The Only Winning Move Mk.2
- Thread starter lukedalton
- Start date
The next post can be found also in my other TL as part of the collaborative effort by wiking, BLondieBC and me for an alternate WWI, even in that case Italy remain neutral and frankly the two at that early stage the post can be mixed. I changed something to better adapt at this TL. Just one thing, the idea of the treat originally is from BlondieBC and all the merit must go to him as frankly it had never come to me a similar idea.
The signing of the Rome Treaty was a major setback for the Entente diplomacy and many of their diplomats and politicians were, for using a tame world, extremely surprised for this development as they thought that the involvement of Italy in the war at their side was just a matters of days and that Salandra had a firm grasp at power; in reality some of the most experienced or cunning diplomats like Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George were not really amazed by the move of the Italians and the First Lord of the Admiralty privately musing that at least they will not waste resources in propping them up, as he was not really convinced of Italy military usefulness.
Still the new position of the Kingdom of Italy created a series of problems for Paris and London, now the continental blockade had a leak and seemed that there were not an easy way to close it; unlike Norway, Netherlands and the others neutrals Italy cannot be easily intimidated as even if she was the weakest, she was still a Great Power and put too much pressure on her or flex too much the Entente economic muscle to make her comply with their demands may push her to side directly with her old allies so open a strategic nightmare in a moment not really favourable for them, so even Churchill proposal to block any coal furniture to Italy was vetoed by PM Asquith as too extreme, at least for now, and just a severe scale down of the furniture was approved.
This reaction don’t really surprised the Italian government, and even the numerous report of harassment of merchants ships come and from Italy were among the range of possible expected consequence; the previous govement had quietly bought food and other strategic material in the previoius months creating an important reserve so there were some sort of autonomy but coming quickly at a kind of understanding with the other side of this war was vital for Italy.
In the following two weeks Marquis Imperiali (the Italian ambassador in London) and Tommaso Tittoni (ambassador in Paris) had a series of encounters with government officials delivering various proposal of compromise and trying to explain Italy position; at the same time the situation on the field was becoming a little tense, if the border with Austria – Hungary was peaceful and almost devoid of military presence, that with France was the exact opposite as the bulk of the Italian Army was there and ready to take action and at least a dozen of incidents had already happened from the start of the crisis, luckily with very few deaths but the atmosphere was tense.
In the sea the situation was not really better, even if for now there were no shooting accident between the Marine Nationale (or the Royal Navy) and Regia Marina, there were a couple of close occasion and many analyst thought that was only a matter of time before it occurred; the most tense moment was 27 April when the Italian battleship Benedetto Brin, in a patrol mission near Naples, to show the flag at a close French naval group centred around the Battleship France who occasionally harassed merchant ships headed to Italy) was torn by an huge explosion and almost sunk; for some tense minute a battle (even if one-sided) between the escorts of the fatally damaged Battleship (the destroyers Ardito, Indomito and Irrequieto) and the French ships seemed unavoidable, luckily for everyone involved cooler heads prevailed and the French helped in the search and rescue operation but to this day and even if the official inquiry stated that the cause of the explosion was the faulty ammunition the theory of Entente sabotage/involvement is widespread enough to not be easily dismissed. (1)
This event made clear at both parties that a quick resolution of the situation was vital for all the side involved, so is not so surprising that by the end of April the situation was resolved…even if none of the nations involved both directly and indirectly was happy of the outcome.
In a secret treaty signed in Genève by representative of the British, France and Italian governments a frame for a working relationship was created; Italy agreed to demobilize the troops at the French border, so allowing at Paris to transfer at north her divisions there and to not sell at hostile government the materials imported; on the other hand the Entente promise to sell to Italy much needed raw material, in the quantity allowed by the current military situation and allow the free passage for her merchants ships; in a secret protocol Rome agreed for contract for a furniture of ammunitions and Caproni aircraft (both delivered using Spain as intermediary) both as a payment for coal and as a concession to the Entente for leave her alone. This last part even if betrayed the spirit (and in part the letter) of the Rome Treaty was signed by Giolitti and the King as a necessary evil due to the Damocles’ Sword London have on Italy due to her dependence from import, so some kind of under the table agreement was considered necessary to avoid in peace what was feared a war will bring, namely a revolution. Naturally the definition of material imported was different for the two delegations as the Italians, with is economy based on manufacturing industries, considered themself justified in buy the raw material and sell to Austria and Germany the finished product.
For Italythe most immediate consequence, at least internally, was the almost dismissal of General Luigi Cadorna as Chief of Staff of the army, due to his violent and public protest of Giolitti’s move who he considered akin to betrayal as in his opinion irremediably weaken any possible defence of the border; the Presidente del Consiglio, whose reciprocal hate with the General was a very open secret, decided to not press too much for Cadorna resignation for both political (as Cadorna come from an very influent family and has some friend in high place) and practical (the moment was too critical for a sudden change in the command position) but he immediately begin the search for a substitute. In the long run, the agreement with Rome was considered the better outcome possible for a botched diplomatic move, as France was incrementally reliant to seasonal emigrant work from Italy to keep production and in general the Entente freed a lot of workers buying Italian, not counting the money saved and the less risk involved than importing merchandise from the U.S.A.
During the same time, the Italian diplomacy started a series of bilateral talk with the Swiss government, regarding the military and economic challenges that the two neutral nations face at the moment and in the future; the Federal Chancellor Hans Schatzmann was very receptive of this proposal, as for a landlocked nation like Switzerland maintaining a secure and safe commercial route was indispensable especially during a war and almost surrounded by belligerent nations, so by July a series of economic treaties were signed in Rome increasing the level of collaboration and integration of both nations. Even if commerce with and though Italy will not solve the entire Confederation economic problem, greatly alleviate it, allowing at the population to keep a less stringent rationing and demobilize part of the army, easing the overall social effect of the war. A more shadowy product of this accord, will be a ready route for some of the most sensible supplies needed by the Central Powers that Italy cannot directly provide for diplomatic reasons; the Entente usually close both his eyes or just give some weak protest, as both Rome and Bern take great care in limit the quantity of the material sold at a level that is not really worth go to war for it.
the historical image of the loss of the Battleship Benedetto Brin
(1) In Otl, the Benedetto Brin sunk in Brindisi with more than 400 sailors, due to ammunition storage problems, but with the war (and to safe face) the admirals thought that A-H was a better scapegoat. Here the cover up is not done due to the increased tension with the Entente, and fire some high officials is better than a shooting war, but the conspiracy theory lives on.
Even with the nation maintaining a precarious neutral position, the Italian military don’t stayed idle or to be more precise, it never was as between the intervention in Albania and the ongoing pacification effort in Libya and Somalia there was a lot of job to do.
The situation was especially dire in North Africa, where the local nomad population had begun a revolt that not only interested the Italians but soon involved even the French and the British possession. In the first three months of 1915 the region of Fezzan and all the interior of Libya were in open revolt, with band of guerrillas attacking villages and military outpost, harassing the supply line, isolating and laying siege to military bases so making the colony untenable. To ease the military situation the Italian Command decided to order a fighting retreat of all the military forces to the coast, where the support of the Navy will be available to fight the insurgent. The travel of the retreating units was characterized by an incessant series of ‘hit and run’ attack by the Bedouins who used at their fullest their knowledge of the terrain and the superior mobility, basically decimating the retreating columns.
In early February , when the new colonial governor (General Giulio Cesare Tassoni) come in Tripoli to assume his new position, the general situation in Tripolitania was dramatic. After losing control of the Fezzan region (occupied just a year before with great effort), even important position like Murzuch, Sebha, Gadames, Barch and Giofra were conquered by the insurgents, resulting in the interruption of any contact between the Italian forces in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica who by now controlled only a handful of position on the coast.
Fiat Arsenale in Libya 1915
The Bedouins were not alone in their battle against the foreign invaders; Enver Pasha (officially ‘only’ the Ottoman War Minister but in reality the effective dictator of the Empire) discretely supported the rebellion providing supply and sending military advisors and the ‘unofficial’ Ottoman ruler had come to an agreement with the Senussi chief Ahmed esh-Sherif and Alì Dinar the Sultan of Darfur to attack the British forces in Egypt. The Senussi leader even if initially reluctant declaring against Great Britain, was convinced by the diplomatic effort of Nury Bey (brother of Enver Pasha) and Senator Suleiman el-Baruni, who with great difficulty travelled to the rebel stronghold of Amseat to discuss with Ahmed the promise of create an independent Kingdom of Libya with him as leader. For their part, the British even if worried by a possible conquest by the Senussi of the Libyan coast as a prelude for the establishment of submarine bases by the Germans, decided to not spend too much troops and supply in fighting the rebels, leaving the work to the Italians and limiting their effort at contain them; after the Treaty of Rome become public some local British commander even decided to close an eye at the passage of Senussi column if not hostile.
Tassoni, following the directive of the newly appointed Presidente del Consiglio Giolitti launched the 15th April a two pronged counteroffensive with the objective to break the siege of the cities and eliminate the mehalle (mobile formation of Bedouins), unfortunately the first expedition, formed by a mix of Italian regular soldiers and local irregulars, was attacked two days later at Chormet el-Chaddmia by a force of at least 2000 mujahedin, even if the initial battle was inconclusive and none seemed having enough strenght to prevail, at the evening of the same day another rebel formation joined the fray deciding the outcome of the battle and causing severe loss for the Italians and the acquisition (capture) of much needed war material by the rebels.
The second column commanded by Colonel Antonio Miani and with the objective of eliminate insurgent activity in the Sirtica (North-Central) Region fared even worse, composed by 6000 men, divided almost evenly in regular troops and local irregulars (many time forcibly enlisted) and using camels often taken by force from the various villages. After a long and difficult march, the 2 May Miani scrapped the original plan to attack the rebel camp of Gasr Bu Hadi because his reserve of water were dangerously low so he went towards Sirte among the protest of the locals who lamented the distance from their home. After a week the contingent finally reached the planned destination (Gasr Bu Hadi) but here the troops were immediately harassed by the enemy’s cavalry who concentrated her effort on the irregulars; soon that tactic brought the hoped results as the Libyan conscript began to fold up and run away, so allowing the Senussi to overwhelm the remaining troops in a couple of hours. In the end the Royal Army lost almost 1000 men between dead and wounded, but the worse was all the material captured by the rebels, almost 5000 rifles, a couple of artillery pieces and almost all the supplies, the worst Italian defeat in Libya.
The immediate consequence of these defeat was the spread of the revolt on the territory the Italians still controlled, with the Senussi come at only 8 km from the defensive line of Misurata and the Governor panicky demanding reinforcement from Rome.
Fortified Italian position in Misurata 1915
The request of reinforcements by Tassoni almost caused the definitive breaking of the already strained relations between Giolitti and Luigi Cadorna, the chief of Staff of the Italian army, as the latter greatly despised any use of troops beyond the national borders, as he feared that even if officially neutral soon Italy would have been forced to enter the conflict; unfortunately for Cadorna the sum of his incapacity to compromise and his aggressive nature collided with the immovable determination of Giolitti of not lose the colony conquered during his mandate and his habit of not tolerate any disrespect, especially after having chastised the General just some a week before regarding the redeployment of the troops; so in the informal but influential political circle of Rome (the so called salotti) people soon begun to speculate who would be the next Chief of Staff. It was needed the mediation of the King himself to defuse the situation between the two men, as was feared that this kind of infighting between two of the most powerfull figure of the goverment was considered a too great show of weakness expecially in a so dangerous moment; so for the moment the crisis between the two men was over.
Attachment 199191
Foreign Minister Leonida Bissolati 1915
It was during this troubled time that the newly appointed Foreign Minister of the Kingdom Leonida Bissolati (a socialist who supported the Libyan war ) received a private visit by the Ottoman ambassador; in the previous week the embassy in Constantinople had received a series of informal inquiries by the Ottoman Foreign Office regarding the Italian willingness to improve the relationship between the two nations; Marquis Garroni, the ambassador, affirmed that the Porte even if in extremely vague terms seemed interested in something similar to the Treaty signed with Germany and Austria enough to consider stopping their support to the Senussi, after some consultation and the continuous dire news come from Libya, the decision to authorize this contact was given, at least so to know more about the situation.
The encounter of the 26 May was brief but full of potential as Bissolati described it to the Presidente del Consiglio. In more detailed terms, the Porte, or better Enver Pasha, agreed to a mutual recognition of gains; for the Ottoman the future conquest in the east and Constantinople will reaffirm the Losanna Treaty recognizing Rome ownership of Libya and implicitly stopping any aid to the rebels (but only at the condition to raise the level of trade) and demanded Italian help in permitting the pilgrimage of the Muslims to the Mecca basically giving them supply and use Italian ships (if necessary with a military escort) to transport them to a determinate port. More interesting and surprising were the suggestion that the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire divided Greece into sphere of influence and the possibility to exchange recognition of Egypt being part of the Ottoman sphere and as reward to Italy the transfer to Christian religious sites inthe holy land held by Entente powers or religious orders based in Entente Power to Italy or the Catholic Church.
The proposal sparked an brief but heated debate in the Italian government; stopping the aid given to the Senussi was vital for the future pacification effort in Libya and frankly the possibilities of more commerce was very appealing especially in keeping calm and compliant the population and the influential people who had gave support to Giolitti agenda before, but accepting it mean strain even more the diplomatic situation with the Entente, Italy was already playing a dangerous game and making some premature move can be fatal as the ink on the agreement with Paris and London was still fresh.
In his diary King Vittorio Emanuele III describe the humor of Giolitti as tense and thoughtful, always talking with Bissolati (also in the role of spokesman of the socialist), Nitti (the finance minister and representing the Radicals) and in some occasion with Otorino Gentiloni (representing Azione Cattolica – Catholic Action). Giolitti in his meetings with the King envisioned this agreement with the Ottoman as a possible beginning of an alliance (of pure interest obviously) to balance the Austria-Hungary and very likely Bulgaria, in case of victory by the Central Powers (an event very probable for the Presidente) and in the more specific case of Greece, have an understanding with the Ottoman will be a very good thing as between Athens and Rome there were a dispute regarding the control of Albania, and both nations occupy a portion of the tiny nation for ‘security’ reason.
Over any other things Giolitti don’t wanted Italy cheated at diplomatic table after all the effort spent, so the rapprochement with the Ottoman was seen as a first step in a bigger scheme, secondary, as Nitti (and other important businessman as Agnelli) pointed out, the war let a void in some interesting concession in the extraction sector who will be of great interest for the nation. In particular the coal basin of Heraclea, who before the war were largely exploited by French and Italian firms and the region of Adalia in the south of Turkey who seemed to possess great deposit of the precious resource. The final part of the initial negotiations regarded a possible expansion of the holding of Italy in North Africa, the Porte even if not officially ready to talk about any enlarging of Libya, agreed to begin a discussion over a more firm consolidation of the Egypt/Libya border.
The King still wrote about Giolitti, how he feel the need to plan at least on the medium term, thinking about the aftermath of this war, for that reason he demanded from Constantinople to relinquish every possible right over Tunisia and support them regarding the Treaty of Rome, as very few in the Italian political scene believed that the Hasburg dinasty will relinquish the territories much easily; even him was unsure if the decision to negotiate over the border of Egypt was more a diplomatic move so to have a point to easily dismiss as a concession or a polite way to entertain Enver Pasha as neither him or Giolitti (or everyone else for that matters) thought that the Ottoman had the capacity to beat the British in that theatre.
Ironically the negotiations between the two former enemies were much more smoother than the previous one, hold between (at least theoretically) old allies, with just the distance and various technical problems as the only serious obstacle to the Treaty. The biggest of them was on how bring the men and material in the place and return the coal in Italy; the first part was resolved using Rhodes as a springboard for the real destination, it was complicated and will slow the process but at least it was more safe, as an Italian port it was not under great surveillance or blocked so people and material can be sent there more freely and from here they can continue for the mainland if the right dose of caution is took, fortunately there were no shortage of man ready to risk for an increased pay and as a unknown diplomat said ‘Faith manages’
Nevertheless there were the need to walk very lightly around the French and the British as they can found the support given to the Ottoman the straw who broke the camel, for this reason a military escort for the pilgrim was immediately ruled out, too much possibilities for an incident as the recent event demonstrated but at least words were cheap and looks goods on both paper and in the eyes of the more religious minded; so in very private and discrete inquiries the Italian ambassadors in the Entente capitals assured that after the war the respective economic interest were to be given back to the legitimate owner but in the moment Italy needed the coal, even what can be spared and obtained by the Ottoman, otherwise the government and the monarchy itself were in danger.
The most difficult part of all the negotiations was find the right place where the coal can be shipped in Italy without too much interference by the Entente. In the end only two options seemed possible; the city of Dadegac, better know as Alexandropoulos, due to her short distance from the basin and the rail that permit a fast transport of the material. The city was under Bulgarian possession and that nation was heavily flirting with A-H and Germany to join them in the war (but was still undecided), but for now it was a non combat and even in case of Bulgaria participating at the conflict the situation in Greece was really confusing but seemed that they will remain neutral in the foreseeable future. The second choice was the Ottoman city of Makri , it was much more distant from the coal basin but still served well by the rail network in a short distance by Rhodes, cost and time will rise up but it was, at least in theory, more safe.
Naturally great part of the Treaty needed to remain secret, as the Entente will not be pleased at least regarding at Italy become so much entangled with their enemies than before, so much to take already dibs over piece of their empires.
So without much fanfare the Ottoman Ambassador and the Italian Minister of Finance (on behalf of the King and government) signed a seemingly minor economic treaty between the two former enemies.
Frenemies - the complicated relationship between Rome and Constantinople in the XXth century by Walter Ignazio RE for Edizioni Corno
Treaty of Venice 8 June 1915
1) The government of the Kingdom of Italy gladly accept the Porte support for the terms of the Treaty of Rome
The Kingdom of Italy doesn’t have any contraindication over a division of Greece on mutually beneficial sphere of Interest, except the inclusion in the Italian one of the Epirus region for safeguarding the Italian interest on Albania. The passage of Rhodes and the surrounding areas back to Ottoman control will happen only if the Austrian government fulfil her part of the Treaty of Venice, and the Ottoman Empire ensure that the aforementioned territory for a period of at least 10 years will be free from any military base or the presence of military personnel.
2) The Kingdom of Italy don't have any previous impediment on recognize any territorial gain of the Ottoman Empire on her eastern border, if previously the aforementioned government agree on Italian sovereignty on Libya and Albania, forfeiting any previous claim. (Secret).
3) The Kingdom of Italy agree to commerce with the Porte at the same condition and with the same specification applied to the governments of the Empire of Germany and Austria-Hungary (public); as condition sine qua non the Ottoman Empire will cease any diplomatic and material support for the Senussi rebellion. (secret)
4) His Majesty the King of Italy and heir of the throne of Jerusalem on behalf of the Italian government, people and all the Catholics accept the burden of protector of the Holy Sepulchre and of the catholic right if the need will arise and the final agreement to end this current conflict will grant the aforementioned site to the August Porte. (Secret).
Is not intention of any Italian official in both official and unofficial terms to impede or diminishing any established religious right of the Muslim population and will try, depending of the ever fluctuating situation of the war, to favour the just pilmigrage with the aforementioned request both politically and logistically; unfortunately the Italian government cannot ensure a military escort for these ships due to both political and logistic factor. (Public)
The Italian government need the assurance that the Ottoman government will abandon any previous claim an rights over any possible extension of the Italian sphere of influence over territories at east of the Fezzan/Tripolitania border. (secret)
A) The Kingdom of Italy agrees apply diplomatic pressure to the Entente to allow both Christian and Muslim pilgrims from neutral countries to travel freely to their Holy sites in the Ottoman Empire. Italy recognizes that these refugees may need supplies such as food that the Ottomans may not be able to provide for the duration of the blockade/war. (Secret)
B) For Clarity on point 4 related to Fezzan/Tripolitania, the Ottomans propose the eastern extent of the Italian Libya be marked by a line running North/South from the Med Sea to the deep Sahara from a reference point one nautical mile east of El Salloum.
5) The Porte accept to begin an economic partnership with the Kingdom of Italy regarding the development of the natural resources of region of Adalia.
6) The Porte accept to allow the passage of the pre-existent right and contract on possession of Entente government and citizens regarding the exploitation of the coal basin of the Heraclea region, at the condition that same contractual terms will be kept.
A) The Porte accepts the use of the raw material extracted, and an increasing of the production on the aforementioned region as payment for the supplies mentioned on point 3.
B) The Porte agree to consider an increasing of the % of ownership of the Heraclia basin by the Italian government if the latter will, considering the inherent difficulties due to the current conflict, transport additional worker and material for rise the coal production. (secret)
C) The Sublime Porte agrees on establish a joint commission to negotiate the detail and other possible mutually beneficial commercial agreement, provided neither sides security nor sovereignty is harmed.
The signing of the Rome Treaty was a major setback for the Entente diplomacy and many of their diplomats and politicians were, for using a tame world, extremely surprised for this development as they thought that the involvement of Italy in the war at their side was just a matters of days and that Salandra had a firm grasp at power; in reality some of the most experienced or cunning diplomats like Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George were not really amazed by the move of the Italians and the First Lord of the Admiralty privately musing that at least they will not waste resources in propping them up, as he was not really convinced of Italy military usefulness.
Still the new position of the Kingdom of Italy created a series of problems for Paris and London, now the continental blockade had a leak and seemed that there were not an easy way to close it; unlike Norway, Netherlands and the others neutrals Italy cannot be easily intimidated as even if she was the weakest, she was still a Great Power and put too much pressure on her or flex too much the Entente economic muscle to make her comply with their demands may push her to side directly with her old allies so open a strategic nightmare in a moment not really favourable for them, so even Churchill proposal to block any coal furniture to Italy was vetoed by PM Asquith as too extreme, at least for now, and just a severe scale down of the furniture was approved.
This reaction don’t really surprised the Italian government, and even the numerous report of harassment of merchants ships come and from Italy were among the range of possible expected consequence; the previous govement had quietly bought food and other strategic material in the previoius months creating an important reserve so there were some sort of autonomy but coming quickly at a kind of understanding with the other side of this war was vital for Italy.
In the following two weeks Marquis Imperiali (the Italian ambassador in London) and Tommaso Tittoni (ambassador in Paris) had a series of encounters with government officials delivering various proposal of compromise and trying to explain Italy position; at the same time the situation on the field was becoming a little tense, if the border with Austria – Hungary was peaceful and almost devoid of military presence, that with France was the exact opposite as the bulk of the Italian Army was there and ready to take action and at least a dozen of incidents had already happened from the start of the crisis, luckily with very few deaths but the atmosphere was tense.
In the sea the situation was not really better, even if for now there were no shooting accident between the Marine Nationale (or the Royal Navy) and Regia Marina, there were a couple of close occasion and many analyst thought that was only a matter of time before it occurred; the most tense moment was 27 April when the Italian battleship Benedetto Brin, in a patrol mission near Naples, to show the flag at a close French naval group centred around the Battleship France who occasionally harassed merchant ships headed to Italy) was torn by an huge explosion and almost sunk; for some tense minute a battle (even if one-sided) between the escorts of the fatally damaged Battleship (the destroyers Ardito, Indomito and Irrequieto) and the French ships seemed unavoidable, luckily for everyone involved cooler heads prevailed and the French helped in the search and rescue operation but to this day and even if the official inquiry stated that the cause of the explosion was the faulty ammunition the theory of Entente sabotage/involvement is widespread enough to not be easily dismissed. (1)
This event made clear at both parties that a quick resolution of the situation was vital for all the side involved, so is not so surprising that by the end of April the situation was resolved…even if none of the nations involved both directly and indirectly was happy of the outcome.
In a secret treaty signed in Genève by representative of the British, France and Italian governments a frame for a working relationship was created; Italy agreed to demobilize the troops at the French border, so allowing at Paris to transfer at north her divisions there and to not sell at hostile government the materials imported; on the other hand the Entente promise to sell to Italy much needed raw material, in the quantity allowed by the current military situation and allow the free passage for her merchants ships; in a secret protocol Rome agreed for contract for a furniture of ammunitions and Caproni aircraft (both delivered using Spain as intermediary) both as a payment for coal and as a concession to the Entente for leave her alone. This last part even if betrayed the spirit (and in part the letter) of the Rome Treaty was signed by Giolitti and the King as a necessary evil due to the Damocles’ Sword London have on Italy due to her dependence from import, so some kind of under the table agreement was considered necessary to avoid in peace what was feared a war will bring, namely a revolution. Naturally the definition of material imported was different for the two delegations as the Italians, with is economy based on manufacturing industries, considered themself justified in buy the raw material and sell to Austria and Germany the finished product.
For Italythe most immediate consequence, at least internally, was the almost dismissal of General Luigi Cadorna as Chief of Staff of the army, due to his violent and public protest of Giolitti’s move who he considered akin to betrayal as in his opinion irremediably weaken any possible defence of the border; the Presidente del Consiglio, whose reciprocal hate with the General was a very open secret, decided to not press too much for Cadorna resignation for both political (as Cadorna come from an very influent family and has some friend in high place) and practical (the moment was too critical for a sudden change in the command position) but he immediately begin the search for a substitute. In the long run, the agreement with Rome was considered the better outcome possible for a botched diplomatic move, as France was incrementally reliant to seasonal emigrant work from Italy to keep production and in general the Entente freed a lot of workers buying Italian, not counting the money saved and the less risk involved than importing merchandise from the U.S.A.
During the same time, the Italian diplomacy started a series of bilateral talk with the Swiss government, regarding the military and economic challenges that the two neutral nations face at the moment and in the future; the Federal Chancellor Hans Schatzmann was very receptive of this proposal, as for a landlocked nation like Switzerland maintaining a secure and safe commercial route was indispensable especially during a war and almost surrounded by belligerent nations, so by July a series of economic treaties were signed in Rome increasing the level of collaboration and integration of both nations. Even if commerce with and though Italy will not solve the entire Confederation economic problem, greatly alleviate it, allowing at the population to keep a less stringent rationing and demobilize part of the army, easing the overall social effect of the war. A more shadowy product of this accord, will be a ready route for some of the most sensible supplies needed by the Central Powers that Italy cannot directly provide for diplomatic reasons; the Entente usually close both his eyes or just give some weak protest, as both Rome and Bern take great care in limit the quantity of the material sold at a level that is not really worth go to war for it.
the historical image of the loss of the Battleship Benedetto Brin
(1) In Otl, the Benedetto Brin sunk in Brindisi with more than 400 sailors, due to ammunition storage problems, but with the war (and to safe face) the admirals thought that A-H was a better scapegoat. Here the cover up is not done due to the increased tension with the Entente, and fire some high officials is better than a shooting war, but the conspiracy theory lives on.
Even with the nation maintaining a precarious neutral position, the Italian military don’t stayed idle or to be more precise, it never was as between the intervention in Albania and the ongoing pacification effort in Libya and Somalia there was a lot of job to do.
The situation was especially dire in North Africa, where the local nomad population had begun a revolt that not only interested the Italians but soon involved even the French and the British possession. In the first three months of 1915 the region of Fezzan and all the interior of Libya were in open revolt, with band of guerrillas attacking villages and military outpost, harassing the supply line, isolating and laying siege to military bases so making the colony untenable. To ease the military situation the Italian Command decided to order a fighting retreat of all the military forces to the coast, where the support of the Navy will be available to fight the insurgent. The travel of the retreating units was characterized by an incessant series of ‘hit and run’ attack by the Bedouins who used at their fullest their knowledge of the terrain and the superior mobility, basically decimating the retreating columns.
In early February , when the new colonial governor (General Giulio Cesare Tassoni) come in Tripoli to assume his new position, the general situation in Tripolitania was dramatic. After losing control of the Fezzan region (occupied just a year before with great effort), even important position like Murzuch, Sebha, Gadames, Barch and Giofra were conquered by the insurgents, resulting in the interruption of any contact between the Italian forces in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica who by now controlled only a handful of position on the coast.
Fiat Arsenale in Libya 1915
The Bedouins were not alone in their battle against the foreign invaders; Enver Pasha (officially ‘only’ the Ottoman War Minister but in reality the effective dictator of the Empire) discretely supported the rebellion providing supply and sending military advisors and the ‘unofficial’ Ottoman ruler had come to an agreement with the Senussi chief Ahmed esh-Sherif and Alì Dinar the Sultan of Darfur to attack the British forces in Egypt. The Senussi leader even if initially reluctant declaring against Great Britain, was convinced by the diplomatic effort of Nury Bey (brother of Enver Pasha) and Senator Suleiman el-Baruni, who with great difficulty travelled to the rebel stronghold of Amseat to discuss with Ahmed the promise of create an independent Kingdom of Libya with him as leader. For their part, the British even if worried by a possible conquest by the Senussi of the Libyan coast as a prelude for the establishment of submarine bases by the Germans, decided to not spend too much troops and supply in fighting the rebels, leaving the work to the Italians and limiting their effort at contain them; after the Treaty of Rome become public some local British commander even decided to close an eye at the passage of Senussi column if not hostile.
Tassoni, following the directive of the newly appointed Presidente del Consiglio Giolitti launched the 15th April a two pronged counteroffensive with the objective to break the siege of the cities and eliminate the mehalle (mobile formation of Bedouins), unfortunately the first expedition, formed by a mix of Italian regular soldiers and local irregulars, was attacked two days later at Chormet el-Chaddmia by a force of at least 2000 mujahedin, even if the initial battle was inconclusive and none seemed having enough strenght to prevail, at the evening of the same day another rebel formation joined the fray deciding the outcome of the battle and causing severe loss for the Italians and the acquisition (capture) of much needed war material by the rebels.
The second column commanded by Colonel Antonio Miani and with the objective of eliminate insurgent activity in the Sirtica (North-Central) Region fared even worse, composed by 6000 men, divided almost evenly in regular troops and local irregulars (many time forcibly enlisted) and using camels often taken by force from the various villages. After a long and difficult march, the 2 May Miani scrapped the original plan to attack the rebel camp of Gasr Bu Hadi because his reserve of water were dangerously low so he went towards Sirte among the protest of the locals who lamented the distance from their home. After a week the contingent finally reached the planned destination (Gasr Bu Hadi) but here the troops were immediately harassed by the enemy’s cavalry who concentrated her effort on the irregulars; soon that tactic brought the hoped results as the Libyan conscript began to fold up and run away, so allowing the Senussi to overwhelm the remaining troops in a couple of hours. In the end the Royal Army lost almost 1000 men between dead and wounded, but the worse was all the material captured by the rebels, almost 5000 rifles, a couple of artillery pieces and almost all the supplies, the worst Italian defeat in Libya.
The immediate consequence of these defeat was the spread of the revolt on the territory the Italians still controlled, with the Senussi come at only 8 km from the defensive line of Misurata and the Governor panicky demanding reinforcement from Rome.
Fortified Italian position in Misurata 1915
The request of reinforcements by Tassoni almost caused the definitive breaking of the already strained relations between Giolitti and Luigi Cadorna, the chief of Staff of the Italian army, as the latter greatly despised any use of troops beyond the national borders, as he feared that even if officially neutral soon Italy would have been forced to enter the conflict; unfortunately for Cadorna the sum of his incapacity to compromise and his aggressive nature collided with the immovable determination of Giolitti of not lose the colony conquered during his mandate and his habit of not tolerate any disrespect, especially after having chastised the General just some a week before regarding the redeployment of the troops; so in the informal but influential political circle of Rome (the so called salotti) people soon begun to speculate who would be the next Chief of Staff. It was needed the mediation of the King himself to defuse the situation between the two men, as was feared that this kind of infighting between two of the most powerfull figure of the goverment was considered a too great show of weakness expecially in a so dangerous moment; so for the moment the crisis between the two men was over.
Attachment 199191
Foreign Minister Leonida Bissolati 1915
It was during this troubled time that the newly appointed Foreign Minister of the Kingdom Leonida Bissolati (a socialist who supported the Libyan war ) received a private visit by the Ottoman ambassador; in the previous week the embassy in Constantinople had received a series of informal inquiries by the Ottoman Foreign Office regarding the Italian willingness to improve the relationship between the two nations; Marquis Garroni, the ambassador, affirmed that the Porte even if in extremely vague terms seemed interested in something similar to the Treaty signed with Germany and Austria enough to consider stopping their support to the Senussi, after some consultation and the continuous dire news come from Libya, the decision to authorize this contact was given, at least so to know more about the situation.
The encounter of the 26 May was brief but full of potential as Bissolati described it to the Presidente del Consiglio. In more detailed terms, the Porte, or better Enver Pasha, agreed to a mutual recognition of gains; for the Ottoman the future conquest in the east and Constantinople will reaffirm the Losanna Treaty recognizing Rome ownership of Libya and implicitly stopping any aid to the rebels (but only at the condition to raise the level of trade) and demanded Italian help in permitting the pilgrimage of the Muslims to the Mecca basically giving them supply and use Italian ships (if necessary with a military escort) to transport them to a determinate port. More interesting and surprising were the suggestion that the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire divided Greece into sphere of influence and the possibility to exchange recognition of Egypt being part of the Ottoman sphere and as reward to Italy the transfer to Christian religious sites inthe holy land held by Entente powers or religious orders based in Entente Power to Italy or the Catholic Church.
The proposal sparked an brief but heated debate in the Italian government; stopping the aid given to the Senussi was vital for the future pacification effort in Libya and frankly the possibilities of more commerce was very appealing especially in keeping calm and compliant the population and the influential people who had gave support to Giolitti agenda before, but accepting it mean strain even more the diplomatic situation with the Entente, Italy was already playing a dangerous game and making some premature move can be fatal as the ink on the agreement with Paris and London was still fresh.
In his diary King Vittorio Emanuele III describe the humor of Giolitti as tense and thoughtful, always talking with Bissolati (also in the role of spokesman of the socialist), Nitti (the finance minister and representing the Radicals) and in some occasion with Otorino Gentiloni (representing Azione Cattolica – Catholic Action). Giolitti in his meetings with the King envisioned this agreement with the Ottoman as a possible beginning of an alliance (of pure interest obviously) to balance the Austria-Hungary and very likely Bulgaria, in case of victory by the Central Powers (an event very probable for the Presidente) and in the more specific case of Greece, have an understanding with the Ottoman will be a very good thing as between Athens and Rome there were a dispute regarding the control of Albania, and both nations occupy a portion of the tiny nation for ‘security’ reason.
Over any other things Giolitti don’t wanted Italy cheated at diplomatic table after all the effort spent, so the rapprochement with the Ottoman was seen as a first step in a bigger scheme, secondary, as Nitti (and other important businessman as Agnelli) pointed out, the war let a void in some interesting concession in the extraction sector who will be of great interest for the nation. In particular the coal basin of Heraclea, who before the war were largely exploited by French and Italian firms and the region of Adalia in the south of Turkey who seemed to possess great deposit of the precious resource. The final part of the initial negotiations regarded a possible expansion of the holding of Italy in North Africa, the Porte even if not officially ready to talk about any enlarging of Libya, agreed to begin a discussion over a more firm consolidation of the Egypt/Libya border.
The King still wrote about Giolitti, how he feel the need to plan at least on the medium term, thinking about the aftermath of this war, for that reason he demanded from Constantinople to relinquish every possible right over Tunisia and support them regarding the Treaty of Rome, as very few in the Italian political scene believed that the Hasburg dinasty will relinquish the territories much easily; even him was unsure if the decision to negotiate over the border of Egypt was more a diplomatic move so to have a point to easily dismiss as a concession or a polite way to entertain Enver Pasha as neither him or Giolitti (or everyone else for that matters) thought that the Ottoman had the capacity to beat the British in that theatre.
Ironically the negotiations between the two former enemies were much more smoother than the previous one, hold between (at least theoretically) old allies, with just the distance and various technical problems as the only serious obstacle to the Treaty. The biggest of them was on how bring the men and material in the place and return the coal in Italy; the first part was resolved using Rhodes as a springboard for the real destination, it was complicated and will slow the process but at least it was more safe, as an Italian port it was not under great surveillance or blocked so people and material can be sent there more freely and from here they can continue for the mainland if the right dose of caution is took, fortunately there were no shortage of man ready to risk for an increased pay and as a unknown diplomat said ‘Faith manages’
Nevertheless there were the need to walk very lightly around the French and the British as they can found the support given to the Ottoman the straw who broke the camel, for this reason a military escort for the pilgrim was immediately ruled out, too much possibilities for an incident as the recent event demonstrated but at least words were cheap and looks goods on both paper and in the eyes of the more religious minded; so in very private and discrete inquiries the Italian ambassadors in the Entente capitals assured that after the war the respective economic interest were to be given back to the legitimate owner but in the moment Italy needed the coal, even what can be spared and obtained by the Ottoman, otherwise the government and the monarchy itself were in danger.
The most difficult part of all the negotiations was find the right place where the coal can be shipped in Italy without too much interference by the Entente. In the end only two options seemed possible; the city of Dadegac, better know as Alexandropoulos, due to her short distance from the basin and the rail that permit a fast transport of the material. The city was under Bulgarian possession and that nation was heavily flirting with A-H and Germany to join them in the war (but was still undecided), but for now it was a non combat and even in case of Bulgaria participating at the conflict the situation in Greece was really confusing but seemed that they will remain neutral in the foreseeable future. The second choice was the Ottoman city of Makri , it was much more distant from the coal basin but still served well by the rail network in a short distance by Rhodes, cost and time will rise up but it was, at least in theory, more safe.
Naturally great part of the Treaty needed to remain secret, as the Entente will not be pleased at least regarding at Italy become so much entangled with their enemies than before, so much to take already dibs over piece of their empires.
So without much fanfare the Ottoman Ambassador and the Italian Minister of Finance (on behalf of the King and government) signed a seemingly minor economic treaty between the two former enemies.
Frenemies - the complicated relationship between Rome and Constantinople in the XXth century by Walter Ignazio RE for Edizioni Corno
Treaty of Venice 8 June 1915
1) The government of the Kingdom of Italy gladly accept the Porte support for the terms of the Treaty of Rome
The Kingdom of Italy doesn’t have any contraindication over a division of Greece on mutually beneficial sphere of Interest, except the inclusion in the Italian one of the Epirus region for safeguarding the Italian interest on Albania. The passage of Rhodes and the surrounding areas back to Ottoman control will happen only if the Austrian government fulfil her part of the Treaty of Venice, and the Ottoman Empire ensure that the aforementioned territory for a period of at least 10 years will be free from any military base or the presence of military personnel.
2) The Kingdom of Italy don't have any previous impediment on recognize any territorial gain of the Ottoman Empire on her eastern border, if previously the aforementioned government agree on Italian sovereignty on Libya and Albania, forfeiting any previous claim. (Secret).
3) The Kingdom of Italy agree to commerce with the Porte at the same condition and with the same specification applied to the governments of the Empire of Germany and Austria-Hungary (public); as condition sine qua non the Ottoman Empire will cease any diplomatic and material support for the Senussi rebellion. (secret)
4) His Majesty the King of Italy and heir of the throne of Jerusalem on behalf of the Italian government, people and all the Catholics accept the burden of protector of the Holy Sepulchre and of the catholic right if the need will arise and the final agreement to end this current conflict will grant the aforementioned site to the August Porte. (Secret).
Is not intention of any Italian official in both official and unofficial terms to impede or diminishing any established religious right of the Muslim population and will try, depending of the ever fluctuating situation of the war, to favour the just pilmigrage with the aforementioned request both politically and logistically; unfortunately the Italian government cannot ensure a military escort for these ships due to both political and logistic factor. (Public)
The Italian government need the assurance that the Ottoman government will abandon any previous claim an rights over any possible extension of the Italian sphere of influence over territories at east of the Fezzan/Tripolitania border. (secret)
A) The Kingdom of Italy agrees apply diplomatic pressure to the Entente to allow both Christian and Muslim pilgrims from neutral countries to travel freely to their Holy sites in the Ottoman Empire. Italy recognizes that these refugees may need supplies such as food that the Ottomans may not be able to provide for the duration of the blockade/war. (Secret)
B) For Clarity on point 4 related to Fezzan/Tripolitania, the Ottomans propose the eastern extent of the Italian Libya be marked by a line running North/South from the Med Sea to the deep Sahara from a reference point one nautical mile east of El Salloum.
5) The Porte accept to begin an economic partnership with the Kingdom of Italy regarding the development of the natural resources of region of Adalia.
6) The Porte accept to allow the passage of the pre-existent right and contract on possession of Entente government and citizens regarding the exploitation of the coal basin of the Heraclea region, at the condition that same contractual terms will be kept.
A) The Porte accepts the use of the raw material extracted, and an increasing of the production on the aforementioned region as payment for the supplies mentioned on point 3.
B) The Porte agree to consider an increasing of the % of ownership of the Heraclia basin by the Italian government if the latter will, considering the inherent difficulties due to the current conflict, transport additional worker and material for rise the coal production. (secret)
C) The Sublime Porte agrees on establish a joint commission to negotiate the detail and other possible mutually beneficial commercial agreement, provided neither sides security nor sovereignty is harmed.
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