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Italy: |
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Italy, under the control of Benito Mussolini during World War II, entered the war in 1940. Italian forces had immediate victories in Africa, but Fascist attacks on Greece based out of Albania failed miserably, causing great unrest for the Fascist regime. As the African campaign began to turn sour, Mussolini was forced to go to Hitler for aid, and much of Mussolini's power was transferred to German forces. Mussolini's failures may have been a major factor in the postponement of Operation Barbarossa, and eventually to Hitler's defeat in Russia. Morale of the Italian people was very low as Fascist campaigns failed time and again. It soon became clear nearly every Italian victory was due mostly to German assistance. In addition, Hitler began to demand that Mussolini repay him for this assistance with the support of the Italian armed forces, and by fall of 1941 many Italian divisions were fighting on the Russian front. Mussolini declared war on the United States after Pearl Harbor, following a fierce diplomatic battle that severely distanced the interests of each government from each other. As 1942 approached, the outlook of the Fascist regime was not good at all. German control was becoming more influential every day, and the Fascist military record was weakened with nearly every battle. By 1943, Mussolini was preparing for an invasion of the mainland by the Allies. That year, the Allies did in fact prepare to invade Italy. They quickly captured Sicily and flew bombers over Rome, dropping leaflets urging the Roman citizens to support surrender to avoid devastation. Soon after, the Allies bombed military targets, taking great care not to cause any civilian casualties. Following this raid, Mussolini was voted out of office, and King Victor Emmanuel requested his resignation. As soon as he resigned, the new minister removed all Fascist policy from government. On September 3, the Italian government negotiated a surrender to the Allies, and the Allies sent in amphibious forces to drive the Germans out of the country and the take control of Italian facilities and arms. On October 13, the Italian government declared war on Germany, but the Italian people still had little confidence in it. The king was asked to abdicate by the National Liberation Front, but he refused. As a result, the National Liberation Front refused to support Victor Emmanuel's regime, and he was ousted from power. A new Allied government then took over. This government was also unable to deal with the domestic problems of Italy. Through 1945 unemployment, starvation, and inflation continued to rise. Following the defeat of Germany on May 2, Italy could not seem to get back on track until 1946, when King Victor Emmanuel finally abdicated on May 9. On June 2 and 3, Italy held general elections, and the country chose to become a republic. King Humbert, Victor Emmanuel's son, abdicated soon after, and a republic government was formed. |
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