impact of the First World War

Question 1

what was Salandra’s thinking on whether Italy should join the war?

Answer 1

he supported a nationalist Italy, thus he believed that the unique situation of the war would enable him to introduce more repressive legislation, which would offer an authoritarian solution to Italy’s political problems

Question 2

what was the argument to joining on the side of Germany and Austro-Hungary?

Answer 2

if they won they would not be sympathetic to an ally who failed to come to their side at this critical time

Question 3

what was the argument to joining on the side of Britain and France?

Answer 3

if they were victorious and Italy had not assisted them in their efforts they would not be open to discussing Italy’s ambissions over the Mediterranean

Question 4

when was Salandra beginning secret negotiations with British and French govts

Answer 4

1915

Question 5

who offered the best deal and what was it?

Answer 5

the Entente, promising that with victory Italy would gain much of the ‘irredente’ lands

Question 6

what were the irredente lands?

Answer 6

South Tyrol
Trentino
Istria
Trieste
much of Dalmatia

Question 7

when did Italy sign the Treaty of London?

Answer 7

26 April 1915

Question 8

how was the news of this treaty taken by the public?

Answer 8

it caused significant unrest in Italy

Question 9

who were against intervention?

Answer 9

the PSI and most Catholics, inc. Pope Benedict XV

Question 10

what was public opinion on intervention?

Answer 10

prefects reported on public opinion in April 1915 and overwhelmingly replied that most Italians in the provinces feared the war and had little concern for irredentism or war against Austria

Question 11

when did the intervention crisis worsen?

Answer 11

when Giolitti denounced the Treaty of London and 300 deputies announced their opposition to Salandra’s decision in early May

Question 12

what did those backing neutrality call for?

Answer 12

Giolitti’s reinstatement as PM

Question 13

what did Mussolini believe?

Answer 13

he believed entry into WW1 would be the best chance of creating revolution in Italy, thus was expelled from the PSI for promoting intervention

Question 14

why did Salandra resign in 1915?

Answer 14

he resigned because of his dilemma regarding the Treaty of London. The King felt committed to honoring the treaty, and Giolitti, who was asked to form a new govt, declined because he could not support the treaty without betraying Italy’s old allies

Question 15

what role did Giolitti play in the resignation of Salandra?

Answer 15

he was asked to form a new govt but declined. his decision was influenced by his concerns about the treaty and King’s commitment to it

Question 16

what happened after Giolitti declined being PM?

Answer 16

Salandra was reinstated as PM on 16th May and granted emergency powers by parliament on 20th May

Question 17

what event marked Italy’s entry into WW1?

Answer 17

Italy officially declared war on Austria-Hungary on 25 May 1915, with Salandra proclaiming that national unity was essential for victory

Question 18

what was the main reason for Italy’s entry into WW1?

Answer 18

it was driven by both foreign and domestic political considerations, inc. the desire for territorial gains and the attempt to unite the nation under a common cause. However, public opposition and divisions remained despite Salandra’s efforts

Question 19

why was Italy’s alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary unattractive in 1914?

Answer 19

many Italians saw this alliance as betraying italy’s patriotic ambitions, esp. in regard to gaining territories like Trentino and Trieste. Also, Italy had cultural sympathies for France, and industrialists feared the economic damage of intervening on Austria’s side

Question 20

what was Italy’s position on neutrality in 1914?

Answer 20

Italy declared neutrality in 1914, as the army was still engaged in Libya, an the economy was not strong enough to sustain a large-scale war. Additionally, the Catholic Church and political left were opposed to intervention, particularly against Catholic Austria

Question 21

what was the stance of the nationalist minority on Italy’s intervention in 1914?

Answer 21

a small but vocal nationalist minority argued for italy’s intervention, believing that italy should pursue greater imperial ambitions and gain territories like Trieste and Trentino

Question 22

why did Italy shift from neutrality to intervention by May 1915?

Answer 22

due to the nationalist movement, the influence of the press, and the support of the polic and military for pro-intervention demonstrations. Nationalist leader Enrico Corradini and former socialist Benito Mussolini played a key role in advocating for intervention

Question 23

what was the impact of the press and nationalists on Italy’s decision to enter WW1?

Answer 23

the press popularised the idea of intervention

Question 24

what were the reasons why italian soldiers would have felt abandoned by their govt?

Answer 24

• expectation of a brief, offensive war
• static trench warfare between Austria and Italy
• thousands of soldiers sacrificed (conditions were horrific, many died from cholera and frostbite, in 1915 62,000 Italians died during four attempted offensives against Austrians)
• conscription (nearly 5 million men and southern peasant conscripts were overrepresented)
• difficulty understanding orders due to different dialects from the south/peasants
• poor treatment of conscripts

Question 25

how were conscripts treated?

Answer 25

they were treated poorly by their commanders and rations were extremely low (around 3,000 calories a day by the end of 1916)

Question 26

who was Luigi Cadorna?

Answer 26

commander of Italian army from July 1914 to October 1917 and was a highly conservative military leader

Question 27

what did Cadorna insist on?

Answer 27

offensive warfare and refused to organise his army for defensive battles and thus the army was unprepared when the Austrian army attacked in 1916

Question 28

what was decimation?

Answer 28

if a regiment showed disobedience individual troops would be chosen at random and shot in front of the other soldiers

Question 29

what was the impact of decimation?

Answer 29

it lowered morale even further

Question 30

how was Cadorna's leadership ?

Answer 30

it created a fundamental lack of trust betwee the commanders and their troops, which reflected divisions within Italian society

Question 31

who replaced Cadorna?

Answer 31

Armando Diaz

Question 32

give a statistic to show the harsh punishment ordered by Luigi Cadorna

Answer 32

military tribunals passed 4,000 death sentences on Italians oldiers for desertion and indiscipline

Question 33

what was the consequence of the policy to help Italian prisoners of war?

Answer 33

600,000 Italian soldiers were captured and had to survive on 1,000 calories a day around 100,000 died of hunger related illnesses, 5 times the number from France and Britain who were allowed to receive food parcels from home

Question 34

what was the cause of the Austrian army's Strafexpedition in 1916?

Answer 34

it was a major offensive aimed at opening a pth for the Austrian army to attack Verona and Bologna, located in italy's northern regions

Question 35

how did the defeat at Caporetto in 1917 affect italy's leadership?

Answer 35

it led to significant criticism of Salandra, who was forced to resign and was replaced by Paolo Boselli. Following the defeat, Boselli also resigned and was replaced by Vittorio Orlando, who was seen as more dynamic

Question 36

what happened during the attack at Caporetto on 24 October 1917?

Answer 36

Austrian and German forces launched a sudden attack, using artillery shelling and gas against the italian forces. The Italian response was chaotic due to poor leadership and low morale

Question 37

what were the consequences of the defeat at Caporetto for the Italian military?

Answer 37

it led to loss of 10,000 soldiers killed, 30,000 wounded, 300,000 captured, and 400,0000 soldiers who vanished. It revealed the poor state of the Italian army and caused widespread anger and debate in Italy

Question 38

how did Cadorna respond at Caporetto?

Answer 38

he blamed the defeat on cowardice and ordered the execution of several thousand soldiers. However, his leadership was later criticised, leading to his removal

Question 39

what actions did the Italian govt take after Caporetto?

Answer 39

govt replaced Cadorna with General Diaz, increased soldier rations, provided more annual leave, and focused on improving morale through lectures and trench newspapers

Question 40

how did General Diaz differ from Cadorna as a commander?

Answer 40

He was more cautious and focused on holding the Italian line at Piave without risking unnecessary casualties. Unlike Cadorna, he avoided suicidal offensives

Question 41

what was the impact of General Diaz's leadership on casualty rates?

Answer 41

they significantly decreased, from 520,000 in 1917 to 143,000 in 1918

Question 42

what was the PSI's stance on the war?

Answer 42

PSI opposed the war, refusing to vote for war credits in parlt and declaring a policy of 'neither support nor sabotage' to their war effort

Question 43

what was the reaction of nationalists and many liberals to its stance?

Answer 43

they saw it as unpatriotic, defeatist, and anti-italian, blaming it for the poor performance of Italy's military

Question 44

what was Mussolini's view of Italian socialists

Answer 44

he blamed them, asserting that they were a more dangerous enemy than the Austrians and calling for a more forceful Italian leader who would help create a united country

Question 45

what was the political impact of PSI's position on the war?

Answer 45

it meant that there was even greater polarisation between left and right in Italian politics

Question 46

how was Italy's economy compared to Austria's at the beginning of the war?

Answer 46

Italy was behind Austria in nearly all key economic areas crucial for the war eg. for every 2 machine guns per Italian battalions, the Austrian had 12

Question 47

how was Italy's economy throughout the course of the war?

Answer 47

Italy made quite significant improvements that would overcome its deficits and overall Italy's industry coped effectively with the requirements of WW1

Question 48

how did General Alfredo Dallolio help with recruitment for Italy's war effort?

Answer 48

recruitment of women and peasants into factories to support the war economy

Question 49

how did work conditions change?

Answer 49

working hours increased, strikes were made illegal, and workers could face military tribunals if their behaviour was deemed unsatisfactory

Question 50

how did women contribute to Italy's war effort?

Answer 50

a quarter of munitions factory employees were women, contributing significantly to the industrial workforce

Question 51

what role did exemptions from military service play in the war economy?

Answer 51

a third of Italy's 900,000 workers in the war economy were either men exempted from military service or on secondment from the army, contributing to the industrial effort

Question 52

how did the military industry grow during the war?

Answer 52

it grew substantially, with companies like Fiat expanding their workforce from 2,000 to 30,000 employees

Question 53

how did Dallolio finance the expansion of industry during the war?

Answer 53

through advanced payments, cheap loans, and profitable contracts for big businesses

Question 54

who ran the committees for industrial mobilisation in Italy during the war?

Answer 54

central and regional committees for industrial mobilisation were run by leading industrialists with little govt interference

Question 55

what is an example to illustrate the success of the motor vehicles industry, aeronautical industry and armaments industry?

Answer 55

- Motor vehicles → 25,000 vehicles produced in 1918 alone. - Aeronautical industry → produced 6,500 planes in 1918. - Armaments → 20,000 machine guns and 7,000 pieces of heavy artillery produced.

Question 56

what is the reason why economic growth was flawed in the long term?

Answer 56

it was based almost entirely on govt investment in war production which had been paid for by foreign loans and printing more money

Question 57

what are some economic problems brought by the end of the war?

Answer 57

- 23 billion lire budget deficit - national debt was at 84.9 billion lire in June 1919 - 85 billion debt to USA

Question 58

in which ways did the economy become unbalanced ?

Answer 58

it had become unbalanced with a few war-based sectors growing at a disproportionate rate compared to other industries

Question 59

what was this unbalanced economy's impact on people in south and north?

Answer 59

while the south remained a predominantly impoverished agricultural society, the war saw the north's economy grow by 20% between 1911 and 1921

Question 60

what were the factors that led to growing popular rage?

Answer 60

- by 1917, bread and pasta were being rationed and meat and sugar consumption was falling sharply -long hours and a fall in real wages of around 25% at a time when the industrialists were making vast profits fuelled worker anger - govt increased indirect taxes to pay for the war effort

Question 61

what was the worker protests in Turin and when?

Answer 61

August 1917 50 workers were killed protesting in Turin against bread shortages and continuation of war Riots shocked politicians who made steps to increase food supplies and pro-war propaganda

Question 62

what helped Italy's prospects in the war to improve?

Answer 62

the shift in military tactics, combined with the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire due to events elsewhere

Question 63

when was the Battle of Vittorio Veneto?

Answer 63

24 October 1918

Question 64

what was the Battle of Vittorio Veneto?

Answer 64

Italian forced launched an offensive across Piave and entered the town of Vittorio Veneto, splitting the Austrian army in two

Question 65

how did the war in Italy come to an end?

Answer 65

Austria signed an armistice on 4 November

Question 66

what did the Battle of Vittorio Veneto come to symbolise and how was it used nationalists and Mussolini?

Answer 66

it came to symbolise the greatest moment of the Italian nation. It was promoted by nationalists as demonstrating the glory of Italy, achieved through patriotism, unity and self-sacrifice. Mussolini would later link the battle to his appointment as PM and success of fascism by claiming they represented the same ideals achieved at Vittorio Veneto

Question 67

how many casualties of war?

Answer 67

650,000

Question 68

what was war impact on economy?

Answer 68

the economy was even more gretly distorted between the north and south and suffered from debt and inflation

Question 69

what were the other damages caused to Italy by the war? (divisions, peasants, returning soldiers)

Answer 69

- he legacy of war left an even more divided Italy: between those who backed the war and those who had not, and those who fought in the war and those who stayed at home. - After Caporetto, the government had also made promises to the peasants in order to boost morale, but now faced the difficult task of fulfilling these commitments. - Returning soldiers wanted compensation for the sacrifices they had made and many Italians believed that the war should bring about major changes in Italian politics.