Chapter 810 If you can’t beat me, be honest
Russia has built two oil and gas pipelines that reach Germany and France through the Kingdom of Romania and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia respectively. Italian oil and natural gas are obtained through French pipelines.
To punish Italy, Russia did not need to take action at all. A small warning from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was enough to make Mussolini uncomfortable.
The Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia were already at odds over the Port of Fiume, and now the Kingdom of Yugoslavia is helping them. The situation in the Adriatic Sea has become tense, and the navies of the two countries are at war with each other.
Purely in terms of naval size, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia is far inferior to Italy.
But Yugoslavia is an ally of Russia. Once a conflict breaks out between Yugoslavia and Italy, Russia will definitely not sit idly by and ignore it. Even if it does not end but just sidesteps, Italy will not be able to win.
At the Washington Naval Conference, the Kingdom of Italy won a share of 175,000 tons of battleships.
However, the Italian Navy failed to live up to expectations. Not only did it not build any new battleships after the end of the world war, but it even terminated the plan for two unfinished battleships, and it has not yet been able to reach its full quota.
The Yugoslav navy did not even have a battleship, only two light cruisers and six destroyers to support the scene. The army only had 50,000 people, which was pitifully small.
However, Yugoslavia adopts a compulsory military service system. Adult males must serve in the army as long as they are over 18 years old. This gives Yugoslavia a reserve force of more than 1 million. If necessary, Yugoslavia can expand its army at any time.
After Mussolini came to power, Italy acted in a high-profile manner. It not only sent troops to invade southern Somalia, but also fired artillery fire on Britain, demanding that Britain withdraw from the Mediterranean, which won unanimous praise from the countries surrounding the Mediterranean.
Polis is very low-key and has almost no presence in international affairs. He focuses on domestic economic development.
Yugoslavia has Russia's military protection and does not need to invest heavily in conventional forces. Polis has established an air force with 600 military aircraft, which is second to none around the Mediterranean.
After the end of the world war, countries all over the world disarmament. Even the French Air Force only had 550 military aircraft left, and the Kingdom of Italy was even more pitiful, with less than 300 aircraft.
Yugoslavia, like Russia, implements compulsory education, and the proportion of people under the age of 20 receiving education exceeds 85%. Considering that Yugoslavia took over part of the territory of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire after the world war, this result is very amazing.
During the World War, Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire fought 12 battles in the Isonzo River Basin, with each winning and losing.
After the World War, the Slovenian region was annexed by Yugoslavia, and the two countries bordered on each other.
To avoid friction, neither Italy nor Yugoslavia initially stationed troops near the border.
After successfully annexing southern Somalia, the Kingdom of Italy first pushed its outposts closer to the border.
The Kingdom of Italy also carried out major disarmament after the end of the world war. It was restored after Mussolini came to power. The current size of the army is about 300,000.
Not showing any weakness, Yugoslavia also pushed its outposts closer to the border. The distance between the outposts between the two countries was only 200 meters, and you could see clearly without a telescope.
December 25, the Christian tradition of Christmas, was also celebrated in the Italian outpost.
That night, the Italian border troops lost a military dog, and Captain Antonio thought it had been stolen by Yugoslav soldiers on the opposite side.
"Someone saw the military dog walking towards your post and then not coming back."
Captain Antonio took the initiative to negotiate.
"Then why didn't the people who saw it call the military dogs back?"
Lieutenant Sturlage had no idea of this.
"It must be your people who use food to tempt you, otherwise the military dogs would not take the initiative to go there——"
Antonio's attitude is arrogant, 300,000 vs. 50,000, the advantage is mine.
"Inexplicable!"
Sturacci could not understand Antonio's mood at all.
Due to the poor performance of the Italian army during the World War, Italy became the laughing stock of various countries. Italy also gained almost nothing at the Paris Peace Conference, only a permanent member of the League of Nations with almost no say.
The invasion of southern Somalia was a successful military operation that effectively stimulated the pride of Italian soldiers. The Italian military was also eager to change the poor image of the Italian army in people's minds.
Unfortunately, Yugoslavia was one of the countries that discriminated against Italy the most. Sturaci was born in Slovenia, and his father died in the Fourth Battle of the Isonzo River.
"Asshole! You must have eaten the general——"
Antonio cursed loudly. The general was probably the name of the military dog.
"You are the bastard! Don't talk nonsense without evidence."
Sturaci dismissed it, "What can I do even if I eat you?"
"Very well, I will look for the evidence myself!"
As Antonio spoke, he was about to cross the border.
"Stop your reckless actions! If you dare to cross the border, you will form a de facto invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia!"
Sturlage warned sharply.
Antonio responded with a middle finger.
So Antonio got a bullet.
Sturage was still very cautious and did not shoot directly at Antonio. Instead, he shot at the ground in front of Antonio to warn Antonio not to move forward.
The Italian military post mistakenly believed that fighting had broken out near the border and fired at the Yugoslav post. At a distance of 200 meters, the power of the heavy machine gun is enough to tear people to pieces without even using a scope.
Yugoslav outposts return fire.
No one expected that a conflict would break out between the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia over a dog.
Although the Yugoslav army was small in size, its weapons and equipment were very advanced. Fighters soon arrived and dropped bombs on the Italian military posts.
The Italian army dispatched its air force to counterattack. By the time George received the report, the conflict had killed more than a hundred people.
Andre immediately launched an attack on Italy in the League of Nations, demanding that the Kingdom of Italy cease military operations and compensate Yugoslavia for the losses caused.
"Obviously our losses are more serious, Yugoslavia must compensate us for our losses!"
Count Lorenzo was very angry, and Andrei was obviously pulling his own strings.
"I hope that both of you can exercise restraint. At this point, the dispute should not be resolved by war."
France's new ambassador to the League of Nations is Pierre Laval, a lawyer by training and an extreme pacifist.
Extremely peaceful!
This combination looks very unpeaceful.
But what Pierre Laval said is right. If disputes are all resolved by war, what is the use of lawyers and diplomats?
"Your Majesty the Grand Duke, although we all know the relationship between Russia and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, I would like to personally suggest that you should approach this conflict from a fair and objective standpoint."
Sir Edward fanned the flames and this was the perfect opportunity to win over the Kingdom of Italy.
None of the British overseas colonies and dominions are reliable, which makes it difficult for Britain to stand alone in the League of Nations and resist the siege of Russia and its allies.
Britain is actively lobbying the United States to join the League of Nations. If the Kingdom of Italy can be brought into the Anglo-American camp, Britain's dilemma in the League of Nations can be alleviated to a great extent.
As for the combat effectiveness of the Italian army——
No matter how unreliable Italy is, it is still more reliable than Indians who only take money and do nothing.
"My advice is that you don't give me advice! Did the British army care about my advice when they invaded Theo? Since you don't care about me, why should I care about you?"
Andre took Edward with him to fight.
"If the Kingdom of Italy is willing to stop here, the conflict will not expand."
Kostic took the initiative to send a peace signal.
Yugoslavia is not warlike and will never be afraid of war. As long as the Italians want to fight, Yugoslavia will accompany them to the end.
"You were the first to shoot, and you must be responsible for it!"
Lorenzo also hoped to wash away Italy's humiliation with a less violent conflict.
As long as Russia does not give up, Italy is confident that it can defeat Yugoslavia.
Lorenzo probably forgot that before Italy entered the war, it also believed that it could easily defeat the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
"What I must remind you is that the war can be started by you, but how it ends is not under your control."
Kostic should remind Lorenzo that the Kingdom of Yugoslavia is not Somalia.
It's okay for the Italian army to bully Somalia with its weapons.
Before the outbreak of World War I, Italy defeated the Ottoman Empire. The reason was not because of how strong Italy was, but because the whole world was pulling its own strings. The Balkan Alliance made matters worse, and the Ottoman Empire had to admit defeat.
During the World War, while the Austro-Hungarian Empire was resisting the Russian attack, it could only send a partial division to fight Italy inextricably.
Kostic doesn't know where the Italians get their confidence.
"Without Russia's help, you Yugoslavia are nothing!"
Lorenzo was stern and sad.
"You are right! If you want to escalate the conflict into a war, your opponent will be Russia!"
Andre is not ashamed, he just wants to fight one out of ten.
If Lorenzo wants to make Russia constrain itself through moral kidnapping, then Lorenzo is simply thinking too much.
During the World War, Britain pulled the Commonwealth to fight against Germany, and the British did not feel any embarrassment.
Since Russia has strength, it should take the initiative and let all countries know the consequences of irritating Russia.
Since you can't beat me, just be honest with me.
(End of chapter)