Many enemies. Much honour. (An Italian TRP AAR)

[WillM2012]

Difficulty: Normal
AI Aggressiveness: Normal
Game version: TRP 1.01 (DH 1.03RC3)
IC takeover: Off
Tech team takeover: Off
Cheats used: nofog for military comparisons


​

Contents​

Prologue​

Part I: The Road to War​

Chapter I: Abyssinian Victory​

Chapter II: Rome wasn’t built in a day​

Chapter III: Birth of the Axis​

Chapter IV: Peace in our time?​

Chapter V: War Clouds​

Part II: Avanti!​

Chapter VI: The Phony War​

Chapter VII: The Legions of Rome march again​

Chapter VIII: The fall of France​

Chapter IX: Iron hulls, Iron hearts​

Chapter X: The Greek Campaign​

Part III: A World at War​

Chapter XI: The World shall hold its Breath​

Chapter XII: The Battle of Giza​

Chapter XIII: Day of Infamy​

Chapter XIV: Operation Torch​

Chapter XV: War in the Western Desert​

Part IV: The Long Road Home​

Chapter XVI: The Turning Tide​

Chapter XVII: Farewell, Africa​

Chapter XVIII: The Beginning of the End​

Chapter XIX: Looking to the East​

 

[Hepzibah3]

Hey I know it can be hard to come by comments, so, just wanted to say this AAR looks interesting and I look forward to seeing what you do with it!

 

[WillM2012]

Prologue​

At the turn of the century, Italy was an underdeveloped Kingdom situated in the central Mediterranean. As an imperial power Italy had been late to join other European nations in claiming overseas colonies, and the only land she had managed to seize was economically insignificant Eritrea and Somaliland, with her East African ambitions later halted at the battle of Adowa during the first Italian-Abyssinian war. At home, Italy desperately required modernisation, particularly in agriculture, where antiquated farming methods were well entrenched, and in industry, an area in which Italy was woefully deficient when compared to the industrialised nations of Western Europe. Nevertheless, Italian nationalists were keen to expand her borders and prove to both the world and the Italian people that the young Kingdom was the equal of the other great imperial powers, particularly Britain and France. To this end, the Italian government, under pressure from the nationalists, sparked the Italian-Turkish war over Italian claims to the Ottoman colony of Libya. At the conclusion of the year-long war, Italy wrested from the Ottoman Empire the territories of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, Fezzan and the Dodecanese islands.​

​

Italian troops in Libya during the Italian-Turkish war.​

Whilst many Italians had pride in their nation boosted by the victory, the war had been economically damaging, costing far more than Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti had predicted. In addition, the new North African territory would not accept Rome’s authority without a fight, and the guerrilla fighters would reclaim almost all of the Libyan Desert during the First World War, when the Italians evacuated most of their colonial garrisons, leaving only Tripoli and several other major ports in Italian hands.​

When it came to foreign relations, Italy gravitated towards Germany in the late 19th century, due to the fact that both nations shared a common desire in their quest to obtain additional territory at the expense of the well established French and British colonial empires. Therefore, Italy joined the Triple Alliance, in which the nations of Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary promised mutual aid in the event of attack from another great power. However, by the early years of the 20th century, relations with Vienna and to a lesser extent Berlin had cooled; due to the fact that north of the border lay hundreds of thousands of Italian speaking people. This lay at the heart of the growing animosity between Austria and Italy, and would become a major factor in Italy’s drift towards the allied camp when the First World War erupted, when this land was promised to Italy in the Treaty of London.

In May 1915, Italy entered the Great War on the side of the Entente, answering calls that many nationalists had made since the previous August. One of those voices was the former socialist and future Prime Minister, Benito Mussolini. The initial Italian offensives made minimal gains, the Italian army attacking an enemy dug into the easily defensible terrain of the Alps. For the next two years the frontline was relatively stable, until the Caporetto disaster of October 1917, when the Italians were humiliatingly pushed back behind pre-war borders and suffered three hundred thousand casualties. With Italian territory occupied, the national shame felt from the defeat was not even fully erased by the victory the following year at Vittorio Veneto, which was followed swiftly with allied victory over the central powers.


​

Elite Alpini troops in the Alps.​

The cost of the war to Italy was huge, with over half a million dead. In addition, the economic impact dwarfed that of the previous Turkish war, and soon inflation and unemployment were rampant. To add insult to injury, Italian gains were significantly less than had been guaranteed by the earlier Treaty of London, and despite an earlier promise by Britain and France to share Germany’s colonies with Italy, the Italian overseas empire did not expand. Gabriele D'Annunzio, Nationalist and poet, echoed the sentiments of many of his countrymen when he denounced the victory conditions at the end of the war as the ‘mutilated peace’.​

By 1920, discontent amongst the Italian people was rising primarily due to the deteriorating economic situation and the anger felt that so many had sacrificed themselves in the Great War for so little. Owing to the economic hardship, this period saw the rise of the PSI, or Italian Socialist Party, who were inspired by the successful Bolshevik revolution in Russia and their hope that a similar situation could occur in Italy deeply concerned the conservative establishment. This culminated in the Biennio Rossa of 1919 and 1920, where strikes, protests and occupations threatened revolution. To make matters worse, Giolotti’s attempts to placate the working class failed, damaging his government’s image in the eyes of wealthier Italians.​

It was in this environment, with Italy seemingly torn between the old order and socialism that Mussolini, through endorsement of a ‘third way’, managed to truly enter into the national consciousness. Returning from the alpine front, he enjoyed high levels of popularity amongst veterans and nationalists, whilst socialist advances and victories further rallied conservative elements towards his cause.​

Mussolini named his new Ideology ‘Fascism’, after the fasces, a bundle of rods that indicated a magistrate’s power in ancient Rome. In the first years of fascism, perhaps the most visible sign of fascist power to the Italian people were the Blackshirts. A paramilitary organisation controlled by local ras, they practiced violence against their political enemies, the socialists and communists. Many conservatives chose to turn a blind eye to violence of the fascists, and Mussolini gained a new platform when he was elected to parliament in the election of 1921, however, the fascists were far from winning the election, and as they had few concrete policies, many though that they could not seize power through conventional electoral politics. Mussolini’s solution was to actively spread the fear of red revolution, and to prove that only his movement could prevent this. In July 1922 he would be granted a golden opportunity.​

The socialists had called a general strike for July 31st, which was rapidly put down by Blackshirt violence. Mussolini had demonstrated his usefulness to the existing order, and he soon accepted a part in Italy’s coalition government. However, the local ras were not content with the limitation of the fascists’ power, and so in October they pressured Mussolini to march on Rome. Seeing that the ras would not be moved in their convictions, Mussolini joined the marchers. Upon arrival in Rome, he received his reward, and was made Prime Minister by Italy’s monarch, King Emmanuel III, out of a combination of political weakness and fear of revolution.​

​

The Fascist march on Rome.​

Immediately, Mussolini consolidated fascist power. Through the use of emergency powers, the fascists suppressed political opponents and sought to create a totalitarian, one party state. Gaining the support of the monarchy and the church, by the mid 1920’s Mussolini had no real internal threats to his power. During the remainder of the 1920’s and the early 1930’s, the fascists created a corporatist regime, with attempts to improve industrial efficiency and modernisation of infrastructure. Despite these efforts, a combination of corruption, the great depression and Mussolini’s penchant for bravado and short term solutions meant that much of the fascists’ economic goals were not achieved by the mid 1930’s, leaving the Italian military technologically behind its’ rivals. However, with the rise of the Nazi party in Germany and a potential ally in his dream to recreate the Roman Empire, Mussolini found himself in a race against time to ensure that Italy would be prepared to exploit whatever opportunities came its’ way.​

 

[WillM2012]

Hey I know it can be hard to come by comments, so, just wanted to say this AAR looks interesting and I look forward to seeing what you do with it!

Thanks While I plan on following the historical route until I enter the war, I hope that this AAR will end up as something a bit different.

 

[Hepzibah3]

Thanks While I plan on following the historical route until I enter the war, I hope that this AAR will end up as something a bit different.

Hahaha, hopefully Mussolini doesn't end up the same way he did in real life

 

[Hepzibah3]

Oh,hey. Just another little thing I wanted to mention real quick. If you've seen my AAR, having a high view count and a small reply count is not bad. There are tons of lurkers.

 

[WillM2012]

Oh,hey. Just another little thing I wanted to mention real quick. If you've seen my AAR, having a high view count and a small reply count is not bad. There are tons of lurkers.

I must confess I am one of those lurkers

 

[WillM2012]

Chapter I: Abyssinian Victory
January – March 1936​

At the beginning of 1936, Italy found itself at war in Africa with Abyssinia and diplomatically isolated amongst the nations of Europe. On paper, Italy had the world’s 4th largest army after those of France, the Soviet Union and the Chinese nationalists. However, many of Italy’s fifty two divisions were undermanned, poorly trained and found themselves with severely outdated equipment. It was not unusual in the artiglieria for new recruits to man the same guns that their fathers had manned in the First World War, or even before. Army doctrine was also deficient, and it was around this time that Mussolini became aware of the need for reform in the armed forces. When it came to the Regia Aeronautica, Italy found itself with a large, well trained force for the time. However, the Italian air force was in a state of relative decline, as the nations of Britain and France began to rearm and improve upon their designs. Italian aircraft designers clung to outdated biplane models as new, all metal fighters and bombers were introduced by their rivals. The only area where the Italians had no major, immediate concerns was in the state of the Regia Mariana. The Italians boasted the 4th largest navy in the world in terms of overall vessels, with several modern battleships under construction. Whilst some of the navy’s ships were aging and outdated, particularly elements of the submarine fleet, this deficiency was not nearly as pronounced as in the other services.​

However, at the root of many of the armed forces’ problems was Italy’s lack of industry. Whilst a greater priority for the armed forces than seen in the western democracies provided Italy with a very slight edge in production over Britain and France until the mid 1930’s, in industrial facilities she was lacking. This also impeded to an extent technological innovation.​

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Italian economic strength compared to Europe’s major powers.​

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Fascist Government ministers.​

At the start of the New Year, Mussolini responded to calls from the army for a new, modern tank and updated cavalry units. The fascists also invested into researching new methods to improve industrial efficiency and additionally sought to improve future transport vessels.
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The fascist government continued current plans for the expansion of the navy and the limited industrialisation planned, however, the training of new divisions and even the updating of equipment of existing divisions was put on hold until Mussolini’s new, ambitious plan of industrialisation could be realised. ​

In the meantime, the Regio Escercito would have to make do with what they had. Even reinforcements for existing units were reduced to a trickle, but Pariani was confident that the Italian army would emerge victorious in east Africa despite its’ equipment problems.​

The most pressing matter for Italy to immediately deal with now was the war with Abyssinia. Determined to win a greater empire and to avenge the Italian defeat at Adowa, Mussolini had declared war upon one of the only independent African nations left on the continent. In January 1936, Mussolini was approached with a daring plan from General Emilio De Bono, which called for the sixteen divisions stationed in Eritrea to bypass the large Abyssinian army at Gonder by abandoning Asmara in order to swiftly strike at the enemy capital. Whilst this would expose the Eritrean port of Massawa to the enemy, De Bono was confident that the Abyssinians, which relied upon horse drawn or man carried supply lines, could not advance fast enough to cut off Italian supplies from the sea. It was a gamble, but with conviction De Bono managed to persuade the Duce.

​

As the offensive got underway, a reorganisation of the Regia Aeronautica was announced; the existing small stormos were to be merged into much larger wings which would be the equal of those of other nations. Some dissent was heard amongst the air force, although the reorganisation was swiftly carried out.​

​

Meanwhile, just ten days after the offensive began De Bono’s forces captured Adigrat, while the large and ponderous Ethiopian army remained stationary. De Bono triumphantly informed Mussolini that he expected the war to be over within sixty days. Abyssinian forces that attempted to delay the Italians at Dessie in late January were devastated by a combination of aerial bombardment, disorganisation and superior Italian technology. Aside from some skirmishes on the Somali border, the final combats in the East African war would be on the approach to Addis Ababa. Italian casualties in all of these battles would be light, and even the most optimistic Italian military leaders were surprised with the capture of Abyssinia costing less than two thousand lives.​

On February 14th, five Italian divisions commanded by Field Marshall Italo Balbo entered Addis Ababa. On the same day, with the flight of Haile Selassie, representatives of the Abyssinian government accepted their integration into the Italian empire and ordered their forces to cease resistance. The defeat at Adowa had been avenged, and at home the fascists revelled in their propaganda victory. Behind the scenes, however, Italian leaders grew concerned over reports from front line commanders which stated that while the army’s equipment was adequate for colonial wars, Italian military hardware would not hold up in a modern conflict.

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Italian troops march into Addis Ababa.​

 

[whatguts]

you're doing a good job! keep at it

 

[WillM2012]

you're doing a good job! keep at it

I'll have another chapter up soon

 

[WillM2012]

Chapter II: Rome wasn't built in a day
March 1936 – January 1937​

Even before victory had been secured in East Africa, Mussolini had turned his attention towards the state of Italy’s weak industrial sector. A massive industrialisation project had been commenced at the start of the year to shorten the gap between Italy and her rivals, and was part of the ultimate fascist goal of autarky. The plan was expected to be completed over several years, and would, upon completion, leave Italy with an industrial base just shy of equalling that of France. Aside from the expansion of the quantity of industry, new techniques were also devised to improve the efficiency of existing facilities.

However, there were two constraints upon the plan. The Italian economy was still geared towards the expansion of the Regina Mariana. With the Italian government loathe to cease production on the modern battleships and destroyers which the Admirals maintained were vital to preserve Italian naval strength, the industrial plan would come second to the shipbuilding program. Another factor which placed urgency upon the industrial plan were events abroad. In March 1936, German forces marched into the Rhineland, in violation of the treaty of Versailles. The western democracies did not interfere, but it was a further sign that Germany was bold enough to attempt to reverse the terms of the treaty, and also that another war in Europe was possible. Mussolini knew that if Italy was to play a role in any future European conflict, she would have to do so with an expanded industrial capacity.



These threats to the industrialisation led Mussolini to distance himself from the project in May, announcing Guido Jung as minister of armaments and industry and director of the industry plan. Historians have since speculated that this move would allow Mussolini to take the credit should the plan be successful, while any failures could conveniently be heaped onto the new director. Jung actually proved himself to be a competent organiser, and the Italian economy saw a boost around the middle of the year. However, with the French and British economies now gearing towards war production, Italy had been left behind economically by July.



At this time, with the Regio Escercito chocked of resources, the army leadership, out of necessity, began to make more efficient use of their existing assets. One of these reforms would be the reorganisation of the Italian tank force, some three hundred strong, into armoured divisions.



However, to distract the Duce’s attention from internal matters was the eruption of the Spanish Civil war just weeks later. The Italian leader felt compelled to assist the nationalist General Francisco Franco, even if only due to the desire to remain relevant and exert influence in the western Mediterranean. The Italian military would take a different approach to the conflict, and instead of seeking glory would use the war as a testing ground for new tactics and equipment.



Another event in foreign policy involved the freshly conquered Abyssinian territory. The nation had proven itself barren, hard to control and an economic drain. For this reason, the establishment of the semi-autonomous Italian East Africa was announced on July 29th. The new colony consisted of Somaliland, Eritrea and Ethiopia and was to be governed by General Graziani and a clique of military leaders. Rome instructed Graziani to recruit a colonial army for the colony’s defence from the native and Italian colonist population. Soon, East Africa would be evacuated of Regio Escercito personnel, the security of the colony passed on to Graziani’s new army.

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The new colonial administration.​

By the end of 1936, the Italians had made some economic gains and had almost regained their equality of production with Britain and France. For now at least, the new industrial plan had been moderately successful, although it had halted expansion of the army and air force. When it came to foreign policy, the rise of Nazi Germany was seen as a danger to some, who feared the resumption of German claims to those territories lost by Austria at the conclusion of the First World War, and as a possible ally by others, who saw a shared desire by Germany and Italy to alter the balance of power. By 1937, thousands of Italian volunteers would also become involved in the Spanish Civil war. Italy now faced several choices; continue the costly industrial plan or shift to war production despite Italy’s weakness, embrace Hitler’s Germany as an ally or reject it as a threat, and to either approach the western allies seeking support in Europe, or to remain diplomatically isolated from them in order to leave open the opportunity of the expansion of Italy’s empire. Ultimately, these decisions which would determine Italy’s place in the coming years would come down to the judgement of one man.

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Frontlines of the Spanish Civil war, 1st January 1937.​

 

[nachopontmercy]

It is very interesting, keep on the good work and congrats!

 

[WillM2012]

It is very interesting, keep on the good work and congrats!

Thanks! I'll try to get the next chapter up tommorow.

 

[Hepzibah3]

Hahaha you bang out updates a lot faster than I do!

 

[WillM2012]

Hahaha you bang out updates a lot faster than I do!

Well I had the first 4 chapters finished before I made the thread so you can expect the rate of updates to slow down later on

 

[WillM2012]

Chapter III: Birth of the Axis
January 1937 – January 1938
​

At a meeting of the grand council in early 1937, the fascist leadership set out their objectives for the year. This would include a significant commitment to the Spanish civil war, continuation of the ship building program and the industrialisation plan. At this point the Italians had not yet shown any strong commitment towards winning the favour of Hitler, although the inclusion and cooperation of volunteers from both of these nations into Franco’s nationalist forces naturally drew the two countries closer together.​

Mussolini had ensured with his intervention in Spain that he remained, for now, a major figure on the European stage, and whilst the aid given to Franco would put further strain on the Italian economy, the experience gained by the Italian army in modern warfare would be invaluable. Over the next few months, the army would also begin to show increased interest in specialist troops, developing doctrines for paratrooper and marine divisions.

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At the middle of the year, Guido Jung reported to Mussolini that the industrial plan was slowly beginning to gather momentum, primarily due to the fact that the naval program was close to completion. One added benefit of the industrialisation was a greater capacity for research, which was made possible by new facilities and a greater number of trained specialist personnel.​

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Italian research projects and industrial strength, July 1937.​

Events outside of Europe during 1937 included the Japanese invasion of China. Whilst the western nations, particularly the isolationist USA, protested at the Japanese aggression, Germany and Italy, which both enjoyed warm relations with Tokyo, refrained from doing so. This contributed to Italy’s further distancing from the western allies, and its’ increasing isolation led to a stronger association with Germany, the only remaining major power in Europe that tolerated Italy’s expansionist policies.

​

The start of the second Sino-Japanese war.​

Parallel to these diplomatic developments, Italian troops in Spain performed well, despite similar equipment problems to those reported in Africa. Come August the Nationalists had seized most of Spain, confining the republicans to two pockets in the south and northeast of the country. Many of the volunteers hoped that they would be home by 1938.​

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The Spanish front in August 1937.​

In the latter part of the year, numerous exchanges between the leaders of Italy, Germany and Japan lead to the declaration of the anti-comintern pact. Whilst aimed at the USSR, the pact further concerned Britain and France as it was a much stronger commitment towards Germany than Italy had shown previously. This new found friendship would culminate in a meeting at the Brenner Pass between Hitler and Mussolini in December 1937. Mussolini agreed to remove his protection over Austria, allowing the Germans to annex the territory in return for the cessation of German claims to Bolzano and Trento. The only danger involved in the arrangement, as far as Mussolini was concerned, was the fact that it had been estimated Italy still required several more years to industrialise, let alone re-arm. However, the Duce was assured by Hitler than there would be no general war in Europe until at least 1942. And so, Mussolini in effect traded Austria and with it the fate of Europe, for a new and powerful ally in Nazi Germany. Whilst it would still have been possible later on for Italy to distance itself from Germany, in the minds of much of the fascist leadership, including Mussolini, their fate was now bonded with that of the Nazis. Mussolini described the new alliance as the ‘axis’ around which the world would revolve – the Rome-Berlin axis.​

​

The new axis partners.​

 

[Ruostenyrkki]

I'm glad someone's making a TRP AAR for a change. That mod can be really hard but I'm sure you can handle it (atleast until Germany fails in Russia )

 

[nachopontmercy]

I´m not sure if the last picture is scary or funny

 

[GulMacet]

What is it with Fascists and funny-looking boots?

 

[WillM2012]

Chapter IV: Peace in our time?
January 1938 – March 1939


With the dawn of another year, Italy’s current endeavours were reviewed by the fascist government, and Mussolini was sent reports from the heads of all departments. The industrial plan, combined with Guido Jung’s efficient leadership had been successful in increasing Italian economic output by almost a fifth in just two years. On the other hand, the war footing that Britain and France had taken meant that relative to its’ rivals Italy was only minimally stronger economically. The army, deprived of fresh divisions, had fallen behind Japan’s to become the world’s fifth largest. Similarly, despite the shipbuilding program, Italy had to accept the bitter pill that it’s’ navy had fallen down on the world pecking order behind that of the Soviet Union. In the air, while prototypes of new, modern designs had been developed, the Italian pilots trained in their aged biplanes, growing increasingly frustrated at the assurances that ‘the machines will come’, and as a result Italy now possessed the world’s 6th largest air force. The discovery of these facts convinced Mussolini that a change of direction was required. ‘What we cannot make in the present for ourselves, we will take from others in the future’ Mussolini had argued with Count Ciano, who was in favour of a continuation of the three year industrial plan, as it was now called. What the Soviets had accomplished in five years, the Italians would manage in three, or so the fascist party line said. The shift to war production was to begin in February 1938, when Mussolini ordered the cancellation of industrial works that had not already commenced. Guido Jung was permitted to carry on as armaments minister, although with the end of the plan in January 1939 he would never regain his influence amongst the fascist leadership.

The first good news of the year would come on the twenty first of February, when it was announced that the Republicans had capitulated with the capture of their final stronghold of Gerona. Thus had ended the year and a half long Spanish Civil War. Rome, Venice and Naples were swarmed with cheering citizens, happy that the conflict was over and excited at the return of their loved ones. The fascist propaganda machine would hail the ‘heroes of Spain’ as having saved Western Europe from Bolshevism.

​

By April the 70,000 strong Italian volunteers Corps had returned to Italy.​

However, soon Rome’s attention would be drawn north to the Austrian crisis, where on March 13th foreign minister Count Ciano declined a French invitation to mediate a settlement, showing Italy’s devotion to its’ Axis ally. That same day Germany had marched into Austria, with Hitler declaring the ‘anschluss’, or the union of Germany and Austria. Europe was now one step closer to war, and with Hitler turning his attention east, it was feared by Mussolini that a war would erupt in which Italy would be unprepared. This only hastened his program of military expansion at the expense of the growth of economic output. The Austrian crisis had been perhaps Italy’s only chance of halting German aggression. Indeed, there were many who felt that Italy had a stronger bond with Britain and France and felt that Italy should complain to Germany or even pull out of the axis pact. In the end, they were overruled and Mussolini supported Hitler out of loyalty to the axis cause.





Over the summer, with the winding down of the three year plan, the chiefs of each branch of the armed forces approached Mussolini with their recommendations and arguments to win a slice of the Italian production capacity. The Regio Esercito argued that it was absolutely necessary for Italy to update and expanded its armoured and motorised forces, in addition to forming fifteen divisions for the defence of Italy’s coast. This recommendation was born from the fact that the army had long lacked faith in the Navy’s ability to prevent invasion. Both of these recommendations were granted, and soon the development of a modern tank to keep up with Italy’s rivals’ innovation was begun.



There was a major conflict between the navy and the air force over strategy for the domination of the Mediterranean. The Regia Aeronautica favoured large wings of naval bombers attacking enemy fleets and convoys, resulting in a situation where the British and French navies stayed in port, ceding the sea to Italy. The navy on the other hand, called for a more traditional strategy, and argued for a massive naval rearmament program, a plan which would include several more capital ships. In the end, Mussolini opted for the plans of the air force, to the frustration of Admiral Cavagnari. However, to appease the Regia Marina, construction was continued on the battleships Littorio and Vittorio Veneto, and a second transport fleet was promised. The cost of the air force’s strategy was, for the time being though, beyond Italy’s capacity. The Regia Aeronautica had just one hundred bombers designed for use in naval operations, a mere quarter of what had been recommended. The air force would have to wait until the coastal garrisons had been trained before expansion.

​

The beginnings of the new Regio Esercito.​

At the start of September 1938, much of Italy’s military strategy had been set in stone, while on the international stage another crisis had erupted regarding German claims to the Sudetenland. With Mussolini acting as a mediator between Hitler and the West at the Munich conference, the Sudetenland was ceded to Germany in return for Hitler’s promise that this was the last of his territorial ambitions. Many believed that it had secured ‘peace in our time’. However, Hitler’s next strike would occur the following spring, and would beg an Italian response. In the final months of the year, Czechoslovakia would further be weakened with the Polish and Hungarians seizing further slices of the country, the nation now too weak to oppose its’ neighbours.

With 1939 dawning, Italy’s most important priority was the expansion of it’s army. Since the previous year, Italy had gone from fifty two to fifty five divisions, with the East African army of Graziani consisting of five divisions. The Italian army re-armament goals called for some eighty divisions by 1940. This was an ambitious plan, and put a burden on the Italian economy, which was struggling to meet production quotas.



Nevertheless, by March 1939, thirty divisions were deployed along the French and Yugoslavian borders, twenty four divisions were stationed in or bound for Libya, and seven more were in reserve in the interior, along with the five East African divisions. There was no denying it; Italy was preparing for war. But the already hectic pace of military expansion would be hastened even further by coming events.

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A prototype of the new M11/39 medium tank is shown to Italian leaders.​

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Infantrymen of the coastal garrison on parade in Venice, 1939.​