My Italy

While Javad Pasha was considering how to deal with the incoming Italian army, Durres, which had just been captured by Italy, was also extremely busy.

In the port that was destroyed by the Ottomans, a large number of engineers in military uniforms were busy repairing the pier. They did a good job. In one morning, they repaired a simple pier plank road, which was able to move everyone around. Ships that were crowded in the port were given direct access to disembark.

Due to insufficient structure, this pier plank road that has been repaired can only unload less heavy items such as soldiers and light artillery. This of course cannot meet the needs of the army, so these engineers are repairing a real high-strength plank road. Used to unload various heavy equipment.

On the other side of the pier, Simone, who had just landed, looked at the busy situation at the pier and spoke to the officer responsible for repairs at the scene. "Thank you for your hard work these days. The port must be repaired within three days, and follow-up troops need to land, so your burden is not light."

"As you command, Your Majesty Commander."

Simeone then inspected the repair work in the port area and stopped only when Major General Pascal felt it.

"Commander, it's too dangerous for you to come here alone. Why didn't you notify us in advance so that we could pick you up?"

Hearing Major General Pascal's loud voice, Simone turned to look at him. "Are there still enemies in Durrës that have not been eliminated?"

"That's not true."

What else could Major General Pascal say to his boss who acted out of common sense?

"In that case, what danger can I face in a port surrounded by heavy troops?"

Facing his stubborn boss, Major General Pascal had no choice but to let it go. Fortunately, the port inspection work was almost done, because the port of Durrës is not big, so the inspection was fast.

After checking around, Simone looked at Major General Pascal who was following him and said. "Let's go, take me to your headquarters."

"Commander, please come this way."

The two of them walked all the way to the current headquarters of Major General Pascal, which was the original Ottoman 21st Division headquarters in the city. After a simple tidying up, it is much better here. At least it looks neat and tidy, not as messy as when we first came here.

In the combat hall, the current map of Albania has already been placed, with various marks on it. Among them, blue flags representing the Ottoman army are placed all over Albania, and only in Durrës there is a red flag representing Italy.

As soon as Simone came in, he looked at the map in front of him and said to Major General Pascal next to him. "You're very well prepared."

Facing Simeone's praise, Major General Pascal answered casually. "This is just preparation in advance for the next battle."

After a brief chat, Simeone talked about the reason why he landed early this time.

"The Ministry of War sent a letter asking us to take Tirana as soon as possible and drive the Ottoman forces into the mountains."

Pascal showed a hint of curiosity about his boss Simone's words. "Why would the Ministry of War issue such an order? Didn't it say it would be done within a month?"

Faced with Pascal's inquiry, Simeone gave his reasons. "Because the French are restless at the border, we must be more vigilant."

As for why he was restless, Simeone did not tell him clearly. Is it okay if the military leaders know about this? Don't distract the troops below at this time. However, due to this, the arrival time and scale of the second wave of reinforcements will be smaller. It was cut directly from four divisions to two divisions, and it would take a month to arrive.

"Are these French people crazy? Aren't they afraid of our revenge in the future if they do this at this time?"

Faced with Pascal's words, Simeone showed a wry smile. The French were really not afraid of them. Although Italy has developed well in recent years, the strength of the two countries has not changed. Who says the French are crazy this time? Their relationship with the Ottomans can be said to have a long history.

Otherwise, the War Department would not have withheld part of the troops preparing for reinforcements and used them to strengthen the border area with France. In the final analysis, we are still afraid of France. Although it is only conducting military exercises in the border area, who can guarantee that this cannot be faked and become true.

Therefore, the original plan to replace the standing army guarding the border with new troops mobilized was urgently stopped here.

Of course, this also affects the Albanian battlefield on Simeone's side. In the final analysis, the army plans to take advantage of the time difference to gain some strategic depth first, so as to prevent Durres, Albania's only good port, from being threatened by the Ottoman army.

After explaining the reason, Simeone began to assign his tasks. "Your Eighth Division is currently the most complete unit in Durrës, so your burden is not light. Next, you will step down as the defense officer of Durrës and lead the Eighth Division to seize the Vola Pass. come over.

Remember, it doesn't matter if you can't grab it. You can also attract the enemy's attention to Vola. Remember not to cause too many casualties. As for the garrison task of Durres, it will be handed over to the following Fourteenth Division. Their other troops will also be transported here first, so that the Fourteenth Division can be fully equipped as soon as possible. "

After listening to Simeone's task assignment, Major General Pascal asked again. "So when is the right time for our eighth division to launch an offensive?"

Simone thought for a moment before answering. "Two days later, no more than three days. You can use this time to let the engineers find a way to transport your heavy equipment ashore. I heard that the Ottoman army defending Walla has heavy artillery. You must pay attention to this."

After hearing the time given by Simone, Major General Pascal knew what was going on. No matter what, heavy weapons must be brought up, otherwise this battle will be really difficult to fight.

Of course, this is only a matter that he should be concerned about, but for Simeone, this change in the army is really nerve-wracking.

At present, he only has 4 divisions, two mountain brigades, and some other ancillary troops. His strength is smaller than that of the enhanced Ottoman Macedonian Second Army.

If you use inferior forces to attack a superior force, you must have an advantage in terms of the eliteness of the army and weapons and equipment, otherwise the battle will be really difficult to fight.

Moreover, the Ministry of War also gave a limited time, which completely made Simeone dance with handcuffs, and there were many restrictions.

Fortunately, his side had an absolute advantage at sea, allowing him to have sufficient supplies. But now the only limitation for him is the port's loading and unloading capacity.

This is why he wanted to go to the port first. Only if the port is clear can he be invincible.

Following Simeone's order, the Eighth Division began to withdraw from Durres. They gathered at Siak between Durres and the Wola Pass.

Colonel Abriz, who kept a close eye on the Italian army's movements, immediately reported it to Tirana after learning about the Italian army's movements. This also attracted the attention of Lieutenant General Javad Pasha, who had not yet left. , so a large number of spies began to investigate Siak, trying to figure out the enemy's actions.

However, these were of no use to Major General Pascal, because this time he rarely displayed his military strength with great fanfare, which made the Ottoman side confused as to what this operation was.

But no matter what the operation is, there will eventually be a moment of revelation. After waiting for two days, he finally received the heavy artillery belonging to the 8th Division and the Third Army. Now the fully equipped 8th Division could measure the quality of the Walla defenders.