Chapter 40 Is There Such an Operation? (5)

"Speaking of the Air Force, I suddenly remembered something. What about the military strength of the United Group that I asked you to collect?"

"The other party has very strict control over this area. It is difficult for us to detect the full situation. There are only some fragmentary data..." Agnelli recalled carefully, "It is said that there are more than 100 pilots training on that bathtub ship, and the crew members are More than 500; his black motorized paratroopers retired from the Army, and there were about 300 and maybe 200 of them left. About a dozen groups of United Airlines pilots and ground crews retired from the Italian Army. , more than 800 people, and then he introduced a group of people from Germany, estimated to be between 400-600 people. At the same time, he trained more than 300 people. Counting those who have left one after another in the past few years, the core team may be between 1,300-1,400 people. It doesn’t matter whether it’s for military use or civilian use, it can be used anyway.”

The situation that Agnelli has grasped is pretty good, but it is slightly smaller than the actual number, because many of them entered other channels to work after retiring, and then were re-absorbed by the armed forces of the United Group. He cannot control this part of the power. In fact, in addition to the first batch of 24 people, the carrier-based air force controlled by Goering had 106 new personnel. Except for 58 in Germany and 48 in Italy, almost all of them were aviation personnel recruited from schools. Preparatory students, now trained by United Airlines, and then assigned here.

The total number of paratroopers is more than 300, in addition to more than 120 people from the reorganized SS commando team.

In addition to these personnel, there are more than 4,000 echelon personnel including mechanics, engineers, and pilots who provide services at United Airlines, regardless of nationality and ethnic background. They are distributed at 17 major airports across the country. Outsiders cannot grasp the full picture. The total number of aircraft remains at more than 600 as when it was first established, but the no-name and classic aircraft from various countries bought from the Italian Army have been almost eliminated. Even if the old models are retained, they have been replaced with new engines. The United Aircraft Factory has More than 300 aircraft were successively supplied.

In 1926, orders for F1 fighter jets alone reached 175. Including other models and the need for improvements and upgrades, the newly integrated United Aircraft Factory needs to provide at least 300 aircraft. It is precisely because the internal demand is already so huge. So they didn't even care about the Air Force's small orders of 3 or 5 aircraft, and left them all to Fiat for execution.

The reason for rejecting the order for 20 tanks is the same. The United Combat Vehicle Company (including tanks and armored vehicles) is undergoing a production line transformation. Most of the technical strength is used to research the new Christie suspension tank, and the remaining technical strength is used to produce sand wheeled armor. The assault vehicle will be equipped with a Browning large-caliber heavy machine gun. This order is for 200 vehicles at one time. Who can afford those small Fiat tanks?

Perhaps only United Motorcycles is sincerely accepting orders. The previous Fast and Furious series has exceeded the 10,000 mark. Now it has launched a mid-term facelift based on Contini’s advice. It not only continues to sell well in Italy, but also enters the market. In nine Western European countries, including France, Austria, Greece, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, sales are even better than those of BMW, the original design manufacturer. Coupled with improved design and early debut, there are also rumors that BMW's products are knock-offs. The latter was so depressed that he vomited blood.

The military's joint forces sidecar motorcycles have been favored by the military and administrative agencies. After the Italian Army ordered 1,000 units, the Carabinieri, King's Guards and Police Systems each ordered 200 units, while the Petroleum Guard System also ordered 600 units. The orders were fully booked and there was no spare time at all, so everyone was optimistic that United Motorcycle would become a Class A enterprise in 1926.

"The largest number of soldiers are oil guards. I also learned that many German officers came to serve in Italy. On the surface, it seems that they have all completed the discharge procedures and sincerely became mercenaries. But as far as I know, Sickert This group of people is managed very tightly, and all procedures, management, systems and regulations are standardized, no different from those in active service.”

Old Agnelli was shocked: "England and France don't care?"

"I'm too lazy to care. Isn't it normal to overstaff 1-2 thousand people? Besides, the current performance of the German Defense Forces, the military circles are laughing at them, only little Ciano regards them as a treasure."

"Why didn't he hire Italian officers?"

"Hired, but there are only more than 400 people, because no one wants to endure hardship..." Little Agnelli shrugged, "Everyone just wants to go gilding under Little Ciano and make some money, who is willing to endure hardship? If you are willing to endure hardship, why not send troops to Libya? They also have to go to North Africa, but they can be promoted if they do well, and little Ciano can't promote them! According to the information I have, he has organized a volunteer force of more than 1,000 people. After that, there are about 4,000-4,500 oil guards now.”

Here little Agnelli had no idea that Contini would expand the number of personnel to more than 7,000 people, nor did he understand that what he did not see was that those guards who did not wear military uniforms also occupied a lot of staff. In the past few days, according to Contini's deployment, more than 40 F1 fighter jets have been deployed to Tripoli. In addition to pilots and ground crew, the first batch of oil guards, a total of one battalion composed of veterans, has also been deployed to Tripoli. port.

They wear full black uniforms, which is easy to distinguish, but in addition to black uniforms in the entire port, there are also many people who do not wear black uniforms who serve as oil guards. What little Agnelli could not see was that the oil pipeline was currently being laid intensively. The United Group used the backward laying method, starting from the port section, and then along the Libyan desert, all the way to The length of the border between Libya and Algeria is about 500 kilometers. Contini estimates that it will take at least until August. By then, his troops will be fully formed and the Algerian oil wells will be equipped with oil production measures to set up a showdown with the French. There will be a solid foundation.

"Pay attention to his troops. I believe Mussolini will not turn a blind eye to this. Little Ciano's ambition to gain military power seems a bit too urgent."

"Urgent?" Little Agnelli was puzzled, "Isn't it just a guard?"

"You think so, but politicians don't think so. Even if Mussolini doesn't think so, wouldn't his subordinates think that those few generals are always fighting for you." Old Agnelli smiled faintly, "Dang this. I can’t defeat little Ciano, but adding some trouble to him can save us other troubles. He always nags us about the salary system, welfare system and social security. I feel very tired of coming and going. It’s indecent!”

"I think so too."

Old Agnelli added one last sentence: "But you can learn how to build houses and develop real estate. It seems to be a way to make money..."