advanced technology that we currently need." Xu Jun flipped through a few pages of the report and then put it on the desk.
"This is really good news, my head of state, I believe many companies will be interested in this." Schacht nodded vigorously as a compliment.
"I will read this report as soon as possible, Your Excellency Minister." The head of state leaned on the armrest and raised his hand to pat the report.
"Okay, my Führer, then I will leave first today." Schacht is the so-called old cunning guy. He is very clear about his measures and advances. It seems that the Führer does not want to discuss this issue anymore. It was clear that the apostle had a clear idea in his heart.
"Goodbye, Dr. Schacht." Xu Jun stood up and shook hands with the Minister of Economy to bid farewell.
"How is the situation on Mussolini's side." Watching the Minister of Economy leave, the head of the Empire turned his attention to his staff.
"My head, I don't know what you mean..." Weierle scratched his forehead.
"Don't play tricks, Weierle, you know what I mean." Xu Jun said with a smile.
"Well, my head of state, in terms of time, it should have started now. I have asked Colonel Dougan to go to the telecom room to stare at it. As soon as there is a report, I will send it to you." Weierle I closed the lid of the solid alcohol stove, picked up the boiling kettle, and poured hot water into the teapot on the table.
On Saturday, November 2, 1940, the fourth day after Italy surrendered, the atmosphere in Taranto Port was still solemn, and the cloud of war still hung over the port.
The British, French and German fleets once again rejected the request of the Italian Navy. The fleet consisting of four battleships, eight light and heavy cruisers, and fourteen destroyers still blocked the port.
From the perspective of power comparison, the Italian naval fleet in the port should have the upper hand. The Italian navy has concentrated all five battleships, eight heavy cruisers and twelve light cruisers, and twenty-six each. Type destroyers and sixty submarines, it can be said that two-thirds of the Royal Navy are parked here.
The problem is that the Royal Italian Navy did not dare to conflict with the coalition fleet, because at this time the morale of the bottom sailors of the fleet was low, and the senior officers were seriously divided.
When the Roman coup took place, Admiral Angelo Iaquino, the commander of the fleet, could not wait to announce to all naval officers and soldiers~IndoMTL.com~ that the Mussolini government has fallen and the Royal Navy fully supports the new cabinet. .
As a result, the sailors on some naval ships immediately mutated. They refused to acknowledge the news that the Prime Minister had resigned and claimed that the generals had betrayed the leader. This was a premeditated coup against Mussolini.
Especially the battleship Count Cavour, which was parked by the dock. The angry sailors opened the ammunition depot on the ship. They took out the firearms stored inside, shouted the slogan of hanging the traitor, and seized the ship in one fell swoop. All the high-ranking officers and sailors even switched the muzzle of the main gun and tried to shell the fleet headquarters in the port area. Fortunately, the Marine Corps on the dock responded quickly and forcibly regained the warship.
In order to avoid similar accidents again, after discussing with Admiral Cavgliani who drove back to Taranto from Rome, Iaquino ordered all the sailors on the warships to come ashore to live, and only a few remained on the ships. The necessary maintenance personnel.
The previous riots have aroused conflicts between officers and soldiers, and the new command of the headquarters has aroused dissatisfaction among all sailors. A rumor began to circulate among the sailors that Prime Minister Mussolini did not fall. The generals were carrying out a coup. They wanted to remove all the sailors who supported Mussolini from the fleet, and then took the fleet to shelling. The coast of Rome used force to force the government to accept their traitorous terms. (To be continued.)