WWI Flashcards
Reasons for neutrality 1914
Alliance w/ German and Austria-Hungary was unattractive to many
Was economically more favourable
Catholics and parties from left were opposed to war
Support for intervention
Small, highly vocal nationalist minority
Italy declare war
May 1915
Italy human cost 1915-17
200,000 men
Only advanced 12 miles
Number of people mobilised for war May 1915-Nov 1917
5.7 million
Mostly peasants
Numbers lost in Cadorna’s first 2 advances
62,000 killed and 170,000 injured
Sacked hundreds of senior officers
Executed hundreds of own men
% of casualties that were infantry soldiers
95%
Soldier welfare
Only received 1/2 a lira per day
Caporetto
1917
Humiliating
200,000 soldiers lost contact with their regiments
Number of casualties in 1917
520,000
General Diaz
Replaced Caporetto
Rations improved
Troops given 10 more days leave per year
Trench newspapers introduced
1918
Casualties in 1918
143,000
Vittorio Veneto
1918
Italian army attacked Austro-Hungarian forces and won the battle
Casualties over entire war
1.3 million 1915-18
Number of planes created in Italy in 1918
6500
Vehicle production increase 1914-18
4500 to 25000
Budget deficit after war
2.9 billion lire in 1914-15 to 23.3 billion in 1918-19
Rise in national debt June 1914 - June 1919
15.7 billion lire to 84.9 billion
Italy owed Britain
15 billion lire
Italy owed US
8.5 billion lire
Socialist response to war
Socialists became more divided
Radicals tried a revolution in Aug 1917
Socialists blamed for every war difficulty
Pact of Rome
April 1918
Declared that a unified and independent Yugoslavia was in Italy’s interests
Peace Treaty signed w/ Austria
Sept 1919
Peace Treaty signed w/ Hungary
1920
Peace Treaty signed w/ Yugoslavia
1920
Treaty of London
April 1915
Italian mainland extended by 9000 square miles
Socialist vote in 1919
31%
Most popular single party
Mussolini seats in 1919 elections
0
