The frenzied Italian High Command did not know what kind of psychology it had, and in the early winter of October 28, it drove the soldiers who had not received their winter uniforms into northern Greece. [ads:This site has a new URL,Shorthand method:,.]

On 3 November, after entering the territory of Greece fifty or sixty kilometers, the Italian offensive failed miserably in the area of Vovusa, faced with the double blow of the Greek army and the cold.

After ten days of preparation, the Greek army mobilized twelve infantry divisions, two cavalry divisions, and three infantry brigades to launch a counterattack on all fronts, and after a week of fierce fighting, the main force of the Italian 11th Army was routed and counterattacked into Albanian territory.

November 21, 1940, in the border city of Kolca, east of the Korca Plain in southeastern Albania, near the foothills of the Morava Mountains.

The artillery shells fired by the Greek army fell on the Italian positions south of the city with a strong wind, and the sky was filled with gunsmoke, the explosion was deafening, and the dazzling fire reached into the sky.

The dense Italian soldiers were huddled in the dilapidated positions or shivering in the ruins of the buildings, as the brave Greek army rushed in front of them and captured them, and then shivered and carried into a prisoner-of-war camp to keep warm with each other.

Some lucky Italian soldiers were chased behind by the roaring Greek cavalry, brandishing their sabers.

Glittering sabers slashed across the thinly clad Italian soldiers, slashing them in pools of blood.

The neighing of horses, the shouts of Greek cavalry, and the screams of Italian soldiers covered the battlefield.

In the bitter cold wind, the city of Korca was littered with snowflakes of military documents, and discarded debris and ammunition were everywhere.

Countless bicycles, horse-drawn carriages piled up in the streets, piles of guns and ammunition, and mountains of cans and wine all reflected the panic of the Italian army.

Unlike the panicked Italian soldiers, the Greek soldiers shouted excitedly when they saw the scene inside the city.

Greece did not have its own military industry, and the supply of equipment and ammunition for the army depended on imports from abroad and capture from the defeated Italian army.

All the supplies left behind by the Italian rout were a relief to the resource-starved Greek army, meaning they had more resources to defend their country.

In Korcha, the Greeks happily enjoyed the joy of victory.

In the Palazzo Venezia, the official residence of the leader of Rome, the capital of Italy. Mussolini walked around the office with his shiny bald head, squirting all sorts of swear words out of his mouth.

"Waste, pigs, idiots. The great Italian army was defeated at the hands of the incompetent Greeks, and was that guy in Plaska full of poop in his head? If he had half the power of Marshal Graziani, I would have held a military parade in Athens by this time. ”

The Chief of the General Staff of the Italian Army, Marshal Badoglio, stood at his desk, looking subservient to orders, but complaining in his heart.

Who is to blame for Albania's defeat? It's not that you want to blame the leader in front of you.

Under the extreme favoritism of His Excellency the Leader. The Italian Navy and Air Force were far superior to the Army in terms of clothing, food and allowances.

The uniforms and insignia of the Italian Air Force and Navy are completely different from those of the army between a rich man and a beggar.

In the concept of His Excellency the Leader, the army is just a show on the battlefield, and it is not up to the army to fight.

Under the guidance of this philosophy, His Excellency the Leader sent the Albanian Army Group without a change of winter clothes to attack Greece, clearly wanting to ask for hardship and not complain to others.

Badoglio stood aside, quietly waiting for Mussolini to finish venting, and then found an opportunity to interject: "I think we should first find a way to mobilize reinforcements to Albania to stabilize the situation there." And then the responsibility for the defeat will be pursued. ”

"How many troops do you think we should drop to Albania?" Mussolini asked.

"I think at least six divisions will be transferred," said Marshal Badoglio.

While the two were discussing how to reinforce Albania, the Italian army's combat effectiveness was about to be tested in Italian Somalia, far East Africa.

By November 1940, the British Eighth Army, commanded by British Army Lieutenant General Montgomery, had doubled in strength.

By mid-November, the British army in Kenya was approaching 100,000 men.

Among them, 27,000 are South African troops, 33,000 are East African troops, 9,000 are Kenya Defence Forces, and 28,000 are British troops.

The African forces consist of three divisions, namely the 1st South African Division, the 11th African Division and the 12th African Division.

The British army was a tank squadron sent by the 5th Indian Division and the 4th Royal Tank Wing. In addition, there was an armored brigade from the 1st Panzer Division, which was armed with fifty-four powerful Matilda 2 tanks.

The Eighth Army, having amassed heavy forces in Kenya, could not resist Churchill's repeated urgings and decided to win a politically significant battle before Christmas, giving the British people a Christmas present. A political contribution to the Prime Minister, and to boost the morale of the British-Army, who had been invincible since the Battle of France.

On the night of November 22, under the light of the stars, the British 1st Armoured Brigade and the 5th Indian Division set out on their journey.

At 6:40 a.m. on November 23, Italian soldiers stationed in Barracks No. 2 on the border between Italy and Somalia and Kenya were busy making coffee and baking bread. And their favorite spaghetti.

The sound of gunfire rang out without warning, and the guard tower on the barracks wall burst into flames, and the sound of smoke, blood, and screams instantly broke the good mood of breakfast for the defenders.

The panicked defenders in the barracks had just entered the battle state from the state of food, and the huge bodies of the sixteen Matilda 2 tanks had already rushed to the side of the barracks under the anti-tank fire of the defenders, and rushed to the barracks with a bang, breaking through the low and rudimentary walls of the barracks.

With a shrill whistle, the British infantry jumped out of the carriage of the armored personnel carrier and rushed into the barracks after the Matilda tank in the lead.

The Matilda 2's two-pounder easily destroyed the only six M-13 tanks in the barracks, but the price was only to be wiped off a little paint by the enemy's shells.

Facing the steel monsters rampaging in the barracks, the morale of the Italian soldiers in the barracks collapsed instantly, and they walked out of the broken fortifications with their hands raised one by one.

After occupying No. 2 barracks, the British continued to attack No. 1 and No. 3 barracks in the north-south direction, where the defenders were no more heroic than their comrades in No. 2 barracks.

After capturing nearly 3,000 Italian troops and killing and wounding more than 400, the British broke through the Italian army's defensive line on the Italian Somali border, and then drove straight into the port of Kismayo, 100 kilometers away, and occupied it at 11:20 p.m. on the 25th.

About an hour later, the British counter-offensive on Italian Somalia and the news of the loss of the port of Kismayo reached Rome.

The sound of a bald curse sounded again in the Venetian Palace.

And in Berlin, a certain brother-in-law, after hearing the news that the Italians were deflated in East Africa, gloated and said: "It's okay, let's not rush, let the shells fly for a few more days, waiting for the Italians to come and beg us." (To be continued.) )xh118