Impact of the First World War Flashcards
why did salandra think the war would be a good idea
hoped that it would unite the nation in a patriotic fervour, entered the secret negotiations with both central and entente powers to see who offered the best deal
when was the treaty of London signed
april 1915
what was included in the treaty of london
salandra promised that italy would support the entente powers and in an event of victory italy would recieve irredente lands of south tyrol, trentino, istria, dalmatia and share turkish and german colonies
why did giolitti oppose war
italy wasnt prepared enough, germany was producing 20 times more steel so they couldnt compete
what did socialists believe about the war
they were pacifists and condemned the war as a capitalist conflict, money could be spent on domestic issues and workers instead
what did catholics believe about the war
didnt want to fight other catholics in austria as catholicism was an international organisation
what did the pope say about the war
“useless slaughter”
what did mussolini think about the war
supported the intervention, it could bring about revolutionary conditions
how many deputies supported giolitti in anti-war claims
300, was voted as PM again
why did giolitti resign after he clearly had support for anti-war
didnt want to betray a second treaty and didnt want to be responsible for the King’s threat to abdicate (the king supported the war)
Salandra returned as PM
why did people support neutrality instead of war
-the triple alliance was unattractive, those who wanted irredente lands saw fighting on their side as a betrayal of patriotic ambitions, britain supplied coal so industrialists didnt support as it would affect trade, many had cultural sympathy with france
-neutrality seen as more economically favourable, army still busy with libya and wasnt prepared for war, economy weak to sustain large scale war, could still make economic gains without intervention
-left parties opposed intervention, catholics didnt want to fight catholic austrians, territorial gains meant little to left parties, most italians content with success of libya
why did people support with intervention
thought that italy should have greater imperial ambitions, opportunities were wasted on spending on welfare benefits in favour of working classes, wanted the return of irredente lands
why did the intervention begin to get more support
-nationalist leader Corradini began campaigning for war in favour of entente powers instead to gain irredente territories
-nationalists had influence over the press which popularised their campaign, allied propaganda on the nationalist side, mussolini changed stance to nationalists, Dannunzio vocal in support
-worker demonstrations against the intervention were broken up by police and military but those that were pro-intervention were encouraged
who was the king
king emmanuel III
How did the nationalists spread support for intervention
organised demonstrations, Dannunzio’s charismatic speeches attracted crowds and a patriotic atmosphere, mussolini gathered crowds of 30,000 in milan, salandra had the support of the king and lead to a reassertion of liberal dominance
what initially made the war hard for italians
-the alps were mountainous, the austrians took the high ground
-inadequate equipment
-poor leadership
-disease caused many casualties
-low morale lead to mass desertions
how many were killed by the end of the war
650,000
how many were wounded by the end of the war
over a million
how many men were conscripted
5 million, most were peasants from the south and couldnt understand the dialect of northern generals
when was the battle of caporetto
october 1917
how many men did general cadorna execute
750 men for cowardice, alienated soldiers and sharpened divisions in society
by how much did austrians push back italians in caporetto
by 100 miles
what happened as a result of the defeat in caporetto
-public blamed the government for incompetence, forced boselli to resign in favour of Orlando
-some blamed non-interventionists for not supporting the war effort
-cadorna blamed it on the cowardice of the soldiers, led to executions
-general cadorna sacked and replaced by diaz
-300,000 men taken prisoner
how could the defeat of caporetto been worse
austrian advance only halted by the autumn flooding of river Piave, the consquences couldve been worse
why did italians lose in the battle of caporetto
-defences weak
-reserves not brought to the front
-units were left without orders
-200,000 lost contact with regiments
how did general diaz improve morale
-rations improved
-troops given 10 more days leave a year
-free life insurance
-newspapers introduced in 1918
-Arditi were a group who infiltrated enemy lines, described as heroes
-government introduced servicemen’s association in dec 1917, looked after the welfare of soldiers and their families
how much less casualties were there under diaz
1917- 520,000
1918- 143,000
Diaz more cautious
when was the battle of vittorio veneto
oct 1918
what were the consequences of the battle of vittorio veneto
-collapse of austrian forces and the signing of the armistice in november 1918
-took 500,000 as prisoners of war
-hoped that italy could finally take place as a major european power
what were main problems initially with the war (big list)
-unprepared, best soldiers were still in libya with a shortage of arms
-cadorna had only 2 machine guns per batalion in 1915 when austria had 12
-mobilisation disorganised, gave time for austrians to retreat
-cadornas response to failure was to sack hundreds of senior officers and execute for cowardice
-infrantry units experienced huge casualties, 95% of casualties were infrantry
-bitterness between peasant and industrial workers as workers could be excused
-little effort for the welfare of soldiers, only payed 1/2 lire a day, rations minimal, no entertainment, only 15 day leave a year
how many planes did italy make in 1918
6500
who became the lead manufacturer in europe
fiat for trucks
how many vehicles did fiat produce in 1918
1918- 25,000
1914- 4500
how much did the government budget deficit increase
1914- 2.9 billion lire
1918- 23.3 billion lire
how much did the national debt increase by
5x
1914- 15.7 bill
1919- 84.9 bill
how much did italy owe britain and usa
15 bill to britain
8.5 bill to usa
what did the government do to try help economy
printed more money as they couldnt borrow more, led to inflation and prices quadrupled, economic instability causes discontent
what happened to industries
they were too reliant on a war economy, struggles to survive after it ended, government cut spending and couldnt provide profitable contracts to companies
how many died in the Turin bread riots 1917
50 shot
what was the impact on industrial workers
-workers placed under military discipline, couldnt change jobs or strike
-food shortages and transport delays increased discontent
-working week increased, 75 hr working week was normal in fiat in 1916
-cost of living rose while wages fell
-increased support for socialism
by how much did the purchasing power of workers fall by
25%
what was the impact on soldiers
-thought workers had it easy, had safe jobs and wages were higher
-called them “imboscati” or “shirkers”
what was the impact on rural areas
-women key workers in rural areas, helped to reduce food shortages
-peasants could pay off debts due to inflation
-rent payments were reduced
-there were promises made to peasant soldiers that werent kept, bitter at the lack of benefit
how did some socialists get involved in the war effort
-made local councils which organised rations and welfare, trade unions helped to reduce labour disputes and safeguard jobs and wage rises
-socialists were blamed for sabotaging war effort even thought they helped
what was socialists response to war
-PSI refused to vote war credits and their policy of “neither support or sabotage” angered the
nationalists
-their support grew due to increased working hrs and a fall in wages of 25%
-dissatisfied when democracy set aside, salandra ruled by decree and rarely allowed parliament to meet so that PSI has no chance to express views
what was italys response to the russian revolution
-increased fear of socialism
-socialists used it as a model for change
-bolsheviks appealed to the workers of italy
who helped the italian economy
dallollio
when was the peace treaty signed with austria
september 1919
how much economic growth was there in the north
20%, accentuated north/south divide
when was the peace treaty signed with hungary
1920
when was the peace treaty signed with Yugoslavia
1920
the treaty of rapollo
what did italy gain after the war due to the treaty of london
-mainland was extended by 9,000 square miles
-austria’s pop. decreased to 6 mill which increased italy’s security
-recieved only colonies of Jarabub and Jubaland which werent very useful, italians dissatisfied with the results
what did the nationalists call the war at the end
a “mutilated victory”
