FP 1922-35 Flashcards
when did the Corfu incident start?
17 August 1923
how did the Corfu incident start?
Enrico Tellini and a group of Army officers were assassinated
they were there as a part of an inter-allied commission to draw up the border between Greece and Albania
who did M blame and who was actually responsible?
M blamed the Greek government
it was actually Greek bandits
what demands did M give for the Greek government?
- Greek govt had to attend the funeral in Athens in a Catholic church
- the Italian flag had to be publicly honoured
- a fine of 50 million Lire to be paid to Italy
- a criminal investigation into the assassination
- execution of the assassinators
what happened when the demands were not met?
31 August 1923
M orders Italian ships to bombard Corfu island and then occupy it
why did M remove trooped from Corfu?
27 September 1923
Conference of Ambassadors and Britain referred it to the League of Nations
Britain threatened Naval action against Italy
M was ordered to remove troops
what were Greece ordered to do by the League of Nations?
they had to pay the 50 million Lire demanded by M
in what ways was the Corfu incident a VICTORY for Italy?
- huge increase in domestic popularity (just in time for 1924 elections)
- us of Gunboat Diplomacy would have scared other countries
- 50 million Lire recieved
- enhanced the Cult of il Duce (military leader)
in what ways was the Corfu incident a DEFEAT for Italy?
- scrutiny from the League of Nations meant Italy had to be more careful
- still vastly inferior to the British who scared M into submission
- Italy was still not a great power
when was Fiume officially annexed to Italy?
in 1924
the Treaty of Rome was signed between Italy and Yugoslavia
who was in control of Fiume before it’s annexation by Italy?
Yugoslavia
what happened to Fiume under Italian control?
it went into economic decline as it was detached from the rest of Italy
what were M’s aims in the Balkans?
to surround and dominate Yugoslavia
why was Albania key to M’s plans in the Balkans?
working with Albania would allow Mussolini to surround Yugoslavia and take it
who was the King in Albania 1928?
Ahmed Zogu
what made Albania a satellite state of Italy?
a treaty of friendship signed in 1926
in what ways did M put pressure on Yugoslavia?
M funded Croatian separatist groups such as Ustasha
what was the Little Entente?
alliance between Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Romania
what was agreed at the Locarno treaties in 1925?
- Germany agreed to it’s western borders
were the Locarno Treaties s significant for Italian foreign policy?
NO they achieved NOTHING
the Italian press made it seem like M (who made surprise appearance) was the mediator and the man in charge
in fact Italy got NOTHING out of it
what was the Kellog-Briand pact of 1928?
27 August 1928
created to eliminate war from foreign policy
was used for propaganda and had no effect on Italian foreign policy as M just ignored it
what was the invasion of Libya called?
Pacification of Libya
1929-32
what methods were used in the pacification?
- posion gas
- mass executions
- forced starvation
- concentration camps used for forced labour
did the Italian people know much about Libya?
NO
M tried to hide it from the media because it was taking too long and looked like an embarrassment
how well armed were the Libyans?
very poorly armed
mainly used some swords and 19th century guns
how did M try to deal with his difficulties in Libya?
he hired African mercenaries to fight the Libyans
what proportion of the Libyan population starved to death?
1/3
who was the rebel leader in Libya and when was he arrested?
Omar el Mukhtar
arrested and publicly hanged in 1931
how many Italians did M hope to move in to Libya?
500,000
how many Italians actually moved to Libya?
2,500
what was M’s THEORY OF ENCIRCLEMENT?
he believed that he was surrounded by enemy factions and that he had no one to trust
he saw Italy as a country with no ‘side’
who did M hope to make alliances with?
he offered Italian friendship to the highest bidder which suggested that he only wanted to form alliances with powerful countries
why did M adopt such an aggressive foreign policy?
- Hitler rearming would have scared M
- Manchuria 1931
- the Great Depression
why was what happened in Manchuria 1931?
- Japan invaded China
- LoN only gave moral sanctions
- showed how weak the LoN was
M would see that he could get away with his own expansion
