He again used his position to voice his violent ideas. At this time, Mussolini got involved with his future wife, Rachele Guidi. In 1911, through a series of speeches and newspaper articles, Mussolini incited a general strike in the city. When order was restored, he was put in prison for a few months; this was small punishment for the high marks it earned him with the Socialists. To them, he was a hero.
With his new popularity, Mussolini gained more power and influence. He continued to encourage violent actions by Socialists as the editor of Avanti, the biggest socialist paper in Italy at the time. When World War I broke out, Mussolini felt stifled by the strict Socialism of Avanti and decided to start his own paper, Popolo d'Italia, with more personalized views. The Socialists were by and large opposed to the war, but Mussolini called for the young Italians to enlist. As a result, he was expelled from the party.
In August 1915, Mussolini was called to the ranks. Although he spent the whole time in the trenches, he did receive a war wound when a he grenade launcher he was using exploded. He was sent to the hospital and then returned to his newspaper on crutches. Pacifism had been growing among Italians in Mussolini's absence but he rallied their nationalism and with the help of the Allies, Italy defeated the Central Powers.
In 1919, the radical poet D'Annunzio rounded up a group of rowdy, like-minded Italians to retake Fiume, an Italian city that had been under international control. Since no one had much interest in the city, D'Annunzio was successful. For a year, he controlled the city. The Italian government even helped him to an extent. This small government was used as a model by Mussolini for his fascist regime years later. He borrowed the uniforms (black and grey), the speeches, the intimidation techniques (forcing opponents to drink castor oil or eat a live toad) and even the war cry ("Ayah, ayah, alala!") all from D'Annunzio and his motley crew.
After a while, however, the economy failed because of the corruption and ineptitude of the government. Fiume was made an independent city in 1920, but it was not forgotten by Mussolini.
