323
323
Eight years have already passed since the war ended for Italy.
However, even after eight long years, the situation in Italy did not improve much.
The enormous compensation that Italy had to pay for its defeat in the war worsened the Italian economy, and resentment towards the monarchy and the National Fascist Party, which ruined the country, increased day by day.
Although Mussolini lost power, the power of the Fascist Party remained unchanged and Italy remained a dictatorship.
"You fucking fascists. "You're still pontificating about losing the war..."
"That guy, catch that guy!"
"Well, why was I arrested? "I swear I haven't committed any crime!"
"A week ago, all your colleagues heard you at work saying that if the king has a conscience, he should step down. Where are you lying? Do we look like pushovers?"
"Is His Majesty your friend? "You bastard?"
Criticism of the King and the Fascist Party was still prohibited, and those who violated this were inevitably visited by the police.
"I feel wronged!"
"Is it a sin to curse Hitler? "You know what he did to Italy, right?"
"You're noisy, you broke government policy, so you should be punished."
"So who told you to criticize Hitler?"
Even making critical comments about Germany was prohibited. After Germany unified Europe, Italy watched Germany 24 hours a day.
The moment Hitler's temper faltered, Italy chose to lie low, fearing that Rome would become a sea of fire and German tanks would flood across the border and into Italian territory.
"Those bastards!"
"The people who ruined the country are still walking around with their heads held high instead of reflecting... … "Fuck you."
"It's not just Mussolini that's the problem, the King and his henchmen are all the same! "They're like dirty insectivores!"
"Once upon a time you were swearing at the Germans, but now you are acting like their whore. "You idiots with no guts."
"Comrades, is it okay to stay quiet like this?"
"It's time for us to wake up too!"
However, the more this happened, the more the Italians' antipathy towards the king and the fascist party grew.
As the authority of the fascist party was lost due to the defeat, the anti-fascist and communist parties, which had been hiding underground to avoid the attention of the fascist party, gradually began their activities.
The Italian government searched for dangerous anti-government elements, but it was no use.
Like a swamp that sinks deeper the more one struggles, as the government's oppression intensifies, the backlash against it also grows.
"It can't go on like this. "We can no longer entrust Italy to that incompetent king and corrupt fascists."
When Alcide de Gasperi, leader of the Italian Christian Democratic Party, spoke, the members of the Socialist Party, Communist Party, and Liberal Party present nodded.
Although they all had different paths and were not close to each other, they came together with a common sense that this could not continue.
We can no longer allow the King and the Fascist Party to rule Italy.
If you leave Italy in their hands, this country will forever fall under the shadow of dictatorship.
In history, Italy lost the war, but its economy slowly revived after the war, receiving aid from the United States through the Marshall Plan.
However, the Marshall Plan itself did not exist here, and as aid from the United States became non-existent, Italy's economy continued to worsen day by day.
In the name of repaying the compensation owed to Germany, taxes were rising day by day, which caused prices to skyrocket and, on the contrary, jobs becoming fewer and fewer.
Young people who had no hope in Italy headed to the wealthy United States or South America in search of a new future. With the small hope that they would be able to live a better life there.
The economy is in shambles and the number of young people turning away from Italy is increasing, but the king and the fascist party are busy maintaining their place and have no interest in the difficulties of the people.
Now is the time to start a revolution and reform the country.
"It's not just the king who is the problem, the monarchy itself must be abolished. This is not a problem that can be solved just by replacing the king. "The Italian people have already lost hope and expectations for the monarchy for a long time."
"I agree."
Italian Communist Party leader Palmiro Togliatti clapped and supported Gasper's words.
The Italian Communist Party was oppressed more severely than other political parties in Italy under the fascist party, but Togliatti did not give in to this and continued the anti-fascism struggle by gathering like-minded comrades.
As the popularity of the King and the Fascist Party plummeted due to the defeat, public opinion supporting the Communist Party rose, and the number of people joining the Communist Party also increased exponentially.
This is quite a surprising achievement considering that the world's view of the Communist Party deteriorated significantly as Germany, which won the German War, revealed to the world the atrocities committed by the Soviet Union - the Holodomor, the Gulag, the Great Purge, and the Katyn Massacre. There was no.
"It is an undeniable fact that there is a high desire to abolish the monarchy."
Ivanoe Bonomi of the Italian Democratic Socialist Party raised his hand and spoke.
"But, on the contrary, there is also considerable support for the monarchy. I also sympathize with the abolition of the monarchy, but if you advocate for the abolition of the monarchy, there may be a strong backlash from the south, which supports the monarchy. This issue must be approached carefully."
Togliatti unconsciously crumpled at Bonomi's words opposing the abolition of the monarchy, but the majority sympathized with Bonomi's words.
Bonomi, a former prime minister, was the oldest among the attendees at the meeting, and at the same time had experience leading the country as a member and head of the government.
Because of that, he knew how to think more realistically than anyone else.
Although public opinion wanting to abolish the monarchy is increasing, support for the king and the monarchy is still high in some regions, especially in the south.
If the abolition of the monarchy is mentioned, the south will have no choice but to protest, and in the worst case, there is a risk that civil war will break out throughout Italy.
They, who were trying to reform the country, started a civil war. This should never happen.
"Then what do you want to do? Can reform be achieved only if the monarchy, the biggest culprit that ruined the country, is left as is? "Can you change the country?"
"Calm down."
Gasperi tried to dissuade the excited Togliatti. Bonomi continued.
"Of course, I will not leave the monarchy as is. However, the monarchy itself should be left alone, but the authority it has should be recovered and returned to the people."
The monarchy will continue to exist, but all its powers will be taken back and it will be left as the face of Italy.
The King of Italy reigns but cannot rule, and making political statements is also prohibited.
If we do that, the monarchy itself can be maintained, so we can gain sympathy from the south that supports the monarchy, and Italy can also be reformed. This was the ideal Italy that Bonomi dreamed of.
There would be nothing more to wish for than to abolish the monarchy and become a liberal democracy where the people directly elect the head of state like the United States, but since this is not realistically possible, a minimum social consensus on the form of the state had to be sought, even if not everyone is satisfied.
"The intention is good. But will this country really run properly if the monarchy is left in place? The monarchy in Italy is like a tumor growing on the body. Maintaining the monarchy is like cutting out only part of the tumor because it would hurt to remove the whole tumor. Only then can it be said to be a true reform. oh!"
"That is also correct. But realistically, is there any way to persuade the King's supporters? How do you convince people who firmly believe that the country cannot function without the monarchy that the country can function without the monarchy? Let's think realistically."
"How about this?"
When the argument showed signs of becoming more heated, Gaspery intervened.
"When you start a revolution, you agitate to leave the monarchy itself intact and only drive out the fascist party. In this case, the monarchy will be maintained, so you can also receive support from the South. Then, three or five years later. "We are voting to abolish the monarchy. We are directly asking the people whether they should leave the monarchy in place or get rid of it."
"If the number of abolitions of the monarchy increases, we will abolish the monarchy… … "Do you mean this?"
"That's right."
Gaspery nodded.
Immediately leave the monarchy in place, drive out the fascist party, and then, after a while, let the people choose whether to maintain or abolish the monarchy.
Bonomi couldn't help but be impressed by Gaspery's plan, which even monarchy supporters couldn't help but agree with at first glance.
To put it nicely, they are saying that they will leave the maintenance of the monarchy to the people, but in reality, they are saying that they will use the support of the royalists for the revolution and push back on the royalists after the revolution is over.
Most Italians are sick of the monarchy anyway.
The revolution requires the support of royalists, but after the revolution is over and power distribution is over, royalists are not needed, so if the monarchy is legally abolished under the pretext of voting, royalists will not be able to protest strongly.
What will they do even if they oppose it? The power would already be in our hands.
Togliatti still looked dissatisfied, but even he had no answer when asked how to suppress royalist support.
In the end, he too had no choice but to vote in favor of the plan put forward by Gaspery.
"It's finally decided."
"Let us join forces for Italy."
"Well, that's good. Anyway, the most important thing is to make the revolution successful."
***
Italy was not the only country in chaos.
Greece is equally confusing. Greece, which tried to expand its territory by joining hands with Yugoslavia, but had its territory drastically reduced, was also responsible for the defeat, and various confusion ensued.
"It's all because of the King!"
"dog sound! Why is it His Majesty's fault!"
"Isn't the king the one who approved the war? "If it weren't for him, the country would be like this!"
"You communist bastard!"
Like Italy, public opinion was formed that held the Christian royal family responsible for the defeat.
King George II, who did not have much real power but was responsible for approving the war, had already died a year ago and his younger brother Pavlos became king, but despite this, antipathy toward the monarchy did not disappear.
The Republicans and Communists, who had a strong antipathy toward the royal family from the beginning, thought that this was the right time to expand their power, and soon Greece became like a boiling cauldron, with no one knowing when it might explode.
The Republicans, who dreamed of a democratic country like the United States, and the Communists, who wanted to build a communist country like the Soviet Union, were like water and oil, but they cooperated with each other with the common goal of abolishing the monarchy.
The Greek government was also not unaware of this and actively suppressed it, but it had the adverse effect of increasing the popularity of the republican and communist parties.
Truly a series of confusion.
Southern Europe was like a fuse on fire.
Now that the fire was set, all that was left was for the bomb to explode.
***
May 31, 1948
New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany
"It's a joke, it's a joke. "It's been so long since we shed blood that we're ready to fight again."
The reports from SD and Afbear on the desk pointed in one direction.
Soon something will happen in Italy and Greece. Something very big will happen.
There is no possibility that it will end in protests. If something happens, the fight will continue until either the government or the Communist Party raises the white flag.
It won't matter if the current government wins, but if the Communist Party wins, it will be a headache.
Common sense tells us that communists would be friendly with us. Do you think they would want to be friendly with us who destroyed the Soviet Union, the 'fatherland of ideas' that communists talk about so loudly?
It may be quiet right now, but 100% of the time, they will do strange things afterward.
The moment the existing government falls and a new government comes into power, Germany's intervention is almost certain.
"There's going to be another bloody storm."
"That's right. Now that the long-awaited peaceful time has arrived, I tried to sleep with my legs stretched out... … "Egh!"
That being said, it's not that much of a concern. It's just a little annoying.
Italy is at the bottom of the list of great powers, and Greece is not even among the great powers in the first place. Why should I be so nervous about these guys?
"But why did you come here, Marshal?"
"A mock-up of the new tank that we previously reported has been released."
"Oh, already?"
Two lieutenants dressed as tank soldiers entered the office carrying a model covered with white cloth on a cart. When the cloth was removed, the model of a new tank hidden inside was revealed.
Leopard tank.
The MBT was the first domestically produced tank made by Germany (then West Germany) after its defeat in World War II and was a masterpiece that protected Western Europe at the forefront of the Cold War.
In history, the Leopard 1 was produced in 1965, so it was introduced to the world almost 17 years early.
"How do you feel, Mr. President?"
"I am very satisfied. Especially this design! "It's just like I remembered, hahaha!"
"The image in my memory… … ? Oh, you mean the blueprint I showed you before?"
"iced coffee. exactly. Mmmmm. Anyway, it was well made."
Until now, German tanks had to be equipped with separate engines and transmissions, but with technological advancements, a power pack combining the engine and transmission was developed, and Guderian immediately began developing a new tank equipped with a power pack.
The first tank he released was a medium tank weighing 40 tons. Since it is clear that nuclear weapons will be rampant on the battlefield of the future, Guderian explained that the focus should be on mobility even if the protection power is somewhat lower than the tank's protection power.
Guderian's prediction was not wrong, but his argument had a major flaw. First, nuclear weapons have never been used on the battlefield of the future.
Using nuclear weapons in the first place means that we will all die together, and then any victory is meaningless. What's the point even if we win the battle when the world is ruined?
Second, although the mobility of a tank is important, it was later proven through countless actual battles that protection was also important.
Even in actual history, the Leopard 1 focused too much on mobility, so its protection became a problem, so various improvements were made to reinforce the insufficient protection.
What do you do if you have good mobility? It is difficult to guarantee survival even against the machine guns of an IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle).
After all, a tank has to be a tank. I can't accept a tank that can handle an IFV from the front. Therefore, I instructed Guderian to increase the armor a little more.
Thus, the weight of the Leopard, which initially weighed 40 tons, increased to 44 tons. As the weight increased, the mobility decreased slightly, but it was not significant, and survivability also increased, so it was a satisfactory result.
At least you can completely block an autocannon from the front. It's 1948, so we can block 85mm and 90mm.
really. From what I heard, the United States is said to be producing a lot of heavy tanks recently, as if by some kind of wind. I heard that some of them weigh over 70 tons.
Since the armor was heavily applied, protection would be guaranteed, but mobility and fuel efficiency would be a mess.
Even though we live in a country with so much money, I wonder if we can afford it all... … ?
On one side, a civil war is on the verge of erupting in the country, and on the other side, the country is following in the same footsteps as the original Nazis.
Even though I knew it, I didn't know it.