I Will Stage A Coup D’état

Baek Dong-seok, the commander of the Indochina Expeditionary Force, flew to Cairo as soon as he received Your Excellency’s order, leaving the rest of the preparations to his staff.

In Cairo, there were Lieutenant General Richard O’Connor, the commander of the 8th Army, and General Claude Auchinleck¹, the commander of the Middle East Command.

Baek Dong-seok exchanged greetings with the British generals and discussed how they would cooperate in the future.

“First of all, the African theater is basically no different from the sea. Tanks and trucks are the naval ships here. The concept of a front line has no meaning here.”

Baek Dong-seok also understood that the desert land had no value.

“The most important resource is water. Without water, no army can endure.”

Therefore, operations in the inland areas where it was difficult to secure drinking water were not easy.

Even if they secured wells, operations in the desert without proper roads had to take on a great risk.

“In the end, it means we have to move along the coastal road.”

That was the summary of what the British generals said.

In that case, it was virtually the same as a single-axis operation.

Baek Dong-seok realized why the British generals explained the battlefield environment.

So, they’re saying we should forget about independent operational authority and move together. Why should we do that?

Baek Dong-seok had no intention of doing so at all.

“Then what about amphibious landings?”

“Amphibious landings?”

“Since the Allied forces have naval supremacy anyway, it wouldn’t be bad to raid the rear areas like Tripoli or Benghazi and expand the front into two.”

When the British heard those words, they looked perplexed.

It wasn’t because they hadn’t thought of amphibious landings, but because the situation wasn’t going according to their plan.

Who do they think they are, trying to use us as their second company?

Baek Dong-seok had no intention of compromising at all.

This was the operational authority that Your Excellency had worked hard to obtain.

How could he hand it over carelessly?

Because Baek Dong-seok made a bold move, the discussion ended up being inconclusive for the time being.

The British tried to persuade him for several days, but to no avail.

Your Excellency trusted me and sent me here, so I can’t be defeated by these British bastards.

The British generals realized that this Korean general was not an easy opponent.

“General Baek is a person who won’t let a single needle pass through. How can we persuade such a person?”

“The War Office wants that, but this has become frustrating.”

General Auchinleck had no choice but to report to the War Office that they had to recognize the independent operational authority of the Korean army.

On December 9, 1942, when the differences between the two sides were almost narrowed, the Italian army invaded Egypt from Libya.

Both Korea and Britain were surprised by the bold attack.

“Why are the Italians, who are barely able to defend themselves, doing this? What did they eat wrong?”

To explain the reason, we needed to take a brief look at the situation in Rome.

Duce, the ruler of Italy, was driven into a corner by the outbreak of the Anglo-Italian War in August.

The occupation forces in Yugoslavia were recording thousands of casualties every month due to guerrilla attacks, and the expeditionary force in Turkey also had its supply cut off, leaving 300,000 expeditionary troops on the verge of starvation.

In addition, the troops stationed in Ethiopia and North Africa were also being blockaded by the British and Korean naval forces, slowly starving to death.

As many as over 1 million troops were about to evaporate without being able to do anything.

If things continued like this, it was only a matter of time before he would be ousted.

Duce needed a secret plan to overcome the difficulties.

So, he sought German support as a means to break through this situation.

Duce’s calculation was that if the German army intervened, they could recover naval supremacy in the Mediterranean to some extent.

Germany reluctantly dispatched the 10th Air Corps and said:

“This is the last time. Remember that we can’t do more.”

The intervention of the German 10th Air Corps had an immediate effect.

The route to Libya, which had been completely blocked, was now open.

The safety of ships sailing in the central Mediterranean during the day, if not at night, was somewhat guaranteed.

As Duce caught his breath, he became a little more arrogant again.

Isn’t it fundamentally because the Allied navy is running rampant in the Mediterranean that our military has become imperiled?

That was a correct thought.

Then the answer was simple.

We just need to push the enemy navy out of the Mediterranean.

How?

If we occupy the Suez Canal, they will have no choice but to flee with their tails between their legs.

This wasn’t entirely wrong either.

At least the Korean navy would have no choice but to retreat to the Red Sea considering logistics.

Then, even if the Duke of Aosta² and the East African army trapped in Ethiopia couldn’t be saved, the lives of the expeditionary forces in Libya and Turkey could be guaranteed.

Is that all?

Through the feat of conquering Egypt, he could also make up for the prestige that had been lost.

For a vengeful spirit like Duce, it was impossible to pass up such high odds.

“General Giovanni Messe³, I will entrust everything to you. Try to pull it off brilliantly.”

Duce, in his own way, made a big decision and entrusted full authority to the most capable person among the generals he had kept an eye on.

General Giovanni Messe, who was actually given this important task, couldn’t hide his perplexity.

“No, Duce. You want our army to take the offensive? Right now, we don’t even have enough supplies for defense. You clearly know our situation.”

“Oh! The Libyan garrison is 250,000 strong. The enemy has only about 30,000 troops at best. In terms of numbers, it’s a fight we can easily win, so why are you so afraid? Even if the British army is well-trained, with that much difference in headcount, the odds are sufficient.”

Duce said so, but he didn’t think conquering Egypt would be as easy as eating cake.

Didn’t they learn from the French that overwhelming numbers don’t guarantee victory?

When the opponent was a great power, Italy failed to demonstrate combat power to a miserable degree.

Duce wasn’t unaware of that, but this time, he had to do it.

His fate and that of Italy hung on this attack.

“I understand. Let’s try it. But you have to give me time.”

“Ah, I should follow the words of a uniformed professional on that.”

Duce decided to give Messe enough time to prepare.

After about three months passed like that, Duce spoke up again.

“How long are you going to keep me waiting!”

Duce could no longer endure the dying screams of the expeditionary force in Turkey and the critical gaze from within the country.

“Our military is not fully prepared yet.”

“Shut up and depart now.”

Messe had been stalling for time because he didn’t want to attack, but now that things had come to this, there was no other way.

“It’s an all-out offensive.”

General Messe led 80,000 available Italian troops and crossed the Egyptian border.

The Allied forces were greatly perplexed by the attack of the Italian army, which marched in majestically, stirring up dust.

However, the internal situation was not so great.

The modernization of the Italian army had been delayed to a desperate degree due to the occupation of Yugoslavia, the invasion of Turkey, the war in Ethiopia, and the intervention in Spain.

Out of the 80,000 invading troops, only one battalion was a mechanized unit.

Even then, most of them were old, outdated trucks.

The majority of the ‘modern Italian’ invasion force was walking across the desert on foot.

“It’s hot. How long do we have to walk?”

“Water. Let me drink some water!”

As a result, the invasion force stalled before even advancing 100 km.

There weren’t enough trucks to bring food and water for the 80,000 expeditionary forces from the rear ports.

If the supply lines stretched further, the Italian army was destined to self-destruct without even needing to fight.

Trying to attack Suez with this kind of army was nothing but a dream.

Messe stopped the advance here and deployed a defensive line.

The best option was to withdraw, but it seemed unlikely that Duce, who was still urging them to advance, would accept a retreat.

The British army headquarters, completely unaware of Messe’s situation, sat down with Colonel Baek Dong-seok to discuss countermeasures.

“For now, defense is the best option. Let’s just buy time until our Korean army’s advance party arrives.”

Baek Dong-seok argued for defense in a very strong tone.

This was not Baek Dong-seok’s personal opinion, but was in accordance with the instructions of His Excellency Lee Sung Joon.

“Father-in-law, you must never let the British army attack the Italian army. If they touch those guys, the fact that they are water balloons that can really be popped with a single needle will be revealed to the whole world.”

“Yes, Your Excellency. I will make sure that never happens. I will grab O’Connor’s ankles if I have to, to prevent the British army from attacking the Italian army.”

Baek Dong-seok actually spread false rumors to the British army as well.

“According to information obtained by our Korean side, the Italian army we see now is not all of them. So, we shouldn’t provoke the enemy with a rash offensive until reinforcements arrive. If we take the offensive right away and make a mistake, those guys will come at us like enraged vipers, and that would be a disaster, wouldn’t it?”

“Indeed, it’s true that the Italians are cornered, so there’s no point in provoking them unnecessarily.”

The British also agreed with the calculation that there was nothing to gain from provoking the Italian army for now.

Then, it seemed best to start the attack around late winter when the formation was ready.

Anyway, isn’t it while the Soviet Union and Germany are fighting bloody battles? The German air force will return to Russia again after a little while, so let’s just endure until then.

In the long run, Italy was destined to lose anyway.

The British thought so, and saw no problem with postponing the attack for a while.

Baek Dong-seok, inwardly satisfied with the British reaction, turned the calculator to monopolize the credit.

Your Excellency wants to score as many points as possible from the sandbag called Italy. To do that, it’s right for us to start the offensive before the British.

If he subtly suggested that Korea would conduct a show of force reconnaissance, the British would not refuse.

Then, at that moment, they would beat up the Italians and sweep up the points.

Baek Dong-seok waited only for that moment and put his head together with the staff officers again.

1. Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE, was a British Indian Army commander who saw active service during the world wars. A career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, he rose to become commander-in-chief of the Indian Army by early 1941 during the Second World War.2. Prince Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta was the third Duke of Aosta and a first cousin once removed of the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III. During World War II, he was the Italian Viceroy of Italian East Africa.3. Giovanni Messe (10 December 1883 – 18 December 1968) was an Italian field marshal and politician. In the Second World War, he was captured in Tunisia but made chief of staff of the Italian Co-belligerent Army after the armistice of September 1943. Later, he was an elected representative in the Italian Senate. He is considered by many to have been the best Italian general of the war.