Part 2: 11th Battaglione Bersaglieri
As soon as Lario finished being checked in by the guard on duty, he was conducted to the center of the compound inside the tent which acted as a prolongation of the Dardo interior. There, two young soldiers, staring at him with a mix of apprehension and amazement, timidly informed him that he was required to leave his weapons in the tent before he could be introduced inside the AIFV. They were probably expected to be shot right there by that crazed man covered in mud and black camouflage. Instead, without a word, Lario put the safety on his M16 and informed the guards that the pistol had a chambered bullet and that it was jammed. One of the soldiers hesitantly took possession of the weaponry, looking at the camouflage paint on the M16 and to the customized Beretta 92 with awe. It was probably the first time in their life that they saw an operator of the 9th live, in all his “muddiness” and “after patrol misery”, and they seemed quite amazed with what they were looking at. Without any further formalities, Lario walked through the Dardo back door escorted by one of the soldiers.
“Signor Maggiore…this is Sergeant Vailatti of the Reggimento Incursori . He managed to regain our lines, according to what he said, after one month spent in enemy controlled territory.
“You can go private, thank you”.
“Yes Sir”; the soldier turned on his heels and left.
Standing on the attention, as much as the space allowed him, Lario looked at a man. He evaluated he was in his late thirties, probably around his same age. The hair half grey already, carefully combed with a impeccable line and kept scalp short in the back and on the sides, reminded Lario of a Prussian officer and made him wander how in the heck could that man maintain such a pristine appearance in the middle of a general war, and in the confined space of an AIFV rear compartment. Compared to the officer, Lario felt like a bag of trash just scooped out of a dumpster, stink at all, but he didn’t care. He was actually quite happy to be still alive. The Major’s uniform, was as impeccable as his hair style and Lario noticed that his face showed a note of genuine interest in Lario, as he observed him from behind green steady eyes.
Major Lorenzo De Gaetano moved his black gloves, which were characteristic of the Bersaglieri corps, on a side of the retractable desk he was sitting behind, and stood up, his right hand reaching out at Lario:
“At ease Vailatti, I have heard great things about the 9th here in America” Major De Gaetano paused as to study Vailatti more closely after having shaken his hand. “Tell me Sergeant, what was the mission of your section here in Florida”?
Lario hesitated for a second like if he wanted to investigate De Gaetano’s expression a little bit longer before answering. “We acted as a recon element to identify and possibly mark sensitive targets behind the enemy lines Sir…Headquarters, supply depots, mobile radars and other stuff like that Sir”.
“What happened to your team Sergeant”?
Lario’s expression turned dim, “Sir, I was patrol leader of a team of three. We had a contact with the enemy outside an Air force depot we were evaluating. We got surrounded before we could disengage. I am the only one who managed to escape alive. Both members of my patrol were killed in action”. Lario voices trembled slightly, while he looked expressionless right in front of himself.
“And where was that”?
“10 miles west of Orlando”
“Orlando”… the Major said thinking out loud. “You probably know that Orlando it is the main strategic objective of the Italian expedition corps right”?
“I know that Sir, that is why my operation axis was along that route”. Suddenly Lario remembered his last two weeks of operations, while the white of his eyes, surrounded by his blackened and muddy face almost disappeared in an expression of inquiry. “Sir I have seen an explosion over Tampa Bay…an atomic or nuclear explosion Sir…and then I lost communication with mission control at COMFOD probably due to the EMP”.
It was Major De Gaetano’s expression turn to get dark. “There has been more that one of those detonations Sergeant…for sure Tampa Bay Miami and Cape Canaveral have been hit, along with other economic and military objectives all over the United States”. De Gaetano turned his head in an expression of disgust. “I do not doubt that the Americans have launched as well, and I do not even know who attacked first and from where. We lost contact with COMFOD as well. The Brigade is dispersed in a large salient as for atomic alert SOPs. The detonations were tactical, but big enough to devastate entire cities if released as they were on populated areas. I can’t imagine the disaster caused to the civilian populations; I suspect that we will see the effects of all that very soon”.
At that moment, one of the two soldiers that had accompanied Lario to the AIFV, entered with a couple of hot milk and coffee cups, and the Major invited Lario to share with him. Lario did not need to be told twice as he could really use some restoring assets of that kind.
“At the moment of the Attack on Tampa bay” the Major continued after a long sip of his cappuccino, “the Ariete Armored brigade was the spearhead of the corps and my battalion was leading the brigade. At that time, the 4th Tank regiment had already taken a good beat from the Americans withdrawing from Hernando beach. Those damn Yankees did not give us mercy all along the exploitation movement out of the beaches. We moved to contact all the way here, but at a dear price. Just before the attacks, we had just relieved the 4th Tanks after which we advanced for two more days. Then all resupply and replacement ceased. We have been stuck here ever since, trying to economize fuel, ammo and supplies, and waiting for any further directives. COMFOD communication with National Authority must have been somehow severed, brigade is waiting for orders, we are waiting for orders, but no orders have been received yet. The exec directive to cut Florida west to east stands I guess, but the brigade lacks the fuel to reach the objective. We have no idea of the situation of the enemy either. The road to the Canaveral peninsula might be open, but we cannot progress logistically”.
Lario remained silent for a while, trying to soak in all the information the Major had given him. Then he answered: “Sir…I detoured south a lot in my way back here, so I don’t know anything about the American deployment east of here. But I can tell you that we have the enemy on the south east of this position. Again I don’t know the troop count, but I had a personal encounter with American infantry in the woods 10 kilometers east of Brooksville, and was again very lucky to make it out of there in one piece”.
“We know who they are” Major De Gaetano snapped back. “It’s the remnants of the 274th National Guard Brigade. They were stalking us and keeping our advance under observation. They don’t have the punch to come at us…I mean I would be happy if they did; we would cut them to pieces if they tried. But no… the Americans are not that stupid are they Sergeant? They are pretty strained an all fronts; here, on the East Coast, and west as well, where last news of the Chinese advance were very, very promising. We don’t know about the progresses of the Germans and the Russians on the East Coast, but given the scarce density of the American defenses on our front, I would have to assume that the Ivans and the Krauts were banging pretty hard on the Americans. We don’t have any details though, apart from the fact that the French and the Mexican offensive through the Gulf States were almost grinded to a halt”.
The Major paused again for quite a long time…and then finally added: “Tomorrow morning at 0700 I have a briefing with my officers. I will be thinking about how best I can use you before then and let you know my decisions. I will be glad to have you as well for the briefing, and I will introduce you to my unit commanders. Until then you are dismissed. Take a good rest; you really look like you need one”.
Major de Gaetano called one of the soldiers guarding the H.Q. tent and ordered him to assign one of the available tents to Lario, and to give him back his equipment and his weapons.
Lario thanked the commander and saluted by putting himself on the attention before turning away and leaving the vehicle. It would be his first meal and sleep under a decent shelter in weeks.
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