Italy - '43 - Mare Nostrum.. out of reach?...

To Benito Mussolini
My fellow Facist, i write this letter to you in hope that you can be made see reason..
The war against the british is lost, we must try and negotiate peace with the allies before its to late..

though peace with the Russians can't be an option..
Wich is why i would notion to you Duce
that we should prepeare for the Imminent German defeat..

the Germans have done many things in these past years.. but they have gone too far.. they can NOT turn this war around now..

therefore we should build defensive fortifications at the outskirts of Venezia.. you may be confused Duce.. that i would build the defensive lines behind Venezia.. but building a wall around Venezia would cost much more to do.. therefor we must make sacrifises to protect the majority of our population..

And of course as we do this, we should pull all troops back from the Balkans to help fortify the area..

But my Duce i have attached Schematics of where the fortifications would be build..

i hope this letter will help you see sense Duce..
From Gian

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To Duce Benitio Mussolini.

My friend, i as every reasonable person in the Italian Parliament.. am getting worried, of the increased notions to negotiate a Seperate peace with the Allies..

They say this is caused because of our armies failures to defeat the British! i say this is Hogwash!

The british has only won due to Deciet.. giving all military accomplishments for the Axis in North Africa to this so called Desert fox.. or Rommel as the Germans call him.. Our armies are still grand! and if we put our effort into it we will be able to Defeat the Cheeky Brits..

We must as we promised the enemies of our GRAND STATE! that Italy would face all foes with an overwhelming amount of Bayonets!

I believe our armed forces and our Airforce if focused enough at one front, would be able to utterly vanquish the Decietfull British!

Army

Airforce

Our navy on the other hand though..
I would never claim to be a Brilliant Naval Strategist.. though with the Airforces help and with abit of luck.. we should be able to secure passage to North Africa..

As you know my Friend from earlier letters i've been working on strategies in how to Reconquer Libya and push the British out of the Med. The strategy however.. as is all strategies is VERY risky... and if we fail.. god save our country for then we will surely have lost all hope..

The Plan is basic.. As Britain is now Pushing up in German controlled Tunis, Italian troops will land behind them.. around Tripoli and Cut of British troops before they secure a harbour in Tunis, Effectively Allowing us to Destroy the British forces!

After such a victory it would take a good time before Britain would be able to suffeciently reinforce the Med. with troops to stop the Italian advance towards the Middle-East..

But the fact that the british CAN send Reinforcements... is a thing we need to work at.. Therefore i would suggest to you Duce, that we begin training troops in the coming years, Equipped with suffecient amount of Artillery... But we will also need Convoys.. plenty of convoys... unless we want our troops in North africa to starve.. But in the plan for Gibraltar.. the Key position for British dominance in the Med.. we must train Special forces to be Air lifted into Gibraltar and attempt to sieze it... again a gamble.. but we have little choise left..

From your friend, Vittorio Ambrosio

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To Benito Mussolini

I would have wanted to inform you of this in person... but circumstance demands my presence in Rome, but my ministry have recived words that our last territory in Libya has been siezed by the British.. i dare say this is but a proof that we must abandon our war against britain, and seek seperate peace so that we can focus our strenght on stopping the Bolsheviks from overrunning the european continent!

The evil Stalin will without a doubt enslave all of europe given the chance!

but there are more than military reasons to stop our conflict against Britain..
due to our conflict with basicly all of the world.. no one seems to be willing to trade with us.. or if they are willing.. our convoys are sunk before they reach harbour..

from your Loyal Foreign minister
Gian.

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To Duce Benito Mussolini

My friend, i've sent this message with a great rush, i have finally finished planning the entire! counter attack plan on Britain...
While our Ressource may be running abit short as of late.. Our peoples UNITY! is above all others!

But to the matters at hand.. We've stationed two seperate Transport fleets in two Harbours on Sicily, both manned with about 36.000 Italian soldiers! all ready to fight for our Victory against the British! But this is of course not the only part of my Genius plan..
Our naval forces has been mobilised.. or atleast our only really operational fleets..

i've together with our Chief of Navy, organized 3 Battleship fleets, wich should buy our transports enough time to cross the Sea and land around Tripoli as i explained in my last letter to you..
At the same time.. both i and my Chief of Navy agreed that the Italian Submarines needed to get to work aswell..

Therefore a massive Redzone was planned almost from the Gibraltar to Malta, in an attempt to Create a dead zone for all British convoys...
at the same time the 3 Battleship fleets would be focused Around Malta and Tunis.. as this is the sealanes the Transport fleets will travel on..

as to help matters, we included our Chief of airforce in the planning aswell.. Rapidly scrambling 5 Nav's and 4 Multi's to help the invasion.., the 5 Navs would start Naval bombing around Malta, as to if need be assist Italian ships in combat.

The Multi's would also be ready to intercept any Enemy Cag's in the region..

We estimate that the first Naval engagement will occour almost as the operation begins to move into its starting phases..

The operation it self will begin on the 15h of Febuary.. our Naval officers expect losses.. but i'm sure our sailors will prove more of a much for the British than any others!

We also Suspect that a naval Victory south of Italy would benefit our Propaganda Efforts back home..

And in such effect increase the peoples unity in this war!

The first troops are suspected to be landed in Libya late on the 16th Febuary

Shortly after wich they would obviously spread out and Secure Tripoli it self.. if everything of course goes as planned.. but things never do, do they?

I dare say that Tripoli will be a peace of cake to Sieze for Italy.. certainly the British are not bright enough to leave a strong garrison in Tripoli

So i estimate that a battle in tripoli will surely not last long..

But with these plans i also bear the unfortunate fate as to deliver bad news to you my duce.. The German cowards.. have abandoned several Divisions of Italian soldiers to the Bolsheviks! and the Germans are even retreating!

Traitors the lot of them... but for now let us hope they can hold back the Bolshevik monster that THEY unleashed on upon us all..
I have sent orders down the Ranks to inform the Fallens families.. that they will properly not see their sons anymore..

But with this i will add that i hope you'r having an empowering trip to Sicily.. Be carefull who you trust my friend, many people would see you dead in an attempt to get out of this war..

From You friend Vittorio Ambrosio

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To My Foreign minister Gian

i understand you have been somewhat succesfull in Berlin..

I am glad to hear this, while i have as of late focused Italy's Ressources towards defeating the allies.. i do not fancy the thought of the bolsheviks enclosing on our borders.. though currently that may yet be our fate..

I even understand you've managed to open more trade between Italy and the German Reich.. this will surely help our efforts against the British...

i know you do not agree with the Focus against britain.. or the war with britain in generel.. but i find that this is a necessity for Italy...

But alas, i am glad your more or less succesfull in Berlin.

From
Your Duce
Benito Mussolini

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To Vittorio Ambrosia

My Friend, i write this letter both to Congratulate and to ask questions to the developments in Libya..

It is to my understanding that Both Tripoli and Misurata got liberated around the 20th February, Wich of course is great news for Italy and as everything should be, bad news for our British enemies..

But as far as my channels inform me the British is comprimising our situation Not far from Tripoli..

Our naval efforts are also quite succesfull, On the 22nd February, i hear news that Vittorio Veneto Engaged a British fleet, sinking several Transport ships.

and with our current naval Supremacy our forces in Libya is easily reinforced with more troops.

my channels seems awfully one sided though, so i would like you to confirm these incidents on the battlefields...

Though its the results thats the most one sided.. clearly this is unlikely to be truthfull? considdering our combat results in Libya earlier in the war....

but my friend, if you say this is the truth then i will take your word on it..

But while our commen friend Gian is working on Relations with berlin, we must face the fact that the Germans cannot! defeat the allies in North Africa

While allied troops threaten to push further North into Tunisia, it is to my understanding you decided to send loads of reinforcements to the Harbours in Southern Tunisia,

Though even if they succeded your supiriour naval planning would cut all attempts to supply Allied troops in Southern tunisia..

Earlier in the month it seems the Royal Italian Hussars arrived in Misurata

As far as my channels inform they have been VERY succesfull in North Africa.. despite facing foes depended on Fuel rather than horse power

on the 7th of March the Hussars was even Moving towards a combined attack against allied forces

While the Italian cavalry was pushing Eastwards.. the Allied forces was getting pushed farther and farther back..

But i have recieved bad news...
Apparently Allied forces landed in Tripoli it self..

but atleast you are working towards securing the back lands of Libya..

I am sure my friend that you heard reports about the naval engagement outside Malta..

British carriers once again proove fatal for our fleets..

Apparently the british naval forces had arrived to the Mediterranian to threaten the supply lines from Italy to Libya..
wich brings into thought the not so succesfull invasion of Libyan coast lines..

this had been a very unprepeared offensive as far as i am informed.. no naval forces was even prepeared to move in to assist the Transport fleet incase of interception..

only 2 of the 6 Divisions actually made it ashore in
Though this was enough to block in the British motorised divisions..
at the cost of one of our transport ships..

But with this.. i finish my letter, and congratulate you with the progress.. even though victory is yet to be set in stone.

From Your Duce
Benito Mussolini

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Khazorath said:

Hmm your navy is going to need an overhaul if all your battles are like that.

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Baltasar said:

Why did you land your forces in the desert, away from any port? Wouldn't it be better to have used the corps strong force to take Benghazi and expand from there? The Allied supplies would have had to run through very low infrastructure provinces, which should have ensured that you could crush the British forces between Benghazi and Tripolis with the forces at hand while continuing your advance towards Tobruk at the same time.

However, all will be for naught if you don't achieve your goal in time, because the Russians are coming and you'll need to fight them as well. Just make sure you don't leave your ports unprotected.

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Hardradi said:

Very interesting AAR.

I hope you have enough transports left to keep shifting your troops around after the British surrender in ASI.

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RioBrancoBaron said:

Interesting AAR! Subscribed.

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KyrionMyrthar said:

I like it -- desperate times mean desperate measures, lest Italy fall to Stalin's hordes!

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To My Friend Ducé Benito Mussolini

My friend, i dispatch this messenger in great haste, i've got both news, and a warning to you..

in the first part of this letter i will give you a full report of events in libya.

I understood in your last letter, that you were concerned about Allied reconquest of Tripoli but i am glad to inform you that by the 21st March Triploi was back in Italian hands!

And as such, i have orderd my generals to begin moving Eastwards, in hope of liberating all of Libya and to finaly Conquer the Suez canal.

our soldiers begun Rapid redeploying at the Eastern border.

but as Italian soldiers where marching towards Eastern Libya, I begun planning together with the Chief of the navy, an operation to effectively secure italian supremacy in the Medditerranian..

This Operation would be named, Operazion Legen - wait for it - dary!However.. this operation is planned in advance of even being able to mount such an invasion, and by then the British might even have caught on to our plans..

The operazion will earliest begin in September..

Now let me explain the map..
The yellow marks are locations for the Regia Marina, 66% of our surface fleet vessels will participate in this plan, as they will secure the passage of our transport fleets to invade Oman wich is marked with Black..
Shortly after such an invasion Italian Paratroopers would fly to Oman airport, and prepeare to fly to the Gibraltar and Sieze it, effectively cutting off the British from their most immidieate entrance to our seas..
But the Paratroopers would not finish training until August..

But back on the East front, we had already planned the liberation of Libya

The plan was simpl, Surround Tobruk and secure all of Libya before attacking British Egypt..

But the British have quite the adavantage on us.. Armour, but British commanders are incompotent..

So the lone Armour division would be encirled by the Mighty italian forces..

On the 11th of May the Encirclement was complete and our forces advanced upon the British armour who surrenderd the day after..

Allied resistance seemed more and more.. lacking

Not that would complain, though i do worry what they're planning..

But the reconquest of Libya was at hand, whatever the british was planning, they would soon face the italian hordes marching through their lands..

By late may, our forces was closing in on Tobruk (Tobruch)

just 11 days ago our forces was almost in the neighbouring regions.. ready to launch the first attacks on Tobruk..

Raw recruits have finished training aswell, and has been deployed in Northern Italy..

Wich concludes my report.. i want to warn you aswell my friend, i have heard word in the Parliament that you plan to hold a public speech in Rome

i must advice you not to hold this speech my friend, our party doesnt have the full support of the people anymore.. wich is why i fear some Agents of foreign powers might make an attempt on your life.. my channels say that my fears are well grounded..

But i have a suggestion aswell, Maybe have the state press print a few editions telling the public about how well the italian trains run.. this might increase our party popularity..

but 'tis a long shot..

Regardless of this my friend, i would like to ask if we could have a meeting and discuss plans for the future..

Best Regards your loyal Friend Vittorio Ambrosio...
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