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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 28 By Vincent Longobardi
January 27th 1956 Greek troops still loyal to the Hellenic Council and Italian Blackshirts disperse and arrest rioters and deserting troops. January 30th 1956 As a fellow Lira Block nation Spain pledges 2,000 soldiers to suppressing the Greek uprising. February 1st 1956 The Great Diaspora of the Greeks begins. Subject to imprisonment, exile or even death, thousands of Greeks flee their homeland. Using any means available from fishing trawlers to even rowboats they attempt to reach of all places Turkey. February 10th 1956 The Augustus Caesar, an Imperator class aircraft carrier begins its sea trials. The Augustus is set to replace the Falco as an operational carrier in the eastern Mediterranean. The Falco will be transferred to the Black Sea Squadron. February 15th 1956 Colonial Turkish regiments are assigned to patrol Athens. For all intents and purposes Greece is now an occupied nation. February 20th 1956 20% of the Greek army has deserted their posts or fled the country. The Comando Supremo has threatened the Hellenic Council with assigning the remaining Greek Army to overseas colonial duty since it appears that they are unable or unwilling to police their own people. February 26th 1956 Minor riots breakout through the newly formed Greek settlements in Africa. These settlements are small, isolated and largely put in place inside or around larger Italian settlements. The riots are quickly put down by local forces. March 2nd 1956 Morroco declares its independence from France. France is reluctant to give up the colony fearing it will become a Lira Block nation but the French military is tied down in Algeria and in its defenses against the New Roman Empire to offer much resistance to the move. March 22nd 1956 Spain requests Italian aid in starting a nuclear program. The Empire agrees to provide technical data and advisors in exchange for nominal fees and access to Spanish Air Bases. April 7th 1956 Spain gives up control of most of its protectorate in Morocco. It retains however the richer northern regions and the Spanish Sahara leading to contention between Spain and the new nation. April 15th 1956 Greek speaking communities spring up along the Turkish coast as refugees continue to flood the country. Some try to continue moving on to Greek speaking Cyprus or to other nations. May 4th 1956 The Imperator is placed in dry-dock to retrofit the ship with an angled flight deck. All fleet carriers are subject to the eventual installation of the angled flight deck to better suit the newer jet aircraft in service. May 10th 1956 Hans Snyder is found guilty of the murder of Ahma Selassie He is sentenced to death. June 6th 1956 The Augustus completes its sea trials and enters into active service. June 12th 1956 The Falco becomes the first aircraft carrier to join the Black Sea Squadron. June 15th 1956 The first squadron of Mercury bombers begin flight training. They will be active October. June 20th 1956 The first Italian Strategic Air Patrol is conducted off the coast of England. The P.112 is launched from a base in northern Spain. Believing that the British may attempt to shoot down the plane the aircraft carried no nuclear ordinance so as not to risk one of Italy’s precious bombs. July 15th 1956 Violence continues in Greece as the rebel elements become bold and launch a large scale assault against a power plant in Albania, knocking out power to several areas in Albania and northern Greece. July 20th 1956 Counterattacks are launched against villages believed to be rebel strongholds situated along the Greco-Imperial border. The uprising tends to remain rather low intensify except for sporadic outbursts of large scale combat such as the July 15th attack. July 26th 1956 President Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal. September 23rd 1956 In an attempt to non-violently remove the opposition of the Hellenic Council, the Council announces it will allow whoever wishes to leave Greece to legally exit the country with their property and money. October 10th 1956 The Imperator reenters active service following the completion of renovations. October 23rd 1956 Hungary begins a revolt against the Soviet Union and attempts to leave the Warsaw Pact. Tensions rise between Spain and Morocco leading to a buildup of troops along the border and the occasional firefight. Mussolini pledges his full support to Franco should war break out. October 24th 1956 The Imperator is set to be deployed to the northern coast of Morocco. October 26th 1956 The Red Army invades Hungary attempting to put down the revolt Italian border positions are put on alert for any unauthorized Soviet incursions. Leave is cancelled for the airmen of the Mercury bombers who finished training only a few days before. The squadron is prepped and begins strategic air patrols. October 27th 1956 The Suez Crisis reaches its boiling point as the armies of Israel and Egypt begin to mobilize. Britain and France offer their support to Israel and begin moving military forces into the theater basing most of their forces in Cyprus. *Note: Historically, most the British contingent was based in Malta. In this timeline, Malta is deemed to dangerous since it is a small island and if an Italian nuclear bomber managed to get through air defense the results would be the destruction of nearly all British forces deployed.* October 28th 1956 Mussolini declares that any attack against a fellow Lira Block nation will be viewed as an attack against the New Roman Empire. Hours later, General Franco announces he stands by his ally in Italy and will too intervene in any conflict. The Augustus and Sparviero with the rest of the Eastern fleet set sail for a position off the coast of Egypt. The Aquila is set to join the Imperator off the Moroccan Coast. *Note: Franco is taking this out of character hawkish approach for a few reasons. If a war breaks out between Italy and Britain, Spain will be drawn into the conflict since Italian bombers are being based in Spain. He also generally believes that France is significantly weakened and that its remaining colonies may be useful bargaining chips for ending any conflict. Like Mussolini in our timeline he wants a place at the peace table.* October 29th 1956 Israel launches a preemptive strike against Egypt known as Operation Kadesh. Quick attacks throughout the Sinai are made against Egyptian positions forcing them to fall back. October 30th 1956 The New Roman Empire demands that Israel ceases all hostile action against Egypt within 24 hours. As a fellow Lira Block nation Syria declares it will aid Italy and Egypt if the ultimatum is not accepted. Israeli forces advance further into the Sinai against Egyptian positions at Jebel Heitan. There they face off against Italian made P. 40 tanks and Egyptian guard units equipped with Assault Rifles. Though suffering heavy casualties the Israelis manage to force the Egyptians back. Mussolini, the Imperial family and the Grand Council of Fascists are all secretly relocated to fortified locations in the Alps. November 2nd 1956 Italian jet aircraft launched from the Augustus strafe and bomb Israeli positions in the Sinai disrupting the advance. The Turkish government announces that it will aid in the defense of Israel against unwarranted aggression by the Fascist Empire and its allies. November 3rd 1956 Syrian troops engage the Israelis along their mutual border. The Syrians are unable to advance but can keep up the harassing attacks. Prime Minister Eden demands that Italy puts an immediate end to its actions in the Mideast and to withdraw its presence. November 4th 1956 World financial markets crash as the situation quickly spirals out of control. The Doomsday Clock is changed to 1 minute to midnight. The closest it has ever been to midnight. The world is poised at the brink of World War III... End of Part 28.
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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