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"If Britain wins, we lose; if Germany wins, we are lost" - Benito Mussolini

Although this uses the 'a bayonet made of milk' quote, this is not actually A Bayonet Made of Milk , an idea I still want to develop some day. Instead, it's a little scenario based on a game of Darkest Hour; the Republicans win the Spanish Civil War, leaving Mussolini fuming but still occupying the Balearics, which he promptly annexes for his trouble.

In 1938, despite the mounting cost of turning Ethiopia into a workable colonial possession, Il Duce decides to go for broke and make an alliance with Bulgaria to attack and dismember Yugoslavia. France is focused on Hitler's re-armament of Germany and does not support the Little Entente once Hungary makes it clear it has no interest getting in on the action. This campaign concludes with a lightning strike into Greece using motorised infantry (motorbikes). France and Britain plan to declare war but are pre-empted by conflict between Germany and Poland as OTL.

Mussolini gives reassurances to Britain and France that he does not intend to join the war. After the fall of France, however, he sends troops to occupy Nice, Savoy, Corsica, Tunisia and Djibouti. The Free French aren't happy about this but Britain is happy that Germany's puppet is being shown up as incapable of keeping control of its territory.

In 1944, with Germany halting American and Soviet forces and turning initial advances into a WW1-esque meatgrinder, Mussolini offers to open another front against Hitler; his price is the territories he is already occupying as well as sphere of influence in Austria. Worried the Soviets will overrun all of Germany, the western Allies accept.

In the aftermath of WW2, Mussolini believes his alliance with America essentially gives him carte blanche in southern and central Europe, and promptly manufactures border incidents to justify war with Switzerland. However, he underestimates both international sympathy for the Swiss and their ability to resist, and the Alpine War lasts two more years and inflicts more Italian casualties than their short-lived participation in WW2. He is ultimately able to wring out a narrow victory that sees Italian forces retreat from all but Ticino. Italy, its puppets, and sole ally Bulgaria will be shunned by both democratic and socialist blocs throughout the Cold War.

Description
"If Britain wins, we lose; if Germany wins, we are lost" - Benito Mussolini

Although this uses the 'a bayonet made of milk' quote, this is not actually A Bayonet Made of Milk , an idea I still want to develop some day. Instead, it's a little scenario based on a game of Darkest Hour; the Republicans win the Spanish Civil War, leaving Mussolini fuming but still occupying the Balearics, which he promptly annexes for his trouble.

In 1938, despite the mounting cost of turning Ethiopia into a workable colonial possession, Il Duce decides to go for broke and make an alliance with Bulgaria to attack and dismember Yugoslavia. France is focused on Hitler's re-armament of Germany and does not support the Little Entente once Hungary makes it clear it has no interest getting in on the action. This campaign concludes with a lightning strike into Greece using motorised infantry (motorbikes). France and Britain plan to declare war but are pre-empted by conflict between Germany and Poland as OTL.

Mussolini gives reassurances to Britain and France that he does not intend to join the war. After the fall of France, however, he sends troops to occupy Nice, Savoy, Corsica, Tunisia and Djibouti. The Free French aren't happy about this but Britain is happy that Germany's puppet is being shown up as incapable of keeping control of its territory.

In 1944, with Germany halting American and Soviet forces and turning initial advances into a WW1-esque meatgrinder, Mussolini offers to open another front against Hitler; his price is the territories he is already occupying as well as sphere of influence in Austria. Worried the Soviets will overrun all of Germany, the western Allies accept.

In the aftermath of WW2, Mussolini believes his alliance with America essentially gives him carte blanche in southern and central Europe, and promptly manufactures border incidents to justify war with Switzerland. However, he underestimates both international sympathy for the Swiss and their ability to resist, and the Alpine War lasts two more years and inflicts more Italian casualties than their short-lived participation in WW2. He is ultimately able to wring out a narrow victory that sees Italian forces retreat from all but Ticino. Italy, its puppets, and sole ally Bulgaria will be shunned by both democratic and socialist blocs throughout the Cold War.