On the Roman front, Valikote was troubled. In the first week of their counteroffensive, the Italians had performed far beyond their usual standards. The ferocity they displayed had taken him completely by surprise.
Of course, that alone was not enough to worry him. The braver the Italians fought, the greater their casualties would be. If they could keep this up, it would simply become a Roman version of the Verdun Meat Grinder!
Unfortunately, he soon discovered that the Italians had returned to their normal standards. Perhaps most of the hot-blooded, battle-hungry adolescents had already died, leaving behind only seasoned old hands.
Well, if Valikote had no lofty ambitions and merely wanted to coast through life, then this was the ideal situation. So long as he held Rome, promotions and titles after the war would be no problem.
But if he wanted to go further, this was not enough. There were dozens of young Bulgarian officers in the army with comparable records. It would not be easy for him to stand head and shoulders above the rest!
The military was a place where achievements spoke for themselves. Unfortunately, because the Italians were so weak, his victories would inevitably be discounted. The combat-power ranking of national armies compiled by the Bulgarian General Staff was an excellent reference!
After the outbreak of the World War I, the Bulgarian General Staff had conducted another comprehensive assessment of the combat strength of every nation's army based on their battlefield performances, with combat records as the main criterion.
The maximum score was 100. Put simply, battlefield performance and combat record were the foundation, supplemented by such factors as troop morale, weapons and equipment, logistical supplies, and more.
The Germans still held first place with a total score of 71. They had mainly lost points in logistics