Chapter 11
On August 14th, after 10 days of rest, re-organization and replacements, the Italian Army was ready for the invasion of British controlled Middle East. The main objective of the offensive was along the coast of the Middle East down to the Suez Canal. If the Suez Canal could be captured, the British forces would have no lines of retreat into Africa.
On August 16th, an Italian offensive began in Africa, in theorey it would drive north, further confusing the British into what Italian offensive was to be taken more seriously.
On August 22nd, the industrial side of Schnack's Roman Empire took on a massive project. Nine aircraft carriers were to be constructed to support the new navy. The projected completion date for these ships, October 11th, 1945.
By August 26th, the Italian offensive in the Middle East was proving easy. The British were weary of such a prolong war in the Balkans, Turkey and now in the Middle East. British recruitment was down, they had lost nearly two million men in the Balkans, nearly a million in Turkey and now who knew how terrible the cost would be in the Middle East.
The Italian Offensive, August 26th, 1944.
On September 1st, in an attempt capture elements of the retreating British Royal Navy, before they left via the Suez Canal, the Italian Navy left port. Two days later, a familar event struck the Italian Navy..
...September 3rd, the Italian Navy existed only on paper after 90% of the remaining ships were sunk by the British Navy in the waters by the Suez Canal.
On September 5th, the weakest member of the Axis, Japan, surrendered to the Allied Powers. The surrender of Japan did not concern Schnack, nor Hitler. German forces were already pushing into eastern Asia. Additionally, Schnack knew that this timeline did not matter.
By September 18th, Italian forces had advanced across the Suez Canal. The Mediterran Sea was now a Roman Sea, only if there was a navy ocean worthy. Ten British divisons were surronded near the Suez Canal, while another three divisons were surronded at the Saudi Arabia border.
September 18th, 1944.
The end of the war seemed very near... The British were about to lose Africa, the flood gate into the continent was open. The world would tremble when Italy announced the completion of it's nine aircraft carriers...
