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Aaargh the suspense is killing me! :D

I'm afraid I will have to keep you on the edge of your seat a bit longer. I will be going away next week. Afterwards Luca's fate will be revealed, one way or the other.

Luca armed with a 19th century rifle?! Poor thing!!! It only looks good as a bayonet :)

It was the case for so many Italian soldiers...:(

Unfortunately for the Italians, the modernisation of the Army was low on Mussolini's To-Do list. At least Luca has one of the (somewhat) improved Modello 1938 weapons, the real soldiers would have ought with the same weapons with which they fought the Ottomans in 1912!

Yet most nations in the war fought with Bolt Action rifles either designed at the turn of the century or which where an improved version of such a design. Only the Americans where armed with a modern rifle (M1 Garand).
 
Just a sign of life from me. I'm horribly busy with my paper at the moment. Keeping three AARs updates is just a bit too much for me at the moment. The fate of Luca will be revealed a bit later than I hoped. I hope to be able to have an update friday.
 
To all readers of ItaliAAR.

This AAR was the first one I've posted on AARland. I've used it to try out several different styles of writing and ways of telling a story. As it is my first AAR it has always been quite dear to me.
Unfortunately it isn't exactly the most popular AAR ever, with only a few (but very loyal) readers. Add to this that my game is lagging at the point of being unplayable, I've decided to bring this AAR to an end a bit sooner than I had hoped.

I will give a few more updates, giving closure to the story of Luca's fight at the farmhouse, the mystery behind Balbo's attempted assasination and to the end of the battle of the Med. Expect three or four more updates.

I hope to see you all again in my other AARs sometime.

FlyingDutchie.
 
Well I can understand you of course, but it's a sad end (yes not yet, but soon) for a Great AAR. :(
Hopefully you'll write even better ones! :)
 
It ain't that bad, your # of views are respectable. Just not everyone posted a comment. Let's see a proper ending to this. What's the scoring on the battleships kills I recall sometime back, I suppose you're going to update as part of the Med battles. The Pretorian warriors shall make the empire proud again!
 
Well I can understand you of course, but it's a sad end (yes not yet, but soon) for a Great AAR. :(
Hopefully you'll write even better ones! :)

I'm planning to ;). Actually, I'm starting the spiritual successor to ItaliAAR today. The leading role will be furfilled by a Dutch journalist this time, and the game will take place in the unpredictable world of Kaiserreich. Rest assured, I will give ItaliAAR a proper finish.

It ain't that bad, your # of views are respectable. Just not everyone posted a comment. Let's see a proper ending to this. What's the scoring on the battleships kills I recall sometime back, I suppose you're going to update as part of the Med battles. The Pretorian warriors shall make the empire proud again!

I have the count for the battleship game, but unfortunately I lost the list of which ship was sunk when. I will post the list later on.
 
Rescued at last?

13 July 1940 – undisclosed location near the temporary HQ, 2nd Corps, 1th Fieldarmy at Fuuka

Luca’s nerves where barely holding together. First the British patrol and now more jeeps on their way? Just who where these men quickly driving towards their location? Luca just hoped it was the sound of some of those Willy’s Jeeps they captured from the Brits before. He knew some of the Bersaglieri where quite fond of the robust vehicles. However, the British SAS made extensive use of them too. Just who where these mystery-men? For now the only thing he could do was buy more time for reinforcements to arrive and pray the men speeding to their position where Italian by chance.

willys_jeep.jpg

The versatile Willy's Jeep. Produced in the US, but shipped to Great-Britain as part of Lend-Lease. Italian troops made extensive use of captured vehicles to complement their own lacking supply.

A few more tantalising minutes passed, as the British soldiers assaulting his position where coming closer and closer. Luca knew his ruse wouldn’t last, by now the British soldiers must have figured out that the post might not be as heavily guarded as they might have inbitially thought. Thoughts ran through Luca’s mind. If the British soldiers came closer, what should he do? Try to escape in their unreliable lorry, try to make lieutenant Nasser escape on the remaining motorcycle, or just surrender? The sound of the jeeps suddenly stopped and men where clearly stepping out of the vehicles. Luca heard shouts, but couldn’t figure out in which language. Suddenly flashes broke the darkness, the men in the vehicle where definetly not British. Luca heard more shouting and the screams of wounded soldiers. Then finally he recognised the shouts as Italian. Where they saved?

The fighting lasted for a few more minutes. Apparently it was simply a small British partol that had stumbled upon their location. A few men run towards their location, dressed in strange uniforms. Only when they came closer he recognized the uniforms as those of the Blackshirts, the paramilitary branch of the Fascist Party. Strange, Luca thought all Blackshirt-divisions where currently in Ethiopia, trying to stall the British invasion of Italian East-Africa.

The man obviously in charge of the Blackshirts started to adress Luca and his men: “You did well, soldiers of the Empire. You have defended the Lieutenant well, but we can handle it from here.”

“Very well, commander, and thanks again for your assistance”, Luca smiled while adressing the leader of the Blackshirts. He stretched his hand towards the man, as to shake his hand. The commander reached out his hand in reaction. The suddenly Luca grabbed the mans wrist, wrenching it to the mans back. At the same time he pulled out his revolver and aimed it at the mans head, all while putting the mans body between himself and the other Blackshirts.

“Everyone, aim your weapons at these men!”

The commanders reaction changed from total surprise to anger, “are you totally insane, we just saved your skin?”

Luca smiled, “you forgot three things commander. First off all, I know for a fact there are no Blackshirts active in Egypt. Secondly, it is very suspicious indeed that you just happened to be in the neighbourhood, middle in the night and in the middle of nowhere. Those where your own faults.”

“And the third?”, the man was obviously upset at having his mistakes pointed out to him. “The third” Luca smiled as he spoke “My brother just happens to be aide-de-camp to the Prince d’Aosta. You shouldn’t be too urprised if he told me some dirty little secrets.”

In the distance the sound of vehicles was once again recognisable, only this time it was the creaking sound of the antiquated lorries used by the Regia Escercito. Luca, his men and the lieutenant Nasser made it through the night. Luca was grateful his brother couldn’t hold all those secrets just to himself. He just hoped he could put an end to all this infighting between the factions within the Party, Italy couldn’t afford those distractions.

##############

And so ends the adventure of Luca Canevari. Just what will the future hold for him?

The next update will deal with the crisis the USS Ranger caused. Prepare to see the results of the battle of Egypt and a large part of the battle of the Med.
 
Aaaargh Great one, once more!
And I just can't wait to discover your Kaiserreich AAR.
 
Luca lives! And Mediterranean battles ahead! Yeahhh!
 
Just posting to let everyone who still reads this AAR that it isn't dead. Unfortunately thesis don't write themselves.

This AAR always has been dear to me. I regard it as the best I wrote, and really feel I've improved my writing siggnificantly experimenting with my writing here. So rest assured, I will give this AAR an ending it deserves when I have the time again.
 
With so many parallel AARs you commited to, I am darn sure your writings have improved! Maybe it helps in your thesis writing too! :)
 
Ok no problem, Good luck with your Thesis :)

Thanks.

With so many parallel AARs you commited to, I am darn sure your writings have improved! Maybe it helps in your thesis writing too! :)

I admit that keeping four AARs alive was a bit overambitious, it just grew like that. I started with this AAR because I wanted to try my hand at writing. Colonel Blimp started because I had some writers block for ItaliAAR and because I wanted to try my hand at comedy. Reconquista was created when I started playing Crusader Kings while I hope to make The plot against Britain my best work. Unfortunately, while each of these AARs offers me to practice a different style of writing, keeping them all updated can be hard when deadlines are approaching.

###############

I wanted to give everyone a bit of a preview on the style the last few updates will take:

5 june 2010, Livorno - Empire of Italy

Sandro was dozing off in the rather stuffy college hall he was sitting in, while the professor was rambling on about the theories of Grand Admiral Da Zara, the hero of the Mediterranean War versus the British and American fleets. Why did the man have to waste his students time on these well known facts when the weather outside is just that great. Sandro yawned, he was about to fall asleep.

"Mr. Canevari. Are the exploits of the man who lead us to victory not interesting enough for you?"

Sandro was awake now. The professor was always paying unreasonably much attention to him, just because of his last name. Indeed, both his grandfather and his grandfathers brother where respected men in the military. However, naval men like professor Genovese just saw him as a potential nuisance. Not that this did deterr him from entering the naval college. Eve since seeing the RM Italo Balbo he knew where his future lay. Sandro decided to pay better attention from now on. He wouldn't let a crusty old man stand between him and his dream. One day he would command a carrier in the Regia Marina.