Input from Lord Googer, master of the Mediterranean will be needed here.

I'll also drop the lore summary in case you haven't read it:

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9: Italy

Fought on the side of the Allied Powers during the Great War. Invaded by the Ottoman Empire in the early 1970s. Spanish support helps secure the northern part of the country and halt the Ottoman advance. By 1974, the Spanish governor of Northern Italy - Aurelio Batista - rules the north alone. Later, Batista goes on to push the Ottomans out of Southern Italy. Shortly after, he cuts his ties to Spain. He rules Italy with an iron fist for several years.

In 1976, Italian rebels begin to fight back against the Batistan regime. Spain - enraged that Batista refused to heel - begins to secretly assist the rebel cause. In early 1977, Spain declares war on Batista's regime and engages in open warfare. Batista flees the country and the rebels take over, forming a new government.
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