o Impact of the Second World War, 1940–43 Flashcards
What was the impact of Italy’s decision to enter the second world war on the side of Nazi German in 1940?
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Failures in France, North Africa, the Mediterranean
Disaster in Greece
War economy and military weaknesses
Political tensions 1943
Allied invasion of Sicily
Mussolini deposed
What was the impact of Italy’s decision to enter the second world war on the side of Nazi German in 1940?
(Failures in France, North Africa, the Mediterranean)
Parallel war - Italy alongside Germany.
Italy to focus on Mediterranean basin, Hinterland and northern Africa.
The Germans focused on northern, central and eastern Europe.
17th June France requested an armistice with Germany even before Italian troops attacked French territory.
Germany did not want to punish France too harshly, M was afraid of pushing Italian territorial demands without having done actual fighting.
20 June M pushed troops into French Alps - revealed troops lacked actual clothing for an alpine war, Air force lacked bombs to destroy french fortifications. M insisted on using tanks - not suitable. Advance was slow - only caught 13 unimportant villages costing around 631 men.
22 June French govt signed the Marshal Petain, saved Italian army from further embarrassment.
Had some early successes such as crossing into Egypt and towards the Suez canal. however, Britain counterattacked - 250,000 Italian troops defeated by 30,000 much better equipped British troops.
May 1941, Italy lost Abyssinia, Eritrea and Somalia.
British advance into Libya was hindered by German troops helping Italian army - end of parallel war.
May 1923 - allies were preparing for invasion of Italy from Tunisia.
Italian strategy proved confusing and and inadequate. Had no key strategy fro attacking British positions in the Mediterranean. Poor coordination between army and air force, lacked aircraft carriers. Propaganda of 20 years proved a total failure.
Disaster in Greece
Italian Army was in humiliating position during its attempt to invade Greece 28 October 1940.
Moving into Greece would increase Italy’s strategic position in the Balkans - power game b/w H and M.
M miscalculated Greece troops to 30,000 therefore launched an attack of 60,000 Italian troops however, Greece actually had 300,000 troops. Poor weather conditions in Greece - Italian troops had little mechanical support and their uniforms disintegrated during heavy rainfall.
32,000 soldiers killed
over 100,000 wounded
Germany defeated Greek troops within weeks humiliating Italian army once again.
M was seen weak compared to Greece. Fascist propaganda failed to put on a facade of the fascist rule.
War economy and Military weaknesses
Political Tensions, 1943
Allied Invasion of Sicily
Mussolini deposed
Allies disliked M being in power. Only the King could dismiss M therefore Grandi needed his support.
29th May after King had secret talks with allies Pres. Roosevelt would offer USA-Italian peace deal if King dismissed M.
Grandi spent 8 days drafting resolution of M’s dismissal - govt to be placed at the hands of the king.
M owned the Grand council therefore could order arrest of any fascists that opposed him.
After 9 hours of discussion, Grand’s resolution was voted on and passed by 19 votes to 7.
M dominated the King for 20 years.
M replaced by pres. Marshal Badoglio.
M was placed at the back of an ambulance and taken to prison - ‘anticlimatic end’.
The Allied Invasion
The Republic of Salo and the Govt in the South
M sent to prison in South east of Rome- extremely isolated place where no one would find him.
12th Sept M was rescued by German commandoes in a raid.
13th Sept M met with H in east Prussia.
Hitler made M set up a new fascist govt to continue the previous one - M spent two weeks in Germany making radio broadcast back to Italy announcing his establishment of a new fascist govt.
M’s govt was a puppet of Nazi govt.
At Gargano it was easy for Germans to control him.
Salo controlled the most richest and populated area of Italy.
M’s cabinat obtained radical fascists who had been part of violent blackshirt militia that had been purged in the 1920s.
14 Nov first fascist congress was held at Verona.
Italy had been anti-clerical republic, state-owned industry, real cooperative state run by worker’s and management.
M had no time, support or willingness from the Germans to allow his policies to be put into place.
Salo Repulic = Brutal
Five fascists including Ciano had been arrested and sentence to death fro treason for being involved in removing M from power originally.
Verona manifest announced the Jewish nationality is enemy - sent all Jews into camps - 7,000 executed.
GNR - 140,000 members (radical fascists)
RSI had membership of 200,000
Navy of around 20,000 men
anti-aircraft service of around 50,000
in total 573,000 men part of RSI
Brutal war waged in the north between RSI, Germans and Italian anti-fasicts. Nothern pouplation was terrorised - so they would no shelter partisans (german anti-fascists) and would report them if seen.
German policy for every German soldier that dies 10 Italians would be executed.
In the south the king had established royal govt - a client state, govt had little say controlled by allies.
Conservative elites supported monarchy and helped to control the social unrest in the south.
These conservatives feared re-emergence of communism and socialism.
Declaration of war on Germany - king and Bodoglio made little effort to organise an Italian contribution to the fighting.
Allied occupation of Rome 1944, encourage King to allow antifascist parties into govt. Badoglio removed and replaced by antifascist liberal Ivanoe Bonomi - 100,000 men army - largely resisted - forming a clear seperation b/w the north and south which would affect the country after the war.
German surrender and M’s death
RSI popularity was never high. By 1944 it was clear that Germans was losing the war.
Majority of Italians did not join either RSI or the partisans - continued to live normal lives.
M was on the verge of physical collapse.
16 December 1944 - M gave his last important speech addressing it was the king and Italy’s conservative elites who had betrayed the country and led it to defeat.
By april 1945 allies was capturing major northern areas of italy.
18th april H moved from Gargano to Milan.
25th April, M met with partisan leader to negotiate surrender.
M discovers Germany were already negotiating surrender with the allies without informing him, so he tried to escape to Switzerland.
27th April, partisans stopped the convoy Mussolini was travelling in at the town of Dongo and during their inspection discovered M disguised as German soldier.
28 April M and his mistress executed by Machine gun.
His body was publicly displayed at Piazzale Loretto - huge crowds attacked his body before hanging it up side down. Despite his death, fighting int he North still continued.
29th April German command signed surrender and agreed on ceasefire on 1 May.
2 May 1944 - war in Italy came to an end.
The outcomes of the referendum and elections 1946
Economy and infrastructure was damaged by war and lack of food and clean water.
Nearly 1/2 million Italian civilians lost their lives during WW2
Italy was left severely divided.
Antifascist forces of communists, Socialists and Christian Democrats established new Italian govt (fought against RSI and partisans) - those who supported RSI felt excluded. This clear division was demonstrated on 2 June 1946, when Italians voted not only for a Constituent Assembly to draw up the new Italian constitution, but also on a referendum to decide on whether Italy should be a republic.
Italian people voted for an end to the monarchy and the establishment of an Italian republic by 12.7 million votes to 10.7 million. The vote however, was divided on geographical terms with nearly every area in the north voting for a republic and every province in the south to retain the monarchy.
In the Constituent Assembly vote (which included female voters for the first time), the Christian Democrats were victorious, securing 207 of the 556 seats, the PCI gaining 104 and the PSI 114 seats.
The new constitution established a liberal democracy with civil and political freedom guaranteed.
The monarchy was replaced by a president as head of state and the rule of law under an independent judiciary system enshrined in the constitution. However, aspects of Mussolini’s rule were not forgotten, with the Lateran Pacts included in the new constitution.
Ridding Italy completely of fascism - incredibly difficult - country’s prefects, police chiefs and deputies were still the same people who had worked for the fascist government.
