Impact of WWII 1940-3
- Made too many important policy decisions on his own, e.g.
Reasons for inadequate preparation for war Pact of Steel 1939
Military strength - Did not consider the impact of a LT modern war
- Claims of an 8-9m man army, but was less than 3m in reality - Suppressed criticism of Mussolini led to his eventual alliance
- All branches of the military was poorly supplied w/ Germany
→ short of tanks, limited aircraft carriers and fighter planes, no
knowledge of radar Failure of strategy
Malta
- Sparse defence against aerial bombing
- War plans only intended to capture Malta and nothing else
- Mussolini didn’t appoint experts
- 1942 - rapid losses of convoys due to British submarines and
- Lack of coordination in distributing military supplies →
bombers
competition for resources - Lack of Italian aircraft carriers made it difficult to defend
- Inadequate attempts at int’l espionage convoys and lead assault Malta
- Military strength and resources were already used up during
the Abyssinian War and Spanish Civil War North Africa
- Attempted to invade Egypt 1940 - Italians driven back 1000
Economy miles into Libya by 1941 by 30,000 British soldiers
- Battle for Grain made Italy heavily rely on imports of fertilisers - Mussolini initially rejected German offers of transport and
and foodstuffs tanks for the N Africa campaign
- Needed to import oil → accepted assistance from Rommel’s Afrika Korps
- Inefficiency in war industries, despite state intervention during
- Weak Italian army in Libya
the Depression
- Italians forced out of North East Africa by British forces in
- Never created a coordinated ministry that directed the war
1941
- Much of Italy’s money and materials were spent on
- Lost 250,000 men
propaganda and building projects
- Suez Canal remained in British o/ship and defeated Italo-
German forces by end of 1942
Propaganda
- Italy never attacked Gibraltar
- Mussolini used it to create a false impression of Italy’s military
→ could have prevented British control over the Mediterranean
strength
- Mussolini failed to take up offer of occupying modern naval
- Italian military and civil leaders believed the propaganda
bases in Tunisia, a defeated French colony
Mussolini’s leadership
Other miscalculations
- Made too many important policy decisions on his own, e.g.
Reasons for inadequate preparation for war Pact of Steel 1939
Military strength - Did not consider the impact of a LT modern war
- Claims of an 8-9m man army, but was less than 3m in reality - Suppressed criticism of Mussolini led to his eventual alliance
- All branches of the military was poorly supplied w/ Germany
→ short of tanks, limited aircraft carriers and fighter planes, no
knowledge of radar Failure of strategy
Malta
- Sparse defence against aerial bombing
- War plans only intended to capture Malta and nothing else
- Mussolini didn’t appoint experts
- 1942 - rapid losses of convoys due to British submarines and
- Lack of coordination in distributing military supplies →
bombers
competition for resources - Lack of Italian aircraft carriers made it difficult to defend
- Inadequate attempts at int’l espionage convoys and lead assault Malta
- Military strength and resources were already used up during
the Abyssinian War and Spanish Civil War North Africa
- Attempted to invade Egypt 1940 - Italians driven back 1000
Economy miles into Libya by 1941 by 30,000 British soldiers
- Battle for Grain made Italy heavily rely on imports of fertilisers - Mussolini initially rejected German offers of transport and
and foodstuffs tanks for the N Africa campaign
- Needed to import oil → accepted assistance from Rommel’s Afrika Korps
- Inefficiency in war industries, despite state intervention during
- Weak Italian army in Libya
the Depression
- Italians forced out of North East Africa by British forces in
- Never created a coordinated ministry that directed the war
1941
- Much of Italy’s money and materials were spent on
- Lost 250,000 men
propaganda and building projects
- Suez Canal remained in British o/ship and defeated Italo-
German forces by end of 1942
Propaganda
- Italy never attacked Gibraltar
- Mussolini used it to create a false impression of Italy’s military
→ could have prevented British control over the Mediterranean
strength
- Mussolini failed to take up offer of occupying modern naval
- Italian military and civil leaders believed the propaganda
bases in Tunisia, a defeated French colony
Mussolini’s leadership
Other miscalculations
