The Life and Influence of Francisco Sabatino di Arnaud Part 4: Sunrise
Now that Italy�s position and Great Power status in Europe has been confirmed through the Dual Alliance, the Empire, Emperor Humbert and Chancellor Arnaud are ready to enjoy the prosperity of peace and the rewards of modernization. Emperor Humbert is very popular with the populace, and is a lover of the arts. Through the state funded Academies in the large cities, innovations and advancements have stimulated Italian industry and design, and protective tariffs have encouraged Italian markets to purchase native goods. Now that Italian industry is productive, new sources of raw materials and markets are needed to accelerate the economy, so Arnaud gradually moves to a free trade stance, and lowers tariffs.
The people of Italy are generally supportive of Arnaud, the north because of his socialist reforms and gestures and the south because of his programs to support distressed farmers and vineyard owners. There is still opposition to the national government because of strained relations with the Church, but it is not a large enough majority to cause alarm. The indemnities from the war with France and Austria-Hungary have paid for the Academies and the new colonial military, so there is not much complaint about taxes.
On March 4, Garibaldi dies, to the grief of the nation. His body is buried at Nice, where a monument is begun to the founding military leader of Italy. His position at the head of the General Staff is given to General Mantegna, who begins to clean up and reorganize the military.
Since the new ships were completed, the Sicilian Fleet was renamed the North African Squadron and half of the fleet is now based in Sfax. Immediately after the Treaty of Al Metlaoui was signed, Arnaud approved a number of expeditions to Eritrea to create bases and start a colonial infrastructure. These expeditions have all been successful, and in late summer, the other half of the Sicilian Fleet moves with 4,000 Italian Army regulars to Massawa, Ed, and Djibouti and establishes Eritrea as a colony of Italy on September 8th. The fleet is renamed the East African Squadron, and promises to protect Italian interests in the area. Arnaud, in order to gain a stronger base of power in the north due to lagging support in the south, enacts a series of measures to firmly cement the working class in favor of the imperial government. Arnaud provides widespread disability and health insurance, a 45-hour workweek and creates a council of labor union leaders to be his advisors on worker�s issues.
Emperor Humbert has become rather good friends with Arnaud, and they think alike in many ways. Humbert, an enlightened emperor but an emperor none the less, urges Arnaud to take further advantage of the weakness of the Ottoman Empire and take more African territory. Arnaud tells the Emperor that he will do what he can do, and begins to work on planning a war with the Turks. Support for the Imperial government has increased dramatically, especially since the capture of Tunisia, and there is a great sense of imperialist nationalism, which makes the Italian people feel in control, in contrast to their occupation by Austria just twenty years earlier.
The government has encouraged immigration to Eritrea and Tunisia to relieve population strain in Italy itself, and the effort has been largely successful, though Italians settle mostly in a small area near T�i�o where there is a pleasing Mediterranean climate suitable for cultivating vineyards and olive trees. However, many Italians have taken up residence on the Somali coast, staking up homesteads on the Indian Ocean. Arnaud is quick to take advantage of this and sends the East African Squadron to take control of the area. There is little resistance on the coast and the area is proclaimed a protectorate named Italian Somaliland in summer 1884.
Arnaud also approves 6 new battleships to be built, of the new Imperatore Umberto class, designed by the brilliant Benedetto Brin. They are the Imperatore Umberto, the Sardegna, the Sicilia, the Corsica, the Nice and the Trento. The Imperatore Umberto is to be the flagship of the Marina Militaire, when commissioned in early 1889.
In November 1884, Arnaud stages an incident in Tripoli where mercenaries attack an Italian fishing ship named the Mercolli, and capture all of the crew and sink the ship. One of the crewmembers �escapes� back to Tunisia, spreading word of the new pirate attacks based on the Tripoli coast. Arnaud sends an urgent message to the Sultanate in Constantinople, demanding reparations, the return of the crew, and permission for an Italian force to restore order in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica.
Meanwhile, Italian settlers and merchants spread to the temperate coast near Mombasa. Because of the proximity to Tangyanika, Bismarck and Arnaud agree on a demarcation line in East Africa between German East Africa and the Italian sphere of influence south of Italian Somaliland.
Turkish replies to the �Mercolli Affair� are evasive and Arnaud threatens Sultan Abd al-Hamid II that war will follow if the Barbary Coast cannot be controlled. Arnaud also adds that if the Ottoman Empire cannot do the job, Italy is willing and able to do it for her. On May 5th, 1885 the Grisaldi di Compagnera is attacked by �pirates� and is sunk. Arnaud issues his demands for the last time, and when nothing is received from Constantinople, war is declared on the 7th.
Immediately, the North African Squadron moves to Tripoli, bombarding a small indigenous citadel, and blockading the port. The East African Squadron also moves to eliminate a small Turkish fleet at the Battle of Farazan on the 15th, with only 1 death and 30 wounded, and taking 98 men prisoner. A column of 7,000 Italian regulars crosses the Tunisian border at Zuwarah and takes Tripoli with small losses due to native resistance.
The North African Squadron moves to blockade Misratah and Benghazi on May 30th. The Adriatic Fleet under Admiral Pietro Tombara raids Corfu on June 8th, and captures the island on the 13th. On June 28th, a small fleet carrying 15,000 Turkish soldiers arrives at Tobruk, unloading the army under Ibn Kartoglu Pasha. News of the Ottoman army reaches General Mantegna, who sends an additional 45,000 troops to occupy Misratah and confront the Turkish force at Benghazi.
The Adriatic Fleet goes on a hunt for the small Turkish Navy, concentrated in the Bosporus. On July 15th, Admiral Tombara sights the Turkish fleet off Thira in the Aegean and engages. The Italian fleet has 4 battleships, including the Duilio and the Italia, and a large assortment of support ships and transports. The Turkish Fleet consists of the Peiki Shereef, flagship of the navy, and about 12 outdated ironclads and rams.
The battle is rather one sided as the Italia and the Dereta both engage and sink the Peiki Shereef, which manages to ram and sink the destroyer Regolito. The battle ends with the majority of the Turkish fleet at the bottom of the Aegean with only 3 Italian ships sunk and 4 damaged. The Battle of Thira is called �the end of the Ottoman Navy� by the Times and gives Italy complete mastery of the Mediterranean during the war.
On July 23rd, the Cyrenaica Expeditionary Force or CEF under General Di Amicis encounters Ibn Kartoglu Pasha�s force near Suluq. Di Amicis force of 35,000 uses camel artillery from Tunisia to form a box of sorts around the center of Kartoglu�s line, separating and isolating it. Di Amicis orders a charge into the box, but Kartoglu narrowly avoids disaster by rushing his reserve to the gap in his lines. Kartoglu retreats back to Benghazi. Meanwhile, the North African Squadron lands 5,000 men in Darnah and Tobruk, isolating the Turks in Benghazi.
In Rome, Arnaud, Emperor Humbert and General Mantegna discuss the course of the war, and make plans for the final capture of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, and keeping further reinforcements from reaching the Turkish pocket around Al Jabal Al Akhdar. General Mantegna issues the final approval for Operation Iago, and the mission is underway by early on the 4th of August.
4:30 AM August 4th, 1885
Exploding shells awaken the small fishing village of Dokephaolos, Crete as launches full of soldiers land on the nearby beach. Theokratos Bryennios, the mayor of the village approaches the soldiers, offering all that the village has to offer. As the commander of the detachment turns to Bryennios, he sees that they are not Turks after all, and returns to the village to celebrate their liberation from the Ottoman oppressors.
The invasion of Crete proves very successful as 6,500 troops land on the island to secure it from the Turks. A local garrison of 2,000 men fights the Italians bravely but is ultimately defeated by the Italians. By doing this, the Italians are able to draw Turkish attention away from Libya to Crete, which is much closer to home.
By November 1885, five months after being forced into Benghazi, Kartoglu decides to make a final breakout attempt. On the mid-morning of the 11th, the Turkish troops attack their way out of Benghazi and flee to the east, where Di Amicis pursues him to a depression north of the city. Di Amicis surrounds Kartoglu�s 7,500 men with 25,000 troops and demands surrender. Kartoglu agrees, and Cyrenaica is effectively in Italian hands. Arnaud proclaims a protectorate over the entire region, promising to end the Tripolitarian menace.
The Turks, attempting to retain some dignity, hold off a plea for surrender for as long as possible, and the war continues until early spring. Arnaud consults with the naval staff, and on February 4th and 5th, the combined forces of the Adriatic Fleet and North African Squadron raid Preveza, Thessaloniki and Izmir. Arnaud promises to blockade Constantinople if the Sultan does not come to terms, and through Russian and British pressure, a cease-fire is declared on the 10th.
The Italians demand a protectorate over Libya, possession of the Dodecanese Islands, Corfu, Crete, and a formal apology to the crew of the Mercolli and the Griselda di Compagnera. The Treaty of Iraklion is signed on March 19th, and the Italo-Turkish War is over.
Arnaud gives Greece joint control of Crete, and it becomes a condominium of Italy and Greece. Britain is also appeased by an agreement to allow British ships to refuel in Cretan ports. In exchange for the coaling agreement, a limit on Italian naval strength in the Gulf of Aden, and the release of all claims to Zanzibar, Britain agrees to let Italy colonize the Zanzibar coast south of Somaliland.
King Humbert organizes the Italian East Africa Company to exploit the resources of Italy�s new territories. The company signs a treaty with the Sultan of Zanzibar, giving him a share of the profits in exchange for the Zanzibar coast and inland territories. King Humbert visits the East African colonies, including the new colony of Masai and finds the area pleasing and warm. King Humbert becomes enthralled with and befriends the native tribes, and starts a tradition of friendship between Italy and the natives. King Humbert also signs a treaty with Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia, and promises to ensure control of the local tribes to the Ethiopian monarch through the help of Italian troops, which are to be allowed into the area.
The Italian East Africa Company is under strict orders from the Emperor to treat the natives with respect and to refrain from taking advantage of them. The Company also is allowed to give Italian citizenship to any native who joins the colonial defense forces for twenty years. In the tradition of the Roman Empire, the tribal auxiliaries families are also to be given citizenship at the end of the term of enlistment. The tribal auxiliaries are formally named the Italian Native Militia or INM and dramatically lower costs by accepting lower pay than Italian regulars. Italians are encouraged to move to the colonies from the crowded peninsula by land grants inland and job availability in the wealthy coastal ports.
Humbert, a wise and learned man, considers himself to be the Emperor of a revived Roman Empire, and has encouraged Roman values of expansion, integration and organization throughout his regime. Thanks to the success of his vision, the Italian people accept and embrace ancient Roman ideals, and Italian intellectuals, writers, architects, and artists of professions create the New Empire movement of art and culture in the late 1880s. The Florentine social theorist Emilio Duiliante publishes an extremely popular treatise on the privileges and responsibilities of colonization, inter-European cooperation, cultural tolerance, and free trade called The New Republic. The work compares the current world political situation with that of the early Roman Empire, and is widely read throughout Europe.
Since the war with Austria and France, Irredentism has been gaining strength in Italy. Irredentists push for the inclusion of all areas of Italian heritage and culture into the Italian Empire. Arnaud sees this movement as an influential power base, and wishes to unite their interests to his own. On August 9th, 1887, Roman Liberation Day, Arnaud makes a speech to the nation, expressing his foreign policy and the inclusion of Irredentism into that policy. �All peoples who are Italian by blood, are Italian through and through, and we will make it our duty to liberate them from foreign oppression�, Arnaud says, �However, we must maintain peace and prosperity above all, and through patience and virtue, we too, will have our day in the sun.�
Irredentists rally behind Arnaud�s �Day in the Sun� and most agree to follow his lead. Arnaud promises all Italians under foreign oppression that they will be included in the great Italian Empire in time, and that that will be a glorious day. Italy signs the Mediterranean Agreements in 1887 to preserve the status quo in the Middle East from Russian influence.
The Italian East Africa Company strikes iron and gold deposits in Eritrea and coal deposits in Masai in 1888, and there is a huge influx of settlers from southern Italy to find work and perhaps find gold of their own. These new sources of mineral wealth bolster the Italian economy and populate Eritrea and Masai with Italians. The period from 1880 through the present day is beginning to be called the Humbertian Era by Italians, as prosperity, art and peace flourishes and Italy becomes a real player in world affairs.
At the unfortunate death of Kaiser Wilhelm I in June, the long awaited reign of �Our Fritz� begins as Crown Prince Frederick is crowned on June 14th. The German people celebrate the ascension to the throne, and Kaiser Frederick III promises peace and prosperity to Germany.
In 1889, Arnaud confers with Emperor Humbert over whether or not all of the people should be given the right to vote. Humbert, ever in touch with his people likes the idea and believes it will ensure his popularity. Arnaud is in high favor with the working class because of his personal history, creation of jobs, socialist reforms and lowering of taxes. The Senate approves the issue and on October 5th, all legal aged males are given full suffrage, and Arnaud and Humbert are applauded by the people as the protector of their rights.
The Imperatore Umberto and the Sicilia, considered the fastest and best-armed battleships in the world, are commissioned later that month, and the people of Italy, from Savoy to Masai bask in the glory of the Sunrise of the Day of the Italian Empire.