The Italian Union (Napoleonic Europe)

The Italian Union began as the Kingdom of Italy under King Emmanuel II of Piedmont-Sardinia. In 1893 the new Prime Minister of the kingdom Count Camilo di Cavour began to lobby the French to release the constraints of Italy as a puppet state. It was soon granted and Cavour's first course of action was to annex the neighboring Kingdom of Naples, thereby unifying the peninsula under a single regime. After the annexation of Naples, Cavour dissolved the KOI and proclaimed the new Italian Union; He dreamed of unifying the peninsula and achieved it. Cavour's regime was generally peaceful with only one conflict over imprisoned Italians in the Ottoman Empire, which was resolved peacefully. Prime Minister Cavour's regime was shortlived, as he died the year after in 1895 of a heart attack. His funeral was a mass event in Rome, with thousands upon thousands of mourning civilians walking the streets of Rome paying their respects to their beloved L'UNIFICATORE(Grand Unifier in Italian). The funeral was presided over by the Pope and other important Vatican officials.

The new prime minister, Antonio di Rudini, took office in 1895; He joined an invasion of Austria-Hungary in 1896 with the new Italian Army he and Cavour improved and began to call it LA SFORZA(The Italian Force). Rudini mobilized La Sforza and invaded A-H and helped Poland to liberate the abused Poles in Galicia. The war raged on as the Union advanced into the western Austro-Hungarian provinces however the Italians became weary of war and voted PM Rudini out of office in the 1897 elections.

The Italians voted a diplomatically minded Prime MInister into office named Luigi Pelloux. By summer 1897 PM Pelloux pulled La Sforza out of Austria and signed a peace treaty. Pelloux gained popularity for leaving an unpopular war and began to modernize and industrialize his country. In the following years, Italy began economic reform and supported the Zionist cause. PM Pelloux signed trade agreements and alliances with Prussia and Austria-Hungary to repair relations after such a war.

To catch up to other powers in terms of naval power, the Union's previous prime ministers commisioned a secret naval project due to be finished in 1899. Finally when the year came, Prime MInister Pelloux unveilled LA SFORZA NAUTICA ( The Nautical Force), an Italian-brand warship that was efficient yet powerful enough to compete with the navies off other countries. During this time the Union mass-produced these warships

At the turn of the century, PM Pelloux began research of dreadnoughts. However his term ended in 1900 and he did not seek reelection. His successor was Prime Minister Giuseppe Saracco. Saracco continued the research of dreadnoughts and presented his plan to make Italy a major power by greatly improving the nation in every way, particularly military wise. Following Poland's massive display of the power of their chemical weapons in the Middle East, Saracco decided that the Union would have chemical weapons as well and by 1902 he was mass-producing arsenals full of chemical shells. After his success with chlorine in chemical weapons, he began to research the use of phosgene and mustard gas. Saracco swore not to use the weapons for petty reasons like the Poles after the powers of Europe convened to limit them. In 1902, the first Italian dreadnought was unveiled naming it LA ROMANA. PM Saracco continued to empower Italy by expanding chemical arsenals and unveiling Italy's second dreadnought, IL CONQUISTATORE, in december of 1902. Due to his mass popularity and current programs to further strenghten Italy, Prime Minister Saracco was reelected by a landslide at the end of his term in 1903.