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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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An Empire Reborn Part 6 By Vincent Longobardi
July 18th 1967 The United Kingdom closes military bases in Malaysia and Singapore in order to concentrate more military forces against the Lira Block in Africa. August 20th 1967 A large number of YFM groups meet in Arlington, Virginia to discuss the possibility of creating a single unified national party to run the next presidential election. August 25th 1967 Critics attack former Air Force General Curtis LeMay when in an interview he remarked that if the Italians were the ones in charge of the war in Vietnam it would have been over and won already. He said that if he was in charge of the entire operation he would have employed "Fascist anti-partisan" tactics against the communists. General LeMay refuses calls to issue an apology. September 3rd 1967 "The Last Bastille Day" by Henri Cartier a former French naval captain who served during the Border War and lost his ship in the Strait of Bonifacio is published. The book follows the lives of a French family in Montpellier during an occupation by Italian forces. Though the book is said to be written to highlight deficiencies in the French military for a war with Italy the actual war is only spoke of in hindsight with the characters piecing together the few outside reports of the conflict in addition to their own limited firsthand knowledge. Beginning a few weeks after the conquest of mainland France the book shows how one family and their neighbors survive in an Italian occupied Montpellier. It is pieced together that on Bastille Day of that year(though the actual year is not revealed) Italian and Lira Block forces launched lightning strikes against French government and military assets knocking out the French chain of command in the early hours of the war. It is unclear whether nuclear weapons played a role as none of the major characters were witness to any detonations and reports from transitory characters are often extremely conflicting. What is known is that a Blitzkrieg like invasion from Italy and Spain quickly overwhelms the disorganized French military and occupies the country in under a month. Early in the novel, a ham radio operator makes contact with a fellow operator in North Africa to learn that the French are still fighting in Africa. This one connection to the outside is quickly dismantled when the radio operator is arrested by Italian authorities. Likewise it is unknown the status of the United States, most of the major characters suspect that the US is too involved in Vietnam to involve itself in the war. It is believed by numerous characters that England is at war with the NRE and its allies. Aside from occasional talks with collaborators or from witnessing celebrations by Italian troops at the local garrison there is almost no mention of politics or the war at large. Even the existence of a "Free France" is in doubt by the end when the only character to try to make contact with representatives of a resistance is captured by the Italians. The novel primarily focuses on the characters surviving in an occupied world. There is no silver lining in the ending. The final passage of the book is the characters watching a massive overflight of Italian aircraft which they take to be the Italians preparing to invade Britain. September 22nd 1967 A tentative agreement is reached between Rome and the Vatican concerning issues of Vatican II and their relation to the church in Italy and the Empire. Churches within the NRE will be allowed to continue to practice Latin Rite masses. October 8th 1967 The American Fascist Party is officially formed. They announce they will begin finding candidates for every level of elections in any locality that any party member is willing to participate in. October 11th 1967 President Johnson orders the FBI to conduct an investigation on the extent of Fascist penetration in the United States and the number of so-called Fascists and fascist leaning groups. December 3rd 1967 The world’s first heart transplant is carried out in South Africa. The South African government bills it as a milestone that could only be achieved by white minds and the fascist spirit. December 11th 1967 The Concorde jet is unveiled in France. January 5th 1968 On the first year anniversary of the NRE’s first successful satellite launch, Consul Medici pledges to the nation that an Imperial will be in space by 1970. January 15th 1968 A large earthquake strikes Sicily killing over 200. Aid from the mainland is quickly rushed to the island. January 30th 1968 North Vietnam launches the Tet Offensive. February 6th 1968 The New Roman Empire is banned from participating in the Winter Olympics by France(the hosting nation.) The NRE team was considered a shoe-in to win the biathlon event which combines cross country skiing and rifle shooting. February 10th 1968 For the first time since the establishment of colonial citizenship, colonial citizens will be allowed to emigrate out of their provinces. In an attempt to encourage more European migration to the newly acquired Mozambique colony. February 24th 1968 The Tet Offensive comes to an end. In terms of manpower and achieving its objectives the Tet Offensive was a horrible loss for North Vietnam but the effects of the offensive has served to disenfranchise most Americans against the war. March 2nd 1968 The American Fascist Party announces that George Lincoln Rockwell will be the party’s candidate for president. The platform for the election is: 1. An immediate end to integration efforts. 2. The proper handling of the war in Vietnam 3. Creating closer ties with all nations opposed to Communism and offering a united front against the Soviets. *Note: In this timeline George Lincoln Rockwell has not been assassinated.* March 10th 1968 Crown Prince Vittorio announces his engagement to Princess Margarita of Spain. March 31st 1968 President Johnson announces that he will not run for reelection. April 4th 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. April 5th 1968 Race riots breakout in the United States as a result of King’s death.
April 11th 1968 A truck bomb is detonated outside of the NRE military headquarters in Salisbury, Rhodesia. In the single bloodiest attack against Italian forces to-date over 132 people are killed and over 200 injured including the general in command of operations. Colonel Gritti of the OVRA is field promoted to General by Consul Medici and told to crush the rebellion at any cost. April 15th 1968 Rome threatens the Zambian government with forceful intervention if they continue to offer aid to Rhodesian rebels. April 16th 1968 The British government speaking in defense of Zambia warns the NRE not to act against the free governments of Africa. April 20th 1968 While the diplomats still talk about Zambia, General Gritti orders Imperial special forces to conduct raids along the border to destroy Rhodesian rebel camps. April 22nd 1968 The Namibian government protests the acts of the NRE as illegal and warmongering, warning Rome that if further raids are conducted retaliatory action will be taken, it is obvious that claims of retaliation is merely rhetoric. April 23rd 1968 Students at Columbia University in New York take over the administrative buildings of the college in a protest against the Vietnam War. April 25th 1968 YFM counter-protesters from the tri-state area converge on Columbia University. April 29th 1968 Crushed between increasingly violent students and American Blackshirts the police officers making up the human barricade at Columbia disgusted over the ongoing demonstration purposely break ranks allowing the Fascists to swarm past and attack the students. April 30th 1968 With violence continuing throughout the night, the NYPD is able to finally put an end to the fighting in Columbia University. Over 200 hundred people are injured and hundreds have been arrested. Damage to the buildings is expected to run into the millions after fascists set fire to a library in the course of the rioting. May 2nd 1968 University students in France shutdown Sorbonne University in Paris over what they consider to be unfair treatment of students involved in a previous demonstration. The situation in France increasingly becomes a powder keg as more and more students and schools join in on the shutdown. May 5th 1968 With only a few weeks before the commencement of the wind-down phase of his tour, Lt Medici finds himself and his unit pinned down by Rhodesian Rebels in a large scale offensive near the Zambia border. While the situation isn’t serious at this time they are unable to advance or retreat and helicopter extraction has proven impossible as of this time. *Note: Combat soldiers are deployed to Rhodesia in 12 month tours, two of those months are preparatory where they are assigned to green units commanded by experienced officers and NCOs to get used to being in-country and are taught the things they are needed to know while be in generally safe areas. Following that they are assigned to their permanent units and begin their main tour. Officers and NCOs are required to perform an additional 2 month wind-down tour for a total of 14 months in-country. During this phase they are given command of the Prep Units and bring their officers, NCOs and soldiers up to speed.* End of Part 6.
Please visit my forum for discussion and access to new parts as they become available. http://z11.invisionfree.com/LongVinsWritingDen/index.php?
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