I.XI | I Swear It's Everywhere - April 28, 1941
The giant doors leading to the office have suddenly opened. A smaller man clad in formal dark brown tuxedo appeared before the trio of Croatian representatives consisting of Foreign Affairs Minister Košutić, ambassador Šubašić and Major Petar M. Kvaternik [1]. He extended his hand toward the wide entrance, urging them to proceed.
„Per favore, gentlemen.“
Each of them took a deep breath before following the limping Italian man.
The room they found themselves in was not as big as they expected, but the kitschiness and lavish design of furniture and walls certainly made them feel anxious and empty, just as they expected. The culprit was right in the middle of the room – Count Ciano looked up from his coffee cup, smiling generously at the three men.
„Saluti! Please, take a seat, gentlemen.“
Just as Šubašić went to take a seat next to his colleagues he noticed a giant piece of paper taking up most of the table's surface. Its contents, however, were what made his stomach upset.
It showed the map of the Balkans – Romania safely took up the space between the map's upper edges and the Danube to the south, with Hungary's awkward protrusion going as far as Sfântu Gheorghe splitting the nation in half, almost resembling a male member. Serbia was a shadow of its former self, looking quite similar to its pre-Balkan Wars borders. The Vardar Banovina was mostly occupied by the brown color – Bulgaria, with some of its westernmost parts being annexed by the Albanian Kingdom, shown in dark green diagonal lines, same with Montenegro.
But now comes the most disturbing part. Entire Croatian coast, from Bakar to Dubrovnik, was wholly green, designating the Italian Army's superiority over it. Another white line was drawn across Croatia as well – this one dividing it roughly in half, with territory between the Army line and the white one shown in diagonal green.
Half of Croatia including Dalmatia would be separated from the Republic. Not a single cliff of the Adriatic would belong to us. Even the newly proposed border would be far from Dalmatia…
He saw the uneasy look in his comrades' eyes. Only now has he noticed at least a dozen of old grey haired men standing upright near the entrance. They were clad in military clothes, and many of them were covered with a sea of different medals and decorations, looking more like christmas trees than battle-hardened generals. They stood there like vultures, unblinking, as if they are going to pounce upon the Croats if they make any sudden moves.
Minister Košutić sullenly gazes at Ciano. The Count begins.
„I take it you all know how to read a map?“
The trio nods slowly.
„Eccellente. The Kingdom of Italy has gone to war for a second time in order to mend the wrongs the Versailles traitors have done. Six hundred thousand lives have been given for this cause, and we intend not to miss another opportunity to fulfil it.“
Kvaternik was the first to collect his thoughts.
„I am afraid these demands cannot, and will not be accepted by the people of Croatia. This kind of border redrawing would create quite an awkward situation for us. We would all be Italian subjects, considering we were all born in the regions Italy is seeking.“
„Not Minister Košutić, though.“ Ciano smiled, catching Kvaternik in his lie.
„I have done my research, Major Kvaternik, don't think of me as a fool. I have thought of your words, though, and I could be more lenient territory-wise. But in that case I expect the Republic to enter a monetary and customs union with Italy. A prince of Italian blood would carry the crown of Zvonimir and would be seated in a city of your choosing.“
„I understand your concern, Count Ciano. However the most we can offer you is the expansion of the Zadar exclave.“ Košutić showed what he meant on the map „Up to the Zrmanja and the Krka. No further than that. We expect the Croatian Navy to have freedom of control of its territorial waters as well.“
It was Ciano's turn to chuckle.
„How amusing. Just so you know, in none of the offers I have presented you, Minister, have I mentioned that the Croatian Army is allowed to have a navy. Therefore, no navy will be created, especially not under Croatian supervision...“
Eight hours have passed since. Ambassador Siegfried Kasche, from his office in Zagreb, sent a telegram to German Minister of Foreign Affairs Ribbentrop with following words.
„Laibach [2] negotiatons have failed. Košutić's delegation refused every Italian demand.“
(German) Ethnic map of Yugoslavia (1940)
- hot pink denotes borders between Croatia and Italy (including its subjects)
- white denotes the proposed Italian-Croatian border (Jastrebarsko-Foča Line)
- yellow denotes Croatian borders with Germany, Hungary and Serbia
[1] I believe PM Kvaternik would've been chosen to accompany Košutić and Šubašić due to his relation to Slavko Kvaternik, who was close with Vladko Maček.
[2] German name for Ljubljana; also the name of a quite fun avant-garde Slovenian musical band.
„Per favore, gentlemen.“
Each of them took a deep breath before following the limping Italian man.
The room they found themselves in was not as big as they expected, but the kitschiness and lavish design of furniture and walls certainly made them feel anxious and empty, just as they expected. The culprit was right in the middle of the room – Count Ciano looked up from his coffee cup, smiling generously at the three men.
„Saluti! Please, take a seat, gentlemen.“
Just as Šubašić went to take a seat next to his colleagues he noticed a giant piece of paper taking up most of the table's surface. Its contents, however, were what made his stomach upset.
It showed the map of the Balkans – Romania safely took up the space between the map's upper edges and the Danube to the south, with Hungary's awkward protrusion going as far as Sfântu Gheorghe splitting the nation in half, almost resembling a male member. Serbia was a shadow of its former self, looking quite similar to its pre-Balkan Wars borders. The Vardar Banovina was mostly occupied by the brown color – Bulgaria, with some of its westernmost parts being annexed by the Albanian Kingdom, shown in dark green diagonal lines, same with Montenegro.
But now comes the most disturbing part. Entire Croatian coast, from Bakar to Dubrovnik, was wholly green, designating the Italian Army's superiority over it. Another white line was drawn across Croatia as well – this one dividing it roughly in half, with territory between the Army line and the white one shown in diagonal green.
Half of Croatia including Dalmatia would be separated from the Republic. Not a single cliff of the Adriatic would belong to us. Even the newly proposed border would be far from Dalmatia…
He saw the uneasy look in his comrades' eyes. Only now has he noticed at least a dozen of old grey haired men standing upright near the entrance. They were clad in military clothes, and many of them were covered with a sea of different medals and decorations, looking more like christmas trees than battle-hardened generals. They stood there like vultures, unblinking, as if they are going to pounce upon the Croats if they make any sudden moves.
Minister Košutić sullenly gazes at Ciano. The Count begins.
„I take it you all know how to read a map?“
The trio nods slowly.
„Eccellente. The Kingdom of Italy has gone to war for a second time in order to mend the wrongs the Versailles traitors have done. Six hundred thousand lives have been given for this cause, and we intend not to miss another opportunity to fulfil it.“
Kvaternik was the first to collect his thoughts.
„I am afraid these demands cannot, and will not be accepted by the people of Croatia. This kind of border redrawing would create quite an awkward situation for us. We would all be Italian subjects, considering we were all born in the regions Italy is seeking.“
„Not Minister Košutić, though.“ Ciano smiled, catching Kvaternik in his lie.
„I have done my research, Major Kvaternik, don't think of me as a fool. I have thought of your words, though, and I could be more lenient territory-wise. But in that case I expect the Republic to enter a monetary and customs union with Italy. A prince of Italian blood would carry the crown of Zvonimir and would be seated in a city of your choosing.“
„I understand your concern, Count Ciano. However the most we can offer you is the expansion of the Zadar exclave.“ Košutić showed what he meant on the map „Up to the Zrmanja and the Krka. No further than that. We expect the Croatian Navy to have freedom of control of its territorial waters as well.“
It was Ciano's turn to chuckle.
„How amusing. Just so you know, in none of the offers I have presented you, Minister, have I mentioned that the Croatian Army is allowed to have a navy. Therefore, no navy will be created, especially not under Croatian supervision...“
Eight hours have passed since. Ambassador Siegfried Kasche, from his office in Zagreb, sent a telegram to German Minister of Foreign Affairs Ribbentrop with following words.
„Laibach [2] negotiatons have failed. Košutić's delegation refused every Italian demand.“
(German) Ethnic map of Yugoslavia (1940)
- hot pink denotes borders between Croatia and Italy (including its subjects)
- white denotes the proposed Italian-Croatian border (Jastrebarsko-Foča Line)
- yellow denotes Croatian borders with Germany, Hungary and Serbia
*****
[1] I believe PM Kvaternik would've been chosen to accompany Košutić and Šubašić due to his relation to Slavko Kvaternik, who was close with Vladko Maček.
[2] German name for Ljubljana; also the name of a quite fun avant-garde Slovenian musical band.
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