1st October 1935.
Inside the high-walled war room of Palazzo Venezia.
Benito Mussolini stood before the great operations map of East Africa.
"Operazione Orestiade begins on the third," he declared.
Around the long oak table sat Marshal De Bono, General Pariani, Marshal Badoglio, and air force representatives.
Mussolini's finger jabbed at the map just below Adigrat.
"You De Bono will open from the north. Eritrea is ready. Roads are cleared. The Mareb will be behind you by dawn."
De Bono nodded once and received the sealed directive silently.
He didn't need to open it.
Everyone in the room already knew what it said.
General Pariani leaned in. "Chemical stockpiles have been secured in both Asmara and Mogadishu. Marked as agricultural compounds. No outside detection so far."
Mussolini's eyes narrowed. "They will remain sealed. Unless I say otherwise. We don't want the world crying 'gas' before they've even had a taste of war."
