August 5, 1935.
Benito Mussolini stood alone near the central table a sheet of paper in one hand, his other clenched behind his back.
The chamber around him was filled not with opposition, never with that but with agreement wrapped in deference.
Galeazzo Ciano, his son-in-law and Undersecretary of Press and Propaganda, sat closest to the front.
Beside him were Dino Grandi, Achille Starace, and Italo Balbo men whose roles had long shifted from commanders to symbols.
At the far edge, Marshal Pietro Badoglio arrived late, his eyes bloodshot from field reports.
Mussolini did not shout.
He didn't need to.
The silence in the room was a canvas waiting for command.
"The time has come," he said.
He laid the paper on the table before him. "Final mobilization orders are to be issued immediately. Forty thousand more will be added to the East African deployment. Units will embark from Naples and Taranto beginning Friday. Supplies have already been redirected from northern garrisons."
