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That was a rather smooth and quick war. Now on to the main event: fascists fighting fascists!
 
Chapter 29: The Global Italian

August 1941

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While Germany managed to take control of most of Britain, Italy found itself with the unprecedented situation of being in-charge of the former British and French colonies. Efforts to quickly rebuild its navy were accelerated. This meant while army grunts like Luigi could return home, the admirals and air force marshals had to work overtime. With most of the cruisers damaged, the Italian 3rd Navy was dispatched to patrol the Indian Ocean and South China Sea with only a carrier and some destroyer escorts.

With the arrival of Agent Faye and her stolen nuclear research, work on Project Modena started immediately. Rumors that similar nuclear programmes occurring in Japan, Germany, the Soviet Union and the United States, forced Marshal Balbo to be paranoid. This weapon had the power to determine who would win future wars. The current prediction was that the Italian could weaponise nuclear power by the end of 1948.

Meanwhile, the Soviets were aggressively expanding in Eastern Europe. Even though the Germans, Italians and Soviets had cordial relations, many predicted another war within the year.

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Yet in the regular Italian's eye, all was well! Mussolini proclaimed that his new Roman Empire was now a global empire, and the regular Italian was a global Italian. This New Roman Empire stretched from Canada, to South Africa, to Indian to Malaya and to Australia.

Proudly holding up an issue of Time magazine to a cheering crowd, Mussolini stroked his chin and declared "Si! (yes!)".

The crowd chanted with him.

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If he can get new roman empire, mussolini goes from being the weak man in the axis to the by far strongest power in the world...
 
Glad to see you back. It will be interesting to see who gets the nukes first.
 
Chapter 30: The German-Soviet War

December 1941
After heightened tensions between the Germans and Soviets, war broke out. The Germans, confident after their victory over the Allies poured troops and equipment passed the Soviet border in Poland.

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Despite calling Italy into the war against the communists, the Italian command convinced Mussolini to do nothing. Why subject the Italians to another bout of bloodshed while they can enjoy their fruits of their recent British conquest?

Gulping down a a glass of the finest Italian wine, Mussolini allowed the German ambassadors in his presence, and dismissed them without promising anything. He did not even pledged to send equipment, since military supplies were needed to prop up the New Roman Empire.

Even as the Germans ambassador left the government building, the Italian military were hard at work. Italian India was facing civil unrest from the Hindu and Muslim factions. In Italian Malaya, food shortages were common. Armed revolt was being threatened in Italian Canada and South Africa. Already a joint Spanish-Yugoslavian-Turkish-Italian task force were dispatched to Australia to put down a riot.

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Who knew that the actual running of the an empire was so hard?

Yet Mussolini was not bothered by all this nitty gritty stuff. He was essentially the master of entertainment. During the Christmas of 1941 he simply held a Roman Triumph, and proclaimed Roman supremacy over all globe.

Little did he know that the German-Soviet war would escalate.
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Chapter 31: Quagmire

Early March 1942
Luigi finally arrived in China. He grumbled, wondering why Mussolini saw fit to post Italian divisions to help out Japan in its war effort. Japan had fought the United Chinese Front to a stalemate, and thus embarrassingly requested for help. In exchange, the Japanese would respect the borders of the new Italian colonies in Asia.

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He could have been home, enjoying time with his family. Now, he was expected to train a new batch of recruits . He had risen to the rank of Captain, and was now in charged of an armor company. A eager Japanese translator greeted him.

"Important to keep head down," the Lieutantent Toshi, the Japanese translator warned. "Snipers ovunque (everywhere)."

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His Italian was poorly accented, but Luigi understood. He signaled to the new L8 tanks to engulf the nearby forest in flames. No point risking the lives of his men in this war.

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Little did Luigi know that his main purpose was to test out the new weapon systems. The Germans may control most of England, but the Italians gathered the important scientists and their research. Tizard had concocted a new formula for flamethrower fuel that allowed the flames to last longer. Turing developed a computing device that aided decryption. Lindemann worked together with Italian scientists de Finetti to resolve the Empire's logistical problems.

Yet the defence of Italy relied on the magical Modena Project. Both British and Italian minds worked together to ensure a steady supply of radioactive material to a secluded spot in Modena. What was this new weapon?
 
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Nice to have you back. I would have liked to see a longer update, but I will take what we can get.
 
Chapter 32: Case Blue

1 April 1942
Finally it happened. For years the Italian intelligence picked up signs of "Case Blue", the German code for a massive offensive against Russia, but had idea of the hour or the day. On April Fool's Day, the Germans rushed into Soviet land.

Despite choosing to remain neutral during this conflict, Air Marshal Balbo agreed to dispatch Agent Faye back into action. She was to follow the progress of the war, and take notes of the German and Soviet morale.

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The German advance was lightning fast. Despite being outnumbered, they quickly encircled and destroyed many Soviet defensive positions. The Soviets struggled to reorganise and make a concerted defence. Within days, the Germans captured Brest, Minsk and Riga and effectively destroyed the Soviet airforce guarding the Baltics.

This gave the Germans sole control of the air, and hindered Soviet agility to conduct aerial scouting missions. Agent Faye could barely keep up with the rapid capture of Soviet land.

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Meanwhile the Italian military command was in three minds about Case Blue. On one hand, aligning themselves with the Germans was beneficial since they were ideological buddies. Yet German fascism was different from Italian fascism -- the Germans based a lot of policies on racial purity and German superiority, and the Italians were sought to restore Roman culture.

Another faction wanted to assist the Soviets to hinder German domination. This would mean aligning with Communists, which send shivers down an ordinary Italian's spine. Everyone remembered what the Communists did to their royals, priests and intellectuals in the guise of utopia.

Still, the main faction insisted on neutrality. The Italians were still new to their unstable global empire. Any false move might crash their new Roman Empire early. They had to play it safe.
 
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Chapter 33: Relations with North America

30 April 1942

Another major issue was the issue with the United States. Seen as the last bastion of democracy, the Americans were unnerved by having a fascist Canada (under Italian rule) at its border. The Canadian government has already agreed to cooperate with the fascist Italians, and announced a break away from traditional British values of democracy.

"Their future prime minster, whoever it is, would make us proud," Dictator Mussolini as he admired a young Pierre Trudeau rallying Canadians behind the cooperation. The last war was simply a squabble between world powers, and Canada had no place in it. For those who had were more reluctant, a show of force was often included.

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Meanwhile, the Caribbean Islands that the British once owned now became summer vacation for the Italian elite and military. The military also secretly moved military ships closer to the United States in the guise of protecting the luxury ships and tourist vessels.

If the United States wanted to be the bastion, then it would be a target.

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Chapter 39: The war escalates

August 1942
With Greece as one of the few remaining independent European nations, the United States finally started to guarantee its independence after the Germans move its troops closer to the Greek borders. Italian intelligence predict an invasion within weeks.

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This would complicate things for Italy. Marshal Balbo was initially happy that the Americans were not involved in any European conflict. However if the Germans were to attack Greece, this could change. Dictator Mussolini did not care. He was off in the Caribbean, enjoying fine women and wine. The defence of the Italian realm relied on Marshal Balbo.

Meanwhile Japan was stuck in the quagmire of China. Promising support in the form of new armor units, Balbo landed the latest tank designs in Western China. His best general, General Messe was leading the charge.

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In return, Japan promised cooperation from its top scientists, especially in the field of theoretical physics. Soon, Japan's top scientist Yoshio Nishina would arrive in Modena to work on a very special project.
 
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