Part 42: The Eve of Destiny (May 3, 1942)
From the personal journal of Giovanni Messe:
I had drafted the orders and had examined them again and again, looking for flaws. There were many. The build-up of German forces along the Belgian border had frightened me into stationing out best and most experienced there and the German concentration led to our own concentration, thus leaving a big gap in the line that I hoped we would be able to overcome. We needed to reach Berlin before the Germans could redirect their armies fighting in the Soviet Union to come back. I felt like we had enough troops to succeed but I still wasn’t crazy about how they were deployed. Time would prevent us from changing that on the eve of the attack.
Under Field Marshall Frattini,commanding Army Group France, General Amedeo Duca degli Abruzzi commanded the First Army which had 214,000 men ready for action. I, II, III, IV Army Corps along with the Light armoured corps (of 5 Div X 2 LARM, 1 MOT, 1 TD) which would attack through the western part of France, sealing the coast before our Garrison troops could take over and barricade the Atlantic coast.
Second Army, under General Guzzoni, had another 214,000 men and would attack from the southern half of the Maginot line down through former Swiss, Austrian and Hungarian territory. In the theatre (although under separate command) were 10 militia divisions (which would be upgraded to regular infantry after this offensive) plus a few garrison divisions just to make sure there were no gaps in the line. 2nd Army had XI, XII, XIII and XIV infantry corps and II Armoured Corpps under General Pirzio Biroli with three medium armoured divisions and two heavy armoured divisions, all upgraded to mechanized infantry and with Tank Destroyers.
General Beraudo di Pralormo’s 4th Army had 190,000 men with probably the toughest job of all: to take Berlin and hold off the German army in the eastern reaches of our borders. The reason this Army was so undermanned was due to our intelligence which foresaw a greater concentration of German forces in Belgium. Unfortunately, this was going to force our armoured and mechanized troops to push north and head east to assist once their primary missions have been achieved. The armoured corps attached to the 4th Army only had three combat ready divisions.
Third Army was garrisoning the south of France and upgrading to motorized infantry in order to form a quick response force against any possible American invasion attempt.
I went through my staff’s reports as we prepared for the biggest test we’ve encountered yet.
The first report on my desk was that of the procurement and training departments. We were currently training another airborne division (to be finished at the end of July) to replace the one captured in Belfast, men and material for six self-propelled artillery brigades (to be ready in June), three mechanized “divisions” that would link up with the already trained and constructed armour brigades as well as the self-propelled artillery to form divisions of ARM (Heavy or Medium), MECH, TD, SPART. The last of these divisions would be complete at the end of September. Five Garrison divisions were under construction (2X GAR, 1X AA, 1X ART) and were expected to take their place in Belgium, the Netherlands or Northern Germany. Finally, two of our more experienced infantry brigades were getting trucks for faster movement while one of their artillery brigades was also getting some propulsion of its own. also under construction was a rocket test site, two carriers (to be completed in September) and four light cruisers.
While all of this was under construction, we had a huge backlog of improvements thanks to our research departments. Before undergoing additional construction projects, we may very well dedicate more resources into producing more upgrades for already existing troops equipment.
Our research department was nearing the completion of a couple of technologies. May was expected to bring a new set of doctrines for our Militia and Garrison troops while June would bring the development of a tactical command structure.
After reviewing the reports, I took a deep breath. I picked up the phone and called my top commanders and said “Execute.” I placed the phone back on the hook and exhaled. There was no turning back now.
From the personal journal of Giovanni Messe:
I had drafted the orders and had examined them again and again, looking for flaws. There were many. The build-up of German forces along the Belgian border had frightened me into stationing out best and most experienced there and the German concentration led to our own concentration, thus leaving a big gap in the line that I hoped we would be able to overcome. We needed to reach Berlin before the Germans could redirect their armies fighting in the Soviet Union to come back. I felt like we had enough troops to succeed but I still wasn’t crazy about how they were deployed. Time would prevent us from changing that on the eve of the attack.
Under Field Marshall Frattini,commanding Army Group France, General Amedeo Duca degli Abruzzi commanded the First Army which had 214,000 men ready for action. I, II, III, IV Army Corps along with the Light armoured corps (of 5 Div X 2 LARM, 1 MOT, 1 TD) which would attack through the western part of France, sealing the coast before our Garrison troops could take over and barricade the Atlantic coast.
Second Army, under General Guzzoni, had another 214,000 men and would attack from the southern half of the Maginot line down through former Swiss, Austrian and Hungarian territory. In the theatre (although under separate command) were 10 militia divisions (which would be upgraded to regular infantry after this offensive) plus a few garrison divisions just to make sure there were no gaps in the line. 2nd Army had XI, XII, XIII and XIV infantry corps and II Armoured Corpps under General Pirzio Biroli with three medium armoured divisions and two heavy armoured divisions, all upgraded to mechanized infantry and with Tank Destroyers.
General Beraudo di Pralormo’s 4th Army had 190,000 men with probably the toughest job of all: to take Berlin and hold off the German army in the eastern reaches of our borders. The reason this Army was so undermanned was due to our intelligence which foresaw a greater concentration of German forces in Belgium. Unfortunately, this was going to force our armoured and mechanized troops to push north and head east to assist once their primary missions have been achieved. The armoured corps attached to the 4th Army only had three combat ready divisions.
Third Army was garrisoning the south of France and upgrading to motorized infantry in order to form a quick response force against any possible American invasion attempt.
I went through my staff’s reports as we prepared for the biggest test we’ve encountered yet.
The first report on my desk was that of the procurement and training departments. We were currently training another airborne division (to be finished at the end of July) to replace the one captured in Belfast, men and material for six self-propelled artillery brigades (to be ready in June), three mechanized “divisions” that would link up with the already trained and constructed armour brigades as well as the self-propelled artillery to form divisions of ARM (Heavy or Medium), MECH, TD, SPART. The last of these divisions would be complete at the end of September. Five Garrison divisions were under construction (2X GAR, 1X AA, 1X ART) and were expected to take their place in Belgium, the Netherlands or Northern Germany. Finally, two of our more experienced infantry brigades were getting trucks for faster movement while one of their artillery brigades was also getting some propulsion of its own. also under construction was a rocket test site, two carriers (to be completed in September) and four light cruisers.
While all of this was under construction, we had a huge backlog of improvements thanks to our research departments. Before undergoing additional construction projects, we may very well dedicate more resources into producing more upgrades for already existing troops equipment.
Our research department was nearing the completion of a couple of technologies. May was expected to bring a new set of doctrines for our Militia and Garrison troops while June would bring the development of a tactical command structure.
After reviewing the reports, I took a deep breath. I picked up the phone and called my top commanders and said “Execute.” I placed the phone back on the hook and exhaled. There was no turning back now.
Conquer all the lands of the roman empire and beyond! 