Kingdom of Italy
Italian colonial empire
Map of italy
Italy factsheet
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Unified in 1861 by Italian Nationalists
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Italy was relatively late to colonialism but snagged some colonies for herself
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Italian colonial empire consisted of Libya, Eritrea and Somalia and an overseas territory was the Greek island of Rhodes
italy before the war
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Italy, even though united into one nation, was heavily divided
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Regional dialects prevented most people from communicating with each other
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Power was also concentrated among the wealthy capitalists which fostered resentment
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Italian politics was dominated by Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti
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He was a master in the political art of Trasformismo, the method of making a flexible, centrist coalition of government which isolated the extremes of the left and the right in Italian politics after the unification.
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Italy was still had a mostly agricultural economy and was very underdeveloped
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Illiteracy was also very high
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Italy produced little steel, was dependent on British coal and relied on imported wheat to feed its population
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Thus, Italy faced problems in industrialization and the economy in general, weakening their capabilities during war
Italy's diplomacy
Italy was allied with Prussia against Austria during the Third War of Independence in 1866 which saw the gain of Veneto (Area near Venice)
In 1882, Italy, Austria and Germany signed the Triple Alliance where each member would provide support if anyone was attacked by 2 or more great powers
From 1895 to 1896, Italy invaded Ethiopia but was defeated and forced to withdraw, a deep humilation
The Italians had a more successful war against the Ottoman Empire in 1911 and 1912 where they gained Libya and Rhodes but the war was economically ruinous and the new lands needed large numbers of men to garrison
The Triple Alliance was renewed in 1912 with the addition of Article VII which "guarenteed both signatories (Austria and Italy) compensation should either make a permanent of temporary gain of territory in the Balkans
Austria told Italy they had no territorial ambitions in Serbia so Italy need not be compensated but then issued the ultimatum to Serbia without informing Italy
Italy felt betrayed and thus saw itself as exempt from the obligation
Pro War demonstration in Bologna
The declaration of neutrality threw the country into turmoil. There were strikes, demonstrations and protests.
The question began to be, not would Italy join the war? But rather, on whose side?
The Italian prime minister and cabinet were very anti-Austrian and Austria was not popular in Italy
Joining the Entente seemed obvious, Italy could liberate 700,000 italians in Austrian hands, control the Adriatic Sea and become a power in the Balkans.
Moreover, Italy depended on France and Britain for food and energy. The nation would grind to a halt and starve if Italy joined the Central Powers.
on 23rd may 1915
In 1915, Italy had signed the secret Treaty of London. In this treaty Britain had offered Italy large sections of territory in the Adriatic Sea region – Tyrol, Dalmatia and Istria. Such an offer was too tempting for Italy to refuse. Britain and France wanted Italy to join in on their side so that a new front could open up the south of the Western Front. The plan was to split still further the Central Powers so that its power on the Western and Eastern Fronts was weakened.
Italy's war
Between 1915 and 1917, Italian troops only got 10 miles inside Austrian territory. They fought 12th battles of the Isonzo RIver and many battles in the Trentino which did not lead to any significant gains in territory.
But in October 1917 came the disaster of Caporetto. In this battle, in fact a series of battles, the Italians had to fight the whole Austrian Army and 7 divisions of German troops. The Italian Army lost 300,000 men. The Germans used new shock troops tactics with newly trained Stormtroopers as well as specialized Alpine troops equipped with skis.
Though the Italians had a victory at Vittorio Veneto in 1918, the psychological impact of Caporetto was huge. The retreat brought shame and humiliation to Italy, discrediting them in the Paris peace conference.
Although Italy had hoped to gain the territories with a surprise offensive, the front soon bogged down into trench warfare, similar to the Western Front fought in France, but at high altitudes and with very cold winters. Fighting along the front displaced much of the civilian population, of which several thousand died from malnutrition and illness in Italian and Austrian refugee camps.
italy after the war
Italy gained the port of Trieste, Istria, the Trentino, South Tyrol and the cities of Fiume and Zara
Italy was promised the dalmatian coast but it was assigned to Yugoslavia partly due to Wilson's defense of Yugoslavia.
The italian nationalists were outraged and the term "mutilated victory" was used to describe the inadequate treaty
This lead to rise of Italian fascism and desires for a greater Italian empire