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The Papal Unification of Italy
Here we live, in the Kingdom of God.

POD: The various states of Italy are more hostile forcing the Papal States to be more militarized.

After the Napoleonic Wars Italy was left divided. Various states controlled varying amounts of land and one of them was the Papal States ruled under a Theocracy by Pope Pius VII, leader of the Catholic Church. As the states around him erupted into giant wars that killed hundreds of thousands the Pope realized that he needed a army lest he be overrun. By Papal decree the Army of God was formed in 1848 and the Pope called on all devoted Catholics to join to defend Rome. As his ranks swelled the Pope relaxed and went about his regular day, thinking that he would be all right. On August 4th, 1839 the Kingdom of the Two Sicillies to the south marched on Rome to take the city. The Papal States was about to flex its muscles.

The first battle was in Rome itself when Swiss mercenaries hired to defend the Vatican engaged the forward units of the Sicilian attack force. The Army of God rushed in from the south and the west, flanking the enemy and forcing them to evacuate through transports. It was a humiliating defeat for the Two Sicilies and a rousing victory for the Papal States. As the Swiss went back to their posts the Army of God loaded on a fleet of transports and sailed after the attackers. As they chased them they came by Naples, the Kingdom's capital. The Army landed in Naples to find it only lightly defended and almost deserted. The King had fled days earlier after the defeat at Rome, and he expected Naples to be the first target. Naples was occupied but the war was not over. On the other side of the peninsula another army from the Papal States was forming. The war had struck the Catholic community like a hammer against a gong and the resonation echoed around the world. A army of Catholic devotees, sponsored by the Pope, started to head south burning a swath of destruction only rivaled by Sherman's March to the Sea almost 25 years later. The normally peaceful sect of Christianity has become a unbeatable behemoth as men set off for Italy from across the world. The Army of God soon commanded over 100,000 men and various other units spread across Southern Italy.

A month into the war the King of the Two Sicilies asked for peace and the Pope accepted. The AoG celebrated their first victory and the commanders learned to use religion to their advantage. Soon after the war ended the Pope died and Pope Leo XII took over. The new Pope was more expansionist then the last one and declared war on the Two Sicilies only 4 months into his reign. The AoG once again swelled like a balloon as Catholics from across Europe arrived in Rome to lend their assistance. Naples once again fell and the King fled south to Salerno. The Pope also blessed a Navy and various countries donated old ships to the Pope. The Papal Navy was a fierce fighting machine who quickly cornered the Sicilian Navy and forced them into their ports. With every thing looking up the Pope approached the King and demanded their border provinces. The King relented and the conquest of Italy began with a bang. The Papal States flourished under this Pope and managed to take land up to Naples but when the 4th Papal-Sicilian War rolled around the people of the world, especially the United Kingdom, grew annoyed with the Pope's expansionist policies.

Queen Victoria barred travel to the Italian peninsula and threatened to cut trade if the Pope continued to expand by force. The Pope gave a speech in the Vatican that was spread around the Catholic world. In the speech the Pope said that God approached him in his sleep and told him to take Italy for the Papal States. He also promised to absolve the sins of any able bodied man who served in the AoG. The speech had mixed reactions with some barely paying attention and some others taking the first ship to the Papal States. The Pope was satisfied with the outcome and decided to once again march on the Sicilian's and take them out for the last time. The AoG once again marched south and by this time the Sicilian's gave up trying to defend Naples and instead immediately retreated south 100 mi and established a defensive line. The AoG marched south through Naples and smashed into the line but the line didn't break. They continued to smash into them but like a wall, they didn't budge and even managed to advance into the suburbs of Naples. The city became a battleground for days as the two forces battled for control of the former capital city. Eventually the AoG managed to flank the enemy and send them running back to their lines. The King once again offered peace but this time he offered a white peace and they all go home happy. The Pope thought for 3 days before demanding that the Two Sicilies integrate into the Papal States and they would become a "duel monarchy". When the King received the message he was about to flat out refuse but before he did a report from the island of Sicily, the Catholics have risen in revolt to oppose the war against the Papal States forcing him to rethink. The King relented as the rebellion grew in strength and ferocity forcing him to split his forces, and with that the Papal States now controlled Southern Italy.
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