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Messina, home to the headquarters of the 75th Division of the Italian Army. Despite the fact that the city is located in the northeastern part of Sicily, it is geographically unsuitable to preside over the defense of the entire island. However, the commander of the 75th Infantry Division, General Bernardo, still put the command here. The reason is very simple, you just need to cross the Strait of Messina, which is less than three kilometers wide, to reach the Apennine Peninsula. If Sicily was attacked, he could quickly board the speedboat that had already been prepared and flee back to mainland Italy instead of staying in Sicily and waiting to die.

At 8:15 a.m., Bernard, who was hugging a busty Italian woman, was woken up to some extent. Yesterday he was invited to a dinner party of a big merchant in Messina, and as a result he was unsurprisingly drunk at the banquet. In order to be able to get in touch with the supreme commander of the garrison in Sicily, the merchants of Messina rushed to invite General Bernard to the banquet, and gave him many gifts, in addition to gold and silver treasures, women. After receiving these gifts, Bernard also turned a blind eye to the smuggling of merchants, and even took the initiative to join in.

"General, something is wrong!" Ensign Cosimo, Admiral Bernard's aide-de-camp, knocked anxiously on the door and shouted loudly.

"Damn it!" The awakened Bernard cursed, then wrapped a blanket around his waist and opened the door.

"Cosimo. What the hell is going on? Bernard shouted angrily.

Ensign Cosimo through the open door. I saw the plump young woman sleeping soundly on the bed. The fair skin, coupled with the plump body, made him swallow a mouthful of saliva. However, seeing that General Bernard was glaring at him, he quickly withdrew his gaze.

"General, something is wrong! Catania is under attack! Ensign Cosimo said.

"Catania? What the hell is going on? Was it the Austro-Hungarian warships that shelled Catania? General Bernard asked, frowning. Although, the Italian Navy had already gathered in the Adriatic Sea and blocked the way out of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. But. It is inevitable that small warships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy will sneak out at night. If that's the case, then there's no need to make a fuss.

"General, not the Austro-Hungarian Navy, it's the Chinese! The Chinese sent a huge fleet to shell Catania, and our shore fortifications simply could not resist. Now the Chinese marines have landed. Lieutenant Colonel Cattelan, in order to reduce losses, had already ordered the defenders to retreat north. However, according to Lieutenant Colonel Cattelan's report, there were a very large number of Chinese who landed, at least twenty or thirty thousand! Second Lieutenant Cosimo reported.

"Oh God! Twenty or thirty thousand? Is this a Chinese trying to capture Sicily? Bernard exclaimed. One of his infantry divisions numbered just over 12,000 men, and they were scattered throughout Sicily. If there are not many squadrons that land. Then he can lead the army to resist and fight for a battle for himself. But. There are 20,000 or 30,000 people in the landing squadron, so if he leads the army to resist again, he will be sent to death. As for Lieutenant Colonel Cattelan's escape from the enemy, he didn't say it, and now he was thinking about how to save his own life. Italy was a member of the Central Powers before, and its relationship with China was not bad, and it was very clear about China's combat strength. General Bernard more or less knew that this infantry division of his was no match for the Chinese at all.

"Cosimo, you immediately go to the headquarters and send a telegram to Rome, informing them that we have been attacked by the superior forces of the Chinese, that Sicily can no longer be defended, and that I am ready to retreat to the eastern shore of the Strait of Messina. Also, hurry to the port to prepare the boat, we'll be off in half an hour! General Bernard ordered.

"Yes, General!" Ensign Cosimo saluted and quickly ran to the headquarters. He knew that Bernard was going to run for his life, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Under the pressure of superior enemies, the most important thing is to save your life.

Bernard would enter the house and get dressed quickly, the woman in the bed was still asleep, but Bernard would not wake her up. Although there is some reluctance, Bernard will know more or less that running for his life is the first priority. Once dressed, Bernard will more or less head straight to the harbor to cross the Strait of Messina and escape to the Apennine Peninsula. As for resisting the attack of the Chinese, leave it to others to have a headache!

The landing of the 8th Chinese Marine Division in Catania was very smooth and met with little resistance. Italian troops stationed in Catania retreated long after the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet began shelling, allowing the Chinese 8th Marine Division to capture this important city on the island of Sicily without a single soldier.

"It seems that the Italians are really unbeaten! As soon as we met, I slipped away, and it seems that there should be no problem in capturing the whole of Sicily! "On the deck of the battleship 'Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty', Vice Admiral Tang Hongtao, commander of the 8th Marine Division, said with some regret.

"Haha! The Italians are no longer the mighty Roman Empire of a thousand years ago. Otherwise, they would not have been beaten by a small African country in the first place. Admiral Li Haitao, commander of the Indian Ocean Fleet, said with a smile. In the eyes of military men like them, Italy simply did not deserve to be a world power. Although Italy's economic and scientific strength and industry are good, the army is too rubbish.

"Commander Li, my people have already taken control of Catania, I have to go ashore, don't leave it at that, and ask Commander Li to leave some warships to provide us with fire support!" Lieutenant General Tang Hongtao said.

"Don't worry, Master Tang. I asked the heavy cruisers 'Oujiang' and 'Huaihe' to stay with a couple of light cruisers and destroyers. On the one hand, to provide you with fire support, on the other hand, to cut off the Strait of Messina and prevent the Italians from sending reinforcements to Sicily! Admiral Li Haitao said. The landing was completed so lightly, which was also beyond his expectations. However, the weaker the resistance of the Italians, the lighter the squadron was able to seize Sicily. And the main forces of the Indian Ocean Fleet also had time to go to the Adriatic to find trouble with the Italian Navy. The capture of Sicily can be done by the marines, and the destruction of the Italian navy will have to be done by the Indian Ocean Fleet. Moreover, the Indian Ocean Fleet, which has not had a major battle for several years, is also longing for a big war.

"Thank you then!" After a salute, Vice Admiral Tang Hongtao left the battleship 'Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty' on a transport ship and went to Catania to command the battle to seize Sicily.

The main forces of the Indian Ocean Fleet then left the waters off Catania and headed northeast, preparing to meet the main forces of the Italian Navy in the Ionian Sea. Admiral Li Haitao believes that after the Italian government learns that the squadron has landed in Sicily, it will definitely send a navy to attack the Chinese navy and relieve the siege of Sicily. And this gave the Indian Ocean Fleet an opportunity to destroy the Italian Navy.

After the departure of the main forces of the Indian Ocean Fleet, a small fleet was left in Catania. In addition to providing fire support to the 8th Marine Division, the other task of this fleet was to cut off the Strait of Messina. Therefore, after the departure of the main force of the fleet, the heavy cruiser 'Oujiang' went to the Strait of Messina in the north with two light cruisers and two destroyers. Now the main forces of the Italian Navy are concentrated in the Adriatic Sea, and these few warships will be enough to block the Strait of Messina.

Rome, the capital of Italy, had been eight days since Italy had joined the Entente and declared war on the Central Powers and China. The Italian Army's attack on Austria-Hungary in the north also achieved initial victories, and it entered the territory of Austria-Hungary. However, because of the terrain in the northern mountains, the deployment of large forces was limited, and the arrival of Austro-Hungarian reinforcements made the Italian attack gradually come to a standstill.

However, the Italians were still very excited to be able to invade the territory of Austria-Hungary, an old rival. In these days, Rome held a parade of victory almost every day, even King Vittorio. Emmanuele III made public speeches claiming that Italy would defeat Austria-Hungary and regain the territory belonging to the northern part of Italy in this war.

The king's speech made the Italians even more frenzied. Many Italians thought they had won the war, and saw it wise for Italy to break away from the Allies and join the Entente.

However, when the Italian Minister of War Geronimo received a telegram from General Bernardo that Sicily had been attacked by the squadron, he was shocked and immediately sent a message to Prime Minister Giovanni. Giolletti and King Vittorio. Emmanuele III made a report.

"The Chinese landed in Sicily? What are they trying to do? The great Kingdom of Italy did not take the initiative to attack them, and it was especially grateful, and it was even ungrateful that it dared to take the initiative to provoke the Kingdom of Italy, which was simply not known whether to live or die! Send a telegram to Admiral Bohini, asking him to throw the main forces of the navy south, annihilate the Chinese navy to me, and let them know how powerful the Kingdom of Italy is! "Vittorio. Emmanuele III immediately ordered. The victory of the Italian army in the north plunged him into hubris, and he even thought that under his rule, the Kingdom of Italy would soon regain the glory of the Roman Empire. Although, the strength of the Italian Navy is not at all as strong as the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy. Emmanuele III seems to have regarded the Italian navy as invincible! (To be continued......)