Liberal Italy 1911-18 Flashcards
(16 cards)
Social Problems (North South divide, post unification -1914)
Large North/South divide-
Dialect variations
North much more prosperous- Industrial centres such as Milan, Turin and Genoa. Po Valley made trade easier.
Mafia ran south
Strikes and social unrest
Large scale immigration- especially from south. 3,615,000 per year in 1900s
Opposition from church- priests stirred up unrest within the peasantry and told people not to participate in the new state
Deaths per 1000 per year- N-26 S-29 compared to Britain’s 19
franchise extended from 3m-8.5m however many were illiterate.
Social Problems (Post war 1918)
Victory seen as mutilated- loss outweighs gain.
650,000 dead, war debt, huge increase in cost of living.
Demobilised soldiers in the south occupied hundreds of thousands of hectares of farming land as an attempt to take what they were promised.
Growing divide in the north between soldiers and and those that stayed to maintain industry.
Political Problems (1911- Post Unification 1914)
Political alienation- limitations based on age, property, education.
Until 1912 only 25% of adult men could vote
No set political parties- used by men who wanted to gain power, no coherent ideology.
Trasformismo + coalition governments- unstable political climate.
Short term governments 1900-11 there were 9 governments- only 1 lasted >2 years
Politicians often bribed opponents- offered financial incentives or jobs to try to build a coalition
Political effects of war
Socialists
Continued to oppose
‘Neither support nor sabotage’
Many PSI leaders arrested
Even greater polarisation between left and right
Nationalists
Saw as a celebration of Italy’s power, patriotism, unity and self sacrifice.
Mussolini used to promote Fascism, saying Fascism represented the same values as VV
Economic Problems (1911- Post Unification 1914)
Very little industry in the south- 0.01% of the population owned 50% of land.
Little steel production 0.7m tonnes-1910 compared to Britain’s 6.5m and Germany’s 13.7m
Little foreign trade $1.8b - 1913 compared to Britain $7.5b
High gov debt, and taxes on poor
Frequent strikes
Very little/no coal, iron or other minerals and no oil until 1950s
Economic Impact of war
Italy behind Austria in steel production- Italy <1m tonnes Austria 2.6m tonnes.
For every two Italian machine guns, Austria had 12
Fiat became Europe’s biggest truck and lorry manufacturer- produced 25,000 vehicles in 1918
Aeronautical industry produced 6,500 planes in 1918
By the end of the war Italy had produced 20,000 machine guns and 7000 pieces of heavy machinery
People exempt from war pushed into factories. Fiat workforce increased from 6,000-30,000
Economic growth relied heavily on foreign loans. 23b Lira in debt, became 84.9b in June 1919.
Owed 15b to Britain, 8.5b to USA
1917 bread and pasta rationed, longer working hours, 25% fall in wages.
Giolitti- rise of socialism
Absorb socialism by a series of reforms- Accident insurance,
national insurance (health/old age),
illegal to hire children under 12(1901), maternity fund (1910),
working day for women limited to 11 hours,
state subsidised sickness and age fund for the merchant navy.
Non intervention in labour disputes + arbitration courts (1906)
Giolitti- Nationalism
agressive expansionist ideas
ANI difficult to deal with,
tried economic modernisation and reform but didn’t work
decided to expand via lybia
Giolitii- Church
church and state- parallel lines that should never meet
promoted catholic intrests in education
local coalitions- turin, bologna etc
used to improve parliamentaty majority, but didnt want to work together too closely
no answer to roman queston
Military Stalemate 1915-16
Reasons for slow progress
Fought in the mountains, Harsh conditions, Static trench warfare, Cholera and frostbite, Dialect inconsistencies.
Problems within army
Thousands died to move a few hundred meters
90,000 court martialled for desertion.
Extreme punishments- 4,000 death penalties
Troops lacked patriotism
600,000 soliders captures
Lack of food- only 1,000 calories a day
General anger at the government
Caporetto- Reasons for defeat
1917
Poor leadership
Looting and violence between troops
200,000 soldiers lost contact with their regiments
Loss of army
Strafexpedition split Italian army
Low morale
Austria helped by Germany- took 10,000 prisoners
20km into Italian teritory.
Caporetto- Impact
Italian parliament + military criticised
Salandra forced to resign
Franchetti (senetor) committed suicide
10,000 Killed, 30,000 wounded, 300,000 taken prisoner, 400,000 disappeared
Boselli resigned and was replaced by Vittorio Orlando
Cardona replaced by Diaz
Second Battle of the Piave River- Reasons for victory
June 1918
Tactical
General Diaz more cautious
focused on holding Italian line to avoid sacrificing soldiers
Italians had gas masks
Italy pre-empted Austrian barrage so they started four hours earlier.
Elastic defense
Austrian defences sent to western front
To Increase Morale
Social reforms for land in the south promised
Increased rations
Annual leave
Second Battle of the Piave River- Outcome
143,000 dead - better than 520,000 in 1917
Vittorio Veneto- Events
Diaz encouraged attack in order to win and boost morale/ position in negotiation post war
24/10/1918 - Launched offencive across the Piave- entering Vittorio Veneto and splitting the Austrian army in two
Armisitce signed 4/11/1918
7,000 Italians killed, 30,000 Austrians killed
