Chapter 121
< World War II - Belli dura despicio (4) >
July 12, 1940
Rome, the capital of Italy
As the defense line in South Tyrol crumbled and the defeated soldiers at the front fled, the desperate war situation began to reach the populace controlled by the National Fascist Party.
The shock and fear felt by the soldiers on the front lines spread to the cities, and from city to city, growing with each telling as it rippled outwards.
“Duce, take responsibility for the deaths of the Italian people!”
“Fascism has failed! We are no longer slaves to a dreamer!”
Anti-war sentiment soared, especially in Northern Italy, which was under direct threat from the German Army, and they fiercely condemned Mussolini and the National Fascist Party for starting the war.
With military force already scarce due to the war and public security deteriorating, even the socialists, who had been operating as underground organizations under oppression, began to take to the streets and raise their voices.