Bella ciao
Adolf Hitler remained confident Italy was near collapse and dismissed the German failure to bring it about already as due to Italian treachery. Nonetheless the Italians had taken heavy casualties and their morale was at breaking point, the German dictator declared, pointing to the reports of mass desertions in the Balkans, France and Sicily.
Italian industry and infrastructure were in tatters and with no coal or other resources coming across the Alps it would wither even further. Conrath’s force meanwhile remained powerful and was causing havoc in their rear whilst German forces had successfully evacuated themselves from Sardinia and were driving the Italians out of the Balkans.
In his standard monologue Hitler explained the Italians had survived due to Allied air power in the south and the Alps in the north however there were gaps in the mountains which could be exploited and if a force could cross them, the Allies would not have the range to intervene from the air. The next attack would come through the Ljubljana gap in occupied Slovenia where the Italian Alps ended and the Dinaric Alps began. It would be spearheaded by veteran units with a political belief in Fascism, the SS Panzer Corps.
This force was currently engaged in fighting off the Soviet counteroffensive following the failure of Operation Citadel and the plan provoked disagreement from some German generals who argued nothing could be spared from the Eastern Front without sacrificing even more territory than had already been lost.
Hitler replied that difficult decisions would have to be made due to Citadel’s failure and the Mediterranean crisis but he had faced difficult times before only to prevail. To allow the Italians a reprieve would mean Allied forces arriving on the Alps where they would be able to bomb Germany with impunity and cut off the Balkans. The Wehrmacht had shown it could withstand crises and reconquer territory temporarily lost in the Soviet Union but if Italy were lost then so would the war as whole.
Hitler regurgitated arguments made by those such as Rommel back in the Spring about how the incorporation of northern Italian industry into the German economy would be a great boost to war production. He also theorised how Italian Fascists might be hardened by the experiences they were going through just now.
Hitler argued Nazi supremacy came from the fact the movement had grown from nothing to seize power whilst Italian Fascists had power handed to them by the King and subsequently grew complacent. If they could prove themselves worthy to the present challenge, the Rome-Berlin Axis might reemerge stronger than it had been before.
Much of this was fantasy, however the prediction of difficult times for Italian Fascism was correct. The collective anger towards the old regime across much of society overwhelmed attempts by the Army and Carabinieri to keep it in check. The focus soon switched to containing the anger, Fascist offices were left to be vandalised and monuments destroyed with an increasing number of party leaders across the country asking for protective custody. The Army had already taken to moving Mussolini around Rome repeatedly to evade a potential lynch mob.
Whilst the Italian people vented their frustrations the new regime continued to play a delicate political and strategic game. Despite the optimism of those such as General Castellano who believed the German treachery provided an opportunity for a glorious redemption of the Italian Army it was clear the situation was still perilous. The Italian army had lost the best part of three armies; much of what remained was disorganised or deserting. Entire cities in the north were partially or wholly under Communist control with the Italian battlefleet having seemingly defected to them. In the south the Germans remained in control of a large part of Campania. A successful static defence was being carried out in the Alps so far but ammunition was running out and there was little in reserve to contain even a small German breakthrough.
Ambrosio needed arms and men desperately and to do this required alliances at home and abroad. The intervention of Allied airpower in southern Italy had conjured hopes of Allied armies soon arriving on mainland Italy to defend against further German attacks; however there were no concrete plans for this so far. From Madrid, Grandi speculated about internal Allied differences on how far north they intended to advance in Italy if at all. He had also been told of how the British were keen to open up a front in the Balkans and would be more amenable to a negotiated peace should the Italians maintain a foothold there
In truth the Italian occupation zones in the Balkans were collapsing with their forces surrounded by the Germans and local collaborators. Rommel’s forces had already seized control of much of Greece whilst in Albania and Yugoslavia a panicked withdrawal to the coast was underway with large columns of Italian civilians and soldiers wandering to the nearest port. An ordered evacuation would potentially have Ambrosio access to tens of thousands more troops however given the suspected British attitude he was forced to try and hold on to parts of the Albanian and Croatian coast even whilst the Germans occupied Slovenia and prepared for a renewed offensive into Italy.
Much more significant progress was being made with the fleet at La Spezia. Admiral de Courten had met with the sailors' and workers’ committees and listened to their grievances. He promised no more suicidal orders would be given, sailors pay and rations would be increased, the committees would maintain control of La Spezia and even be allowed to continue at sea, albeit in an advisory form. These concessions were enough to convince the battle fleet to sortie south at last, not into a final apocalyptic battle but to Naples once more to evade enemy air attack. These were concessions which Supermarina forfeited through gritted teeth on the basis of getting the fleet to a safer location and the need to have it intact for negotiations with the Allies.
The show of good faith from Milan in calling for Italian workers to help defend their homeland opened the door to a potential cooperation between the new regime in Rome and the PCI. Despite the mutual mistrust there was a lot at stake. Italy couldn’t afford a civil war when there was a foreign invader happy to hang both sides separately. For the PCI there was the opportunity to not only save Italy from a Fascist revival but also the chance to cement their control and influence in northern Italy, securing a base to build towards revolution throughout the country once the Germans were defeated. For Rome, working with the Communists would help build a broad anti-German coalition to legitimise their regime, free up troops for the defence of the frontiers and allow the armaments factories to start running to some capacity again.
It was an appealing set of circumstances for both parties however there were some stumbling blocks. The Communists demanded representation in the new government and democratic elections following the removal of the Germans, neither of which the newly installed military junta was keen to facilitate
There was also the issue of General Rossi whose reign of terror in Turin had continued even with the removal of Mussolini. The Communists wanted all political prisoners released and Rossi removed. To many in the Army this was unacceptable however Rossi was a devout fascist and rumours had circulated he was planning to turn the city over to the Germans should they arrive. Ambrosio conceded on this point, retiring Rossi and ending the reprisals.
It was enough to build a working arrangement between Rome and Milan even though the thornier issues of Communist representation and elections remained undecided. Both sides realised the Allies would ultimately arbitrate and both sought to gain their favour eventually but to do so they agreed there would need to be an Italy left to fight over. Workers militias were raised in earnest alongside the regular and a trickle of supplies began to emerge from armaments factories back in operation.
The Regia Marina battle fleet left La Spezia on the 25th July. The port was shrouded in smoke once more to protect against the new enemy however the committees did their best to present it as a jubilant occasion filled with improvised ceremony and triumphant speeches; here the sailors had refused to be martyrs for tyranny and had instead thrown off their shackles. Here they had lit the spark which had spread the flame of revolution across Italy and brought about Fascism’s downfall.
They were sailing off now to Naples but also to the bright future they had won for all Italians, so it was proclaimed. It was a future filled with promise and as much clarity as the smoke-filled skies above.
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