Challenges and the fall of fasicsim

Question 1

What were the Four broad aims of Mussolini’s foreign policy?

Answer 1

Italy as a world power- revising ToV, to expand into the African colonies to make a huge empire, to increase the influence in the Mediterranean region, use the new colonies to help with autarky.

Question 2

when did Mussolini’s foreign policy begin to change?

Answer 2

His long term goals were very opportunistic= first fascist period (1922-1935) Italy’s prestige had grown+good relations with Britain and France, but by the second fascist period (1935-1940) Mussolini ended up using force and aggression to try building his empire.

Question 3

In what aspects of his foreign policy was he successful in?

Answer 3

Greece->in April 1923 an Italian General Tellini was murdered on the border of Albania and Greece. Used this to attack the Greeks (had a motive of Dodecanese Islands which Italy claimed in 1912)->September 1923 left Corfu and got the 50 million lire that it demanded from Greece. His next success was getting back the town of Fiume-> Asked Yugoslavia to sign the Treaty of Rome 1924= Italy got back Fiume= more prestige and popularity.1924 with the country of Albania-> Italian sponsor chieftain became king of Albania-> Albania became a satellite state to Italy and expanded into southern Eastern Europe at the expense of Yugoslavia. 1929 Marshal Badoglio took control over the Italian forces-> created the policy of poison gas, starvation and mass executions-> End of the Libyan rebellion-> rebel leader caught in 1934-> with 40,000 Libyans dead= showed the brutality the fascist regime could be.

Question 4

How were relations with Britain?

Answer 4

Relations came into conflict with Mussolini’s aims of expanding into the Mediterranean which was dominated by the British-> after Corfu there was a policy of rearmament in the British navy-> thought he could undermine it, but couldn’t. Italy was also reliant on Britain for economic purposes eg. the revaluing of the Lira was only possible with British government and financial systems

Question 5

How were relation with France?

Answer 5

Antifascists went into exile to France-> didn’t cause smooth relations between the two countries as M made complaints of the Italian antifascist activity whilst the French made complaints of the OVRA (secret police) of invading the antifascists organisations. They were also rivals because of the African colonies (Tunisia) which had many Italian settlers. Still tried to remain civil as the French were powerful.

Question 6

How were relations with Germany?

Answer 6

July 1934 Austrian Nazis tried to make Anschluss happen. This was when the Austrian Nazis had assassinated the Austrian chancellor and friend of Mussolini in order for Anschluss to happen= Mussolini proclaiming that he won’t allow by a coup by having the sending equipment to the border between Italy and Austria-> Hitler didn’t back the coup so it failed. Germany was seen as a threat because of Anchuluss-> Hitler backed down for a bit because he wanted to have a stable start to his regime.

Question 7

What was the Stresa Front of 1935?

Answer 7

Mussolini came to the agreement that he would join the anti-German agreement in return (due to fear of Nazis rearming) for french and British support for Italy to colonise in Africa-> his imperialist goals into Abyssinia was the pivotal point into making Italy turn against Britain and France and end up joining Germany in an alliance.

Question 8

What happened in the Invasion of Abyssinia?

Answer 8

n October 1935 Mussolini launched the invasion of Abyssinia with a force of 400,000 men-> was able to gain control of the Adowa but after that, the progress had slowed down-> Mussolini changed the Head of the Army from De Bono to Badoglio. Badoglio started a brutal war with Abyssinia-> In May 1936 his victorious army entered the Capital of Abyssinia even though 250,00 Ethiopians had to die before they could take over.

Question 9

Why did Mussolini want to invade Abyssinia?

Answer 9

planning and prepping for the war improved the economy of Italy =Aurtarky +Abyssinia was rich in raw materials, hoped to move the southern peasants to Abyssinia to get rid of the pressure of solving the southern problem as they could just end up working in the farms in Abyssinia= propaganda that the government provided a better life for the peasants,wanted to prove that the fascist direction was strong rather than just simply a dictatorship that could maintain power through compromise (this aim came from within the party rather than the public), Get rid of the shame from the Battle of Adwa in 1896, show off fascist power in hopes it will deter Hitler from seeking Anschluss.

Question 10

What were the consequences of the invasion?

Answer 10

Broke the relations with the Anglo-french relations-> the LoN placed bans of weapon sales and sanctions on imports like metal and rubber. These sanctions were used as a propaganda coup-> backed by the ‘Gold for the Patria-> many Italian women followed and did the same thing.Only around 130,00 Italians ever settled in Abyssinia. Lira devalued by 40% and a budget deficit rising from 2.5 Billion to 16 Billion Lira. After this, the fascist regime seemed like a regime that was a danger to European peace. The sanctions placed from the LoN-> economic problems-> growing shift towards Germany.

Question 11

Why did Mussolini join the Spanish Civil War?

Answer 11

No intervention from Britain or France during occupation of Ruhr-> M thought they were weak in comparison to Hitler= Backed Franco in the Spanish Civil war to be on the same side as Hitler-> Thought it would put pressure on B&F to sign the Foreign policy that he wanted + wanted to add to the il duce after the victory of Abyssinia.

Question 12

What happened during the Spanish Civil war?

Answer 12

M sent 50,000 soldiers-> 3,266 soldiers killed and 11,000 wounded= disruption to Italian economy of 14 Billion.

Question 13

Consequences of the Spanish Civil War?

Answer 13

Many Italians were not happy with the intervention in Spain like they were with Abyssinia + troops in Spain helped weaken their position in Abyssinia + Franco didn’t want to become a satellite state to Italy+ the Italian force was so weak by 1939 that they couldn’t control the republican army of anti fascists in the Battle of Guadalajara in 1937 + relations with B+F had heavily changed and did not return back to its strong stage like what it was in the 1920’s.

Question 14

How did the breakdown of the Stresa front take place?

Answer 14

1937 ‘Gentleman’s agreement’ to limit M in the SCW but M ignored it. Joined the Anti-comintern pact in 1937 and left the LoN in 1937 saying it was attacking Italy. Britain also broke the terms of the Stresa front with the Anglo-German agreement= breakdown of the stresa front so after.

Question 15

How did Germany show Italy’s weakness in 1938?

Answer 15

Hitler went ahead with Anschuluss in 1938 again and M didn’t stop him= showed Hitler as more stronger-> The Munich conference in 1938 gave the Sudetenland to Germany which avoided a full blown war= when he returned he was named hero of peace which angered his as he wanted a fully militant nation.

Question 16

Why did domestic tension rise?

Answer 16

The victory of Abyssinia was short lived + 80% of the increase in state deficit came from military spending between 1935-39+ wanting autarky meant consumer goods were so much more expensive than just importing them + Battle of Grain ruined diet= Poorer standards of living which caused tensions. Tension increased when there was a transfer of Italian workers having to move to German that were treated poorly( the number of transfers reached half a million by 1945).

Question 17

how much of a problem were the domestic tensions to the Fasicst state?

Answer 17

Though these problems were problematic they did not cause a rise in anti fascism as the police were still effective and many Italians at the point didn’t know any alternatives other than fascism as it was in power for 17 years.

Question 18

Why did Italy invade Albania in 1939?

Answer 18

April 1939 invasion of Albania because King Zog encouraged investment from other countries like Japan and it acted as compensation for letting Hitler take Austria + thought it would improve the economy of Italy.

Question 19

What were the consequences of the invasion of Albania?

Answer 19

The invasion showed the weakness of the Italian army as the troops were unorganised and were not trained well. The Italian economy did not improve after the invasion= showed its aggressive nature of Fascist Italy.

Question 20

When was the Pact of Steel signed?

Answer 20

By May 1939 the pact of steel was signed- one of the key terms of the pact was added from the Germans that Italy had to join and support Germany if it was to go into war. Though Ciano was wary of that article the pact was still signed in May and they realised they were trapped in August when Germany said they wanted to attack Poland.

Question 21

How did the Pact of Steel affect Italy’s neutrality?

Answer 21

Italy said that they couldn’t take part in the war as he is not economically nor materially ready to do so. But to stay on the sidelines was seen as quite shameful-> Mussolini gave a list of things he needed from Hitler as he was materially deprived= 27 August Hitler released Mussolini from his obligations of the pact of steel.

Question 22

When Italy enter war?

Answer 22

After meeting with the chief of staff Badoglio he announced on June 1940 that he was going to enter war on the side of Nazi Germany despite being advised by virtually the entire Fascist Grand council and the Vatican, Ciano and King Victor Emmanuel all wanted him to stop.

Question 23

What were the failures in France during WW2?

Answer 23

For Italian territorial claims Italian troops advanced into the French alps but this first war engagement was too big of a problem with the Italian army as Italy lacked proper clothing, bombs and technique( M wanted to use tanks on the terrain).

Question 24

What were the failures in Northern Africa during WW2?

Answer 24

July Hitler told Ciano that in order to get territorial gains Britain needed to be defeated first. October- attack British troops in Libya through the the Suez canal=successful as it was a tactical retreat from B, but by December the Italian troops were defeated that within a week 250,000 Italians were defeated by 30,000 British troops as they were better equipped. By May 1941 Italy lost Eritrea, Somalia and Abyssinia. B advance into Libya only stopped when Germany got involved in to help Italy. By 1943 Italy had failed to achieve any of the aims set out in Mussolini’s parallel war.

Question 25

What were the failures in the Mediterranean during WW2?

Answer 25

launched the attack in October 1940 to increase their position in the Balkans-> took 60,000 troops whilst Greece had 300,000 troops-> army and navy couldn’t coordinate + weather conditions made the situation worse as Italy was not prepared for it= showed Italy’s subservience to Germany and the end of any belief in a parallel war.

Question 26

What were some of the military weakness of Italy?

Answer 26

Since Mussolini held the position of minister of war, navy, air force and supreme commander it meant that military effectiveness as M made decisions without consulting any military experts. The military was in poor state because: They had 75 divisions but could only arm 35 of them, rifles and cannons were very outdated as well as the naval ships had no radar equipment and had very little oil, language problems between the officers and the conscripts and tactics were also very outdated.

Question 27

What was war economy like?

Answer 27

The economy was so behind that the US could produce more air crafts in a week than what Italy could do in a year + steel production had fallen-while Britain was making 14 million tonnes Italy was only producing 1.7 million tonnes. Italy was the only country in the war who wasn’t able to increase their GDP between 1940-1942 + Italy still had thousands of unemployed when other countries were close to full employment.

Question 28

During WW2 what tensions arose?

Answer 28

By 1943 there was growing unrest among the Italian people= first strike after 18 years. March 100,000 workers went on strike in Turin which spread to Milan and other areas-> Showed M that socialism and communism was still strong even after 20 years of fascism= anti fascist groups were able to resurface that there were 1,400 political arrests and antifascist slogans reappeared on buildings.

Question 29

What happened during the Invasion of Sicily?

Answer 29

The allies were able to gain access to Tunisia which acted as a route for the allies to attack Sicily-> they faced little opposition from Italian forces and conquered the western half of Sicily only after a week. M’s chief of staff said to give up Sicily so they can move troops to the mainland while M asked Hitler for more troops-> Germany refused and on that same day the allies bombed Rome killing 1,500 people.

Question 30

How was Mussolini deposed?

Answer 30

Grand council meeting in July and after 9 hours there was the vote of 19 votes to 7 -> went to the king for regular meeting and thought he could still control king like he had done for the passed 20 years= King dismissed him and replaced him with Marshal Badogilo-> Maugeri arrested him.

Question 31

How did Badoglio try to get out of war?

Answer 31

The surrender promised to give up Italy’s ports, airfields, navy and air force which confused the Italian troops= army began to dissolve. The time it took for the King and Badoglio to come up with the surrender was enough for Hitler to come up with a plan to attack Italy. Germany attacked in September-> Badoglio fled to the South of Italy without giving any orders to the troops German troops took over Rome.

Question 32

What were the consequences of the Allied invasion?

Answer 32

The German defence was quite strong even though they had entered a war of attrition-> Helped divert the troop from France into Italy= June 1944 Rome fell to the allied forces but the battle of the North dragged on longer till May 1945.

Question 33

How did the republic of Salo form?

Answer 33

In September Mussolini was found by the German forces and brought to Germany where Hitler told M to take lead of Italy again. Mussolini took control in Salo and was the richest and most popular place in Italy. M was able to set up a new cabinet which consisted of those radical fascists who were once part of the violent Blackshirt militia. He tried to turn Italy back to a radical fascist state but didn’t have the time or support to achieve his policies.

Question 34

Who were the Italian partisan forces?

Answer 34

irregular rebel fighters that took up arms against the Germans and fascist forces in the north->they were never able to liberate areas of Italy on their own but were able to kill around 5,000 German soldiers.

Question 35

How strong were the influences of Mussolini even after being deposed?

Answer 35

a speech in December 1944-> He said that the monarchy and the conservative elites were the reason for the failure of the war-> even after so long h was still able to influence a loud crowd causing cheers.-> 28th April Mussolini, mistress, 12 fascists were executed.

Question 36

What were the outcomes of the second world war?

Answer 36

1946: Italy was in ruins after the war-> left country divided->new Italy was run under the principle of ‘values of resistance’-> separated the North and the South.

Question 37

What were the results of the referendum?

Answer 37

separation was shown through the vote where people voted for an Italian republic rather than monarchy where the votes were 12.7 million to 10.7 million (south still voted monarchy whilst the republic was voted by the North).