This update covers January and February 1937. There may be some more fairly soon.
[FONT="]PART X[/FONT]
[FONT="]January and Febuary 1937-New Offensives[/FONT]
[FONT="]Throughout the opening months of 1937, the PRR and Italy both went back on the offensive in their respective areas. In Spain, the civil war continued to rage, growing bloodier by the day. February also saw the first French ‘volunteer’ units fighting with the Communist rebels in the north. The government was now facing demands that they do something serious against the French.[/FONT]
[FONT="]ABYSSINIA[/FONT]
[FONT="]Italian forces, having paused at the end of 1936, began to march again on January 10th, and by January 15th Ziway had been taken. On January 20th, Mojo fell. All that remained for Italy to do was occupy Addis Ababa.[/FONT]
[FONT="]On January 25th, the Italians met what remained of the Abyssinian army outside Addis Ababa. Although the Abyssinians were fighting for their country’s survival, there was little that could be done, and Addis Ababa fell on January 28th. Abbysinia was merged with Eritrea and Italian Somaliland to create Italian East Africa.[/FONT]
[FONT="]THE COLLAPSE OF EYRES-MONSELL’S GOVERNMENT[/FONT]
[FONT="]On January 12th, 1937, a group of 18 Conservative MPs met and decided to defect to the Liberal Party. This removed the government’s majority in the Commons and, on January 15th, Isaac Foot called a motion of no confidence. This was passed by 7 votes, and Parliament was dissolved. A general election was held on February 1st, and the results were as follows:[/FONT]
[FONT="]LIBERAL PARTY, Isaac Foot, 359 seats, an increase of 192 seats[/FONT]
[FONT="]CONSERVATIVE PARTY, Bolton Eyres-Monsell, 160 seats, a decrease of 205 seats[/FONT]
[FONT="]LABOUR PARTY, George Lansbury, 124 seats, an increase of 11 seats[/FONT]
[FONT="]IRISH PARLIAMENTARY PARTY, Patrick Brady, 36 seats, a decrease of 14[/FONT]
[FONT="]SINN FEIN, Thomas Derrig, 17 seats, an increase of 12[/FONT]
[FONT="]The results were a complete collapse for the Conservative Party, who were accused of allowing the French to be winning the war. It also saw the Labour Party’s highest percentage of the vote ever. Isaac Foot took power as Prime Minister.[/FONT]
[FONT="]INVASION OF SLOVENIA[/FONT]
[FONT="]On February 2nd, the Italian 1st Army, under General Guglielmo Nasi, swarmed over the Slovene border, aiming for Ljubljana and a quick submission of the country. Slovenia was powerless before the onslaught, and on February 15th gave a rather pathetic last stand against the Italians on the outskirts of Ljubljana. They were easily defeated, and Italian troops marched through the city that day. Slovenia surrendered the following day. Slovenia and all her heavy industry were now absorbed into Italy, ready to begin producing arms for the Italian war effort.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Hungary was infuriated at having missed its chance at taking Slovenia, and began to petition France for a war with Italy. The French deferred for the time, waiting to see if Italy would invade an openly Communist country.[/FONT]
[FONT="]TRANSLYVANIA[/FONT]
[FONT="]On February 10th, a battle between Romania and Hungary outside the city of Alba Iulia resulted in a decisive win for the Romanians. From there, they marched northwards, and took Turda on February 20th. Cluj would be next to fall, on February the 24th. The Romanians attempted then to cut off one of the main bodies of the Hungarian forces, which was located in Mureş, by taking Bistrija. Unfortunately for the Romanians, this time they were decisively beaten and pushed back to Cluj. Much of Transylvania was, however, now under Romanian control, and the Hungarians were now worried they would be decisively beaten.[/FONT]
[FONT="]ITALY[/FONT]
[FONT="]In Italy, On February 18th, two decisions were made. The first was that Italy would officially ally with Britain, however the alliance would be defensive in nature (Italy would only be pulled into war with France if France attacked the Italians). The second was that the tiny colony of French Somaliland would be invaded if war with France ever begun. [/FONT]
[FONT="]On February 27th, Italy and Britain signed the hastily-composed Treaty of Turin, which was really a mutual defense pact. The alliance was a peculiar one. Isaac Foot was leading a Liberal government, more or less diametrically opposed to the Italian ideology, however it was a joining of necessity. Italy and France were now on the road to war, and most of the 2nd and 3rd Continental Armies were rushed to the French border in order to defend what would doubtless be a heavily fought-over area.[/FONT]
[FONT="]THE INVASION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA[/FONT]
[FONT="]The PRR, who had settled into Poland over a few months, now went on the offensive again, invading Czechoslovakia. The invasion began on February 19th, and by the end of the month Czechoslovakia was on the brink of surrender. The government, however, left the country for Italy in an effort to avoid capture and execution. This refusal to surrender garnered much appreciation in Italy and the desire for war was increasing among the public. The tipping point would come at the beginning of March.[/FONT]