Chapter 400148Chapter NaN

As soon as the Italian Civil War ended, the Italian National Liberation Committee immediately held a national referendum on the abolition of the monarchy.

I don't know what it was like in the original history, but this time, perhaps because the king's actions had been so disgraceful, the approval rate was nearly 70%.

Italy officially abolished its monarchy and became a republic.

After that, British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden, King Zog I of Albania, and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visited to proceed with the post-war settlement with Italy.

It was strange, feeling like we were finally part of the Allied Powers as various countries rushed in to take their share, unlike what happened with Poland.

Italy liberated Albania and Ethiopia and ceded South Tyrol to Germany.

Britain took the other colonies, like Libya and Somalia, and it was decided that they would also take the battleship Littorio, whose repairs were almost complete, and half of the Italian Navy's remaining auxiliary ships.

The Italian Navy seemed to be shedding tears of blood, but what could they do? With this, Britain, which had lost a large number of auxiliary ships in the Mediterranean and the English Channel, would be able to put out the urgent fire.

They'll probably be scrapped, since Italy will be struggling to pay for post-war restoration and reparations.

Italy agreed to pay 3 billion Marks to Germany over 20 years, 100 million Marks to Albania, and reparations equivalent to 300 million Marks to Ethiopia.

In addition, we were to take custody of Heinrich Himmler, the former king who was now just Victor Emmanuel, Ante Pavelić and the Croatian ultranationalists who would be handed over to Yugoslavia, and other Fascist personnel as war criminals.

Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia demanded that Pietro Badoglio, Italy's former Chief of the General Staff who had committed a ruthless massacre in Ethiopia, be tried as a war criminal.

However, he had opposed the war against Germany, had resigned long ago, and had helped the National Liberation Committee during the coup, so there was strong backlash from Italy.

Even representatives from the Allied Powers refused to put a soldier who fought under his fatherland's orders on a black nation's tribunal.

I considered siding with Haile Selassie, but with the Italian Republic's representatives enraged and even Britain sympathizing with them, I could only stand by and watch.

There's a clear difference between offering my personal support and leaving behind the fact that the German Vice-Chancellor made excessively harsh demands on a defeated nation, so I had no choice.

Everyone was furious about the incendiary bombing of Tyrol and the death of the German Prince, siding with Germany's justification, but blatantly gassing and massacring a black nation is treated as something less severe.

What a bitter reality.

The reparations Italy has to pay us are quite heavy, but since there would be no point in accepting Italian military supplies, we allowed them to pay a portion of the reparations with food like pasta and civilian goods like textiles.

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia also took custody of Pavelić and his cronies, and we provided the promised tax exemption benefits, which should help the German public's livelihood that could be strained by the wartime economy.

I'd actually been greedy for their combat rations, having the modern prejudice that Italian rations were luxurious, but after tasting them myself, I immediately gave up and decided to just receive the civilian goods.

It's better to just pay more attention to our own combat rations…

The war, which began on September 25, 1939, when Italy declared war on the New German Government, officially ended on November 4, 1940.

Italy withdrew from the Axis Powers and declared a democratic republic.

Now, Italy's fate was entirely in their own hands.

-

November 8, 1940

South Tyrol, Austria

The German Army dispatched to Italy was finally liberated from the occupied Italian territory and began preparations to return to Germany.

In the meantime, I received shocking news from America.

The winner of the US presidential election was the Republican, Wendell Willkie.

As someone who had been certain FDR would be re-elected, I felt like I'd been hit from behind, so I looked into why it happened, and the story was preposterous.

Apparently, Democratic Vice President John Nance Garner had criticized FDR, starting political strife within the party by claiming he was unfit to be the presidential candidate, and when that didn't get much of a response, he brought up FDR's polio disability and made it a public issue.

FDR's lower body paralysis was something of an open secret, but it was implicitly hidden out of respect, yet the ruling party's Vice President, not even the opposition, publicly exposed it, claiming he wasn't qualified to be president.

As a result, Garner, who already had a bad reputation for his character, was not only denied the presidential candidacy but was buried from the American political scene.

However, FDR was also seen collapsing from shock, leading people to worry about the President's health, and with this unfavorable factor hitting the Democratic Party right before the election, the presidency ended up going to the Republican Wendell Willkie, who had been sitting quietly.

There shouldn't have been such a big change in America, so where did the variable come from to cause such a thing?

Was it because, unlike in the original history, America barely intervened in the great war in Europe?

There were reports of communist protests, but the Crown Prince had also returned to Germany a while ago while I was out in Italy.

I couldn't grasp the situation on the distant American continent in real-time from Europe, so I couldn't figure out the cause.

Unlike the Democratic Party, the Republican Party is completely isolationist, and if things turn out this way, there's a high possibility that Lend-Lease and everything else will be off the table.

I don't even know what kind of person their presidential candidate, Wendell Willkie, is, so I've requested the Abwehr to investigate him first.

I had no interest in the American side, assuming FDR would naturally be re-elected, so what is this bolt from the blue?

-

Just as we did in Poland, we relocated the Italians from Trentino, a part of South Tyrol, to avoid future friction.

Thanks to that, as we returned, we could look down on the Italians who were leaving their beloved hometowns and moving, or preparing to move, to Northern Italy.

I looked at the procession of Italians visible below the transport aircraft and spoke.

"To them, we must be the villains who plundered their homeland."

Among the Italians who had lived in that region since the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, there must have been many who knew little about nationalism and had no interest in it, who were just living in their homeland.

"Hmm, isn't it something they must naturally endure? They are a defeated nation, and they were the ones who bombed Tyrol."

Erich Kordt reacted as if it were no big deal, but as someone who knows that this happened to Germans in the original history, I was troubled.

I think it would have been better to leave Trentino to Italy, but that would become a separate problem from Austrian national sentiment.

"…Now we'll have to hold an independence referendum in Austria."

"That is correct. Well, I don't think you need to worry too much. Thanks to the struggles shown by the German Army and His Highness the Crown Prince in Tyrol, and the victory over Italy that reclaimed South Tyrol, the German nationalism of the Austrians is said to be soaring through the sky."

"Nationalism…"

If Germany wins World War II like this, will German nationalism become a core value of Germany, rather than being shunned as it was in the original history?

If that were to happen, it's hard to think of it as a positive outcome in any way.

The German-Soviet War has only just begun and there's a long way to go, so worrying about the distant future isn't what I should be doing right now…

So much has already changed from the history I knew, and even more will change in the future.

Just as we gain from the history we've changed, we will also lose things.

I turned my gaze to the most important war criminal, Heinrich Himmler, who was being transported via express delivery on the aircraft.

He was bound like an animal, gagged and blindfolded, unable to do anything, with tears, snot, and drool dripping down his face, but I felt not a shred of sympathy.

The war with Italy, which began when they declared war on the new government while the Nazi regime was still around, was over, and only now had the Nazis finally met their complete ruin.

Unlike in the original history, the Nazis never got to conquer all of Europe, and they collapsed at the hands of the Germans, revealing their shameful parts.

I can't be sure, but at least the possibility of a large-scale emergence of neo-Nazis who worship the Nazis is probably low.

Not knowing anything about the future is a worry and a fear, but it also means there is just as much hope.

We cannot be just to everyone, but I can only hope that the things the changed Germany will bring about are better than what the Nazis of the original history caused.

-

November 9, 1940

Berlin, Northern Germany

After decorating the war with Italy with a victory and returning after peace negotiations.

Our government, considering the enormous sacrifices on the Soviet front, decided to end matters by simply announcing the end of the war rather than holding a separate victory celebration.

At the same time, it was publicly announced that Army Group Commander Gerd von Rundstedt and I, who had been in charge of military affairs as a member of both the military and the government, were discharged from the military to take responsibility for the defeat on the Soviet front.

In fact, we had intended to dismiss Rundstedt, an elder of the army, from his position as Army Group Commander and demote him, not to expel him from the military altogether.

However, whether he was greatly moved by what he felt, or he just didn't want to serve in a minor post under his juniors, he requested to resign himself.

As a result, two high-ranking officials with high public recognition took responsibility by being discharged from the military, while Minister of Defense Ludwig Beck and Commander-in-Chief of the Army Leeb kept their positions.

In return, they are now in our debt, and we have amended the military law so that all military operations can now only be carried out after government approval.

Only now can proper civilian control of the military be achieved.

Since it's only a legal matter, I can't be completely at ease yet, but it's significant that a principle has been clearly established that the military cannot ignore, as long as the government has authority.

Still, aside from Rundstedt voluntarily accepting his discharge, we didn't impose any serious sanctions on the military, so the Army accepted it without much backlash.

It must also be thanks to the fact that Manstein, who decided it was better to get along with the government, didn't change his attitude, and that generals like Model, Tresckow, and Rommel, who are favorable to the government, including myself, have strengthened their positions in the military compared to the existing military establishment.

I was meeting with the Crown Prince, who had returned to Germany just a short while ago.

"Welcome back to Germany, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Haha, thank you. Seeing you in a suit instead of a military uniform is quite refreshing, Vice-Chancellor."

I smiled at his words.

"As Germany changes, so must I."

"Ah, but I was surprised. Politicians from other countries are surprised too. All sorts of speculation and analysis are rampant."

"Haha…"

I laughed awkwardly and recalled the conversation I had with Roger Michael before he returned from Italy first.

‘Sorry, Roger. That I'm the only one getting discharged.

’

‘No, you're a politician now, right? It's not like you were on the front lines anyway, and I think I know why you made that choice, so it's fine.’

‘Yeah, thanks.

’

‘But I don't know if that Clemens fellow will understand. …Next time we have drinks, maybe you should bring your wife so you can survive?’

‘Ugh, you'd better explain it to him well…’

Roger, who knows me well, has the ability to become a General Staff Officer, and has a subtle strategic insight, understood my intentions without explanation.

He might be a womanizer who's always looking for beautiful women, but could he be the kind of Chief of the General Staff that Germany will need in the future?

But it's certainly not a normal case, so there's bound to be all sorts of speculation from the outside.

I'm worried about Clemens, but how well will Roger explain it, seeing as he was busy hitting on pretty Italian girls during his expedition to Italy?

If Clemens resents me, I have no choice but to sell out Manstein to survive…

"What does His Majesty the Emperor have to say?"

Honestly, I'm a little curious about that old man's reaction.

The Crown Prince smiled faintly and replied.

"It seems that rather than trying to predict your actions, he's just watching it as if it were a sensational movie. Oh, right. What do you intend to do about Victor Emmanuel? His Majesty seems to be quite concerned about him."

"Since he is royalty from another country, it would be difficult to execute him.

Instead, as an ordinary prisoner, he will rot in prison until he dies."

"Haha, that in itself is harsh.

Have the times changed?"

"Yes. We must show it clearly."

The Crown Prince smiled at my words and spoke again.

"The US election, I was also surprised. The mood was that the Democratic Party was in the lead right up until I returned."

"So I've heard.

By any chance, Your Highness the Crown Prince, do you know about Wendell Willkie, who became president this time?"

The Crown Prince seemed to think for a moment before speaking.

"I haven't met him personally, but I've heard about him from FDR. He was originally from the Democratic Party, and perhaps because of that, he is said to be relatively favorable to internationalism and interventionism for a Republican. But I don't know what he'll be like, given his party."

A Republican president who came from the Democratic Party… At a time when the Lend-Lease FDR promised is off the table, should I pin my hopes on him…?

"Ah, more importantly.

I've invited representatives from the Boeing Company. General Richthofen was delighted to meet them.

Shall we talk about it sometime?"

"Thank you very much, Your Highness the Crown Prince. It might be a great help in breaking through the current situation."

In Britain, Rommel did deal a major blow to de Gaulle's French Army, but it's still too early for Britain to recover from the damage, so a complete recapture of the British Isles is still impossible.

On the Western Front, General Witzleben has become the Commander-in-Chief of a Front Army, leading the German, Belgian, and Dutch forces into a standoff with France.

On the Eastern Front, the Soviet Union is reorganizing after its fierce assault, and this side is also in a lull, busy dealing with the damage under the command of General Fedor von Bock while waiting for the Italian Front Army to return.

A two-front war, against France and the Soviet Union, who, even if their quality is questionable, overwhelm Germany in quantity, means we inevitably cannot wage a war of maneuver that expands the front.

In that case, we need bombers.

Big, beautiful bombers at that.

We can't produce the number of strategic bombers needed to flatten major cities like America, but having a card that can unilaterally strike the enemy is a strategic superiority in itself.

Fortunately, with the Italian front over and reparations coming in, there's a little breathing room in the budget…

The heavy fighter Bf 110, which was given the cool name of a 'strategic fighter' but had disappointing performance, is a case in point; Germany has had no strategic air force capability until now. I hope the collaboration with Boeing can make up for that part.

As I was thinking that, a knock was heard and my aide, Mr. Berger, came in.

"Excuse me, Your Highness the Crown Prince, Vice-Chancellor, I have an important telegram."

"It's quite all right. Haha, it's a bit of a shame that the person is no longer as easy on the eyes."

Wait, the Crown Prince was looking at it that way too?

"Haha…"

Berger looked awkward, as if he was used to it; he wasn't the first person to react this way after seeing Claudia as my aide.

I didn't realize it when Claudia was always with me, but her presence must be quite something. I was with her just this morning, but I already miss her.

I don't want to work. After working this hard, I just want to laze around at home with my wife and waste my life…

I don't know if others think I have no lust for power, but I have no worries about making a living and I have a lovely wife, so why would I covet such a headache-inducing position?

If it weren't for the fact that the country my wife and I live in is in danger, and my mentor and friends are on the front lines, I would just want to play…

I found myself a little ridiculous and took the telegram from Berger.

"…It's Hungary."

"From Hungary? What is it about?"

I looked at the contents of the telegram and gave a bitter smile.

"It's a debt collection."

"Debt collection?"

The content of the telegram was concise.

[To Sir Dietrich Schacht, German Vice-Chancellor, congratulations on Germany's victory in Italy. His Excellency the Regent of Hungary and our government request a summit to discuss the content previously promised by Germany.

We would be grateful for a positive response in the near future. - Prime Minister Pál Teleki of Hungary]

It seems they want us to repay the debt for helping us in the peace negotiations with Poland…

Is it Transylvania from Romania? To request that right after our major defeat to the Soviets, Hungary is also quite the tightrope walker.

I felt a throbbing headache. The state of this changed world truly flows without rest.