Meeting of the Grand Council of Fascism – 14 June 1936
It had been just over a month since the war with the Allies started. Prime Minister Benito Mussolini was due to present a speech to the Grand Council of Fascism on the progress of the national and the war. Reports were gathered from his various cabinet ministers, Marshal Badoglio on the Alpine Front, Marshal Balbo from ASI and Marshal Graziani in AOI.
DIPLOMACY
The war was going well for Italy. The British and French had both been caught off guard and both nations had lost substantial colonial territories. The British were weathering the damage well but the French were struggling with their own internal domestic political problems. This could have accounted for their lack of a decisive response to the Italian invasion of Provence.
Italy had already pushed through its territorial claims for Egypt, the Sudan and British Somaliland. The latter was already completely within the Fascist grasp while the battle still raged for Egypt and the Sudan. Malta had fallen but no claims for this important island were yet to be rolled out. No doubt the British would not give it up lightly.
Given the internal political problems in France, should the war be won decisively in East Africa, it was thought that a full Italian offensive in France might knock them completely out of the war. Alternatively, an amicable peace deal might be able to be brokered with the Allies where Italy would retain most if not all of its recent conquests.
Pushing the irredentism agenda was also another option, particularly against the weakened French. Italy already controlled most of Savoy, Tunisia and French Somaliland. These lands should be hers in any peace that was brokered. By pushing this agenda before brokering the peace deal it would be more likely that these lands would be ceded.
Although Italy had declared war on the Allies on the basis of British aggression, other European nations felt threatened by her recent actions, first the Abyssinian War in ’35 and now the war against the Allies. This threat may have consequences for Italy in the future. Pushing the irredentism agenda against the French would only enhance this problem.
The Germans also feared the sudden Italian aggression but diplomatic manoeuvres continued to be rolled out to keep the relationship with Germany strong. Joining the Axis would the start of a war of ideologies which would not end until either side was completely crushed. Such an alliance was a future possibility. Another alternative was to stay out of the Axis but ally with the Germans. Should it be desired to take France entirely out of the war such a manoeuvre would assist greatly as it would open up a two front war for the French.
While Italy was doing so well, the status quo with Germany would remain.
PRODUCTION
Italian production was in a mess. A huge backlog of equipment upgrades looked like it would never be met and the demand for supplies for the full scale multi front war with the Allies was eating up half of the industrial capacity of the nation. Reinforcement requirements from the war were also making a significant impact. To make matters worse, British bombers had wiped out 70% of industrial production in Milan. Consumer good production was very low and the only bright spot.
The production queue was also a mess. It had developed out of a series of rising and falling priorities. First the desire for naval force projection in the Mediterranean, then the need for garrison troops to free up more infantry divisions for the Alpine Front, then the need to anti-tank and artillery units to defend against a serious French counterattack, then better armour units to try and make a decisive strike on the Alpine Front.
All that could be gleaned from the review was the hope that a complete victory in the East Africa would reduce the demand for supplies. A switch to doctrinal research might also clear some of the upgrade backlog.
Raw materials, oil and money were not an immediate worry. Convoy numbers still appeared strong.
TECHNOLOGY
Before the war broke out with the UK and their allies, Italian research was focused on the long term developments such as:
a) bringing out of date techs up to speed;
b) building the Regina Marina around the Sea Lane Doctrine;
c) focusing on Naval Bombers for domination of the Mediterranean Sea; and
d) boosting both militia and infantry weapons research and production.
With the prospect of a long term war against the Allies, these priorities were going to have to change. With the Italian war equipment already quite out dated before the Abyssinian war, there was still a large backlog of equipment rollouts that needed to be filled. This backlog would not be met anytime soon. This meant that in the short term most equipment based research would not be effective as there was no chance that any of it would ever reach the battlefield.
Given this problem, it was decided that the future emphasis would be placed on doctrinal research that could rolled out to the front lines without further stressing the production capabilities of the nation.
Knowledge: Practical and Theoretical
The war against the allies provided ample opportunities for Italian scientists and industry to increase both their practical and theoretical knowledge. On Land the knowledge ‘rot’ generally continued except for Militia where the building of the garrison divisions and weapon research had dramatically increased theoretical and practical knowledge. Infantry theoretical knowledge had also had a boost from small arms research.
Similarly, on Naval and Air, theoretical knowledge increased but practicals were falling. Naval production and been put on the backburner and no air production was scheduled.
Doctrinally, practical was through the roof because of the war on land, air and sea. Theoretical was falling in all categories except for Naval Bombing where specialised pilot training courses had been rolled out.
In both categories, Industry knowledge was suffering the ‘rot’.
POLITICS
With few losses of any consequence from the war and minimal damage to the nation, the Italian Fascist party remained in a strong position. The only black spot was the terrible damage dished out by the British bombers on Milan. Convoy damage, although more severe than the bombings, was considered acceptable given the damage inflicted on the Anglo-French merchant fleets.
There appeared to be no scope for more optimal law changes, everything was already geared to maximise the full potential of the nation.
The party popularity was still very strong but the two wars had taken its toll on the organisation of the party. This would need to be attended to.
Now that significant amounts of British and French territory were occupied, it was thought that it would be better to put military governments in place for these conquests. This would provide a minor boost to production. Likewise in Ethiopia, a full occupation policy would be adopted to provide a minor boost to industrial capacity.
INTELLIGENCE
Both Great Britain and France were the highest priority for Italy’s overseas spy agency. For Britain the aim was military espionage. For France, the Italians would try to capitalise on the national disunity and attempt to create even greater divides within the country.
Priority would also be given to Yemen and Iraq, for reasons disclosed below.
MILITARY - Chief of the Army Alberto Pariani
Europe - Report from Marshal Badoglio
Alpine Front – caught off guard, the French Army of the Alps which was defending the Little Maginot Line had been unable to hold back the advance of the Italian I and IV Armies. The I Army’s objective of driving the French from the Alps and digging in had been achieved. The IV Army was tasked with securing the Nice, the French Riviera and Marseille. All of these primary objectives had now been met. Whether they could be held was the main question. The appearance of French armour had stalled the Italian offensive and now the French Army of the Alps and the 5th Army were counterattacking with the plan of retaking Marseille.
Future Goals on the Alpine Front:
It was thought that the best option here would be to hold ground and fight tooth and nail for every piece of French dirt. No future offensive could be undertaken without the addition of significant Italian forces.
Originally the capture of Corsica was slated as a secondary goal of the IV Army. This objective was now clearly out of their grasp. As the island was undefended it was proposed that an amphibious invasion be undertaken by the newly formed guards divisions in La Spezia and Savona. The Regina Maria would be scrambled to support the landing fleet.
ASI (Italian North Africa) - Report from Marshal Balbo
Egypt – the campaign in Egypt was proceeding in accordance with Balbo’s grand plan. The X and VI Armies had driven all the way to the Nile Delta. Cairo had been captured and Alexandria was about to be put under siege. Italian divisions were also advancing towards to the Suez. In the Sinai (east of the Suez), strong Allied forces (British and Iraqi) appeared to be gathering for a counterattack west across the Suez.
Tunisia and Algeria – like its sister campaign to the east, the Italian IX Army was successfully seizing territory and strategic locations. Tunis had fallen and now the push would be west to Algiers and possibly beyond. The first enemy forces to be met would be at Algiers – strength currently unknown.
Future Goals in ASI:
No future plans were revealed. Further expansion beyond Algeria to French Morocco would require further forces which were currently not available. In Egypt, the Allied forces advancing from the Sinai would have to be dealt with before any further advance could be contemplated into the Near East.
AOI (Italian East Africa) - Report from Marshal Graziani
Northern Sudan (The Almasy Gambit) – as expected by Balbo, the lightly defended Port Sudan had been seized early on in the campaign by the Abyssinian Army cutting off the main northern supply line of the British 3rd Army. Further success had also been achieved beyond Balbo’s goals, with the 5th ‘Cosseria’ Division now advancing on the undefended Khartoum. Amongst other things, this would provide an important airbase from which the Italians could attack the British 3rd Army. A division would be sent north along the old Cairo to Khartoum Railway to meet up with the cavalry brigade sent south by the VI Army in Egypt.
Gondar-Jima Front (Western Ethiopia) – Balbo’s original plan was to establish a static front on which the British 3rd Army would be held up. Advantages in terrain and wrecked infrastructure from the 2nd Italo-Abyssinian War would assist in delaying the British advance. From the beginning of the campaign when the British forces launched a surprise attack on Gondar this area had been a source of trouble for the Italians. Here the battle weary Eritrean Corps and other elements of the Abyssinian Army had not been able to hold the line in the north and the south. In the north, the British Indian and African divisions were pushing west, threatening Asmara the Eritrean capital or a link up with the remaining French forces around Djibouti. In the south, more British Indian Divisions were pushing west towards Addis Ababa. It was only in the centre at Debre Markos, that the I and II Eritrean Divisions had been able to hold their ground. Now they were also hard pressed from air attacks and the advance of three British divisions.
It was hoped that reinforcements could move east out of British and French Somaliland to put an end to the British advances.
At the southern end of the line, one of the goals under Balbo’s plan was for the ‘Celere Division to drive west to the border of the Belgium Congo and cut off the British 3rd Army from their southern supply routes. Combined with the push into Khartoum in the north, this was effectively one huge “pincer movement” which was to trap the British 3rd Army in South Sudan. The initial push of the Italian ‘Celere’ Division had failed to secure the areas northeast of Lake Victoria. A stronger force would be required to take this area and then drive west into Uganda to the Congo border.
British and French Somaliland – at the outset of the campaign the undefended British Somaliland fell easily to the Italian Somaliland Army. As Balbo thought, the strong French 1st Army in Somaliland had been thorn in the side of the Italians. Initially they had pushed north with some success but when Di Stefanis attacked the capital from the south they began to crumble. Reinforcements from the Somaliland Army strengthened the Italian position. Now only a few isolated French divisions still held on in the wretched terrain of the Dankalia uplands. Marshal Graziani believed it was only a matter of time before they were crushed and reinforcements could be sent west.
Jubaland Offensive (British East Africa (Kenya)) – in accordance with Balbo’s plan, elements of the Somaliland Army had crossed the British border and seized the important port town of Mombasa. Apart from some further uncontested conquests in the interior, little else had been achieved here.
Poor supply lines and primitive infrastructure denied the Somaliland Army access to an easy march into Tanganika and its capital Dar es Salaam. The only option was to either to loop a Division around the western side of Lake Victoria or use sea transports from Asmara in Eritrea to launch an amphibious invasion. A British carrier fleet prowling the coasts of East Africa made the latter a risky option.
Future Goals in AOI
With the fall of the French 1st Army in Djibouti likely, Yemen could now be considered a target for conquest in the near future. It was thought that there would be enough forces freed up to meet the requirements of dealing with the British 3rd Army in South Sudan and to undertake this new enterprise. This would allow the Italians to seize the important British port of Aden and secure the control of the Bab-el-Mandeb (Gate of Tears). Such a strategy could not be considered without also taking the island of Socotra and denying the British access to its port.
To the south, lay Tanganika and its capital Dar es Salaam. It appeared lightly or completely undefended. Given the poor supply routes to this region, control of the seas in this area was considered crucial. This would mean that such a course of action should not be undertaken unless the Allied ports on Madagascar, The Comoros and Seychelles were also not taken. Such a plan was beyond the current resources of the army and navy. The British also had a powerful carrier fleet patrolling along the eastern coast of Africa.
Regina Marina – Chief of the Navy – Domenico Cavagnari
At the beginning of the war of Regina Marina had been engaged by a French fleet in the Gulf of Tunis, when it was involved in an operation to garrison Sardinia. With air support the outgunned Italian fleet was able to beat back the French with no losses on either side.
Soon afterwards the Regina Marina locked horns with the Royal Navy in the battle of Malta and faired very well against the Brits, driving them to port at the loss of several submarines and RM Bari (CL). Once again Italian air support had tipped the balance.
Since the Battle of Malta the Regina Marina had been refitting and rebuilding its strength. Nothing suggested that the Italians could not continue to take on two of world’s greatest naval powers in Mare Nostrum.
The Convoy War: In the convoy war in the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean, the Regina Marina had outdone itself, with a loss ratio of 6:1 in the favour of Italy [In game results seem to have replicated out of control with 5400 Allied convoys sunk vs 850 Italian – not sure why]. The positive trend in these results was falling away as the Italian land forces grabbed more and more of the Allied Mediterranean ports. A heavier emphasis would soon have to fall to the western and east Med. In the southern hemisphere the destroyers of Commander Ciano in the Mozambique strait would now be able to utilise the port facilities at Mobassa to more effectively raid in the channel.
Regina Aeronautica – Chief of the Air Force - Guiseppe Valle
In all theatres, other than the Alpine Front, the Regina Aeronautica had been playing a supporting role to either the army or the navy. In AOI, the light bomber squadrons had been lending crucial support to whittle away at the French and British divisions. Support had been provided to the navy at the Battle of Tunis and both the navy and the army at the Battle of Malta. The last battle had seriously stretched the resources of this Regina Aeronautica, with many of the air wings involved being placed out of action for significant periods of time. Demands on the multi front war forced them to always be called up for action and never getting a chance to recuperate and reach optimal fighting condition.
On the Alpine Front, the Regina Aeronautica had initially held its own against French bombers and interceptors. Only the British strategic bomber squadrons had been able to slip the net and inflict serious damage on Milan. Signs indicated a strengthening of French bombers in this region during the recent fighting around Marseille.