Impact of Entry into WW2 Flashcards
What happened on 17 and 18 Jun?
17 Jun:
- FRA requested armistice w/ GER even before ITA troops had attacked FRA territory
18 Jun:
- Mussolini met w/ Hitler
- Set out ITA’s demands for Savoy, Nice, Tunisia, Sudan, Somalia, Cyprus and Crete
- Hitler said he did not want to punish FRA too harshly as he feared FRA troops would defect to Britain
- Mussolini was afraid of pushing ITA claims when they hadn’t done anything
What concept was Italy’s entry alongside GER based on and what was this?
- Parallel war
- ITA would concentrate on Mediterranean basin and hinterland and N Africa
- GER would concentrate on N, C and E Europe
What happened on 20 Jun and what is a possible reason for this?
- ITA troops advanced into French Alps
- Possibly to strengthen ITA’s territorial claims
What went wrong with this advance?
- Lacked proper clothing needed for alpine war
- Lacked bombs needed to destroy FRA fortifications
- Used tanks inadequate for terrain
- Slow
- 13 unimportant villages captured w/ loss of 631 men (many from frostbite)
What happened on 22 Jun and what did Fascist papers claim about this event?
- French gov signed armistice w/ GER
- Claimed it was due to ITA’s intervention
What did Hitler say on 7 Jul when Ciano met w/ him and how did a previous decision he had made backfire on him?
- ITA must wait until defeat of GBR before territorial claims could be discussed
- Partially demobilised believing war was basically over
What happened in late Oct?
- ITA forces in Libya ordered to attack GBR positions
- Some early successes crossing Egypt and Suez Canal, but it was simply tactical British retreat
When did GBR counterattack, what happened to ITA and give stats to show this:
- Dec
- Fell into mass retreat
- First weeks of 1941 –> ITA force of nearly 250,000 defeated by 30,000 much better equipped GBR troops
By May 1941, what had ITA lost and how many troops had surrendered and been taken prisoner?
- Eritrea
- Somalia
- Abyssinia
- 380,000 troops
When was the only time the British advance into Libya was halted?
Feb –> German troops (led by General Erwin Rommel) sent to reinforce ITA forces (end of parallel war)
How did the fight in Libya go after this?
- Some early victories
- By Oct 1942 –> Retreating after defeat at El Alamein
- May 1943 –> Surrendered in N Africa, Libya was lost
In what ways did Mussolini fail with strategy in Mediterranean?
Strategically important GBR base at Malta/Gibraltar or Alexandria faced no sustained attack
What was the state of the ITA navy?
- Nov 1940 –> Crippled by GBR air attack
- Poor coordination between air force + navy (Jul 1940 –> air force bombed its own ships)
- Lacked aircraft carriers
Why did ITA launch an attack on Greece?
- ITA aims in Yugoslavia had been rejected by GER, who occupied Romanian oil fields instead
- Seen as attempt to push GER influence into Balkans disregarding agreement on separate spheres of influence
- Moving into Greece would increase ITA’s strategic position in Balkans
- Power game between Hitler and Mussolini by deciding not telling GER about invasion
When did ITA launch an attack on Greece?
28 Jun 1940
In what ways was the invasion a disaster?
- Mussolini assumed Greece only had 30,000 troops so sent 60,000 ITA men, however they actually had 300,000
- Believed Bulgaria would join ITA (they did not)
- Didn’t coordinate navy or air force even though it was crucial for the seaborne invasion
- Poor choice of day due to extremely wet and freezing weather conditions
- Little mechanical support
- Uniform disintegrated in heavy rain
- Greece took 1/4 of Albania
- Half mil ITA soldiers deployed w/ 32,000 killed + over 100,000 wounded
- After 6 months –> Had to ask help from GER who defeated Greeks w/in weeks
What was the effect of the ITA defeat against Greece?
- ITA given administration over Greece
- Fascist propaganda could not hide truth of defeat from public
- Undermined faith in fascist rule
- Confirmed subservience to GER
Who did Mussolini blame ITA’s defeats on and what was the true reason?
- Weakness of the people who had not transformed into true fascists
- Inadequacies in economy, military prep + Mussolini’s leadership
How did Mussolini’s leadership contribute to ITA’s defeats?
- Held positions of Minister of War, Navy, Air Force, Supreme Commander of armed forces + head of 5 ministries so gov would shut down w/out him
- Often decided w/out asking military experts
- Unable to distinguish between trivial + major decisions eg. May 1940 –> spending time on what should be included in Rome Opera Season rather than focusing on war
- Bored by detailed discussions
- Called meetings and gave vague instructions
- Promised to meet w/ Chief of General Staff, Ugo Cavallero, every day, however did not
Describe the poor state of ITA army at start of war:
- ITA had 75 divisions but only enough equipment to adequately arm 35 of them
- Lacked tanks and vehicles required for mechanised fighting in Africa
- Outdated WW1 rifles and canons, tactics + airforce
- Few aircraft carriers
- Naval ships had no radar equipment and very little oil
- No long-range bombers to attack GBR in Egypt/Gibraltar
- Low rations
In what way was the Italian economy inadequate for war?
- By 1942 –> USA industry could produce more aircraft in 1 week than in a yr
- Lacked fuel and raw materials
- Imported 1.5 mil tonnes from Romania, which was only half of what was required
- 1943 –> Steel production fell to 1.7 mil tonnes (GBR producing 14 mil a yr)
- Low armoured vehicle production –> only 2550 vehicles in 1 month in 1941
Italy was the only country to …
Not increase its GDP between 1940 and 42
How many unemployed workers did ITA have and compare this to other countries?
- Tens of thousands
- Other countries moved to 100% employment in war
How many calories a day were adults allowed when food was rationed and what kind of items were in short supply?
- 1000
- Heating, shoes and soap
- Difficult to get bread/pasta
- Coffee became luxury item
How many workers in what areas went on strike, in what week, what did they demand and when did the strikes end?
- 100,000 workers
- Week of 5 Mar
- Turin, Milan and other areas
- Communist workers demanded better pay for people forced to evacuate their homes
- Ended when gov agreed to increase money for evacuees
By 1943, what had all these problems caused?
First strikes in 18 yrs + first mass protest w/in Axis controlled Europe
What different covert and illegal antifascist grps began to reemerge in ITA and who were their members?
- 1942 –> L’Unita
- Party of Action (republicans, radicals, left-leaning liberals)
- Mid 1942 –> Christian Democrats (Catholic Action members w/ Church backing)
How many political arrests took place between Mar and Jun 1943 alone?
1400
Who agreed to work together against fascism and when?
- All grps except republicans
- Apr 1943
For Mussolini, who did the greater danger come from at the end of 1942, what were these people considering and for how many months did discussions continue?
- Conservative elite eg. Vatican, military leaders, industrialists, police
- How to extract ITA from war + overthrow Mussolini w/out provoking GER, who could easily occupy ITA
- 6 months
When did Axis troops in N Africa surrender to Allied forces and under which General did this happen?
- 13 May 1943
- General Montgomery
When did the Allies mount an invasion into Sicily, who did this and why was this an option for them?
- 9 Jul 1943
- British, American and Commonwealth troops
- Due to occupation of Tunisia
How much opposition did they face from the Italian forces, how much of Sicily had they conquered and after how long?
- Little opposition
- Western half
- 1 week
What did Mussolini’s Chief of Staff recommend, when did he meet with Hitler, what did he ask him and what was his reaction?
- Surrender Sicily + pull Italian forces back to defend mainland
- 19 Jul
- Asked Fuhrer to transfer troops and arms from USSR to Mediterranean to help ITA, but he refused
How long did Allied planes bomb Rome for and how many people were killed?
- 2 hrs
- 1500 people
In what situation was Mussolini’s leadership inadequacies displayed?
Asked General Ambrosia if there was any plan in place to defend Sicily, even though he was in charge of whole military campaign
What had happened by 17 Aug?
- Allies had control of island
- GER and ITA forces had conducted successful retreat allowing them to reinforce strategic positions on Italian mainland
When did the plan to depose Mussolini and why did this idea come about?
- Late 1942
- Grandi and Ciano raised idea of ITA seeking peace w/ Allies
- Allies made it clear they would not offer an armistice w/ Mussolini still in power
Who was the only person that could dismiss Mussolini and what did Grandi discuss with him?
- King
- Through early part of 1943 –> Discussed plans for monarchy to take constitutional and military powers + replace Mussolini w/ new gov that would open up negotiations w/ Allies
Through the Vatican, who did the King open up secret talks with, what did Roosevelt’s negotiator make known and when?
- Allies
- 29 May –> USA would negotiate peace deal w/ ITA military gov if King dismissed Mussolini
What did the invasion of Sicily force fascists to do and between the days (how many were there), what did he do ?
- 16 Jul –> Deputation of fascists met Mussolini + convinced him to call Grand Council meeting for 24th Jul
- Spent 8 days drafting resolution for Mussolini’s removal, gov to be placed in hands of King + canvassed support from other fascist leaders to support resolution
Which key people were informed of the plan and how did the King appear to be before the meeting?
- King’s advisors
- Army generals
- Police heads
- Appeared to be totally accepting
Why was Grandi very nervous about the result of the meeting and as a result, what did he do?
- Last Grand Council meeting was Sep 1939 –> No authority
- Power to order arrest of any opposing fascists
- No need to accept any vote from council
- Brought two hand grenades to meeting
How many hours of discussion was there in the meeting, what was debatable about its significance and how many votes did Grandi’s resolution pass by?
- 9 hrs
- Possible Mussolini did not understand meeting’s significance
- 19 to 7 votes
When did Mussolini meet the King and what did he believe?
- 5 o’clock
- Royal agreement to shuffle his ministries + possibly give up his military command to King, but remain as head of gov
What actually happened?
- King interrupted him
- Explained he had decided to dismiss Mussolini + replace him w/ Marshall Badoglio
- Mussolini attempted to leave meeting
- Admiral Franco Maugeri put him into back of
