perhaps is Portugal entered the war on Britain's side for some reason, the Italians might have invaded
Gibraltar.
perhaps is Portugal entered the war on Britain's side for some reason, the Italians might have invaded
To quote an old Republican song from the Spanish Civil War "Spain is not Abyssinia." .
Divide and conquer.
Mussolini only had to divide and conquer. Once he landed troops (in a Franco-controlled port) he only had to help Franco conquer one province at a time. With Franco's army maintaining control of Morrocco and that would have been a stepping stone to the other African colonies.
With sea lanes secured, Franco's armies could easily have found an excuse to invade (much smaller) Portugal.
Now the next question is whether the UK would have backed the Portugese with arms and ammunition. Considering how far the Brits were behind the Germans (technologically) I doubt if a small force of British soldiers would have been able to prevent a Franco/Italian/German invasion of Portugal.
Consider that Britain was still trying to recover from the Great Depression and did not seriously begin rearmament until 1938. Consider that in 1940, Canadian industry was pleading for British patterns and tools, but that was before British factories had finished tooling-up for WW2.
I vote that Mussilini could easily impose puppet fascist governments in Spain and Portugal.
People talk about Guadalajara, but they seem to forget Majorca, Malaga or Santander.To quote an old Republican song from the Spanish Civil War "Spain is not Abyssinia."
He'd get his ass kicked.
I like Magnum's general scenario, although Portugal seems to be a bridge too far. Making some kind of "legitimate" Spanish government in a culturally/geographically distinct area with Spain's overseas colonies into a puppet state seems somewhat doable if Italy is playing Iran to the Republican Assad.
Yeah, Magum's scenario is pretty good. Boots on the ground might be a step to far, though it's not out the question, but spreading it to Portugal seems more like a long term plan than an immediate solution. Italy allying with Portugal would be best for Italy in an invasion and occupation of Spain (perhaps under the promise of Galicia) as then you have an army that at least knows what they're doing. Italy would probably fragment Spain into it's cultural and ethnic lines, like Yugoslavia. I do ponder, if Italy sides with the Republicans, would the allies side with Franco?
Hitler definitely wouldn't have allowed this.
Given how Portugal wasn't a fan of the Spanish Republic IIRC, I could imagine "boots on the ground" being too far for them as well. If both governments side with the Republic for whatever reason (Mussolini because Franco is allied to Hitler, Portugal for ???) and actually send troops, I'm thinking Franco is going to have a real problem.
But amputating parts of Spain now that they have no "legitimate" government, now that's sneaky and more doable. Would the Portuguese annex Galicia outright or maintain a puppet "Republican" government there? Italy would be smart to maintain a puppet Catalan state rather than stupidly try to annex it, given how much-strong France is in between, but Portugal is right next door.
The thing with a puppet Catalonia is that the anarchists would be very strong there, and although my class book Transatlantic Fascism attributes fascism's ideological origins in part to revolutionary syndicalism, the fascists aren't going to be friendly with the anarchists.
Would Italy attempt to maintain some kind of neutered "anarchism in one country" quasi-state in order to buy off the anarchist elements or would they simply try to purge them in favor of pro-Italian elements? Magnum's scenario referenced Mussolini intervening only once the Republic has collapsed and key people are in place, so maybe the anarchists get purged or subjected to a Uriah Gambit en masse? The latter could making Catalonia difficult for Italy to dominate long-term.
Actually giving Portugal a reason to side with the Republic is a hard task.
Hmm...could Salazar think that Franco's Spain might attack Portugal? Alternatively, Franco leading the Nationalists wasn't a given. Some other Nationalist leader might give Salazar the willies in a way that Franco didn't OTL.
Salazar was scared that Franco would become too powerful and attempt to pull an Iberian Union. If this fear was somehow realized (The Italians just so happen to 'intercept' a telegram about an invasion of Portugal), then Salazar would probably push into Iberia. A war between Portugal and Spain would be good for Italy as they wont's actually have to do much, most the fighting between Portugal and Spain.
Why do you think that? If he feared Franco, he didn't show it. Salazar sent volunteers to the nationalists, allowed them to use portuguese soil for logistical commuications and sent them supplies. Why, if he feared Franco? Why did Salazar signed a non-agression pact that included a clause about mutual deffence against third parties invading the peninsula with Franco in 1939 (ratified in 1942) that lasted till 1978? Salazar and Nicolás Franco, Franco`s brother, were buddy-buddy. There is a lot of videogame non-sense in this thread, anyway.![]()