The Rise Of Australasia

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The civil war that erupted in Spain shrouded all European countries in a fog of war.

Although it appeared to be a domestic affair of Spain, the upper echelons of most countries were clearly aware that Spain was backed by two major military blocs, led by the Franco-Australian Alliance and the German-Italian Pact.

Just like the sensational Sarajevo incident at the time, excessive intervention by the two major military blocs in Spain's domestic affairs could lead to a series of events, or even ignite a war between these blocs.

No one wanted to see a war unfold, and for this reason, a large number of French people took to the streets demanding that the government not involve itself in Spain's civil war, and not let it become the fuse of the next super war like the Sarajevo incident had been.

In fact, Frenchmen had not just once but many times lifted stones to smash their own government with protest marches. For them, intimidating the government with demonstrations was almost like a recurring event that needed to be held periodically.

As to whether their marches and requirements would influence the country's foreign policy, all of this seemed inconsequential in the face of war.

For Frenchmen, if it meant avoiding a super war like the one 20 years ago, they would even go so far as to dismiss the current government.

A large number of French people took to the streets, raising banners with slogans unequivocally stating "We need peace, we don't want war!"

These marching French people swept through the streets of Paris and successfully caught the attention of the French government.

For French President Albert Lebrun, this was extremely good news. The demands of the French people aligned perfectly with his own views, symbolizing the mainstream ideology of France at the moment—the doves.

For French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier, however, things were not so rosy. In the eyes of the French people, Daladier's attempts to absolve himself of responsibility during the incident were tantamount to proof of his support for war.

Facing this man who tried to drag France back into a super war, the French cried out in anger, demanding President Albert immediately dismiss Prime Minister Édouard.

Such an outcome was beyond what Prime Minister Édouard had anticipated, and equally unforeseen by President Albert.

But whether there was influence from Germany and Italy behind all this remained unknown.

After all, the French people truly did not want to see a war, and they loathed politicians trying to push France and all its citizens into the abyss of war.

After learning about the will of the people, President Albert smiled and he smiled broadly.

He had gained the upper hand in this power struggle between the President and the Prime Minister. Even if Prime Minister Édouard managed to retain his position with the help of Congress, he was no longer able to compete with President Albert for power in the government.

Because the will of the people had already decided that France could not possibly become a war-advocating country at this time—the faction of war advocates was bound to be suppressed in France.

On October 7, 1934, half a month after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.

French President Albert convened a public meeting and promised to all domestic and international media and the French people that France would absolutely not take steps towards war, and that what the French government yearned for was peace and stability.

It's unknown how the French people reacted to President Albert's speech, but the expressions of the rulers of Germany and Italy appeared very content.

Different from the domestic environment of France, Germany and Italy, beset by economic crises, had domestic ideologies that yearned for war.

Or rather, under the influence of two rather extreme rulers, the opinions of their governments were advancing towards outward expansion and diversion of domestic conflicts.

It was unrealistic to think that the major powers were not lurking behind the Spanish Civil War.

To put it another way, the fact that the Spanish Republic had developed to a state where domestic conflicts had to be resolved by war, the extremism of Germany and Italy played a significant role.

Even before the Spanish Civil War broke out, Spain's extremist Falangist party had already established contact with Germany and Italy and had even received substantial support from them.

The reason they were able to launch a civil war, quickly seize control of Spanish colonies, and advance across the Strait of Gibraltar towards native Spain, was the support from Italy.

Italy provided the Falangists with a large cache of weapons and equipment, arming a significant force capable of contending with the Spanish government.

And now, when it was time to reap the rewards, would Germany and Italy abandon Spain, a somewhat qualified ally, for the benefit of the French people?

Moreover, Spain's geographic location was very important for Germany and Italy. As a Mediterranean country, whichever of the two military blocs controlled Spain would hold more sway in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Moreover, Spain is France's southern neighbor, and the Spanish military can also threaten France's native land. If Spain becomes an ally of Germany and Italy, France will face the same situation as Germany did in World War I, having to fight on two or even three fronts.

In such a case, no matter how large the French Army or how vast the resources from its colonies, it is doomed to be exhausted fighting on three fronts and will ultimately have to swallow the bitter pill of defeat.

October 9, 1934, Rome, Italy.

"Gentlemen, we cannot abandon our ally, Spain. They are facing a civil war, where our allies seek to overthrow the corrupt government and bring a new dawn to the people of Spain.

As a pledge to our ally, Italy will spare no expense to support them. I declare that Italy will form a Spanish Volunteer Army, recruiting like-minded Italians who also love peace to help Spain fight.

Furthermore, our airplanes will transport supplies to Spain, ensuring that our allies emerge victorious in this civil war. Gentlemen, let's take action! For Italy, we may have to confront the French, or even engage in war with them.

But for the country, all this is worth it. If I can die on the battlefield for Italy, I would die without regrets!"

With Mussolini's command, the Italian government and military quickly mobilized, gathering batches of military supplies and transporting them to Spain using various types of airplanes.

It's worth mentioning that since the Australasian transport planes were sold openly to the public, various countries have made decent progress in the development of transport planes.

Although Italy's fleet of airplanes might not match that of Australasia, they were indeed capable of continuously transporting supplies to the Fascists in the Spanish civil war.

As for the volunteers Mussolini spoke of dispatching to Spain, they were merely the Italian Army under a different name.

On the surface, it appeared to be a spontaneously organized army of Italian civilians helping Spain win the civil war, but in reality, all members of the volunteer army were elite Italian soldiers.

Setting aside the combat effectiveness of the Italian Army under Mussolini's rule, they were quite efficient in their operations.

Three days after the order was issued, on October 12, an army of about 14,000 men, roughly the size of a division, boarded various transport planes bound for Spain.

To ensure efficiency, this military force relied solely on airplanes for transport. Using warships, even just to get from Italy to Spain, would still take several days.

After all, the Eastern Coast of Spain was controlled by the Republic, and getting to the West Coast, controlled by the Fascists, would take additional time.

However, using airplanes, there weren't as many troubles. Italian planes needed only to cross a small part of the Mediterranean before flying over territories controlled by the Spanish Republic and easily reaching areas held by the Fascists.

As for the danger of flying through areas controlled by the Spanish Republic, that would depend on whether they dared to enter into war with Italy.

In reality, Italy's actions did not imply they hadn't considered the possibility that Spain might act against Italian planes.

But it was precisely the Italian government's open scheme. Knowing full well that the planes carried supplies for the rebels, did the Spanish Republic dare to shoot them down?

Remember, these were all official Italian planes. To shoot them down would be equivalent to declaring war on Italy.

This would give Italy sufficient reason to directly intervene in the Spanish civil war, which would be a catastrophic blow to Spain.

Unless Spain could also persuade another Power to join the civil war, something virtually impossible. France, due to domestic public opinion, was on the verge of dismissing the Prime Minister from the Faction of War Advocates.

In such circumstances, it was naturally impossible for France to ignite a war directly with Italy, let alone with Germany, over Spain.

And France's ally, the Austrian Empire, already being squeezed between Germany and Italy from the north and south, naturally wouldn't join the war on its own without France taking action first.

Thus, the only European country left that could help the Spanish Republic was the British Empire, which seemed strong but whose foreign policy was far removed from Europe.

Because of the British Empire's foreign policy, they would have difficulty assisting Spain against Italy.

This also signified a fact that, even knowing that the Italian planes overhead were transporting their enemies and their enemies' supplies, the Spanish Republic government still did not have the courage to shoot down those Italian planes.

As long as they didn't break off diplomatic relations, all they faced were the rebels supported by Italy. But if they broke with Italy, they would have to face both the rebels and Italy's combined assault.