Why did Fascist military suffer defeats?

Question 1

What reasons did the Fascist military suffer defeats?

Answer 1

• Military unpreparedness
• Inadequate leadership of military
• Inadequate leadership of Mussolini
• Economic weakness

Question 2

Give some examples of economic weakness

Answer 2

• Autarky had not been achieved
• Steel production went down by 20% between 1940-42
• Fiat could only produce 2,550 vehicles a month in 1941 whereas they produced 4,883 in 1938
• Italian economy was working at 25% during war (many were unemployed)

Question 3

Give some examples of military unpreparedness

Answer 3

• Large sums of money have been spent on rearmament between 1925-38 (11.8% of national income) but most of it was spent on inadequate weaponry and luxurious living quarters for offices
• Army was small and outdated, in June 1940 fewer then 800,000 men were ready to fight
• Italy was prepared for a short war
• Only possessed 1,000 effective planes and these were of inferior quality

Question 4

Examples of inadequate leadership of Mussolini

Answer 4

• Mussolini made all strategic decisions, often without military experts

Question 5

Examples of inadequate leadership of army generals

Answer 5

• Generals were steeped in the defensive traditions of WW1
• No thought have been put into the large-scale armament production during war time