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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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Italy 1936 - An alternate Italian history of World War II Part 19 By Vincent Longobardi
December 30th 1950 The Tunisian Liberation Organization(TLO) is established. It is made up primarily of displaced Tunisians and French-Tunisians living in French North Africa. Their goals are somewhat divided, one faction wants Tunisian independence and the other wants a reunited with France but both factions agree they want Italy out of their land. The French government has offered their support to this group with supplies and training. January 9th 1951 The United Nations building in New York officially opens. January 20th 1951 Avalanches throughout the Alps bury thousands in Italy, Switzerland and Austria. January 21st 1951 Mussolini offers brigades of Blackshirts to Switzerland and Austria to aid in digging out the trapped villages and towns. The offer is turned down. January 25th 1951 British and French ambassadors meet with Portugese officials over the growing relations between Portugal and Italy. They want to know what Portugal wants to leave the Lira Block or at least limit interaction with the Lira Block. February 1951 Reconstruction and Industrialization of the Balkans continues at a steady pace. In the more urbanized areas nearly all reconstruction is complete. The standard of living has returned to that of postwar levels with slight increases in heavily industrialized cities and hubs of transportation. March 5th 1951 In exchange for an increased amount of foreign aid and a technology exchange(and a few threats from Britain and France) Portugal agrees to leave the Lira Block at this time and cement closer more beneficial ties with the western allies. Mussolini blasts this agreement as unfair intervention within the sphere of influence of the New Roman Empire and the intimidation of minor nations.
March 20th 1951 The TLO begins to take shape as an organization and France provides them with surplus equipment from World War II. The TLO will make a public announcement for Italy to leave Tunisia within the next two months. April 1951 The Battle for Births shows success when reports show Italy’s birthrate rising for the first time in years. Economic good times and military demobilization has led many young Italians to start families. Mussolini praises these young Italian couples and encourages more to follow in their footsteps. *Note: The lack of massive damage to the country and hundreds of thousands of deaths leaves the Italian younger generation largely intact during this timeline. This with the fact that the Italian economy is improving has led to a baby boom of sorts like what happened in the United States.* May 5th 1951 In the United States, Congressmen from heavily dominated Italian areas(mainly the Northeast) begin pushing for the normalization of relations with Italy. Even outside of Italian controlled districts politicians are starting to take notice and calling for improved Italian relations to give the United States another ally against Communist aggression. May 10th 1951 In a carefully worded statement, the TLO demands that Italy leave Tunisia and allow the TLO to set up an interim government to decide the fate of the region. A two week deadline is given or the TLO will be forced to seek other means for independence. May 11th 1951 France calls for the TLO ultimatum to be met so that what is properly French territory be returned to France. May 12th 1951 The British government gives its public support for the return of Tunisia to France. Privately though they warn France on their support of indigenous independence movements before colonies of the British crown or French Union follow suit. May 24th 1951 The deadline comes and goes without any response from any office of government within the New Roman Empire. May 26th 1951 Raiders cross the border from French North Africa into Tunisia attacking border towns before withdrawing back across the border. TLO members already in Tunisia or who snuck across the relatively lightly defended border detonate bombs near government buildings or Italian areas. May 27th 1951 Mussolini decries these cowardly terrorists for their attacks against civilians and demands France stop harboring the raiders. Police and military in Tunisia are put on alert. June 1951 The raids and bombings in Tunisia continue throughout the month. But by mid-month the border raids begin to decrease as Italian troops become more skilled at intercepting them, forcing the raiders to flee rather than engage in drawn out entanglements with professional soldiers. The Italian soldiers are forbidden from crossing over into Algeria making their ability to pursue the terrorists difficult. July 16th 1951 King Leopold III of Belgium abdicates the throne. His son Baudouin will be crowned king. July 20th 1951 King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated by a Palestinian in Jerusalem. July 28th 1951 The French army promises the TLO more direct support should the TLO be able to strike more direct harder blows against the government in Tunisia. August 11th 1951 Rene Pleven becomes Prime Minister of France. He pledges to continue demanding the return of French lands currently occupied by the Fascists. August 27th 1951 In the deadliest bombing yet of the Tunisian uprising, 243 Italian and colonial government officials are killed when a bomb is detonated inside the municipal building of Tunis. August 28th 1951 Addressing the people of the Empire, Mussolini demonizes the TLO and their cowardly attacks against those just trying to live their lives and perform their God-given duties of serving the state. He announces that he has ordered Blackshirts to Tunisia to secure the cities and route out these terrorists. He ends with the line: "The enemy of Fascism is your enemy. Give him no quarter." September 7th 1951 The lead elements of the Blackshirt division assigned to Tunisia arrive in Tunis. They are tasked with bringing order to the cities and to put an end to the bombings from the elements hiding within the province. The army is still tasked with preventing border raids. September 20th 1951 Turkey is accepted as a member of NATO. September 21st 1951 Direct French intervention begins in the TLO raids against Tunisia. French Foreign Legion units are assigned to work with the raiders. September 28th 1951 Italy protests the inclusion of French forces with the Tunisian raiders. France counters that any French fighting with the TLO are volunteers and not representative of the French government. October 10th 1951 An Italian platoon battling along the border Tunisian border comes under heavy artillery bombardment by French forces resulting in the near complete destruction of the platoon. October 12th 1951 The Comando Supremo requests and receives permission to increase the military presence in Tunisia. Two newly mechanized divisions and one armored division are to be deployed with them will be assigned an appropriate amount of air support including Re. 2007 jet fighters. This new force is ordered to crush the TLO raiders and anyone who supports them. Though Rules of Engagement still apply where Italian forces can not cross the border. October 18th 1951 With only two days left in the remaining Congressional session, members of congress push for an immediate vote on a bill for the normalization of relations with Italy. The bill passes the House of Representatives. October 20th 1951 The bill on the normalization of relations faces serious problems in the Senate when many Senators refuse to accept a provision recognizing the official name of Italy as the "New Roman Empire." With the ending of the Congressional session the bill will be one of the first brought to the floor in the next session in January. October 20th 1951 Seeing that the war in Indochina is proving more unpopular by the day while the TLO plight to retake Tunisia is gaining popularity in France, the French government begins preparations to redeploy troops from Indochina to North Africa. The government knows that Italy will not be able to attack France directly without enacting the wrath of NATO, allowing France to keep constant pressure against Tunisia until it becomes too great for Italy to bear. October 21st 1951 Massive storms hit southern Italy killing over 100. October 26th 1951 Winston Churchill is reelected Prime Minister of Britain. He warns the British people that the threat of Fascism is still just as great a threat to the world as Communism. November 13th 1951 French and Italian forces are engaged directly in combat just inside the Tunisian border. After three hours of fighting, French forces withdraw, R.O.E. prevents Italian troops from pressing the attack. To Italy and her allies this is considered the start of the Border War with France. December 3rd 1951 When Italian forces come under artillery fire from across the border, an Italian tank commander orders the tanks under his command to cross the border and engage the French artillery. The French consider this attack to be the official start of the Border War. To the world it is just another sign that the 20th century will be the century of endless war... End of Part 19.
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