Impact of the First World War

Question 1

why did salandra think the war would be a good idea

Answer 1

hoped that it would unite the nation in a patriotic fervour, entered the secret negotiations with both central and entente powers to see who offered the best deal

Question 2

when was the treaty of London signed

Answer 2

april 1915

Question 3

what was included in the treaty of london

Answer 3

salandra promised that italy would support the entente powers and in an event of victory italy would recieve irredente lands of south tyrol, trentino, istria, dalmatia and share turkish and german colonies

Question 4

why did giolitti oppose war

Answer 4

italy wasnt prepared enough, germany was producing 20 times more steel so they couldnt compete

Question 5

what did socialists believe about the war

Answer 5

they were pacifists and condemned the war as a capitalist conflict, money could be spent on domestic issues and workers instead

Question 6

what did catholics believe about the war

Answer 6

didnt want to fight other catholics in austria as catholicism was an international organisation

Question 7

what did the pope say about the war

Answer 7

“useless slaughter”

Question 8

what did mussolini think about the war

Answer 8

supported the intervention, it could bring about revolutionary conditions

Question 9

how many deputies supported giolitti in anti-war claims

Answer 9

300, was voted as PM again

Question 10

why did giolitti resign after he clearly had support for anti-war

Answer 10

didnt want to betray a second treaty and didnt want to be responsible for the King’s threat to abdicate (the king supported the war)
Salandra returned as PM

Question 11

why did people support neutrality instead of war

Answer 11

-the triple alliance was unattractive, those who wanted irredente lands saw fighting on their side as a betrayal of patriotic ambitions, britain supplied coal so industrialists didnt support as it would affect trade, many had cultural sympathy with france
-neutrality seen as more economically favourable, army still busy with libya and wasnt prepared for war, economy weak to sustain large scale war, could still make economic gains without intervention
-left parties opposed intervention, catholics didnt want to fight catholic austrians, territorial gains meant little to left parties, most italians content with success of libya

Question 12

why did people support with intervention

Answer 12

thought that italy should have greater imperial ambitions, opportunities were wasted on spending on welfare benefits in favour of working classes, wanted the return of irredente lands

Question 13

why did the intervention begin to get more support

Answer 13

-nationalist leader Corradini began campaigning for war in favour of entente powers instead to gain irredente territories
-nationalists had influence over the press which popularised their campaign, allied propaganda on the nationalist side, mussolini changed stance to nationalists, Dannunzio vocal in support
-worker demonstrations against the intervention were broken up by police and military but those that were pro-intervention were encouraged

Question 14

who was the king

Answer 14

king emmanuel III

Question 15

How did the nationalists spread support for intervention

Answer 15

organised demonstrations, Dannunzio’s charismatic speeches attracted crowds and a patriotic atmosphere, mussolini gathered crowds of 30,000 in milan, salandra had the support of the king and lead to a reassertion of liberal dominance

Question 16

what initially made the war hard for italians

Answer 16

-the alps were mountainous, the austrians took the high ground
-inadequate equipment
-poor leadership
-disease caused many casualties
-low morale lead to mass desertions

Question 17

how many were killed by the end of the war

Answer 17

650,000

Question 18

how many were wounded by the end of the war

Answer 18

over a million

Question 19

how many men were conscripted

Answer 19

5 million, most were peasants from the south and couldnt understand the dialect of northern generals

Question 20

when was the battle of caporetto

Answer 20

october 1917

Question 21

how many men did general cadorna execute

Answer 21

750 men for cowardice, alienated soldiers and sharpened divisions in society

Question 22

by how much did austrians push back italians in caporetto

Answer 22

by 100 miles

Question 23

what happened as a result of the defeat in caporetto

Answer 23

-public blamed the government for incompetence, forced boselli to resign in favour of Orlando
-some blamed non-interventionists for not supporting the war effort
-cadorna blamed it on the cowardice of the soldiers, led to executions
-general cadorna sacked and replaced by diaz
-300,000 men taken prisoner

Question 24

how could the defeat of caporetto been worse

Answer 24

austrian advance only halted by the autumn flooding of river Piave, the consquences couldve been worse

Question 25

why did italians lose in the battle of caporetto

Answer 25

-defences weak -reserves not brought to the front -units were left without orders -200,000 lost contact with regiments

Question 26

how did general diaz improve morale

Answer 26

-rations improved -troops given 10 more days leave a year -free life insurance -newspapers introduced in 1918 -Arditi were a group who infiltrated enemy lines, described as heroes -government introduced servicemen's association in dec 1917, looked after the welfare of soldiers and their families

Question 27

how much less casualties were there under diaz

Answer 27

1917- 520,000 1918- 143,000 Diaz more cautious

Question 28

when was the battle of vittorio veneto

Answer 28

oct 1918

Question 29

what were the consequences of the battle of vittorio veneto

Answer 29

-collapse of austrian forces and the signing of the armistice in november 1918 -took 500,000 as prisoners of war -hoped that italy could finally take place as a major european power

Question 30

what were main problems initially with the war (big list)

Answer 30

-unprepared, best soldiers were still in libya with a shortage of arms -cadorna had only 2 machine guns per batalion in 1915 when austria had 12 -mobilisation disorganised, gave time for austrians to retreat -cadornas response to failure was to sack hundreds of senior officers and execute for cowardice -infrantry units experienced huge casualties, 95% of casualties were infrantry -bitterness between peasant and industrial workers as workers could be excused -little effort for the welfare of soldiers, only payed 1/2 lire a day, rations minimal, no entertainment, only 15 day leave a year

Question 31

how many planes did italy make in 1918

Answer 31

6500

Question 32

who became the lead manufacturer in europe

Answer 32

fiat for trucks

Question 33

how many vehicles did fiat produce in 1918

Answer 33

1918- 25,000 1914- 4500

Question 34

how much did the government budget deficit increase

Answer 34

1914- 2.9 billion lire 1918- 23.3 billion lire

Question 35

how much did the national debt increase by

Answer 35

5x 1914- 15.7 bill 1919- 84.9 bill

Question 36

how much did italy owe britain and usa

Answer 36

15 bill to britain 8.5 bill to usa

Question 37

what did the government do to try help economy

Answer 37

printed more money as they couldnt borrow more, led to inflation and prices quadrupled, economic instability causes discontent

Question 38

what happened to industries

Answer 38

they were too reliant on a war economy, struggles to survive after it ended, government cut spending and couldnt provide profitable contracts to companies

Question 39

how many died in the Turin bread riots 1917

Answer 39

50 shot

Question 40

what was the impact on industrial workers

Answer 40

-workers placed under military discipline, couldnt change jobs or strike -food shortages and transport delays increased discontent -working week increased, 75 hr working week was normal in fiat in 1916 -cost of living rose while wages fell -increased support for socialism

Question 41

by how much did the purchasing power of workers fall by

Answer 41

25%

Question 42

what was the impact on soldiers

Answer 42

-thought workers had it easy, had safe jobs and wages were higher -called them "imboscati" or "shirkers"

Question 43

what was the impact on rural areas

Answer 43

-women key workers in rural areas, helped to reduce food shortages -peasants could pay off debts due to inflation -rent payments were reduced -there were promises made to peasant soldiers that werent kept, bitter at the lack of benefit

Question 44

how did some socialists get involved in the war effort

Answer 44

-made local councils which organised rations and welfare, trade unions helped to reduce labour disputes and safeguard jobs and wage rises -socialists were blamed for sabotaging war effort even thought they helped

Question 45

what was socialists response to war

Answer 45

-PSI refused to vote war credits and their policy of "neither support or sabotage" angered the nationalists -their support grew due to increased working hrs and a fall in wages of 25% -dissatisfied when democracy set aside, salandra ruled by decree and rarely allowed parliament to meet so that PSI has no chance to express views

Question 46

what was italys response to the russian revolution

Answer 46

-increased fear of socialism -socialists used it as a model for change -bolsheviks appealed to the workers of italy

Question 47

who helped the italian economy

Answer 47

dallollio

Question 48

when was the peace treaty signed with austria

Answer 48

september 1919

Question 48

how much economic growth was there in the north

Answer 48

20%, accentuated north/south divide

Question 49

when was the peace treaty signed with hungary

Answer 49

1920

Question 50

when was the peace treaty signed with Yugoslavia

Answer 50

1920 the treaty of rapollo

Question 51

what did italy gain after the war due to the treaty of london

Answer 51

-mainland was extended by 9,000 square miles -austria's pop. decreased to 6 mill which increased italy's security -recieved only colonies of Jarabub and Jubaland which werent very useful, italians dissatisfied with the results

Question 52

what did the nationalists call the war at the end

Answer 52

a "mutilated victory"