Walking out of the door of the luxurious and exquisite villa, Fang Yan let out a long breath. He had a happy smile on his face, which was more hearty and pleasant than returning from Wushan with his wife

。 For Xiao Ziano, who is above the top, Fang Yan has long wanted to slap him head-on, this thing is an extremely arrogant and self-righteous sick guy, every time he puts on a high-minded and indifferent posture in front of Fang Yan, as if the proud identity was created by his own struggle, not by his father's shadow. If he did not have the connections and financial resources of the elder Ziano, how could he become Mussolini's son-in-law and rise rapidly in the fascist party and government?

In the past, in order to prevent little Ziano from blowing pillow wind next to Mussolini, which would affect German-Italian relations, Fang Yan could only endure little Ziano's indifference and contempt every time he went to Sylvia's house. Now, however, the situation has finally changed.

With Germany's victories on the eastern and northern fronts, Italy's entry into the axis has become inevitable, and Fang Yan no longer has to deal with little Ziano, who doesn't like Germany, as he did a few years ago, and he has no scruples about doing anything. At this meeting, Fang Yan finally vented the depression that had been suppressed in his heart for many years, thinking of Xiao Chiano's blushing face that wanted to have a seizure but couldn't speak, Fang Yan's whole body was dripping with joy, and the pace of leaving became extremely brisk.

Although Fang Yan offended little Ziano tonight, Fang Yan was completely sure whether the latter would do what he said. Although Chiano Jr. has little political sense, he is not a fool; Fang Yan had already made it clear to him that the stakes were all at stake, and he would definitely take action accordingly. With little Ziano going into battle to confront Balbo, the Italian Navy will have at least seventy percent certainty of exclusive aviation, after all, the successful example of German naval aviation is in the past, and it is difficult for Balbo to reverse this trend.

Once the most difficult issues are clear, Fang Yan can confidently examine the other soft powers of the Italian navy. Beginning on March 19, Fang Yan drafted a training charter for the Italian Navy's upcoming carrier-based aviation unit, and at the same time conducted a comprehensive survey of the Italian Navy in various fields such as equipment, morale, organization, training, production, and reserves.

To Fang Yan's surprise, the Italian side did not hide his action in the slightest, but gave him enough convenience: the Italian army not only allowed Fang Yan to arbitrarily board the warship to inspect the grassroots troops, but even provided him with some top-secret materials for his viewing. Surprised and happy, Fang Yan did not waste this opportunity at all. After nearly ten days of information gathering, Fang Yan gradually understood why the Italians were so refreshing. In addition to the fact that the top decision-makers have already decided to join the German side, the biggest reason for this is self-confidence.

In the 18 years since the conclusion of the Washington Treaty, the Italians have indeed worked hard to build their naval fleet, which was once the third rate in Europe, but with the help of the treaty, it has become the world's five powers. In addition to catching up in the field of technology and building a large number of new ships with excellent performance, the Italian Navy attaches great importance to the training of troops and the efficiency of top-down organization: Fang Yan has successively boarded nearly 20 ships in the past 10 days, covering all categories except submarines, and found that the officers and sailors of the Italian army have good professional qualities and can complete all training subjects well.

At the same time, the structure of the entire fleet is clear, the division of duties and powers is clear and reasonable, and various affairs can be broken down layer by layer, and quickly implemented to each detachment and each sailor. On the Italian ship, Fang Yan also saw the culinary cooking of this nation's talent, which made the morale of the officers and men of the warship always maintain quite strong under the guarantee of adequate supplies, and there was no negative attitude towards the war that Fang Yan expected.

And in terms of reserves, the Italian Navy can be described as perfect. Since the early 30s, they have included the reserve of every kind of supplies in their preparations, and today, the ammunition and various spare parts stockpiled in the naval warehouses are comprehensive and abundant, which is enough to support them to fight a long-term war for 3~5 years in the existing production environment. In addition, thanks to the exploitation of Libyan oil fields, the Italian Navy's fuel reserves have reached 9 million tons, which is enough to meet the needs of three years even if the shipwives are open to the expedition. In addition to radar, air defense, and air-sea coordination, the Italian navy, as a traditional force for a decisive victory in the Mediterranean, is more than enough to meet this requirement.

"The Italian Navy is really not weak, it is much better than it was 25 years ago." Fang Yan happily spread out a piece of paper in front of his desk and began to gradually write a formal report on the many information he had gathered. As long as the Supreme Command sees its own investigation and assessment, it will have a more accurate understanding of the strength of the southern flank, and Fang Yan estimates that at most one air force will be sent south to assist the Italian fleet, and then wait for the Mediterranean Sea to be cleared.

Unlike the faltering setbacks of the historical plane, the Italian Navy of this world already has an overwhelming advantage over the Wyvern Riding Face. Fang Yan can foresee that in the next 1~2 years, the power of the Allied forces in North Africa and the Middle East will collapse, and there will be no capital to hold on!

Unconsciously, Fang Yan, who was writing like the wind, filled more than a dozen pages. Suddenly, the pen in Fang Yan's hand stopped: there was a copy of the production materials of the Italian shipyard still in the hotel suite, and Fang Yan was now needing the data on it to complete the report in his hand. Fang Yan looked at his watch and decided to go back to his room to get it, procrastination has never been his style, not to mention that the hotel is less than a 10-minute drive away.

Ascending to the sixth floor of the King's Hotel through the elevator, a purple carpet leads straight to the palatial VIP suite, and in the corridor, Fang Yan unexpectedly found Zeitzler pushing the door out of the opposite side of his suite. He didn't wear a military hat, revealing a shiny and smooth arc-shaped baldness, and his originally heroic and capable face was full of sorrow at the moment, completely lacking the calm and sharpness in Fang Yan's impression.

"Colonel Zeitzler, what's wrong with you, you look so bad?" Fang Yan couldn't help but stop and asked. Seeing Fang Yan appear, Zeitzler raised his hand to salute him with some weakness, and said, "I have made a rough report on the Italian Army, and I am going to send it to His Excellency Keitel first. Now I don't want to stay in Italy for a day, because there is no need for my work to continue. ”

Hearing these words, Fang Yan's hand that was about to reach out to touch the knocker suddenly stopped in mid-air. His heart sank, and he quickly thought of many things.

Since his own journey south to Italy, all he has seen and heard is that the Roman government has invested far more money and resources in the navy than it has ever been. Since he was born in the navy, his focus was on his satisfaction with the current situation of the Italian navy and his regret that he did not focus on the development of aviation, but he never seriously thought about how many eastern walls the Italians demolished in order to build this western wall.

Historically, the Italian Army was known for its poor equipment and lack of training, and was even pushed back by Greece in World War II. This time, Zeitzler was in charge of investigating the reality of the Italian army, could it be that he discovered something earth-shattering and enough to make him desperate? At that moment, Fang Yan cautiously asked suspiciously.

"General Brom, do you know anything about the Army?" Zeitzler did not answer immediately, but first expressed doubts about Yahiko's ability to understand. After all, the army and navy are separated by mountains, and Zeitzler did not think that the young man in front of him could be proficient in the affairs of the army even if he had the titles of warship designer and naval and air combat expert. Fang Yan smiled and said frankly: "I do have almost no understanding of the formation and combat of the army. But I'd love to learn something from you, can you fulfill my wish? ”

"That's ...... Just as you wish. Zeitzler pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement. In addition to the fact that Fang Yan's rank is higher than him, Zeitzler really hopes that someone can let him fall in love with the depression in his heart at this time. "The Italian Army is really rotten." Zeitzler said silently in his heart.

"Currently, the Italian Army has a total of 73 divisions. These include 49 infantry divisions, 3 tank divisions, 2 motorized infantry divisions, 3 cavalry divisions, 5 Alpine divisions, and 11 other special-purpose divisions. This number does not even match the scale when they entered the war in 1915. As Fang Yan sat down on the sofa, Zeitzler immediately began to complain about the cheating of the Italian Army. Considering that Fang Yan knew very little about the army, Zeitzler did not speak in such an obscure way, but expressed the level of the Italian army in simple terms.

"If you compare it to the German Army, you can get a rough idea of what the Italian Army is. At present, our army has a total of 149 divisions: 10 armored divisions, 6 motorized divisions, and 127 infantry divisions, and the number of divisions alone is more than twice that of the Italian army. And if we take into account the gap in personnel quality and equipment, the overall strength of the Italian army is very likely to be only one-tenth or even one-fifteenth of our army. Speaking of this, Zeitzler's face showed undisguised contempt, "If we were to attack Poland against the Italian army, then we would only need the strength of one army group to defeat it steadily. ”

"1 army group?" Fang Yan said in disbelief. Zeitzler nodded, closed his eyes and sighed, "Before I came to Italy, I couldn't believe it. But that's what makes it shocking. If in 1914 Germany was allied with the zombie of the Austro-Hungarian army, today Germany is in the company of the Italian pig. On land, at least, Germany's plan to keep the Italians at bay with Britain and France could be relegated to the garbage heap. ”

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