Glen
Moderator
Hi Glen! First post on this thread but a long-time lurker:
Welcome, TheBerlinguer! Thanks for coming out of the shadows to comment - your patronage is appreciated!
now that you updated with details on the Italian front I couldn't shy away from some questions.
First of all, when do these events take place? And how long did it take for the Italian forces to launch their attack? Preparations must have taken a lot of time, considering Trieste was strategically of utmost importance for Austria - Hungary and so seen as the hot spot of any defence line. Is this happening while the Korsgaardist powers are already losing ground and in full nitrate crisis?
Yep, Trieste is taken towards the end of the war.
So why not continue the offensive, maybe in other directions (Trentino is still suicide,
Actually, Trentino isn't part of Austria-Hungary, hasn't been since the Liberal War.
but a seaborne assault in Istria could be possible with a weakened Austro-hungarian navy).
Or even land-borne. In fact, the Italian Allies are pressing into Istria not just taking Trieste. But Trieste is the more 'prestigious' victory, and thus received the greater press.
Then, my memories are a little blurry, so how do the Italian nations treat each other? Are there formalised treaties or are they on the same wagon due to the war? If the latter is the case, how's the war changing the attitudes of the Italians-Romans-Neapolitans?
Fair question. The Kingdom of Italy (in the north) and the Kingdom of Naples (in the south) vie for dominance of the region, but in fact the Roman Republic serves as a useful buffer state for keeping the peace against the occasional ambitious administration. Naples and Rome want close relations between nations on the peninsula, but not political union. Italy still harbors dreams of uniting the peninsula, but have not been aggressive about it (mostly because they need their back secure to deal with the Austro-Hungarians, and a combined front from Rome and Naples could beat them, and probably could count on support from France).
The odd-man-out of the OTL Italian sphere is the small island Kingdom of Sicily. They don't enjoy good relations with any of the Italian peninsula states, and in fact do more in trade with Spain and Portugal.
IOTL WWI was the principal contributor to spreading the common Italian language amid the new generations.
Interesting - how did WWI do that?
Otherwise, congratulations for the suspence. While the Eastern Powers are faring bad no one could now foresee when the conflict will end! Always a plus.
Thank you!