Part One - Chapter six: the days of humiliation
Umberto was able to sent the orders to the remaining Italian divisions to stop any hostility and to surrender to the enemy without informing the government and his high command. Loyal to their ruler, in few hours almost all the soldiers in the southern front, and those who tried to defend the northern region deposed their weapons. In Napoli, after the coming of the shocking news, both the politicians and the high ranked generals tried to revoke the royal orders, but it was too late and however the soldiers were more willing to take orders to their king, who at least finished this inutile war; so, when some hours later German and Austrian diplomats came to talk with them, they had no choice that to recognize the surrender.
The surrender of Italy created consternation in the two main Entente nation still in war, Great Britain and France; the second was forced to sent troops to the south trying to halt the upcoming German assault to Provence, so weakening more the western front, when the first realized the war in Europe was lost and start to retreat its soldiers.
The Germans, after the Italian capitulation, started to build up its forces in Piemonte, while the control of the peninsula was gradually given to the Austrians: for them, the war was practically over because their border enemies were all defeated. Most of the Imperial divisions returned to home, while other were put in strategic points to quell local revolts and prevent eventual English amphibious assaults. The Italian army was progressively disarmed while some worker riots were broken with violence; even if Umberto asked to his subjects to remain calm, in Veneto the situation was very difficult because the people was angered to the massacre of St. Mark. At the start of September, the Germans were ready to launch the attack in Southern France: the French didn’t manage to hold a second front and soon Marseilles fallen. Worker strikes spreaded all across the country, the British finished their evacuation, and with the enemy at the gates of Paris the civilian government surrended the 4th of October.
The war in Europe was ended, even if Britain and its last allies, Japan and Portugal, decided however to continue the fight in the sea. The Central Powers meanwhile decided to open for the start of 1920 the peace talks with the other defeated countries: Italy, France, Belgium, Serbia, Romania, and Greece.
In the days of the occupation, Maria departed to Rome to follow the recitation school leaving Giovanni in Napoli, hoping to meet again soon; they didn’t know they didn’t see for many years…
In the peace talks, the Central Powers proposed harsh conditions to the defeated countries:
- Serbia lost Macedonia to Bulgaria and Montenegro to Austria-Hungary, and placing its sovereignty on the hands of the dual monarchy;
- Greece ceded its part of Macedonia and Salonika to Bulgaria, the Ionian Isles to Austria-Hungary and gave the control of Crete to Germany until the empire decided to relinquish it;
- Romania ceded Oltenia to Hungary and Costantia to Bulgaria and gave the control of the Ploesti oilfields to Germany, but in the reorganization of the Russian lands obtained the control of Moldavia;
- Belgium became a new puppet German state, the Kingdom of Flander-Wallonia, and ceded the lands east to the Meuse and Belgian Congo to Germany;
- Luxembourg became part of the German Empire;
- France ceded French Congo, Madagascar, and chunks of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany.
However, these terms were very reasonable respect to the humiliation Italy was going to have…
For a certain point, it was the Italian government to give to their main enemy, Austria-Hungary, a golden occasion. After the ceasefire, the high command and the civilian ministers returned to Rome, but instead to take their faults with honors, they accused Umberto II of high treason to made a “dishonorable peace without previously consulting the parliament”; the young king replied at tone it was the only reasonable choice for save Italy from total discussion, but soon understood they wanted make him the only responsible of the defeat. So in the end, the 20th of October 1919, after a exact year of reign, Umberto II abdicated from his throne; he hoped that at least it was sufficient to obtain lenient terms of peace from the Central powers. However, he didn’t went to exile but reached his possessions in Piemonte, in the possibility to serve again its country in the future.
The abdication shocked the common people who became even more confused when the government decided to not elect a new king but to wait until the sign of the peace treaty; Sonnino so wanted to regain some power to contract better the peace with the Austrians and Germans. However in Vienna they followed with attention the evolution of the Italian matters, because the Emperor Karl I wanted to resolve forever the threat of the peninsula forever, also because it seemed the Germans wanted to impose a lenient peace with Italy to make it once again an allied. The insperate solution came from one of his counselors, the priest Theodor Innitzer, who proposed a plan who received the complete approval of the Imperial government.
Innitzer was sent as the Imperial envoy to negotiate the peace with the Italians. The talks started the 7th of January 1920, and the Austrian priest obtained the right to talk. He said the expansionism of the Savoia brought Italy to the disaster, and it will happen again if the kingdom survived; so, for the better safe of the Italians… Italy must be split in pieces, and returning to a pre 1861 situation, while Austria-Hungary will annex Veneto.
The Italians delegates screamed in rage, and also the Germans didn’t believe in their ears; but Innitzer said that the Dual Monarchy didn’t want to divide the peninsula, but to reorganize it giving a new costitutional form: the new Italy will be a confederation of states, where when was possible the deposed Italian dynasties reclaimed their thrones. To give stability to the federation, the Pope ( In this case Benedict XIII) will be the Head of State, however his role will be symbolical ( even if devoted catholic, the Austrians didn’t want a too strong Church in Italy… they had other plans for the future of the country), a central government and a parliament will remain in use.
The plan Innitzer proposed for Italy was:
- In South Italy will be restored the Kingdom of Two Sicilies under the House of Bourbon;
- In Central Italy the Papal States will be restored;
- In Tuscany the legitimate Granduke, Josef Ferdinand of Habsurg-Lorraine, recover his rightful throne;
- Emilia was put under control of the house of Bourbon-Parma;
- For Lumbardy the Habsurg decided to not claim it but instead made it a Republic, the only one in the federation;
- For North-West Italy, the Savoia will reign over a restored Kingdom of Sardinia.
For that last state, it was offered to Umberto of Savoia to govern it, but the young refused; the King of Italy, even if deposed didn’t want to be an Austrian puppet neither to humiliate himself with a lesser title. So, Innitzer proposed the duke Emanuele Filiberto of Savoia-Aosta to rule Sardinia.
Soon Umberto understood he was a heavy interference for the Austrians and their supporters, so he decided to went to exile in Spain; with him will come his mother, her sisters and few loyal servants as Agostino of Roccapetrata.
The Austrians managed to impose their plan because the Germans were divided over that question and however recognized Italy into their sphere of influence, so in the end accepted the plan of Innitzer ; the Italians didn’t have other choice and however Sonnino thought the Liberal party will won the future elections for the Costitutional Assembly of the Federation.
Italy also will lose its colonial empire: Eritrea and Somalia went to Ethiopia, Libia will become a puppet state of the Ottomans who recovered also the Dodecanese.
Umberto and his family took a ship for Spain to the port of Genova the 3rd of March, few days before the peace treaty will be signed; the legend said someone heard him pronounce these words: “ One day, one day I will return no matter I must to wait.”
That day however it changed the life of all Italians forever…