World War One

Question 1

When did World War One start?

Answer 1

• August 1914

Question 2

Why did Italy not immediately join the war, although it was part of the Triple Alliance?

Answer 2

• Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia without consulting Italy, which was a condition in their alliance

Question 3

What stance did Italy take on joining the war in 1914, and what were 3 reasons why?

Answer 3

• They declared themselves neutral
• Many (including Giolitti) did not believe that Italy was ready for another war both militarily and economically so soon after Libya
• Italy could gain more from mediating between the 2 sides
• Most Italians had no interest in the European conflict

Question 4

Who wanted Italy to intervene in WW1?

Answer 4

• The nationalists

Question 5

What was the main reason Italy had to join the war on the side of the Triple Alliance?

Answer 5

• If they won, they would not be sympathetic towards Italy who had failed to help them

Question 6

List 3 reasons that Italy had to join the war on the Triple Entente’s side.

Answer 6

• If they won, they would get the irredente lands
• They would also be able to discuss their ambitions in Africa
• Fighting against Britain would make Italy very vulnerable due to the presence of the British navy in the Mediterranean

Question 7

In what 4 ways did the nationalists publicise their views on WW1?

Answer 7

• They had a lot of influence with the press, which they used
• Benito Mussolini was an influential journalist that was supporting them
• The poet Gabriele D’Annunzio also supported them, and even led protests in favour of intervention
• Nationalist pro-intervention demonstrations were encouraged, while demonstrations against intervention were broken up by the police and military

Question 8

List 3 reasons why Salandra wanted to join the war.

Answer 8

• It would create national unity
• It would allow him to introduce repressive legislation, which would help end political unrest
• If they won the war, neither he nor his policies would be able to be challenged easily

Question 9

How did Italy decide which side to join? Give 3 details.

Answer 9

• They had secret negotiations with both sides
• The Triple Entente offered the better deal- most of the irredente lands, while Austria was clearly unwilling to give them to Italy
• They signed the Treaty of London in April 1915

Question 10

Describe 5 reactions to the Treaty of London.

Answer 10

• It created a lot of unrest as it had been signed in complete secrecy- even the army had not known
• The PSI and most regular Italians were against intervention
• The Catholic Church (including Pope Benedict XV) was against intervention as they did not want to Italy to fight against Catholic Austria
• In May 1915 Giolitti denounced the treaty and 300 deputies announced their opposition to it, and they called for Giolitti to become prime minister again
• Rallies were held in favour of intervention

Question 11

What were 2 effects of the mixed reactions to the Treaty of London?

Answer 11

• Mussolini was expelled from the PSI for believing the war would cause revolution, and so Italy joining the war was necessary
• Salandra resigned

Question 12

What did Salandra’s resignation cause? Give 4 details.

Answer 12

• The king asked Giolitti to become prime minister again
• Giolitti refused
• Other politicians did not want to take the role due to the impact their decisions would have on the reputation of the crown
• Salandra was reinstated and given emergency powers in May

Question 13

What were 3 reasons why Giolitti refused?

Answer 13

• He did not believe in intervention
• Going against the Treaty of London would mean that Italy had betrayed both sides in the war
• The king was considering abdicating if Italy did not stay committed to the Treaty of London

Question 14

When did Italy officially join WW1?

Answer 14

• They declared war on Austria in May 1915

Question 15

What was unique about the PSI’s stance on the war?

Answer 15

• They were the only far left wing party in Europe opposing intervention

Question 16

What was the war expected to be like, and how did this differ from the reality?

Answer 16

• It was expected to be quick and decisive
• However, Italy and Austria were locked in a stalemate for 2 years

Question 17

Describe 6 aspects of the conditions Italian soldiers were in.

Answer 17

• Thousands of them died from cholera and frostbite (they were fighting in mountainous terrain in ice and snow)
• 290,000 were court-martialled for desertion
• Rations were extremely low (3000 calories a day)
• Luigi Cadorna, the Italian Supreme Commander, decided to use harsh punishments to respond to the low levels of morale and discipline
• There was no entertainment
• Infantrymen were paid half a lira a day

Question 18

What were 2 methods Cardona used to increase discipline and morale? Give figures.

Answer 18

• 4000 death sentences for desertion/ indiscipline (more than any other Western power)
• Refusing to help Italians in prisoner of war camps to prevent troops from surrendering, which left them feeling abandoned and betrayed
• The 600,000 captured had to survive on 1000 calories a day, and as a result 100,000 of them died of hunger-related illnesses (5 times more than the figures for France and Britain; they were allowed to receive parcels from home)

Question 19

How successful was Italy in the war in the years 1915 and 1916? Give 4 details.

Answer 19

• Cadorna’s strategy was often to send many infantrymen towards Austrians in entrenched positions
• Thousands of soldiers were therefore often sacrificed to advance a few hundreds metres on a mountainside
• In 1915, 62,000 Italians died in 4 attempted offensives, but they made no gains
• Mobilisation was often disorganised, so the Austrians could successfully retreat

Question 20

What were 5 impacts that the north-south divide had on the war?

Answer 20

• Almost 5 million men were conscripted, and most of them were rural workers
• Southern peasants were therefore over-represented
• Italian expansion meant very little to them
• They could not understand why they were dying for frozen wastelands
• They often could not understand their northern, educated officers

Question 21

What was the Strafexpedition, and what happened?

Answer 21

• It was an offensive by the Austrian army in 1916 that was intended to open up a path to Verona and Bologna
• The Italian army was able to regroup and stop the Austrians

Question 22

What were 2 impacts of the Strafexpedition?

Answer 22

• Army and public morale was at an all-time low
• Salandra was criticised and forced to resign

Question 23

Who was Salandra replaced by?

Answer 23

• Paolo Boselli

Question 24

What was Italy’s worst defeat in WW1, when was it, and how bad was it?

Answer 24

• Battle of Caporetto in October 1917
• It erased all of the progress they had made since the beginning of the war

Question 25

List 7 problems the Italian army faced at the Battle of Caporetto.

Answer 25

• Poor leadership
• Low morale
• Chaotic retreat
• 200,000 lost contact with their regiments
  Some of the Italian soldiers started:
• looting
• attacking each other
• celebrating (as they believed it was) the end of the war

Question 26

List 10 impacts of the Battle of Caporetto.

Answer 26

• 100,000 Italians were killed
• 30,000 were wounded
• 300,000 were taken prisoner
• 400,000 vanished (probably returned home)
• Huge numbers of arms were lost
• Politicians who had been against intervention were blamed
• Nationalists called for revolution
• Boselli resigned and was replaced by Vittorio Orlando
• Cardona blamed the soldiers’ “cowardice” for the loss, and thousands of them were executed as a result
• Luigi Cadorna was replaced by General Diaz

Question 27

List 8 changes General Diaz implemented.

Answer 27

• Commandos were introduced (groups that infiltrated enemy lines and attacked them from behind)
• Rations were raised
• Annual leave increased
• There was an increased focus on boosting morale
• Promises of land reform
• Free life insurance was introduced
• In December 1917, the ONC was set up, an organisation that was meant to look after the welfare of soldiers and their families
• He was more cautious, and there were much less casualties as a result (1917: 520,000 vs 1918: 143,000)

Question 28

What did the PSI do during the war, and why?

Answer 28

• They did not support the war
• They therefore had a policy to neither support nor sabotage the war effort

Question 29

How did other Italians react to the PSI’s stance on the war? Give 3 details.

Answer 29

• Nationalists and liberals saw it as defeatist, unpatriotic and anti-Italian
• After Caporetto, many PSI leaders were arrested and imprisoned
• Mussolini claimed that they were bigger enemies than the Austrians, and that the country needed a strong leader to unite it

Question 30

At the beginning of the war, how well-equipped was Italy? Give 3 details.

Answer 30

• Very poorly equipped
• For every machine gun they had, the Austrians had 6
• They were short of artillery and bullets
• Their industry was far behind those of other European countries

Question 31

What were 3 ways in which Italy’s industry improved during WW1?

Answer 31

• Fiat become Europe’s leading truck and lorry maker; it produced 25,000 vehicles in 1918
• Their aeronautical industry produced 6500 planes in WW1
• By the end of the war, they had produced 20,000 more machine guns and 7000 pieces of heavy artillery- more than Britain

Question 32

List 6 reasons why Italy’s industry was successful during WW1.

Answer 32

• The employment of women and peasants in factories was organised (one quarter of all munition factory workers were women)
• Men essential to war production were exempted from conscription
• Hours of work were increased
• Strikes were banned
• Workers could face military tribunals if they did not do enough work
• Industrial expansion was financed by the government

Question 33

List 7 issues caused by the creation of a war economy.

Answer 33

• The country was 23 billion lire in debt (compared to 2.9 billion before the war)
• The economy was unbalanced as sectors that played a part in war production grew rapidly
• The north’s economy grew by 20%, while the south’s stayed the same
• There was inflation as the government had started printing money when it couldn’t borrow any more
• Cuts to government spending
• The value of wages fell by 25%
• Food shortages: in 1917 50 protestors were killed in Turin for protesting against food shortages and the war

Question 34

What were 2 effects of these issues?

Answer 34

• Most Italians did not support the war, so it made them angry
• Industrialists also benefitted from the war economy, so this angered workers

Question 35

What were 2 ways in which the government dealt with unrest at home during the war?

Answer 35

• They increased food supplies
• They created more propaganda

Question 36

How was the war going in October 1918?

Answer 36

• The Austro-Hungarian Empire was near collapse

Question 37

How did Italy win the war? Give 4 details.

Answer 37

• Orlando told Diaz to attack
• On 24th October 1918 the Italian army launched an attack in the town of Vittorio Veneto
• They took 500,000 Austrians prisoner
• Austria signed an armistice on 4th November 1918

Question 38

What impact did the battle of Vittorio Veneto have?

Answer 38

• It became the Italian nation’s greatest moment

Question 39

List 7 negative impacts WW1 had on Italy.

Answer 39

• 650,000 soldiers dead
• The economic gap between the north and south had grown
• There was debt and inflation
• There was a political divide between those who had supported intervention and those who hadn’t
• Tension existed between those who had fought in the war and those who hadn’t (tended to be industrial workers as their jobs were deemed as necessary, however they were also paid more than soldiers)
• The government had to fulfil promises made to soldiers
• Returning soldiers wanted compensation