In the area bordering Austria in northern Italy, all large and small towns have entered a state of emergency. This is not an exercise, and a real war is coming.

Many people chose to hide in the basement with their families and use all the wood he could find to reinforce doors, windows and walls. The terror of the Luftwaffe bombing corps had already been deeply rooted in people's hearts at this time.

Some adult men in border villages and towns were gathered to collect weapons and equipment from the reserve armory of the border police. They were temporarily organized into the Blackshirt Reserve Corps. At this time, no one cared about whether these people were fascist party members. At this moment, as long as they were a man who could pull the trigger, they were obliged to take on the responsibility of defending Italy. Whether they liked it or not, they had to go to the front line to fight the invading Germans.

The Italians felt that the half-day period was like dreaming. Most people didn't even understand why the Germans declared war with Italy, and just entered a war in a daze.

Time was too hasty, and many places were busy until midnight, but only then I found that they had not even built basic defenses and working together.

The northern part of Italy is close to the border between Austria and Germany. It is the Alps that stretch for hundreds of miles. This rolling mountain has been a natural barrier for Italy for thousands of years, blocking the invasion of powerful neighbors from the north. Of course, this mountain range is not an insurmountable barrier. The rich Apennine Peninsula has been looted many times in history by powerful foreign enemies.

Brennero is an important port between Italy and Austria and will undoubtedly be regarded as the primary target of attack. This is the hub where the railway network between Germany and Italy meets, and the Germans will take it in full at all costs.

Colonel Giulio Filiberto, the commander of the Italian defenders, also believed this. He was very glad that the town he guarded had important strategic value to the enemy, which meant that the other party would not abuse bombers to carry out indiscriminate air strikes, because they had to ensure that the railway facilities here were intact.

Philipto knew very well how heavy the burden on his shoulders was. There was no second line of defense behind Brennero. Once the German army occupied Brennero, the powerful German corps could drive straight along the Alps railway and break into the prosperous and fertile Po River plain.

But now Colonel Filiberto has only two dissatisfied infantry battalions and a border police brigade. There are also two companies of Blackshirts, but they have their own command system and do not obey Filiberto's orders at all.

There was an army anti-aircraft artillery company stationed outside the city, equipped with eight small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery. However, when he was on the phone with the company commander, the other party said that due to the lack of repaired parts for many years, only two 37mm machine guns can still be fired normally. In the colonel's opinion, this is outrageous and serious dereliction of duty, but in order to stabilize the morale of the army, he can only express some dissatisfaction verbally. He wants to use all the troops in his hands. These gunners are at least more effective than the Blackshirt Army.

Time passed by rapidly, and it was only five minutes before the war began. The colonel, with his adjutant and two correspondents, entered the temporary command post set up in the basement of the railway station. The main and deputy commanders of the two battalions were all driven to the front line by the colonel to supervise the war. The staff members who stayed in the command post were busy at this moment. The officers and non-commissioned officers ran around between the room and the aisle with a bunch of tables and maps. It seemed that the German invasion had begun. The colonel knew very well that these were all for him to see alone.

He sighed secretly, the Italian colonel stroked his gray beard and strode into the command room. The soldiers who were still spinning like headless flies just now stood still and raised their hands to express a fascist salute to the commander.

"Touch me the phone number of Lieutenant Colonel Leonardo, the phone line there should have been connected, right?" The colonel threw his military cap on the map table.

"The troops have entered the highest combat readiness and war will break out at any time." The adjutant handed a telegram to the colonel.

"It's all nonsense. What I need now is support. Even if I can transfer a few planes for me, I can at least boost my morale." The colonel kneaded the telegram into a ball and threw it on the floor.

"The phone is connected, Mr. Colonel." The communications officer ran over with the microphone in one hand and the telephone in the other.

"Is Leonardo? I'm Phillipto, and the voice is clear. How is the situation there? Is there any movement on the other side? Not yet?" Philippoto raised his wrist and looked at his watch.

"It has been twelve o'clock, and the Germans are very abiding by the time. They will attack at any time. Yes, I believe that your soldiers are all good. You must pay attention to your own safety. Stay in touch with the command post at any time, and you must pay attention to your own safety. That's it, thank you, may God bless you and my children." Put down the phone, Felipeto supported the map table with both hands, and looked down at the military map full of defensive positions marked with red and blue pencils.

He had only 530 soldiers who had been properly trained, and the anti-aircraft artillery were only a little over 600, and he couldn't even get half an infantry regiment. The only artillery company was equipped with four 1913 65mm mountain cannons, which were sufficient ammunition. Although the style was a little older and the power was a little less, he was not allowed to be picky at this time.

The border police were evenly distributed to two infantry battalions, as reserves on the second line. After the war started, they could also help the logistics units to transport ammunition and supplies to the front line positions. The number of people was too small, and there was no way to configure any deep-level positions.

Finally, the trenches and fortifications on the border are ready-made and have been placed there since World War I. Every year, the army will organize soldiers to carry out some necessary repairs and maintenance, but I never expected that there would be a day to use them.

As for the Blackshirts, they were thrown to the flank of the front line by the colonel and placed them in a trench, and then they let the people entertain themselves. The combat power of these mobs was not within the scope of the colonel's consideration.

"Have the explosives been laid out?" the colonel turned around and asked a staff officer.

"I don't know this. I'm not responsible for this matter, sir." The lieutenant was stunned for a moment, then shrugged his shoulder and replied.

"Then go and find me the person in charge of this matter!" The colonel frowned and waved.

"Okay, sir." The staff officer walked out of the room in disgrace.

"What a hell" Felipeto felt his stomach start to feel cramped again, and he sat down on a chair next to the map table.

The Italian colonel never considered leaving the station and the attached railway facilities to the Germans intact. Once the defense line was lost, he would blow up all the facilities when the troops retreated. The Germans would eventually be able to get a broken ruin, which is estimated to be delayed by at least two to three days of action by the Germans.

The problem was that he did not have professional engineers, and only a few young officers had received some basic blasting training in the military academy, so they could only use increasing the charge to make up for the lack of theoretical knowledge. In the end, the progress of this work was much slower than the colonel imagined.

At this moment, a dull roar suddenly sounded above my head, and the entire basement trembled. A large piece of green lime paint fell down on the ceiling and smashed into pieces at a corner of the map table.

"The attack has begun!" a staff officer screamed.

"Quickly connect to the frontline phone?"

"It's the bombing! It's the heavy bomb dropped by the bomber!"

"Open the ventilation fan, it's all dust here!"

"Lord, Lord!" The room was filled with the messy shouts of staff members.

"Everything is quiet! Shut up! The explosion is still far from here." Philipto stood up with a frown, slapped the map table hard, and stopped the panic in the room with loud shouts.

"Sir, it's Lieutenant Colonel Petro! Their positions were bombarded by heavy artillery by German troops!" A communications officer reported loudly.

At this moment, in this basement, you can clearly hear the roar of thunder from a distance. The ground covered with hardwood floors is also trembling slightly. The chandelier hanging on the beams begins to shake slowly in this shaking. The staff members looked at the ceiling with fear, and they knew that this basement was just a civilian facility, without any bulletproof function. Once a blind shell or bomb fell over their heads, they would definitely be doomed with this stubborn colonel.

"The Germans will not attack the station, they need this railway." The colonel saw through what his subordinates were worried about, and he comforted him with calmness.

He would not admit that he had never expected the Germans to use heavy artillery before. This was a huge mistake. The Germans could crush their positions little by little with precise artillery outside the range of the Italians. He had never been bombarded with heavy artillery in his life, but he could imagine what the poor soldiers were experiencing and what kind of fear they were feeling on the front line of positions.

"I am Feliberto, how is the situation now? Have you seen the Germans? What? No! You must not retreat. I don't care how many people you have lost to retreat before the enemy infantry attacks. This will be a shame for the Italian army! I don't want to listen to any reason, you have to let your people hold on and let the reserve team take over!

Bombers? They dispatched bombers? How many can you see there? Flying over your head just now? Well, Lieutenant Colonel Petro, we must retreat without fighting. No matter how serious the losses are, we must insist on staying on the position. I will give you a retreat order. I swear, but it is definitely not now! Your task now is to persevere, stop the German offensive momentum, and buy time for the rear troops.

Yes, I will notify you in advance, you can rest assured. It will take at least an hour. This is the order. Do you understand? This is the order! "After shouting at the microphone, the colonel fell down the receiver with force.

"Sir! Paratroopers, the sky is full of German paratroopers!" A sergeant rushed into the command post with a carbine, and an injured officer was on his shoulder. Half of the poor guy's body was stained with blood.

"Oh God, this is Lieutenant Luca of the Guard Platoon." Two non-commissioned officers rushed forward to help the officer lie on the floor.

"Sir, I personally recommend that you leave here immediately. Now there are German paratroopers everywhere outside. I see that there are at least a few thousand people. The guard platoon may not last long. Please make a decision immediately." The sergeant saluted the colonel, then turned around and ran out of the command post.

"Tel: Call, call Lieutenant Franciske and order them to detonate immediately!" Philipto reacted from the shock and ordered loudly.

"As for orders, sir!" The communications officer quickly shook the handle of the magnet phone.

"Immediately burn all the confidential documents in your hand, the telegram from Rome, the army's roster and map pairs! Take this one together and burn them all." The colonel grabbed the map on the map table and stuffed it into the hands of the adjutant.

The communications consultant next to the "colonel" reported.

"Go and take the suitcase in my room right away. The Ethiopian barbarians didn't catch me, Feliberto, and now the Germans don't want to catch me. Don't stand stupidly, prepare to evacuate immediately. We don't have much time left." Feliberto yelled at the staff officers loudly, and the staff officers rushed out of the room. Finally, they did not forget to carry away the Lieutenant Luca who had only half breath.

The old colonel had lost his usual calmness and calmness at this time. Will the paratroopers be after the heavy artillery? The Germans could not fight a war head-on.

"Colin." The communications officer continued to call.

"If I had known, I would have destroyed everything in the warehouse and could not be left to the Germans at all." Philipto muttered, then turned his head to look at the communications consultant.

"Why are you still here? What's wrong with you! Oh, by the way, has Lieutenant Franciske contacted?"

"The telephone line was cut off!" The communications officer reported to the colonel with a sad face, holding the microphone.

"What! Hell! Then why are you still standing stupidly? You go and go and tell the lieutenant that it was my order and immediately detonate all the explosives they had set up." The colonel stared at the communication officer in front of him with his right hand on the gun holster at his waist.

"Yes, obey the order, colonel." The communications officer hurriedly saluted Felipeto, turned around and rushed out of the command room like a rabbit caught in an arrow.

"It's all a bunch of incompetent cowards!" Philipto spat at the floor.

Before he finished speaking, a few crisp gunfire sounded in the corridor outside, and then he saw the communications officer rushing back to the command post at a faster speed than before.

"German! German paratrooper!" The staff sergeant pointed his finger outside the door and shouted loudly, and at the same time he quickly ran to the filing cabinet in the corner of the room and hid.

"Coward!" Colonel Philipetto spat in the direction of the sergeant again, then reached out and took out his pistol from the holster at his waist.

"Rise your hands! Throw away your weapons, you have no way to escape the major." Three German paratroopers stood at the door of the command post with submachine guns, leading a corporal, speaking Italian with a strong German accent.

"College! It's colonel, see this rank clearly! Soldier!" Filiberto threw his pistol on the map table, then raised his hands high.

ps: Sorry, it's a bit late today. I continue to ask for monthly tickets, please recommend, please click,

Thank you for your support. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!