Chapter 27: Chapter 027 | Don Cossa
Truthfully, most of the stories he said were just rumors in his previous life, and their authenticity needed to be verified.
For example, the Ethiopians of World War II weren't the primitive natives that many nations thought they were; in fact, their army was known as the "Lions of East Africa" and was quite strong.
If it weren't for the subsequent use of poison gas warfare by Italy in the second invasion, it wouldn't be possible to take over Ethiopia, and maybe the history would have repeated itself, and Italy would have suffered another defeat.
As for the Italian military, it wasn't that miserable. Although it did become the butt of jokes, its military strength wasn't that weak, and it also performed well in World War II.
For example, in the Second Battle of El Alamein, the 185th 'Folgore' Paratroopers blocked the British armored offensive with burning bottles, anti-tank guns, mines and explosives under the absolute disadvantage of 1:13 troops and 1:70 armor.
[Editor's note: Let's not go deeper into the exact facts. This is fanfic.]
All in all, what Luke said before was to boost the Howling Commandos' morale and ease the fear of the members.
Maybe he could raid Rome by himself and capture Mussolini alive, but he can't finish the task of assisting the Allied forces to land in Sicily alone.
"But what we have to face isn't only the Italian army, but also the Germans!"
Dugan was a little shaken by this mission, even though Luke's speech was quite compelling.
At least, the members of Howling Commandos now believed that the Italian army was vulnerable, and it seems that it wasn't so difficult to advance into Rome.
"The Allies will take care of it for us!"
Luke firmly answered.
He agreed to follow Colonel Phillips' plan, not because he was hot-headed, but after careful consideration.
According to the original timeline of World War II, the Allies had already finished the campaign in North Africa. The next step was to counterattack Italy, opening up a new battlefield.
In July, the allied landing forces will set sail in the ports on the east coast of North Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, as well as Oran and Algiers.
Then, the army led by General Patton went straight to Sicily.
And right now, it isn't too far from the fall of Mussolini's government and the surrender of Italy.
Perhaps it seemed to others that it would be an impossible task to raid Rome and capture the leader alive.
But Luke was confident because he was standing on the rumbling wheels of history, rolling forward.
'How much reputation can I gain by becoming a conqueror of Italy?'
Luke couldn't help thinking.
Spreading his own name all over the world. As a reputation-grinding method, it was almost like cheating. This was something he couldn't do in the game.
"At your command! Sir!"
After a long while, Dugan gritted his teeth and made a decision.
Anyway, he arrived in Sicily, surrounded by enemies.
There were two roads in front of them. Either to complete the mission and return home with honor; Or choose desertion and appear before a court-martial.
When Dugan, the leader, said this, the rest of the team didn't hesitate anymore.
....
Sicily is located in the south of Italy, across the Strait of Messina from the Apennines in the northeast, and occupies an important position in the commercial trade routes of the Mediterranean.
Therefore, when Luke came ashore from Palermo, he thought he would encounter a rather strict interrogation.
To his own surprise, Luke, who was currently disguised as a smuggler, Vito Corleone, easily bribed the officers here with only 20 cases of cigarettes, some ham and bread, and was able to easily get through.
It can be seen from this what later generations had said; The whole Italian military was corrupt from top to bottom during World War II. It wasn't without reason.
After landing, Luke saw several tall men with caps and tattoos on their arms on the port wharf, secretly looking at his group.
He walked over with a kind face and spoke fluent Italian. "Do you know where the Bronze Bell Tavern is?"
The Superman Card brought benefits beyond just physical strengthening.
When it came to academic talent and planning skills, Luke had improved significantly.
Superman, who came to the 'studio next door', may not be inferior to Batman, who was called 'World's Greatest Detective', when he really used his brain.
However, perhaps it was because of Batman that Superman was too lazy to think.
Luke smiled, and shook off these frivolous thoughts as he started to chat with these tall men.
After a brief refresher course on Italian prior to his trip, he was now able to speak the local language with a slight Sicilian regional accent.
This was also one of the reasons why the Howling Commandos was able to get past the patrolling warships several times along the way.
Soon those people were convinced of his Vito Corleone identity.
Even though Luke told Dum Dum Dugan that he grew up in Brooklyn, the latter got a bit skeptical, believing that the young captain was most likely from Sicily.
"Mr. Corleone?"
The man in the lead frowned and asked.
"You can call me Vito. "
Luke said indifferently.
Hearing the secret code line, these men dressed in similar clothes quickly changed their attitudes and became respectful.
"Mr. Corleone, Don Cossa is waiting for you in the Bronze Bell tavern! The car is ahead!"
Then, he waved and three black cars drove up in front of the pier entrance.
The man opened the door and waited for Luke to sit inside.
The 'Don Cossa', as they called him, was the informant for the Strategic Science Reserve.