o Impact of the First World War Flashcards
What factors should be taken into account when assessing the impact of WW1 on Italy?
The Intervention Crisis
Military Stalemate 1915-16
Defeat at Caporetto
Socialist responses to the war
The war economy and cost of war
The significance of victory
How did the intervention crisis act as a factor when assessing the impact of WW1 on Italy?
Italy declared neutrality in 1914, led to political crisis, PM Antonio Salandra argued Italy should join the war as if it was won by G and A-H they would not take kindly to Italy’s neutrality in their time of need and if F,B and R won they wouldn’t negotiate with Italy on the Mediterranean and giving them back the irredente lands. The presence of the unique situation would enable Salandra to introduce more repressive legislation, providing authoritarian solution to Italy’s problems.
Entente promised that with victory Italy would gain much of the Irredente lands (South Tyrol, Trentino, Istria, Trieste, and much of Dalmatia). So on 26th April 1915 Italy signs Treaty Of London siding with B,F and R, which caused massive unrest in Italy, as it was signed in secrecy and even the army general was unaware. PSI, church + Catholics against such intervention.
Early May 1915 the crisis of intervention grew as Giolitti denounces Treaty Of London and 300 deputies stand in opposition to Salandra’s decision. Socialists also expelled anyone promoting idea of interventionism ie. Mussolini.
Salandra resigned and the King offered Giolitti role of PM and told him he may abdicate if the Treaty wasn’t honoured, Giolitti refused position as didn’t want to overthrow king as he didn’t even honour the Treaty as it would mean that Italy had been betrayed by both sides in the war. So, King reinstates Salandra on the 16th May 1915 and gave Salandra emergency powers on 20th May. On 25 may 1915 - Salandra declared war on Austria proclaiming that only through national unity Italy would be able to defeat its enemies.
PSI voted against the emergency powers - only far left wing party in Europe not to support their country’s intervention in the conflict.
How does the issue of military stalemate (1915-1916) act as a factor when assessing the impact of WW1 on Italy?
The war had reached a stalemate as Italy and Austria continued to fight back and forth in the icy mountainous area bordering the 2 countries using static trench warfare. Thousands of soldiers died from cholera and frostbite demonstrating how misguided his understanding of the conflict was. 2 years of stalemate followed.
In 1915, 62,000 Italians died in 4 attempted offensives against the Austrians.
Issue was with the Italian society at large as 5 million soldiers conscripted were peasants and agricultural workers who spoke varying dialects, so couldn’t understand orders being given to them and didn’t care about the purpose of the war (ie, land). 290,000 Italian soldiers were court-martialled during the war for desertion.
To solve desertion issue of soldiers, the supreme commander Luigi Cadorna set harsh punishments like death sentences, and hampering any attempts to help troops who surrendered and were sent to war camps (100,000 died in war camps). The ones who survived it and were released had a strong sense of abandonment and anger towards the Italian government as they had to survive on 1,000 calories per day.
How did the defeat at Caporetto act as as a factor when assessing the impact WW1 had on Italy?
An embarrassing loss for Italy.
1916 Austrian army launch the offensive Strafexpendition, but barely lose as a result Salandra forced to resign and Paolo Boselli put in his place, but military efforts hardy improved.
October 1917 Battle of Caporetto occurs as Austria decimates the Italian line, and Italian soldiers react humiliatingly, rioting, vanishing, being violent to poor leadership and low morale.
400,000 soldiers merely disappear and abandon the war, large quantities of military arms were lost, showing their poor morale.
These actions were an embarrassment to the Italian leadership, who’d claimed tat the war finally brought unity.
Italy was fighting for survival rather than Trente and Trieste.
Once again led to conflict in Italy and Vittorio Orlando takes Boselli’s place who focused on improvements ie, increasing soldier rations and annual leave time, boosting morale via speeches and organising land reform promises for the peasants. Casualty rates fell from 520,000 in 1917 to 143,000 in 1918.
How did the socialist responses to the war act as a factor in assessing the impact WW1 had on Italy?
PSI continued to oppose war, refusing to vote for war credits, declaring stance of ‘neither support nor sabotage’. This stance was hated by nationalists and many liberals seeing socialists as being ‘defeatists’, unpatriotic and anti-Italian.
PSI’s position created even more polarisation between the left and the right as socialists seen as defeatists leading to the ‘stab in the back theory’ were arrested and imprisoned. Mussolini also blamed socialists and said they acted as bigger enemy than Austria itself.
How did the war economy and cost of war act as a factor in assessing the impact WW1 had on Italy? (PAGE 187)
WW1 had a significant effect on Italian economy.
At beginning of WW1 Austria far ahead and had a better economy ie) well over double the amount of steel production, six times more machine guns etc.
But during war Italian economy improved as Fiat became the leading European vehicle manufacture, Italy produced 20,000 machine guns, 7,000 pieces of heavy artillery etc. This was due to Alfredo Dallolio the under-secretarial of arms and munitions who banned strikes adn workers could face tribunals if their behaviour was deemed unsatisfactory, and made women, peasants and men exempt from military service to work in factories. Fiat increased work force from 6,000 to 30,000 - rapid growth, fuelling expansionism.
Investment in war production was based on government borrowing foreign loans and printing more money.
But the fact that Italy was in war again caused the economy to fall heavily as inflation would go up. Italy owed a national debt of 84.9 billion lire in 1919, it was a 2.9 billion lire debt before the war.
War-based industries such as vehicle, steel, engineering, cement, rubber and chemicals grew at a disproportionate rate compared to other industries.
The production was heavily based in North adding to the North-south divide- growing resentment in the south as north’s economy grew by 20% from 1911 to 1921.
Government began to indirectly deduct taxes (to fund the war) and decrease wages (sometimes 25% decreases at a time!). Caused anger amongst the working population mainly the poorer ones. 1917 there were also bread, pasta, meat and sugar shortages and riots took place.
How did the significance of victory act as a factor when assessing the impact WW1 had on Italy?
Pressure on the collapsing Austro-Hungarian empire meant that Italy was stronger and to improve war negotiations they finally launched an offensive in Piave on 24th October 1918- splittign the Austrian army into two.
4th November Austria signs armistice and war ends.
Salandra proclaimed the victory as representing patriotism and self-sacrifice he had hooped the war would bring about.
Extent to which it was a victory for Italy was definitely questionable as war cause 650,000 casualties and a further divided Italian nation (North-south issue) + (those who supported the war and those who did not, those who had fought in the war and those who had stayed at home), suffering from debt and inflation.
After Caporetto gov. made promises to peasants to boost morale, however failed to fulfil those commitments.
Compensation for returning soldiers - not given.
