Italy
95-612: Testico ( Ligurian : Testego ) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria , located about 90 kilometres (56 mi) southwest of Genoa and about 50 kilometres (31 mi) southwest of Savona . As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 217 and an area of 10.2 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi). Testico borders the following municipalities: Casanova Lerrone , Cesio , Chiusanico , and Stellanello . This Liguria location article
190-576: A free port at Djibouti , control of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad , Italian participation in the management of Suez Canal Company , some form of French-Italian condominium over French Tunisia , and the preservation of Italian culture on Corsica with no French assimilation of the people. The French refused the demands, believing the true Italian intention was the territorial acquisition of Nice , Corsica, Tunisia, and Djibouti. On 30 November 1938, Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano addressed
285-523: A few hundred of each eventually being produced. The Carro Armato P40 tank, roughly equivalent to the M4 Sherman and Panzer IV medium tanks, was designed in 1940 (though no prototype was produced until 1942 and manufacture could not commence before the Armistice, owing in part to the lack of sufficiently powerful engines, which were themselves undergoing a development push; total Italian tank production for
380-681: A few thousand dead so that I can sit at the peace conference as a man who has fought. Mussolini had the immediate war aim of expanding the Italian colonies in North Africa by taking land from the British and French colonies. About Mussolini's declaration of war in France, President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States said: On this tenth day of June 1940, the hand that held the dagger has struck it into
475-660: A friendly fascist regime had been installed ), and the invasions of Ethiopia and Albania . However, he opted to remain in the war as the imperial ambitions of the Fascist regime , which aspired to restore the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean (the Mare Nostrum ), were partially met by late 1942, albeit with a great deal of German assistance. With the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia and
570-521: A gh'à tutti i driti e e libertæ proclamæ inte questa Diciaraçion, sensa nisciunn-a distinçion de razza, cô, sesso, lengoa, religion, òpinion politica ò d'atro tipo, òrigine naçionale ò sociale, poxiçion econòmica, nascimento, ò quæ se segge atra condiçion. Pe de ciù, no se faiâ nisciunn-a diferensa fondâ in sciâ condiçion politica, giuridica ò internaçionale do Paize ò do teritöio a-o quæ e personn-e apartegnan, segge pe-i Paixi indipendenti che pe-i teritöi sott'aministraçion fiduciaia, sens'outonomia, ò sotomissi
665-497: A language, but rather a dialect of Italian . Hence, it is not protected by law. Historically, Genoese (the dialect spoken in the city of Genoa) is the written koiné , owing to its semi-official role as language of the Republic of Genoa , its traditional importance in trade and commerce, and its vast literature. Like other regional languages in Italy, the use of Ligurian and its dialects
760-435: A month beginning in the spring of 1940, an amount that exceeded even Mussolini's demand of August 1939 that Italy receive six million tons of coal for its first twelve months of war. The Italian Royal Army ( Regio Esercito ) was comparatively depleted and weak at the beginning of the war. Italian tanks were of poor quality and radios few in number. The bulk of Italian artillery dated to World War I . The primary fighter of
855-463: A native Ethiopian army "to help conquer" Anglo-Egyptian Sudan . The war also marked a shift towards a more aggressive Italian foreign policy and also "exposed [the] vulnerabilities" of the British and French. This in turn created the opportunity Mussolini needed to begin to realize his imperial goals. In 1936, the Spanish Civil War broke out. From the beginning, Italy played an important role in
950-774: A period of reinforcement and training the Allies assumed the offensive at the Second Battle of Alamein (October/November 1942) where they scored a decisive victory and the remains of Rommel's German-Italian Panzer Army were forced to engage in a fighting retreat for 2,600 km (1,600 mi) to the Libyan border with Tunisia. After the Operation Torch landings in the Vichy French territories of Morocco and Algeria (November 1942) British, American and French forces advanced east to engage
1045-599: A proportion of GNP derived from industry less than that of Czechoslovakia , Hungary and Sweden , in addition to the other great powers. In terms of strategic materials , in 1940, Italy produced 4.4 mega tonnes (Mt) of coal, 0.01 Mt of crude oil, 1.2 Mt of iron ore and 2.1 Mt of steel. By comparison, Great Britain produced 224.3 Mt of coal, 11.9 Mt of crude oil, 17.7 Mt of iron ore, and 13.0 Mt of steel and Germany produced 364.8 Mt of coal, 8.0 Mt of crude oil, 29.5 Mt of iron ore and 21.5 Mt of steel. Most raw material needs could be fulfilled only through importation, and no effort
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#17330844837761140-462: A reconciliation of German-Italian relations following years of a previously strained relationship, resulting in the signing of a treaty of mutual interest in October 1936. Mussolini referred to this treaty as the creation of a Berlin-Rome Axis, which Europe would revolve around. The treaty was the result of increasing dependence on German coal following League of Nations sanctions, similar policies between
1235-640: A submarine base at Bordeaux, code named BETASOM , and thirty-two Italian submarines participated in the Battle of the Atlantic . Plans to attack the harbour of New York City with CA class midget submarines in 1943 were disrupted when the submarine converted to carry out the attack, the Leonardo da Vinci , was sunk in May 1943. The armistice put a stop to further planning. Within a week of Italy's declaration of war on 10 June 1940,
1330-575: A swath of French territory along the Franco-Italian border. During this operation, Italian casualties amounted to 1,247 men dead or missing and 2,631 wounded. A further 2,151 Italians were hospitalised due to frostbite . Late in the Battle of Britain , Italy contributed an expeditionary force, the Corpo Aereo Italiano , which took part in the Blitz from October 1940 until April 1941, at which time
1425-663: A thrust from Sudan. A supporting attack was made from Kenya by the South African 1st Division , the 11th African Division , and the 12th African Division . Finally, the British launched an amphibious assault from Aden to re-take British Somaliland. Fought from February to March, the outcome of the Battle of Keren determined the fate of Italian East Africa. In early April, after Keren fell, Asmara and Massawa followed. The Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa also fell in April 1941. The Viceroy of Ethiopia, Amedeo, Duke of Aosta , surrendered at
1520-473: A war would not take place for several years. However, despite the Italian impression, the pact made no reference to such a period of peace and the Germans proceeded with their plans to invade Poland . Mussolini's Under-Secretary for War Production, Carlo Favagrossa , had estimated that Italy could not possibly be prepared for major military operations until at least October 1942. This had been made clear during
1615-516: A week later by German forces without meeting resistance. On 13 October 1943, the Kingdom of Italy officially joined the Allied Powers and declared war on its former Axis partner Germany. The northern half of the country was occupied by the Germans with the cooperation of Italian fascists, and became a collaborationist puppet state (with more than 800,000 soldiers , police , and militia recruited for
1710-509: A ògni atra limitaçion de sovranitæ. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on
1805-407: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ligurian language Ligurian ( / l ɪ ˈ ɡ j ʊər i ə n / lig- YOOR -ee-ən ; endonym: lìgure ) or Genoese ( / ˌ dʒ ɛ n oʊ ˈ iː z / JEN -oh- EEZ ; endonym: zeneise or zeneize ) is a Gallo-Italic language spoken primarily in the territories of the former Republic of Genoa , now comprising
1900-485: Is in rapid decline. ISTAT (the Italian Central Service of Statistics) claims that in 2012, only 9% of the population used a language other than standard Italian with friends and family, which decreases to 1.8% with strangers. Furthermore, according to ISTAT, regional languages are more commonly spoken by uneducated people and the elderly, mostly in rural areas. Liguria is no exception. One can reasonably suppose
1995-721: Is taught in school. The Mentonasc dialect , spoken in the East of the County of Nice , is considered to be a transitional Occitan dialect to Ligurian; conversely, Roiasc and Pignasc spoken further North in the Eastern margin of the County are Ligurian dialects with Occitan influences. As a Gallo-Italic language, Ligurian is most closely related to the Lombard , Piedmontese and Emilian-Romagnol languages, all of which are spoken in neighboring provinces. Unlike
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#17330844837762090-470: The Corpo Truppe Volontarie ("Corps of Volunteer Troops") had also been dispatched to fight for Franco. The financial cost of the war was between 6 and 8.5 billion lire, approximately 14 to 20 per cent of the country's annual expenditure. Adding to these problems was Italy's extreme debt position. When Benito Mussolini took office, in 1921, the government debt was 93 billion lire , un-repayable in
2185-557: The AB 41 and the Camionetta AS 42 armoured cars, which were regarded as excellent vehicles of their type. None of these developments, however, precluded the fact that the bulk of equipment was obsolete and poor. The relatively weak economy, lack of suitable raw materials and consequent inability to produce sufficient quantities of armaments and supplies were thus the key material reasons for Italian military failure. On paper, Italy had one of
2280-975: The Academia Ligustica do Brenno is the self-styled grafia ofiçiâ (official orthography). The two orthographies mainly differ in their usage of diacritics and doubled consonants. The Ligurian alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet , and consists of 25 letters: ⟨a⟩ , ⟨æ⟩ , ⟨b⟩ , ⟨c⟩ , ⟨ç⟩ , ⟨d⟩ , ⟨e⟩ , ⟨f⟩ , ⟨g⟩ , ⟨h⟩ , ⟨i⟩ , ⟨l⟩ , ⟨m⟩ , ⟨n⟩ , ⟨ñ⟩ or ⟨nn-⟩ , ⟨o⟩ , ⟨p⟩ , ⟨q⟩ , ⟨r⟩ , ⟨s⟩ , ⟨t⟩ , ⟨u⟩ , ⟨v⟩ , ⟨x⟩ , ⟨z⟩ . The ligature ⟨æ⟩ indicates
2375-455: The Allied invasion of Sicily , Mussolini was arrested by order of King Victor Emmanuel III , provoking a civil war . Italy's military outside of the Italian peninsula collapsed, its occupied and annexed territories falling under German control . Under Mussolini's successor Pietro Badoglio , Italy capitulated to the Allies on 3 September 1943, although Mussolini would be rescued from captivity
2470-936: The Balkans , Italy annexed Ljubljana , Dalmatia and Montenegro . Puppet regimes were also established in Croatia and Greece , which were occupied by Italian forces. Following Vichy France 's collapse and the Case Anton , Italy occupied the French territories of Corsica and Tunisia . Italian forces had also achieved victories against insurgents in Yugoslavia and in Montenegro , and Italo-German forces had occupied parts of British-held Egypt on their push to El-Alamein after their victory at Gazala . However, Italy's conquests were always heavily contested, both by various insurgencies (most prominently
2565-616: The Cape of Good Hope to Bordeaux in France. Some Italians, after their defeat, waged a guerilla war mainly in Eritrea and Ethiopia, that lasted until fall 1943. Notable among them was Amedeo Guillet . In early 1939, while the world was focused on Adolf Hitler 's aggression against Czechoslovakia , Mussolini looked to the Kingdom of Albania, across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. Italian forces invaded Albania on 7 April 1939 and swiftly took control of
2660-573: The Chamber of Deputies on the "natural aspirations of the Italian people" and was met with shouts of " Nice ! Corsica! Savoy ! Tunisia! Djibouti! Malta!" Later that day, Mussolini addressed the Fascist Grand Council "on the subject of what he called the immediate goals of 'Fascist dynamism'." These were Albania; Tunisia; Corsica; the Ticino , a canton of Switzerland ; and all "French territory east of
2755-555: The Côte d'Azur from the Italian border to and including Monaco ), in the town of Bonifacio at the southern tip of the French island of Corsica , and by a large community in Gibraltar ( UK ). It has been adopted formally in Monaco under the name Monégasque – locally, Munegascu – but without the status of official language (that is French). Monaco is the only place where a variety of Ligurian
2850-792: The Greek resistance and Yugoslav partisans ) and Allied military forces, which waged the Battle of the Mediterranean throughout and beyond Italy's participation. The country's imperial overstretch (opening multiple fronts in Africa, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean) ultimately resulted in its defeat in the war, as the Italian empire collapsed after disastrous defeats in the Eastern European and North African campaigns. In July 1943, following
2945-730: The Italo-Romance group of central and southern Italy . Zeneize (literally " Genoese "), spoken in Genoa , the capital of Liguria, is the language's prestige dialect on which the standard is based. There is a long literary tradition of Ligurian poets and writers that goes from the 13th century to the present, such as Luchetto (the Genoese Anonym), Martin Piaggio [ it ; lij ] , and Gian Giacomo Cavalli [ it ; lij ] . The Italian Government does not consider Ligurian
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3040-699: The Second World War was characterized by a complex framework of ideology, politics, and diplomacy, while its military actions were often heavily influenced by external factors. Italy joined the war as one of the Axis Powers in 1940 (as the French Third Republic surrendered) with a plan to concentrate Italian forces on a major offensive against the British Empire in Africa and the Middle East, known as
3135-457: The "parallel war", while expecting the collapse of British forces in the European theatre . The Italians bombed Mandatory Palestine , invaded Egypt and occupied British Somaliland with initial success. However, the British counterattacked , eventually necessitating German support to prevent an Italian collapse in North Africa. As the war carried on and German and Japanese actions in 1941 led to
3230-484: The 10th Army retook Fort Capuzzo and crossed the border into Egypt. Lightly opposed, they advanced about 100 km (60 mi) to Sidi Barrani , where they stopped and began entrenching themselves in a series of fortified camps. At this time, the British had only 36,000 troops available (out of about 100,000 under Middle Eastern command) to defend Egypt, against 236,000 Italian troops. The Italians, however, were not concentrated in one location. They were divided between
3325-625: The 10th Army, and seemed on the point of sweeping the Italians out of Libya altogether. Winston Churchill, however, directed the advance be stopped, initially because of supply problems and because of a new Italian offensive that had gained ground in Albania, and ordered troops dispatched to defend Greece. Weeks later the first troops of the German Afrika Korps started to arrive in North Africa (February 1941), along with six Italian divisions including
3420-499: The 5th army in the west and the 10th army in the east and thus spread out from the Tunisian border in western Libya to Sidi Barrani in Egypt. At Sidi Barrani, Graziani, unaware of the British lack of numerical strength, planned to build fortifications and stock them with provisions, ammunition , and fuel , establish a water pipeline, and extend the via Balbia to that location, which was where
3515-513: The Allied enclave at Tobruk , which they failed to capture. After reorganising and re-grouping the Allies launched Operation Crusader in November 1941 which resulted in the Axis front line being pushed back once more to El Agheila by the end of the year. In January 1942 the Axis struck back again, advancing to Gazala where the front lines stabilised while both sides raced to build up their strength. At
3610-714: The Axis), while the south was officially controlled by monarchist forces, which fought for the Allied cause as the Italian Co-Belligerent Army (at its height numbering more than 50,000 men), as well as around 350,000 Italian resistance movement partisans (many of them former Royal Italian Army soldiers) of disparate political ideologies operated all over Italy. On 28 April 1945, Mussolini was assassinated by Italian partisans at Giulino , two days before Hitler's suicide. Unlike Germany and Japan, no war crimes tribunals were held for Italian military and political leaders, though
3705-802: The British 11th Hussars had seized Fort Capuzzo in Libya . In an ambush east of Bardia , the British captured the Italian 10th Army Engineer-in-Chief, General Lastucci. On 28 June Marshal Italo Balbo , the Governor-General of Libya , was killed by friendly fire while landing in Tobruk . Mussolini ordered Balbo's replacement, General Rodolfo Graziani , to launch an attack into Egypt immediately. Graziani complained to Mussolini that his forces were not properly equipped for such an operation, and that an attack into Egypt could not possibly succeed; nevertheless, Mussolini ordered him to proceed. On 13 September, elements of
3800-507: The British announced that they would block all coal exports from Rotterdam to Italy. Italian coal was one of the most discussed issues in diplomatic circles in the spring of 1940. In April, Britain began strengthening the Mediterranean Fleet to enforce the blockade. Despite French uncertainty, Britain rejected concessions to Italy so as not to "create an impression of weakness". Germany supplied Italy with about one million tons of coal
3895-522: The British to overcome in encounters from 1941 to 1943. On 8 December 1940, the British launched Operation Compass . Planned as an extended raid, it resulted in a force of British, Indian, and Australian troops cutting off the Italian 10th Army . Pressing the British advantage home, General Richard O'Connor succeeded in reaching El Agheila , deep in Libya (an advance of 800 kilometres or 500 miles) and taking some 130,000 prisoners. The Allies nearly destroyed
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3990-680: The Ethiopians now." (This was a reference to the Second Italo-Abyssinian War where Italian forces had fought against a poorly equipped opponent.) Balbo had said "Our light tanks, already old and armed only with machine guns, are completely out-classed. The machine guns of the British armoured cars pepper them with bullets which easily pierce their armour." Italian forces around Sidi Barrani had severe weaknesses in their deployment. Their five main fortifications were placed too far apart to allow mutual support against an attacking force, and
4085-525: The German conquest of Poland, Mussolini hesitated to enter the war. General Sir Archibald Wavell , the head of Middle East Command , correctly predicted that Mussolini's pride would ultimately cause him to enter the war. Wavell would compare Mussolini's situation to that of someone at the top of a diving board: "I think he must do something. If he cannot make a graceful dive, he will at least have to jump in somehow; he can hardly put on his dressing-gown and walk down
4180-719: The German-Italian forces in the Tunisia Campaign . By February, the Axis forces in Tunisia were joined by Rommel's forces, after their long withdrawal from El Alamein, which were re-designated the Italian First Army (under Giovanni Messe ) when Rommel left to command the Axis forces to the north at the Battle of the Kasserine Pass . Despite the Axis success at Kasserine, the Allies were able to reorganise (with all forces under
4275-422: The Holocaust . In January 1943 the Italians refused to cooperate with the Nazis in rounding up Jews living in the occupied zone of France under their control and in March prevented the Nazis from deporting Jews in their zone. German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop complained to Mussolini that "Italian military circles... lack a proper understanding of the Jewish question." The Italian Navy established
4370-414: The Indian Ocean through the Sudan and Abyssinia, or to the Atlantic by way of French North Africa". As early as September 1938, the Italian military had drawn up plans to invade Albania. On 7 April, Italian forces landed in the country and within three days had occupied the majority of the country. Albania represented a territory Italy could acquire for "'living space' to ease its overpopulation" as well as
4465-467: The Italian Air Force ( Regia Aeronautica ) was the Fiat CR.42 Falco , which, though an advanced biplane with excellent performance, was technically outclassed by monoplane fighters of other nations. Of the Regia Aeronautica's approximately 1,760 aircraft, only 900 could be considered in any way combat-worthy. The Italian Royal Navy ( Regia Marina ) had several modern battleships but no aircraft carriers . Italian authorities were acutely aware of
4560-435: The Italian resistance summarily executed some political members at the end of the war, including Mussolini. During the late 1920s, the Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini spoke with increasing urgency about imperial expansion, arguing that Italy needed an outlet for its " surplus population " and that it would therefore be in the best interests of other countries to aid in this expansion. The immediate aspiration of
4655-427: The Italians made several attempts to intermediate peace. While Hitler was open to it, the French were not responsive and the British only invited the Italians to change sides. For Mussolini, the risks of staying out of the war were becoming greater than those for entering, which led to a lack of consistency in planning, with principal objectives and enemies being changed with little regard for the consequences. Mussolini
4750-426: The Italo-German negotiations for the Pact of Steel, whereby it was stipulated that neither signatory was to make war without the other earlier than 1943. Although considered a great power , the Italian industrial sector was relatively weak compared to other European major powers. Italian industry did not equal more than 15% of that of France or of Britain in militarily critical areas such as automobile production:
4845-509: The River Var", including Nice, but not Savoy. Beginning in 1939 Mussolini often voiced his contention that Italy required uncontested access to the world's oceans and shipping lanes to ensure its national sovereignty. On 4 February 1939, Mussolini addressed the Grand Council in a closed session. He delivered a long speech on international affairs and the goals of his foreign policy, "which bears comparison with Hitler's notorious disposition, minuted by colonel Hossbach ". He began by claiming that
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#17330844837764940-487: The aforementioned languages, however, it exhibits distinct Italian features. No link has, thus far, been demonstrated by linguistic evidence between Romance Ligurian and the Ligurian language of the ancient Ligurian populations , in the form of a substrate or otherwise. Very little is known about ancient Ligurian itself due to the lack of inscriptions and the unknown origin of the Ligurian people. Only onomastics and toponyms are known to have survived from ancient Ligurian,
5035-433: The age pyramid to be strongly biased toward the elderly who were born before World War II , with proficiency rapidly approaching zero for newer generations. Compared to other regional languages of Italy, Ligurian has experienced a significantly smaller decline which could have been a consequence of its status or the early decline it underwent in the past. The language itself is actively preserved by various groups. Because of
5130-459: The area of Liguria in Northern Italy , parts of the Mediterranean coastal zone of France , Monaco (where it is called Monégasque ), the village of Bonifacio in Corsica , and in the villages of Carloforte on San Pietro Island and Calasetta on Sant'Antioco Island off the coast of southwestern Sardinia . It is part of the Gallo-Italic and Western Romance dialect continuum . Although part of Gallo-Italic, it exhibits several features of
5225-452: The areas between were weakly patrolled. The absence of motorised transport did not allow for rapid reorganisation, if needed. The rocky terrain had prevented an anti-tank ditch from being dug and there were too few mines and 47 mm anti-tank guns to repel an armoured advance. By the summer of 1941, the Italians in North Africa had regrouped, retrained and rearmed into a much more effective fighting force, one that proved to be much harder for
5320-462: The back of its neighbor. The Italian entry into the war opened up new fronts in North Africa and the Mediterranean . After Italy entered the war, pressure from Nazi Germany led to the internment in the Campagna concentration camp of some of Italy's Jewish refugees . In June 1940, after initial success, the Italian offensive into southern France stalled at the fortified Alpine Line . On 24 June 1940, France surrendered to Germany. Italy occupied
5415-408: The bars of her Mediterranean prison and Gibraltar and Suez as the walls." Fascist foreign policy took for granted that the democracies—Britain and France—would someday need to be faced down. Through armed conquest Italian North Africa and Italian East Africa —separated by the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan—would be linked, and the Mediterranean prison destroyed. Then, Italy would be able to march "either to
5510-512: The basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty. Some basic vocabulary, in the spelling of the Genoese Academia Ligustica do Brenno : [REDACTED] Wikisource has original text related to this article: Ligurian language wikisource Italy during World War II Timeline The participation of Italy in
5605-407: The conflict. Their military contribution was so vast, that it played a decisive role in the victory of the rebel forces led by Francisco Franco . Mussolini had engaged in "a full-scale external war" due to the insinuation of future Spanish subservience to the Italian Empire, and as a way of placing the country on a war footing and creating "a warrior culture". The aftermath of the war in Ethiopia saw
5700-517: The end of May, Rommel launched the Battle of Gazala where the British armoured divisions were soundly defeated. The Axis seemed on the verge of sweeping the British out of Egypt, but at the First Battle of El Alamein (July 1942) General Claude Auchinleck halted Rommel's advance only 140 km (90 mi) from Alexandria. Rommel made a final attempt to break through during the Battle of Alam el Halfa but Eighth Army , by this time commanded by Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery , held firm. After
5795-453: The entry of the Soviet Union and United States , respectively, into the war, the Italian plan of forcing Britain to agree to a negotiated peace settlement was foiled. The Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was aware that Fascist Italy was not ready for a long conflict, as its resources were reduced by successful but costly pre-war conflicts: the pacification of Libya (which was undergoing Italian settlement), intervention in Spain (where
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#17330844837765890-424: The foothold needed to launch other expansionist conflicts in the Balkans. On 22 May 1939, Italy and Germany signed the Pact of Steel joining both countries in a military alliance. The pact was the culmination of German-Italian relations from 1936 and was not defensive in nature. Rather, the pact was designed for a "joint war against France and Britain", although the Italian hierarchy held the understanding that such
5985-568: The freedom of a country is proportional to the strength of its navy. This was followed by "the familiar lament that Italy was a prisoner in the Mediterranean". He called Corsica, Tunisia, Malta , and Cyprus "the bars of this prison", and described Gibraltar and Suez as the prison guards. To break British control, her bases on Cyprus, Gibraltar, Malta, and in Egypt (controlling the Suez Canal ) would have to be neutralized. On 31 March, Mussolini stated that "Italy will not truly be an independent nation so long as she has Corsica, Bizerta , Malta as
6080-402: The importance of Genoese trade, Ligurian was once spoken well beyond the borders of the modern province. It has since given way to standard varieties, such as Standard Italian and French . In particular, the language is traditionally spoken in coastal, northern Tuscany , southern Piedmont (part of the province of Alessandria , around the area of Novi Ligure , and the Province of Cuneo , in
6175-428: The last elements of the force were withdrawn. In November 1942, the Italian Royal Army occupied south-eastern Vichy France and Corsica as part of Case Anton . From December 1942, Italian military government of French departments east of the Rhône River was established, and continued until September 1943, when Italy quit the war. This had the effect of providing a de facto temporary haven for French Jews fleeing
6270-456: The latter terms without shattering their alliance with Germany. On 2 February 1940, however, Mussolini approved a draft contract with the Royal Air Force to provide 400 Caproni aircraft, yet scrapped the deal on 8 February. British intelligence officer Francis Rodd believed that Mussolini was convinced to reverse policy by German pressure in the week of 2–8 February, a view shared by the British ambassador in Rome, Percy Loraine . On 1 March,
6365-462: The motorized Trento and armored Ariete . German General Erwin Rommel now became the principal Axis field commander in North Africa, although the bulk of his forces consisted of Italian troops. Though subordinate to the Italians, under Rommel's direction the Axis troops pushed the British and Commonwealth troops back into Egypt but were unable to complete the task because of the exhaustion and their extended supply lines which were under threat from
6460-413: The municipalities of Ormea , Garessio , Alto and Caprauna ), western extremes of Emilia-Romagna (some areas in the province of Piacenza ), and in Carloforte on San Pietro Island and Calasetta on Sant'Antioco Island off of southwestern Sardinia (known as Tabarchino ), where its use is ubiquitous and increasing. It is also spoken in the department of the Alpes-Maritimes of France (mostly
6555-543: The name Liguria itself being the most obvious example. Most important variants of the Ligurian language are: Semivowels occur as allophones of /i/ and /u/ , as well as in diphthongs. /u/ is realized as a semivowel [ w ] after a consonant, or before a vowel (i.e poeivan [pwejvaŋ] ), as well as after /k/ , when the sequence is spelled ⟨qu⟩ . Diphthong sounds include ⟨ei⟩ [ej] and ⟨òu⟩ [ɔw] . No universally accepted orthography exists for Ligurian. Genoese,
6650-407: The need to modernize and were taking steps to meet the requirements of their own relatively advanced tactical principles. Almost 40% of the 1939 budget was allocated for military spending. Recognizing the Navy's need for close air support, the decision was made to build carriers. Three series of modern fighters , capable of meeting the best allied planes on equal terms, were in development, with
6745-433: The number of automobiles in Italy before the war was around 374,000, in comparison to around 2,500,000 in Britain and France. The lack of a stronger automotive industry made it difficult for Italy to mechanize its military. Italy still had a predominantly agricultural-based economy, with demographics more akin to a developing country (high illiteracy, poverty, rapid population growth and a high proportion of adolescents) and
6840-690: The outside edges of its European sphere of influence. Although it was not among his publicly proclaimed aims, Mussolini wished to challenge the supremacy of Britain and France in the Mediterranean Sea, which was considered strategically vital, since the Mediterranean was Italy's only conduit to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans . In 1935, Italy initiated the Second Italo-Ethiopian War , "a nineteenth-century colonial campaign waged out of due time". The campaign gave rise to optimistic talk on raising
6935-509: The prestige dialect, has two main orthographic standards. One, known as grafia unitäia (unitary orthography), has been adopted by the Ligurian-language press – including the Genoese column of the largest Ligurian press newspaper, Il Secolo XIX – as well as a number of other publishing houses and academic projects. The other, proposed by the cultural association A Compagna and
7030-743: The regime was political "hegemony in the Mediterranean–Danubian–Balkan region", more grandiosely Mussolini imagined the conquest "of an empire stretching from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Strait of Hormuz ". Balkan and Mediterranean hegemony was predicated by ancient Roman dominance in the same regions. There were designs for a protectorate over Albania and for the annexation of Dalmatia , as well as economic and military control of Yugoslavia and Greece . The regime also sought to establish protective patron–client relationships with Austria , Hungary , Romania , and Bulgaria , which all lay on
7125-470: The road to Alexandria began. This task was being obstructed by British Royal Navy attacks on Italian supply ships in the Mediterranean. At this stage Italian losses remained minimal, but the efficiency of the British Royal Navy would improve as the war went on. Mussolini was fiercely disappointed with Graziani's sluggishness. However, according to Bauer he had only himself to blame, as he had withheld
7220-429: The services, such that the bulk of personnel received much of their training at the front, too late to be of use. Air units had not been trained to operate with the naval fleet and the majority of ships had been built for fleet actions, rather than the convoy protection duties in which they were primarily employed during the war. In any event, a critical lack of fuel kept naval activities to a minimum. Senior leadership
7315-474: The short to medium term. Only two years later this debt had increased to 405 billion lire. In September 1939, Britain imposed a selective blockade of Italy. Coal from Germany, which was shipped out of Rotterdam , was declared contraband. The Germans promised to keep up shipments by train, over the Alps, and Britain offered to supply all of Italy's needs in exchange for Italian armaments. The Italians could not agree to
7410-509: The small country. Even before the invasion, Albania had been politically dominated by Italy; after the invasion it was formally made a protectorate of Italy and the Italian king took the Albanian crown. Along with the intervention in the Spanish Civil War and the invasion of Abyssinia, the invasion of Albania was part of the Italian contribution to the disintegration of the collective security
7505-430: The sound /ɛː/ , as in çit(t)æ 'city' /siˈtɛː/ . The c-cedilla ⟨ç⟩ , used for the sound /s/ , generally only occurs before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ , as in riçetta 'recipe' /riˈsɛtta/ . The letter ⟨ñ⟩ , also written as ⟨nn-⟩ (or more rarely ⟨n-n⟩ , ⟨n-⟩ , ⟨nh⟩ , or simply ⟨nn⟩ ), represents
7600-438: The stairs again." Initially, the entry into the war appeared to be political opportunism though there was some provocation. The French and British, for their part had caused Italy a long list of grievances since during WWI through the extraction of political and economic concessions and the blockading of imports. Aware of Italy's material and planning deficiencies leading up to World War II, and believing that Italy's entry into
7695-528: The stronghold of Amba Alagi in May. He received full military honours. The Italians in East Africa made a final stand around the town of Gondar in November 1941. When the port of Massawa fell to the British, the remaining destroyers were ordered on final missions in the Red Sea, some of them achieving small successes before being scuttled or sunk. At the same time, the last four submarines made an epic voyage around
7790-457: The trucks, armaments, and supplies that Graziani had deemed necessary for success. Wavell was hoping to see the Italians overextend themselves before his intended counter at Marsa Matruh. One officer of Graziani wrote: "We're trying to fight this... as though it were a colonial war... this is a European war... fought with European weapons against a European enemy. We take too little account of this in building our stone forts.... We are not fighting
7885-576: The two countries over the conflict in Spain, and German sympathy towards Italy following European backlash to the Ethiopian War. The aftermath of the treaty saw the increasing ties between Italy and Germany, and Mussolini falling under Adolf Hitler 's influence from which "he never escaped". In October 1938, in the aftermath of the Munich Agreement , Italy demanded concessions from France. These included
7980-620: The unified direction of 18th Army Group commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander ) and regain the initiative in April. The Allies completed the defeat of the Axis armies in North Africa in May 1943. In addition to the well-known campaigns in the western desert during 1940, the Italians initiated operations in June 1940 from their East African colonies of Ethiopia , Italian Somaliland , and Eritrea . As in Egypt, Italian forces (roughly 70,000 Italian soldiers and 180,000 native troops) outnumbered their British opponents. Italian East Africa , however,
8075-443: The velar nasal /ŋ/ before or after vowels, such as in canpaña 'bell' /kɑŋˈpɑŋŋɑ/ , or the feminine indefinite pronoun uña /ˈyŋŋɑ/ . There are five diacritics, whose precise usage varies between orthographies. They are: The multigraphs are: Tutte e personn-e nascian libere e pæge in dignitæ e driti. Son dotæ de raxon e coscensa e gh'an da agî l'unn-a verso l'atra inte 'n spirito de fradelansa. Ògni personn-a
8170-579: The war on the side of Germany was inevitable, the English blockaded German coal imports from 1 March 1940 in an attempt to bring Italian industry to a standstill. The British and the French then began amassing their naval fleets (to a twelve-to-two superiority in capital ships over the Regia Marina) both in preparation and provocation. They thought wrongly that Italy could be knocked out early, underestimating its determination. Prior to this, from 10 September 1939,
8265-480: The war – about 3,500 – was less than the number of tanks used by Germany in its invasion of France). The Italians were pioneers in the use of self-propelled guns, both in close support and anti-tank roles. Their 75/46 fixed AA/AT gun, 75/32 gun, 90/53 AA/AT gun (an equally deadly but less famous peer of the German 88/55 ), 47/32 AT gun, and the 20 mm AA autocannon were effective, modern weapons. Also of note were
8360-406: The world's largest armies, but the reality was dramatically different. According to the estimates of Bierman and Smith, the Italian regular army could field only about 200,000 troops at the war's beginning. Irrespective of the attempts to modernize, the majority of Italian army personnel were lightly armed infantry lacking sufficient motor transport. Not enough money was budgeted to train the men in
8455-523: Was also a problem. Mussolini personally assumed control of all three individual military service ministries with the intention of influencing detailed planning. Comando Supremo (the Italian High Command) consisted of only a small complement of staff that could do little more than inform the individual service commands of Mussolini's intentions, after which it was up to the individual service commands to develop proper plans and execution. The result
8550-509: Was based at the port of Massawa in Eritrea. Despite a severe shortage of fuel, the flotilla posed a threat to British convoys traversing the Red Sea . However, Italian attempts to attack British convoys resulted in the loss of four submarines and one destroyer. On 19 January 1941, the expected British counterattack arrived in the shape of the Indian 4th and Indian 5th Infantry Divisions, which made
8645-577: Was isolated and far from the Italian mainland, leaving the forces there cut off from supply and thus severely limited in the operations they could undertake. Initial Italian attacks in East Africa took two different directions, one into Sudan and the other into Kenya . Then, in August 1940, the Italians advanced into British Somaliland . After suffering and inflicting few casualties, the British and Commonwealth garrison evacuated Somaliland, retreating by sea to Aden . The Italian invasion of British Somaliland
8740-529: Was made to stockpile key materials before the entry into war. Approximately one quarter of the ships of Italy's merchant fleet were in allied ports at the outbreak of hostilities, and, given no forewarning, were immediately impounded. Between 1936 and 1939, Italy had supplied the Spanish Nationalist forces, fighting under Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War , with large number of weapons and supplies practically free. In addition to weapons,
8835-605: Was one of the few successful Italian campaigns of World War II accomplished without German support. In Sudan and Kenya, Italy captured small territories around several border villages, after which the Italian Royal Army in East Africa adopted a defensive posture in preparation for expected British counterattacks. The Regia Marina maintained a small squadron in the Italian East Africa area. The " Red Sea Flotilla ", consisting of seven destroyers and eight submarines ,
8930-467: Was that there was no central direction for operations; the three military services tended to work independently, focusing only on their fields, with little inter-service cooperation. Pay discrepancies existed for personnel who were of equal rank, but from different units. Nazi Germany 's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, marked the beginning of World War II. Despite being an Axis power , Italy remained non-belligerent until June 1940. Following
9025-467: Was well aware of the military and material deficiencies but thought the war would be over soon and did not expect to do much fighting. On 10 June 1940, as the French government fled to Bordeaux during the German invasion , declaring Paris an open city , Mussolini felt the conflict would soon end and declared war on Britain and France. As he said to the Army's Chief-of-Staff, Marshal Badoglio : I only need
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