Detailed Drin-drin Plan
With Mussolini's acceptance of the plan, Marshal Balbo immediately began to set matters in motion for the execution of his grand plan. The first order of the day were the promotions arising from Abyssinian War and their related transfers. The transfers worked into the promotions were designed to fall in line with Balbo's grand plan.
Most important of all was the transfer of Marshal Badoglio from AOI to the newly named Alpine Front (Franco-Italian Border) and General Graziani's promotion to Marshal of AOI as Badoglio's replacement.
Newly appointed Marshal Graziani arrives in Asmara Eritrea to take control of AOI
Lesser promotions and transfers:
- Armellini Q. commander of the 5th Alpine Division, I Corps, Northern Front was promoted to Lt General and transferred to the Alpine Front where he would command the Alpine Corps of the 4th Army
- Beraudo do Pralormo commander of the 24th Infantry Division, II Corps, Northern Front was promoted to Lt General and transferred to command II Corps in AOI
- Zingales commander of the Eritrean Corps, Northern Front was promoted to General and given command of the 6th Army which would be deployed on the Egyptian Front
- Giovanni Messe commander of the 4th Eritrean 'Celere' Division, Eritrean Corps, Northern Front was promoted to Lt General and given command of the Eritrean Corps
- Giovasio Bitosso commander of the Ovest Basscampi 'Celere' Division, Eritrean Corps (formerly of the Ovest Basscampi Corps), Northern Front was promoted to Lt General and transferred to command the Celere Corps of the 6th Army which would be deployed on the Egyptian Front
- Frusci commander of the Ogaden Corps, Southern Front was promoted to General and given command of the Somaliland Army (replacing Graziani)
- Oxilia commander of the 1st Arab-Somali Division, Ogaden Corps, Southern Front was promoted to Lt General and given command of the Ogaden Corps, Somaliland
- Goida commander of the 1st Somali Dubat Division, Ogaden Corps, Southern Front was promoted to Lt General and given command of I Corps Libya in the 10th army on the Egyptian Front
- Air General Pricolo commander of the 4th Tactical Bombers, Northern and Southern Fronts was promoted to Air Marshal and transferred to the Western Front where he was given command of the Aeronautica AOI (also transferred to the Western Front from Tobruk).
- Major General Nannini commander of the 1st Air Transport Wing was promoted to Lt General
Other transfers:
- Lt General Gambara of the II Corps AOI was transferred to the Alpine Front where he took command of the II Corps of the 1st Army
Then began a series of intense sessions and meetings with the Italian Army Group commanders to discuss the grand plan in detail.
Balbo and DeBono on route to a meeting
EUROPEAN THEATRE
THE ALPINE FRONT (Franco-Italo border) - Marshal Badoglio
In northern Italy Army Group West, based out of Milan, commands the 1st and the 4th armies. The 1st Army currently has five binary infantry divisions and one binary mountain division. A total of six binary divisions. The 4th Army currently has three binary infantry divisions and two binary mountain divisions for a total of five binary divisions. The 1st and 4th Armies are reserves.
The key advantage of Army Group West was surprise. All of there divisions are already mobilised while the French border forces are not mobilised. Taking advantage of this strategic benefit meant attacking, Badoglio's objectives were set out as follows:
1st Army - General Guzzoni:
Primary Objectives: Drive the French from the Western Alps, dig in to defend against French counterattack.
4th Army - General Pintor
Primary objectives: Drive the French from the Maritime Alps and secure Provence. The Alpine Corps would lead the attack and drive through to Marseille, the IV Corps would also attack with the Alpine Corps, when the breakthrough occurred it job was then to secure the French Riviera. The I Corps bringing up the rear would loop around neutral Monaco and secure and hold Nice. This would deprive the French of its mainland Mediterranean ports.
Secondary objectives: Should all go well with the primary objectives, a landing force would be put together and the French airbase and port at Ajaccio, in Corsica (currently undefended), would be taken.
The Alpine Front (colours are mixed up between the 1st and 4th)
8th Army (requisitioned from Army Group East) - General Pariani
Primary objectives: Strategic reserve for the Western Front and to cover the ports of Savona and La Spezia from potential seaborne invasion.
Air assets: It was expected that the French Airforce may show up in heavy numbers on this front. Balbo's plan involved deploying overwhelming air power to this front during the opening rounds of the war, that way the Regio Aeronautica could smash the French air attacks and establish air superiority on this front. Four interceptor wings we assigned to this front and two wings of tactical bombers, they would fly as follows:
- 1st Squadra Aerea - two interceptor wings
- Aeronautica AOI - 1 interceptor wing and 1 tactical bomber wing (requisitioned from Libya)
- 4th Squadro Aerea - 1 interceptor wing and 1 tactical bomber wing
NORTHERN ITALY
Army Group East is also based in northern Italy but out of Venice. Army Group East commands the 2nd, 6th and 8th armies. The 2nd Army consists of four binary infantry divisions. The 6th Army consists of three square divisions each consisting of one motorised brigade, one tankette brigade and two cavalry brigades. The 8th Army consists of two binary infantry divisions and one binary mountain division. The 2nd, 6th and 8th Armies are reservists and are mobilised.
Here the 8th Army will be transferred to the Army Group West as a strategic reserve, while the mobile 6th Army will be transferred to Libya. The 2nd Army will be repositioned to cover the entire eastern front. The 6th Army can be used as a last resort reserve either to defend the western front or "firefight" throughout northern Italy.
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ITALY
Commando Superior based out of Rome looks after central Italy where it directly commands the 3rd and 7th armies. It also holds supreme command over all of the Italian armed forces. The 3rd Army based out of Taranto consists of one binary infantry division. The 7th Army based out of Naples and Rhegium consists of four binary infantry divisions. The 3rd and 7th Armies are reservists. Directly under its command is another binary infantry division, also a reserve, which is based out of Rome, known as the Riserva Centrale.
In Sicily, Army Group South which is based out of Palermo and Messina consists of two binary infantry divisions. All these divisions are reservists. Known as the "5th Army".
Central and Southern Italy Theatre (plus Operation Siena the attack on Malta)
The key strategy in central and southern Italy (including Sardinia) is defence against seaborne French and British invasions. All of the major ports are covered by divisions with the exception of Cagliari in Sardinia. This port and its important airbase would be protected by the Riserva Centrale with would be transported from Rome as soon as possible. Rome would then be protected by a repositioning of the 20th Infantry Division 'Fruili'(part of the 7th Army) north from Naples.
The only planned offensive action in this sector would be the potential invasion of Malta. Here the 21st 'Granatieri di Sardegna' Infantry Division under the command of Major General Romero were earmarked for a potential amphibious assault on the small but strategic island. The assault would be supported by Italian air assets.
Regina Marina
Incessant patrolling by Italian naval bombers and submarines would destroy the British and French Mediterranean trade and supply routes.
Submarine convoy patrol zones
The Regina Marina will attempt to engage and defeat the French Mediterranea Mediterraneann fleet in a sea battle and where possible smaller RN fleets. The Regina Marina will also be supported by Italian naval bombers and interceptors. Early on an attempt would be made to seize Malta through an amphibious landing by elements of the 7th Army. With the land forces securing all of their objectives, the French and British navies would be all but driven out of the Mediterranean, confined only to Gibraltar and perhaps Cyprus.
LIBYA
Egyptian Front
Sitting in Benghazi throughout the last six months were elements of the III and IV Corps, originally bound for the Ethiopian War but never transported. These units comprised of the 27th 'Sila' Infantry (III Corps), the 1st CCNN Blackshirts (III Corps) and the 5th CCNN Blackshirts (IV Corps). All three were triangular divisions and the 27th also had artillery support.
Based at Tobruk was the 102nd 'Trento' (binary) Division and the 7th CCNN 'Cirene' (square) Division. All of these elements were brought under the control of the I Libyan Corps of the newly formed X Army under the command of Prince Amedeo of Savoy, cousin to the king.
Balbo's plan was for the I Libyan Corps (102nd and the 7th CCNN) to lead to attack east over the Egyptian border. They would be supported by the 27th 'Sila' which would be reserved for the attack on Alexandria itself. The 1st CCNN Blackshirts would perform garrison duties in Cyrenaica.
The attack would also be backed up by the 6th Army and two of its divisions, the 1st Celere 'Eugenio do Savoia' and the 2nd Celere "Emanuele Filiberto'. These divisions were square. There fellow 6th Army Division, the 3rd Celere Division 'Principe Amedeo', was earmarked to support the Tunisian Front to the west.
When the Nile Delta was reached the plan was to surround and assault the British in Alexandria and Cairo. Once taken, the Suez western bank could either be defended or the Italians could push on over the canal into Palestine. The 2nd Celere "Emanuele Filiberto' Division was to swing south and follow the old railway line along the Nile. The aim was to drive right through to Khartoum cutting off British supplies from the north and linking up with the troops in Italian East Africa.
Libyan Campaign
Tunisian Front
Based out of the Tarabulus (Tripoli) was the 2nd Libyan Division (militia) and 3rd Eritrean Division (irregulars). The 2nd Libyan Division would advance west across the French Tunisian border. Hugging the coast it would advance all the way to Tunisia. The 5th CCNN Blackshirts Division would advance west from Benghazi and perform garrison duties around Tripoli and Misrata. The troops would constitute the newly formed IX Army under the command General Pariani.
In addition, the Tarablus troops would be supported by 3rd Celere Division 'Principe Amedeo'. It would be landed along the coast and support and then lead the attack on French Tunisia and Algeria. Once again the aim was to deprive the French of their Mediterranean ports.
All of these units would serve under the II Libyan Corps.
ITALIAN EAST AFRICA (AOI)
Here the British commander appeared to have made a grave mistake by concentrating his entire force along the Sudan-Ethiopian border. British East Africa to the south appeared lightly defended and British Somaliland to the east was undefended.
The Almasy Gambit (Sudan)
Crucially Port Sudan was lightly defended, this would be the key to victory in the south. The old Cairo to Khartoum Railway had fallen out of favour after Lord Kitchener had won the Mahdist War. The line had opened a trade route from central Sudan through Egypt to the Mediterranean but it became uneconomic because of the distance and the need for trans-shipment via the Nile. In 1904 construction of a new line from Atbarah to the Red Sea was undertaken. In 1906 the new line reached recently built Port Sudan to provide a direct connection between Khartoum and the sea. The northern route fell into disrepair.
This was some of the key information that the famed Hungarian desert researcher Lszlo Almasy had provided Balbo. If the British forces in Sudan could be cut off from crucial supplies coming from Port Sudan in the north and likewise from their two key East African ports at Mobassa and Dar es Salaam in the south, they would be doomed.
The Western Lowlands Divisions objective was to spear north along the coast then take and hold the undefended Port Sudan. The III Corps would push northwest and then hook around to the south and take Khartoum cutting of crucial British supplies altogether.
AOI Campaign
Gondar-Jima Front (Western Ethiopia)
Here the plan was to hold the fresh and powerful British Divisions at bay, using the natural barriers of the Blue Nile, its tributaries and the western Ethiopian Highlands. An added advantage here was the damaged infrastructure from the war with the Ethiopians. This had not yet been repaired and would slow down any British advance. Once the British were cut off in both the north and the south they could be ground down with air and land attacks.
The defence will be left to the battered Eritrean Division and elements of the I and II Corps. All of these Divisions are currently spread throughout central and eastern Ethiopia following the final battle of the Abyssinian War. The Ovest Bassicampi Celere Division will push south and then west to cut off Sudan from British East Africa avoiding contact with enemy forces.
Tired divisions of the Eritrean, I and II Corps
A worried Messe, now Lt General of the Eritrean Corps
Jubaland Offensive (British East Africa (Kenya))
These lands appeared to be lightly defended and have been denuded of all British troops. The Libyan Division and the 6th CCNN Blackshirts Divisions will be able to sweep south and secure the ports of Mobassa and Dar es Salaam.
Old forces of the Southern Front, now designated for the Somaliland and Jubaland Offensives under the recently promoted General Frusci
Somaliland Offensive (British Somaliland and French Djobouti)
British Somaliland was completely undefended, its major port of Berbera could be taken easily.
French Djobouti was the big unknown of the AOI plan. Should the French join the war, they had their colony heavily defended by between two to four divisions (including mountaineers). Holding them in place was the biggest concern, a French drive north through the Dankalia Lowlands and into Asmara could bring down the entire Italian East African theatre.
The best plan against the French forces here was thought to be a little nipping attacks, holding actions, really an all out war of attrition. Before the war was declared on the British, a submarine flotilla would be rushed south through the Suez Canal and be used to cut off supply shipments to the French colony. It would be surrounded by Italian land forces, bombed into submission and then assaulted on all fronts.
The offensive would initiated from the southeast by the 30th and 19th Infantry Divisions of the I and II Corps respectively. Both divisions were in reasonable shape following the war with the Ethiopians. Once the Ogaden Divisions have conquered the undefended British Somaliland, they would swing west and hit Djibouti from the flank.
The final attack would be a combination of these divisions combined with an assault from the Eastern Lowlands Corps currently holding out in the Dankalia Low and Highlands to the west of Djibouti.
Regina Marina
In th Red Sea, the submarine flottila commanded by the Duke of the Sea, Thaon di Revel, would seek out British covoys moving through the Gate of Tears.
Out on the open Indian Ocean, Count Galeazzo Ciano with a flottila of modern destroyers would patrol the Mozambique Channel and attempt to intecept any allied convoys moving through the channel.
Sirena class Italian submarine
Convoy patrol zones in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Mozambique Channel
Freccia class destroyers under the command of Count Ciano