The first stone is thrown...
Televisiona italiano 1955
-Hello, I´m Fernando Rinolini, your program leader!
Today we welcome the man who turned the little backward state of Italy into an Superpower to be reconed with, yes, back from “retirement” Il duce, Benito Mussolini!
Mussolini enters, he looks old and tired, (he is 72 years old after all) sits down in a chair.
-Heil Il duce et Fascismo!
Mussolini raises his hand
-Please Fernando, those times are over, Italy is today an democracy, such as it was in the early days of the Roman empire. (He sinks into an daydream).
By the way, Fernando, why am I here?
(Mussolini is growing senile)
-Well, sir, you are here to talk abot the second great war, or as it is also known, the great empire ressurection war.
Mussolinis eyes flungs open
-Oh yes, it all began in 1936, well, I had done my famous march on Rome in 1922 and all that, but now it was time for Italy to expand.
I descided that Abbysinia, or Ethiopia as it is know known was the first bit to be added to the glorious empire of Italy.
It all began with an full scale attack on Dagabur by the Eastern sector, that was one of the fastest battles in history, I recall, it lasted only 5 hours!
It was eight days before the Eugenia di savoia was ready to be deployed, I remember that I made a great speech that day.
- Actually, we have it on tape, if you want to listen...
- Of course, I can´t remember all the details.
- Here goes...
(Crackle crackle fsssss)
Today, we are gathered her to see the hope of the new roman empire leave its dock, like the roman trirems before it, it will sail mare nostrum, it will bring glory, to me, to you, to it, to them, to all of Italy!
These men (Makes gesture towards the crew) are willing to die, for me, for you, for it, for all of Italy, but most importantly, for the holy cause of fascism!
(Crowd cheering) Heil Mussolini! Heil Mussolini!
This ship will rule the wawes, the brits sing in their pathetic song, that they will rule the waves, and that they never ever will be slaves, we´ll show them wrong, fascism will endure, a strong army. A strong state, a strong airforce, a strong state, a strong navy, a proud state!
(Crowd cheering) Heil Mussolini! Heil Mussolini!
- Mr. Mussolini, how do you feel when you hear your own voice insulting the british, I have heard that the italian ambassador in London had a hard day coping with all the apologies he had to make...
- I feel disgusted, all nations should peacefully co-exist.
- And yet, you expanded italy very much?
- It was because of her floundring economy, we needed that oil, and that rubber.
- Shall we get back to ethiopia?
- Oh yes, the southern sector had marsched through dagabur and had reached Harar and fought an hard battle for twelve days, and were then forced to retereat. On the fifth of february, giuba sector arrived in gondar and engaged the enemy forces there.
- That was a very long vattle there, wasn´t it?
- Yes, it lasted nearly a month, and when we finally won it those pesky abbysinians had counter attacked and had re-captured dagabur and even taken magalo, it was a black time...
- Yet you prevailed.
- Yes of course, but not until the twenty-first when XXIII corps arrived in mogadishu and routed out the abbysinians that had captured the city some days later, they then proceeded to dagabur and recaptured it. The XII corps won a battle in Makale and Giuba sector attcked Addis Abeba, unfortunately, they were repelled a few hours later. Then the glorius twenty-third attacked Harar and captured the town, also, the superior defense of Obbia prevailed a short time later when the Abbysinians were repelled, then, of course the ethiopians counter-attacked and captured gondar, the Giuba sector hurried to recapture the town but was repelled. But with the arrival of the XVI corps in asmara the tide of war changed, the reinforcements emmidiately attacked Addis Abeba, which fell only an hour later on april 23, 7:00, with the capitol captured ethiopians everywhere surrendered and seven hours later Ethiopia was annexed.
- You delivered a speech when Ethiopia was annexed, do you remember?
- Yes indeed, do you have a record of that too? Really, then play it!
(Crackle crackle fsssss)
- Today, I have just recived word that Addis Abeba has fallen to our invincible army, this is only one of the many examples of the superiority of Fascism and its ability to prevail, the steel and coal resources of Ethiopia will come to the good of Ethiopia, because Ethiopia is Italy! Hereby, I declare Ethiopia an part of the new roman empire of Italy, Ethiopia is annexed!
(Crowd cheering) Heil Mussolini! Heil Mussolini!
- That was one of my finest speeches I recall, yet in the history books it has been overshadowed by some of my other speeches, oh, were are we? Oh yes, Ethiopia has been annexed... Only two weeks later I decided that Italys modest oil resources could not sustain its factories, if we didn´t want an all out shut down of all our industries we had to act, but where could one find an small country wit large oil resources? The answer is Albania, war was declared and the VIII corps landed in Tirana, the albanians had no army so we simply marched in there and concuerd, as ceasar said: Veni, vidi, vici! Only two days and seven hours after the declaration of war Albania was annexed, you have that speech too? Then run it!
-Today, we have seen a country, rich in oil, coal and steel be defeated in two days, needless to say, it was no fascist, nor National socialist, it was paternal autocrat! As we all know, paternal autocraties are weak, soft and decadent, the couldn´t even put up resistance! This shows that Fascism is the way, Like Abbysinia before them, I hereby declare Albania annexed into Italy!
(Crowd cheering) Heil Mussolini! Heil Mussolini!
- Your next sight was on?
- Well, I descided that it was ridicoulous to have a convoy ferry the materials for such a short distance so, nine days later on the eighteenth of may, I declared war on Yugoslavia., on the 24th, ljubjana fell, on the 27th zagreb, on the first of july, tirana fell to the jugoslaians, the garrison in albania was too small to cope with the jugoslavians, on the 4th, rijeka fell, on the 5th Osijek, on the 6th we were finally expelled from albania, on the 7th we lost control of zagreb but we captured banja luka, on the 9th slit fell, on the 13th ot was Mostars turn to fall. On the 14th the jugoslavians counterattacked on Mostar but the were pushed back, in the same day, we captured novi sad, thereby threatening Beograd, also on the 14th Dubronivic fell and on the next day Zagreb was recaptured. From there on it was madness, lets show you what happened in a timeline
16th – Yugoslavia recaptured Osijek
18th – We recaptured Osijek and captured Podgrorica
21th – The Yugoslavs recaptured Mostar but we recaptured Tirana
25th – An attack on Beograd failed
26th – An battle for Kraljevo was lost
27th-july 18th – Losses in Podgrorica, dobrovnic, sarajevo x2 and Valjevo, though some of the areas was recaptured during this period.
18th- Sarajevo was recaptured but we lost Tirana
20th- Dubrovnik was recaptured, but we lost Osijek and Novi sad
22nd – Victory in Mostar and Osijek
28th – Victory in Novi sad, but we lost Osijek
29th - failiure in podgorica but victory in Valjevo
August 5th – Victory in Novi Pasar
6th – Enemy counterattack on Novi Pasar repelled
11th- failiure in Osijek
12th – Victory at Nis
14th - Novi pasar fell to yugoslavia
15th – enemy counterattack at Novi Sad repelled + Victory at Osijek but failiure in Beograd
17th – failiure at Podgorica
22nd – Enemy attack at Dubrovnik repelled
25th – We captured pristina
28th – We expelled the enemy from podgorica and repelled an counterattack on the same town a few hours later
September 2nd – Tirana was recaptured
5th – An italian attack on Vlore was repelled
11th – Beograd fell and later that day yugoslavia was annexed
- So you wan after four months of fighting?
- Yes, and as usual I held an speech
- Today, is an day of mourning, and of joy, the bastards in Yugoslavia has been defeated and annexed, yet it took four long months of bloodshread, yet this only demonstrates even more fascisms will to overcome all failiures, not to care how much blood be spilt and march forward, our army have been extended after this campaign(27 militia divisons had been deployed shortly after the war had ended), and we even got our rightful share of the spoils of war! (An old transport had been captured in yugoslav harbour and had been redesignated “Gift of Yugoslavia”) This has made us more determined to continue to spread the holy cause of fascism!
(Crowd cheering) Heil Mussolini! Heil Mussolini!
- Also, dear Fernando, there was another thing that happened worth celebrating.
- And what was that?
- Fascism had spread more a few days later when Nationalist spain annexed republican spain.
- Today, the fascit revolution has prevailed, the spanish anarchist government have been toppled, fascism have taken over the iberian penninsula, we, their fascist brothers hereby recognaises the nationalists as the only legal government in spain, fascism has prevailed!
(Crowd cheering) Heil Mussolini! Heil Mussolini!
-Then there was two months of peace before the juggernaught of Italy began moving again, our oil was not sufficient enough and we looked for another weak country with oil reserves, Bulgaria was the obvious choice, not only had it supplies of oil, but it also had a port towards the black sea, meening that the annexation of Bulgaria could be an stratigic master stroke, as those swedes says: we would hit two flies with one slap!
Anyway, war was declared on the first of November 1936, this was the first war in which the italian airforce played an active role, needless to say, it was an fiasko, The bombers were intercepted by bulgarian fighters over Sofia and were forced to retreat, the a short time later the bulgarian airforce attacked our planes in skopje, that was also an fiasko.
On the ninth our soldiers attacked Sofia, the next day plovdiv was attacked and fell a short time later, the problem was that the bulgarians had sneaked a few troops through and attacked the undefended city of pristina.
On the sixteenth, ruse came under attack and the exhausted bulgarians surrendered six hours later.
The Bulgarian rampage through former Yugoslavia and albania had now taken Skopje and Tirana, something had to be done, with the battle for Sofia won, the first army attacked Skopje on the third of december picking of the last troops two hours after the attack began.
Two days later Pristina came under attack and the Bulgarians surrendered later that day.
The first army then assulted tirana, and only one hour later the last, exhausted, starved and defeated Bulgarians surrendered and were sent of to POW – camps in the alps and in the Libyan desert, most were pardoned for good behaviour and sent back 1936-1937.
Eight hours later I declared Bulgaria a part of Italy.
Only time would tell what would happen next in the year
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