I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 44



Only Noblemtl

EP.44 Butterfly Effect (4)

Now that Churchill had gone from being Prime Minister to a wild man, his sunken gaze turned to the new Prime Minister.

“Surely, the Prime Minister will not shake the people by bringing ‘peace in our time’?”

Edward Wood, Viscount Halifax, smiled wryly.

“It’s an inevitable situation. Public opinion also wants the nearly 300,000 expeditionary force soldiers to return safely.”

“Mr. Prime Minister, the Nazis are not the kind of people who keep their promises. Any concession you make to them now will only be a repeat of Chamberlain’s mistake.”

“The cabinet has already decided.”

Viscount Halifax informed us that peace negotiations were a done deal.

Churchill tried several times to change the Prime Minister’s mind, but Edward Wood’s determination was firm.

“The future of this country is bleak.”

On July 4, 1940, the historic day that marked the American Declaration of Independence, the British Empire, the German Empire, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Slovak Republic agreed to an ‘armistice’.

Hitler accepted the British Empire’s territories and rights in exchange for the return of the colonies of the ‘old’ German Empire and recognition of Germany’s territorial gains in Europe.

Of course, Mussolini had his own way of getting his share.

“At least Egypt must belong to Italy! Otherwise we will never agree!”

However, the negotiating power of the two parties was hopelessly at rock bottom.

“No, why do Italians do that?”

“If there are a lot of casualties, what do you think we can give you?”

No one treated Italy, which entered the war late and performed poorly against France, as a true victor.

Even our ally Germany,

“You could just throw me some Gaepyeong.”

This is what I thought about Italy.

When the armistice was reached, Italy was enraged.

“Our Rome has been robbed of its due. Once again we have won a ‘crippled victory’!”

The term “crippled victory” refers to the fact that Italy suffered two million casualties during World War I, but did not receive its promised share in the Treaty of London.

Initially, Mussolini also came to power by winning support from the extreme right wing, claiming that he would achieve victory through disability.

So the meaning of this slogan could not help but be terrifying.

‘Let’s bring that guy down, he’s bringing about stupid results.’

Within the Italian Fascist Party, voices of criticism against Duce erupted.

If you’re going to be treated like this, why don’t you just go to war?

Or, you can join the war early and get your share for sure.

The duo had to endure abuse from all sides.

Even in the original version, Italy had gained little, but the reason it was criticized so much was because it had not gained much from its enemies even after negotiations with Britain, the last Allied Power, were over.

For Duche, it has become urgent to carry out a project that can appease the people.

‘This, this is because that fucking asshole screwed me over. First, let’s swallow Yugoslavia whole and appease his discontent.’

Duce gave orders to prepare for the invasion of Yugoslavia without consulting Hitler.

The Minister of Armaments, Carlo Favagrossa, was taken aback by Mussolini’s instructions.

“Duce, prepare to invade Yugoslavia? Our army cannot resume war until after 1942.”

In fact, there was no reason to write a letter.

Prince Pavle, the current ruler of Yugoslavia, is a pro-Axis figure.

In a broad sense, Pavle was a potential ally of the Axis powers.

The idea of ​​provoking such an opponent for political gain could only be described as that of a madman.

The minister’s objections were simply ignored.

“It won’t take much time to invade a place like Yugoslavia. I’ll give you two weeks.”

After much deliberation, the Italian military reached this conclusion:

“Anyway, there’s no need to seriously prepare for dealing with the likes of Yugo. The game will be over if we just rush in with our troops.”

The Italian army prepared for an invasion operation without any detailed operational plan.

Units deployed throughout France were mobilized here.

And then he started working on the masterpiece.

“We, Italy, will reclaim the territories we were rightfully promised in World War I. Yugoslavia must immediately return the territories it illegally seized!”

The sudden outbreak of the two was enough to shake the entire Balkan Peninsula.

“If we don’t join the Axis, we’ll lose to Italy.”

Romania, which was already feeling a security crisis due to being beaten by the Soviet Union, took action, and Hungary and Bulgaria joined the Axis alliance one after another.

The Greek government, led by dictator General Ioannis Metaxas, was no exception.

From the beginning, the Greek military regime had a pro-German tendency.

“We will also join the Axis!”

The more this happened, the more anxious Mussolini became.

Mussolini, worried that Yugoslavia might join the Axis, declared war without even completing the preparations that were already lacking.

On July 15, 1940, the Yugoslav War broke out simultaneously with Italy’s declaration of war.

Germany took a wait-and-see approach to this situation.

In fact, it was difficult to take either side.

‘If Pablo is on our side and Duce is on our side, then mediation is right.’

But if they did mediate, it was obvious that both sides would be angry.

While Germany was doing nothing, the Italian army was making great strides.

Surprisingly, the Yugoslav Army was a sham.

Although they were said to have a million-strong army, they were easily cut down like a tofu when attacked.

The Italian army’s proud tanks, aircraft and modernized motorized units led the attack.

Sure, most of them were old and worn-out antiques, but they looked nice on the outside.

“Look at this. We are a country that can do it if we try!”

Duce packaged his achievements in Yugoslavia as his own political achievements.

So, the plan was to appease the discontent.

“Duce. Congratulations. The occupation of Croatia has been completed.”

“That’s right, that’s it.”

But the two didn’t have much fun for long.

The Yugoslav army, which had retreated deep inland, gradually recovered from the shock of the war and began to offer tenacious resistance.

This would not have happened if the Yugoslav army’s command center had been paralyzed by a shock force as terrifying as that of the Germans, but the Italians did not have the ability to imitate the Germans.

As the battle dragged on, the Italian army’s chronic logistical problems became a problem.

There was another problem.

“There should have been an operational plan from the beginning. You could have coordinated it or modified it. What can you do without one?”

The Italian cabinet did not have a proper invasion plan.

No, there was one, but it was only 4 chapters long.

When you think of military operations, you probably think of massive piles of paperwork consisting of hundreds of pages, but in Italy, such things existed only in theory.

The generals gave impromptu orders and did not move their troops according to a unified strategy.

As a result, the West’s superiority gradually disappeared, and the boring trench warfare seen in World War I began to appear.

“This is a disgrace! What on earth is the Air Force doing!”

Of course, it was no different in the Air Force.

The Italian Air Force flew around the sky for a while, and when they saw the two sides fighting, they just dropped bombs.

The same was true of aerial resupply.

As a result, there were frequent misfires and supplies that were supposed to be given were dropped onto the enemy.

The Italian Air Force was in fact not much different from nothing.

“You said it would take a week to get to Belgrade? It’s been two weeks now.”

The Italian army’s poor performance soon became the laughing stock of the world.

Mussolini was named Person of the Year as the second ‘bad’ head of state after Stalin.

Italy’s failure also had repercussions for the world that was watching the fascists triumph.

“Let’s go to Yugoslavia! We have to stop the fascist invaders here once and for all, so they will know how scary war is.”

The International Brigades, who were defeated in the Spanish Civil War and had to leave their home country or foreign countries,

“I don’t know about Germany, but can’t we show the Italian pigs an example right now!”

Anti-fascist volunteers also arrived from Britain and the United States.

Only the Soviet Union, which had friendly relations with Yugoslavia, remained silent.

“If we intervene in Yugoslavia now, we might provoke the Nazis. Refrain from any actions that might provoke them.”

The Soviet Union, following Stalin’s non-intervention orders, did not send a single gun or bullet.

In fact, the Soviet Union was in no position to help others.

Germany, which had created the United States of Europe, stood before them as their potential enemy.

Anyway, except for the Axis powers, everyone was secretly watching Yugoslavia’s propaganda with a happy heart.

Italy could no longer afford to suffer a decline in prestige.

The two sides made a decision.

“Use poison gas.”

In Africa, no one ever complained about using gas against Ethiopian barbarians.

But this time, the place to use poison gas was the heart of Europe.

“Two. That’s it.”

“This is an order.”

Italy began to actively use poison gas in an attempt to turn the tide of the war.

The Yugoslav army, which had been holding up well until now, was helpless in the face of poison gas.

“It is a violation of international law!”

“So, where are the guys who will enforce international law?”

Italy seized the opportunity in dirty ways.

But this did not mean the end for all of Yugoslavia.

Originally, the main game was supposed to start after the Yugoslav War ended.

The Italians didn’t know that yet.