The gathering storm Benito Mussolini

mussolini in portrait

by late 1930s, mussolini s obsession demography led him conclude britain , france finished powers, , germany , italy destined rule europe if no other reason demographic strength. mussolini stated belief declining birth rates in france absolutely horrifying , british empire doomed because one-quarter of british population on 50. such, mussolini believed alliance germany preferable alignment britain , france better allied strong instead of weak. mussolini saw international relations social darwinian struggle between virile nations high birth rates destined destroy effete nations low birth rates. mussolini believed france weak , old nation french weekly death rate exceeded birthrate 2,000, , had no interest in alliance france. such extent of mussolini s belief italy s destino rule mediterranean because of italy s high birth rate mussolini neglected of serious planning , preparations necessary war western powers. arguments held mussolini full alignment berlin awareness of italy s economic , military weakness, meaning required further time rearm, , desire use easter accords of april 1938 way of splitting britain france. military alliance germany opposed existing looser political alliance reich under anti-comintern pact (which had no military commitments) end chance of britain implementing easter accords. easter accords in turn intended mussolini allow italy take on france alone sufficiently improving anglo-italian relations london presumably remain neutral in event of franco-italian war (mussolini had imperial designs on tunisia, , had support in country. ). in turn, easter accords intended britain win italy away germany. in 8 november 1938 entry of diary count ciano, mussolini s son-in-law , foreign minister, summed dictator s foreign policy objectives regarding france: djibouti have ruled in common france; tunisia, more or less similar regime; corsica, italian , never frenchified , therefore under our direct control, border @ river var. savoy, not historically or geographically italian , mussolini claimed not interested in it. on 30 november 1938, mussolini invited french ambassador andré françois-poncet attend opening of italian chamber of deputies, during assembled deputies, @ cue, began demonstrate loudly against france, shouting italy should annex tunis, nice, corsica, savoy! , followed deputies marching street carrying signs demanding france turn on tunisia, savoy, , corsica italy. french premier Édouard daladier promptly rejected italian demands territorial concessions, , of winter of 1938-39, france , italy on verge of war.

in january 1939, british prime minister neville chamberlain visited rome, during visit, mussolini learned though britain wanted better relations italy, , prepared make concessions, not sever ties france sake of improved anglo-italian relationship. that, mussolini grew more interested in german offer of military alliance, had first been made in may 1938. in february 1939, mussolini gave speech before fascist grand council, during proclaimed belief state s power proportional maritime position , italy prisoner in mediterranean , more populous , powerful italy becomes, more suffer imprisonment. bars of prison corsica, tunisia, malta, cyprus: sentinels of prison gibraltar , suez .

the new course not without critics. on 21 march 1939 during meeting of fascist grand council, italo balbo accused mussolini of licking hitler s boots , blasted duce s pro-german foreign policy leading italy disaster , noted opening britain still existed , not inevitable italy had ally germany. though many gerarchi balbo not keen on closer relations berlin, mussolini s control of foreign-policy machinery meant dissidence counted little. mussolini had leading position within fascist party, did not totally dominate balbo s attack on mussolini licking hitler s boots , demand opening britain pursued @ meeting of fascist grand council greek historian aristotle kallis called mussolini s relatively restrained response show – nazi party had nothing equivalent fascist grand council , inconceivable 1 of hitler s gauleiters attack him in same way gerarchi balbo criticized mussolini. in april 1939, mussolini ordered italian invasion of albania. italy defeated albania within 5 days, forcing king zog flee , setting period of albania under italy. until may 1939, axis had not been entirely official, during month pact of steel treaty signed outlining friendship , alliance between germany , italy, signed each of foreign ministers. pact of steel offensive , defensive military alliance, though mussolini had signed treaty after receiving promise germans there no war next 3 years. italy s king victor emanuel iii wary of pact, favoring more traditional italian allies france, , fearful of implications of offensive military alliance, in effect meant surrendering control on questions of war , peace hitler.

hitler intent on invading poland, though galeazzo ciano warned lead war allies. hitler dismissed ciano s comment, predicting instead britain , other western countries down, , suggested italy should invade yugoslavia. offer tempting mussolini, @ stage world war disaster italy armaments situation building italian empire far lean. significantly, victor emmanuel had demanded neutrality in dispute. when world war ii in europe began on 1 september 1939 german invasion of poland eliciting response of united kingdom , france declaring war on germany, italy did not become involved in conflict. however, when germans incarcerated 183 professors jagiellonian university in kraków on 6 november 1939, mussolini intervened hitler against action, leading freeing of 101 poles.