Mediterranean hegemon

"To be honest, I really don't like Italian rifles. They have low power and average accuracy. I think the German ones are better than the Italian ones. Even the Austrian ones are better than the Italian ones..."

When Italy participated in World War I, the Mannlicher-Carcano M18 bullet was commonly used. At that time, only Japan and Italy used this caliber. The rest were basically 7. In Contini’s eyes, it was not the German Mauser in terms of power or accuracy. The G98 rifle's opponent, even the Austro-Hungarian M1895 Steyr-Manlicher rifle (8mm bullet), has better overall performance than the Italian rifle.

"Currently, the War Department is planning to deal with these captured foreign products. I am more willing to use German products. I even plan to tell Mr. Diaz to give me all the captured German weapons, so that the War Department will not pile them up there to get moldy. Anyway, They can’t get new accessories and bullets now, so they might as well leave them to me for recycling.”

In fact, during the war, Italy did not seize many German weapons due to its ability (it captured a lot of Austrian weapons), but Italy was a victorious country anyway. The Allies did not satisfy Italy in terms of other interests, and Italy did not have the ability to collect remaining German arms. Put less effort into it, especially those medium and large caliber artillery. As for the infantry light weapons, they are just trying to kill rabbits - by the way.

Old Ciano was defeated by his son's arrogance and shook his head helplessly: "I won't argue with you about the superior performance of rifles. Although I am a navy, I have also played with guns. In my eyes, Italian weapons It’s not as bad as you said, but you still didn’t tell me what you wanted so many weapons for, I don’t believe you used them for civil aviation security!”

Contini thought to himself: If I tell the truth, why don’t you chop me to death? Even though he was going to tell a lie, at least it seemed to be tenable on the surface, otherwise he would not be able to convince old Ciano.

He asked with a smile: "Father, what do you think of Giovanni Messe?"

Old Ciano's face was full of shock: "You have targeted those brave people?"

"Brave" is the most elite mountain infantry commando formed by Italy in World War I. Its leader and founder is Giovanni Messe. In Contini's view, he is the predecessor of the special forces. Before the time travel, he often fought with An old friend, Hoffman, debated which one was better, the Italian Braves or the German Stormtroopers (also formed in World War I). In the end, the two sides reached an agreement: with the same weapons and equipment, the Stormtroopers would definitely be better in battalion-level battles, and the two sides would be evenly matched in company-level battles. , but when it comes to squad and platoon levels, the brave men who put more emphasis on personal force and individual combat must be stronger, because the brave men are based on mountain training, while the storm commandos are based on trench warfare training, and the logical starting point is not Same.

In Contini's eyes, Giovanni Messe was Italy's best army commander in World War II. Not only was he familiar with infantry tactics, he was also a rare talent for Italian armored warfare. He is currently serving as the aide-de-camp to Emmanuel III. , he is not a fascist figure, so he is not very popular for the time being. The most elite group of brave men were of course retained by the army after the war. However, due to the large layoffs of the Italian Army itself after the end of World War I, and more than four years had passed since the end of World War I, among these mountain troops Many veterans wasted their time in this way, and their lives were very unsatisfactory. For these people who are accustomed to licking blood from the edge of a knife, most of the meaning of life is lost without fighting. So some of them joined the Black Shirt Army, and some joined the Mafia, but This is not an army after all.

"I know my father will understand."

"What on earth do you want to do?" Old Ciano suddenly felt a hair in his heart. He knew how daring Contini was, but he didn't expect him to be so bold. He wanted to reach out to the army before he was even dry. He lowered his voice and said, "Are you crazy?" Are you capable of raising private soldiers? You want to rebel against the leader? The leader was born in the revolution and is unusually sensitive to force. You want to kill me. If you don’t tell me, you also want to kill your mother. , killed the entire family..."

"Father, where are you thinking? How can it be so serious?" Contini looked shocked, "I only have more than 200 security guards, and I don't have any heavy weapons. How can I become a private soldier? So let's put it that way. My civil aviation threat is even greater. It has about 200 pilots plus a group of ground staff and mechanics. The teacher half-joked and half-seriously said that this will be the Italian Second Air Force in the future. According to your logic, I not only maintain private soldiers, but also private soldiers. The army is here!"

"What does Second Air Force mean?"

"United Airlines has all military aircraft, retired soldiers, officers and supporting ground staff. Is there any more pure military establishment than this? The teacher also said that we must effectively use the civil aviation platform. When the country's military expenditure is not sufficient, It is both an army and a civilian, integrating the military and civilians, and integrating peace and war. This group of experienced teams should be preserved. If a large-scale war breaks out, the civil aviation members can immediately transfer to the air force and resume the air force establishment. These aircraft of United Airlines were originally intended to be transformed from military aircraft. It’s not difficult to transform back. As for pilots, how different do you think they are from flying civilian aircraft now?”

Perhaps fearing that old Ciano did not understand, Contini put on a serious and sincere tone and said: "I have written this method in the report of the Ministry of Aviation. Not only the teacher agreed, but the leader also applauded and specially added comments , believes that it is a good way to expand the aviation force without increasing the national financial burden. It is the only way for Italy to become a strong air force. We must take appropriate care of it. We have set very strict rules for civil aviation in the future - military management, formal operation, Commercial financing. If you are now the Minister of Transport, you must know that there is a role for defense representatives in the railways. If you were a navy, you must know that many officers and soldiers of the Royal Navy of Great Britain are usually trained on ocean-going ships, and they can quickly pull up reserves at critical moments. The team replenishes the battle losses on the front line. I use civil aviation to support so many people. Once the country needs it, it can be transformed quickly. It does not cost the country a penny in normal times, and it also saves the army a lot of money in training, placement, and employment. I feel that I have sacrificed the boss. If it weren’t for the teacher’s face and the title of Assistant Minister of Aviation, I wouldn’t be bothered... But then again, it is precisely because your son has so many ideas that the leader agreed to United Airlines’ generous move and gave it to Abandoned military airport, and also gave a large amount of excess supplies..."

After being fooled by Contini, the old Ciano accepted it a little bit and felt that this routine was indeed good. This Second Air Force might be stronger than the air forces of other countries except the first-class European powers - at least The serious aviation forces of countries like Spain and Portugal have not yet exceeded 200. As for the story of the Royal Navy integrating troops with the people, he has also heard the story. It is really not a fabrication or exaggeration, but it is becoming less and less now.

"You've made sense with the Second Air Force, but what's going on with the guards? The establishment requirement is 240 people... not 24!"

"With the Second Air Force, I have to provide one-stop service..." Contini said proudly, "Your son has such a big industry now, so 20 bodyguards or guards are not excessive, right? United Airlines has several airports , Is it reasonable to have 30-50 people guarding each place? I also have an aviation club, a youth aviation school, and a shooting range in Rome. Is it reasonable to have dozens of instructors, training supervisors, and security teams?”

"I will open a high-level military club that can meet all military needs of men except officially joining the army. You can come here to shoot targets with rifles and pistols, you can come here to learn to fly, if you like to fly fighter jets, if you like to fly bombers, you can fly bombers. , you can also learn to skydive and experience the excitement of falling from the sky; if possible, you can also put tanks, armored vehicles, and motorcycles into it to launch a motorized cross-country assault; if you go hunting or skiing in the Alps, it is very convenient to have mountain infantry escorts and serve as hunters. Is it suitable and cool? When the time comes, buy or build a batch of motor boats, and if possible introduce 1-2 sightseeing submarines, and the army, navy and air force will be ready! All in all, there is no service you can’t think of that I can’t provide, and it’s most suitable for young men who have excess energy but don’t lack Lira.”

"Hunting, fishing, exploring, traveling?" Old Ciano showed an extremely complicated look on his face, and his facial muscles twitched. Only a ghost could believe that his son's military club was for these purposes, but at least it was true when told to the outside world. .