Chapter 77 - 86: Intelligence
Italy is also an Allied nation.
However, this ally had basically been disarmed. Aside from the more than a million Italian troops who surrendered to Germany and were reorganized by the Germans into the puppet Italian Social Republic’s army, the hundreds of thousands of troops in the south loyal to the monarchy had, by the end of 1943, effectively been disarmed.
Their planes were grounded at airfields, their weapons locked away in warehouses.
As for national security?
Well, since they were now allies, the British and Americans would take care of that.
Faced with this situation, Italian Prime Minister Badoglio, in order to ease the government’s financial burden, directly announced demobilization—overnight, hundreds of thousands of Italian soldiers were demobilized.
It must be said, the later collapse of the Kingdom of Italy was directly related to this "brilliant" move by Badoglio.
Among those demobilized were several thousand pilots, many of whom, after Italy’s surrender, had flown their planes from northern airfields to the south on orders. Yet, they never imagined they’d be abandoned by the king overnight.
When Pierre was in Italy, he often saw those unemployed, homeless, and penniless Italian soldiers on the streets.
Naturally, when he learned of the pilot shortage back home, he suggested this idea.
"Italian pilots?"
The old statesman thought for a moment and said,