Naples, the largest port city in the southern part of the Apennine Peninsula. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 After the Ming landing force captured Salerno and repelled the counterattack of the German and Italian troops, the main forces of the army soon made a surprise advance in the direction of Naples.

Because the 14th Panzer Corps was heavily damaged, Rommel Rommel, the supreme commander of the German Army in Italy, was temporarily left without a strong armored force near Naples. Although the order had been quickly ordered to assemble troops from all over the place to prepare for the counterattack on the landing of the Ming army, because the mechanized Ming army was advancing too fast, and the Ming army's air power was very strong against the German troops on the way. By the time the Ming approached Naples, which was not too far from Salerno, Rommel had no armor in his hands.

The German-Italian army stationed near Naples consisted of three infantry corps, some of which were independent. Garrison troops and local vigilance units. The total number of troops is nearly 200,000. Although it appeared to be very large in numbers, it was actually the Italian army, which was no different from the local militia, that was the main force.

After the defeat in the battle for Malta, almost all of Italy's elite troops, which were already weak, were lost. Knocked out of the soul and backbone of the army, the Italian army collapsed.

As the war progressed, the Italians continued to forcibly recruit troops and increase the number of troops. Even when the Ming army landed, the total number had already exceeded one million. In reality, however, these troops lacked all kinds of equipment and materials, only a very small number of heavy weapons, and they did not undergo rigorous training, and even their morale was very low.

The Italians were completely different from the allies such as Germany, France, Great Britain, etc. Although those countries have been oppressed and exploited by the Ming Dynasty for many years, they have existed as a subject country for many years and have their own cultural and national characteristics. But Italy has been divided for many years, and although it has tried to unify several times, it has failed each time because of the interference of the Ming Dynasty.

Although it was a good time to join this world war, the Kingdom of Italy was finally established with great difficulty, fulfilling the unfulfilled wish of many generations. However, there is still an undercurrent within this new country, and it is simply impossible to integrate the already modest national strength into the war. Moreover, the forces that had been forcibly incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy were also seeking to break away and go it alone. After all, no matter how big or small the country is, it is better to be a chicken head than a phoenix tail.

In addition to the constant strife at the top, the Italians at the bottom did not have a good time.

Previously, Italy was actually an agricultural country in Europe. Only those places under the colonial rule of the Ming Dynasty had a prosperous economy and a certain industrial base. However, after joining the war, Italy's economy did not improve at all, but was dragged down by the war and fell rapidly.

After the Germans took control of Italy, they stole all the industrial foundations left by the Ming Dynasty. On the surface, it is better to integrate the war potential of the various allies, but in fact it is a kind of plundering of red fruits. As a result of the war, Italy's economy collapsed, agricultural production was greatly affected, and many people lived below the poverty line. It is far from being compared to the reign of the Ming Dynasty. This directly led to the rapid decline of popular morale, and many people even thought that it was better to continue to stay in the Ming Empire as a second-class citizen.

Originally, the allies would also provide Italy with some assistance to prevent the complete collapse of the weak member state. However, as the Ming Dynasty continued to win victories on the battlefield, the strategic bombing was pushed back to the European mainland. Because of its proximity to North Africa, it was heavily bombed by the Ming Army and Navy, and even after the large-scale dropping of defoliants and other strategic weapons of destruction. A food crisis soon erupted in Italy.

In the past, the Italians may have been able to survive under the threat of righteousness and war, but when the loss of food supplies and survival became a big problem, the Italians could no longer bear it.

The Kingdom of Italy tried to turn to various allies for help. But as the most powerful allies, the Americans need too much help. The Americans are needed on the battlefield everywhere, and the United States itself is constantly fighting a bloody war with the Ming Dynasty. The assistance that can be given to Italy is very limited.

And other countries are not to mention, Russia itself is difficult to protect, Germany and France and other countries are also under the direct attack of the Ming Dynasty, they are not enough, where is there still the mood to help Italy, which is useless and has not shown its own value?

After the loss of aid, the Kingdom of Italy soon fell into great turmoil. Grain grabbing broke out in various places, and many local powerful factions began to defy the royal government and secretly expand their own power. If it weren't for the hundreds of thousands of elite German troops stationed in Italy, the Kingdom of Italy might have collapsed before the Ming army landed.

With the strong return of the Ming army to the continent of Europa, the forces of all parties also showed their fangs at the same time, and there were countless secret battles of various coalitions. Many Italian armies controlled by local powerful factions were either on the verge of collapse or were in direct contact with the Ming in an attempt to return to the Ming Dynasty's arms.

The Kingdom of Italy was a state that was forcibly formed by strong external pressure to bring together several kingdoms, principalities, and autonomous cities. Not to mention the short time of its establishment, the Kingdom of Sardinia, as the main body, did not have the ability to subdue all the forces.

In this case, the Kingdom of Sardinia can only choose to divide the powerful factions in various places to win over. The whole of Italy was full of dukes, marquises, counts, and other aristocratic domains. After the Ming army came back again, these people naturally had to consider their own interests, rather than fighting hard for the country.

For example, the Italian army stationed near Naples was composed of the original Kingdom of Naples. But when Rommel ordered them to enter positions to resist the Ming attack, many of the Italian troops could not find anyone at all.

Zhang Cheng doesn't care about Italy, and he doesn't care about Italy who takes the initiative to take refuge in the Ming Dynasty. However, when he can use it, Zhang Cheng will never waste a drop of power. can let Daming die one less person, Zhang Cheng is willing to do it.

Zhang Cheng nodded and made a wish to those forces who took the initiative to join the Ming Dynasty, while desperately squeezing their last drop of blood. Xiao Hongbao was sent by Zhang Cheng to Italy for liaison work. Not only the local forces in the area, Xiao Hongbao's main job was to instigate the royal government of the Kingdom of Italy, which was formerly the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Xiao Hongbao secretly infiltrated Italy to negotiate with all parties, trying to get Italy out of the allies. Once Italy withdraws from the allies and returns to the arms of the Ming Dynasty, it will definitely be an extremely heavy blow to the allies. No matter how bad its strength is, Italy is one of the largest countries in the world. Once the mutiny, the morale of the allies is absolutely terrifying. Because it means that the anti-Ming alliance is beginning to collapse, and the war is very likely to be lost.

Of course, these things are expedient. Zhang Cheng was just taking advantage of the Italians. Any document signed by Xiao Hongbao in Italy was signed in his own name. Zhang Cheng will never leave any handles. Everything will wait until after the war, and it will be as you want. At that time, even if Zhang Cheng turned his face, Italy would not have any way.

Tens of thousands of Ming troops set out from Salerno and broke through the resistance of nearly 100,000 Italian troops in just one day and killed the city of Naples. Although the distance between the two cities is not that far, this is 100,000 people! When Rommel received the telegram, he was so shocked that he couldn't even speak.

Not to mention 100,000 soldiers with weapons, even 100,000 goats can block traffic, right?

Rommel, who had not achieved much in the political hill, had an absolute first-class vision for war. He immediately understood that this was a betrayal by the Italians.

After urgent discussions and an exchange of telegrams from Berlin, Rommel decided to abandon Naples.

The importance of Naples Rommel was naturally very clear. But he simply couldn't hold on now. Originally an ally and cannon fodder, Rommel was now about to become an enemy, and Rommel, who was short on strength near Naples, had no choice but to retreat and return to Rome to regroup his forces and establish a defensive line.

However, Rommel's proposal was rejected by the German General Staff. The reason is simple, they are far away in Berlin and do not know what is going on at the front. Just think that why can't hundreds of thousands of troops hold on to a port city? There are even quite a few people who doubt Rommel's abilities. Of course, this kind of thing happens in every country.

Soon, the Ming army woke up the senior generals of the German General Staff with a few loud slaps. After an urgent deployment, the Ming army in Sicily and North Africa attacked again, launching landing operations in Messina, Taranto, Brindisi, Bari and other places.

In fact, the general staffs of various countries do not sit idle for tea in peacetime and wartime. The operational staff officers of the General Staff Headquarters are constantly updating their various and varied operational plans.

These battle plans are almost all about everything. It can even be detailed into the battles of a certain city. And for each combat plan, there will be many different combat methods locked in the safe of the General Staff, waiting to be used when needed.

These battle plans give a battle plan and timetable, as well as a general course of action. Specific units are directly applied to the battle plan. Although Lu Zhiyuan put forward a new battle plan at the operational meeting of the Supreme Command, the Ming General Staff, which can be called the largest in the world in terms of scale, will soon be able to come up with a specific battle plan, and as long as the troops that need to be used are directly incorporated into the plan, they can act immediately. This is also the reason why the Ming army launched a new battle so quickly.

As the Ming army expanded the scale of the landing again, the Italian troops everywhere were basically either crushed or surrendered outright. Coupled with the fact that reinforcements mobilized from northern Italy and Germany proper could not arrive at short notice, the German General Staff quickly approved Rommel's plan for retreat. (To be continued.) )