The Italian Republic emerged from the carcass of the former Kingdom of Italy a demilitarized nation. The aftermath of the Civil War caused great scars on our nation’s former military. Its international reputation was shattered after the blunders of North Africa, the Russian Front, and most of all, the Greek campaign which humiliated a once proud of one of the strongest countries in mainland Europe responsible for the destruction of the Austro-Hungarian Empire decades prior. Military Industry lies derelict, struggling to survive with the lack of procurement orders and unable to compete with the mountains of American equipment surpluses. Our ships of a once proud Armada now languish in scrapyards and mothballs awaiting their final demise. All the while the Communists in our East grow in strength and uncertainty in the world of our allies making our security position all the more dangerous.

We of course are in no position nor desire to violate the Paris Treaty’s arms restrictions (at least not now) thus we will have to work with the limitations presently established. The restrictions imposed stipulate that the Italian Army must not exceed 185,000 active soldiers and 65,000 men for the Carabinieri Civil Guard nor must it field 200 medium or heavy tanks. As of yet, the Italian Army consists of 5 Infantry Divisions and 3 Garrison divisions, equal to 65,000 soldiers on the field. The Italian Army’s program is to double the size of the army until we reach our threshold of 185,000 men at arms consisting of the following divisions:

1. 1a Divisione di Fanteria "Cremona"
   
2. 2a Divisione di Fanteria "Folgore"
3. 3a Divisione di Fanteria"Friuli"
4. 4a Divisione di Fanteria "Legnano"
5. 5a Divisione di Fanteria "Mantova"
6. 6a Divisione di Fanteria "Aosta"
7. 7a Divisione di Fanteria "Sabauda"
8. 8a Divisione di Fanteria "Calabria"
9. 9a Divisione di Fanteria "Giulio Cesare" (Activates in 1949)
10. 10a Divisione di Fanteria "Granatieri di Sardegna" (Activates in 1949)
11. 11a Divisione di Fanteria "Avellino" (Activates in 1950)
12. 1a Divisione Alpina "Julia" (Activates in 1949)
13. 12a Divisione di Fanteria "Trieste" (Activates in 1950)
14. 2a Divisione di Fanteria "Tridentina" (Activates in 1951)
15. 10a Divisione di Fanteria "Pinerolo" (Activates in 1951)
16. 3a Divisione Alpina "Taurinesse" (Activates in 1952)
17. 1a Divisione Corazzata "Ariete" (Activates in 1952)
18. 2a Divisione Corazzata "Centauro" (Activates in 1952)
19. 4a Divisione Alpina "Orobica" (Activates in 1953)
20. 3a Divisione Corazzata "Pozzuolo del Friuli" (Activates in 1953)
21. 5a Divisione Alpina "Cadore" (Activates in 1953)

These divisions will form the core of the new Italian Army and will be equipped with a myriad of modern weapons ranging from licensed US small arms, vehicles, artillery, mortars, and other equipment as well as Italian-sourced weapons from industries like Beretta, OTO-Melara, FIAT, and Agnelli. (More on those in a [R&D] post later)

The Italian Navy is the proud child of the State with its reputation always significant amongst the Italian public and one of the most respected institutions in the country. This great emphasis on the reconstruction of the navy is evident in discussions amongst the Italian general staff. The treaty forbids Italy from procuring aircraft carriers, battleships, and submarines, it nevertheless allows for Italy to construct destroyers, lightships, utility vessels, and most importantly, light and heavy cruisers. The inability to construct battleships severely hampers our ability to project power as well as the next evolution in naval warfare: the carrier, being out of reach for us. Up until we can negotiate the lifting of these arms restrictions with our strategic allies in the Atlantic, this will remain the case. The Ministry of Defense decided that, for the Italian shipbuilding industry to roar back into service, new procurement orders must be launched to satisfy its funding qualms. The following ships would be ordered with a payment plan for the next 6 years:

2 Battlecruisers of the Napoli Class

4 Heavy Cruisers of the Brindisi Class

10 Light Cruisers of the Carlo Bergamini Class

30 Destroyers

20 Frigates

Should Italian firms be unable to procure some of these ships, the Italian Navy will purchase ships from the United States to rearm its fleet, Older vessels and ships not allowed to serve under the treaty such as the dreadnoughts still in service will be scrapped. American ships of interest include the Fletcher, Wichita, Brooklyn, Gearing, and Baltimore classes of ships.

The Italian Air Force is the most punished branch of the Italian armed forces in the treaty. Forbidden from acquiring bomber aircraft or heavy aircraft of any kind with the exception of fighters and its limitation to 200 planes makes it woefully unprepared to deal with any air threat headed its way. The factories of Macchi, Caproni, and other renowned Italian aeronautics enterprises were badly damaged during the war. Its planes were woefully outdated and in short supply compared to the juggernauts of the American and Soviet air forces. The Italian government sees the lifting of its punishing restrictions on its air capabilities to be its primary objective in negotiations with the West. The acquisition of modern aircraft from the United States seems to be the most viable solution to our short-term woes. As our industry begins recovery, the purchase of P-51 Mustangs and P-47 Thunderbolts will have to do.