Parte Otto
1868
January 6th, during the celebrations of the end of Christmas, Pope Pius IX calls for a great council of the catholic church. The council will be held in Avignon, where the pope now resides after fleeing Rome, and will start on 1 March 1868.
February, general unrest in Southern Italy as numerous priests and bishops refuse to cooperate with Italian authorities and oppose passive resistance. The week of the 7th to 15th see a string of bombings in Calabria and Campania. The most conspicuous one results in the derailment of a train from Naples to Salerno, with significant numbers of victims among the civilians. Southern move businesses in the area are rattled by the effects and they fear for their business interests. The month ends with Prime Minister Francesco di Castagna reinstating martial law in Calabria and Campania. He reports to Parliament that the unrest in the south has been engineered by foreign agents of a hostile power, backed by the minions of the exiled pope. Many fear that this may be the end to the recent period of unparalleled prosperity in the south and the resurgence of the mafia. Italian army contingents sweep the Calabrian mountains, searching for insurgents. French newspapers report many false atrocities.
March 1st, the council of the church is inaugurated with a solemn Te Deum in the cathedral of Avignon. The pope thunders against godless rulers who have profanated the city of Rome, sanctified for more than 18 centuries by the blood of countless martyrs.
March 2nd, the Pope blesses the flags of French regiments marching toward the Italian border, and calls them "true sons of the church, crusaders ready to avenge the injury to the church and to God Himself. News of this are reported on all European newspapers: most of the comments are negative. The Times in London comments: "Is the pope calling for a new Albigensian crusade? It is strange to witness such events in a century dedicated to the progress of science and humanity"
March 15th, the doctrine of papal infallibility is promulgated. While the proceeds of the council are secret, there are rumors of significant opposition to this doctrine.
As March draws to a close in Avignon, a significant number of delegates have been leaving the council. None of them has been willing to make statements to the press, just mentioning "the urgent calls of pastoral care"
A bomb is thrown in Crotone against the carriage of the military governor of Calabria, killing him and a number of bystanders. The terrorists are apprehended while trying to flee: it is discovered that all of them are Jesuits in disguise.
The Pope calls on all Catholics to participate in processions and invoke the blessing of the Holy Ghost on the council of the church. The processions shall be hold on 7 April, Palm Sunday.
April 2nd, the Italian government asks for an oath of fealty from all bishops. Recalcitrant bishops will be placed under house arrests.
April 7th, thousands of pilgrims gather to ascend the Holy Mountain of St. Patrick, answering the appeal of the pope. Notwithstanding the strong presence of Irish Constabulary and British troops, the pilgrimage soon degenerates into a political rally against British oppression and Protestant Ascendancy. A riot ensues, leaving 30 deads among the pilgrims. They are quickly termed as the "Martyrs of Palm Sunday". The di Castagna Palm Sunday dinner in Capo Vaticano, Calabria is cut short with Francesco leaving for his room early into the meal. Wife Vittoria di Castagna blames high stress levels and her husband feeling uneasy about the "Catholic situation" (as di Castagna is a devout Catholic).
Warsaw: the catholic processions of Palm Sunday erupts into anti-Prussian demonstrations. Prussian cavalry charges the demonstrants, leaving many dead and wounded.
Italy: processions are organised in the major cities of northern and central Italy to answer the papal appeal (no procession has been authorised in the southern regions under martial law). Counter-manifestations are organised by liberals and nationalists, to condemn "the traitorous Pius, whose hands dripping with the blood of the patriots have blessed the flags of the enemies of Italy". Many incidents are reported, with a few dead and wounded.
Palm Sunday processions are organised in the Austrian empire as well. Incidents are reported only in Prague and Kracow (in the latter city, the procession becomes quickly a Polish independence rally).
April 12th, reinforcements of the Reggia Marina and the Italian army arrive around Nice. The city is put under siege and bombardment of fortifications and the civil population begins.
April 10th, the pope holds a solemn mass in Avignon, for the souls of the dead in the Palm Sunday riots. They are proclaimed "martyrs of the faith".
with the Regia Marina being a no show at Nice, Garibaldi decides to attack with his army corp. As expected, Nice has become a fortress with a large French force in it. Garibaldi's attack is repelled after bloody street fighting at the perifery of Nice, and he is wounded.
The Swiss ambassador in Florence is handed over a diplomatic note, informing the Swiss Confederation that the Government of Italy has denounced the 1861 agreement for the neutraization of Savoy, and intends to attack French Savoy on 27th April. A separate diplomatic note offers Switzerland a joint Italo-German guarantee of Swiss neutrality against any attack.
April 22nd, the Prussian victory at Mars la tour is yet another win for the Prussians, who at this time are advancing rapidly into France. Napoleon is torn between the Prussian assaulted north and the Italian assaulted south. Napoleon decides that Prussia continues to be a greater threat to the French and maintains his focus on Prussia.
April 23rd, Nice, after suffering fires, and long nights of open artillery fire, has had enough. The leader of the French garrison in France goes of to beg the Italians for a ceasefire. Nice falls to the Italians.
April 25th, the tactical victory of France at Gravelotte the previous day is over shadowed by the Prussian victory at Metz today.
April 27th, the second branch of the Italian army crosses the border into the region of Savoy ceded to France in 1861.
May 1st, the Italian army and Navy shells Antibes with 3,000 shells. The city falls by the end of the day.
May 2nd, Modane falls to the Italians
May 3rd, the Prussians win at Sedan. Napoleon III orders the white flag to be run up and surrenders himself and the entire Army of Châlons to Moltke and the Prussian King. The capture of the French emperor leaves the Prussians without an opposing government willing to make a quick peace.
May 4th, Federal Chancellor Otto von Bismarck reports to the Bundesrat of the North German Confederation. After describing the great victory at Sedan which culminated in the surrender of the French emperor and his army, and praising the heroism and the spirit of sacrifice of the German armies, he moves to the discuss the riots of Palm Sunday and the role of the pope and catholic powers in instigating unrest:
"The question we currently deal with, in my opinion, is falsely described, and the perspective by which we look at it, is a wrong one, if one regards it as a confessional one. It is mainly a political one; it is not about the struggle, as our Catholic fellow citizens are told, of a Protestant dynasty against the Catholic church, it is not a struggle between believers and unbelievers, it is the age-old struggle between kingship and priesthood, a power struggle as old as mankind, older than the appearance on earth of our saviour, the power struggle Agamemnon fought with his seers in Aulis, the power struggle which shaped the German history in the Middle Ages, leading to the desintegration of the German Empire, in the form of the conflict between emperors and popes, and which resulted in the execution of the last descendant of the illustrious Swabian dynasty by the axe of a French conqueror, a French conqueror alied with the pope.
Once again a French monarch has conspired with the pope to undermine the natural aspirations of the German people, but this time they shall not prevail: our armies are triumphant in Northern france and our Italian ally is overcoming the French armies in Provence. The last French emperor has surrendered his word to general von Moltke and the pope shall soon learn that he cannot impose his delusions over the will of a free people.
This power struggle is subject to the same conditions as any other struggle; it is a misinterpretation of the question with the object to impress people without judgment, if it is described as a matter of oppression of the church. It is a matter of defense of the state, of a delimitation, insofar priesthood and insofar royal rule shall reach, this delimitation has to be found in a way that the state can continue to exist. Because in this world the state claims both authority and priority."
[1]
In Italy, Prime Minister Di Castagna reports to the Italian Parliament in joint session. The war situation is good, Italian armies are deeply ito French territory, and emperon Napoleon III has been defeated at Sedan and has surrendered. Victory will still require sacrifices and dedication, but Italy will achieve its triumph. In a more sombre tone, Di Castagna reviews the internal situation: there is still unrest in the south, even if the largest concentrations of insurgents have been broken and the enemy's spy rings have been identified and neutralised. The riots of Palm Sunday have proven that the Italian people is standing besides their kingand goernment, and will not fall for the lies of a deluded pope. The struggle is not yet over, though, he warns: "The Italian South more than one time became of forge of ideas and progress, but the church has always conspired with foreign monarchs to keep our people under the joke of obscurantism and ignorance, fighting against science, knowledge and progress. Once again the people of southern Italy have risen, and broken their chains: if we fail them, history will condemn us to a hell deepest than the one threathened by the pope.
Pius IX's election gave hope to the patriots fighting for the freedom of Italy, and he blessed the struggles of the people in 1848. Soon after, though, he reneged his vows, and rather than a shephers he choose to be an executioner, dipping his hands in the blood of the patriots. 6 months ago the people of Rome insurged again, and this time Italy was not deaf to their appeal. Now the pope that fled Rome and the wrath of a free people like a thief in the night dares to treathen us, hiding behind the bayonets of his French master. Let us answer him without hate in the immortal words of the new bard of the resurgent and triumphant Italy:
Our way is strewn with graves, but like an altar
Each grave is decked with flowers.
The memory of the dead burns: shall we falter
In this great work of ours?
Nay, say us all join hands, the sage, the bard,
Warrior and artisan:
Easy is now that which was once so hard:
We mined the Vatican.
[2]
Let the old man in Avignon hear these words, and let us hope that his heart is not too hardened by hate and arrogance. Let the pope atone for his mistakes, so that he may take again his place in Rome. This is the wish of the people of Italy and his king, this was the greatest desire of my immortal predecessor, Count Camillo Benso of Cavour: a Free Church in a Free State.
But at the same time let him also heed the warning of a free and proud Italy.
Once again I will use the words of our bard, who from afar saw the roads untaken and sang of them to us:
But other the phantoms
When finer the age,
At times he awakens
From Livy's full page,
When tribunes and consuls
And vast crowds that thrill
With ardour and passion
That sleepless cell fill,
He to the Capitol,
Thy land to set free
Of Italic pride dreaming,
O monk, urges thee.
And you, Huss and Wycliffe,
No fury of flames
Could stifle your voices'
Prophetic acclaims.
Send forth on the breezes
Your watch-cry sublime
"A new age is dawning,
Fulfilled is the time!"
[3]
May 5th, the French Second Empire collapses in a bloodless revolution. A new provisional government is in place.
The Times in London reports with great emphasis about the speeches given in Berlin and Florence, remarking on the cohesion of the Italo-Prussian alliance and at the same time praising the "measured answer of two great modern states to the crusade-preaching pope exiled in Avignon". Reports from France underline the parlous state of French armies and the weakness of the coalition government formed after the surrender of Napoleon III. A correspondent from Vienna reports that the mobilization of the Austrian army, which was started at the end of April, is slowing down. Other reports from Ireland give accounts of civil disobedience and unrest in the eastern part of the island.
May 10th, the Pope issues a condemnation of the prelates that have left the council, even if no specific punitive measures are taken against them
May 22nd, lower Savoy is completely under Italian hands. Many Italian speakers are sympathetic to the Italian cause and resistance in the region is low.
May 25th, the French decide to go on a naval offensive against the Italians: they are acutely aware that the coal stocks are depleted and it's very difficult to receive supplies from Northern France. A squadron of the Marine Imperial leaves Toulon to bombard Genoa. They are met by the Regia Marina, steaming from La Spezia, and a chaotic battle ensues. Very good performance of L'Affondatore, the Italian ram-ship which sinks two French first class frigates, Savoie and Surveillante. The Re d'Italia is damaged, and has to be towed to Genoa for repairs. The Italian victory is not devastating in tactical terms, and the Regia Marina does not pursue the retreating French ships. In terms of morale,the outcome of the battle is superb. From now on the French navy will not again take the initiative in the war.
reinforced by a second army corps, Garibaldi renews the push toward Toulon. After three days of bitter fighting, the French troops are under siege in Toulon.
May 25th-, the regional armies raised by the new French government of National Defence begin to fight hard to contest the Prussian threathened encircleent of Paris. Consisting mostly of raw recruits and lacking officers, their elan cannot keep the Prussians from advancing.
May 27th, Megeve falls to the Italians after a minor skirmish with the French.
June 10th, Toulon surrenders. Rther than investing Marseille, the Italian army wheel north, direction Grenoble.
June 20th, Italian and French forces meet at Chambery. The Italians, coming under heavy French artillery fire, withdraw from the village and await an assault. The French assault proves unsuccessful and they retreat back to the village. After an hours pause, the opposing forces meet again with the Italians waiting until the last possible chance to fire due to low ammunition counts. The Italians are successful and the French retreat back again. The French try one last push under the cover of night but the Italians, on their last leg, manage to repulse the attack. The French force, feeling defeated and having suffered massive casualties in three failed assaults, abandon their effort to drive away the Italians and surrender. Chambery falls to Italy
June 25th-, the German armies slowly destroy the Army of the Loire and the Army of the North.
July 2nd, the Italians invest Grenoble from north and south.
July 3rd, Grenoble capitulates. An Italian army moves toward Lyon.
A squadron of Italian navy shells Oran in eastern Algeria, after having escorted troopships to a landing near the city. Oran is invested from land the day after. Many European leaders are astounded of the performance Italy is putting on against France, especially with this amphibious landing.
July 6th, a large Italian reinforcement brigade moves into place around Toulon, joining with the army. A final push for the city begins with heavy Italian bombardment. The army slowly makes their way into the city and by the end of the day, Toulon is in Italian hands. The Toulon campaign has been the bloodiest part of the war for Italy, dealing a great blow to Italian logistics.
July 10th, Oran surrenders to an Italian expedition force
July 15th, the last French army in the field is forced into the mountains by gen. von Maunteuffel. Gen. Bourbaki enter Swiss territory and is dsarmed and interned.
July 17th, the government of National Defence sus for peace. An armistice is agreed, starting at dawn on July 18th. Gambetta refuses to accept the armistice, and launches an attack on German troops near Orleans: he's defeated, captured and court-martialled for violation of war laws. Gambetta will be shot by a firing squad on July 25th, and will become a myth of French revanchisme.
July 21st, Bismarck orchestrates the "spontaneous" proclamation of the new Reich at Versailles. German troops march under the Arc de Triomphe on July 22nd, before leaving Paris. The German troops are joined for the victory parade by two regiments of bersaglieri and two regiments of cavalry.
July 25th, Peace negotiations start in Muhlose, Alsace.
August, in Florence, the Italian Parliament has Francesco di Castagna dead center and is asking him about further funding. The Italianization of many foreign captured lands as a by-product of the war with Austria has run up a tab as well as that war not fully being paid for yet. Parliament is aware of Italy’s position and offers nothing much else to the Prime Minister other than the message: Money for the war is running out.
[Notes]
[1] IOTL Bismarck made this speech (except for the sentence in Italics, which is LordKalvan's) in the Prussian House of Lords on 10 March 1873, on the subject of Kulturkampf.
[2] Verses taken from Ode to Rome, written by Carducci in OTL 1868. IOTL, these verses were quite bitter since they came after the defeat of Garibaldi at Mentana, and what Carducci perceived as a betrayal of the Italian government. ITTL they sound much more like a somber praise of a job well done.
[3] Verses taken from Hymn to Satan, written by Carducci in 1863. IOTL the Hymn was considered quite scandalous, and no plitician would have dared to quote it. Again TTL is a horse a very different color, and the Hymn to Satan becomes mainstream
For those interested in Carducci's poems in a more than decent English translation:
Carducci By Geoffrey Langdale Bickersteth
A Selection from the Poems of Giosue Carducci By Giosu Carducci
Search via Google Books
- Some may say this is ASB. Really? I would love to hear your reasoning but If Prussia in OTL kicked French ass all over the place then Italy (ITTL carbon copy, virtually), can do the same, to my opinion.
- If there is ANYthing I should add (to your opinion, or even take out), please say so. I mostly mean about the Pope and externally or things like that as I'm quite confident of the way the war is progressing.
). I haven't forgot about the posts back in the initial posts of this TL that now may seem very small and insignificant compared to the vast paragraphs above this post. Anyways, one of the initial ideas on this TL was the construction of a world class learning facility (university) in Italy to compete with the great minds of Prussia. I concur with this, and top Italian scientists/engineers can really help Italian innovation, along with keeping many great Italians such as Enrico Fermi, to name one 
