From the personal diaries of Cardinal Ugolino Longo
Wednesday 1st of March 1916
Of all the cowardly things they could have done, it is typical of the French to try and attack us just after our recent chaos and bring their horrid gas with them. But, so far, we've shown them that their imperial pretensions have no hold over the Italian people. Our rapid advance past the Alps has been met with a fierce counterattack but we've managed to break the back of two French armies one hundred thousand strong in Grenoble and Avignon.
We owe these victories in large part to the clever men who managed to finally develop a method to deal with the French gas and obliterate its effect. It's likely that we would have won in Nicholas' time and avoided much hardship if we had these tools sooner but there is not much use in mourning a past that never happened. What we need to do now is ensure the global adoption of gas defense methods and push hard against our enemy.
Our allies were also invaluable in these recent months. The Dutch are fighting like lions in the North and almost entirely overwhelmed Belgium and are deep in planning for an attack on Paris with our high command. In the meantime, the Spanish have pressed past the Pyrenees and are soon to join our frontline to fully take out the South of France.
Victory only seems like a matter of time; God willing, this will be over by Christmas.
Monday 4th of September 1916
Today marks the end of the latest French invasion and the first significant expansion of our country in almost thirty years. Back then I would have had my reservations against such destabilizing action but, if there's anything that our relationship with France has shown in recent years, it's that a change in equilibrium was essential to stop the constant cycle of conflict that holds us in its palm. As for the choice of territories, the independence of Corsica with the option of a unification referendum was an especially good choice since the island has had strong independentist feelings and a simple annexation may have caused us more problems.
On the other hand, I'm not confident in the reasoning behind the annexation of Tunisia. I am well aware of its strategic importance, especially in tandem with Sicily but the occupation of a foreign land without a native Italian population is a bit gauche, what with the Peloponnese still an open issue. But John is convinced that his "civilizing mission" in North Africa will provide a long-term partnership to control access to the Mediterranean.
The current plan is to build up a mixed Italian-Tunisian ruling class over the next thirty years where they will be able to govern their own affairs; when that time is up, a committee will be gathered to prepare for their independence.
I personally question the effectiveness of such an idea, it seems like an unpleasant half-measure. If they should be free, then why not now? If they should be a colony then why not make it so? I can only assume that it's thought up in part as a potential solution to the Peloponnese problem but causing one problem to solve another seems like a poor strategy. But the pope is firmly set upon this path so I suppose we'll see how things will end.
In the meantime, the Netherlands has taken charge of mopping up the remaining French holdouts with the rest of our allies. Spain has taken over the southern front while the Dutch are well on their way to Paris, there is little French resistance left anywhere, all that remains is to ask for reparations. The original plan was for a full peace under our aegis, but it seems that the Dutch have a vendetta out against Belgium and hope to split that country into its French and Dutch components; in the end, any proposal that weakens France is one that I favor.
Tuesday 5th of November 1918
We were granted a precious few years of peace but now we're on the warpath once more. Austria-Hungary miscalculated in their invasion of Yugoslav Vojvodina, they expected that Italy would not support their allies but will find themselves sorely mistaken. We've sent a declaration of war in defense of Yugoslavia's territorial integrity and called upon Romania and the Ottomans to aid us in this conflict. Every sign points to a rapid victory against a discordant enemy and, if everything goes well, we should have enough international support to end this threat once and for all.
It's no secret that pope John has held onto Nicholas' Greater Italy ambition and, with Corsica's recent entry into Italy, we are closer than ever to the achievement of this goal. The current plan of operation is to occupy our claimed lands with minimal damage to the area while ensuring a strong offensive line towards Vienna. South Tyrol will be protected well enough by its natural geography while I trust that Istria will be defended by its proximity to the Yugoslav forces. In the meantime, the abolition of Nicholas' state of emergency will be a great boon to morale back home as the remaining vestiges of unhappy memory will be cast away with an eye toward a future that will have Italy, at last, reach its natural borders externally while it reforms inwards.
Aside from this, I've received reports about the Patagonian crisis currently ongoing. Our representative in Tokyo has informed me that the Japanese remain firmly in support of Chile's position. At the same time, the Russians show no sign of backing down in their designs for Patagonian independence. At the moment, we're the only other major power to have taken a side (although our support for Russia was a foregone conclusion) but the British and Americans have begun to show their true colors. The British government sees its interests in the pacific threatened by the growing might of Japan and wishes to secure a malleable puppet in the region while the United States firmly supports the Monroe Doctrine which apparently does not mention Japan. If Britain does eventually join our side, I suppose that the risk of escalation will be averted, if we combine their control of the sea with Russia's control of the land, there will be little reason to provoke a conflict.
Monday 3rd of February 1919
I must note that we have entered another war. It seems that the negotiations in Tokyo have come to naught and we find ourselves in a second Great War although I doubt that we'll feel its effects here in Italy. I expect that it will mostly be fought by our British, Russian, and Dutch allies on continents where we have no presence. I have received news of army movements in Canada against the Americans, in the Dutch Pacific facing the Japanese, while Russia has been locked in a struggle with some minor Chinese warlord under Japanese direction. All things considered, a conflict of dubious interest that I would much rather have kept out of.
In the meantime, our march into Austria is going well and is blessedly uneventful. The Italian lands were captured painlessly with great support from the population and the rest has been captured through slow methodical advances and skirmishes of no consequence. Such a calm situation has allowed me to draw up a peace treaty that hands Trentino and Istria to Italy while putting emphasis on our guarantee of Yugoslavia's territorial integrity.
The final piece of the puzzle is a final confrontation to force Kaiser Karl to the negotiating table. It seems that the Austrians are massing up in Marburg with over one hundred thousand conscripts and only a minor core of professional soldiers, a victory there would be achievable without too many casualties and leave the door open for Vienna and peace at last. I have high hopes that this will succeed and finally end this conflict.
When that shall be done, we will be able to assess our contribution to the Great War, perhaps our fleet could be useful in the fight with Japan but I don't see us sending soldiers anytime soon. I pray that, with each of our enemies dealt with, we will finally be able to have at least a decade of peace.
Friday 27th of February 1920
The news fresh from Moscow is that Japan has surrendered and at last the so-called Great War is over. The peace conference has concluded that only limited punitive measures will be taken against Japan and its American allies. A reduction of fifty percent in land forces and seventy-five percent in the fleet with an obligation to remain under a third of their previous materiel production.
It's fortunate for us that we didn't really need to involve ourselves too much in this conflict, especially given the lack of reward for any Russian allies. We only needed to send our fleet east in August and we managed to defeat the Japanese in battle after battle, establishing a blockade of their home islands. I'm not sure if this was their whole force but, for the sake of their capabilities, I must hope that they were softened up before our coming.
But, with this latest nuisance dealt with, there are no enemies left for us to face. Britain, Russia, and the Netherlands remain firmly aligned behind our interests now that we're at peace; Japan and the United States have been neutered and were never a real threat in the first place; and, in Europe, France and Austria are humbled in a way that has finally made Italy whole. It's high time that we managed to enjoy the fruits of our labor. With everything so stable I should look to my own future, perhaps some time away will do me good.
Author's note:
Cardinal Longo retired from politics in 1922 and died of natural causes in 1924. He was one of the last representatives of the traditional cardinal class with a noble upbringing and a bishopric, namely Arezzo, under his belt. His cardinalship came in 1896 towards the tail end of Innocent XV's papacy and represented one of the less controversial elements of that consistory. His career was focused on diplomatic matters where he had a hand in the perpetual Alpine conflicts and the strengthening of ties with Russia up to the Second Great War. His behavior during the reign of Pope Nicholas VI is obscure and it is conjectured that he may have closed an eye to many happenings during the civil war in an attempt to maintain some sort of neutrality. This tendency is also likely one of the reasons why Longo was never considered a prime papabile but more of a useful tool in the hands of more ambitious men.