Mussolini Foreign Policy Flashcards
What were some of M’s key aims with foreign policy?
- Wanted to move away from weak liberal government (Paris Peace Conference) ‘mutilated victory’
- Successful foreign policy would enhance fascism and cult of il duce
- Assert Italy as a power in Europe
What were more aggressive aims of M’s when it came to foreign policy?
- Revising the T of V and expanding into Africa (Abyssinia)
- Assert dominance in the Mediterranean as Britain made them a ‘prisoner of the sea’
- A more aggressive Italy with irredentism and spazio vitale for the Italians (living space)
Why did M want to overcome the ‘mutilated victory’?
- He believed Italy deserved Fiume and more land
- Basically just bare land
Why did M want to gain a strong empire abroad?
- Wanted to catch up to Britain and France
- Finish pacification of Libya and get Abyssinia
Why might Italy want Austria?
- Had ruled over it previously
- Irredente lands
- Germany would stop them Anschluss
Why did Italy want territory in the Mediterranean?
- Access to military power
- Access to Libya
- Mare Nostrum
- Britain would stop this due to their strong navy
- France had lots of trade already in Northern Africa
Why did Italy want territory around the Adriatic and in the Balkans?
- To gain irredente lands and overcome the ‘mutilated victory’
- Russia, Yugoslavia, Albania and the LofN would not allow this
- Greece owned some islands
Why would Italy struggle to achieve its goals of foreign policy?
- Did not meet military requirements to stand up to bigger countries
- Economic dependance on Britain
- Goals are vague and big
- The League of Nations
What led to the Corfu incident of 1923?
- 27th August 1923 Italian General Enrico Tellini and 4 of his staff were assassinated in Corfu
- They were running an inter-allied commission of drawing a border between Greece and Albania
- Mussolini blamed the Greek Government even though they may have themselves carried out the assassination
What did Mussolini demand following the Corfu incident?
- An Apology
- Funeral service at a Catholic Church in Athens with honour to the Italian Flag
- 50 million Lire penalty
- Public honour to Italy
- Arrest of criminal within 5 days and to put them to death
When did Italy act on Corfu and what did they do?
- 31st August bombarded Corfu without warning and occupied the island
- Actions were celebrated by nationalists and the elite
- Head of navy, Thaon di Revel celebrated these actions too
How did the League of Nations react to the Corfu incident?
- With British backing demanded that Italy move off from Corfu
- Italy’s reality was that they would not survive 48 hours against Britain
- 27th September Italy left and received the 50 million lire from Greece
What were the successes of the Corfu incident?
- Showed he was a dynamic ruler ready to go against the League of Nations
- Gained 50 million lire nan withdrew safely
- Boost for 1924 elections
- Ready to bully smaller countries
- He was better than the weak liberal governments
What were the failures of the Corfu incident?
- He had to accept Italys position in relation to the world powers
- He was forced out by the power of Britain
- Domestically was strong but on an international level he was not
When were Yugoslavia prepared to give up Fiume and why?
- January 1924
- They had built up a greater port at Split
- They were to give Italy Fiume for their recognition of Yugoslavian rule at ‘Susak’
Was Italy gaining Fiume a success?
- Domestic success due to d’Annunzio etc
- Not a success because the port was useless
- Fiume was now isolated from its hinterland and stagnated
Were the Locarno Treaty 1925 a success?
- Affirmed Western borders of Germany creating peace in Europe
- Italy were unable to negotiate its Austrian borders
- But the fact they were invited showed them as a big power
- Mussolini nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
How did Mussolini influence Albania?
- Backed Ahmet Zogu’s presidency in January 1925
- Also backed his self proclamation as King in 1928
- Extended Italian influence in south Eastern Europe at the expense of Yugoslavia
- Treaty of Friendship in 1926 between Italy and Albania
How did Mussolini undermine Yugoslavia?
- Provided support to the Croation Ustasha and Macedonian nationalist movements who wanted away from the Yugoslav state
- 1934 Croation terrorists who were financed and trained in Italy assassinated the Yugoslavian king, Alexander
Who was representing the powers at the Locarno Treaties?
- Austen Chamberlain (Britain)
- Aristide Briand (France)
- Gustav Stresemann (Germany)
- Dino Grandi (Italy)
What was happening in Libya?
- Italy were having a colonial war after local tribe people starting rebelling in WW1
- This was not reported on due to slow progress by the Italian army fighting against poorly armed mateys
When did Italy take a more brutal approach towards Libya?
- 1929 Marshal Badoglio took control of Italian forces and began the pacification of Libya
- Use of poison gas
- Concentration camps
- Starvation
Some key stats from Pacification of Libya?
- 1/3 population starved to death
- 100,000 forced from home
- 40,000 dead
- Omar el Mukhtar hanged in 1931 (rebel leader)
What was some evidence of Italy having good relations with Britain?
- Good relations with Winston Churchill and Austen Chamberlain
- During Locarno Treaties Britain helped Italy claim Albania
- Italy pressured Turkey to give oil-rich Mosul to Britain
- Up until 1936 they were buddies
What was some evidence of tensions between Italy and Britain?
- Italy could not stand up to Britain due to their supreme navy and military power (Corfu), led to Italian rearming
- Mussolini tried to establish pro-Italians in Malta to undermine Britain
- After revaluation of the Lira 1927 Italy heavily dependant on USA and Britain
What was some evidence of Italy having good relations with France?
- Willing to work with them during the Locarno Treaties
- Good relations with Britain led to a maintenance of relation with France
What was some evidence of tensions between Italy and France?
- Lots of anti-fascist exiles
- French not happy with OVRA operating in France
- France seen as obstacle to power in the Med and imperialist aims in Africa
- French wee worried about Tunisia’s Italian population that M may try to claim
- Raising possibilities and tries for anti-French alliances with Germany, Spain and Hungary
What was evidence of Italy having good relations with Germany?
- Locarno treaties
- Kellog-Briand Pact
- Italy supported nationalist groups in Germany to overthrow the Weimar Republic
What was some evidence of tensions between Italy and Germany?
- Mussolini did not want Anschluss as he would be surrounded
- He wanted to revise the Versailles settlement but focus on the Rhine
- Him and Hitler praised each other before and wrote letters to each other
What was the ‘Four Power Pact’ ?
- Germany should receive some territorial claims within the control of the pact
- Britain, France, Italy and Germany
- Signed 15th July 1933 but not ratified by Britain and France
- France didn’t due to links with Czechoslovakia and Poland who feared German expansion
- Also undermined by Hitlers leaving of the LofN
How did M react to the Nazi coup in Austria?
- July 1934 Nazi’s assassinated the Austrian Chancellor, Englebert Dolfuss to pursue Anschluss
- Mussolini reacted strongly against this and mobilised four divisions and moving equipment to the Brennner Frontier between Austria and Italy
