All things Italy

April 1915

Treaty of London occurs in

Treaty of London

This was a secret agreement between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and Italy during World War I. Its purpose was to persuade Italy to join the war on the side of the Triple Entente by promising territorial gains at the expense of Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. Italy was promised territories including Trentino, South Tirol, Istria, parts of Dalmatia, sovereignty over the Dodecanese Islands, and influence in Asia Minor, as well as some colonial adjustments in Africa.

May 1915

Joined WW1 on _____

1919 June

Treaty of Versailles is signed, “mutilated victory”

1922

March on Rome occurs in

March on Rome

Fascist paramilitary groups known as Blackshirts marched towards Rome with the aim to seize control of the government. On October 28, 1922, the fascists took strategic positions across the country near Rome. The then Prime Minister Luigi Facta wanted to declare a state of siege to stop them, but King Victor Emmanuel III refused to sign the order, fearing civil war and loss of his throne. Instead, the king invited Mussolini to form a government, thus transferring political power without direct armed conflict. Mussolini arrived in Rome on October 30 and was appointed Prime Minister.

1923

Corfu occurs in

Corfu

diplomatic and military conflict between Italy and Greece triggered by the murder of five Italian members of an international boundary commission on Greek territory on August 27, 1923. These Italians were investigating the border between Greece and Albania. Benito Mussolini, Italy's leader, blamed Greece for the murders and issued an ultimatum with harsh demands. When Greece rejected some demands, Mussolini ordered the Italian military to bombard and subsequently occupy the Greek island of Corfu.

Greece appealed to the League of Nations for help, but the League was ineffective due to the political interests of member states like Britain and France. The issue was eventually taken up by the Conference of Ambassadors, which pressured Greece to apologize and pay compensation to Italy, after which Italy agreed to withdraw its forces by September 1923.

1924 January

Treaty of Rome and Italian gains of Fiume occured on 

Treaty of Rome

Italy, Serbia, Croatia and Yugoslavia agreed that Fiume would be annexed to Italy. Partially successful due to intimidation from Corfu

1925 January

Mussolini openly decalres he killed Matteotti who tried to expose his election rigging and begins open dictatorship

1925 October

Signing of Locarno Treaties occurs on

Locarno Treaties

The Locarno Treaties, signed in 1925, were a series of agreements among Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain, and Italy that aimed to guarantee peace in Western Europe by mutually guaranteeing borders established after World War I, particularly the demilitarization of the Rhineland. The treaties marked a diplomatic breakthrough, allowing Germany to be treated as an equal and leading to its admission to the League of Nations. While widely celebrated as ushering in an era of peace known as the "Spirit of Locarno," the treaties left Eastern European borders unguaranteed, which caused tension and insecurity in countries like Poland. This limited scope ultimately weakened the League of Nations' authority and contributed to conditions that led to World War II.

1934 July

Italian troops are sent to Austria to prevent anschlus (union) by Hitler

November 1934

Ethiopians demand Italians leave for at Wal Wal Oasis and fight insues

1935 October

Invasion of Abysinia

1936-1939

Spanish Civil War

1936

Romer Berlin Axis, Anti Comintern Pact

1937

Italy Leaves League of Nations

1938

Munich Conference

April 1939

Italian invasion of albania

1939 May

Pact of Steel

1939 Sep

Non belligerent when Germany invades poland and begins WWII

1940 June

Enters War

Pact of Steel

fostering economic and military unity. Japan was supposed to join however Italy and Germany wanted to put it as more anti Britain and France while Japan was only anti Soviet Union. This pact scared Britain and France as it was a declaration of hostility against anyone else and set up the sides for the eventual WW2, seen However, the pact wasn’t as strong as it seemed as Italy wasn’t informed well about Nazi plans such as in the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact.

Ribbentrop-Molotov pact

Pact between Russia and Germany

Munich Conference

The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. The agreement provided for the German annexation of part of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland, where three million people, mainly ethnic Germans, lived.

Anti Comintern Pact

Italy, Germany and Japan joined the Anti-Comintern pact in November 1937 symbolizing how Italy joined the axis powers, where they would safeguard their common interests in case of an attack by the soviet union. It set up Mussolini against the Soviet Union, brought the Rome and Berlin Axis closer and Mussolini got another ally

December 1935

Hoare-Laval Pact sent then withdrawn in

April 1935

Stressa Pact between Italy, Britain, France in

1928

The Treaty of Friendship with Abyssinia signed in

Treaty of Friendship with Abyssinia

• Treaty of Friendship between Abyssinia and Italy

• Gave the port of Asseb to Abyssinia giving it access to the red sea

• providing a pretext for Italy to place troops in border areas and build forts

• Seven years later Italy ended up invading Abyssinia 

1928

The Kellogg Briand Pact is signed in

The Kellogg Briand Pact 

• Pact wherein countries agree to not use violence to settle international disputes 

• Mussolini participated in order to promote how he was peaceful 

• Failed to stop the aggression that Italy had in the 1930s

• Italy was one of the original countries

• Pact did not have an enforcement mechanism so similar to the league of nations it did nothing to stop real aggression. 

1922-1928

Crushing of Libyan Revolt:

• Mussolini launched a pacification campaign against Libya 

• Mussolini was against any kind of resistance 

• Racism played a part in Italy’s agression