I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 93



Only Krnovel

EP.93 The Fall of the Two Body (2)

Mussolini was lost in his dreams, drunk on brandy and drugs.

‘What on earth did I do wrong?’

Everything he did was for the good of this country.

We simply shared the dream of restoring Rome’s glory, restoring its pride, and making this country a new Rome.

For a moment, everything seemed to be going as planned.

But what Mussolini had, or could have, slipped through his fingers like a mirage.

And the beautiful illusion ended.

The dream of two bodies, the myth, and the trust of the people.

In the place where the two bodies that were praised by everyone were, all that was left was a middle-aged man who was pointed at by everyone.

“Two. His Majesty is looking for you.”

The two took a deep breath and stood up from their seats.

On the way to meet the king, I was startled when I saw an unexpected gendarme.

Could it be that Your Majesty has other thoughts?

The two could not hide their complicated feelings.

The person who trusted the political thug Mussolini and entrusted him with the job of Prime Minister has been removed.

‘If even His Majesty abandons me.’

The two men went into the slightly dark hall and met the king.

Vittorio Emanuele III had an unusually tense look in his eyes.

The two men bowed politely.

“Your Majesty. I have been summoned and entered the palace.”

The king stroked his ring quietly and spoke to the two of them.

“How many years has it been since Jim entrusted this country to you?”

“It has been twenty-one years, Your Majesty.”

“21 years. Time really flies.”

It was just a trivial remark, but Mussolini was momentarily lost in thought.

The glory and shame of Mussolini’s life were all contained in that one sentence.

“Indeed, it is so.”

The King tried to probe Mussolini’s intentions without getting into the main topic easily.

What are you so wary of?

Finally, the king’s expression hardened slightly and he spoke firmly.

“I remember the hard work you’ve done for the Kingdom of Kyung-i. However, things have already come to this. So, how about we stop here?”

Mussolini flinched after hearing this unbelievable story from the king’s mouth.

However, Duche, who had already completely lost his motivation due to the defeats in Libya and Tunisia, had no will to maintain power.

He looked at the king for a moment and then shed big tears.

“I, I have failed to live up to Your Majesty’s expectations. I wish good luck to your successor.”

Mussolini bowed to the King and then left the audience room.

Then the soldiers who had been waiting came and grabbed him.

Mussolini was arrested by them and dragged away helplessly.

The news of Mussolini’s arrest soon reached the German embassy.

The anti-Nazi German ambassador Otto Christian Archibald von Bismarck took the situation seriously.

It didn’t really matter whether he agreed with Nazism or not.

If Italy had dropped out of the line, Germany would have been finished without a chance to do anything.

After receiving the ambassador’s report, Berlin hesitated for a moment to make a decision.

There was repeated debate over whether it was right to send large field units to Italy at a time when the collapse of the southeastern front had already created a surge in demand for troops.

Finally, Hitler put an end to the debate.

“You can’t lose Italy. So act.”

At Hitler’s word, the German army decided to mobilize a large army.

Divisions began to be reinforced in Austria, southern France, and Hungary.

Meanwhile, Ribbentrop visited Rome to ensure that Italy would remain part of the Axis.

“Of course. The fall of both of them is merely a reprimand for a failed leader, and Rome has no intention of betraying its solidarity with Germany.”

Both Count Ciano and Ribbentrop knew that this was an obvious lie.

Still, Ribbentrop did not pursue Ciano.

Germany needed time to gather its forces before it could intervene.

Italy also needed time to negotiate with the Allies.

Since their understanding coincided, the two were able to shake hands with smiling faces.

“Then, I will report that to the President.”

“i look forward to.”

As soon as the plane carrying Ribbentrop left for Germany, the Italian government sent men to Tunisia to begin negotiations with the Allies.

“We would like to discuss the terms of Italy’s surrender.”

At those words, the British and Korean generals burst into laughter.

“You are not the ones who can make conditions. Either go back or surrender unconditionally. Choose one of the two.”

The Allied attitude was overbearing.

No, you’re offering to hand over the Italian mainland and 2 million Italian troops, but can’t you offer one condition?

Cesare de Vecchi, the special envoy who had crossed the sea representing Italy, could not hide his embarrassment.

“What will you do? Surrender or war?”

Once Mussolini was ousted, the fascist Grand Council had no choice.

“I surrender.”

Cesare de Vecchi could no longer hold out and raised the white flag.

The Korean and British governments received this news and each sent a telegram.

The British government,

“Then please prepare for our troops to make an administrative landing in southern Italy and Sicily.”

Britain intended to secure a beachhead and enter Italy leisurely.

The Korean government thought a little differently.

“Take Mussolini’s new soldiers first.”

“No, that’s it.”

“His Excellency Lee Seong-jun’s strong request.”

The Italian government was also put in an awkward position when Lee Seong-jun, one of the key leaders of the Allied Powers, insisted on having Mussolini extradited.

No matter what, it was a bit much to hand over a former top leader of the country to someone else.

The fascist Grand Council was determined to drag out the matter.

“Absolutely not.”

“You guys, didn’t you surrender unconditionally?”

“Still, there is such a thing as a line.”

The war lasted almost a month.

Meanwhile, the Allied forces completed landing preparations and made administrative landings in Sicily and Naples.

During this process, there was no resistance from the Italian army.

“Do not resist, just surrender.”

The Italian generals obeyed the orders without hesitation.

Even the Italian expeditionary force in Turkey, which had been tenaciously resisting until then, surrendered and handed over its weapons to the Turkish army after receiving orders from the government.

Now, Italy’s surrender seemed like a foregone conclusion to everyone.

Just then, Germany made its move.

“Mussolini must be rescued.”

“Don’t worry.”

A special force under the command of Infantry Captain Otto Skorzeny, who had trained thoroughly for a month to gauge Mussolini’s movements, flew into a glider raid on the mountain lodge where Mussolini was being held.

The mission to rescue Mussolini, codenamed Operation Oak, was over before the Italians could blink a few times.

The Germans took over the mountain lodge and then leisurely rode the cable car down the mountain to escape.

“The Prime Minister fell into the hands of the Germans?”

“Yes, that’s right, Your Majesty.”

Italians were perplexed by this situation.

Germany’s taking the chancellor away meant that it was ready for full-scale intervention.

When things turned out like this, the Koreans strongly criticized the Italians.

“You guys screwed up. You should have shot Mussolini instead of handing him over to the enemy!”

Italy had nothing to say even if it had ten mouths.

Mussolini’s rescue was just the beginning.

German forces attacked Italian forces in waves across southern France, northern Italy, and Yugoslavia.

Although the Italians vastly outnumbered the Germans in terms of organization, morale, and equipment, Italy was no match for Germany.

“How can we defeat the Germans? They are not people, they are machines.”

Italian soldiers raised their hands and surrendered to their one-time allies, the Germans.

The Italian government was helpless as the German army advanced at full speed.

“No, we haven’t even made an official declaration of surrender yet?”

The military was ordered to surrender without resistance, but the government did not surrender.

So it’s not like they betrayed the Axis powers.

Italy may have acted on this logic, but Germany was no longer fooled.

“The war is difficult because of these fucking idiots. Tread on them all.”

The German army showed no mercy.

The German army was advancing south much faster than the Allied forces were advancing north.

Allied commanders gathered in Naples for a conference.

“If we continue like this, we’ll likely run into the German army. Would it be better to head north to Rome?”

Baek Dong-seok tried the calculator.

‘This time the enemy is Germany, and our forces are not enough. Since we have already opened a second front and shown good faith to the Soviet Union, it would be better to be satisfied with a part of Italy and buy time.’

If it was Britain, which was strangling the Mediterranean Sea, then Korea had no intention of shedding any more blood for nothing.

Didn’t His Excellency Lee Seong-jun also give a policy to minimize sacrifices?

Due to Baek Dong-seok’s strong opposition, the Allied forces stopped at the Rapido River, which was geographically advantageous for defense.

In the far distance, it was opposite where the Germans had built the Gustav Line.

The British expressed their regret here.

“But I still feel a bit bad about just giving that natural defense line to Germany. It seems incredibly difficult to break through that by force.”

But Baek Dong-seok would never even think about doing something so ignorant.

Why would you do something like that?

Seongjun even said this.

“Master. Just secure half of Italy and maintain a standoff. Then the Italian commies will take care of it.”

As always, Sungjun gave orders to the communists to subcontract the work and let the Korean army suck up the honey.

It was an instruction that suited Baek Dong-seok’s taste.

‘The main battlefield will be somewhere else anyway, so there’s no reason to shed blood here.’

Italy may have been a bit noisy after the war, but the Korean military had no interest in it.

“Spread out your garrison.”

Baek Dong-seok decided to think that he was on vacation in Italy.