Fiume 1920-21 POD

[Melvin Loh]

OTL, Italian nationalist poet Gabriele d'Annunzio and his followers seized and held Fiume thruout 1920 on the basis of wanting the Adriatic city to be incorporated into Italy instead of becoming part of Yugoslavia in the aftermath of WWI. Also OTL d'Annunzio surrendered the city to the Italian govt after Italian warships shelled his palace in Dec 1920, indicating Rome's impatience with his eccentric carrying-on. WI d'Annunzio hadn't given in so easily ? Would the Italian govt have risked complete political upheaval in launching a full-scale invasion of the city and wiping out his tiny army (only 200 strong IIRC) ? How would such an extended Fiume crisis have affected Italian and regional stability thruout the 1920s ? Possibly an earlier and more militant fascist regime established ?

[Grey Wolf]

Maybe Corfu is instructive as to how an international crisis could go ?

On theother hand if D'Annunzio refuses to give up after the bombardment...bombard him again ?

Grey Wolf

[MerryPrankster]

The following section is from a lengthy socialological work @ http://www.hermetic.com/bey/taz3.html

Makhno's Ukraine and anarchist Spain were meant to have duration, and despite the exigencies of continual war both succeeded to a certain extent: not that they lasted a "long time," but they were successfully organized and could have persisted if not for outside aggression. Therefore, from among the experiments of the inter-War period I'll concentrate instead on the madcap Republic of Fiume, which is much less well known, and was not meant to endure. Gabriele D'Annunzio, Decadent poet, artist, musician, aesthete, womanizer, pioneer daredevil aeronautist, black magician, genius and cad, emerged from World War I as a hero with a small army at his beck and command: the "Arditi." At a loss for adventure, he decided to capture the city of Fiume from Yugoslavia and give it to Italy. After a necromantic ceremony with his mistress in a cemetery in Venice he set out to conquer Fiume, and succeeded without any trouble to speak of. But Italy turned down his generous offer; the Prime Minister called him a fool.

In a huff, D'Annunzio decided to declare independence and see how long he could get away with it. He and one of his anarchist friends wrote the Constitution, which declared music to be the central principle of the State. The Navy (made up of deserters and Milanese anarchist maritime unionists) named themselves the Uscochi, after the long- vanished pirates who once lived on local offshore islands and preyed on Venetian and Ottoman shipping. The modern Uscochi succeeded in some wild coups: several rich Italian merchant vessels suddenly gave the Republic a future: money in the coffers! Artists, bohemians, adventurers, anarchists (D'Annunzio corresponded with Malatesta), fugitives and Stateless refugees, homosexuals, military dandies (the uniform was black with pirate skull-&-crossbones--later stolen by the SS), and crank reformers of every stripe (including Buddhists, Theosophists and Vedantists) began to show up at Fiume in droves. The party never stopped. Every morning D'Annunzio read poetry and manifestos from his balcony; every evening a concert, then fireworks. This made up the entire activity of the government. Eighteen months later, when the wine and money had run out and the Italian fleet finally showed up and lobbed a few shells at the Municipal Palace, no one had the energy to resist.

POD #1: WI Italy had accepted this man's offer and annexed Fiume?

POD #2: Fiume survives as a viable state for longer--perhaps they invest some piratical loot in modern weapons or they didn't debauch all the time?

[Leo Caesius]

There's an Italian alternate history novel, entitled I Biplani di D'Annunzio by Luca Masali. IIRC, Bosnian Serbs travel through time and influence the outcome of WWI. If I remember correctly, a gentleman wakes up in Venice and comes to realize that something is seriously wrong, when he notices that the canals are clean and that the pay phones are functioning perfectly. I'm not making this up. Then again, I may be confusing this with Garibaldi a Gettysburg, which I read at the same time and which is also about Austria holding on to Lombardy and Venetia (because Garibaldi is busy fighting in the ACW).

[Leo Caesius]

Here's a stamp from D'Annunzio's pocket republic, the Reggenza Italiana del Carnaro:

[MerryPrankster]

Wow. Where'd you find the stamp?

[Leo Caesius]

I googled Carnaro, which was the name for his free state, and found the stamp under images.

Hakim Bey doen't mention that D'Annunzio actually declared war against Italy (!) for failing to annex his temporary autonomous zone. Fiume seceded in 1919 and was guaranteed independence as a Free City by the Treaty of Rapallo in 1920, so it had a pretty good chance of surviving as an international city (a good chance, that is, until the Fascists came around). After the Italians pulled D'Annunzio out, kicking and screaming, it was administered by the League until 1924, when Mussolini finally annexed it.

[Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy]

What would Italy look like under d'Annunzio's dictatorship?

[maverick]

Bump, because I'd like to know.

I'll give my own thoughts tomorrow, after getting some rest.

[Geekhis Khan]

Well...wacky, to be honest. D'Annunzio was more a dashing leader of likeminded men and adventurer than true executive material. His "sense of adventure" (read: "total recklessness") would get Italy into war with someone soon, probably Yugoslavia and with it France.

Now, as a "face of *Fascism" for someone more capable behind the scenes (Grandi? Federzoni?) he could lead a nation, but on his own...holy crap.