Savoy Rebellion

The Savoy Rebellion was a 3 year long war between the Papal States, Kingdom of Naples, City State of Venice, Austria, and the Savoyian rebel movement. It lasted from 1915 to 1918 and resulted in a decisive victory for the Papal Coalition.

The House of Savoy historically was a minority faction in Italy and was heavily monitored and repressed by the various Italian states since its creation. While they had attempted to take power in states like Naples or Florence, other, more powerful families like the House of Medici prevented anything serious.

In 1900, Victor Emmanuel III claimed to be the heir to the future throne of Savoy if they had ever taken control of a state. In 1914, he had managed to secure enough land and bought enough manpower to seize control of the Kingdom of Sardinia and name himself King. He would quickly declare war on Venice, taking most of their land in a few months.

Following this, allies of Venice immediately declared war and formed the Papal Coalition under the leadership of Pope Benedict XV and Ferdinando Pio, king of Naples. In the winter of 1915, their armies had gathered in Bologna, which had also nearly fallen to Savoyard hands. Around this time, volunteers from Austria had beaten the Savoyard army at the Isonzo river crossing after a long 3-month battle and took the city of Trento back from Savoyard hands, and moved to fight the Savoyard army from the rear, breaking their siege of Venice.

In 1916, the siege of Venice had been broken, and Austrian and Venetian troops managed to cut through the poorly defended rear echelons of the Savoyard army and unite with the defense of Bologna. With the combined armies, they broke the siege and pushed north, encountering minimal resistance. During this time, a naval invasion led by Naples was launched from a Sicilian port in Carini, landing in Cagliari, Sardinia, and taking the island after a week of fighting.

At the start of 1917, the coalition secured Genoa, Sanremo, and Parma. During this time, the Savoyard managed to set up a long trench line stretching from Turin to Milan. Many attempts were made to break the defense, but all were met with failure. The war dragged on for another year until, in 1918, the line was finally pushed, and Turin fell, leaving only a small army defending Milan.

On August 7th, 1918, coalition forces took Milan without serious resistance and exiled Victor Emmanuel III. After the war, most of Italy was shattered and disfigured, with 15% of its population dying in the war. This war would eventually lead to Benito Mussolini's unification of Italy in 1921. 

Notably, this war was the reason why Engelbert Dollfuss, an Austrian soldier turned politician, eventually rejected the monarchy and attempted a coup.