M1- Impact of the First World War Flashcards
why was there concerns over remaining neutral with the Triple Alliance?
if Germany and A-H won the war, they would not be sympathetic towards Italian ambitions in the Med
why was there concerns over remaining neutral with the Entente powers?
if Britain and France won the war, Italy would not be able to discuss Italian ambitions in the Med
who was Salandra’s foreign minister?
Sidney Sonnino
what land did the Entente powers promise Italy upon victory?
South Tyrol
Trentino
Istria
Trieste
Dalmatia
when was the Treaty of London signed?
26 April 1915
who was against intervention?
PSI
most Catholics (the Pope)
how many deputies opposed the Treaty of London?
300
why was Salandra’s resignation not accepted by the King?
Giolitti declined to succeed Salandra
Giolitti was afraid of a nationalist rebellion as he himself was anti-war so would have wanted to pull out
when did Italy declare war on A-H?
25 May 1915
what was the main reason for Italy entering the war?
foreign and domestic political pressure
the Italian people had little say despite their protests
what were conditions like in the war?
horrible
war was fought in the mountains with ice and snow
war of attrition meant trench warfare
what were the issues surrounding the Italian troops?
the south was clearly over-represented and these men did not understand the need for war
soldiers spoke different dialects so giving orders was difficult
how many southern peasant conscripts were there in the Italian army?
5 million
how many Italian soldiers were court-martialled for desertion?
290,000
what was the diet of Italian troops like?
3,000 calories of rations a day
who was the Italian supreme commander?
Luigi Cardona
what was Luigi Cardona like as a commander?
repressive and harsh
how many Italian military death sentences were passed under Cardona’s regime?
4000
why were Italian troops fighting inclined to surrender?
conditions in POW camps were better than what Italian troops on the front were dealing with
how many Italians were put in POW camps?
600,000
how many Italian troops died of hunger?
100,000
5x more than France and Britain
how did POWs feel after the war?
they felt betrayed
the Italian govt did nothing to help bring POWs back
why did the Italian govt not try to bring POWs back?
they felt that if they came back, they would tell stories about the better conditions in POW camps which may lead to men surrendering
what was decimation?
to deal with disobedience in the troops, men would be chosen at random and shot in front of everyone
Cardona wanted to force the Italian troops to fight
BUT
it lowered troop moral further