Entry into WW2 Flashcards
Italy’s entry into the war was based on the idea of a …….. war
parallel
What was Mussolini’s parallel war
- Italy would concentrate and Mediterranean and northern Africa,
- while Germany would concentrate on northern, central and eastern Europe.
Mussolini hoped for a ……………….. that would provide Italy with the …………..
Mussolini hoped for a short war that would provide Italy with the spoils of war for very little cost
By June 1940, Most Italians were not..
supportive of a war and neither was Hitler as he knew Italy wanted to gain territory at the expense of Germany taking all the risk
What happened on the 17th June 1940
- France requested an armistice with Germany, even before Italian troops had attacked French territory (although they tried to launch an offensive along the Alpine front out only got a few miles).
How did Mussolini react to French requests of an Armistice with Germany
- Mussolini demanded various French territories (e.g. Corsica and Somalia), but was wary of pushing Italian claims without having done any actual fighting
How is Mussolini linked to the Armistice
- The armistice was eventually signed on 22 June but Mussolini was not invited and only received two small French towns.
What did Mussolini do on the 10th May 1940
- Hitler launched hi Blitzkrieg against France and the low-countries, catching the allied forces by surprise and throwing them into disarray
What was Rome’s view on neutrality
- if Italy remained neutral it would be faced with a Europe dominated by Germany, a Germany angry at Italy’s refusal to honour its treaty obligations
- Italy would have gained nothing would lack great power status and would be under physical threat from the Nazis.
What was Rome’ view on if Italy committed herself to the Rome Berlin Axis
- Germany would be a friend and not a potential enemy
- Italy and Germany would share Europe, with the Italians possibly having a free hand in the Mediterranean
In June 1940 therefore, Mussolini decided to seize what he thought was the……………………….. He declared war on ………….
- opportunity to win military glory and redeem lost honour
- Britain & France
What did Mussolini do in September 1940
- Mussolini launched a campaign to expand the Italian Empire in North Africa - Italian forces in Libya attacked the British in Egypt
Early success in North Africa for Mussolini?
- They had some early successes, crossing into Egypt and towards the Suez Canal
How did fighting in North Africa go wrong for the Italians
- However, when the British counter-attacked in January 1941,
- 30,000 well-equipped British soldiers defeated almost 250,000 Italian troops in Egypt.
Describe the failure of the North Africa campaign by May 1941
- Italy had lost Eritrea, Somalia and Abyssinia
- In total, 380,000 Italian troops had surrendered and been taken prisoner,
- a huge blow to fascist propaganda that proclaimed the transformation of the Italian people into a militant nation willing to die for il Duce
How was the British advance into Libya stopped
- when German troops arrived under the command of General Rommel to reinforce Italian forces in February 1941
What did the arrival of German troops to prevent the British advance into Libya represent
- This ended the idea of the ‘parallel war’, as Germany had to engage in areas where fifier had hoped the Italian army would do the fighting
Was Rommel’s intervention to help the Italian’s successful
- Rommel’s Italian and German forces had some early victories over the Allies,
- but by October 1942 they were in retreat after defeat at the Battle of El Alamein
- In May 1943, the Axis forces surrendered in North Africa; Libya was lost, and the Allies were preparing for an invasion of Italy from Tunisia
The Mediterranean
In the Mediterranean, which had been a dominant focus for Mussolini all the way through his dictatorship, Italian strategy proved …………. & ………..
confusing and inadequate
The Mediterranean
Describe the failings of Italian strategy
- Mussolini had no consistent strategy for attacking key British positions;
- the important British bases at Malta, Gibraltar and Alexandria never came under sustained attack
Describe the Italina confusion among different forces
- There was poor coordination between the navy and the air force, with Italian planes bombing their own ships in July 1940
What happened at the Battle of Taranto
- The Italian navy was crippled by a Brifish air attack on the port of Taranto in November 1940, with half its battle fleet lost
How did Germany prevent the outcome of the Battle of Taranto being horrific
- the existence of the German navy did prevent Britain from having control of the Mediterranean,
- and Italian shipping to North Africa increased in the months after Taranto
In 1940 Mussolini refused Hitler’s offer of…
the French colony of Tunisia, fearing a prolonged campaign with France’s colonial regions
When did Mussolini launch an attack on Greece
28 October 1940
Why did Mussolini launch an attack on Greece
- Despite Greece never having been a focus for Italian territorial claims before, he was worried about Hitler’s interest in the Balkans so looked to solidify Italy’s position in the region
- He did not even tell Hitler that he was launching the attack
Mussolini assumed that Greece had only …………… soldiers, and so attacked from Albania with …………… men. Greece actually had ……….. soldiers.
Mussolini assumed that Greece had only 30,000 soldiers, and so attacked from Albania with 60,000 men. Greece actually had 300,000 soldiers.
Greece
Mussolini did not coordinate the attack with….
- the navy or air force
Greece
How did the timing make this worse
- The 28 October was also a poor date to invade as the weather conditions were very wet and there were freezing temperatures in the mountain regions
- Some Italian uniforms disintegrated in the rain
Greece
Territorial gain?
- Not only did the Greek forces hold up the invasion, but, when the Greeks counterattacked they invaded a quarter of Albania - a satellite state of Italy
What were the casualty losses and soldiers deployed into Greece
- Eventually half a million Italian soldiers were deployed at the cost of 32,000 killed and 100,000 wounded
How did the Germans intervene in Greece
- After six months, Mussolini had to call on the help of Germany who humiliated the Italian forces by defeating the Greeks within a few weeks
What was the outcome of Greece campaign for Italian image
- The Royal Navy sunk three Italian cruisers and two destroyers proving their dominance in the Mediterranean - not the Italians
- The Greek campaign made Italy a laughing stock around Europe and in Spring 1942 it was the Germans not the Italians who invaded and took over Greece and Yugoslavia in April 1941
By 1943, Italy had failed to achieve…..
- any of the aims set out in Mussolini’s ‘parallel war’
What was the domestic impact of all these defeats
- The Italian military had been shown to be weaker than Greece, which was not considered a major European power
- Fascist propaganda was unable to disguise the truth from the Italian people
- This had a major impact in undermining their faith in fascist rule and Mussolini himself
Following all these defeats, the Germans now viewed Italy with…
even more contempt
