On the Fiery March - Mussolini Prepares for War

By the 1930s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini reached the conclusion that Italy faced a clear choice: expand its power at the expense of the British and French Empires or face stagnation and decline. He believed that the regimes in the democratic West would not be able to contain their inherent hostility toward fascist dynamism, while their demographic and political weaknesses provided the opportunity for the younger, demographically virile fascist Italy to carve a new empire in the Mediterranean status quo.

Through his intervention in the Spanish Civil War and his attempts to challenge French Power in Europe and British imperial domination of the Middle East and East Africa, Mussolini sought to decisively change Italy's long-standing position as the least of the Great Powers. Although the Pact of Steel did not always function smoothly, Mussolini remained loyal to its principles, eventually throwing Italy into the Second World War, where he would belatedly discover that his regime had signally failed to prepare his legions for fighting in a modern war.

List of contents

Introduction
Mussolini's Mentalite
Towards the Axis
The Spanish Imbroglio and the Strengthening of the Axis
The Easter Accord and the Flourishing of the Axis
The Czech Crisis and the March to the Sea
The Pact of Steel
War or Peace
Denouement and Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix

About the author

G. BRUCE STRANG is Assistant Professor of History at Lakehead University.

Product details

• Authors: G. Bruce Strang
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: ages 7 to 17
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.07.2003
• EAN: 9780275979379
• ISBN: 978-0-275-97937-9
• No. of pages: 400
• Weight: 765 g
• Series: International History
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; European History, HISTORY / Military / General, HISTORY / Europe / Italy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / European, Italy, Fascism & Nazism, Second World War, c 1938 to c 1946 (World War Two period), Far-right political ideologies and movements, Modern warfare, c 1919 to c 1939 (Inter-war period), c 1939 to c 1945 (including WW2), c 1918 to c 1939 (Inter-war period), History / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / European Theater, World History: Conflict