Mutilated Victory

Question 1

Economic & Social Problems

How did debt lead to financial collapse

Answer 1

• Huge sums of money had been borrowed from Britain and the USA, so Italy was £85billion in debt by 1919
• The government however still had to print money however to pay for the war effort which led to inflation
• Prices quadrupled and inflation destroyed savings

Question 2

Economic & Social Problems

• Prices …………… and inflation ……….. savings

Answer 2

• quadrupled
• destroyed

Question 3

Economic & Social Problems

What issue in production arose within industry

Answer 3

• The purchasing power of wages of factory workers also fell by about 25%
• Although large industrialists had done well out of war production, once the war ended there was no longer any need for quantities of rifles, trucks and artillery
• —> industrial profits therefore also declined

Question 4

Economic & Social Problems

Describe the disputes that arose in industry

Answer 4

• Industrial disputes increased as workers resented long hours and a fall in wages
• During 1919 over a million workers took part in strikes
• Membership of socialist trade unions shot up to 2 million by 1920

Question 5

Economic & Social Problems

Unemployment was largely made up of returning soldiers with no jobs to go to and had risen to ……… by 1919

Answer 5

• 2 million

Question 6

Political Problems

As the economy worsened, political divisions widened
Industrial workers flocked to the …… whose membership rose from ….,000 in 1914 to about ……,000 by 1919

Answer 6

Industrial workers flocked to the PSI whose membership rose from 50,000 in 1914 to about 200,000 by 1919.

Question 7

Political Problems

Why were many middle-class Italians both disgusted & terrified

Answer 7

• Inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1917, the PSI were now calling for social revolution and the overthrow of the Liberal state —>
• The Liberals appeared to be doing nothing about the socialist threat
• By November 1919 the PSI had won 156 seats - this was now the single largest party in the Italian parliament

Question 8

Political Problems

The disquiet and anger in Italian Society was made worse by…

Answer 8

Italy’s treatment at the Paris Peace Conference at Versailles in January 1919

Question 9

Political Problems

Woodrow Wilson, David Lloyd George and Georges Clemenceau (the leaders of America, Britain and France) saw Italy as…
As a result Italy’s claim for Fiume and much of the Treaty were rejected as Italy contributions to the war were limited.

Answer 9

as undeserving of “great power” status.

Question 10

Political Problems

What did Orlando, the new Prime Minister, argue at the Paris Peace Conference in January 1919

Answer 10

• they should be given all the territory Italy had been promised in the 1915 treaty of London —>
• southern Tyrol, Trentino, Istria and parts of Dalmatia plus the port of Fiume on the Croatian Coast

Question 11

Political Problems

As a result Italy’s claim for Fiume and much of the Treaty were ……… as Italy contributions to the war were ……..

Answer 11

• rejected
• limited

Question 12

Political Problems

Orlando ……………. the peace Conference which meant Italy …………………. in the final treaty as there was no one to represent their interests

Answer 12

• walked out of
• gained very little

Question 13

Political Problems

Orlando walked out of the peace Conference which meant Italy gained very little in the final treaty as there was no one to represent their interests. As a result Orlando was….

Answer 13

….forced to resign in June

Question 14

Political Problems

………………………………… were gained from the Conference but the result was described as a “……….. …………..” by poet and novelist Gabriele d’Annunzio

Answer 14

• Trent and Trieste and Northern Dalmatia
• Mutilated Victory

Question 15

Political Problems

It demonstrated the weakness of the……….. …………….., its lack of “………. ………” status and that ….,000 Italian soldiers had died for nothing

Answer 15

It demonstrated the weakness of the Liberal government, its lack of “great power” status and that 650,000 Italian soldiers had died for nothing

Question 16

The Occupation of Fiume

Against the backdrop of economic problems and political turmoil, ………………… groups challenged the government in Rome

Answer 16

nationalist right-wing

Question 17

The Occupation of Fiume

Anger at the inadequacies of liberal Italy, people spoke of establishing a….

Answer 17

• powerful government that would assert Italy’s greatness

Question 18

The Occupation of Fiume

Nationalists wanted Fiume because of its …..% Italian speaking population but the USA felt that Fiume should remain part of….

Answer 18

• 50%
• the newly created nation of Yugoslavia

Question 19

The Occupation of Fiume

On 12 September 1919 Gabriele d’Annunzio took ……… men made up of ex-soldiers, futurists, students and patriots and…….

Answer 19

• 2000
• seized the contested port of Fiume without a fight

Question 20

The Occupation of Fiume

For many Italians what was Fiume the greatest example of

Answer 20

• Italy’s humiliating treatment at the Versailles conference

Question 21

The Occupation of Fiume

D’Annunzio presented the occupation of Fiume as redemption for….

Answer 21

Italy’s dead soldiers

Question 22

The Occupation of Fiume

Scared of d’Annunzio’s popularity the government ………… and only ……. the occupying force on Christmas Day 1920.

Answer 22

• failed to act for 15 months
• removed

Question 23

When was the seizure of Fiume

Answer 23

September 1919

Question 24

What was the seiure of Fiume

Answer 24

• The Nationalist poet Gabrielle D’Annuzio led 2000 armed men into the city of Fiume and occupied it
• Nationalists hailed him as a hero
• Critics of the Liberal government pointed to the Government’s lack of will to use troops to end the occupation.

Question 25

What was the result of the seizure of fiume

Answer 25

* D’Annuzio became a public hero in Italy as a vocal critic of the government. He also caught the attention of Benito Mussolini who was also critical of Liberalism.