During World War II, why did Italy, which had the strongest navy in the Mediterranean, always hold Germany back?

Speaking of Italy during World War II, it always leaves us with endless joy. They seem to be born humorists and comedians. Although they have advanced weapons and equipment, their combat effectiveness is low, and they always make incredible things. joke. For example, "Using strategically reserved water resources to cook macaroni in the desert; eating noodles with red wine when fighting with the army; only starting to think about battle plans after declaring war with the Allies?" and so on are all these weird things that people can't stop eating and can't understand. Behavior. During the war, they even defrauded Germany and severely reduced the strength of the German army. They were truly "pig teammates." So why did Italy, which firmly controlled the Mediterranean during World War II and had the largest naval power in Europe second only to Britain and France, be annihilated by Britain within an hour on its own doorstep? Why was Italy regarded as a "pig teammate" by Germany after repeatedly dragging it down? "?

In fact, during World War II, Italy ranked among the top in the world in terms of military strength, industry and national power. In the early stages of World War II, Italy had a very strong navy and was the only naval power in Europe after Britain and France. It firmly controls the Mediterranean and always regards the Mediterranean as its own internal sea. Italy even has eight battleships and nearly 20 cruisers. The warships have powerful firepower and huge tonnage. Italy is also unique in the design of the warships themselves. It is an old naval power in Europe. Even in a small sea like the Mediterranean, Italy actually has as many as a hundred submarines, and has two islands like Sardinia and Sicily that are like unsinkable aircraft carriers. It gave the Italian Navy an active advantage in the Mediterranean.

Later, because the navy was stronger than its big brother, the German Navy (the powerful Bismarck-class battleships were not in service at the time, the German Navy could only rely on U?2 submarines to support its appearance), Italy was responsible for controlling the Mediterranean. , the major task of containing the French navy and blocking the British army's access to the Mediterranean. Originally, this was not a difficult task for Italy, which had a strong navy. But just when Hitler was sweeping across the European continent, destroying France, and driving Britain back to his hometown, the Italian Navy was attacked by the British at sea at its Taranto base. A sudden night attack by carrier-based aircraft wiped out half of the Italian Navy in one hour, and only lost two aircraft. The Italian Navy, which had the right time and place, was easily and happily defeated by the British Navy, creating a miracle in the history of World War II.

The defeat in this naval battle made the Italian army unable to recover, so in subsequent battles, it suffered repeated defeats and greatly disadvantaged its teammates. Italy's defeat this time also made Germany very angry. It originally thought that if it attacked from land, Italy could launch an attack from the sea, encircle the entire Europe from two sides and sweep the entire European continent. It could also effectively block and block the British mainland. Let Britain be attacked from both sides and lose without a fight. He could also reorganize his army, invade the Soviet Union aggressively, and clear all obstacles. But he never expected that the Italian Navy would be severely damaged by a carrier-based aircraft on a British Navy aircraft carrier at his doorstep, and even before seeing the British Navy warship, it would be so unbelievably wiped out by a surprise attack. The defeat in Italy undermined Hitler's plan to isolate Britain through indirect routes. This gave Britain an opportunity to rebuild its morale after its disastrous defeat, and even gained control of the Mediterranean.

This battle shocked the Germans and left the Italians helpless. During World War II, Italy was a pig-like teammate, causing trouble everywhere, and had to rely on Germany to wipe its ass. As descendants of ancient Rome, why did the Italians not inherit the bravery and fighting characteristics of their ancestors, but instead suffered repeated defeats, dragging down their comrades and performing extremely poorly. The reason is that although the Italian army has advanced weapons, it has little combat effectiveness. The Italians do not have the strong national expansion power and enterprising spirit that the Prussians have. The gap between their strength and ambition gives people the image of a "quasi-powerful country", and the military is typically passive and utilitarian; they are utilitarian and conservative. In terms of strategy and tactics, there are not many achievements, and there are no outstanding talents.

Italians themselves advocate art and love romance, and they don’t have the heart for fighting. More importantly, Italy's biggest problem lies in Mussolini's stupidity, arrogance and incompetence. If Momolini did not value so-called face so much, but had a detailed division of labor with Germany and complementary advantages, there would not have been so many failures and failures. joke. The incompetence of one general will tire out the three armies, and the incompetence of the commander will harm the country even more.

This is in line with an old Chinese saying, "Don't be afraid of opponents who are like tigers, but be afraid of teammates who are like pigs!" It is precisely because Italy keeps causing trouble to Germany and keeps losing, but Germany wants to save Italy. Bearing the bitter consequences for Italy, it had to face the background of rejecting Britain in the west and attacking the Soviet Union in the east, opening up the North African battlefield, and falling into an even more nightmare "three-front war" state, accelerating Germany's defeat and destruction.

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