Italy in WW1

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  • Created by: ljoy1801
  • Created on: 13-02-18 19:27
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  • Italy in WW1
    • Military Stalemate 1915-16
      • War between Austria and Italy mainly fought on mountainous boarders
      • Conditions in trenches were horrific - soldiers died from cholera and frostbite
      • 1916 - 62,000 Italians died during four attempted offences against the Austrians to make advances.
      • Nearly 5 million men conscripted into the army
      • Soldiers didn't understand orders - didn't know the official languages
        • They felt unpatriotic and didn't see what the point of fighting for their country was
      • 290,000 soldiers caught for desertion
      • Supreme army commander Luigi Codorna was a harsh leader - sentenced people to death for cowadess
        • He would randomly shoot soldiers if all of them didn't follow orders correctly - lowered morale
    • Defeat at Caporetto
      • Austria tried to attack Verona and Bolanga - halted by Italy. Still lowered morale.
        • Military and parliament command forced to resign
          • Salandra (PM) replaced with Boselli
            • After the defeat, Boselli was replaced with Orlando
      • The battle took place in Caporetto in 1917 - poor leadership and low morale saw them a humiliating defeat
        • 200,000 soldiers lost contact with their army, 400,000 vanished (most used it to go home), 10,000 were killed, 30,000 wounded, 300,000 taken prisoner
      • One Italian Senator - Franchetti - took his own life because of the defeat
      • The army didn't collapse nor did the state, but people now wanted Giolitti to come back as PM
      • Cadora was replaced as general with Diaz - focused on boosting moral via tench newspapers
        • He lowered death rates from 520,000 in 1917 to 143,000 in 1918
    • Socialist response to the war
      • PSI opposed the war - they would 'neither support nor sabotage the war'
      • They were blamed for unpatriotic attitudes in the army
      • Their position meant their was greater divisions between the left and the right
    • Victory in Vittorio Veneto
      • Orlando encouraged Diaz to attack - they split the Austrian army in two and Austria surrendered
      • Suffered 650,000 losses and the economy was in turmoil

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