Fascist Foreign Policies 1926-40 (Complete) Flashcards
(31 cards)
What were the key concerns for Fascist Foreign Policy?
-Make Italy great power (like France & GB)
-Dominate Mediterranean
-Expand empire in Africa
-Strengthen fascist position at home
-1920s; relative success in Fiume, Corfu, Locarno, Kellogg-Briand
-Invasion of Ethiopia; turning point (domestic = good, foreign = bad)
-1930s= aggressive foreign policy
-Conquered Albania + gained domestic/international prestige at Munich
-War in Spain & Pact of Steel drew into WW2
-WW2 = 1940 (June)
How were Britain and France dominant in the foreign sphere?
-Enforced treaties post WW1
-Colonies dominated Africa
-Fleets controlled Mediterranean
-France consolidating power in Balkans
-Any changes in status quo would require their consent
How did Mussolini’s foreign policy aims develop?
-1922; no clear foreign policy (rejected anti-imperialist/anti-war views of his youth)
-Unsure of how far he agreed w/ his allies -> nationalists
-Loudly supported WW1 entry, condemned mutilated victory
-No foreign policy master plan
-Began to realise foreign policy -> give him ideal stage to impress fellow countrymen w/ his diplomatic skill & defence of Italian interests
What did Mussolini decide to make Italy as it entered the world stage and how?
‘Great, respected & feared’;
-Great power status: military build up, diplomatic intrigue, war
-Become dominant in Mediterranean
-Develop colonial empire in Africa
-Have Balkans as sphere of influence
-Italians transformed into more energetic/aggressive people
-These plans reminiscent of those in liberal regime but more ambitious, yet his plans lacked detail
How did Mussolini handle foreign policy in the 1930s?
-Dominated/conducted foreign policy himself pursing his goals relentlessly & recklessly -> ignored old foreign office so he could gain international prestige/support himself
-He had to take on variety of tactics
-Ended up squandering vast sums of money on colonial conflicts & led Italy into a disastrous World War
What were Italy’s geographical advantages and disadvantages foreign policy wise?
-Advantages; surrounded by water (harder to attack)
-Disadvantages; surrounded by water (needed strong navy) // alps: (harder for resources)
What were the key influences for the aggressive foreign policy regime?
-Quest for personal glory on world stage
-Recent experience of WW1 & mutilated victory
-Fascist ideology w/ emphasis on national greatness, military strength & glorification of war
-The sense of history; desire to re-create glories of ancient Rome
-Risorgimento had seemed like it’d make Italy a great European power & aroused patriotic favour (NOT FULFILLED)
-Italian unification coincided w/ Germany’s
How did Italy’s foreign ambitions quickly produce negligible results & frustration?
-Adowa 1896; native armies had defeated invading Italians
-Libya 1911; Italy seized territory from Ottoman Empire
How did Mussolini attempt to replace British foreign policy influence?
-Mussolini aimed to replace British influence in Egypt & east Africa w/ a colonial Italian empire
-Libya was huge but had little economic value -> nationalists attempted to portray it as a civilising mission (e.g. Federzoni)
Diplomacy 1922-32; what happened in Corfu in 1923 and what did it result in?
-August; Italian general + 4 staff assassinated in Greece (had been working for international boundary commission set up under peace settlement & were advising new Greece-Albania border)
-Mussolini blamed Greek gov; ordered full apology & 50m lire compensation. Refused -> he ordered bombardment of island of Corfu
-Dispute posed challenge to LON -> in support of league, GB backed by its Mediterranean fleet demanded he withdraw
-They received 50m but no apology
-Hailed as great success for dynamic fascism. He realised he could bully small powers but not Great Powers
-Aware of necessity for good relations w/ Britain
-Austin Chamberlain (foreign secretary) was big fan -> tolerant to Mussolini
Diplomacy 1922-32; what happened in Yugoslavia and Albania in 1924?
-Pact of Rome -> received Fiume. Had long been target of Italian territorial ambition (since 1919 especially) & brought great prestige/popularity but not used anymore (Split = major port)
-This success showed him Yugoslavia could be pushed around
-He resented French occupation/influence & wanted to prove Italy was the dominant power
-1924; Ahmed Zog (Italian sponsored local chieftain) took power in Albania on Yugoslavia’s southern border
-Italy supplied him w/ money & gave Italian officers to the army, encouraged Italian companies to invest in Albanian economy + employed into army
-Treaty of Friendship (1926); Albania -> Italian Satellite State
-Italy clear military threat to Yugoslavia -> emphasised by his military funding of ethnic minorities (mostly Croats) who wanted to break away from Yugoslav state
-Yugoslavia didn’t want war but refused to be intimidated into subservience
-Mussolini remained aggressive through most of 1930s until occupied during WW2
Diplomacy 1922-32; what were relations like with Britain and France?
-Mussolini recognised their main interests rested in W Europe
-He was determined to play part of moderate statesman & Italy remained in LON, signed Locarno Treaties, (confirmed Germany’s new borders) entered in Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 (outlawed war) & came to agreement w/ GB over location of border betw their colonies = Libya + Egypt
-He saw advantages of participating in these spectacles, enjoyed being taken seriously. Organised dramatic entrances to international conferences
-1925; @ Locarno= flotilla of speedboats across Lake Maggiore
-Italian press coverage always extensive; suggesting Duce was being treated as an equal by Great Powers & his contributions had been crucial in reaching such momentous European agreements (EXAGGERATION)
-Locarno; attended only 1 session, didn’t read final draft: created powerful impression of Italy
-1933; Four Power Pact = leaders of GB, Germany, France & Italy met in Rome -> hoped to be rival of LON for European affairs -> 4 power co-operation & spheres of influence, w/ agreed revisions discussed -> portrayed by Italian press as being centre of European democracy -> nothing concrete came out of it
Diplomacy 1922-32; why and how did Italy increase their ambitions?
-Had been respective neighbour of GB/France
-Late 1920s wanted to push revision of treaties, to make Italy ‘great, respected & feared’
-However, he needed allies & stronger armed forces
-1927; friendship treaty w/ Hungary (another revisionist state), funded right wing groups in Germany
-He even trained German pilots in Italy (breach of Treaty of Versailles)
-Immediately dismissed Kellogg-Briand Pact in parliament, as he’d just announced he’d expand his air force
-Early 1930s -> clear focus on Balkan affairs
-Can be argued more aggressive policy was to distract from domestic issues at home, as he saw policy boosted his regime at home & new dramatics successes would move from failure of corporate state
-Nazi transformation of Europe had opened it for Italy who could now advance on their long term goals
What were German-Italian relations like (1933-35)?
-Hitler’s accession in 1933: Mussolini realised in 1920s that a strong, resurgent Germany, seeking revision of Versailles, would frighten GB/France & make them more amenable to Italian demands. Neither wanted Italy as an enemy
-He had probably funded Nazis alongside other right wing groups
-Early relations betw them were difficult; Mussolini enjoyed claiming that ‘his creation’, fascism, was spreading through Europe & didn’t want to be overshadowed by the new Fuhrer
-Concrete concern= would take over Austria, expanding Germany & posing threat to N border + may even lose German speaking lands in N they gained after WW1
-Danger of Austro-German union (Anschluss) was scary to gov in Vienna, who knew a union would in fact be a takeover
-Austrian chancellor (Dollfuss) looked for outside help, visited Rome 3 times in 1933 -> Mussolini said he would help Austria
-Feb 1934: Mussolini told Dollfuss to set up right wing authoritarian regime which modelled after Italian fascism but against Nazism
-July 1934; Dollfuss assassinated by Nazi sympathisers
-Mussolini sent armed soldiers to Austrian border to protect them from armed Anschluss
What was the Stresa Front 1935?
-Relations reached low in March 1935
-Hitler announced he’d developed air force (Luftwaffe) in breach of TOV, was conscripting army 5x bigger than permitted
-GB/France saw large threat & didn’t want to relive horrors of WW1
-Duce made use of this
-Mussolini met GB & French in Stresa, Italy to organise joint response to threat. Would collaborate against any further breaches of treaties that might threaten peace + give added protection against Anschluss
-Mussolini became convinced that German-Italian alliance would terrify great power. In order to avoid that they should be more sympathetic towards Italian foreign ventures (ABYSSINIA)
What actions were undertaken in Libya, 1928-33?
-Although Italian gov claimed millions had settled in North Africa, only about 50,000
-The predictions of wealth the colonisation would bring were unrealistic -> cost of running greater than economic returns
-Bringing Libya under fascist control was not only matter of immigration, but developing agriculture & economy too
-Used armed forces to carry out ‘pacification’ in very brutal methods betw 1928-33 (100,000+ natives expelled from their lands & penned up in concentration camps)
-De Bono was in command but military operations carried out by Badoglio & Graziani
-Didn’t get along, were obsessed by petty rivalries
-1930-1: native rebellion put down, poison gas used
-1933: ‘reconquest’ over and concentration camps closed
-Gave space for next target: Abyssinia
What were the aims of the Abyssinia (1935) occupation?
-Believed colonies should be developed/expanded (not for commercial reasons eg extracting raw materials) but to:
-Enhance Italy’s claim as a great power
-Fulfil historic destiny reminiscent of Roman Empire
-Enhance military might using colonial soldiers + increase prestige
-Restore dwindling public confidence (corporate state + battles etc.)
-Abyssinia clear target = large + not colonised + lacked modern means of warfare
-Neighbouring Italian colonies of Somaliland & Eritrea provided convenient avenues for attack + uncertain location of Abyssinian borders with these colonies might provide ‘incidents’ betw armed forces that might provide excuse for war
-Also avenge humiliating 1896 defeat at Battle of Adowa (boost claim only he could bring greatness)
What was the pretext for the war in Abyssinia?
-Italy had sponsored Abyssinian membership into LON in 1923 & signed treaty of friendship in 1928
-1929 plans began to be drawn up for invasion + Italian troops began to occupy disgruntled border areas
-December 1934; WalWal incident: 30 Italian troops killed + Mussolini demanded apology/compensation
-Ethiopian gov replied by requesting LON investigation -> granted
-Mussolini didn’t care about results, ordered ‘total conquest’
-Huge army of around ½m sent over
-Press campaign orchestrated, stressing Italy’s right to an E African empire & suggesting presence of valuable resources (such as metals)
-He would’ve feared he was leaving himself vulnerable in Europe as Hitler built up power, but Stresa Front had reassured him
-GB/France too preoccupied w/ Germany to worry about his actions, as talks w/ their foreign ministers in 1935 confirmed they wouldn’t object to partial colonisation
How did the military victory occur in Abyssinia?
-October 1935; they attacked
1. Abyssinian armies disorganised/lacked sufficient weapons -> soon faced a defensive
2. Suffered modern war -> areal bombing + poison gas attacks
3. April-May 1936; capture of Addis Ababa + major victory at Lake Ashangi
4. Emperor Selassie fled to GB, organised opposition ceased
5. Ruthless suppression of guerrilla tactics worked/encouraged
6. Brutal tactics pacified but didn’t convince people of their Italian right nor fascist rule
What was the Italian public opinion on the Abyssinian invasion?
-Beginning= uncertain
-Some taken in by idea but still unenthusiastic
-BUT condemnation of invasion by LON caused public to rally around regime to defend Italian honour
-War over quickly w/ around 1000 casualties
-His popularity soared & Italy seen as great power
-The idea of a colonial empire now very strong
What was the impact of the Abyssinian war on British/French relations?
-Public opinion there outraged by invasion + tactics such as poison gas
-Widespread support for sanctions (no arms to be sold to Italy & member nations to ban import of Italian goods)
-These measures little more than symbolic: e.g. Sues Canal not shut off, which would have cut off Italy’s vital supply routes
-Mussolini saw the powers as weak, confirmed by diplomatic not aggressive attempts at ending conflict, Hoare-Laval Pact of December 1935 -> Italy could legally control most of Abyssinia, Selassie could have rest. He saw them as weak & living in pointless democracy that had little support of its people (Oxford 1937 students declare wouldn’t fight for their country); saw them as cowards
-Relations never fully recovered
Why did Italy participate in an alliance with Germany?
-Mussolini now looked to Nazi Germany w/ more favour
-They were another vibrant fascist regime; who had not played any part in the sanctions & also had grievances against GB/France since 1919
-Mussolini thought an alliance would scare them into concessions (Mediterranean domination)
How did the Rome-Berlin Axis of 1936 happen and what did it do?
-Reconciliation betw the 2 regimes began early 1936 -> Hitler had agreed to carry out an Anschluss & Mussolini dropped objection to Nazi interference in Austrian politics
-Europe saw increased relations when Ciano (foreign minister) visited Berlin in October 1936
-Following month Mussolini proclaimed existence of Axis; friendship cemented by secret understanding that Italy would direct its expansionist energies towards Mediterranean whilst Germany looked towards E Europe & the Baltic -> thus ensuring they wouldn’t compete
-Hitler’s talk of war didn’t frighten Mussolini -> he himself prepared to risk such a conflict
What was the Spanish Civil War and why did Mussolini intervene in it?
-War in Spain began July 1936
-They supported attempts of Spanish conservatives & fascists to overthrow the elected Republican gov
-Mussolini had been reluctant to get involved -> began by lending transport planes to the rebels
-2 of these planes crashed in French Morocco & Mussolini was heavily criticised by French Press -> reaction angered him + was scared French gov would give help to current Spanish gov -> intervened properly
-Wanted to maintain momentum created by Abyssinia & establish great Mediterranean influence. Was also simply over ambitious, wanted more war
-He expected war would be short/victorious & would generate same passion among Italian public as war in Ethiopia
-Despite commitment of 80,000+ troops -> no quick victory & no public enthusiasm
