Chapter four: Between the Fascio and the Cross
The council of the League of Nations decided that the Austrian question was to be settled by a pleibiscite. Italy opposed this measure, fearing that a German occupation of Austria would lead to territorial demands on the former Austrian territories annexed by Italy after WWI. However, Berlin offered to sign a friendship agreement in which the German Reich committed to refrain from any territorial demands in Italy and thus Mussolini decided to abandon the policy of protecting Austrian independence. June 1th was the day chosen for the pleibiscite, and the "yes" option won with a plurality of 64,6%. A week later the League of Nations made the union legal and official. France and Italy accepted the measure, but remained unconvinced in spite of Britain's assurances, specially Italy, who now shared a long border with Germany.
In Italy the German annexation of Austria set off a firestorm. For many, like Italo Balbo, it was proof of the endless expansionism of their northern neighbour. Other members of the
Partito Nazionale Fascista (National Fascist Part), like Roberto Farinacci, sided with Germany, thus starting a round of bickering that
il Duce was unable (or unwilling) to stop. The tempestuous Balbo denounced what he considered an "invasion" and even demanded that the Italian Army be made ready "just in case". Farinacci stated then that Italy could not afford yet a one-on-one war with Germany (as it was obvious that France and Britain the latter would do little but voice their concern and the former was too busy with their own inner turmoil). It was during this dispute that began the long-lasting ill-will betweenBalbo and Farinacci.
The king and Mussolinni were placed in a very difficult position by this. In the end, Italy's foreign policy resolved the question when Farinacci joined the Voluntary Militia for National Security (
Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, or MVSN) to fight in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, hoping that this would turn him a heroe. For a while, with Farinacci in Abyssinia and Balbo in Libya, in what was an effective exile from politics, an uneasy peace returned to Rome.
Mussolini and Balbo in Lybia: a chance for il Duce to suggest calm to the new governor.
The Anschluss had deeper effects on Paris. The failure of Sarraut's government to avoid Germany's annexation of Austria was perceived by the public opinion as a mistake that doomed him. Sarraut was nothing more than one of the failed and brief goverments brought by a series of political and economic crises which plunged France into a power vacuum. Inner turmoil brought down the government in 1934, and it seemed as if the Republic itself was under siege. In 1935 the Croix De Feu threatened to launch a putsch, and France seemed to be on the verge of collapse. Worse still, the Left parties were united in their mutual hatred: the French Socialists were unwilling to ally with the French Communist Party (PCF) in spite of Moscow's petition to abandon the "social-fascist" position. Divided and quarreling amongst itself, there were some who gleefully predicted the collapse of the left in the 1936 election.
In the end there were too many failures, too many crisis, too many dissapointments and a widespread loss of faith in the Republic’s institutions. All this resulted the dissolution of the Popular Front and the victory of François De la Rocque's Parti Social Français. Moderate, Christian social and democratic, the PSF had grown to become the first French right-wing mass party (from 500 members in 1928 to 400,000 by the end of 1935) and moved to a moderate and centrist position. De la Rocque promised the nationalization of banks and industrial companies such as Renault; a reform of parliamentary procedures; a minimum wage and paid holidays; and women's right to vote. To counter the monarchist
Action française and its slogan
Politique d'abord! (First Politics!), de la Rocque invented the motto
Social d'abord! (First Social!). That's why it was defined as a "
centrist party with right-wing voters but a left-wing policy".
François de la Rocque seen here during a meeting in L'Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Some comments: Yes, I advanced the Anschluss a bit. Why? Sheer laziness. I wanted to get rid of that to be free to go for my special treatment for France and Italy. And with several ladies... er... with several issues in mind, I went for the safest option.
And yes, I have some kind of odd habit of Rocquinizing France from time to time. It's the universe's way to compensate for not making a Halifaxian Britain or an Al Smithian USA in this AAR. Think about that if you dare...
And in the next chapter we'll go back to Blighty...
@trekaddict: Would they complain with a huge Red block to the East? Really? Well, perhaps it's time to give them some food for thinking.
@SovietAmerika: Too true.
Long and Lindbergh... good idea.
@Nathan Madien: In times of needs, politics and war make strange bedfellows.
I agree about Long. Can you imagine a ticket which included Long, Macarthur and Patton going for the presidency?
@SovietAmerika -2- :Leaving Long out? No!
@El Pip: Don't worry. He'll have his moment of "D'oh"niness in due time. A pity that Britain will be affected by this event, too. Worry now. :laugh:
@trekaddict -2-: Raeder did have a lot of work to pretend that they were really doing something about it.
@El Pip -3-: Yes, Minis... er, I mean, Yes Pip. I noticed it at once. It was quite clear, by you being so throughly clear, straightforward and precise, although there is some difficulty in justifiably assigning to understand the meaning of "efforts" in your statement inasmuch as the precise correlation between the word you used and the real actions taken by the KGM as they are so contradicting in their respective nature as to cause some epistemological problems of sufficient mangnitude upon the logical and semantic resources fo the Queen's English.
All in all: effort, Seelowe and Kriegsmarine doesn't match.
@trekaddict: Indeed.
@Asalto: I remember an AAR with Huey dying and his bro replacing him. However, I wonder what will do FDR to go into war without a warlike Germany but with a bully Soviet Union...
No, no Habsburgs for Austria nor for any one, sorry, unless someone can persuaded me of the contrary. About the Balkanic zombies... blame Paradox. I trusted them :blush:
Anyway, in due moment, London will solved that issue too
@Faeelin: Shit, I know some friend of mine that will go mad about that and it's bad enough for me. Thank God he doesn't paradox too much...
@Nathan Madien: A roadblock...? tell me more, I pray thee.
@talt: Don't worry about that. I prefer a single headache than two or more diarrheas.
@El Pip: That would force me to hurry the development of the British A-Bomb to nuke such an offense for humanity before Monty Python have an idea for an American
Unsketch with Cleese as Long, Jones as Borah, Graham as Garner and Idle as MacArthur.
No, it's just you. I haven't thought about it, as you can see.
@Nathan Madien -2-: Not me. I lack the nerve, among many other things. :blush: