Benito Mussolini
was born in Forli,
Italy
, in 1883. After working briefly as a schoolteacher, Mussolini fled to Switzerland in 1902 in an effort to evade military service.
Mussolini returned to
Italy
in 1904 and over the next ten years worked as a journalist and eventually became editor of
Avanti
. Mussolini was active in the
socialist
movement but moved to right in 1914 when the Italian government failed to support the
Triple Alliance
. In 1915 Mussolini resigned from the Socialist Party when it advocated support for the
Allies
in the
First World War.
When Italy entered the war Mussolini served in the
Italian Army
and eventually reached the rank of corporal. After being wounded he returned to Milan to edit the right-wing
Il Popolo d'Italia
. The journal demanded that the Allies fully supported Italy's demands at the
Paris Peace Conference
.
After the war Mussolini attacked
Vittorio Orlando
for failing to achieve Italy's objectives at the
Versailles Peace Treaty
and helped to organize the various right-wing groups in Italy into the
Fascist Party
. After a series of riots in 1922 King
Victor Emmanuel III
appointed Mussolini in an attempt to prevent a communist revolution in Italy.
Mussolini headed a coalition of fascists and nationalists and parliamentary government continued until the murder of the socialist leader,
Giacomo Matteotti
in 1924. Left-wing parties were suppressed and in 1929 Italy became a one-party state.
Mussolini also carried out an extensive public-works programme and the fall in unemployment made him a popular figure in Italy.
Italy controlled
Eritrea
and
Somalia
in Africa but had failed several times to colonize neighbouring
Ethiopia
. When
Mussolini
came to power he was determined to show the strength of his regime by occupying the country. In October 1935 Mussolini sent in General
Pietro Badoglio
and the
Italian Army
into Ethiopia.
The
League of Nations
condemned Italy's aggression and in November imposed sanctions. This included an attempt to ban countries from selling arms, rubber and some metals to Italy. Some political leaders in
France
and
Britain
opposed sanctions arguing that it might persuade Mussolini to form an alliance with
Adolf Hitler
and
Nazi Germany
.
Over 400,000 Italian troops fought in
Ethiopia
. The poorly armed Ethiopians were no match for Italy's modern tanks and aeroplanes. The Italians even used
mustard gas
on the home forces and were able to capture Addis Ababa, the capital of the country, in May 1936, forcing Emperor Haile Selassie to flee to
England
.
Adolf Hitler
had been inspired by Mussolini's achievements and once he gained power in
Germany
he sought a close relationship with Italy. In October 1936 the two men signed a non-military alliance.
In 1939 Italy invaded
Albania
and soon afterwards Mussolini signed a full defensive alliance with Nazi Germany (the Pact of Steel). However, Mussolini did not declare war on
Britain
and
France
until 10th June 1940.
Mussolini already had over a million men in the
Italian Army
based in
Libya
. In neighbouring
Egypt
the
British Army
had only 36,000 men guarding the Suez Canal and the Arabian oilfields. On 13th September, 1940, Marshall
Rodolfo Graziani
and five Italian divisions began a rapid advance into
Egypt
but halted in front of the main British defences at Mersa Matruh.
In October 1940,
Mussolini
declared war on
Greece
. Attempts by the
Italian Army
to invade Greece ended in failure. The war was also going badly in
North Africa
.
Although outnumbered, General
Archibald Wavell
ordered a British counter-offensive on 9th December, 1940. The Italians suffered heavy casualties and were pushed back more than 800km (500 miles). British troops moved along the coast and on 22nd January, 1941, they captured the port of
Tobruk
in Libya from the Italians.
By the end of 1941
Italy
was totally dependent on
Nazi Germany
. The Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Galaezzo Ciano
, became increasingly dissatisfied with the way
Mussolini
was running the country. After a series of heated arguments with Mussolini, Ciano resigned in February, 1943.
At the Casablanca Conference
Winston Churchill
and
Franklin D. Roosevelt
discussed ways of taking
Italy
out of the war. It was eventually decided to launch an invasion of
Sicily
, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, south-west of Italy. It was hoped that if the island was taken
Benito Mussolini
would be ousted from power. It was also argued that a successful invasion would force
Adolf Hitler
to send troops from the Eastern Front and help to relieve pressure on the
Red Army
in the
Soviet Union
.
The operation was placed under the supreme command of General
Dwight D. Eisenhower
. General
Harold Alexander
was commander of ground operations and his 15th Army Group included General
George Patton
(US 7th Army) and General
Bernard Montgomery
(8th Army). Admiral
Andrew Cunningham
was in charge of naval operations and Air Marshal
Arthur Tedder
was air commander.
On 10th July 1943, the 8th Army landed at five points on the south-eastern tip of the island and the US 7th Army at three beaches to the west of the British forces. The Allied troops met little opposition and Patton and his troops quickly took Gela, Licata and Vittoria. The British landings were also unopposed and Syracuse was taken on the the same day. This was followed by Palazzolo (11th July), Augusta (13th July) and Vizzini (14th July), whereas the US troops took the Biscani airfield and Niscemi (14th July).
General
George Patton
now moved to the west of the island and General
Omar Bradley
headed north and the
German Army
was forced to retreat to behind the Simeto River. Patton took Palermo on 22nd July cutting off 50,000 Italian troops in the west of the island. Patton now turned east along the northern coast of the island towards the port of Messina.
Meanwhile General
Bernard Montgomery
and the 8th Army were being held up by German forces under Field Marshal
Albrecht Kesselring
. The Allies carried out several
amphibious
assaults attempted to cut off the Germans but they were unable to stop the evacuation across the Messina Straits to the Italian mainland. This included 40,000 German and 60,000 Italian troops, as well as 10,000 German vehicles and 47 tanks.
The loss of
Sicily
create
d serious problems for Mussolini. It was now clear that the Allies would use the island as a base for invading Italy. A meeting of the Fascist Grand Council is held on 24th July and
Galaezzo Ciano
gets support for his idea that Italy should sign a separate peace with the Allies. The following day
Victor Emmanuel III
told Mussolini he was dismissed from office. His successor,
Pietro Badoglio
, declared martial law and placed Mussolini under arrest.
On 29th July 1943,
Adolf Hitler
had a meeting with
Otto Skorzeny
about the possibility of rescuing
Benito Mussolini
, imprisoned high in the Abruzzi Apennines. Skorzeny agreed and on 13th September he led an airbourne force of commandos to the hotel where he was being held. Mussolini was soon freed and Skorzeny flew him to safety.
Mussolini now set up the Salo Republic, a fascist regime in German-occupied northern
Italy
. His first was the arrest and execution of five of those who had voted against him on the Fascist Grand Council, including his son-in-law,
Galaezzo Ciano
.
On 18th May, 1944, Allied troops led by General
Wladyslaw Anders
(Polish Corps) and General
Alphonse Juin
(French Corps) captured
Monte Cassino
. This opened a corridor for Allied troops and they reached
Anzio
on 24th May. The German defence now began to disintegrate and General
Harold Alexander
ordered General
Mark Clark
to trap and destroy the retreating 10th Army. Clark ignored this order and instead headed for Rome and liberated the city on the 4th June.
After the capture of Rome