The battle at Brennello on the morning of the 21st was the largest of all the battles that broke out on the long border between Austria and Italy, and lasted more than two hours from the engagement to the surrender of the Italian defenders. By about three o'clock in the morning, the border town had completely fallen under the control of the Wehrmacht.

In this battle, neither side performed beyond the initial estimate of the staff, the only thing they did not expect was that the group of blackshirts insisted on fighting to the last man.

These rabble, in the eyes of the Germans, showed surprising bravery and tenacity in the battle against the Germans, and at the same time they were equipped with more automatic weapons than the Germans expected, so that when the two sides engaged in close combat, the submachine gunners concentrated by the Blackshirts once suppressed the fire of the German assault infantry.

However, the rise of the Blackshirts was short-lived in the battle, which was already doomed from the beginning, and then they were attacked from two directions by German infantry and paratroopers, and the two companies of the Blackshirts were quickly lost in a one-sided battle, and the last few remaining officers hid in the shelters of the positions and refused to surrender, and then they were burned to ashes by the paratroopers with their "fire fists".

The bravery of the Brennello Blackshirts shocked the German soldiers present, but it did not shake their confidence in winning the war, and soon the soldiers had no time to think about these questions, and the assault battalion began to regroup and regroup, and the soldiers lined up to receive supplies and ammunition and prepare for the next city.

Until much later, some elderly Italians still remember that magical night, when the night sky of Brennello was lit up like day by ground lights and various types of flares, and almost every few tens of seconds, a string of dazzling colorful flares slowly rose from the ground, colorful like festive fireworks. The Italian citizens and their families hid behind the curtains of their rooms, watching with fear and curiosity the strange scenery before them.

At this time, turning their attention to Rome for the time being, while the German army was advancing in high spirits, the chiefs of staff of the various branches of the Roman High Command were holding an emergency military meeting overnight. Judging from the subsequent minutes, the Roman high command had seriously misjudged the actions of the German army at that time. The generals believed that it was impossible for the Germans to launch a full-scale attack on Italy within twenty-four hours of the declaration of war.

The Italian High Command had long known that Germany had concentrated a very strong force in Austria, but according to normal procedure, they estimated that it would take at least three to four days for the Germans to mobilize their troops, and it would take about a week to complete the preparations for war.

Although the German Führer's slogan of war was loud, the Italian High Command preferred to believe that it was yet another bluff of malicious intimidation, as Hitler often did. The Roman politicians shared the same view on this issue as the army, and they did not see any strategic significance in Germany's attack on Italy, or that the defeat of Italy would have no benefit for Germany at all.

Was that God's apostle really just to avenge a few dead people? No one really believes this reason. Not to mention that the attack in his mouth seems to be completely non-existent at the moment, and even if it did, no one would use this kind of thing to start a war against an ally they have always had, which is too ridiculous.

On the afternoon of the 20th, the Roman high command gave the order for full preparation, but after nightfall, the attitude of the politicians began to become indecisive. At this time, the war with Germany would have been a great test of personal wisdom and political ability for those old Italian aristocrats and political interests.

Italy is a country with a tradition of spy politics, and the elites have close dark lines in various European countries, and soon some of them are clearly warned that this time the German Führer is serious, and he wants to solve Italy's problems once and for all by military means. And the Führer's ultimate goal is actually only one, that is, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, Mussolini, the German Führer is tired of the Chancellor's repeated betrayals and provocations, and will not hesitate to start a war to remove this bastard from power.

The Italian aristocrats were immediately stunned, whether this is considered a public weapon or not, they have heard that the two of them have contradictions in private, but you can't bear it, you can find a place where no one is dueling, we have long seen that the big chin is not pleasing to the eye, if His Excellency the German Führer can kill and cripple Mussolini, we will definitely raise our limbs to wave the flag for you.

Besides, such a matter as forcing the prime minister to step down can be resolved through private communication, so why not go to war, and in the end it is not the people of the two countries who will suffer. Speaking of the Germans, too, there was no one with a clear mind who stepped forward to stop them, and sure enough, barbarians were barbarians, and the whole country was a group of war maniacs.

Now that they have the bottom in their hearts, these nobles and politicians are no longer in a hurry, and they are no longer thinking about how to resist foreign enemies, but how to maintain their power and gain more benefits in this war.

Until five o'clock in the morning of the next day, when the meeting of the Roman high command ended, no one reminded the generals that they had their own agendas and watched with cold eyes as Badoglio and his staff officers made the so-called "right judgment".

By this time the vanguard of the German F assault group, having easily captured Vipitano, and marched hand in hand along the road and rail, capturing Campo one after another. Important towns such as Dietrens, Mourais, Forteza, Blixen. It took only five hours for the German Army to advance nearly 100 kilometers, and the vanguard of the assault group had reached the outskirts of the Italian town of Bolzano.

It was an important node connecting the Alpine transport network, and the control of the surrounding area spread out along the road, starting from Bolzano, the terrain gradually became open and flat, and the mountain valleys were wide and flat, allowing the German mechanized troops to spread out their formations, so to speak, from this point all the way to the Po Plain, there was no obstacle to the German advance.

The Germans marched very smoothly along the way, thanks to the hesitation of the Italians. The Italians could have blown up the bridges and roads that stood on the treacherous terrain after the outbreak of war, and held the German assault forces back in the Alps. This would be a very effective tactic, and the Germans would not be able to find a way to crack it in a short time.

Therefore, this became a matter of great concern for the Germans, and the only countermeasure was to parachute in advance in some important locations, and the task of these special units was to stop at all costs the possible sabotage of the Italians after the outbreak of war. It's just that, considering the stealth nature of the operation, the strength of the airdrop detachment is limited, so whether the plan can succeed or not can really only be determined by God blessing.

As a result, the Italians themselves solved this problem for the Germans, because they had no intention of destroying the road. In order to get reinforcements from the south to the border as quickly as possible, some local officials are also preparing to organize road maintenance personnel to repair past damage.

No one dared to propose blowing up the mountain roads, because a large number of people living in villages and towns in the mountains depend on these roads for their daily necessities. At this time, most of October has passed, and winter is approaching soon, once those villages and towns cannot stock enough winter materials before the heavy snow covers the mountains, it is not without the tragedy of the whole village starving to death in history.

The German railway transport units were equipped with Austrian-made railway armoured vehicles, 70 horsepower diesel cars with 15 mm thick armored shells, and a machine gun turret of Tank No. 1 on top, with enough space inside the carriage to fit the soldiers of an infantry squad and all the equipment and supplies they carried.

This armored car is not very fast on the railway, but its advantage is that it is not large and flexible, and it is much quieter than the train, which is very suitable for carrying out the vigilance task along the railway, and can also be used for reconnaissance and search in front of the military train.

In the early morning assault, the German reconnaissance platoon rode this armored vehicle along the railway to test the safety of the road and the surrounding area for the follow-up troops. This kind of thing is very risky, because if the Italians do anything on the road, they may fall into a deep valley with this little car. But the Scouts are not afraid of it, it is their duty and job, and they are proud to be at the forefront of all the troops.

In the towns and villages after Brennello, the Germans encountered little resistance, there were no garrisons at all, at most there were only some lightly armed police, and in some places there were no police, only a few villagers carried two shotguns and stood on the high church bell tower to watch. Because of the declaration of war, many Italians stayed up all night and witnessed the fall of their own villages and towns.

Just after five o'clock in the morning of the 21st, a German armored military train with white eagle emblems painted on the armor plates on both sides of the train head roared into the station on the outskirts of Bolzano.

"At 5:08, there is no record, is it a special car?" The attendant yawned, stood up and walked to the door, removed his large-brimmed hat from the coat rack behind the door and fastened it to his head, then picked up the registration book on the table and pushed open the door and walked out of the duty room.

"Marco, where did this train come from, it is not on the registration book, it cannot be allowed to stop here, the short shuttle bus from Bordino will arrive in half an hour. Are all the guys in the dispatch room asleep? Someone should take care of this kind of thing, and they will only cause us trouble. Tullio complained loudly to Marco, the signalman standing on the platform, as he lowered his head and buttoned the button of his uniform coat.

"Hey, Marco, why don't you speak, why are you raising your hands, man, you look stupid like this." The attendant stepped forward and gently nudged his colleague with his hands raised.

"Ask you, which train is this... Don't make faces with me, are you trying to change careers and do some kind of pantomime? Honestly, you're still missing some verve, you should... My God. Tullio raised his hands in the air as he learned from his colleague.

"Don't tell those guys who are coming behind me right now that they're Germans..... Hell, why didn't you say it sooner, you're such a bastard. The attendant whispered to Marco through gritted teeth.

PS: Thank you for your understanding, today's chapter is presented.

Thank you all for your support. (To be continued.) )