Italy - WW1 and Mutilated Victory

Question 1

Which Italian commander was known for severe disclipine ?

Answer 1

Luigi Cardorna

Military tribunals passed 4000 death sentences on Italian soldiers for desertion and indisclipine ( more per capita tha any other western army )

Question 2

When were the 4 failed offensives against the Austrians and how many lives were ‘wasted’ ?

Answer 2

1915 at the cost of 62,000 men

Question 3

When was the battle of caperetto ?

Answer 3

Oct 1917

Question 4

How many Italian casualties at Caperetto ?

Answer 4

Italian casualties at Caporetto totaled almost 700,000—40,000 killed or wounded, 280,000 captured by the enemy and another 350,000 deserted

Question 5

What were the PSI accused of post caperetto ?

Answer 5

Stabbing Italy in the back

Question 6

Following the battle of caperetto how many Italian soldiers lost contact with their regiments ?

Answer 6

200,000

Question 7

How many planes did Italys aeronautical industry produce in 1918 ?

Answer 7

6500

Question 8

How much did fiat increase its workforce by during the war ?

Answer 8

6,000 to 30,000

Question 9

Why was communication a problem between soldiers and commanders ?

Answer 9

Majority of peasant conscripts who spoke a vast range of dialects could not understand the orders being given to them by those in charge, who mainly spoke official Italian language

Question 10

Why did slandra resign in 1916 ?

Answer 10

Was criticised by both military command and parliament after the Austrian army launched the Strafexpedotion. Although Italian army was able to regroup and halt attack, it had severe consequences on army and public morale.

(The Strafexpedotion was a major offensive in the Trentine salient, in order to open a path that would allow it to attack Verona and Bologna)

Question 11

How many Italians were court-martialled during the war for desertion.

Answer 11

Around 290,000

Many soldiers could not comprehend why the war was being fought or why Italy had joined.

Question 12

How much did PSI membership increase 1914 to 1919 ?

Answer 12

50,000 to 200,000 (as economy got worse political divisions widened)

Question 13

What territory was promised to Italy at the Treaty of London ?

Answer 13

Southern Tyrol, Trentino, Istria and parts of Dalimatia

Question 14

Who were the ww1 PMs ?

Answer 14

Salandra 1914-1916
Boselli 1916-17
Orlando 1917-18 - more dynamic and puts in new commander general Diaz

Question 15

What did casualty rates fall to under general Diaz and why ?

Answer 15

520,000 in 1917 to 143,000 in 1918

He was a much more cautious commnder, focused on holding the Italian line on th Piave river and avoiding the needless sacrifice of soldiers in sucicidal offensives.

Question 16

What was Italys economy like in relation to Austria at the beginnng of the war ?

Answer 16

At the beginning of the war Italy was behind Austria in nearly all economic areas crucial for the war. Italy produced 1 million tonnes of steel and the Austrians 2.6 million.

For every 2 machine guns per Italian battalion, the Austrians had 12.

Question 17

What were some of the significant economic improvements made by Italy over the course of the war ?

Answer 17

Fiat established itself as Europes leading truck and lorry manufacturer, producing 25,000 vehicles in 1918 alone. . Italys areo narcutical industry producing more than 6500 planes by 1918.

By the end of the war Italian industry had produced around 20,000 machine guns and 7000 peices of artillery (greater amount than the british )

Question 18

How much debt was the government in by the end of the war ?

Answer 18

23 billion lire

It has been 2.9 billion lire before the war.

Question 19

Who made up the majority of conscripts in the Italian army ?

Answer 19

Peasants who spoke a large range of dialects

Question 20

Which Italian senator commited suicide because he was so overwhelmed at the nature of defeat at Caperetto ?

Answer 20

Leopoldo Franchetti

Deafeat was very embarassing to italian leadership who only months before claimed that the war had bought about italian unity

Question 21

How much did the norths economy grow between 1911-1921

Answer 21

By 20 %

Question 22

When was the battle of Vittorio Veneto ?

Answer 22

1918 - symbolises a great moment for italian nation .

Promoted by nationalists as a great moment for the nation

Captured 500,000 Austrian prisoners of war

Question 23

What did Italy gain at the Paris peace conference in 1919 ?

Answer 23

Trent, Trieste and Northern Dalmatia

Orlando walked out which meant Italy gained very little

Question 24

What land did Orlando demand at the Paris peace conference ?

Answer 24

Given all territory they had been promised in th 1915 Treaty of London PLUS port of fiume on the croation coast.

Question 25

When and what was Gabriel d’Annuzios occupation of the Fiume ?

Answer 25

Nationalists wanted Fuime beacause of its 50 % Italian speaking population but the USA felt Fiume should remain part of the newly created nation of yugoslavia.

12 th September 1919 Annunzio took **2000 men made up of ex soldiers, futurists, student s and patriots and seized the contested port of Fiume without a fight.

For many Italians, Fiume was the greatest example of Italys humiliating treatment at Versailles. D’Annuzio presented the occupation as redemption for Italys dead soldiers.

Question 26

What did the liberal gov do about Annuzios Fiume occupation

Answer 26

Scared of d’Annuzios popularity the gov failed to act for 15 months and only removed the occupying force on Christmas Day 1920.