The Footprint of Mussolini - TL

Kind of loving how America seems to enjoy warm relations with both India and China, even as they both thumb thier noses at Europe.

Ironically if that translates to better respective race relations, it seems like ITTL there would be less immigration with the economies doing much better sooner.

As for the Tolstoyists affecting the Freedom Party; I am wondering if it won't be the party itself affected, but rather their grip on the idea of Christian morality will be shaken by the Christian Left being galvanized by Malenkov's achievements.
 
I think the prominence of fascism ITTL will dramatically change the historiography of Napoleon, he will be seen as "the first fascist" or at least an important predecessor. His campaign in Egypt will seem like a dress rehearsal for Mussolini's Mediterranean conquests. Napoleon's reputation as an enlightened, modernizing strongman will make him seem like a predecessor to Mussolini's program of modernization, economic development, and cultural unification in Italy. French nationalists and the French far-right may respond to claim of Italian superiority by claiming that Napoleon was the first fascist, and Mussolini was just an Italian imitation.

I'd be surprised if there wasn't an embarrassing, right-wing fringe party in French politics calling for De Gaulle to take absolute power and become the French Mussolini. They'll have a military hero rescuing a nation in crisis, the specter of a leftist revolution, and the talking point of a "decadent" liberal democracy that let the Boches conquer the entire metropole.

Will the crises of Keynesianism in the '70s and the rise of neoliberalism be delayed or prevented ITTL? New Deal era economic statism and policies like immigration and trade restrictions seem to be much stronger. Different varieties of Dirigisme and state-led development in South China, the French Union, the fascist Bloc, etc. could predominate throughout the world instead of the "Reaganism-Thatcherism defeats Marxism-Leninism, and free markets are dominant" narrative of OTL.

This world seems like a mixed big compared to OTL. Southern China, much of central Europe (Czechia, Hungary, Romania), India, and parts of Africa are more stable and economically prosperous. But the Arab world still gets a For-All Time-level nuclear obliteration, and Poland and Ethiopia can't seem to catch a break.
 
I'd be curious seeing the status of the French Far-Right. What of the French Far-Right Movements the Parti Franciste/Mouvement Franciste, Parti Populaire Francaise, Reassemblment National Populaire and Croix-de-Feu? I never heard of the status of Fascist Parties outside of Britain, the US, Spain and Italy.
 
I wonder how this upheaval will affect Indochina. The ruling elites have stuck with France because they are scared of the RoC and now Thailand is harassing them. But a new French regime may threaten the ruling order in Indochina or just be seen as unreliable. Might they break away from the French and seek an alliance with India instead?
 
So, would Fascism be placed on the same level as OTL Communism when it comes to how people see it?

Considering how highly Italians respect Mussolini it is very plausible that people will see Fascism as same wasy as Communism is seen in OTL. In OTL many Russians have positive view of Stalin and we alrady know that ITTL Italians have positive view about Mussolini.
 
So, would Fascism be placed on the same level as OTL Communism when it comes to how people see it?

Remember in Twilight of the Red tsar when Zhukov calls Stalin “Vyrodok”? That’s how nazism and communism will be regarded in this world: Satanic abominations in the eyes of men and God.
 

Deleted member 109224

France will become Serbia's new sponsor in the Balkans? Interesting.

France has about 62 million people as of 1970 TTL due to Algeria (63 if you include Gabon and Djibtouit).
France had about 51 million people as of 1970 OTL.
West Germany had about 61 million people as of 1970 OTL.
Unified Germany had a combined population of about 78 million OTL.

France's international position seems to be stronger than OTL but I wonder how far it goes.
Dominating the Gabonese and Algerian oil supplies puts them in a strong position.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
There was no mass surrender as seen in North China - both the Ainu and Communist Japanese fought to the bitter end wherever they could. The Ainu population were quickly rounded up into ‘relocation camps’ while Ainu members of government were often summarily executed on the spot, often by sword. Ryū Ōta, the leader of the Ezo government, had harsh discriminated against the local Japanese population in favour of the Ainu despite being Japanese himself by labelling the Ainu ‘Lumpenproletariat’ that needed to be reared to power. This likely made him even more hated among the soldiers than the local Ainu, with Japanese writer Yukio Mishima explaining “An enemy is one thing - a traitor is another”. When he was caught hiding in the forests by a unit of Japanese soldiers, the unit could not contain themselves. They tied Ōta up, put him over a nearby rock and cut his head off with one clean decapitation. Though the unit was eventually put to trial, all would be released due to overwhelming public support for Ōta’s execution. Public decapitation was a common method of punishing resistors in the occupied Ainu villages of Hokkaido. It was also the common method of execution of senior Japanese members of the Communist Party who had fled Japan to find comfort up North. Among those was Inejiro Asanuma, the former head of the Socialist Party who left Japan in protest of re-militarisation to go to Ezo. His public denunciations of the Emperor and Japan had ensured he was labelled as a traitor to the Chrysanthemum Throne, leading to his being hacked to death with bayonets when he ‘resisted arrest’. With the Americans agreeing not to have any ground role in the war beyond the air force, many of Japan’s atrocities in Hokkaido were never reported until long after the fact. When Sapporo fell on January 27th, Ainu cultural festivals, expression and even language was soon ruthlessly suppressed. It certainly dissuaded many Ainu from rising against the Japanese army, as if the numerical difference wasn’t already enough. By the end of January, there were double the number of Japanese soldiers in Hokkaido than there were Ainu of all ages. Half due to the desperation fighting against the Japanese (a bizarre mirror of Japan’s own fight-to-the-death mentality in WW2) and half due to discriminatory Japanese firepower, the Ainu lost a quarter of their entire population in the three months of conflict it took to fully secure Hokkaido, which is remembered in Japan as ‘The Re-Unification War’. The Japanese had recovered their reputation as a serious military force, not to mention recaptured an integral part of their land. Japanese refugees from Hokkaido, as well as Ultra-Nationalist ‘Settlers’ who had been encouraged by the Japanese government to go to Hokkaido to solidify the mono-ethnicity of the region. For the Ainu, they would face further destitution. On May 4th 1973, the Soviets agreed to return the four disputed Kuril Islands to Japan for a small payment - the Japanese government announced that the Ainu population would be resettled there ‘For its protection’. With barely enough resources to go around, the Ainu were left on barren islands to eke out a bare level of survival. Meanwhile back on Hokkaido, almost any Ainu cultural expression had been destroyed or upended, including graveyards, temples and anything else.

Letting Japanese nationalism off the leash. Yeah. Not a good idea. That's a bloody mess.

Communism is indeed seen as vile ideology as Nazism. But moderate leftism (social democracy and some other similar things) are acceptable when they condemned crimes of Communism.

The interesting thing seems to be that in contrast to OTL where socialists are generally liberal in societal terms, if not actively hostile to traditional mores, this timeline seems to lead to culturally conservative religious socialists - in Russia combining that with extreme pacifism for the now, in the USA in the future as a party in opposition to classically-liberal laissez-faire Republicans. However, with the Freedom Party starting out as the party of the racist dixiecrat during the worst racial turmoil in the USA, I can't see them winning a large proportion of the black populace in this timeline. I think that this may lead to very different cultural norms for the USA's black community.

Extract from ‘Le Roi Republicaine: De Gaulle’s presidencies and France after World War II’ by Alain Degiraud

Fascinating. A look at France throughout the timeline. France seems to be breaking even compared to OTL - more outside influence, less international prestige, economy about on par.

I think the prominence of fascism ITTL will dramatically change the historiography of Napoleon, he will be seen as "the first fascist" or at least an important predecessor. His campaign in Egypt will seem like a dress rehearsal for Mussolini's Mediterranean conquests. Napoleon's reputation as an enlightened, modernizing strongman will make him seem like a predecessor to Mussolini's program of modernization, economic development, and cultural unification in Italy. French nationalists and the French far-right may respond to claim of Italian superiority by claiming that Napoleon was the first fascist, and Mussolini was just an Italian imitation.

An interesting idea. One I hope Sorairo considers incorporating.

Indeed, while Fascism is probably seen in the same light as Communism is seen IOTL.

Possibly even better. Do take into account that there was a much longer Cold War OTL and more cooperation between the ITO and the RA during even the 'Cool War' in this timeline.
 
I think the prominence of fascism ITTL will dramatically change the historiography of Napoleon, he will be seen as "the first fascist" or at least an important predecessor. His campaign in Egypt will seem like a dress rehearsal for Mussolini's Mediterranean conquests. Napoleon's reputation as an enlightened, modernizing strongman will make him seem like a predecessor to Mussolini's program of modernization, economic development, and cultural unification in Italy. French nationalists and the French far-right may respond to claim of Italian superiority by claiming that Napoleon was the first fascist, and Mussolini was just an Italian imitation.

I'd actually laugh if the Italian far-right ITTL respond by saying that Napoleon was actually Italian, since he was born in Corsica...
 
I'd actually laugh if the Italian far-right ITTL respond by saying that Napoleon was actually Italian, since he was born in Corsica...
Napoleon was Italian. His family was a group of Italians living in Corsica, and his name was Italian as well. He even boasted about it, saying that he "was part of a race who builds empires" and "considered himself more Italian or Tuscan than Corsican"

Edit: To clarify, his family was descended from minor Tuscan nobility
 
Napoleon was Italian. His family was a group of Italians living in Corsica, and his name was Italian as well. He even boasted about it, saying that he "was part of a race who builds empires" and "considered himself more Italian or Tuscan than Corsican"

Edit: To clarify, his family was descended from minor Tuscan nobility
Which is why both France and Italy might be willing to claim his legacy ITTL.
 
However, with the Freedom Party starting out as the party of the racist dixiecrat during the worst racial turmoil in the USA, I can't see them winning a large proportion of the black populace in this timeline. I think that this may lead to very different cultural norms for the USA's black community.

My prediction remains that a new party will rise and the Freedom Party decline Post Corely. With Socialism having breathing room Post USSR and the Tolstoyists creating new opening for Christian leftists to reconcile with Socialism the American Left will make a comeback probably really taking off in the early 80s.

The Republican Party already lost votes and members from its Right to the Freedom Party. So next I think it will be the Left wing defecting either merging with or absorbing the Progressives. JFK's downfall and Nixon's scandal I expect have left many disillusioned with the GOP leadership as corrupt and now they have been losing to the Freedom Party. And I can see renewed support for a Left leaning party among young voters not as influenced by the Wallace Era. Further galvanized by outrage over Corely aiding Fascist expansion.

So I see the Republicans retaking the White House after Corely but starting to rupture. The resulting split allows another Freedom Party win, but the FP under its baggage starts to retreat to its Southern Stronghold as the 80s wear on with it being seen as too hard-line by many compared to the more moderate Republicans and the Christian Values vote being further divided by its Left finding a new Home in the new party.

So either a three party system, or the FP ends up absorbed into the Republicans forming a united front against the Socialists in the 90s or there about.
 
Last edited:
So about how many Slovenes fled to neighbouring countries? Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and others nearby? Theres a dialect of Slovene spoken in Carinthia in Austria, too, were the language repressed there?
 
So about how many Slovenes fled to neighbouring countries? Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and others nearby? Theres a dialect of Slovene spoken in Carinthia in Austria, too, were the language repressed there?
Pretty sure all of those countries were under Italian influence or outright part of the Roman Alliance. None of them would risk pissing off Italy except maybe Hungary, any Slovenes fleeing there wouldn’t stay or would be deported back to Italy by said countries.
And how many moved to African colonies?
This on the other hand is likely were they went instead, since the chapter that covered the ethnic cleansing in Slovenia mentioned many of them moving to Italy’s colonies to try to preserve their culture there.
 
Last edited:
Has it been said where the Italian and British space programs are operating out of?

Also I wonder if the Latin Spring and Belize joining the UK will trigger wider challenges to the colonial status quo in the Caribbean? With the colonies demanding either integration with the 'mother country' or full independence. Maybe Puerto Rico will even end up going one way or another.
 
Pretty sure all of those countries were under Italian influence or outright part of the Roman Alliance. None of them would risk pissing off Italy except maybe Hungary, any Slovenes fleeing there wouldn’t stay or would be deported back too Italy by said countries.

Austria was only occupied by Italy for a short time during and in the years after the war. Hardly enough to completely repress the Carinthian Slovene varieties already spoken in Austria. With Carinthian Slovene still being spoken, Carinthia would most likely be one of the places many Slovene refugees would go in addition to the African colonies.
 
Top