Post by [CHIMERA]Antioxos III Megas on Feb 2, 2017 18:51:29 GMT
Have a cool essay u wanna share? Well, this is the place!
I made a small paper on the impact of World War I upon Italy , i was a little proud of the organization and clarity i managed to create here, I must admit. So here u go:
Italy Presentation
Background:
Italy was once an incoherent mess of independent city states and small kingdoms, but nationalist sentiments arose in the 1820s. The kingdom of Italy, based in Turin, emerged in 1861. With the taking of Venice from the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1866 and Rome from the Vatican in 1870, Italian unification was completed. Surprisingly, owing to hostile history with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy became part of the Triple Alliance with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. To many, the alliance seemed insincere, but it mainly gave Italy time to arm herself and consolidate power safely.
Reasons for joining World War I on the allied Side
1.) As such, World War I saw Italy betray its allies when Rome refused to commit its troops for the benefit of the Austro-Hungarians, arguing that the conditions of the triple alliance stipulated purely defensive military commitments from allies. Since Vienna was the one who attacked the Serbians, Italy had obligation to render its assistance. The reality, however, was that Italy felt woefully unprepared for a war of this scale, and its ruling classes were still deciding if it would be better for them to side with the allies or the triple alliance in this war.
2.) Because attacking the Austro-Hungarian Empire, its old enemy, while it would be preoccupied with fighting the Russian Empire, was appealing, and with the British Empire promising Italy additional territorial rewards should the allies be victorious, the Italians decided to side with them. Italy was promised many territories from the Austro-Hungarians including some of Germany’s colonial possessions. Thus, in 1915, Italy declared war on the Austro Hungarians, but not upon the Germans, after renouncing its part in the triple alliance.
First Stages of War
The Italians outnumbered the Austro Hungarians in the struggle for the Isonzo, but the Austro Hungarians commanded a strategically advantageous and elevated defensive position, and poor officers in the Italian army with overly-aggressive tendencies lead to the deaths of around 130,000 Italian soldiers. The stalemate was so morale-dropping that the prime minister resigned and was replaced by 78 year old Paolo Boselli. The pope had also strongly criticized the war from his place in Rome, further dismantling the morale of the Italians. By 1917, some 70,000 Italians deserted.
Caporetto
With the Russian revolution in 1917 and peace of Brest-Litovsk , the Italians faced a stronger force of Germans and Austro-Hungarians than ever before; 400,000 of these attacked the Italian army, which, although outnumbering them, was penetrated and surrounded. At Caporetto 11,000 Italians were killed but more than a quarter of a million surrendered. The government in Italy then collapsed and was replaced by new prime ministers and generals. A much smaller Austro-Hungarian offensive was repelled in 1918 after Italy took far more defensive measures.
Aftermath
World War I overall was a disaster for the Italians, as 650,000 soldiers had been killed and more than one million were seriously wounded. The Italian nation was bankrupted and went from 15 billion lire in debt to about 85 million by 1919. Inflation had also risen by 400 percent and 500,000 civilians died due to food shortages caused by the war.
Italy was never given everything that had been promised: Most of the Austro-Hungarian possessions were instead given to the newly formed nation of Yugoslavia, and the colonies possessed by Germany, outside of Europe, were mainly overtaken by the British and French. Because of the immense toll the war had taken on the economy and lives of the Italian nation, along with the lack of rewards it was promised prior to joining the allies, Italy at large felt unjustly treated by Europe as a whole. This nationalistic anger was the engine of the rise of a fascist-imperialist, Benito Mussolini, who, among many things, vowed to create a stronger and more expansive Italy.
Bibliography:
"Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary." History.com. Accessed January 31, 2017. www.history.com/this-day-in-history/italy-declares-war-on-austria-hungary.
"The Italian front." World War I. December 15, 2015. Accessed January 30, 2017. alphahistory.com/worldwar1/italian-front/.
I made a small paper on the impact of World War I upon Italy , i was a little proud of the organization and clarity i managed to create here, I must admit. So here u go:
Italy Presentation
Background:
Italy was once an incoherent mess of independent city states and small kingdoms, but nationalist sentiments arose in the 1820s. The kingdom of Italy, based in Turin, emerged in 1861. With the taking of Venice from the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1866 and Rome from the Vatican in 1870, Italian unification was completed. Surprisingly, owing to hostile history with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy became part of the Triple Alliance with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. To many, the alliance seemed insincere, but it mainly gave Italy time to arm herself and consolidate power safely.
Reasons for joining World War I on the allied Side
1.) As such, World War I saw Italy betray its allies when Rome refused to commit its troops for the benefit of the Austro-Hungarians, arguing that the conditions of the triple alliance stipulated purely defensive military commitments from allies. Since Vienna was the one who attacked the Serbians, Italy had obligation to render its assistance. The reality, however, was that Italy felt woefully unprepared for a war of this scale, and its ruling classes were still deciding if it would be better for them to side with the allies or the triple alliance in this war.
2.) Because attacking the Austro-Hungarian Empire, its old enemy, while it would be preoccupied with fighting the Russian Empire, was appealing, and with the British Empire promising Italy additional territorial rewards should the allies be victorious, the Italians decided to side with them. Italy was promised many territories from the Austro-Hungarians including some of Germany’s colonial possessions. Thus, in 1915, Italy declared war on the Austro Hungarians, but not upon the Germans, after renouncing its part in the triple alliance.
First Stages of War
The Italians outnumbered the Austro Hungarians in the struggle for the Isonzo, but the Austro Hungarians commanded a strategically advantageous and elevated defensive position, and poor officers in the Italian army with overly-aggressive tendencies lead to the deaths of around 130,000 Italian soldiers. The stalemate was so morale-dropping that the prime minister resigned and was replaced by 78 year old Paolo Boselli. The pope had also strongly criticized the war from his place in Rome, further dismantling the morale of the Italians. By 1917, some 70,000 Italians deserted.
Caporetto
With the Russian revolution in 1917 and peace of Brest-Litovsk , the Italians faced a stronger force of Germans and Austro-Hungarians than ever before; 400,000 of these attacked the Italian army, which, although outnumbering them, was penetrated and surrounded. At Caporetto 11,000 Italians were killed but more than a quarter of a million surrendered. The government in Italy then collapsed and was replaced by new prime ministers and generals. A much smaller Austro-Hungarian offensive was repelled in 1918 after Italy took far more defensive measures.
Aftermath
World War I overall was a disaster for the Italians, as 650,000 soldiers had been killed and more than one million were seriously wounded. The Italian nation was bankrupted and went from 15 billion lire in debt to about 85 million by 1919. Inflation had also risen by 400 percent and 500,000 civilians died due to food shortages caused by the war.
Italy was never given everything that had been promised: Most of the Austro-Hungarian possessions were instead given to the newly formed nation of Yugoslavia, and the colonies possessed by Germany, outside of Europe, were mainly overtaken by the British and French. Because of the immense toll the war had taken on the economy and lives of the Italian nation, along with the lack of rewards it was promised prior to joining the allies, Italy at large felt unjustly treated by Europe as a whole. This nationalistic anger was the engine of the rise of a fascist-imperialist, Benito Mussolini, who, among many things, vowed to create a stronger and more expansive Italy.
Bibliography:
"Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary." History.com. Accessed January 31, 2017. www.history.com/this-day-in-history/italy-declares-war-on-austria-hungary.
"The Italian front." World War I. December 15, 2015. Accessed January 30, 2017. alphahistory.com/worldwar1/italian-front/.