Chapter 1408 The Prince’s Response 2

Chapter 1408 The Prince’s Response 2

In fact, Italy's equipment level when participating in the exhibition was very low, with a lot of troops, 35 divisions and 870,000 people, but only 1,500 light artillery and 200 heavy artillery. What level is this approximately? If we take the Anglo-French Allied Forces on the Western Front as an example, the ratio of military strength to light artillery firepower is almost the same. The Allied Powers have more than 2.6 million troops and more than 4,000 light artillery, but the gap with heavy artillery is huge. The Allied Powers have about 8 times the number of Italian heavy artillery! That’s 1,600 doors! In other words, from the perspective of equipment level, Italy is far behind, not to mention the quality of artillery shells and troop personnel. Therefore, if the water is squeezed out, Italy's combat effectiveness is not as terrifying as it appears on paper. Otherwise, at the beginning of the fight with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, we would not have attacked with three times the force but suffered losses of more than 110,000, and Austria-Hungary had lost 70,000. The most elite and experienced troops lost 280,000 troops in half a year, but gained nothing!

Moreover, the prince can be sure that in this dimension, the performance of the Italian troops on the side of the Allies is definitely not as good as the performance on the side of the Allies in history! The reason is very simple. If you follow the Allies in this dimension, Italy will not be able to obtain supplies from the outside world. It can only be provided by Germany and Austria. However, historically, Italy has been able to obtain supplies from the outside world. The war was fought on logistics, Materials and industry, however Italy is really bad in terms of materials! Germany at least has coal and iron, what does Italy have? !

"If we want to rely on Italy's million-strong army, then we must be prepared to feed 10 million Italians and provide about 70% of the supplies for the Italian industry. Well, Moltke, tell me, as a military From a family's perspective, is this deal a good deal?" After the prince finished speaking, he just stared at Little Maoqi and said nothing else.

"Holding grass, so cheating?!" Little Maoqi was also a little dumbfounded. After all, he is just a soldier. Material allocation, production and domestic food issues are the sole responsibility of the Prime Minister. As a chief of staff, he has no responsibility for this. I don’t know much about it, but he was a soldier, and Ruprecht was a real ruler, not just military, but also political and economic.

"If we exchange 10 million people's food and countless supplies for 800,000 Italian Army, this deal is indeed a loss, but the Italian aviation industry is still very good. And their location, if we can control this place, then The threat to the entire Balkan theater has been eliminated." Xiao Maoqi thought for a while and said.

"How many aircraft does Italy have now? How many warships does the Italian Navy have? How long will it take for them to deploy minefields from now on? If Italy is on our side, it may take 1 to 2 months for them to deploy the blockade, but if If Britain and France want to blockade Italy, I'm afraid Italy will declare war on the first day, and Britain and France will make all merchant ships heading to Italy from outside the Mediterranean disappear on the next day!" the prince sneered.

"What I mean is very simple. With the current state of Italy, even if they join the war, Britain and France can calmly recover their forces in the Balkans no matter how bad they are. If they are more careful, they can directly choose to go through the Suez Canal.

Then if you go around Africa and return to Europe, then it will be no problem, or you can go from land to French Algeria through Egypt. If you want to rely on the sudden participation of Italy to kill hundreds of thousands of British and French troops, I can only say that you are overthinking. The Italian Air Force has good production capacity, but its current inventory is too low. He has not entered the state that a war-ready country should have at all! " said the prince.

"So, if you ask me what I mean, my answer is simple. It is in the best interest of Italy to remain neutral. We do not need allies like Italy." The prince said.

"As you said, we should at least keep Italy neutral. If Italy chooses to join the Allies, what should we do?" Moltke asked.

"Join the Allies? That won't make our situation worse than it was at the beginning. Now Russia is half disabled. I don't think Italy's joining will be more terrifying than the full state of Russia at the beginning of the development. Russia in the East The pressure on the front line is already very small. The Austro-Hungarian Empire can completely dedicate more than 20 divisions to strengthen the defense of the border areas. Then, we do what we have to do. The Russians will be finished next year, and then the Bavarian Army will go to the Western Front. , forcing Britain and France to sign an alliance under the walls of Paris, well, that's it!" the prince said easily.

"By the way, if Italy joins the Allies, then maybe the Austro-Hungarian Empire will regain its place on the Italian peninsula. Then, after the war is over, I will award the King of Italy a gold and diamond medal weighing 1 kilogram in recognition of The Italian Army consumes the supplies of the agreement countries." The prince did not forget to satirize his opponent in the end!

"Your Highness, you are really optimistic about the situation of the future war." Xiao Maoqi said a little speechlessly. If someone else said what he just said and said the situation of the future war so easily in just a few words, then Xiao Maoqi is If you don’t believe it, it would be nice if you don’t curse a few words. However, the person who said this is currently the most capable general in the German army, the Allies, and even the world, who is capable of all-around land warfare, naval warfare and air combat. So, Taking the prince's past achievements as a footnote, Little Maoqi really can't refute... This may be a way of defeating others without fighting! Whether it's against the enemy or yourself. It all works!

So, at this moment, Little Maoqi suddenly felt tearful.

"Okay, tell the Kaiser exactly what I said, and then I will write another letter. In addition, tell our Prime Minister, Theobaden von Bateman-Hollweg Let me tell you, if it is convenient for him, I hope he can come to me. Regarding this matter, I want to discuss the political impact with him. You are a soldier, and it is better not to interfere in some things." The prince finally said said.

"Okay, I will convey your opinion, but I'm not sure whether Prime Minister Holweg will come." Moltke said. As the German Chief of General Staff, Moltke knew the Kaiser's thoughts. Wilhelm II In fact, he is willing to let others pay for Italy to join the Allied camp, but it is a pity that you have to convince Austria-Hungary and Turkey, especially the former. Emperor Fritz is very reluctant, and this time, Moltke originally planned to persuade the prince to do him The result of my father-in-law's work...

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