On August 6, 1916, the allied forces of Britain, France and Bulgaria successfully landed in Civitavecchia, and more than 70,000 original Italian defenders and more than 80,000 reinforcements from Rome were defeated by the allied forces, and the whole country of Italy was shaken!

Vittorio Emanuele III hurriedly convened an emergency military council, and the loss of Civitavecchia meant that Rome was no longer safe.

The Entente could land a steady stream of Allied troops from Civitavecchia, attack Rome to the south, and cut off the north-south lines of communication from Italy to the northeast, and the Kingdom of Italy had reached its most dangerous moment.

There is no doubt that there was a fierce quarrel at the beginning of the meeting. The main peace faction took the lead in starting the attack, accusing the main war faction of deliberately provoking the war; Not to be outdone, Nima is the enemy who pulled us into the war, how can this blame us?

In fact, neither the main war faction nor the main peace faction now wants the war to continue, and judging from the current situation, the Kingdom of Italy can no longer fight!

But they didn't know how to end the war, and now the Entente and the Central Powers were on equal footing, and the Allies still had a slight upper hand on the Western Front, and they had an absolute advantage on the Eastern Front, and it seemed that they had a greater chance of winning.

It's a pity that only on the Mediterranean battlefield, the younger brothers of several Allied countries in the Near East have destroyed the country, and those who have not yet destroyed the country are about to be destroyed, and the Italians are left alone in the Mediterranean!

Judging by the current situation, it is really possible that the Entente will divide the Kingdom of Italy in two. If the war continues, it is not known whether the Allies will be able to win, anyway, the Kingdom of Italy will not be able to win!

……

Vittorio Emanuele III sneered and said, "The enemy has come under our noses, how long will you quarrel?" Do you have to wait until you are in the enemy's prisoner-of-war camp to shut up? ”

Before the words fell, everyone had already quieted down, and there was a red ear and a shameful expression on their faces, and no one knew what they really thought in their hearts.

Seeing the expression of everyone's interest, Vitoo Emanuele III seemed satisfied, and said: "What now? What plans does the military have to drive the enemy out into the sea? What is the Government's plan to prevent the situation from deteriorating further? ”

It may sound like a bit of a word, but in fact it is a pun, and it seems to have different meanings before and after, which is exactly the ambivalent state of mind of Vittorio Emanuele III right now.

If you want to continue fighting, you must first drive the forces of the Entente into the sea! Otherwise, it is necessary to find a way to end the war, after all, now the Kingdom of Italy can no longer hold on.

The Minister of War smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, now that the enemy is very close to Rome, even if we have sent troops to block along the road, they will still be under the city of Rome in a week at most!"

Our main forces are all fighting against the French on the Western Front, and most of the troops in the country are temporarily mobilized and have limited combat effectiveness, so I am afraid that we will not be able to fight the enemy in a short time! ”

The situation was well known to all, and perhaps even more so than that, for the Italian defenders collapsed in less than two days after the Entente landed at Civitavecchia.

Originally, according to the plan of the military department, these 150,000 troops could resist the Allied army for at least half a month relying on fortifications, during which Italy would have time to draw troops from all over the country to reinforce them, and when the main forces of the front line returned home, they could drive the enemy into the sea!

Unfortunately, the plan could not catch up with the changes, because the Italian defenders collapsed too quickly, the original plan was definitely useless, and at the same time lowered everyone's confidence in the combat effectiveness of the Italian army.

In fact, if it is more effective than individual soldiers, the Italians are really not weak. Unfortunately, this changed once the army was formed, as if Italians were inherently incapable of standing constraints and always liked to do things that broke the rules.

It doesn't matter if it's in ancient times, the era of cold weapons is all hand-to-hand combat anyway, as long as you are brave enough, the discipline requirements are not very high!

But in modern times, with the advent of the era of thermal weapons, the role of the individual in war is getting lower and lower, and collective cooperation is the king's way, and it is obvious that this model of modern warfare is not suitable for the Italians!

Therefore, Italians often resist joining the army, not that they are unpatriotic and unwilling to fight to defend the country, the main thing is that they cannot stand the constraints of the army!

Knowing is knowing, but it's hard to change that, and it won't work out without decades of hard work.

Vitoo Emanuele III was very unhappy at his words, which undoubtedly told him that the military was not sure of defeating the enemy, or that the military believed that it would be difficult to achieve victory with its current forces.

Vitoo Emanuele III was still very scheming, did not show any expression, and said lightly: "Go on!" ”

The Minister of War had to bite the bullet and said: "For security reasons, the military suggests that the government prepare to move the capital!" ”

After saying that, he seemed to be relieved, but the others fried the pot, how could it be possible to give up Rome?

Don't think that the overthrow is only the preserve of the French, and the Italians are not too reluctant in this regard, as long as the government dares to abandon Rome, everyone is ready to be finished!

The Minister of State immediately objected: "No, we must not move the capital now, the situation in the country is well known, the people are already very dissatisfied with us to continue this war, once we abandon Rome, the consequences will be absolutely catastrophic!" ”

Since the beginning of the war, the casualties of the Kingdom of Italy have exceeded one million, nearly three of which are civilians, and most of the coastal cities of Italy have been attacked by the Allied navies.

If we were to conduct a survey now, it would be easy to conclude that the people need peace!

Don't think that if the war started, the Allies would have no way to continue doing things in Italy, at least from the planes dropping leaflets, without stopping.

Naturally, the propaganda in this is indispensable to add fuel and vinegar, and at a glance it seems that the Allies are going to be finished at any time.

And he also said very generously that as long as the Italian people withdraw from the war, the Entente will not be to blame for the past...... It was obvious that this was fooling the Italian people, but some people believed it.

Many people believed that the Allies were about to be defeated, that Italy could not bury the Allies, and that an immediate end to the war was the right way.

The reason for convincing them is simple, the food on the table does not lie, and this is the best evidence.

Strict food rationing was absolutely disastrous for food-loving Italians, who seemed to them to not have such a low standard of living if it weren't for the end of the Allies!

Each adult can get 2,800 grams of brown bread, 700 grams of meat, 200 grams of butter or fat, 2 liters of milk, 120 grams of jam or honey, 1,000 grams of potato flour, 750 grams of vegetables, 3 boxes of cigarettes, and 30 grams of chocolate candy.

On the surface, this standard was not low, it was enough to fill everyone's stomach, but in fact, by the end of 1915, this standard could no longer be implemented.

The situation is even worse now, with most people receiving only half of the standard food, and in order to survive, they have to find ways to buy food at high prices on the black market.

I can't get enough to eat, and no matter how high my patriotic enthusiasm is, it's been extinguished by reality. Even many radical youth began to reflect, but not on the war, but on the Italian system!

Why can't ordinary people have enough to eat, but the dignitaries and nobles are still well-fed? If there is no food, why is there still a black market?

The flame of revolution has begun to spread in Italy, and not only Italy, but also other participating national conventions have been affected to a greater or lesser extent, but everyone has suppressed it by their own means.

Italy is no exception, although the contradiction has been suppressed, but as long as one Mars may explode immediately, there is no doubt that as long as you give up Rome is no longer an ordinary Mars, this is equivalent to setting a fire.

It's okay to fall down, but if it's not good, it will be a revolution directly, and then it's a big trouble!

The Prime Minister also said righteously: "Rome is our capital and the backbone of the Italians, and as long as the Italians are not dead, Rome must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy!" ”

……

At this moment, an attendant walked in from outside the door and handed a small note in front of Vittorio Emanuele III, which read: The visit of the British envoy is a matter of life and death for the Kingdom of Italy, and it is urgent!

Vittorio Emanuele III's face sank, and now a secret meeting was underway, and it was definitely no coincidence that the British came to the door! There is no doubt that someone leaked the news, and people are among these officials!

After pondering for a moment, Vittorio Emanuele III still had a seizure on the spot, but instead glared at the chamberlain, pretending to be clever!

Everyone is a human spirit, and it is impossible to keep it secret, so it is better to say it openly than to let them guess!

Vittorio Emanuele III held up the note, and then said calmly: "Let's take a look! Just now, the British envoy came, and claimed to have brought a piece of news related to the life and death of the Kingdom of Italy, what do you think? ”

Everyone's faces changed greatly, although many people had been in contact with the Entente in private, but it was all secret, everyone was still a belligerent, and now it was a little embarrassing to put it on the surface.

The Foreign Minister hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, let's meet this secret envoy first and hear what he has to say!" ”

Vittorio Emanuele III nodded, sneered and said, "Okay, please invite this envoy in, let us hear what kind of news he has brought, which is actually related to the life and death of the Kingdom of Italy!" ”

"Yes!" The acolyte, who knew that he had done something wrong, immediately replied, and then left the hall as fast as he could.

Within a few minutes, a man in his fifties and sixties walked in gracefully and saluted Vittorio Emanuele III.

Then he said, "We're all old friends, why don't you welcome me?" Or am I so annoying that you can't avoid it? ”

Everyone looked very embarrassed, and they didn't know how to answer, thinking that everyone is still a belligerent country, how can you welcome you? Aren't you afraid to put on the hat of a collaborator?

The prime minister sneered and said, "Mr. Gilmour, haven't you already returned home?" Why did it pop up again? Forget about this problem or deal with it later, now you have something to say, with our current position, there is really no way to welcome your old friend! ”

Gilmour smiled slightly and said, "Well, I came here today to bring the friendship of the British Empire, for the peace of the two countries!" ”

Everyone rolled their eyes in unison, when did the British Empire have such a deep friendship with Italy, why didn't I know?

The Prime Minister sarcastically said: "Oh, so the British Empire wants to end the war with the Allies, there is no problem with that, we absolutely welcome it!" ”

Gilmour shook his head and said very calmly: "Just now, the Entente countries, Britain, France, and Bulgaria have decided to adjust their strategic focus and end the Mediterranean battlefield first, and within the next two months, the Kingdom of Italy will face an attack by two million Allied troops!"

Am I sincere in bringing this news? I wonder how your country is going to deal with it? ”

The Italian Minister of War shook his head and said categorically: "This is impossible! In two months, you will not be able to draw so many troops at all, unless you dare to transfer troops from the Western Front!

But the French would never agree, and as soon as the forces were drawn from the Western Front, the Germans would attack, unless they didn't want Paris! ”

Gilmour smiled slightly, he knew that just one piece of news would definitely not scare the Italians, and he had to come up with practical evidence!

"With just two million troops, we don't need the Entente to do their best, and we don't need to draw troops from the Western Front!

Maybe you don't know it yet, the war in Asia Minor is coming to an end, the Bulgarian army has already surrounded Ankara, and the Ottoman Empire is coming to an end!

Now they have invested more than 2.6 million troops on the Ottoman battlefield, and when the Ottoman Empire is finished, they will send at least a million troops to the Italian battlefield!

And the British Empire will also draw 500,000 troops from the country to join the Italian battlefield, and now the troops on the Western Front are enough, and the aid of the Entente countries behind will directly join the Italian battlefield, not many more than 20 divisions per month!

I wonder if your country can stop it? Maybe you're still counting on German reinforcements, but I'd advise you not to get your hopes up!

No matter how weak the Russians are, they can still do it by dragging the Germans for a few months! We will also launch an offensive on the Western Front to contain their forces! ”

Everyone's faces changed drastically, and the Italian Minister of War retorted: "Mr. Gilmour said that if the war was fought by numbers, the Allies would have lost a long time ago, so why wait until now?"

Bulgaria invested more than 700,000 troops in the Ottoman Empire, the real main force is more than 700,000, the rest are colonial troops, they also have to stabilize the place and support the Russians, and now they can draw up to 120,000 main forces!

Your country's human resources are not unlimited, and priority should be given to the navy and shipping, as well as industrial production, and this 500,000-strong army is also dominated by colonial troops!

Perhaps the total strength of the Entente can reach two million, but the real main force is only three or four hundred thousand, and the remaining more than one million colonial troops can have some combat effectiveness? ”

Gilmour smiled slightly and didn't refute, just rolled his eyes, the meaning was very clear, that is, he couldn't look down on the combat effectiveness of the Italian army!

It is indeed impossible for the Entente to draw two million main forces, and even the cannon fodder troops will not be able to make up them in two months.

Even if the Ottoman Empire is gone, local wars will still exist, Bulgaria is bound to invest a large number of troops to stabilize the place, even if it has rich troops, it must first support the Russians on the Eastern Front, and there will definitely not be too many troops that can be invested in the Italian Peninsula!

The British Empire was similar, and if the financial expense of conscription at home was too great and it was prone to social unrest, they could only replenish the colonial troops.

However, even if it is deleted, deleted, reduced, and the Entente can still do it by putting together a million-strong army dominated by colonial troops!

As for combat effectiveness, this depends on who you compare with, and if you deal with the Germans, you can really only give people heads, and many times it may even add to the chaos; If you deal with the Italians, this result is difficult to say!

Although Gilmour did not answer directly, his expression still hurt everyone, and he was completely contemptuous of the fighting power of the Italian army!

It's a pity that even if everyone wants to refute it, they can't come up with favorable evidence, and the war is the history of the defeat of the Italian army until now.

There is no reason for this, the great powers only look at the results and do not ask about the process, and if they want to explain, they will only laugh and be generous!

Vittorio Emanuele III said coldly: "Well, we know, if there is nothing else to do now, let's take Count Gilmore down to rest!" ”

Gilmour smiled triumphantly, knowing that the Italians had hesitated, and left with the attendant without saying anything.

Vittorio Emanuele III's face became more and more embarrassed, the British did not take him seriously at all, coercion and temptation always had to come up with benefits?

Now it's a threat, and when it's over, they don't mention benefits, how can they jump ship if there is no benefit?

……

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