Italian Aggression

What is fascism?

Nationalism, Militarism, Social Darwinism, Social unity, and Authoritarianism

Social Darwinism

This was based on a profound misreading of Darwin’s work by, among others, Herbert Spenser. It is particularly linked to simplistic and racist ideas about how to apply the biological concept of natural selection to society, politics, and sociology. Related to Eugenics

Core set of aspects of this ideology

1. A populist - even revolutionary - form of ultra nationalism

2. A desire to destroy the existing political system

3. A belief in a strong leader

4. A belief in the positive values of vitalism (action) and violence

1915 April

Italy is promised major gains by the Entente, Treaty of London

1915 May

Italy enters the war against Germany and Austria-Hungary

1917 October

Italy is defeated in the battle of Caporetto

1918 October

Italy wins the Battle of Vittorio Veneto

1919 March

Mussolini founds a fascist party

1919 June

The Versailles Settlement does not give Italy major gains

1919 September

The Italian nationalist d’Annunzio seizes the port of Fiume

1919 November

Italian elections are held and the Socialist Party and Catholic Party gain the majority of votes but fail to form a government

1919-1920

There is widespread social unrest

1920-1922

There is widespread Fascist violence against opposition groups

1922 November

The Facist Party is established under the control of Mussolini

Mussolini’s rise to power

Long-terms weaknesses of Liberal Italy (1870-1923), Lack of national unity, The Catholic Church, Working class protest, Nationalist opposition, and Italy’s entry into WWI and impact of the war

Lack of national unity

Piedmont – dominant state, Importance of regionalism, Remained a strong force, with many Italians feeling loyalty to their hometowns and cities, particularly in the south. There were economic as well as political divisions between the north and the south, with the majority of peasants in the south living in abject poverty whilst the industrialized north prospered.

The Catholic Church

The breakdown in relations between Church and State which had begun during unication, also continued to divide Italy. 

Risorgimento

This process of unification is known as "resurgence” or “re-birth” of Italy. After 1815, a literary and cultural revival had taken place in Italy. This nationalist movement also campaigned against Italian divisions and foreign domination, and called for political unification

Italia Irridenta

unreedemed land and refers to the Italian-inhabited areas ruled by Austria-Hungary in the northern Adriatic during the 19th and early 20th centuries. These were Trentino and Trieste, which contained large numbers of Italian speakers. “Mutilated Victory”

Associazione Nazionalista Italiana (ANI)

Italy’s first 20th-century nationalist party. It was formed in 1910 and had previously pushed for the conquest of Libya. After 1914, it supported war against Austria as a way of gaining the terra irredenta. Later, it became close to Mussolini’s Fascist Party, and the two parties merged in 1923

Gabriele D’Annunzio

he was a poet and writer, as an ultra-nationalist, he supported Italy’s entrance on the side of the Triple Entente when the First World War broke out.

Arditi

The term translates as the daring ones. These were the black-shirted commando or storm troops of the Italian Army, whose officers hated the Liberal political system which, in their eyes, had betrayed their wartime sacrifices by not obtaining the land promised for Italy and by doing little to crush the revolutionary left. These troops were demobilised in 1920, but their name, Uniform, was used by D’Annunzio’s supporters who took over Fiume in 1919revolutionaries

Human cost of the war

more than 600,000 men were dead and hundreds of thousands wounded

12 September 1919

D’Annunzio led 2,000 armed men to the city of Fiume, they quickly took control and, in open defiance of the Liberal Italian government and the Allies continued to rule the city for the next 15 months. Forced to surrender in 1920

1921 elections

Mussolini becomes a MP with 34 other fascist deputies

National Fascist Party (PNF)

Founded in 1919, with a clear right-wing program, Mussolini pushes for a more disciplined political party to distance himself from violence

Dual policy

Mussolini encouraged the ras to continue their violent activities, but he made it know to the conservatives that he had no intention of pushing for a violent seizure of power

Support for Mussolini

Political élites: Queen Margherita, Pope Pius XI, Economic élites: industrialists, landowners, bankers, Action squads, Middle and lower middle class, and Local police and army units

March on Rome

October 1922, large group of fascist supporters, led by Benito Mussolini, marched towards Rome with the goal of seizing power from the government. The march was a culmination of the fascist party's efforts to overthrow the existing regime and establish a fascist dictatorship. Mussolini's fascist party was able to successfully negotiate with the Italian king, Victor Emmanuel III, and Mussolini became the Prime Minister of Italy,

First Major Facist Rally

1919, in milan, marking the early growth of Mussolini’s movement

Annunio Rosso (Red Years)

event in 1920 that marked a period of political and social unrest in Italy

Socialists

the political group that Mussolini and the facists seeked to replace

“The true test of nationhood and manhood”

Mossolini described in 1922 that it was war to ignite nationalism and militarism in his followers

In order for Italy to be a great power

they needed access to the ocean

Corporatism

key principle of fascism that emphasizes authoritarian government and the supremacy of the state over the individual

Italo-Turkish war

1911-1912, Mussolini used this foreign conflict to promote his fascist ideals and expand his influence in the early 1920’s

Mussolini’s four economic battles

Battle for Lira, Battle for Births, Battle over the Southern Problem, and Battle for Grain

Poor Economy Post-War

Italy borrowed heavily from Britain and the U.S., and national debt rose from 16 billion lire to 85 billion lire. The government printed more banknotes, causing rapid inflation with prices increasing over 400%, real wages fropped by over 25%, high unemployment and war industries closed and over 2.5 million soldiers were demobilised

Battle for Lira

18 August 1926, began when the value of the Lira dropped. In order to restore it’s value abroad (to help stop price rises) and to increase, as well as to maintain, Italian prestige, it was revalued, resulted in declining exports, an increase in unemployment recession in Italy

Battle for Births

began in 1927: Mussolini introduced a number of measures: He introduced a tax on unmarried men aged between 25 and 65, banned the sale of contraceptives and created prizes for weddings and births, to encourage reproduction, with an objective of increasing the population from 40 million to 60 million by 1950

Battle over the Southern Problem

was directed at the widespread poverty in southern Italy, and promised the building of thousands of new villages in Sicily and the south. It also included attempts to destroy the power of the Mafia.

Battle for Grain

1925, in response to poor harvest and a consequent increase in grain imports. The aim was to get Italian farmers to grow more cereals (especially wheat) in order to reduce Italy’s dependence on foreign imports, double cereal production, but missallocation of resources resulted in Italy having to import olive oil, while fruit and wine exports dropped

Romanita Movement

aggressive foreign policy, attempted to link their regime to the earlier greatness of ancient Rome and it’s emporers. Mussolini was increasingly referred to as Il Duce.

Spazio Vitale

Facist idea that a strong state should expand beyond its natural boundaries to control areas vital to its interests. It included the whole Mediterranean area and northern and eastern Africa, from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, divided into two areas: piccolo spazio and grande spazio

Corfu Incident

1923: diplomatic and military crisis between Greece and Italy. It was triggered when Enrico Tellini, an Italian general heading a commission to resolve a border dispute between Albania and Greece, was murdered in Greek territory along with two other officers of his staff. In response, Benito Mussolini issued an ultimatum to Greece and, when it was not accepted in whole, dispatched forces to bombard and occupy Corfu. Mussolini defied the League of Nations and stated Italy would leave if it arbitrated in the crisis, and the conference of Ambassadors instead eventually tendered an agreement favouring Italy

Fiume

1924: The treaty of Rome concluded that Fiume would be annexed to become an Italian province, Paris Peace Treaties

Locarno Incident

1925: occurred between Italy and the United Kingdom, the incident was sparked by a disagreement over the demilitarization of the Italian port city of Fiume, which had been occupied by Italian troops since 1919. The British government, bound by a treaty to ensure the demilitarization of the city, refused to recognize Italy’s annexation of Fiume. Resolved through diplomatic negotiations

Albania

1926: was a kingdom at that time, with King Zog I as its ruler. Italy under thw Facist regime of Benito Mussolini, had a strong interest in Albania due to its strategic location in the Balkans. Signed the Pact of Tirana, a treaty that strengthened their alliance and established Italy as a major influence in Albanian politics

The Kellogg-Briand Pact

1928: officially known as the General Treaty for Renunciation of war, was a landmark international agreement. Named after its architects, USA Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg and French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand, the pact aimed to renounce war as an instrument of national policy and promote peaceful conflict resolution. Participation of 62 countries

The crushing of the Libyan revolt

1922-1928: The Italian colonization of Libya, led by Benito Mussolini, faced opposition from the Sanusiyya, an Islamic revivalist movement. The revolt, led by Oma Mukhtar, began in 1919 and continued until 1932 when the Italians ultimately crushed it. The Italian army employed tactics such as aerial bombing, machine gun fire, and concentration camps, leading to the deaths of an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 Libyans

The Treaty of Friendship with Abyssinia

2 August 1928, Italy signed a twenty-year treaty of friendship with Abyssinia. in the treaty, which was called the Italo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1928, Italy agreed to upholding lasting friendly relations with Ethiopia

1933 July

Mussolini proposes the Four Power Pact

1934 June

Mussolini meets Hitler in Venice

1934 July

Italy sends troops to its borders with Austria to prevent Hitler’s attempts at Anschluss

1935 April

The Stresa Conference

1935 October

Italy invades Abyssinia

1936 October

Mussolini initiates talks of an Axis agreement with Hitler

1936 October

Italy joins Germany in the Axis agreement

1937

An unofficial agreement is made with Britain accepting the status quo in Mediterranean

1937 November

Italy joins the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany and Japan, an anti-soviet alliance

Mussolini invade Abyssinia in 1935

Mussolini wanted an African empire to fulfill his aims to revive the Roman Empire. Mussolini also wanted to divert public opinion in Italy away from the failures of his domestic policies

Murder of Dolfuss in Austria

1934: Mussolini responded by sending troops to the Austrian border to prevent Germany from enacting Anschluss

Stresa Front

April 1935: the heads of government of Britain, France, and Italy met to form a common diplomatic front against Germany. This was partly in response to Germany’s earlier move to annex Austria and a result of Germany’s announcement that it would begin rearmament. All three countries condemned Germany’s plans and agreed to work together until Britain went into a naval agreement with Germany without consulting France or Italy demonstrated no unity

Wal Wal Incident

December 1934: Italian and Abyssinian forces clashed, A full-scale invasion began in October 1935, when Mussolini’s forces were ready. Mussolini believed that Britain and France wouldn’t object to the invasion but the violence that insued those powers eventually stepped in

May 1936

the capital Addis Ababa was occupied and the Emperor Haile Selassie fled to Britain. Abyssinia was annexed to Italy and the King of Italy became Emperor of Abyssinia

League of Nations response to invasion

Led by Britain and France when they condemned Italy voting for economic sanctions on Italy, refusal to add oil to the sanctions made Britain and France, and the League of Nations, appear to be weak

Hoare-Laval Pact

Appeasement, December 1935, This involved giving Mussolini most of Abyssinia while Selassie would receive access to the sea. However, the plan was leaked in the French press resulting in a furious public reaction. The British and French were forced to denounce the pact

Abyssinia for Italy

war had been won relatively quickly and had cost only 1,000 Italian casualties. Mussolini had demonstrated Italian military might and he had expanded the Italian empire. Raised tensions with Britainand Budget deficit had risen from 2.5 billion to 16 billion lire during the war

Results for collective security

Exposed the weakness of the League of Nations, which had been utterly ineffective in its response to Italian aggression and Caused Italy to move away from good relations with Britain and France, and closer to Germany

Spanish Civil War

Mussolini’s success in Abyssinia encouraged him to look for further military greatness. Mussolini hoped to gain naval bases in the Balearic Islands from General Franco in return for his assistance, and had aspirations to re-establish the Mediterranean Roman Empire. 

Results of intervention in the Spanish Civil War

The economic cost had been high; the lira was devalued and it lost half its foreign currency reserves. The total cost of the war amounted to around 14 billion lire and it led to Italy increasing its trade with Germany.  Italy’s military weakness had been exposed. Italian submarine attacks on supply ships led to increased tension between Italy and France and Britain. Italy drew closer to Germany

Rome-Berlin Axis

Treaty of friendship between Germany and Italy in 1936, signalling an end to diplomatic co-operation between Italy, Britain, and France. Secret understanding was that Germany would expand in Eastern Europe and Italy around the Mediterranean

Why did Italy invade Albania?

1939: The invasion of Albania was meaningless as the country had been for some time a satellite state since Corfu Incident (1923) Mussolini wanted to assert Italian strength in order to imitate Hitler’s successful expansion, to intimidate Yugoslavia, and pursue his ambition of dominating the Adriatic.

Albania takeover

1939: King Zog had refused to be intimidated when Mussolini sent warships to the region. Mussolini sent an ultimatum to the capital, Tirana, demanding agreement to the Italian occupation. King Zog refused and he had attempted to keep the Italian ultimatum secret. However, the news was leaked and anti-Italian demonstrations were held and officials fled the capitol.

8th April 1939

Italian forces entered Tirana and seized control of all government buildings. Then, on 12 April, the Albanian parliament deposed King Zog in absentia and voted to unite with Italy in “personal union”. Albania withdrew from the League of Nations on 15 April 1939. The Italians then set up a Fascist government under Shefqet Verlaci. The Albanian foreign office was merged with the Italian foreign ministry and the Albanian army was put under Italian command.

Pact of Steel

Mussolini called it the Pact of Blood, he approached Germany with the offer of an alliance. Through the Pact, both powers agreed to come to the aid of the other if it became involved in hostilities 'contrary to its wishes and desires.

Italy joins the Second World War

1940: motive was economics, Germany had been a principal buyer of Italy’s food and textiles, and by August 1939 it owed Italy US $40 million. Italy received German coal in return and became dependent on it. This German coal – two thirds of the Italian supply – had to be delivered by sea. In March 1940, Britain blockaded all German coal ports. In June 1940, Mussolini declared war on Britain and France.