The peculiarity of the mountain troops lies in the fact that the complex terrain that usually makes ordinary infantry units intimidating, it is difficult to restrain the movement of mountain troops, because they mainly rely on foot marches, they have almost no road requirements, as long as it is an area that humans can set foot in, mountain soldiers can operate there.

It can be said that the Alps gave birth to this type of army, and as a naturally divided border, the countries surrounding the mountains have invariably established their own mountain warfare units for self-defense or conquest. Because of its geographical environment, Italy has put considerable effort into this area, and the Italian mountain troops can be regarded as pioneers in this field, both in terms of equipment and tactics.

For a long time, they were opposed to the equally elite Austro-Hungarian mountain troops, but with the end of the Great War and the collapse of the once mighty Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Alpine mountain soldiers believed that there was no match for them in Europe, and that the Italian mountain troops were invincible.

But now, the tough Austro-Hungarian mountain hunters are back, only now wearing the mountain uniforms of the Third Reich and wearing M40 steel helmets with edelweiss insignia on their heads.

Italy is a mountainous country, with plains accounting for only about 20% of the country's land area, and the lack of arable land has always prevented it from being self-sufficient in food. At that time, the Roman Empire was completely dependent on overseas territories to produce food and supplies, and the annexation of Italy was serious, and most of the arable land was used by the aristocratic senators to grow grapes and olives, which were more profitable cash crops, and at that time, if the Roman Empire lost those rich overseas provinces, at least half of the Roman Empire would starve to death.

The Apennines are a stretch of hills compared to the steep Alps, with peaks generally below a thousand meters above sea level, and the height of the mountains near the central part of the country has dropped to five or six hundred meters. The ridge where the 100th Chasseur Regiment is now located is only more than 500 meters above sea level, and if you add the original topography of the mountain, the difference from the peak to the bottom of the valley is actually less than 200 meters, but for the mountain soldiers who are accustomed to climbing cliffs, marching in this kind of place is like an autumn outing.

The Italians claimed that only another group of mountain soldiers could restrain them, but this was only for the special environment of the Alps, and in an area like the Apennines, where the road network was developed and villages were densely populated, the mountain soldiers did not have much advantage, and to be precise, their advantages could not be used at all in such places. On the contrary, because they are carrying light equipment, they have extremely limited firepower, and if they encounter conventional infantry units, they will have the upper hand in the firepower confrontation.

The German mountain men were luckier than their Italian counterparts, they were supported by infantry units, and the 5th Mountain Division marched largely semi-mechanized along the way, and as an important branch of the assault force, the Mountain Division was assigned an additional truck regiment to take care of their logistics.

In some areas with complex environments, forward units leave their motor vehicles and carry out armed reconnaissance on their assigned bicycles. This was the old way of the German mountain soldiers, and compared to the difficult mules and horses, the bicycle did not need feed or water, and when it came to difficult areas, it could be carried on the march by a person.

"This is an order from a superior, I can understand your feelings, but there is no way, an order is an order, you know the consequences of disobedience, Captain, that's all." Commander of the 1st Battalion of the 100th Chasseur Regiment Rudolph. Lieutenant Colonel Zander hung up the field phone.

"What is this?" Zandel took an envelope from the bicycle herald.

"The regimental commander asked me to send it, sir." The herald replied loudly, and gave a military salute with the heel of his boot.

"Got it, you can leave, soldier." The lieutenant colonel returned a military salute.

"What is this?" Major Zorn, the administrative staff officer of the battalion headquarters, asked curiously.

"The list of this batch of awardees, wait a minute, notify the platoons according to their names." Xander handed the opened letter to Zorn.

"The morale of the grassroots troops will definitely be even higher." Zorn said happily.

"The question now is how to calm them down and not call them every half hour to fight." Xander scratched his chin and looked helpless about it.

The Italian mountain troops had finally established their positions before the Germans arrived, and as experts in their trade, they knew how to use the terrain and succeeded in blocking a large area with very few troops. The Italians occupied a hill more than 650 meters high, two mountain roads built along the ridge passed on both sides of the peak, and the road and the surrounding mountains within a kilometer were all within the range of Italian large-caliber heavy machine guns and mortars.

After repulsing a group of German scouts, the expected German retaliation did not come, and the commanders of the German mountain troops, not knowing what had gone wrong, seemed to have completely abandoned the idea of a strong attack, and instead worked hard to build up positions in the line of fire of the Italian troops.

In this way, the mountain soldiers of the two countries faced off from each other, and both sides established standard defensive positions, and the soldiers hid in bunkers and fired cold guns at each other's distances. The two elite troops were stunned to turn the mountain war into a trench war, which can be regarded as a spectacle in this war.

Not to mention the Italians on the other side, the Germans themselves were a little puzzled, in their opinion, the Italian mountain troops on the opposite side were simply not capable of blocking their own attack, and the 100th Chasseur Battalion, supported by an army artillery battalion, could completely destroy these enemies in one go.

But the higher authorities suddenly gave an order to immediately halt the advance of the troops, and at the same time switch to a defensive posture on the spot, and it was forbidden to take the initiative to launch a surprise attack on the positions of the Italians.

Of course, Zander would not be satisfied with this inexplicable order, he almost thought that there was something wrong with his ears, but the division commander called him directly, and then told him that it was an order issued directly by the army group command, and the person who gave the order was likely to be Marshal Keitel, which meant that the Reich Führer might also know.

The words of the division commander directly extinguished all of Zander's thoughts, which must involve strategic issues, once his side messed up.... Thinking of this, the lieutenant colonel immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

At this moment, the German front headquarters has moved to the famous city of Mantua in northern Italy, an ancient city surrounded by water on three sides, in the center of the Po River Plain, and its geographical location is very suitable for the command to dispatch and control the troops in the entire northern theater of operations.

"This is what they call the [Mussolini] line, can't Badoglio be more serious?" Manstein handed his hat to the lieutenant behind him, and strode over to Yodel, who was standing at the map table.

He had succeeded in mobilizing troops around Rome, and had moved the two newly formed Blackshirt regiments to the north to hold back the French advance along the coastline. Rome will soon be depleted of forces, and it will become an undefended city. Jodel glanced at Manstein, then picked up a compass and gestured to the map.

"We are now trying to convince the Italians that this line is working, that it has succeeded in holding us back, and that we will continue to put pressure on both the eastern and western fronts to give Badogglio a reason to bring in more troops. We must take Rome in its entirety, for this is the order of His Excellency. Yodel nodded Rome with a compass.

"This is a city that belongs to the world, and any damage to it will have a huge impact on the whole world. The Reichwehr was obliged to preserve the prestige of Germany and not to give the enemy hidden in the shadows a pretext to attack the Reich. It was for this reason that the Führer agreed to some of the conditions put forward by Badoglio, and asked us to cooperate fully with the marshal in carrying out his somewhat absurd plan. ”

Yodel was actually a little reluctant in his heart, this was his first time serving as a front-line commander, and he originally wanted to establish a prominent military career in this war. However, as a senior commander, he had to look at the problem from a strategic point of view, and the plans of the Italians did save the Germans a lot of strength, and at the same time the troops could avoid too many losses, and he saw more than once in the reports he handed in, and the subordinate commanders admired the courage of the Italians in battle.

In the four days since the start of the war, the Germans have lost more than 2,000 soldiers, of which more than 300 have been killed and almost 1,700 have been seriously wounded, most of whom may have been retired. Many of them were veterans of the war in Europe, and in Jodl's view, these were the seeds of future officers, and the loss of any of them was a huge loss to the army at a time when the Wehrmacht was massively expanding.

"Well, the will of the Führer is our mission, Cyprus is already in place, how much time will it take on Badoglio's side?" Manstein leaned on the map table and looked at the densely marked arrows, each flag representing a German legion.

"According to him, it will take another three or four days, but I don't really believe in the marshal. Later, you can go to the staff room and ask Hendrik for a copy of the communication. Now that you look at this, I suddenly have a new idea. ”。 Jodl took off his monocle and put it in his breast pocket, then turned to the other side of the map table and picked up a stick.

"The outcome of this war was predetermined from the beginning, so I was always thinking about how I could make the Germans win the war faster. Badoglio's plan is by far the best option for us, and I very much agree with the Führer's decision, which is very decisive and wise, and I am deeply moved. "The Chief of Operations of the High Command as usual first praised the wisdom of the Reich Führer, a habit he had cultivated since the time of Hitler, and he believed that with the apostle's supernatural powers, these words would surely reach the ears of the other side.

"It's just that Badoglio is an old fox, I know this man, and to be honest, he doesn't deserve much of our trust. So we have to prevent him from playing tricks behind his back, and of course he won't have the guts to challenge the Wehrmacht head-on, but we need to add an insurance policy to this matter. Jodel said to Manstein.

"I agree with you, we do need to be a little more cautious. Tell us about your plan and what kind of insurance it is. ”

"In three days, whether Badoglio's plan succeeds or not, we will launch a landing here." Yodel pointed to the map with a stick.

"That's... Anzio? Manstein raised his eyebrows.

"It's Anzio, and if Badoglio's plan goes well, the defenders of this area will be transferred, and this coastline will be completely open to us. I and several members of the Staff Office have carefully studied the terrain of this generation, and the conditions for landing in Anzio are the most ideal, and there is a very good beach there.

We have enough landing equipment and ships to bring two infantry divisions ashore from here in twenty-four hours. It's only forty-five kilometers from Rome, and we can rush at Rome at full speed before the Italians can react, and...."Yodel reached out and patted the city of Rome on the map, a smug smile on his face. (To be continued.) )