2a.4 Foreign policy WW2 Flashcards
How did Mussolini react to Hitler’s announcement of invading Poland?
Nazi-soviet pact of 1939 August 23 directly contravened with anti-comintern pact
- grave concerns about Italy’s military position & was urged by many to avoid intervening
-Choice of neutrality was problematic as Mussolini had always linked fascism with aggression and militarism
What did Mussolini present to Hitler on August 26th
wish list for War:
- 170 million tonnes of goods (6 mill tonnes of coal, 2 mill tonnes of steel, 150 anti aircraft batteries and ammunition)
Hitler understood M’s position and released him from his role in the pact of steel on 27th August
How many people tried to convince Mussolini to not intervene in the war?
General Franco and Oliveira Salazar (Portuguese dictator)
Vatican, Ciano and King Victor Emmanuel III also pressured M not to intervene
Roosevelt sent his envoy asw
How did Mussolini feel about his neutrality in 1940?
called it ‘non-belligerence instead of neutrality ( felt too shameful)
March 1940: still unsure of who to side with but German capture of Holland and Belgium finalised Mussolini’s decision
- June 10th 1940: Mussolini announced that Italy had entered war on the side of Germany
What was the concept of parallel war?
Italy would concentrate o the Mediterranean basin and Hinterland and Northern Africa
Germans would focus on northern, eastern and central Europe
How did Italy’s advance into french alps cause problems?
June 20th Italians advanced but faced many issues:
- lack of proper clothing for an alpine war
-air force lacked bombs needed to destroy fortifications
- Mussolini insisted on using tanks in the awful terrain (wet and muddy)
Italy only managed to capture 13 unimportant towns at the cost of 631 men
What territory was lost in 1941?
M ordered partial demobilisation of Italian troops ( critical mistake)
- British counter in December 1940 caused Italians to fall into mass retreat (force of 250K Italians was defeated by 30K well equipped british troops
By May 1941, Italy had lost Eritrea, Somalia and Abyssinia
-380K surrendered and taken as POW
Who did Hitler send to assist M against the British invasion of Libya? What was the result by May 1943?
General Erwin Rommel (signalled end of parallel war concept as Hitler hoped Italian troops would do fighting, thus freeing up German soldiers
-by 1942 October, Italian + German troops were on retreat after defeat at el Alamein
May 1943: German Italian axis surrendered in North Africa
Why were the Italians proven to be useless in the Mediterranean?
M had no consistent strategy fir attacking key British position
- base at Malta/ Alexandria faced no sustained attack
- Italian navy was crippled by British air attack in Nov 1940
Poor communication between airforce and navy
- July 1940 bombed their own ships
- Italy lacked aircraft carriers
Disaster in Greece and underestimation of Greek
Italy launched an attack on Greece 28th October 1940
- not a focus for Italian territorial aims and was a disaster
M underestimated Greek troops ( thought only 30K so he sent only 60K)
- Greek army was over 300K strong and Bulgaria did not assist Italy
-lack of communication with navy or air force
- weather on 28th October caused uniforms to be disintegrated in rain
How much did Italy lose after the invasion of Greece 1940
500K soldiers deployed
- 32k died and over 100k wounded
M had to call Germany for help after 6 months ( defeated them in weeks)
Showed serious weakness of Italian regime and this undermined the faith that the Italians had in Fascism and Mussolini
- confirmed subservience to Hitler and Germans viewed Italians with contempt
What was war economy like for Mussolini?
Italy had not been prepared for war economically and military wise
- M held all key positions like minister of navy/airforce/war(very inadequate in any of those positions)
- M was unable to coordinate the navy, army and airforce/ transform economy to fulfil needs of war
state of Italian military during ww2
75 Divisions with barely adequate equipment for 35 of them
- lack of tanks and vehicles required for mechanised fighting (1/3 of tanks and 1/4 of artillery being supplied to Africa was destroyed in med)
Outdated rifles and canons (no radio and vary little oil in naval ships)
Outdated tactics, as they employed 19th century charges against enemy positions
What was production like for Italy during WW2
USA indsutry could produce more aircraft in a week than Italy could in a year
- Italy lacked raw materials and fuel ( imported 1.5 million tonnes of oil from Romania (half of what was required during peace times)
- 1 million tonnes of coal each month from Germany whilst Britain was producing 14 tonnes a year
Only 2550 vehicles a month in 1941 when in 1938 4883 vehicles were produced per month
Italy still had thousands of unemployed labourers whilst other countries were moving to the near 100% employment rate
Standard of living for Italians during ww2
1000 Calories a day for adults (severely lacking(
- coordination of food supplies were poor as food was rationed
- coffee became a luxury as some failed to pay for bread or pasta
- Heating, shoes and soap were in short supply
