Foreign Policy 1935-40 Flashcards
When was the invasion of Abyssinia?
1935
How would the invasion of Abyssinia benefit the economy?
planning for war benefitted the economy - contracts were given to fuel industry
How would the invasion of Abyssinia help strives toward autarky?
- provide new materials
- provide new area for agriculture
- provide a new export market
How would the invasion of Abyssinia aid rural peasants? and the govs image in relation to them?
- Southern agricultural workers could move there to farm
- ease desires for land reform
- showed that the gov was actively seeking to improve the lives of Italians
How would the invasion of Abyssinia placate the PNF?
- appease PNF members who wanted the gov to take a more Fascist path
- this fascist path could be achieved through a more aggressive foreign policy
How would the invasion of Abyssinia placate the public in general?
- unify the public under a Fascist victory
- provide prestige for Mussolini
- provide revenge for Adowa
How would the invasion of Abyssinia aid Mussolini in showing the benefits of fascism?
- expand the Italian empire in Africa
- show the dynamism and active nature of fascism
- potentially make the italian population more militaristic
How would the invasion of Abyssinia help Italy in German relations?
- show Hitler the power of fascist ruling
- dissuade from Anschluss
When did the invasion of Abyssinia take place? how many men? how did it go?
October 1935
40k men
quickly seized Adowa, other towns, then slowed down
What did Mussolini do to the head of the Army during the invasion of Abyssinia? what was significant about this?
Bono was replaced with Badoglio
Badoglio had led the pacification of Libya and used brutal tactics such as aerial bombings, poison gas, and murdering of POWs
When did Italy enter the capital during the invasion of Abyssinia? what was it called?
Addis Ababa
5th May 1936
Following the invasion of Abyssinia, when did Mussolini make a speech claiming that Italy had obtained its empire?
9th May 1936
Benefits of the invasion of Abyssinia?
- propaganda coup - Mussolini seen to have stood up to the world for Italian interests and won
- gained a colony
- LoN sanctions excluded oil and the suez canal left open
- it brought about the high point of the dictatorship - Italy was great and equated to F and GB
- M’s greatness was proclaimed by the nation, royals, Church - deemed the ‘new Caesar’
When was the ‘Gold for the Patria’ scheme launched? by who? why? who in particular made thousands of others follow suit?
18th December 1935
the royal family
for funds
Queen Elena
Overall, what was the invasion of Abyssinia?
merely a short term success
As of Mussolini’s speech on 9th May, how much of Abyssinia remained unoccupied by Italian forces?
2/3
How many troops did Italy have fighting in Abyssinia? what was this?
250k
expensive
How many Italians actually ended up settling in Abyssinia?
only around 130k
Economic consequences of the invasion of Abyssinia: how much did the lira devalue by?
what increased? what to?
materials?
export market?
- lira devalued by 40%
- budget deficit increased from 2.5bil Lira to 16bil Lira
- no real oil or raw materials were gained
- no real export market - it only made up around 2% of italian trade
International repercussions of the invasion of Abyssinia:
- how many Abyssinians were killed?
- what weapons were used?
- Mussolini’s image?
- what did it demonstrate?
- what did it begin?
- 500k Abyssinian deaths
- use of illegal chemical weapons
- benevolent dictator turns into a threat
- the weaknesses of the League of Nations - encouraging Hitler’s leave
- began the split from GB and F to G
When did Mussolini commit Italian troops to the Spanish Civil War? what side were they fighting? what was this?
July 1936
Franco’s side
first time Nazis and Italian fascists fought together
What benefits did Mussolini envision from participating in the Spanish Civil War?
- pressure GB and F
- Italy would gain an ally in the Mediterranean, undermining France
- Possible naval base in the Balearic Islands
- maintain momentum following Abyssinia
- make Italy more militaristic
- raise the cult of Il Duce
How many soldiers did Italy send in to the Spanish Civil War? tanks/artillery? pilots? fighter planes? bombers?
50k soldiers thousands of tanks/artillery 1400 pilots 400 fighter planes 200 bombers
When did Franco win?
1939
How many Italians were injured and killed in the Spanish Civil War?
11k wounded
3266 killed
Economic consequences of the Spanish Civil War?
- cost?
- Lira maintenance?
- foreign currency?
- 14bil Lira = cost
- Lira devalues further
- reserves of foreign currency were halved
Consequences of the Spanish Civil War on territory?
- no naval base
- no territorial concessions
- Italy struggled in Africa due to the damage SCW had had
Consequences of the spanish civil war on people and army?
- unpopular with public - didnt understand why Italy was fighting and resented the costs
- army severely weakened
