Chapter 261: Threats
Pure brute force, meaning war, was Austria-Hungary's plan. Freud, however, had deliberately not revealed that Austrian troops were already organized and present in the Papal States, because from the Papal side, the Kingdom of Italy effectively had a one-way window looking in.
Contrary to Pius IX's assumptions, Austria-Hungary's intelligence network in Italy was negligible—virtually nonexistent. Meanwhile, Italy could easily infiltrate the Papal States and learn practically anything they wanted. After all, the Papal States were a theocracy where faith-based pilgrims could not be turned away, and its people were still Italians living in the heart of Italy. There was no real way to bar travel or commerce. As a result, the Kingdom of Italy could bribe a few folks in the Papal States or just send in some agents. The Papal States had no means to identify them.
"Mr. Freud, I believe I understand your country's intentions now. I can only say, very good, very good indeed—hahaha." Believing he'd discovered the truth, Pius IX burst into delighted laughter.
Hearing this unnerved Freud. Could the Pope have guessed that an Austro-Hungarian expeditionary force was already present? Well, even if he had, it hardly mattered as long as he kept quiet about it.
Freud spoke up: "Your Holiness, please keep this to yourself. I'm still uneasy about certain individuals in the Papal States. All you need to do is ready the Papal troops to oppose the Italians. Leave the rest to us."
"Not a problem. Our forces may not be strong, but at least their loyalty is reliable. I'll use my personal authority to call upon more volunteers to join the fight," Pius IX replied.
Indeed, the Papal Army's fighting capability might be weak, but its loyalty—especially concerning the prospect of fighting Italians—was hardly in question, given that most of its members were from countries other than Italy.
…
After two days of talks, the Kingdom of Italy reached a consensus: they could no longer hesitate. They had to strike the Papal States decisively.
From Italy's viewpoint, Austria-Hungary meddling in Rome was purely a desperation move by Pius IX. Obviously, once the French left, Pius IX—knowing the Papal States couldn't stand up to Italy—raced to find a replacement ally. Austria-Hungary was the only plausible choice.
Victor Emmanuel II analyzed: "The only threat is Austria-Hungary. If they intervene, it will be from two directions—either via land, in the regions of Venice and Lombardy, or from the sea, where the east coast might face bombardment by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. So we must prepare for both scenarios."
"Though our navy lags behind Austria-Hungary's, the gap isn't huge," the naval minister explained. "Their top-of-the-line warships are more advanced, but we have more ships. We'll pull some of our western naval forces to the eastern seas and coordinate with the army to guard against raids by their navy on our eastern coastline."
If they could have, the admirals would certainly have asked for more funding, but the Italian Navy had seen its budget severely cut after its disastrous defeat at Lissa—even though it had seemingly outmatched Austria-Hungary at the time. The Italian government couldn't afford another costly naval buildup.
General Raffaele Cadorna then said: "We have to give special priority to defending Venice. To attack the Papal States, we only need about 30,000 troops. But on the eastern front, facing Austria-Hungary, even with Prussia and Russia tying them down, it won't be easy to hold them off with less than 100,000 men. Besides, we only took over Venice recently; it was long under Austrian influence. We must guard against potential dissent among the local populace. Altogether, I'd say we need at least 150,000 men in Venice and Lombardy."
That was purely from a defensive standpoint. The territory where Italy and Austria-Hungary shared a border wasn't that large, and much of the northern area was blocked by the Alps, leaving only a narrow coastal plain in the south. Thus, 150,000 troops should suffice to fend off an Austro-Hungarian invasion.
"As for the forces attacking the Papal States, we'll send 30,000. The government can provide 25,000, and Garibaldi can form a volunteer army to add the remaining 5,000," he added.
"Agreed. We can't let Garibaldi control too large a force. His political views are erratic, and we must remain cautious," Victor Emmanuel II approved.
Though extremely capable, Garibaldi didn't share the government's mindset. He was more inclined toward liberal ideas, a freedom fighter of sorts. The Kingdom of Italy had never fully trusted him, and given his personal history, that was understandable. Historically, Garibaldi was a thorn in France's side, yet he later organized volunteers to fight on the French side in the Franco-Prussian War. He wasn't exactly predictable.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Our main forces will remain under direct royal command," said the war minister. "He won't have the limelight all to himself."
…
The Italian Army covertly massed near Venice and Lombardy. Large troop movements naturally drew Austria-Hungary's attention, but Austria-Hungary pretended not to notice. Italy, for its part, was also watching Austria-Hungary, noting no changes in troop dispositions on the Austro-Italian border.
This emboldened Italy, reinforcing the conclusion that Austria-Hungary couldn't spare forces, tied up by Prussia and Russia. Thus, once Italy completed its deployment, securing Venice to the point of feeling "impregnable," the government believed the time had come to settle the Papal States.
Though the Pope and Austria-Hungary had issued a joint statement, the Italians now felt certain Austria-Hungary couldn't physically intervene. Hence, there was no more to be said.
On August 16, Italy delivered an ultimatum to the Papal States, demanding the Pope forgo resistance and allow peaceful annexation by Italy.
Yet Pius IX, now with Austria-Hungary's backing, flatly refused. He had managed to expand the Papal Army to around 15,000 men—enough to put up some resistance.
Italy's threat was soon answered by Austria-Hungary. Authorized by Vienna, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador directly warned the Italian court: "The Papal States were never part of Italy, and Italy has never truly been a standalone nation. Historically, the Papal States have endured longer, while 'Italy' was just a geographical term. Should the Kingdom of Italy stubbornly insist on attacking the Papal States, Austria-Hungary will not stand idly by."
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