North African Front

While Nobusuke Kishi was in disgrace, he was called by Prince Higashikuni.

"With Tōjō-san's recommendation, we would like to appoint you as the Minister of Commerce and Industry. Will you accept?"

Kishi made his political comeback.

- ほうこうおんち

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Italy is a country with a relatively small impact from climate change. A cold air mass (high-pressure systems) that covers Europe is stopped by the Alps. Additionally, warm and moist air from the mid-latitudes is also blocked by the Alps and does not flow northward. Surrounded on three sides by the warm Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas, which are affected by ocean currents, Italy's long peninsula has maintained a mild climate with long hours of sunshine.

Italy's leader was the Duce, Benito Mussolini, someone who advocated for the restoration of the Roman Empire and sought to create an empire around the Mediterranean. His plan was to create an Italian colonial empire that stretched from the Mediterranean coast of Egypt to the Indian Ocean shores of Somalia. The offensive in September 1940 was interrupted by the British-German armistice. However, Italy wanted to control all of North Africa. Now that the war with Greece was settled, Italy could fully concentrate on the North African front. Like Japan and Germany, Italy, a "have-not country," was trying to solve its economic crisis through the acquisition of colonies.

However, Britain, which controls Egypt, is a major power whose interests clashed with those of Italy.

Britain, which is taking various measures to secure food and fuel for its people in response to the ongoing climate change, would never relinquish control of the Suez Canal or the Red Sea. At present, Britain has stopped pretending to be a gentleman and is fully engaged in self-centered (domestic) politics. Even though Italy was invading Greece, Britain did not offer any support, merely making empty promises. This led Mussolini to make a mistaken assumption. He viewed Britain as a minor nation, one that would make concessions if pushed hard enough.

There is a precedent for this. At the Munich Conference, held to stop Germany's military territorial expansion, Britain allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland. Mussolini also attended that conference. Although the prime minister changed from Chamberlain to Churchill, Britain ultimately proved to be a nation that would retreat when pressured.

Having made this misjudgment, Mussolini unofficially demanded the cession of Egypt from Britain.

The British response was, "We'll kill you, you fool."

"Well, since it was an unofficial request, I suppose they responded rudely as well. If I had made an official request, they would have responded diplomatically."

Thus, when Mussolini formally requested the cession of Egypt, the response was a diplomatically appropriate ultimatum.

"The United Kingdom government rejects your offer regarding Egypt as illegitimate. We demand that you publicly declare that you will not pursue any further ambitions regarding Egypt. If you persist in your ambitions and take military action, our country will declare war on you."

Because Mussolini made a formal request for the cession of Egypt, he could no longer back down. Thus, Italy declared war on Britain.

Italy mobilized its forces from its colony in Libya and moved them toward Egypt.

"Have we informed that Bavarian Corporal?" Churchill asked his ministers.

"We have conveyed to Hitler that our country's military action is solely for the defense of Egypt, and that we have no intention of extending the war to Europe. We also told him that, despite their alliance, he should not make the mistake of participating in a war initiated by Italy that has no strategic significance."

"Good. And...?"

"We have also communicated with Japan. We told them that as long as Italy doesn't launch a preemptive attack, we will not engage in war. Additionally, we informed them that we wouldn't form an alliance to fight Italy, so we expected a one-on-one battle. We also emphasized adherence to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance."

"All the better. Germany should be fighting the Soviets, and Japan should be focused on China. Both are vast and deep territories. The war will inevitably drag on. In the meantime, the United Kingdom must reorganize itself to survive in the long run. And as a side task, I want you to defeat that bald man."

Defense preparations for Egypt began, with Secretary of State of War Margesson and First Sea Lord Pound leading the effort.

Italy's invasion from Libya began in June 1941. Although Mussolini had harbored ambitions for Egypt since the previous year, he had been indecisive, bogged down by the Greek campaign, and had relaxed military preparations due to the truce the previous year. Despite this, Mussolini delivered the ultimatum to Britain, and the British quickly began preparing for an attack. Thus, the situation unfolded.

"When will they finally arrive?" Major General O'Connor, commander of the Western Desert Force, was growing impatient.

The slowness of the Italian military movements was almost unbelievable to the British.

"Shall we invade Libya ourselves?" some hasty officers suggested.

"No. Diplomatically, we must ensure it looks like they struck first. General, you must understand that we must make the right judgment in light of the changing diplomatic situation," admonished General Wavell, commander of the forces stationed in the Middle East.

He was a military leader with a keen political sense.

While calming the impatient O'Connor, they waited for the Italian invasion. In the meantime, preparations were complete. Though irritated by the unusual humidity, they lay in wait, ready to confront the Italian forces. When the 130.000-strong Italian army crossed the border, 60.000 British troops immediately launched an attack. Despite their smaller numbers, they successfully encircled and destroyed the Italians. This was a classic example of overwhelming power with minimal effort.

While the British army had decisively defeated the Italian forces, signs of crisis were beginning to emerge in the background. The region of North Africa, including Egypt, was unusually humid this year. Heavy fog would blanket the area in the mornings. This humidity caused mold to grow.

Wheat was affected by yellow dwarf disease. The diseased and withered wheat was no longer fit for human consumption. Instead, rats consumed it, and the rat population exploded.

These rats carried fleas, and these fleas spread the plague. The plague bacteria is weak against dryness, but strong against humidity. Although plague cases had already been reported among the locals in Egypt, during the wartime period, the focus was on white Europeans, and the Egyptians were ignored. The number of the sick was starting to rise under the surface.

Shifting the focus away from the plague for a moment, the situation on the battlefield continued. General Wavell prioritized political decisions. He did not allow Major General O'Connor to launch a counteroffensive all the way to Tripoli or Tunis. However, he did permit the occupation of Tobruk, which was close to the Egyptian border.

With Germany's response of "The Eastern Front is busy, we have no time to assist you. Since this war was started by you, it is your responsibility to deal with it," Italy was finally compelled to take the situation seriously. Now fully committed, the Italians began to fortify defensive lines. These serious Italians burned important documents and began destroying weapons in preparation for retreat. Italy prepared to withdraw its forces from North Africa.

But the British did not advance. Reluctantly, the British army attacked the Italians occupying Tobruk, and they were repelled.

Impatient, Major General O'Connor ignored General Wavell's orders and advanced his forces to El Agheila. The Italian army, determined to defend, built trench lines. O'Connor did not completely disregard his superior's orders and did not advance further. But if attacked, he will destroy the field army. He also built defensive lines near the border and prepared his troops to await further developments.

The stage was set with high humidity, an increase in rats and fleas, rampant pathogens, and tens of thousands of soldiers trapped in unsanitary trenches. The plague began to spread within the army camps, affecting tens of thousands of soldiers through person-to-person transmission. Both sides suffered numerous cases, and the disease, which no one had anticipated, delayed the delivery of medicines. A catastrophic situation unfolded, with tens of thousands of patients and thousands of deaths on both sides.

General Wavell ordered Major General O'Connor to retreat, while Mussolini praised the defense of Libya. But the Italian forces in Libya were no longer capable of fighting. Among the soldiers who had not yet contracted the disease, many hurriedly left the epidemic-stricken Libya and returned to Italy. These returning soldiers brought the plague with them to the Italian mainland.

By this time, a plague outbreak had occurred in Tripoli, Tunis, Tobruk, and Alexandria. While effectively under British control, Egypt was still an independent territory under the Muhammad Ali dynasty, with the British directly controlling only the area around the Suez Canal. The British had the right to move freely within Egypt during wartime. The Egyptian people believed that the plague had been brought to Egypt by the British military.

In truth, the plague had simultaneously erupted in various parts of North Africa, and it was the outbreak within the military camps of the British and Italian armies that caused the infection to spread. However, the public was indifferent to these details. Furthermore, the medicines were monopolized by the Europeans. Hospitals in Egypt also give priority to British soldiers for treatment. The plague spread among the Egyptian people, and many died.

Anti-British sentiment began to rise in Egypt.

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"The wheat in Egypt is no good..."

Desperate to secure food supplies, Churchill was disheartened by the news that the wheat crop in Egypt had been devastated by disease. However, the British Empire had other colonies.

"That small country (Italy) won't be attacking for some time. Our forces should focus on maintaining the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. We'll give up on securing food in Egypt. We can bring it in from other regions."

The British leadership, with its supremacist mindset, gave little thought to the colonies. Right now, they needed to quickly establish a system that would ensure the survival of the British people in the future. As long as the British people were saved, they couldn't care less about what happened to the "inferior" colored races in the colonies. They had no time to worry about the Slavs or the Chinese. Whether these people were devoured by the Germans or Japanese was irrelevant, as long as Britain remained safe. With that, Churchill instructed the Viceroy of India to arrange for the transportation of crops from India to the homeland via the Suez Canal. The collections were ruthless and conducted on a massive, nationwide scale.

The next hellish disaster would be in India, where a great famine broke out, particularly in the Bengal region.

It was, truly, a man-made disaster.

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Today, during the four-day weekend, I will update with a torrent of four chapters as promised.

The next chapter will be at 18:00.

- ほうこうおんち