Close to The New Order (April-June, 1914).

Russian Indonesia]

With the coup of the armed forces against the German Empire, it is not surprising that the colonial empire of the Germans began to fall like a house of cards one after another.

The biggest downfall was the old Dutch territories, especially Indonesia, after years of basically being looted by successive German administrations and the weakening of Dutch power.

This caused that the military and bureaucrats could not maintain order, there were native and foreign movements in various parts of the colonies.

Under this situation, the Allied Bloc (more specifically the Russian allies) and London wasted no time trying to obtain portions of German Indonesia.

It was necessary to prevent the other from taking as many territories as possible, taking the wealth that could be left, taking strategic territories, etc.

* Aceh.

The Sultanate of Aceh, protectorate of the Russian Empire and one of the first parts of the Russian Indonesia or Russian East Indies, launched itself towards the domination of the island of Sumatra.

It is true that Sumatra was an 'unpopulated' island (in terms of density), but it is extremely multi-cultural with more than 50 native languages (including Chinese and Tamil inhabitants as well).

But there was something good for the Sultanate, religion.

The majority of the island was unified by the Muslim faith, so the Sultanate could use this to its advantage to support the unification of the island at this time.

We must also add something very positive for this process, the Sultanate of Aceh was the most developed region of the island of Sumatra. In many ways, including weaponry and administration.

This greatly helped the idea that Aceh will unify the island of Sumatra under its command.

There was also the support of the Russian navy, which would help the Aceh Sultanate at many times.

* Lanfang Republic.

Unfortunately for the Republic of Lanfang, the fight against British Borneo (formerly Austro-Hungarian Borneo) did not go very well, so they had not been able to expand through Sarawak.

But through the chaos in German Indonesia, they had the opportunity to take advantage.

The British were dominating the north of the island (North and East Kalimantan), while the Lanfang Republic expanded to the east, conquering Central and South Kalimantan.

The republic was a curious state, dominated by the Chinese and somewhat democratic.

During the New Great War their modernization had continued with success, so they became a useful weapons factory.

This not only guaranteed Russian defense-support to the country, but it also meant successes for the Lanfang Republic in local military matters or in supporting native rebels against the British.

* Novaya Gvineya.

The island of Papua New Guinea became a race between the Royal Navy and Australia against the Novaya Gvineya of the Russian Empire.

It is true that Novaya Gvineya was the most developed part of the island, but it was still very small compared to Australia or the capabilities of the Royal Navy.

Even with the support of the Russian navy, it was a tough fight at best.

The eastern half of the island fell into Russian hands, but the western part would fall into British hands.

* Bali.

Bali was too small to get anything done by military means.

Stuck between Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands.

*******

[East Africa]

The East African front was a huge victory for the Allied Bloc, more specifically for the Russian Colonial Empire. Similar to Indonesia, the fall of central authority in the old German Empire left many problems in the German colonies.

Togoland was occupied by the British, but the Russians took the jackpot.

The Keniya armies had already been successful in northern German East Africa, but the fall of mainland Germany in Europe meant that the Native-Russian army's operations boomed in importance and success.

Keniya's troops successfully conquered Uganda and Tanzania (German East Africa), before the British could take those territories.

And this became a vital strategy, of utmost importance.

Thanks to these conquests, the Keniya troops were able to open a path to support the Russian colony of Katanga.

This allowed for greater logistics that would greatly help the Russian Congo.

Troops from the Russian Congo and the Keniya armies conquered the small German Congo, forming a continuous colonial empire from Katanga to Sagallo.

In addition, with the defeat of the German colonial empire, the Russian colonial empire was able to focus on defending its borders against British troops, preventing Russian territory in the eastern African continent from falling to the Imperial Federation.

The city of Likasi received reinforcements, and despite the fact that part of the colony's infrastructure was destroyed, southern Katanga was victorious and free in the face of British invasion attempts.

Despite this enormous success in East Africa, we can still say that the African continent had mainly resulted in victories for the Imperial Federation, after the British capture of most of the French territories.

But by the next war, Russian Africa would be even more prepared to fight the British Empire, it was a promise.

*******

[Brusilov offensive]

Sergey Leonidovich Markov (leader of the 4th Infantry Division), serving under the orders of Anton Denikin, was in charge of the logistics of mobilizing the eastern troops and the tanks towards the western armies for the continuation of the Brusilov Offensive.

Troops moved at surprising speed under Markov, who was able to carry them through southern Europe to the defense of the Russian Western Front (European Eastern Front).

The coup in Germany had meant little to the troops of the Russian armies, and they were continuing their plans to invade what was left of eastern Germany.

During April and May the last logistical events took place, the supply and transport lines were completed, the defenses in case of counter-offensives were ready, the mechanized units were in good condition, etc.

General Brusilov did not want another event as catastrophic as the beginnings of the second phase of the Brusilov Offensive to happen again.

But new problems were emerging, for a lake the Falkenhayn junta was preparing counter-offensives and collaboration with the British to fight against Russia in the Baltic, Scandinavia and Germany.

Which could pose serious problems for the Brusilov Offensive in Central-Eastern Europe.

For the first weeks of June, this new phase of the Brusilov Offensive begins, the general began to launch various attacks against Brandenburg-Prussia.

In the process various events occurred, the Germans resisted several attacks by the Russian armed forces with the border defenses they had mounted. However several German settlements and camps are destroyed in the process.

The military man Lavr Kornilov, who had served on the Sino-Russian front, was personally responsible for the destruction of many of the Prussian properties captured by the Russian forces.

He was a leader of the 48th Infantry Division, or 'Steel' (Stal), renowned for his personal loyalty to Kornilov but also for his resistance and effectiveness-brutality during the Russian campaigns in the New Great War.

Kornilov went hand in hand with the mechanized units led by Sergey Markov, with whom he forged an important friendship.

Brusilov did not like Kornilov, but he recognized his talent (in many Brusilov operations, Kornilov would be an important part).

"He was always at the forefront and thereby attracted the hearts of the soldiers who loved him. They were not aware of his actions, but they always saw him on fire and appreciated his bravery.

Interestingly, General Kornilov never regretted his division of him and they never regretted him.

In all the battles in which they participated under his command, they suffered terrible losses. Meanwhile the officers and soldiers loved and believed him.

It is true that he did not feel sorry for himself, he was personally brave and was always at the head of the battle. "

Markov's mechanized units were the most prominent during these initial phases in June, being the vanguard of the troops of Denikin, Brusilov, Wrangel and Tukhachevsky.

German troops lacked armored vehicles as developed as those of the Russian armed forces, and their positions were falling faster than they expected.

On June 14, Brusilov decided to stop the offensive a bit, the internal problems in Germany were reaching the ears of the Russians. Berlin was close but it would still take weeks or months to capture the outskirts of the city.

On June 23, the coup in Germany settled down, and it was time to discuss and wait instead of acting. There was no 100% certainty that the New Great War will continue after this ...

In any case, Kornilov, Markov, Tukhachevsky and Wrangel were already prepared to continue the march on Germany as soon as the signal was given again.

The Germans, the British and the Russians knew it, it was a delicate moment.

Berlin could be the site of the end of the war, or just one more continuation of it.

*[Perspective]

"I must say, I am truly impressed by your work at the front." Mikhail Tukhachevsky exclaims as he shakes hands with Sergey Markov.

"Thank you very much. I am just applying some of General Brusilov's lessons on the lightning war." Markov mentions professionally, he has produced a few notes on the history of the Russian army.

Meanwhile, the rest of the officers were celebrating.

The war could be over before Christmas ... maybe they are celebrating too early, or maybe they are right. It is difficult to count the time.

*******

[Domestic politics: Russian Empire]

It was clear that the Alexandrian Era of the Russian Empire was coming to an end, this caused many uncertainties within the Russian Empire.

On April 16, it was 48 years since Tsar Alexander III ascended to the throne of the Tsar of All-Russia, we speak of almost 3 generations that lived under a single Tsar. Where huge achievements such as the industrialization of Russia, the capture of Tsargrad, the colonial empire, etc. had been achieved.

But apart from the success there were other questions, Russia was still in the New Great War for the moment, and that so well implied certain political, economic and diplomatic considerations for Russia.

What to do after Tsar Alexander III? What to do after the war?

There were several issues resolved and others unresolved.

The heir was obvious, Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov was heir from his birth and he was more than ready for the task. There were not many doubts about the monarchy.

Peace and post-peace were what was important.

There were various cliques within the political services, each with different ideas about what 'peace' was.

* For some a total peace was needed, something that would definitely crush the British Empire and Germany.

* The anti-war proposed more peaceful alternatives, about international diplomatic resolution bodies.

* Many understood that the next peace would be more of an armistice of a few years, until the next war, not a peace treaty.

There were also questions about what Russia was going to annex, what Russia's allies were going to want, other members of the Allied Bloc, what should be granted to the Imperial Federation, etc.

What was important also in foreign policy was the Post-War government. Premier Mikhail Skobelev had proven successful in leading the War Duma in the New Great War, but his abilities in the peace government were ... questionable.

It was difficult to say whether the Pan-Russian National Union and the Kadets could continue to run Russia, when a post-war government would be needed, dedicated to the economy, administration, civil bureaucracy, etc.

And above all, there was the unstoppable rise in popularity of the Socialists, who precisely aspired to be this post-war government.

Various officials and conservatives were naturally opposed to this idea. Thinking that socialism would only destroy Russia and her institutions.

It was a huge crossroads.

We can say that the situation, for the moment, was supported by unifying elements. The monarchy, the leadership of Mikhail Skobelev, indivisible services (lack of internal civil conflicts, at the moment), etc.

But how long those elements would last was another matter.

The Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich was already prepared to be monarch, but now the Tsar of Russia lived with a popular-bureaucratic government.

And this was just as important as the monarchy.

Without stability in all elements of Russia, there could be no total peace.

*******

[*Perspective: Prince of Wales, and the King]

At some point before June 23, Prince Edward and King Albert Victor were playing a hunting game.

They could both stack a few dozen or even hundreds of animals, although sport wasn't always fun for Edward.

Especially with the occasional sadistic games of his uncle, who sometimes shot too close to Edward's feet.

"After your birthday, you go to the New Great War." Albert Victor announces calmly, almost as if it were a minor detail. The king was gutting one of the hunted animals like nothing.

"What?!". Prince Edward asks confused.

"What? You are not willing to die for your nation?" The king asks indifferently, although he slightly raises the knife in his hands.

"I mean yes, I'm willing to serve but ..." Prince Edward starts.

"But what?". The king asks.

"'What do you expect me to do?" Edward asks one more time.

"I don't know. Shit your pants and run into a hole. Die in a trench, maybe." King Albert Victor indicates indifferently. "But make sure you're in combat. And if you get caught, kill yourself or something." The king suggests.

Various secretaries and officers were against it, thinking that it would be very troublesome in case the heir apparent to the monarchy died at the front or was captured by the enemy.

But after June 23, it didn't really matter.

Edward went on active duty in the Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS), visiting the trenches and soldiers as much as he could.

A traumatic experience, but a good PR event for the Imperial Federation. That was the important thing.

Shortly after going to war, the Prince of Wales received news of the death of his younger brother [1], Prince John (born July 1905).

Edward was 11 years older, and had barely had contact with his brother. After his fourth birthday, baby John had become very sickly.

"The poor boy had become more of an animal than anything else, by this point, his death is little more than a regrettable nuisance". [2]

King and Emperor Albert Victor read and re-read the callous letter from his heir.

"I raised the boy well. Too well."

The king mentions.

1: I let you interpret if he was killed or something else...

2: Based in legit comments of Edward VIII about the death of his brother John in 1919.

The_Prince_of_Wales_at_the_Front_%28Photo_24-283%29.jpg

Prince of Wales in the New Great War.

*******

[International]

April 1, the Japanese rail strikes intensify.

* [Operation Dolphin]

April 2, the United States Navy launches Operation Dolphin against British positions in the Caribbean.

The operation results in a mixed ending for both forces.

* The Imperial Federation manages to maintain Jamaica, Grenada, Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago.

Plus the protectorate over Puerto Rico and Mexican Cuba. Adding to the list of possessions the old German Suriname and French Guiana.

* The United States successfully occupies the old French Antilles in British possession (Saint Martin, Martinique, Guadeloupe, including the islands of Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Les Saintes, Marie-Galante and La Désirade, plus the island of Saint Lucia) and the Netherlands-German Antilles (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba).

Also maintaining its supremacy over the island of La Hispaniola.

*******

April 4, the social, economic, political and military chaos spreads through various parts of German Indonesia. There are several movements of the Allied Bloc and the London-Berlin Axis.

Both for wanting territories and for preventing the other from getting territories.

* Japan and Thailand both initiate movements in German Laos, whose elite has a valiant resistance, for the time being.

The London government defeats attempts at a Scottish Revolution, led by socialists.

However, most leaders and supporters of the revolution managed to escape the capture and capital punishment of the British government. Instead these Scots successfully make it to Ireland, where they support the Irish Revolution.

The most famous of these Scottish socialists is their leader, John Maclean.

Edgar Rice Burroughs, American writer, publishes his fantasy novel "At the Earth's Core".

April 6, the Catalan Socialist Republic experiences economic growth as a result of the state policies of the central government and local authorities.

The previously mostly agricultural-livestock region with few industries (textiles for example) has a higher industrial growth (the metal industry, manufacturing, heavy-light industry, etc).

* [Did we learn anything? No. But it's better to wait]

April 9, another border incident between the Free Republic of Mexico of Pancho Villa and the United Mexican States of Victoriano Huerta leads to the rupture of diplomatic relations between the Free Republic of Mexico and the United States.

As a result of this, the Free Republic of Mexico definitively closes the Tehuantepec canal to US ships, which creates a conflict between US commercial and military interests in the region.

However here is the unlikely ally, the Imperial Federation supports the Free Republic of Mexico on this issue.

It is true that the British hate the Mexicans and the Socialists, but right now they are at war with the United States ...

The Mexicans of the Free Republic of Mexico, although they dislike the Imperial Federation, are under siege because of the United States (and the rest of the socialist countries are on the other side of the Atlantic). So any help is good.

The Tehuantepec Canal is fortified and the Royal Navy successfully manages to continue its presence near Mexico, representing an enormous danger to the United States.

In the next few days there was a threat that the New Great War would spread to Mexico, but after years of being stuck in Mexico without success, the United States remains on the sidelines.

For the moment.

*******

April 11, the Free Republic of Germany recovers many of its radio-communication capabilities, putting many of the telegraphs and radios in the occupied territory of the German Empire back into operation.

The connection of the Free Republic of Germany with the rest of the socialist countries is intensified thanks to this, since now they can communicate more quickly and easily with the communication networks of France, Italy, Iberia, etc.

April 12, Tsar Alexander III presents his wife Maria Feodorovna with the Catherine the Great egg, an egg designed by Peter Carl Fabergé.

On the same day, as an Easter gift, Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov presents to his wife, Elena of Montenegro, the Mosaic Fabergé egg, a jeweled enameled Easter egg crafted by Albert Holmström under the supervision of Fabergé.

April 15, the Russian Empire launches the Drednout Imperator Aleksandr III in honor of Tsar Alexander III, whose government is about to turn 48 years old.

April 16, the Empire of Japan begins to succeed in its advance into German Indochina, more specifically in Laos.

Bandit rebellions in the Republic of China continue.

April 17, several moderate reformist politicians in the United States lose their political positions or withdraw from political life.

This is the result of various events, including the exclusion of Robert M. La Follete, who lost his leadership within the National Republican Party.

The progressive movement within the US has lost a lot.

Various territorial attacks and civil conflicts occur within Indonesia, the former German-Dutch East Indies.

April 20, revolution in Ecuador, is soon crushed by the government of President Juan Vicente Gomez.

April 21, the conflict between the Free Republic of Mexico and the United States of America is narrowly avoided, when American troops are very close to Tehuantepec but the Mexican defenses fire warning shots.

Finally the orders for an attack are not given and the Americans withdraw, for the moment.

April 26, Theodore Roosevelt and the Brazilian officer Cândido Rondon go on a dangerous expedition down the River of Doubt in the Amazon, in the middle of the New Great War.

A scientific expedition of various purposes, geographical, biological, etc.

April 27, British troops take control of the territory of Niger, Second French Empire.

May 1, politician Job Harriman (candidate for vice president of the United States for the Socialist Party of America) initiates communal-cooperative projects in California to promote the cause of socialism.

May 4, Álvaro Obregón Salido, a politician from the Free Republic of Mexico, becomes Minister of Education, carrying out the educational-cultural reform plans of President Pancho Villa.

Plutarco Elías Calles becomes the chief of police in Mexico City and begins to support the Mexican purges. He soon allied himself with Obregón.

* Obregón and Plutarco are part of the 'moderate' wing of the Communist Party of Mexico.

On the other hand, for the reform of the land distribution and labor reforms, Francisco José Múgica Velázquez is appointed as finance minister (despite the fact that he was considered too 'anarchist' for some).

Lázaro Cárdenas del Río becomes one of Múgica's allies and protectors through his position in Emilio Madero's War Ministry.

* Lázaro Cárdenas and Múgica are part of the radical wing of the Communist Party of Mexico.

Charlie Chaplin manages to enter Socialist Europe successfully, although there is still some mistrust in him for being British.

May 6, the Imperial Parliament of the Imperial Federation once again rejects the female vote.

May 8, Famous Players Film Company and Lasky Feature Play Company merge, creating Paramount Pictures, the oldest working movie studio in Hollywood, United States.

4.9 magnitude earthquake in Catania (Sicilian Socialist Republic). 120 dead and 223 homes damaged, an unusually high number for a 'low magnitude' earthquake.

May 9, under President Champ Clark it is decreed that the second Sunday in May is Mother's Day. A day for American citizens to display the flag honoring mothers whose children had died in war.

* The United States has been in continuous war from 1902, including the war with Germany and the Mexicans, until the New Great War.

May 14, HMS Galatea is launched, which in a short time would become one of the most decorated ships of the Royal Navy in the New Great War.

For her successful actions against the US Navy.

The state film industry begins in the Free Republic of Mexico, when an American filmmaker signs a contract with President Villa to create the film The Life of General Villa.

An action film and biographical drama, with Pancho Villa himself and other figures of the Mexican state participating (to a certain extent).

May 15, strikes spread in Colorado after it came to the public eye that Colorado National Guard soldiers shot at labor activists and strikers in April.

This thanks to the testimony of Sergeant Patrick N. Cullom, who knew that soldiers had shot and killed activist Louis Tikas.

May 18, death of the President of the Philippines, General Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro and Novicio Ancheta, at age 47. General Luna led Philippine nationalist factions against Japanese imperialism-colonialism (and other Philippine factions) for years, and allied himself with the London-Berlin Axis in the New Great War.

The cause of death is still a bit of a mystery ... the official cause was heart failure. But there is evidence that actually suggests murder.

The government of the Philippines was soon taken over by General Gregorio del Pilar (38 years old), who no longer follows Luna's farce of being 'president-elect'.

Civil wars in the Philippines continue.

May 19, Lydia Vissarionovna Zvereva (a citizen of the Russian Empire) becomes known as the first female aerobatics pilot.

May 23, several socialists from the Netherlands suffer two fates: They are captured and killed by British troops, or they escape outside the Netherlands.

There are several destinations for the latter: the Flemish Revolution, the People's Republic of France, the Free Republic of Germany and Indonesia.

Currently it is in Indonesia where Hendricus Josephus Franciscus Marie (Henk) Sneevliet goes, better known simply as Henk Sneevliet.

There Sneevliet founded the Communist Party of the East Indies, better known as the Communist Party of Indonesia (Partai Komunis Indonesia, PKI). An organization for White Dutch and Indonesian natives.

From here Sneevliet would become a splinter for many, as it would help radicalize parts of the native population and organize communist movements in various parts of Asia, such as China, the Philippines, etc.

The party became popular in the island of Java, were Sneevliet put the quarters.

* Biographical data: Hendricus "Henk" Sneevliet was the son of a cigarette maker who became a committed socialist and militant unionist, a product of his education, political activity and German imperialism-colonialism in the old Dutch territories.

The New Great War forbade her dream of him, to go to Indonesia to fight against colonialism. But with the British occupation, he had a chance to leave.

He supported the European revolutions, but decided that he was of more help elsewhere.

May 25, the Irish Revolution succeeds in capturing several cities in the eastern part of the island.

May 26, the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky premieres his opera The Nightingale.

June 1, begins the June Crisis in Germany after the coup against Kaiser Wilhelm III and Chancellor Paul von Hindenburg.

We are talking about a struggle between the compromise factions (aligned with the Imperial Federation), the 'independent' factions (total compromise without the opinion of London) and the conservative-loyalist factions to the old regime.

In all this conflict, Kaiser Wilhelm III is seized by the independent factions and sent away from Berlin towards the west (...). While Paul von Hindenburg continues under house arrest at the hands of factions aligned with the British.

The Junker-Prussian (conservative-loyalist) factions lose the capital and most of their power due to years of war and instability, discrediting the traditional German path.

In this also the armistice compromise between Germany and certain of the Allied Bloc countries is broken.

June 2, great fire on the Brandenburg border, causing the destruction of more than 30 local settlements.

June 4, the 'Lost Cause' of the Confederate States of America begins to lose steam in various parts of the South of the United States.

Product of various ideological, economic and propaganda forces in the midst of the New Great War.

June 7, new reports from the Federative Socialist Republic of Italy continue to indicate the same.

Southern Italy is growing at a much faster rate than Northern Italy, which is progressively stagnant.

The far-left members of the north and the reformists begin to gain strength against the orthodox Marxists, seeking a solution and seeing themselves somewhat threatened by the success of the south.

The film The Wrath of the Gods is released in the United States, a film of the dramatic genre that is the first film in the United States that presents a trans-cultural love (Frank Borzage, American sailor and Tusu Aoki, the daughter of a Japanese nobleman) .

* The film was banned in Japan after its release due to criticism of traditional Japanese culture.

June 10, the Revolution in Egypt ends.

Charles Maurras commits suicide before being captured by French troops and the Bonaparte dynasty present in Egypt is executed by the revolutionary troops.

* The new head of the House of Bonaparte is in exile, Napoléon Victor Jérôme Frédéric Bonaparte or Napoleon V (also known as Victor, Prince Napoleon).

French military forces in Chad, Sudan and Eritrea declare a state of emergency, uniting as a single country led by a military junta.

The leader of this board is Philippe Petain.

June 11, Kermit Roosevelt, son of the writer Theodore Roosevelt Jr, is sent by the National City Bank (National City Corporation) to the Russian branch in St. Petersburg.

Then in 1917 he is transferred to Buenos Aires.

June 14, in western Germany, the independent factions suffer a crushing defeat. However the position of Kaiser Wilhelm III becomes compromised when he is captured by none other than the German Socialists.

The fighting in Germany intensifies after this, the Prussian eagle still has a little more to give of itself against the Russian bear and the red revolution.

June 15, Thailand and Japan start talks due to Laos membership.

The treaties between Russia, Japan and other members of the Allied Bloc in theory left the territory of Laos to Thailand, but the territory was taken by Japanese troops.

Born of Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov.

June 17-18, more than 10,000 deaths in the bandit rebellions in the Republic of China, the response of the central government is inefficient to deal with the situation.

June 20, Kaiser Wilhelm III of Germany is shot (executed) by the Free Republic of Germany.

This event for some marks definitively the end of the German Empire, because the monarchy suffered a very hard blow that would prevent part of the restorations (the youth of the heirs of Wilhelm III was an important factor).

June 21, more strikes by rail and steel workers in Japan.

June 23, in Germany the pro-British factions win.

The Prussian Republic of Germany, composed mostly of old Prussia, is declared in Berlin (although the Prussian elites have lost much power).

(OOC: Name inspired in "Bolivarian Republic"

June 25, the island of Sumatra is almost entirely unified by the Sultanate of Aceh.

June 27-28, Arthur Zimmermann becomes Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Prussian Republic of Germany under the junta of Minister of War Erich von Falkenhayn.

29 of June, death of Prince John (brother of the Prince of Wales).

*******

*[Perspective]

"Is there something wrong, Togliatti?" The commanding officer, Benito Mussolini, asks curiously.

"I have some minor injuries. The doctor says they should heal soon." Palmiro Michele Nicola Togliatti, indicates his superior (within the army).

"I see, I see. Well, that's better than being dead." Mussolini exclaims calmly.

"Yes." Togliatti affirms. "I heard you were a teacher once." The younger of the two men (Togliatti having 21 and Mussolini having 30) mentions.

"For a while, but I gave it up. It wasn't a job for me after all." Mussolini replied. "I had some troubles with annoying parents, and I decided to go into the army and the party."

"I want to go back to finish my studies at the University of Law. But after that, well, we'll see." Togliatti explains with some emotion. He had recently joined the Italian Socialist Party.

"I dropped out of my studies." A third indicates, a 23-year-old man named Antonio Francesco Gramsci.

"Why?". Togliatti asks curiously.

"Time problems." Gramsci indicates. "The newspaper and the party were time consuming, and I was beginning to cause problems for my health." Even in the military, Gramsci's duty as a volunteer was primarily in logistics and medicine, not physical labor.

This curious trio started talking and becoming friends.

Mussolini saw people with great potential and intelligence in Gramsci and Togliatti, while he was the experience and heavy hand within this group.

They would soon form the circle of L'Ordine Nuovo, the New Order.