Chapter 183: Why We Fight

Chapter 183: Why We Fight

The war in Italy continued to progress at a rate that Bruno found to be not at all surprising, and yet still somewhat alarming. By the year's end, the Ottomans were sure to capitulate. Though General Caneva was praised within international. newspaper outlets for his "bold, decisive, and aggressive strategy which crushed the Ottoman defense while outnumbered and outgunned,"

Bruno knew that this likely was not the case. He had done some of his own investigating into what happened outside Shar al-Shatt, and sure enough, the change in the timeline had not resulted from any major shift in the infamous General's personality. Rather, it was an act of insubordination from a figure who was unknown to Bruno in his previous life.

This man was the officer in charge of the Italian Brigade holding the line while under orders to wait for reinforcements. He was, in all honesty, a figure unknown to Bruno from his past life, and because of this, Bruno thought perhaps he was a threat that needed to be removed.

The reality of the situation was far from Bruno's worst fears. Colonel Giovanni Columbo was not a reincarnated individual like Bruno's paranoia had compelled him to investigate. Rather, he was a nameless officer in the ranks of the Italian Army who history likely forgot the name of, as in Bruno's past life, he had not made any significant contributions to the war effort.

In fact, according to Bruno's investigation, he received a battlefield promotion after the initial landing to the rank of colonel, likely as a result of the butterfly effect. Whoever was supposed to be in his position had died in the earliest days of the war, being replaced by this nameless figure.

And it was because of this that his impatient and daring character led to a major shift. in the war's timeline. While Bruno would continue to monitor this newly emerged face, he was instead more focused on General Caneva's newfound prestige.

Obviously, the direct insubordination by the Colonel beneath his command had been covered up; the man responsible for this victory was likely given leniency in exchange for the credit being stripped from him.

This changed things, as General Caneva's poor performance in the war basically stripped him of any battlefield command by the end of the war and brought back to the Italian homeland to basically serve a desk job for the rest of his career. He had been given a promotion, but it was in name only.

But now... now he was likely to be considered a far more capable general than he actually was, and if that happened, Italy would be even worse off when the time for a war with the German Reich became a reality.

This had, in some ways, benefited Bruno and his ambitions, but only mildly so. With the preparations he had made, he believed defeating the Italian Army in the Alps would take a single decisive battle. And from there, it was a short march into Rome.

Whether or not they had one more incompetent general in a position of power really did not change too much of his overall plans for this world. Instead, Bruno's attention was primarily being focused on the 1912 elections.

In his past life, the best memories he had were in his childhood, and even then it was not as if they were as fulfilling as the thirty-two years he had lived in this life. Memories he had long since relegated to the back of his mind came surfacing within the boundaries of his mind's eye.

All the while he struggled to hold back the tears of joy that were trying their best to flood out. He had nobody who had ever cared about him enough to go through the efforts of preparing such a magnificent multi-layered birthday cake.

Every ounce of effort had been done by Heidi, who had dismissed the kitchen staff for the day as she personally wanted to cook every ounce of food to properly celebrate her husband's birthday. Her two daughters had also joined in and helped to some extent, albeit mildly so.

The years that Bruno and Heidi had spent together now came flooding back to him. From the first moment they met in his study to their childhood together, where he thought of the young girl as nothing more than a nuisance getting in the way of his

studies.

Nearly three decades of memories together flooded his mind, reminding Bruno of what he was working so hard to preserve: family, folk, God, Kaiser, and fatherland. Things that had all been erased from his previous life for the common man were still present in this world. And he was the only one who could keep it that way. But more than anything, Bruno did not want his kids to live in a world without such things. Because of this, he couldn't help but lift his mug as he drank a specialty doppelbock beer whose taste complemented the chocolate in the birthday cake

perfectly.

All while thanking his wife and daughters for the effort they had put into making this birthday a special occasion for him.

"I must confess, I was not expecting today's festivities to be so moving. I know I don't say it as much as I should, but thank you all for the love and support you have shown me these years. And I look forward to another year with you all, including the newest

addition to our family!"

Heidi then walked over and hugged Bruno, kissing him on the cheek before allowing his son and daughters to also display their familial affection and respect for their father. After which Bruno cut the cake into enough slices for the lot of them and said his thanks to God for giving him such a beautiful life-one which he would rather die the most brutal death defending than to ever see it slip from his grasp.