My Italy - Chapter 674 Battle of Nice (1)

After Rome decided to carry out the Battle of Nice, the Italian army began busy preparations for the war.

At this time, there was a lively scene in Camporosso, which was eighteen kilometers away from the front line and was also a small town on the Italian border. The town originally had only a few hundred residents, but now there are thousands of soldiers. This makes the residents feel a little inconvenience, but they all understand that it is because they are fighting to regain their land.

The best thing in the town is a three-story building. This is the headquarters of the Southern Army and the main force of the Battle of Nice. It is now a busy scene.

“Your troops won’t be able to arrive until the day after tomorrow… What’s going on? Isn’t the deadline in the order tomorrow… The bridge was destroyed by floods and it took two days to repair it. What were you doing earlier? There was no extra time left on the road. “

“Hey, this is the Army Group Headquarters. Your ammunition transport team has arrived. Okay, I’ll arrange for someone to come over right away.”

“Is this the headquarters of the 15th Army? I will arrange for someone to send you the battle plan. It is expected to arrive tomorrow. Please send someone to take over.”

…

At this time, the officers in the small building were busy without touching the ground, because there were only three days left before the battle started, and they were making final preparations at this time.

The officers on the first floor were busy, and so were the others. Even General Baxter, the commander of the army group, was also receiving his subordinates at this time.

“Lieutenant General Caviglia, welcome your 11th Army to join us.”

At this time, in the general’s office, he was warmly receiving Lieutenant General Caviglia, the commander of the 11th Army who was newly transferred to their army group.

There is a saying that gold shines everywhere. This sentence describes Lieutenant General Cavilla very well. Born in Liguria, he entered the Royal Military Academy in Turin in 1880 to study artillery. In the war to punish King Johannes IV of Abyssinia, he performed well and was promoted to captain.

During the War of Intent, he served as the commander of the 7th Division Artillery Battalion, but because he did not participate in any major battles, he did not perform well.

Later he served as a military attache stationed in Japan and as a military attache observing the Russo-Japanese War. He returned to China in 1908 and served as commander of the 2nd Division, and later served as deputy commander and commander of the 11th Army.

Although the 11th Army did not participate in the previous battle, it was held by Rome as a reserve force. At this time, the reserve team is full of talents. In addition to the 11th Army, there are also several veteran forces such as the 3rd Army, 6th Army, and 8th Army. It can be said that they have the elite Italian army in their hands and are ready to provide support at any time.

Unfortunately, all fronts are progressing smoothly, so these elites can only watch other troops making military exploits.

However, the Battle of Nice was about to begin at this time, and the Alps transformed the Italian-French border into mountains and crisscrossing ditches. Therefore, the battle here relies more on elite officers and soldiers and abundant firepower.

Therefore, the Southern Front Army, as the main force of the battle, needed more elite troops at this time. Facing the needs of the Southern Front Army, Rome transferred the 11th Army. Although this army is not as famous as the 3rd and 6th Army, its combat effectiveness has been explosive in the past two years and it has defeated its opponents in many confrontation exercises. There are many powerful opponents like the 6th Army. Therefore, as a new leader, the 11th Army dares to The elite who dared to fight were sent to the Southern Front Army.

This is why General Baxter was so enthusiastic when he saw Commander Cavilla. How could he neglect this strong reinforcement?

“Your Excellency, Commander, our 11th Army is very happy to join the Southern Front Group Army. If the Commander has any tasks, just leave them to us, and our 11th Army promises to complete them.”

Admiral Baxter was very happy to face his new subordinates who were eager to fight. He pulled Lieutenant General Caviglia and said. “Don’t worry yet. You’ve worked hard all the way. How about taking a rest?”

“No, I’ve already rested on the road, and there are only three days until the fight starts, so I’m impatient.”

Seeing that Lieutenant General Caviglia was really unwilling to rest, Baxter pulled him to the combat map and began to explain. “Your 11th Army’s mission is not light.”

Then he pointed to the location marked by a small green flag on the map. “The mission of your 11th Army is to start from Sospele and attack the enemy’s Levant in the middle reaches of the Wa River Valley to ensure that it can be threatened from the flank of Nice. In addition, if you have extra troops, then along the Wa River Valley If you attack up the river and reach Entrevaux upstream, your 11th Army will be the first contributor to the Battle of Nice.”

Listening to Admiral Baxter’s story, Lieutenant General Caviglia looked at the map and thought. The task given to him by Admiral Baxter was not easy, although judging from the map, the straight line from Sospele to Levan was only twenty kilometers. But there are river valleys and ridges along the way, and the actual distance is more than 40 kilometers.

On the map alone, there were three small towns along the route. In addition, Cavilla found seven or eight mountain passes and key points along the route. He did not believe that his opponent would not take advantage of these excellent terrains. It’s very difficult to fight the enemies here, and it’s easy to get into trouble if you’re not careful.

“This is not easy to fight.”

Although Lieutenant General Caviglia and the officers and soldiers of the 11th Army have a strong desire to fight, they are really hesitant to rely on his 11th Army alone in this terrible terrain.

Perhaps seeing Lieutenant General Caviglia’s difficulty, General Baxter said at this time. “As long as you take over the offensive mission in the north, just ask for anything you need. If the army has it, I will give it to you immediately. If there is none, I will apply immediately and let the army dial it immediately.”

Admiral Baxter spoke like this because the battle on the northern front was too difficult. Just look at how far Sospele, currently occupied by the Italian army, is from the border between the two countries. It is a full five kilometers.

The border battle lasted for so long and only lasted five kilometers. How difficult was this northern front? You must know that the French army defended only one division at the time, while the Southern Front Army assembled two divisions and an artillery regiment to capture Sospele at the cost of over 10,000 casualties.

As for the capture of the Savoy area, this relied on sneak attacks and airship transportation that had never been seen before. This allowed the Northern Front Army, whose supplies were not restricted by terrain, to capture the area in one fell swoop.

And if you want to capture Nice, a sneak attack is no longer possible. We can only use our troops to attack the mountains one by one.

Lieutenant General Caviglia, who also understood this truth, also expressed his needs at this time.

“I want two airship squadrons, a group of carriages, a large number of mortars, and…”

From Lieutenant General Caviglia’s request, it can be seen that he has a clear understanding of mountain warfare. What is needed are light weapons, and of course an airship capable of air transportation is indispensable.

“No problem, I agree to all the conditions you mentioned. Now the army has three airship squadrons. I will give you two. The logistics department has the number of carriages. You send people to choose. Do you think the mortars in the munitions depot are enough? It is not enough for me. Let Turin send it, and the ammunition will be approved for you…”

Faced with a series of requests from Lieutenant General Caviglia, General Baxter agreed. Sure enough, as he said, the group army would give them directly if they had some, and ask for what was not enough from the rear.

Lieutenant General Caviglia knew the requirements for agreeing to this series of conditions, that is, he must capture Levent, and then he can go south along the Va River to threaten Nice and put enough pressure on the Nice defenders.

“Thank you very much for the support of the general. Our 11th Army will definitely complete its mission.”

At this time, Lieutenant General Caviglia’s words put a smile on General Baxter’s face. “Lieutenant General Caviglia, I am waiting for your good news.”