The camp of the Security Battalion was located northeast of the experimental zone, close to the mountainous region, allowing it to support the urban area and conduct covert operations at any time.
Guards were stationed at the entrance to the barracks.
The guards checked Umberto’s identification documents and quickly saluted before letting him pass.
Umberto had rarely visited the barracks over the past two years, and many new recruits did not recognize him, so he had to rely on his identification documents.
“Your Highness, the guards have a very distinctive spirit and vigor.” General Diaz observed something indescribable in their posture and military bearing.
“Certainly, the soldiers here have sufficient food and ideological education, so their military bearing and appearance differ from ordinary troops.” After explaining, Umberto led the group into the barracks.
Coincidentally, a series of gunshots came from the northern side of the camp, sounding like target practice.
General Diaz’s eyes lit up, “Your Highness, why don’t we go take a look first?” “Alright.” Umberto personally led them over to observe the soldiers’ target practice.
At this time of day, there shouldn’t be many new recruits, so it was a good opportunity to show off in front of the three of them.
Twenty minutes later, the group arrived at the shooting range and saw more than two thousand men lined up for a shooting competition.
Umberto did not summon the camp officers, but instead stood to the side and observed alongside the others for a while.
Bang, bang, bang!
Ten rounds were fired, and the targets began to be called out.
“Ten rings!” “Nine rings!” …
“Nine rings!” “Eight rings!” “Seven rings!
Unqualified!” …
Seeing that the others were dumbfounded, Umberto deliberately interrupted, “The target rings were designed by me, and the requirements are very high.
“In the troops, nine rings is the passing standard.
“Even if a single bullet falls below nine rings, it is considered a failure.” “The requirements are so high.” General Diaz’s eyes were filled with envy, “Then the daily training volume must be quite substantial.” “Once a day, and those who fail receive extra training,” Umberto said very casually.
“Your Highness’s Army is truly formidable.” Chief of Staff Vaccari mocked himself.
Italy’s post-war economy had collapsed, military expenditure was tight, and the Army had a budget of only 2.4 billion lire.
While that seemed like a lot, once distributed, there was simply no extra money to replace equipment or purchase ammunition, resulting in severely insufficient training for the troops.
Umberto smiled, “General Vaccari, you are in charge of the entire Army, so of course the money is not enough.” Umberto asked Sulmona to notify the commander and deputy commander of the battalion to assemble the troops for the three of them to inspect.
One minute later, the assembly bugle sounded.
Dudu du.
Hearing the assembly bugle, the more than two thousand men quickly found their positions and assembled, facing Umberto and the others.
Three officers ran out from the ranks.
A few seconds later, the three arrived in front of Umberto and the others and saluted simultaneously.
“Reporting to Your Highness, the troops have assembled.
Please address the troops.” Umberto returned the salute and introduced the three men beside him, “Security Battalion Commander Paolo Cosentino, Deputy Commander Luca Salvo, and Chief of Staff Davide Lazzaro.” “Young and promising.” General Diaz praised them.
“Thank you for the General’s praise!” Cosentino and the other two returned the military salute.
General Diaz returned the salute, then looked at the formation ahead, secretly marveling that in just a few dozen seconds, more than two thousand men had lined up neatly and uniformly.
General Diaz said to Vaccari and Marelli, “Generals, do you see the gap?” Before the outbreak of the war, Italy’s regular Army did not possess such a high level of training.
Vaccari nodded, “No wonder Your Highness has such confidence.” Marelli asked with a smile, “Your Highness, since you asked me to reorganize the Carabinieri, why don’t you give me a few officers?” Umberto’s eyes flashed a few times, and he asked mischievously, “If I dare to give them to you, do you dare to take them?” “What is there not to dare?
The Carabinieri are a national armed force, and I hope to make them more combat-effective.” Marelli had no selfish motives.
“Alright, I’ll transfer a few over to you.” Umberto liked Marelli’s personality; he was rough on the outside but meticulous on the inside, so it was no wonder he had gained his father’s trust even in his fifties.
“Let’s go, inspect the troops.” Umberto led the three of them to the southern end of the formation and walked north, waving as he went.
The soldiers shouted no slogans, but their eyes closely followed Umberto and the others as they moved.
Silence fell over the entire field!
In just a few dozen seconds, it created a shocking effect.
After the inspection, Umberto said to the three of them, “How is it?
Do you feel anything?” “The force forged by Your Highness is indeed elite.
No wonder it could scare away the Blackshirts and stabilize Italyalmost single-handedly.” General Diaz had rarely seen such an Army; the training style was completely different.
Just looking at the training facilities in the distance, they were obviously different from those of the Army.
“Your Highness, can this training method be popularized?” Umberto shook his head, “Not for now; military expenditure is the main obstacle.” The three of them frowned slightly, obviously feeling somewhat troubled.
Seeing this, Umberto began making grand promises, “However, when the reforms reach a certain stage and the finances become sufficient, I will carry out a reform of the entire Army.
“The reform will not be limited to training, but will also include operational concepts, weapon innovation, and so on.” “Your Highness, what is the operational concept you mentioned?” Vaccari pressed.
“Of course, it is an operational concept different from those of the past.
“As for how it will specifically manifest, I will gradually introduce it later, because the time is not yet ripe and you cannot see its actual effects yet.” Umberto pointed at the soldiers, “In the future, they will be the first batch of the new-style Army, using the most advanced weapons to demonstrate a method of warfare different from the past.” “We await Your Highness’s good news.” General Diaz and the others were quite shocked, and they were increasingly convinced by Umberto, a half-trained commander who had graduated early from military academy.
It turned out that there truly were such things as genius generals.
In fact, just from the display of military bearing, one could judge the combat effectiveness of an Army.
Under equal conditions, if any brigade of the Army engaged in a combat exercise against the Security Battalion, the result would be defeat.
“It won’t take many years.” Umberto smiled, then let the three of them look around while he arranged tasks for Cosentino and the others.
The Security Battalion was officially reorganized into the Provisional 1st Brigade of the Carabinieri, with the three of them serving as commander, deputy commander, and chief of staff respectively.
The location of the barracks remained unchanged, and the defense objectives remained unchanged.
The entire brigade would be fully motorized to ensure operational efficiency.
“That’s great, we finally made it official.” Cosentino jumped up with joy.
“Don’t celebrate too early; with the expansion of the troops, the requirements placed on you will be even higher.” Umberto turned serious, “Why are you being placed under the Carabinieri?
“Because next year I am going to carry out reforms.
“Once there is a rebellion, it must be suppressed quickly.
“You are my heavy hammer, and you must strike a fatal blow and end the battle quickly.” Upon hearing Umberto’s command, the three of them immediately stood at attention and declared, “Please rest assured, Your Highness, the Provisional 1st Brigade will remain in a state of combat readiness.” “Good.” Umberto continued the meeting with the three of them to discuss officer appointments.
With the expansion of the establishment, the existing officers were definitely not enough, and some retired personnel needed to be recalled.
General Diaz and the others strolled around the barracks and inspected the weapons.
In the evening, the group returned to Rome.
In the car, General Diaz couldn’t help asking.
“Your Highness, I noticed that the weapons of the Provisional 1st Brigade are different from the Army’s standard rifles.
“Although their accuracy and reliability still seem somewhat lacking, their firepower has been greatly enhanced.
“In addition, there are submachine guns, machine guns, and various infantry artillery pieces of many different types.
“Were these weapons developed under your leadership?” “That’s right, they were developed by the experimental zone’s arsenal.
“However, many of the weapons are still undergoing continuous improvement and cannot be widely adopted for the time being.
“In the future, the weapons you see will become more numerous and increasingly advanced, and they will at least be on par with those of the major powers.” Umberto did not hide it; after all, allowing them to see these things was meant to gain their trust.
Hearing the answer, General Diaz frowned instead, “Your Highness, what exactly is your goal?” “Yes, I have one, but it is still in the planning stage.” Umberto saw General Diaz’s concern, “The country has not yet recovered, so planning these things now is little more than daydreaming.” “You are a leader with great foresight.” General Diaz praised him.
The other two nodded in agreement.
Umberto smiled and stopped talking about the subject, otherwise he might not be able to explain everything away.
Instead, he asked about the situation of the Army and chatted casually with them.
Along the way, the three of them talked extensively about domestic and foreign affairs, making Umberto nod repeatedly as he listened.
Through this trip, Umberto could feel that General Diaz and the others had developed a greater sense of trust in him.