Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 342: An Unconventional Surrender



The kingdom of Italy had found itself in a remarkably poor position following Bruno's rapid advance through its northernmost regions. Hours was all it took for the German Army and its allies to seize their objectives.

It was entirely possible that the Italian soldiers defending those regions did not even fight, and instead rose the white flag the moment they made contact with the enemy. And by the time a treaty had been agreed upon, this was proven to be true in multiple cases.

Take Milan, for example, where Bruno and his soldiers had advanced from the Alps down to their beloved and ancient city. The Italian soldiers threw down their rifles and waved the white flag the moment they saw the thousands of armored vehicles rolling their way.

Why was this the case? Because they knew fighting against ten tanks was pointless, let alone 1,000 of the damned things. They had no weapons that could properly damage them. And the allies tank corps was currently located on the borders of France and Germany. Fighting its way through the German control over southern Belgium. And suffering extensive losses as they did

so.

Having not quite lost enough men to be experiencing the delusion that came with the sunk cost fallacy, and having no real enmity with the Germans and Austrians that compelled them to advance forward to their doom against a superior enemy like mad men. The Italian commander simply decided to surrender they moment they saw the Germans advancing towards them.

The Italian commander literally welcomed the Germans into his territory with open arms, basically claiming that he had no intention of fighting them, as he was well aware of what they had done at the border.

Offering Bruno a cup of wine, and a pack of cigarettes, which Bruno rejected, the field officer tasked with the defense of Milan went on and on about how foolish it was for Italy to get involved in this war when they had just made major gains in north Africa a few years prior.

His exact words were:

"I can't believe our king was foolish enough to intervene in this conflict on behalf of the French and British. I mean what in the hell have they done for us lately? Sure, the alliance with German and Austria didn't quite pan out as intended, but whatever grievances lie between our kings and your emperors shouldn't have been great enough to jump at the chance of war. Damned foolish indeed..."

Bruno walked with the protection of an entire squad of his own men around him. He was quick to counter the officer with his own take on why the Italians had joined on behalf of the Allies.

"Not foolishness, but greed. Humanity's worst instinct, and the one that we are so easily controlled by. Your King saw this war as an opportunity to seize Austro-Hungarian lands by using the British and French support they received to do so.

If I'm being honest, he would have been much better off saving up his forces to attack Ethiopia. It is the only African nation left untouched by colonialism and is a much easier conquest than Austro-Hungary.

Unfortunately, he would rather contend with us over disputed territories in Europe. Territories which are neither ethnically, linguistically, or culturally Italian. So... Maybe there was a bit of foolishness driving his actions after all...

Anyway, as long as you and your men remain peaceful, I see no reason to confine you in a prisoner of war camp. This is your city, after all. I would very much appreciate you all keeping the peace on our behalf. We won't be here long, anyway. As we speak, our leaders are reaching a peace treaty that will end this senseless bloodshed once and for all.

So tell your men that so long as they don't fire upon us, or our allies who may be within the vicinity of the region, they are free to keep their arms, and act as gendarme until a peace can properly be brokered.

But if violence does occur, for whatever reason, the trust I am placing in you all will be broken, and there will be severe consequences. Do you understand me?"@@novelbin@@

The Italian commander was surprised that Bruno had come to Milan as a conqueror and yet had no intentions of disarming the garrison, or imposing his will on the people within it.

It would appear that Bruno was so confident that some form of peace would be achieved within the next few days at the latest that he had no interest in doing anything that would waste his time and resources. As a result, the Italian commander was quick to accept these terms.

"I would be a damned fool if I refused such a gracious gesture. I will tell the men that you and your soldiers are not to be treated as enemy combatants, but rather as guests for the duration of your stay. And will remind them of the consequences that come with any act of stupidity...." Bruno was quick to nod his head in understanding before clarifying one thing.

"You have my thanks for your cooperation, but I must state for the record that my men will not be staying here. We will be fortifying our position just outside of the city. As I stated, Milan is yours and I expect you to keep the peace on your own.

Now that this is understood, I will get about my business, and you to yours. We will meet again when I have an update on the status of this peace treaty. God be with you, Colonel..."

After saying this, Bruno returned to his own forces, which left the city of Milan just as quickly as they had entered it. Taking up post just outside of its borders, while the Italians soldiers within conducted their own orders with a level of professionalism that Bruno had not expected of them.

Apparently, when it came to the prospect of potential peace, Italian soldiers were far more capable of performing their jobs than when it came to advancing on an enemy position. Who would have thought?