Mussolini during WW2 Flashcards
When was the Pact of steel?
22nd May 1939
When/what was the Nazi-Soviet pact?
- 23 August 1939
- made it clear that invasion of Poland was inevitable
- M linked fascism to militarism and so would look hollow if he avoided war
- M knew he did not have the military strength needed to join a war
What happened on the 26 August 1939?
- M asked H for 170m tonnes of goods
- H released M from pact of steel in return for psychological support
What happened on 3 September 1939?
- Br and Fr declare war on Gr
- M does not join, but declares “non-beligarance”
When did Mussolini enter the war?
- 10 June 1940
- entered on side of Germany. Based on idea of parallel war’
What happened with France?
- they requested an armistice on 17 June 1940, before Italians had even attacked French territory
- M demanded various territories (e.g. Corsica and Somalia) but was not invited to the armistice signing so only got two small French towns
What happened in North Africa 1940?
- campaign launched September 1940
- Italian forces in Libya attacked the British in Egypt
- Had some early successes
What happened in North Africa 1941?
- January: 30,000 Br troops defeated almost 250,000 Italian troops
- by May they had lost Abyssinia, Somalia and Eritrea
- 380,000 Italian troops surrendered and taken prisoner. Huge blow to propaganda
- Germany forced to intervene in February
What happened in North Africa 1943?
- forced to retreat after battle of El Alamein
- May 1943: surrender, and allies prepare for invasion of Italy
What happened in the Mediterranean?
- poor coordination. Italian planes bombed own ships in July 1940
- Italian navy crippled by air attack on port of Taranto in Nov 1940
what happened in Greece?
- launched attack on 28 October 1940
- did not tell Hitler
- assumed Greece only had 30,000 soldiers, so attacked with 60,000
- -> Greece actually had 300,000
- air force and navy not coordinated
- weather conditions bad
what were the effects of the Greek invasion?
- Greeks invaded a quarter of Albania
- 32,000 Italians killed
- 100,000 wounded
how would you summarise Italian involvement in WW2?
- Mussolini said “we are incapable of doing anything”
- failed to achieve aims of parallel war
- propaganda couldn’t hide truth from people
how did military unpreparedness contribute to Italian failure during WW2?
- army was small and outdated
- 1,500 armored cars and light tanks, not enough for campaign in North Africa
- USA could produce more planes in a week than Italy could in year
- only had 1000 effective planes
how did leadership of the military contribute to Italian failure during WW2?
- generals steeped in defensive traditions of WW1
- language problems led to low morale
- training academies were outdated. Still trained in old tactics
how did Mussolini’s leadership contribute to Italian failure during WW2?
- only prepared for a short war
- made himself minister of war, navy and air force, but did not consult experts
- promoted officers for obedience rather than merit
- spent more time learning German and with mistress than meeting generals
how did economic weakness contribute to Italian failure during WW2?
- autarky not achieved
- food production fell. Rations fell to 1000 calories/day
- economy only worked at 25% capacity during war
- raw materials were in shortage
What happened when the allies invaded Italy?
- 13 May 1943: allies occupy Tunisia, giving them a route to Sicily
- 19 July: M asked H to transfer troops from eastern front but he does not
- -> allies bomb Rome, leaving 1500 dead
- 17 August: have control of Sicily
How did ideas of peace arise?
- in late 1942, Grandi and Ciano raise idea of seeking peace with the allies
- in 1943 the Vatican and king began secret peace talks with the allies
How was Mussolini removed from power?
on 16 July 1943 M was convinced to call a grand council
- motion to remove M was passed 19 to 7
- M ignored vote
- King told him he was replaced with Badoglio
when was Mussolini taken to prison?
25th July 1943
Why did the allies invade Rome?
- 3rd September: Badoglio promised to surrender and base 60,000 troops around Rome
- 8th september: had not done so. Confused army surrendered
Why did Germany declare war on Italy?
- they surrender
- In Greece, 48000 Italian soldiers were shot for resisting the German army
- 12th september: Italy was declared at war with Germany
Why did it take 9 months for the allies to capture Rome?
- poor weather and harsh terrain
- April 1944: 6 divisions diverted to France for D Day
- finally captured June 4th 1944
When was Mussolini rescued from Gran Sasso?
- 45 days between arrest and rescue by aerial raid
- Germans took control of Rome
- Mussolini rescued 12 September 1943
What happened on the 15 September 1943?
- The Salo Republic formed
- had lost faith in M
- Partisans and the conservatives (e.g. church) posed a threat
what was it like to live in the Salo republic?
- brutal regime with fearful militia. Like Fascisms 1919 manifesto
- Verona manifesto classes all Jews as the enemy. Nearly 7000 executed
- Brutal civil war between partisans and RSI forces
What happened in the south of Italy after the war was over?
- King established the kingdom of the south (AMG)
- under control of allies but conservative elites kept their power. Moderate fascism
- Badoglio replaced by Bonomi
- 50,000 forced to join the army
How did Mussolini die?
- by 1944 the RSI were clearly losing
- M was very ill, and attempted escape on 27th Dec 1944
- Arrested by Partisans
- Him and Petacci shot on 28th April 1945
- displayed outside petrol station in Milan
What happened with the Civil war in Italy once Mussolini was dead?
- civil war continues until 2nd May 1945
- -> economy and infrastructure ruined
- -> half a million Italians killed
- majority of fighting in North - widened divide
What happened in peacetime Italy (1946)?
- Jan 1946: voted to become a republic by 2m votes (12.7 to 10.7)
- Christian democrats won 207 seats
- Italy lost lands in Africa and had to give Fiume back
-Italy was now a liberal democracy with a king as the head of state
