4. Impact of the Second World War 1940–43

Question 1

Concept of a ‘parallel war’

Answer 1

Italy would concentrate on the Mediterranean and Nothern Africa whilst Germans would concentrate on northern, central and eastern Europe - failed by 1943

Question 2

When did France request an Armistice with Germany?

Answer 2

17 June 1940

Question 3

When did Italian troops launch an offence in France?

Answer 3

20th June 1940: Italian troops launched offensive along the Alpine front

Question 4

The events of Italy’s offense into France

Answer 4

Italy only advanced a few miles: troops lacked the clothing for an alpine war, air force lacked the bombs needed to destroy french fortifications and Mussolini insited on using tanks inqadequate for the terrain

Question 5

The result of the invasion of France

Answer 5

22 June 1940: The French government sigmed an armistice with Germany - Facist papers claimed italy’s intervention had been critical to this decision when in reality it saved the army from further embarassment
Italy was not invited to the armistice and only gained a small amount of territory

Question 6

Events in North Africa

Answer 6

October 1940: Italian forces in Libya were asked to attack British positions - some early sucesses crossing into Egypt (a tactical retreat by the british) until Britain counter attacked and italian Forces fell into mass retreat

Question 7

The result of the events in North Africa

Answer 7

An italian force of 250,000 in the first few weeks of 1941 were defeated by much better equipped 30,000 birish troops

May 1941: Italy had loss Eritrea, Somalia and Abyssinia a total of 380,000 italian troops had surrendered and been taken prisoner - blow to propaganda that proclaimed the italian people were willing to die for il Duce

Question 8

German intervention in Africa

Answer 8

British advane into Libya halted by German troops until they were on the retreat in October 1942 but by May 1943: German-Italian Axis surrendered North Africa

ended war in parallel as h

Question 9

Objectives of the battle of the Mediterranean

Answer 9

1. attack the supply lines of the other side
2. keep open the supply lines to their own armies in North Africa
3. destroy the ability of the opposing navy to wage war at sea

Question 10

Why the battle of the Mediterranean was a failure

Answer 10

Mussolini had no consistent strategy for attacking key British positions

There was poor coordination between the air force and navy - In july 1940, the air force bombed it’s own ships

Italy lacked aircraft carriers without which they could not hope to mount a serious attack on British positios

Question 11

Why did Italy invade Greece

Answer 11

Germans occupied Romanian oil fields - seen as an attempt by Hitler to push German influence into the Balkans (disregarding the argreement they had come to spheres of influence) - moving into Greece would increase Italy’s strategic position and was part of apower game (with Mussolini not telling Hitler about the invasion)

Question 12

When was the invasion of Greece

Answer 12

October 1940

Question 13

Mussolini’s mistakes in the invasion of Greece

Answer 13

Mussolini assumed Greece only had 30,000 troops and therefore Italy would attack with 60,000 when infact the Greek army had 300,000

Assumed that Bulgaria would join the italian invasion - unfounded

He did no coordinate the attack with the navy or airforce - crucial for a seaborne invasion

Choice of date was poor - weather conditions were wet and freezing - Italians were bogged down in difficult conditions and their uniforms disintegrated in the heavy rains

Question 14

Result of the invasion of Greece

Answer 14

The Greeeks counter-attacked taking over a quarter of Albania

Half a millon italian soldiers deployed at the cost of 32000 killed and over 100,000 wounded

After 6 months Mussolini had to call on help of Germany who humiliated the italians by defeating the Greeks within weeks

Question 15

Why was the invasion of Greece a blow to fascist propaganda

Answer 15

Mussolini’s dictatorship had been shown to be weaker than Greece (not considered a European power) - Fascist propaganda were unable to disguise the truth which undermined the faith in fascist rule and Mussolini

Question 16

Reasons for Italy’s poor performance in WW2

Answer 16

Mussolinis leadership
Military preparation
The economy

Question 17

Positions held by Mussolini

Answer 17

Minister of War, Minister of Nacy, Minister of the Air Foce and Supreme Commander of the Italian armed forces

Took all major decisions without consultation from military ecperts

Question 18

Failure’s of Mussolini’s leadership

Answer 18

Unable to distinguish between trivial points and major decisions e.g. in May 1940, focussed on what should be include in the Rome opera season instead of the War

Unable to coordinate the navy, army and armed forces or transform the economy to fulfil the priorities of war

Question 19

Military preparation - equipment

Answer 19

taly had enough equipment to adequately arm 35/75 of it’s divisions

Lacked the tanks and vehicles required for the mechanised fighting in Africa - about a 1/3 of tanks and 1/4 of artillery being supplied to Africa was being destroyed British attacks in the meffiterranean

Did not not have resources to enter the war in 1940

Question 20

Military preparation - outdated techniques

Answer 20

Tactis were outdated - italians still employed 19th century charges against enemy positions - which by WW2 were virtually suicidal

Many of the rifles and cnnons supplied to the army dated from WWI

Question 21

Economy - lack of materials

Answer 21

Italy lacked fuel and raw materials - it imported 1.4 million tonnes of oil from Romania (less than half of what was required during peacetime)

Steel production fell to 1.7 millon tonnes in 1943 compared to Britain producing 14 millon tonnes a year

Question 22

Economy - lack of resources

Answer 22

By 1942, the industry in the USA could produce more aircrafts in a week than Italy could produce in a year

Germany estimated that the italian economy was only operating at around 25% of its potential and italy was the only conyntry engaged in WW2 that did not increase its GDP between 1940-42

Food was rationed with adults only allowed 1000 calories a day

Question 23

Strikes in 1943

Answer 23

5 March 1943 (first strikes for over 18 years): 100,000 workers went on strike in Turin which spread to Milan - Communist workers demanded better pay for people forced to evacuate their homes - ended when government agreed to increase the money for evacuees

Industrial action demonstrated the political weaknesses of the regime and alarmed Mussolini that communism/socialism were still able to influence italians despite 20 years of facist rule

Question 24

Antifascist groups

Answer 24

• illegal communist newspaper L’Unita reappeared in 1942
• The ‘Party of Action’ including republicans, radicals and left-leaning liberals was secretly formed
• Christian Democrats formed with Church backing in 1942
  These groups were covert and illegal but represented the re-emergence of political antifascism

Question 25

Threat of the growth of antifascist groups

Answer 25

In April 1943: all groups except republicans agreed to work together against facism - it was the first time in italian politics that the communists, socialists and and catholics agreed to collaborate
None had the potential to overthrow mussolini but antifacist politics was remeging

Question 26

Conservative Elites

Answer 26

By the end of 1942, the vatican, military leaders, industrialists and the police all began to consider how mussolini might be deposed and italy be removed from the war

Mussolini was weakened best by illness/stress

Question 27

Allied invasion of Sicily 1943 Events

Answer 27

9 July: the allies landed on Sicily, facing little opposition from italian forces and conquered the western half of Sicily within a week

19 july: Mussolini asked Hitler to transfer troops from Russia to the Mediterranean to help Italy but this was refused + Allied planes bombed Rome for two hours killing 1500 people

17 August: Allies had control of the island

Question 28

Mussolini deposed

Answer 28

Grandi’s resolution was passed by 19 votes to 7 - Mussolini had little concern for the vote and met with the king for his normal meeting on the 25th July - king dismissed M and replaced with Badologlio -

Question 29

Plans for Mussolini’s dismissal

Answer 29

The plan had begun in 1942 when Grandi and Ciano raised the idea of Italy seeking peace the allies who made it clear they would not offer an armistice if Mussolini remained in power

16 July: fascists met Mussolini and convinced him to call a Grand Council meeting for 24 July - Grandi spent the 8 days drafting a resolution that demanded for the removal of Mussolini and the government to be placed in the hands of the king