The concept of Italy’s ‘mutilated victory’ in relation to the Paris Peace Settlement, territorial gains and the Fiume Question

what does mutilated victory mean

it is the victory in WW1 but the loss of the promised land from the Treaty of London

what was the treaty of London

it was a secret agreement signed between the Allies of France, Britain and Russia and Italy which guaranteed Italy the territorial gains of Trentino, Trieste, South Tyrol and Istria as well as he possibility of African colonies which would have achieved Italia Irredenta, the allies accepted these terms as they believed Italian intervention would rapidly destroy Austria-Hungary and ‘open the back door to Germany’

when did Italy join the war

the 24th of May 1915

what was Italia irredenta

meaning unredeemed Italy, they wanted to takeback any land that had native Italian speaking people on it in places that had either been colonised such as Malta or places in other countries such as Austria

what did nationalists demand in the Paris Peace Conference and what did they fear

the representatives of Italy at the conference were Prime Minister Orlando and Foreign Minister Sonnino, two liberal politicians, the nationalists feared that they would fail to defend Italy’s interests, these interests being Southern Tyrol, Trentino, Istria, parts of Dalmatia and the port of Fiume

what actually happened at the Paris Peace conference

Wilsons 14 point plan was used to determine Europe’s future which involved the principle of self-determination being applied in the peace negotiations, this caused Italy to be denied Dalmatia and no colonies was it was based on the 3 factors that all diplomacy should be open, frontiers should be administered along the lines of nationality and Austria-Hungary should be separate nations, Italy’s territorial claims were based on the treaty of London which was rendered illegitimate due to the 14 points, as well as this Italy had a poor war record so the Allies questioned the gains that Italy requested as their assistance didn’t match their promises only gaining 9,000 square miles of territory during the war, however this wasn’t the treaty which impacted Italy the most

what happened in the treaty of st Germain

Italy gained Trentino, South Tyrol and Istria in addition to 200,000 German speaking Austrians and 250,000 Slavs who were living in these territories, this however argues against the mutilated victory as they made the most territorial goals of all the allies due to self-determination suggesting there was little justification in their disappointment in the Paris Peace settlement, however Italians still felt they were not done justice as they lost over 600,000 men during the battle of Isonzo alone and also faced a cost of living crisis to win the war which it appeared to benefit little from and many soldiers who returned from war were soured to their reward of fighting for their lives

what territories did Italy gain and miss out on

they gained Trentino, South Tyrol, Trieste and Istria excluding the port of Fiume, they also missed out on the coast of Dalmatia as it was given to Yugoslavia they were denied a share of Turkey’s and Germany’s colonies in Africa

what was Orlando’s role in the mutilated victory

when it became clear during the Paris Peace Conference that it was based on Wilson’s 14 points himself and Sonnino walked out of the discussions which added to the feeling of betrayal from the liberal government, this achieved nothing and made Italy appear weak, he was also absent from the treaty of st Germain which was signed in September 1919 which meant Italy was not able to bargain from strength , he made the mistake of demanding more than the other Allied leaders despite Italy’s military failure compared to the other Allied successes

what impact did the loss of the port of Fiume have politically

it was a symbol of Italian feelings of betrayal as the idea of a mutilated victory was developing, this resulted in the seizure of Fiume by the nationalist poet and novelist Gabriele D’Annunzio however this coincided with an economic downturn in Italy when once again the divide between the north and south took centre stage, Mussolini used the mutilated victory to criticize the liberal government for the military, economic and social effects of the war

what happened during the seizure of the port of Fiume

D’Annunzio was accompanied by 300 ex-soldiers as they hailed him as the embodiment of the Italy they wanted, in response however the liberals were made to look weak as they did nothing due to indecision, D’Annunzio proclaimed Italy ‘the symbol of liberty’ and suggested the prospect of a possible seizure of Rome, however this all ended with Giolitti’s new government in 1920 sending troops to take action which caused D’Annunzio to flee after a year of occupation as they feared shells and influenza

what happened to Fiume

it was made an international free city under the rule of the League of Nations until 1923 when Mussolini took over