The autumn rain is still a bit fun, if it is on the Mediterranean Sea, but in the Pindus Mountains at an altitude of more than a thousand meters, it is a complete annoying nightmare.

Most of the soldiers of the 23rd Infantry Division came from the eastern coastal region of Italy, and the latitude was actually higher than the local area, but there was a huge difference in temperature between the two places.

The Adriatic coast has a temperate climate, generally below 100 meters above sea level, and the Italian Army's existing winter clothing is sufficient to cope with the autumn and winter seasons in the region. But the problem is that at the moment they are located in the mountains of northern Greece, although it is only the edge of Pindus, the altitude of the mountains is generally hovering around eight or nine hundred meters, and the temperature of this year's autumn has dropped faster than usual, and there is a sudden rain, the Italian soldiers are surprised to find that their winter clothes are somewhat unable to cope with the current situation.

The Italian Army was originally positioned as a defensive force, and its area of operation was limited to the Apennine Peninsula, and it did not consider cold zone operations at all. Corruption and fraud in the Italian military's logistics system are rife, and equipment suppliers are trying to save and control costs to offset the profits cut by kickbacks and bribes. Every Italian Army soldier was given a military coat made of wool blend, and that was their only winter garment.

At that time, the military coats of European countries were generally double-breasted, so that the placket could have a large overlap in front of the chest and abdomen, to prevent the body temperature from quickly dispersing from the slit of the placket, but Italy did not do so, in order to save the fabric and cost, all the coats were single-breasted, and the cheapest varieties of fabrics were also selected, in the eyes of the officers of the logistics department, the climate of the Apennine Peninsula was warm, and it was a waste to equip soldiers with that expensive and heavy woolen coat, and this light blended coat was enough to use, They can also get some more kickbacks from it. The bitter wine brewed by those high-ranking generals will eventually be tasted slowly by innocent soldiers.

Sergeant Castellino raised his arms and gestured to his men behind him to stop. They were currently on a shallow valley trail sandwiched between two hills, which was full of low, east-west ridges. If Castellino had been able to look down from above at this moment, he would have seen that within twenty kilometers of the area was a similar folded ridge and a narrow terrace. This topography has resulted in a north-south zigzag on the mountain roads, and roads that are one or two kilometers away in a straight line on the map actually have to go back and forth between the slopes and ridges, at least five or six times the distance.

Of course, you can also choose to climb over those ridges that seem to have a drop of only two or three hundred meters, but the problem is that light infantry can march like this, carrying heavy weapons, ammunition and baggage, but can only obediently advance along the road. The task of the spearheads was to explore the route of the troops' march and detect possible dangers early, so Sergeant Castellino's infantry squad had to follow the mountain path, winding back and forth between the ridges.

The mountain road is very difficult to walk, the Greeks were originally in a strategic defensive posture, in the Greek side's view, the more difficult the mountain road near the border is to pass, the safer, and Albania and Greece have no border trade, leaving a border road is enough to undertake the needs of border transportation between the two sides, this kind of mountain road is only for the use of local residents, but also by the residents in the mountains themselves to maintain.

Asphalt pavement is a no-brainer, and the ones that can be paved with a layer of gravel are already considered high-class roads, which are generally common dirt and stone mountain roads in the Balkans, many of which can even be traced back to the Roman Empire, and some of which are newly opened up during the Turkish rule.

Castellino and the others walked on a dirt road that had been carved out during the Turkish period, which had not been maintained for many years, and the roadbed had partially collapsed so badly that the road was much narrower than when it was built, and it was only possible to barely allow a Fiat truck to pass alone. This made Castellino a little worried, the company's baggage was moving with the battalion headquarters, and the standard two-ton trucks were transporting food and ammunition, and if the road ahead was so bad, the follow-up supply of the troops would probably be problematic.

The company commander's judgment was very correct, the autumn rain began to fall more and more densely, the soldiers put on the M1929 type camouflage poncho on the outside of the coat, several pieces of this poncho can be combined to build a military tent, the German Wehrmacht was inspired by this poncho to develop the German 31 type tarpaulin, the difference between the two is in addition to the camouflage paint, Italy is square, Germany uses a triangle in order to save materials. It seems that as long as it has to do with food, clothing, housing and transportation, the Italians can always come up with very good inventions.

After the team stopped advancing, Castellino whispered an order to his men to stand in place, and then called a rifleman to climb the ridge along the dirt ridge beside him.

Standing on the ridge, you can see the main ridge of the Pindusi Mountains with an average altitude of 1,200 meters in the distance, although it is located in the hilly area on the edge of the mountain range, and the nearby hilltop is about six or seven hundred meters.

The area is full of such covered hills, without much tall vegetation, most of the ground is covered with all kinds of pastures and patches of mountain shrubs, and there are also many places that are bare and exposed to the black-brown soil, and the shallow soil ditches formed by natural rainwater are arranged on the slopes of the mountains, which look as if they have been combed with a comb, and the wonderful scenery of the foreign country in front of them surprised the Italian sergeant.

Castellino picked up his binoculars and carefully searched the villages marked on the map, and soon he saw the red tiled roofs of the buildings on the edge of the hill in the distance, and it was clear that the troops were marching on the wrong route, and Casantino was relieved to find that there was no mistake in the marching route.

Two Italian Army soldiers rolled down the slippery hill back down the mountain road, and Castellino relayed the good news to his men that the target of the order was already in sight, which meant that a dry, warm room and steaming food awaited them ahead.

The morale of the Italians could not help but be boosted, and the resentment accumulated from the cold, dampness, and fatigue turned into the motivation for their progress, and everyone strode forward along the mountain road with all their spirits.

Each Italian infantryman carried his own backpack, which, in accordance with army regulations, contained his own change of underwear, blankets, overalls, spare shoes and socks, toiletries, emergency rations, various personal tools and supplies, as well as spare ammunition and weapon accessories, which weighed almost thirty-five kilograms.

Under normal circumstances, these backpacks are transported by special baggage vehicles of each battalion and company, but in practice the baggage vehicles owned by the troops are simply not enough. Mussolini, who was so happy, also came up with a reform called "small mechanization", that is, a small number of trucks were added to the infantry units, which were ridden by the soldiers of each regiment in turn, and some bicycles were also distributed to carry the soldiers' backpacks, and the bicycle was indeed a kind of machinery, which is not wrong.

Mussolini and his generals believed that this method would be effective in increasing the speed of the army's march, but the actual results were completely different from what they had expected. Because of the scarcity of trucks, who sits and who does not, who sits first and who sits, and how far to ride and then rotate, has become the most concerned issue of each infantry unit, the Italians naturally like to take advantage of small advantages, and they also can't see others taking advantage of themselves, Mussolini's invention of patting the head has become the fuse that triggers contradictions between soldiers, and has seriously affected the friendship and unity within the combat unit.

The 23rd Infantry Division was also a "small mechanized" unit, but when it came time to invade Greece, the division's trucks were all transferred to replenish the gap in artillery and baggage troops, and all the front-line infantry could only re-load their backpacks and march forward on foot.

When the 1st Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 47th [Filana] Infantry Regiment to which Castellino was stationed crossed the Greco-Argentine border, they were not hindered at all, in fact, they did not encounter a single Greek soldier, and they were hurrying forward with their heads in their heads from beginning to end.

It was said that the 48th Regiment on the left flank had fought a battle with the Greek border guards, and the border post with only a small number of soldiers in front of the Italian Army was completely vulnerable, and the 48th Regiment quickly crushed the resistance of the other side, but whether the truth was as rumored or not, Casantino could not judge for the time being.

PS: The low-grade fever has not subsided, the cough does not stop, I changed the Chinese medicine to eat, I hope it will be effective.

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Thank you. (To be continued.) )