"Marshal, we won the war, exchanging one wounded heavy cruiser for one aircraft carrier of the opposing side sunk and another seriously wounded, but I see that you are not happy." Casaldi said cautiously.

"We won, but we also paid a heavy price, we lost about 200 aircraft of all kinds, especially attack aircraft units, and in future battles, the torpedo units of the Navy have already existed in name only. Although the main force of the carrier-based aircraft force is still there, as the Allies gradually occupy Libya, we will receive an attack from German land-based aviation flying from North Africa, and it will be good to protect ourselves, and it will be difficult to do anything more. Tycho looked at the map and sighed. Although the Italian navy did its best to defeat the Allied Combined Fleet, this victory only delayed the Allied attack. As the Luftwaffe moved into various theaters of operations, the overall situation deteriorated further, by this time the Reich and the Dauphin Air Forces had concentrated their main forces on the Balkans, and suppressed the Italian and Allied air forces near the coastline, and perhaps it would not be long before the Allied Army crossed the Adriatic Sea into the Italian Peninsula.

"There's no way around it, but the good thing is that Libya's oil fields have been destroyed. For less than a year, the Germans simply could not use the oil resources here. As for the defense of the Italian mainland? I think we can buy enough time too. Casaldi thought for a moment and said. In addition, the Entente agreed to send more land forces to support our operations. This is probably the best news in recent times. ”

This is surprising news. It seems that they really used Italy as a military training ground, and not only to see the power of the Luftwaffe Navy and Air Force. At the same time, try the German Army's pound two. Tycho smiled wryly. Perhaps they also have the idea of completely scorching Italy and taking everything they can with them. Destroy everything you can't take with you. ”

"How can they do that?" Casaldi was also shocked. Although they did not want the Central Powers to gain access to Italian industry, they also took some action. However, it is limited to the military industry and some precision machining, and there is still no hands-on for people's livelihood facilities. On the contrary, some efforts have been allocated to protect facilities such as power plants and water plants.

"After all, this is not their country, and no matter how much it is destroyed, it will not be painful. Li Mei once vaguely proposed a similar plan, but I vetoed it. We can leave when the war is over, but we also have to preserve the amenities for the people who remain here. Mussolini was a traitor, but the Italian people should not be implicated. Tycho said.

Just as Tycho expected. The war would soon spread to Italy proper, and after a long period of air warfare, the Allied bloc, which was still in economic crisis, was overstretched by enormous attrition. Since the policy was to delay and deplete Germany rather than desperately defend Italy, the Allies also obtained information about the fighting power of the Central Powers after the Italian navy had already sent a considerable part of its equipment and supplies to other countries. Therefore, there is no need for the Entente to continue to build up their air forces, and fight to the death with the air forces of the Central Powers.

At the next stage, the Allied Air Force only needed to guarantee a limited air defense. It is enough to cooperate with the ground forces to weigh the pounds and taels of the German Army. So a number of expensive bombers and operationally experienced crews began to be evacuated from the Italian mainland. In their place were some fighter units. However, in return, the Allies did add a large number of land forces, especially France and Great Britain, because of their vast colonies, which could easily gather large colonial armies to fight for themselves, such as the local forces gathered by the British in India, Australia, and Canada, and the colonial forces assembled by France in Vietnam and Africa. They need to use these forces to assess the combat effectiveness of the Germans now.

While the Allies and Italy were preparing for a land war, the Allies were indeed preparing to cross the Adriatic Sea to attack Italy proper. Although the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Navy caused more inconvenience to this plan. For example, the number of capital ships that can enter the Adriatic Sea decreases, and the fire support they provide will naturally decrease. (The USS Combined Forces battleship is currently being overhauled in the dock.) Unable to participate in the war. Other ships were damaged and needed to be repaired. But with the cooperation of the two major German air forces and the Austro-Hungarian Air Force, the Luftwaffe top brass believed that it had air supremacy over the entire Adriatic Sea and could effectively suppress all ground and air targets extending from the coastline to 50 km inland.

"You can tell your men that the Imperial Air Force planes will always be where you can see. If you come across some hard-to-destroy targets and can't get in touch with the heavy artillery units behind, then just contact our Air Force liaison and we'll do our best to solve this target with a single bomb! A Luftwaffe officer once boasted to an Army officer who came to make contact.

In addition to the drastic reduction of the opponent's defense forces, the long-term attrition of air combat was also one of the important reasons why the Allies decided to send ground troops to end the war as soon as possible. The air forces of Italy and the Entente, which were in a defensive advantage, could not afford to fight, and Germany, which was on the attacking side, could not afford to consume them. Especially after the Battle of Naples, although the Kaiser did not say anything, but in fact he was very disappointed in the actions of the Air Force, as the most powerful in the Luftwaffe arsenal, the Zài was hit hard, so that the Kaiser had to consider other means to solve the Italian problem, therefore, when Austria-Hungary proposed that the two sides form a joint fleet for naval warfare, the Kaiser agreed to let Raeder take the Mediterranean Fleet into the war, and this time it also failed, and in the end, in desperation, Still, the Kaiser decided to rely on a strong army to solve the problem.

"Your Majesty, in order to ensure that the army can obtain a relatively good landing environment, I hope to be able to let the paratroopers under the air force participate in this campaign, we will occupy the preset landing site before the land landing, and block the reinforcements of the other side, please believe in the combat effectiveness of the air force and paratrooper units." Richthofen, as the commander of the Air Force, also knew what the Kaiser was thinking, so in order to make up for his "mistakes". So he hoped that the Kaiser would give the Air Force one last chance.

"You can talk to the army about this, and the battle plan will be drawn up by them." The Kaiser touched his chin and said. And Richthofen also understood what the Kaiser meant, that is, the Kaiser had given the Air Force a chance to "make up for its mistakes", the reason is very simple, even if the German Army is powerful, it still needs to cross the strait, and it also needs the support of the Air Force when fighting. Otherwise, a little manipulation by the Air Force will be enough for the Army.

"At the moment the first stage of landing we have chosen are Ancona and Pescara, in central Italy. Both of these places are port cities, and if we can quickly occupy them and ensure the safety of the port facilities, then it will be very convenient for our army in terms of supplies and army transportation in the next stage of the battle. General Bock, who was in charge of receiving Richthofen, pointed to a map and briefed the air generals on the plans of the German Army.

"If it can, I hope that the Air Force can intensify its bombing intensity in these two places in the coming week, and of course, in order to confuse the adversary, it can also appropriately increase the bombing intensity on some surrounding targets. It would be even better if the paratroopers of the Air Force could cooperate with us after the landing of the Army. After General Bock finished speaking, he looked at Richthofen and asked for their opinion.

"I think it would be better if the Airborne Forces could occupy important places before the arrival of the landing force. This is a highly mobile force. We can capture ports and transport hubs before the opposing support forces arrive. And divide and isolate the opponent. I know what you are worried about, feeling that the Airborne Forces lack heavy firepower? It doesn't matter, the attack aircraft and bombers of our Air Force can fully compensate for this shortcoming, they will do better than the heavy artillery of the Navy and Army, and if I remember correctly, there should be an airfield near Pescara, do you know why we haven't destroyed them until now? Because this airport is a transit point for our future air freight. As long as we can control this airfield, then we can not only use it to transport troops and supplies, but also to transport the wounded to the rear. "Richthofen was very aware of the Army's thinking, and it was okay to participate, but only to cooperate with the Army's actions. To this end, he raised his own anti-construction yì.

"Pescara is very close to Rome and there are high road connections between the two places. If you had acted first, you would have been counterattacked by the opposing fast mobile forces, and the last time you fought in northern Italy, I think you will remember how weak the light infantry on the defensive was against mechanized units with tanks. Bock took a deep breath and said carefully.

"It was a limited war, and it was not representative. You and the top of the army should believe in the power of the Air Force, we can blow Florence to the ground, and attacking lightly armored forces is no less a problem, and I think that the commitment of our Air Force will carry more weight than the guarantees of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, right? Richthofen's answer was a bit forceful, which made the senior Army officers present a little uncomfortable.

"But if you can't come up with a convincing basis, I still think that the Airborne Forces should not act earlier than the Army, which will be a surprise, especially since Pescara needs to be more cautious. If you can prove your ability, then you can negotiate with you. General Bock insisted.

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