I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 92



Only Krnovel

EP.92 The Fall of the Two Body (1)

As the German army was collapsing in Stalingrad, screaming in despair, the first wave of Korean troops arrived in Africa.

Its strength consisted of one regiment of Soviet-built T-34 tanks, two fully motorized rifle regiments, and one fully motorized artillery regiment.

Although the scale was not that large, the impact was enough to wipe out the Italian army.

The British, seeing that the advance guard of the Korean army had arrived, began to talk about launching a limited offensive against the Italian expeditionary force occupying Sidi Barrani.

‘Of course not.’

Baek Dong-seok had no intention of yielding his military achievements to the British army.

On February 9, 1943, Baek Dong-seok made a counterproposal to the British that the Korean army should first test the Italian army’s defensive capabilities and then launch an offensive.

“Korea is impatient because it hasn’t achieved anything. How much fun can we have with just one division? Let them do whatever they want.”

General Auchinleck, commander of the Middle East Forces and Baek Dong-seok’s formal superior, readily accepted this request.

The South Korean military was just waiting for this opportunity.

“Start the train!”

The South Korean army launched its offensive forces without hesitation.

“Your Majesty! The Allied Forces are on the offensive!”

By the time Italian commander General Giovanni Messe heard this report, one of the outer camps had already been overrun.

“This is the T-34.”

Unfortunately for the Italian soldiers, they had no means of capturing the T-34.

Once the Korean tanks pushed into the assembly area, the old Italian tanks quickly became scrap metal.

As they were exhausted, the Korean motorized units quickly followed up and swept through the scorched-earth Italian defense line.

Although the number of Korean troops was not large, Italy was no match for them in terms of the size and quality of their equipment.

The Italian soldiers stared blankly at the Korean troops who swept through the positions and quickly moved towards the next target.

The Korean army, with its overwhelming mobility, trampled four Italian camps in one day.

Even though Captain Giovanni Messe was a decent commander, there was nothing he could do about being defeated without any time to do anything.

‘There is no retreat.’

Given the enemy’s overwhelming mobility, it was obvious that they would be overtaken during their retreat.

“Tell all troops to hold their positions.”

That was all the orders Captain Messe could give.

The Italians followed their commander’s orders, but it was impossible to fight without the equipment to counter them.

Each Italian unit was defeated one by one in its own camp.

By the second day, all seven camps surrounding the main force had collapsed to the South Korean army.

‘It’s over.’

Messe had long ago read the danger that such a picture would emerge.

So, I was trying to drag out the expedition and not get out of Libya.

But then things happened.

There was only one thing Messe could do.

“I will give the order to the soldiers to surrender.”

“yes?”

“What’s the use of shedding more blood in a useless battle?”

When the order to surrender was given by the commander of the Italian Expeditionary Force, General Messe, groups of Italian soldiers who had been left abandoned here and there began to seek out the Korean troops and surrender.

There were so many of them that there was even an instance where one Korean platoon was watching an Italian regiment.

Britain was a little late in realizing this situation.

“What? The Koreans wiped out 80,000 people in Sidi Barani?”

The British generals were horrified.

They also saw that the Korean military had quite a good motorized force.

So I expected it to have a decent record, but it ended up completely annihilating the enemy.

I had no idea what to make of this situation.

It was difficult to tell whether the Korean army had superhuman fighting power or whether Italy was incredibly weak.

Anyway, Britain also became anxious.

“We too, we too are leaving.”

Lieutenant General O’Connor’s British 8th Army also hastily launched an offensive force.

But the South Korean army was already rushing toward the Libyan border ahead of them.

“The major is all ours.”

The Korean Mediterranean Fleet, which had been aware of Baek Dong-seok’s advance plan, supported the advancing army.

“Commence shelling!”

Powerful Korean warships appeared in front of Bardia, the largest strategic point in eastern Libya, and opened fire.

The commander of the Italian forces defending this fortress of Bardia, Annibale Bergonzoli, was a man particularly trusted by Mussolini.

Before the battle began, Mussolini sent Bergonzoli the following telegram, encouraging him:

“I am confident that Electric Beard and his men will protect Libya.”

It was also a wish that it would be done that way.

Bergonzoli responded to Duce with a spirited reply.

“I, Bergonzoli, am in Bardia. The enemy will not be able to get past here.”

And in just one day, the defensive line surrounding Bardia collapsed under the bombardment of South Korean warships.

“Have you heard of the 18-inch gun?”

The Bardia fortress collapsed without even being able to put up a fight in front of the overwhelming punching power of the Goryeo battleship, the pride of the Korean military.

There was nothing the Italians could do in the face of the main gun of the Korean battleship, which could penetrate even meters thick concrete like tofu.

“Come, Your Majesty. What should we do now?”

“Go, Your Majesty?”

“Your Majesty is not here. Where did he go?”

Contrary to his proud bluff, ‘Electric Beard’ Bergonzoli disguised himself as a defeated soldier and quickly escaped with his fleeing men.

“Catch them all, don’t leave a single one behind. If you catch that guy with the electric beard, you’ll get a promotion!”

The Korean army continued to trample the retreating Italian army.

It was only when they reached the port of Tobruk that the British forces caught up with the Korean forces.

By this time, the Korean army had annihilated 120,000 Italian troops, removing one Italian field army from the battle order.

“This, this. It looks like the Koreans are monopolizing the credit for occupying Libya.”

The British felt a strong sense of crisis.

“Then, we too must be bold.”

Rather than get involved in the already overdue Battle of Tobruk, Britain decided to race across the central Libyan desert to Tripolitania.

O’Connor’s calculation was that if he succeeded, he could wait for the retreating Italian army and devour them all.

“I absolutely cannot give in.”

Baek Dong-seok left only one regiment to attack Tobruk and pursued the Italian army fiercely along the coastal road.

Italy panicked as the two armies raced madly.

“Oh, no, that large army could be annihilated in a week. Does that make sense?”

The army wasn’t small either.

There were a whopping 250,000.

Rome grabbed Hitler by the ankles in a hurry.

“If we continue like this, our two bodies will be finished. We are relying only on Berlin’s butt. Please, support us.”

However, Germany was also in a position to save Italy as it was being eaten alive at Stalingrad.

“I understand the circumstances, but we are also in a hurry.”

Tearful appeals were of no use.

The Italian ambassador had no choice but to return empty-handed.

Then, on February 24, a week later, British and South Korean troops joined forces at Agedabia in central-western Libya, effectively ending the Italian military presence in Libya.

As the two armies advanced, an additional 80,000 Italian troops were crushed.

The Italian troops remaining in Libya now number less than 50,000.

Marshal Pietro Badoglio, who had come to Libya as a de facto loser, was disheartened by this situation.

It was impossible to defend Tunisia (ceded from France) and the remaining parts of Libya with this small force.

Badoglio hastily ordered the burning of all the documents in the governor’s residence and government offices in Tripoli, then began a retreat towards Tunisia with the remaining troops.

“He ran away already?”

The Allied forces had been advancing so rapidly over the past two weeks that their logistics were stretched to their limit and they could not advance to Tripoli.

So I took a week off to rest and see how things would go, but when I heard that the Italians had fled, my competitive spirit exploded again.

“Tripoli must be taken over by us!”

With only a small amount of fuel loaded onto a few vehicles, the two armies continued on their way to western Libya.

It was a battle of pride.

On February 27, 1943, both armies entered Tripoli at approximately the same time.

Although there was some debate over who would take the lead, both sides were equally satisfied as they had just achieved a great victory.

Now all that was left was Tunisia.

As the situation developed, French North Africa, which had been quiet, became confused.

“What happens if we do this? Isn’t the axis ruined?”

Germany, the leader of the Axis, was being beaten by the Soviet Union at Stalingrad, and Italy was on the verge of fainting from being beaten back on all sides.

Even to the French, who had given up after only six weeks out of fear of Germany, the Axis now looked like a sinking ship.

In response to this colonial unrest, the Vichy authorities on the mainland took this position:

“We will respect the treaty we made with Germany and maintain a neutral position.”

“First of all, since that’s the home country’s directive, I guess we should follow the order.”

But the French in Algeria and Morocco had no need to worry.

“Open the door. Democracy is here.”

Allied ships advancing from Gibraltar, Alexandria, Tobruk, and Malta entered the major ports of Algiers and Morocco and opened fire.

“Either you join us or you go against us. Choose one.”

If there had been a disaster like the catapult operation in the distant past, the proud French would not have simply given in.

But in this world, Britain has never shown any hostility towards France.

‘Isn’t it a bit much for us to stand up to the Allied Forces?’

Key colonial officials and generals, including Acting French Governor Yves Charles Chatel, took notice and quickly switched sides.

“Long live Free France! Long live General de Gaulle!”

The world was one where only the quick-witted could survive.

This made the Axis powers even more anxious.

“The Duchess is on the verge of collapse, and the French are causing trouble too. If we leave them alone and trust them, they’ll spread all the way to southern France.”

Germany used what little troops it had to invade Vichy France.

“Hey, stop! We’re a neutral country.”

Vichy’s cries did not reach Berlin.

Vichy France fell so quietly.

On March 5, 1943, at the same time that the Germans in Stalingrad were waving their white flags, the last Axis forces in Tunisia also raised their white flags.

Just as the defeat at Stalingrad was a blow to Hitler, this defeat was a fatal blow to Duce.

Even the Grand Fascist Council, which consisted of Mussolini’s long-time comrades, could no longer tolerate Duce’s mismanagement.

They coldly turned their backs on Duce and resolved to oust their leader from power.

It was led by Count Ciano, Duce’s son-in-law, and the President of the Supreme Council, Dino Grandi.

“We can’t afford to have him in office any longer. Let’s bring down Mussolini.”

The resolution passed 19 to 7.

At this moment, Duce was sentenced to political death.

The fate of fascist Italy was also sealed at the same time.

The collapse of Italy, the second-ranking Axis power, was now virtually imminent.