The Rise of Australasia

As a major power, the dramatic changes within the Italian government soon reached the ears of other countries.

Looking at the intelligence in his hands about Mussolini’s rise to power and the current state of the Italian government, Arthur was at a loss for words for a moment.

Naturally, Mussolini’s ability was unquestionable, as he grew from a newspaper reporter to the Prime Minister of Italy.

Regardless of the changes and impacts Mussolini brought to Italy in history, it was the choice of the Italian people themselves.

For the Italians at present, Mussolini’s assumption of office hopes to end the political turmoil of recent years and bring Italy back on track.

As for Mussolini, as a newly appointed Prime Minister, and one who has taken office through rather unconventional means, his first move will inevitably attract the attention of many political parties, and even the king. The success or failure of his actions will also determine his future political prestige.

How to quickly achieve some political merit?

For a politician, the most convincing evidence is naturally closely related to people’s livelihood and to make the people feel the real changes in their surroundings.

The current situation in Italy is good news for Mussolini. Because the previous cabinets did not pay attention to the situation of the civilians, the security of the Italian people was a total mess.

For Mussolini, as long as some changes are made, the people will easily be able to feel the difference in their surroundings.

Once the goal was set, Mussolini quickly put it into action.

The first step was to improve the security environment. Mussolini adopted a harsh policy to crack down on the Mafia ubiquitous in Italian cities, using the powerful Blackshirt forces.

In comparison to the well-organized Blackshirt forces, the Mafia was more scattered and disorganized.

These street thugs who only knew how to wield knives and swords were destined to be no match for the properly armed military forces, even if they were private armies.

In some major Italian cities, the Blackshirts quickly eliminated the Mafia. Mussolini also issued corresponding policies to arrest those involved with the Mafia.

Such thunderous actions were indeed effective. The Italian Mafia either fled abroad or hid in rural and remote areas; their power in the cities had almost vanished.

It is worth mentioning that during Mussolini’s historic crackdown on the Mafia, a large number of Mafia members fled to the United States, taking up a life of crime and punishment there.

Although the Mafia of this era considered fleeing to other countries, aside from the relatively open immigration countries like the United States, other countries required strict scrutiny. It was impossible to continue flaunting their power.

Especially in Australasia, which already had very strict security requirements, there was no way they would condone the Italian Mafia causing trouble within their territory.

Actually, there were some fearless Mafia members who, under the guise of tourism and immigration, moved to some cities in Australasia.

As they tried to make extra income through kidnapping and extortion like they did in Italy, they were met with a severe crackdown from Australasian officials. The intensity of this crackdown far exceeded that of Mussolini’s Blackshirts, forcing them to embark on a hasty escape once again.

Eventually, the majority of the Italian Mafia members fled to the United States, where security conditions were not strict at the time, and the Mafia still had room to survive.

Besides quickly rectifying Italy’s security environment, Mussolini also made a major achievement by improving Italy’s transportation system.

Although the cost of investment was not high, Italy’s previous conditions were truly horrendous. Even a small improvement made Italians feel grateful and more trusting in Mussolini as the man who truly saved Italy.

It was under such circumstances that Mussolini established a great deal of authority within the government and gained the support of a significant portion of the Italian population, providing the basis for his dictatorial rule.

The Italian Prime Minister has a term limit. In order to ensure that he could stay in the position for a long time, Mussolini decided to amend Italy’s electoral law to ensure that the National Fascist Party could occupy at least two-thirds of the seats in Congress.

Of course, the promulgation of the new electoral law also needed the consent of King Victor Emmanuel III, as the king also had considerable authority in Italy. If he allied with other parties opposing Mussolini, it would pose a problem for the current Mussolini.

As one who believed himself to be a savior with a deep understanding of Italy’s situation, Mussolini acutely grasped the true deficiencies of Italy compared to other major powers.

Although Italy faced many issues, such as a lack of population, underdeveloped economy, weak industry, and a poorly performing military, the most fatal problem was the scarcity of sizable coal and iron mines. This greatly limited the development of Italy’s heavy industry, which in turn contributed to its weak industrial and economic realities.

Looking at all the industrial powerhouses in the world now, be it the established powers of Britain and France that have been famous for a long time, or the emerging powers like the United States and Australasia that have recently overtaken them, all have their own coal and iron producing regions, each of vast scale.

Based on the situation in various countries last year, the United States still ranked first in coal production, with an annual output reaching 630 million tons.

Followed by:

United Kingdom 270.7 million tons

Germany 130.5 million tons

Russia: 95.35 million tons

Australasia: 60.77 million tons

Austro-Hungarian Empire: 47.33 million tons

France: 40.4 million tons

Island Nation: 7.6 million tons

Italy: 550,000 tons

Yes, you read that right. Even now, Italy’s coal production is still less than the Island Nation’s, and even more insignificant compared to other powerful countries.

When the coal production of top powers has exceeded 100 million tons, Italy’s coal production unit is still in ten thousands, and its production figures have not broken three digits.

Such coal production means that Italy’s industry cannot be strong.

Because coal is currently very important for industry and is one of the irreplaceable sources of energy for industrial development.

Coal and iron are known as the two major elements of industrial development, and Italy has none.

What’s even worse is that the nearest coal and iron mining areas to Italy are in the hands of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

It is not even worth considering Germany’s Ruhr District; even if the Germans were weak, the presence of the British and French would prevent Italy from obtaining a share.

Although the Czech (Bohemian) part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is more likely to be acquired by Italy, it still requires breaking through the current Austro-Hungarian Empire, which is a significant challenge.

Regardless of whether other countries interfere, based on their performance in World War I, it is clear that the combat effectiveness of the Italian army is inferior to that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In order to change this situation and seek an opportunity for Italy to obtain coal and iron resources, Mussolini decided to train a powerful army to change the fact that the Italian army was weak.

For Mussolini, enhancing the army’s combat effectiveness is very likely to be achieved.

The Blackshirts have already proven that the combat effectiveness of a faithful army can be greatly improved.

Only by establishing a powerful army can Italy seek greater expansion and change the reality of insufficient mineral resources.

In order to achieve his goals, Mussolini even developed a very detailed plan.

Initially relying on powerful military weapons and faith to create a strong army, and then looking for a favorable opportunity to select a strong nation with a strong army to fight against, either achieving victory or achieving decent results, to strengthen Italians’ confidence in their country.

Only when Italians have a high level of confidence in their country can Mussolini’s plan for Italy continue, and Italy’s strength will not just be a dream.

It would take at least 10 to 20 years for this plan to be realized in Mussolini’s heart, and the actual time for the plan to be implemented may be even longer due to waiting for the right opportunity.

But Mussolini is only 37 years old this year, compared to other countries’ government leaders who are in their fifties or sixties, Mussolini is definitely young among the leaders of various countries, and his youthfulness can even be considered top-notch.

Even waiting for two or three decades, Mussolini’s political age will still be at its peak, and he will be able to realize his dream of witnessing the revival of Italy.

The powerful Mussolini quickly exercised his authority and obtained the consent of Congress on the issue of army reform.

The new Italian army will follow the model of the Blackshirts, undergo reforms, and be equipped with more powerful weapons. Find more adventures on empire

For tanks and aircraft that gained prominence during World War I, Mussolini also decided to spend a lot of money on research, purchasing first-generation military aircraft from Australasia, and to take the first step in establishing Italy’s Air force team.

The size of the Italian army during peacetime is around 150,000. With the addition of Mussolini’s Blackshirts, which has expanded to nearly 100,000, the size of Italy’s armed forces is about 250,000.

Although he has already gained control of the government, Mussolini has no intention of disbanding the Blackshirts, but rather secretly expanding the Blackshirts, creating a situation where they compete with the Italian army.

Italy’s expansion of its military is unique among the many European powers, as other countries choose to disarm after the war, mainly because their governments cannot afford too large an army.

Apart from Russia, the largest army size in Europe is France, with a total number of troops still maintained at below 500,000.

Meanwhile, the total number of British troops has even sharply dropped to around 350,000, and the size of the army has returned to its pre-World War I levels.

Compared to the British and French, Italy’s military expansion is extraordinary, but it hasn’t attracted too much attention from other powers.

After all, the combat effectiveness of the Italian army during World War I has been verified, so apart from Italy’s navy, the significance of Italy’s army, including the attention of the British and French, is not that high.

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