Booklet 7: Italian Foreign Policy 1922-1939 Flashcards
Militarism aim
Transform the Italian people into more militaristic soldiers
Make Italy a great power
Historic goals
Fiume
Strengthen Libya control
Colonies in Africa
Roman empires
Internal domestic concerns
Gaining popularity by overcoming mutilated victory
Methods aims
Using conquest to create second Roman Empire
Main foreign policy aims
Distract Italians from miserable living conditions
Mediterranean territory
More territories for Italian population
Corfu incident 1923
Italian general was murdered, Mussolini attacked the Greek government, demanded them to attend funeral and pay 50million lire to Italy.
Italy bombarded corfu without warning
Successes and failures of corfu
League of Nations demanded Mussolini end occupation
Italy won the 50million lire from Greece
Mussolini won support domestically
Fiume 1924
Yugoslavia recognised Fiume as part of Italy
Successes and failures of Fiume
Popular achievement of Mussolini
Fiume significance was largely symbolic, Yugoslavia no longer needed it
Predominantly domestic gains
Locarno pact 1925
Mussolini involved in negotiations to allow Germany into the LON
Accepting WWI borders between Germany Belgium and france
Locarno pact successes and failures
Finally bring an end to threat to European peace
Mussolini failed to link Locarno to Italy and Austria’s borders
Contributed to popularity in italy
Albania and Yugoslavia
Italy was expanding links and political interference in Albania
Supported Zogus proclamation as King Zog
Zog baceame an Italian protectorate
Successes ad failures of Albania and Yugoslavia
Italian influence was extended at the expense of Yugoslavia
Undermined Yugoslavia, saw them as a block
Croatian terrorises financed by Italians assassinated the king
Libya
Mussolini continued the governments war against the Libyan rebellion
Italian gov had asserted a brutal occupation
Policy of starvation, mass executions, chemical warfare, concentration camps
Libya successes and failures
Rebel leader captured and executed
100,000 Libyans forced to leave their homes, 40,000 died
Finally put down the rebellion in 1932
Four power pact 1933
Mussolini’s reaction to Hitler taking power was to try and bring Britan, France, Germany and Italy together
Four power pact successes and failures
Signed in Rome 1933
International prestige to Mussolini
Never ratified by britan and France
Hitler came to power and was no longer interested in
Assassination of Austrian chancellor Dollfuss 1934
Mussolini was concerned about possible Anschluss with Austria
Austrian nazis assassinated Dollfuss
Mussolini declared he would not allow an Anschluss
Stresa front 1935
Hitler announced the German military rearmament had been happening secretly for 2 years
Mussolini met with Britain and France, they all had desire for peace
Mussolini discusses with French foreign minister if they reach anti German agreement-they would support invasion of abysinnia
Relationship with Britain 1935
Good personal relations
Cooperation over Locarno treaty
Britan and Italy clashed over Corfu in 23
Relationship with France 1935
Anti-fascist exiles settled in France
Mussolini sent OVRA agents
France possessed iredente lands
Relationship with Germany 1935
Hitler admired Mussolini
Hitler withdrew from LON in 33
Tension over austria
Reasons for invasion of Abyssinia
Bring prestige, create Roman Empire
Take advantage of good relationships (stresa)
Win respect
How successful was Abyssinia positively
Mussolini portrayed as a leader standing up to the world
Royal family and church supported M
Won respect of Hitler
How successful was the invasion of Abyssinia negatively
High costs (budget deficit 16billion lira), 10,000 Italian deaths
International shock at methods used in the war
Rift with britain and France
Reasons for the Spanish civil war
Right wing nationalists wouldn’t accept the left wing gov
Franco led a rebellion
Mussolini and Hitler joined on Francos side
Mussolini’s aims for Spanish civil war
Prevent spread of communism
Stand shoulder to shoulder with Hitler
Demonstrate superiority of Italian military
How much help did Mussolini give to the Spanish civil war
75,000 troops
950 tanks
Compared to only 16,000 troops from Hitler
What happened during Spanish civil war
1937 Italian forces defeated at Guadalajara
Franco won in 39
Italian forces sunk submarines sailing to ports in the Mediterranean
Results of Spanish civil war
War lost Mussolini support
Mussolini gained no territory
Italys commercial dependence on Germany began
Weakened Italian afmy
Reasons for strengthening relationship with Germany
Italy didn’t have free access to oceans, had to rely on German resources (Rome Berlin axis tried to resolve this problem
Germany took advantage of Italys weak economy after Spanish war
Britain and France cut ties with Italy
Anti-Comintern pact 1937
Pact between Germany, Italy and Japan
Anti communism
Anschluss with Austria 1938
Mussolini accepted the Anschluss
Hitler only gave him 2 days of warning
Czechoslovakia invasion 1939
Hitler invaded czechoslovakia and Mussolini invaded Albania to show his power
Pact of steel
1939 Italy and Germany strong pact of alliance
Needed Germany on side for Mediterranean goals
Italy began to mirror Nazi ideology
More economic support from Germany
Nazi-soviet pact
1939 Germany broke anti-Comintern pact by signing Nazi soviet pact
Hitler invaded Poland without telling Mussolini
Mussolini broke pact of steel by declaring Italy non-belligerent
Was the Rome Berlin axis a mistake?
The axis was a minor failure
Italy needed a stronger ally after failure of autarky
Mussolini’s switch to extremism made him unpopular
Italys reasons for non-belligerence
Wanted to see what happened in the war, would join if looked like Germany would win
Italys military was not ready for war.
What did Italy ask for to enter the war?
Mussolini sent Hitler a long list of resources he needed to join the war
His military was not prepared to join the war
