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Introduction
After World War I, Italy was left in an economic crisis like many other countries. The Italians wanted a change in their government, and were amazed by a new ideology called fascism. Mussolini, the leader of the Fascist party, promised the Italian people a new era of prestige, he was going to do this with the conquering of East Africa, the spread of fascism across the world, and control of the Mediterranean. Was Mussolini successful spreading the fascist state to the rest of the world? This will be shown threw different periods of Mussolini’s era in Italy.

Rise of Fascism
Italy has been part of the Triple Alliance, Italy, Germany, and Austro-Hungry since 1882. The Italians didn’t join the First World War when it started. World War I the Italians remained neutral; however, the Italian government claimed that Austria broke its terms with Italy, without informing the Italian government Austria went to war with Serbia. The Italian socialist believed that the Italians should participate in the war, this was a chance for the Italian Liberal government at the time to claim more land, feeling that the Italians missed there opportunity in the era of New Imperialism. The Treaty of Versailles affected Italy more than the Italians deserved. During In 1915 the Italian government joined the Triple Entente (Britain, France, and Russia), the Italian government joined the Entente knowing that they were going to win the First World War; and signed the    Treaty of London. If the Ententes were victorious Italy would receive new land in Africa and the Mediterranean. At the time this seemed like the right decision, but as time progressed this was shown to be a huge mistake to participate in the war. The Italian government was already in debt 16 million lire, after World War 1 the debt grew to 85 billion lire. The Liberal government in Italy and the leaders of Italy before Mussolini came into power had to face many post war issues that Mussolini would turn against the Liberal government. After World War 1 and the Treaty of Versailles were negotiated, Italy received none of the land it was promised after the victory of World War 1. After World War 1 the Italian socialist movement began to build momentum. In 1919 Mussolini was 36 and becoming an icon to the Italian peasant class. He was a stone mason that made people believe he was going to lead the people of Italy out of its economic crisis with fascism, after the war put by the liberal government. Mussolini would tell politicians of the socialist party his expertise on the world. Mussolini wanted to prove something to him as well as to others. Mussolini always wanted to be a politician, and be the new supreme leader of the Italian Fascist party. At the current time Giolitti the then prime minster of Italy said that “the fascists were but ‘fireworks: they’ll make a great deal of noise but only leave smoke”. Giolitti knew Mussolini’s plan wasn’t going to help the Italian people, but also knew that Mussolini would just have brief success. The fascist party took control of Italy in 1922, with Mussolini as the leader. He told the people that he was going to bring the same prestige the Roman Empire had brought to Italy in the past. Mussolini promoted equal rights for the people of Italy; the working class of Italy would no longer be exploited and would be treated equally. Mussolini wanted all the territories of Italy to come together and move towards social equality. According to Mussolini the only way that social equality could precede is if Italy was on a national agreement. There were attacks on peasants to reform and become fascist, this was done by violent attacks. Mussolini said the fascist movement isn’t violent “but rather ‘out of surgical necessity’”. Mussolini emphasized that fascism must be renewed by the youth in Italy. He told the youth about the world and the path the Roman Empire had started for him, Mussolini’s slogan was “better to live one day as a lion then a hundred years as a sheep”. He was telling the youth it’s better to lead with fascism then to follow capitalism. Mussolini always thought of himself as a great leader and he wanted to give the people of Italy a chance he never had; giving the unemployed jobs, sending the children to school, welfare, healthcare and promised social justice to the people of Italy. Mussolini’s campaign to power was to be for justice and get rid of corruption, and defeat organized crime. Mussolini’s goal was to spark a movement in the Italian people using imperialism.

Ethiopia
In the 1930’s Italy’s unemployment rate was high, their economy was falling apart, and they lost their gold exports. Mussolini told the people of Italy they were going to Africa looking for “Glory, God, and Gold.” Mussolini thought Britain was going to give Italy Ethiopia to help “poor” Italy’s economic situation. After World War 1, due to the Treaty of Versailles Italy lost control of its territories along the Mediterranean and East Africa; Italy felt that they were entitled to these lands. Mussolini told Britain that he was going to take East Africa with force. Anthony Eden a League of Nations Affairs agent was sent to Italy to discuss an agreement with Mussolini. In a meeting Eden told Mussolini, Britain was willing to give Mussolini a piece of central east Africa. Mussolini rejected the offer saying he doesn’t want to be given a worthless desert. Mussolini told Eden if Britain didn’t give Italy its demands it would conquer Morocco, Egypt, Somaliland, Syria and Iraq. Eden walked out of the meeting disgusted with the way Mussolini behaved; Eden later said in a British newspaper article that Mussolini was “the anti-Christ” and just a “gangster”. Mussolini’s plan was to go to Ethiopia and he hoped he could win the war without changing who ruled the country at the time, known as “Locarno powers”. He and fascist Italy began to invade Ethiopia and eastern Africa. Mussolini didn’t have a plan, if he conquered Ethiopia, Somaliland or Syria it wouldn’t have made a difference, He believed conquering an African country would make Italy’s economy strong. Ethiopia was an outlet to the sea, Mussolini knew this was a necessary passage; Mussolini wanted a trade route to the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. In 1935, Mussolini sent an army to Ethiopia, and announced that Italy and Ethiopia were at war. The Italian forces went through the Suez Canal at the time it was British controlled. The Italian forces immediately captured Aduwa in Ethiopia. As the Italian troops were moving through Ethiopia they were attacked by the Ethiopian Tribes men. The Italian army was not trained too well and the tribe’s men had minor success holding their position. If it was any other army the Ethiopian tribe’s men wouldn’t have any success—the Italian military was poorly equipped and poorly trained. The Ethiopian tribe’s men were unsuccessful in defeating Italy, but Britain blocked the Suez Canal, and the Italian government couldn’t bring supplies to its men in Ethiopia. Britain then formed an action plan to damage the Italian military in Ethiopia. With the Canal blocked the Italians couldn’t bring its men oil to run its machinery. In 1936 Italy used poison gas, and over ran the British forces in Ethiopia, Italy broke the international law of the ban of poison gas, and became frightened the British where going to retaliate with poison gas. But the British had their priorities on the German front of war, with the Germans expanding and becoming more of a threat as time progressed. The Italians became committed to colonization of Ethiopia; they used tanks, trucks, and planes, stretching the Italian economy thin. Despite running their economy thin Italy was successful; they conquered the Ethiopian Capital and over ran the British forces, along with the Ethiopian rebels. After the success Italy had conquering Ethiopia Mussolini said to the people of Italy “At last Italy has her empire, Raise high your insignia, your weapons and your hearts to salute after 15 centuries, the reappearance of the empire on the hills of Rome!.” Mussolini believed that Italy’s days of being a super power arrived; however, conquering Ethiopia did not bring any economic advantages to Italy. Furthermore Mussolini didn’t have a real plan to follow after the invasion of Ethiopia. He was trying to convince the people that what he was doing was the right move for Italy and he was the greatest ruler the “Roman Empire” has ever seen. After a few months Italy’s economy was even worse than it was before, the Italian government didn’t have money for trade, or to pay its soldiers. Mussolini believed he made the right decision invading Ethiopia, yet he left Italy in a horrible state. He lost resources, not needed to conquer Ethiopia, and spent $50 million lire trying to conquer a 3rd World country that brought no economic income to Italy-- No glory, no gold, and no God. The victory in Ethiopia was going to be a short one. Early in the 1940s the British forces began to recruit forces from its African colonies and in the start of 1941 the British launched an attack on Ethiopia with Gladiator fighter jets that were much more advanced then what the Italians where using, and an army of 75,000 troops from the British colonies of South Africa, Gold Coast, Kenya, and Nigeria. With this huge new army they quickly launched a counter attack in Ethiopia. The Italians fled leaving behind supplies, and weapons. The Italians had control of only one other city in Ethiopia—Addis. They fortified it but eventually the British colonial troops over ran the city and the Italians surrendered. Mussolini lost Ethiopia but he wasn’t concerned, he thought Germany was on their way to winning the war and eventually Italy would receive Ethiopia back as a reward for siding with the winning side.

Spain 3
In July of 1936, the generals of the Spanish army launched a revolt against their current democratic government. Francisco Franco was the leader of the revolt that was happening in Spain. Mussolini was an instigator between communist Spain, and democratic Spain. “The Spanish Republic is not a revolution but a plagiarism. A plagiarism that arrives a good one hundred and fifty years late.”(315) this quote was said by Mussolini, he thought of Spain of nothing more than a country that’s behind, and will have no success in the future. Franco sent men to Rome to meet with the army generals, Franco’s men proposed that the Italian army help Spain become fascist. Mussolini promoted Spain simply for the fact of promoting other Fascist states. When Mussolini met with Franco they couldn’t decide what it meant to be a fascist state and argued each other’s views, Franco thought of Mussolini as a repulsive man with no plan. Meanwhile the French where helping the Republican government, the French where selling weapons to the republicans. Mussolini continued to fund the Spanish rebellion, the civil war lasted 3 years; of none stop fighting back and forth. Franco’s revolution was successful, Mussolini asked for the Balearic Islands as a reward for Italy funding the Spanish Revolution, but received nothing. When the war ended 3,819 Italians lost their lives, and Italy lost half a billion lire, for another countries civil war. The Spanish revolution showed to be a blunder again for Mussolini, trying to conquer the globe and leaving his own country weak and hardly enough money to continue fighting. Mussolini thought he was a great service for Italy, but he should have been funded Italy’s economy and the well being of the people instead of trying to leave his foot print in history.

Invasion of the Mediterranean 5
After World War 1 Mussolini felt that Italy received the short end of the deal, and he felt that Britain took advantage of the power they had at the time. Mussolini felt everything he did he was entitled to do because of what Italy was promised before he was in power. He wanted to take control of the areas Britain controlled in the Mediterranean (Malta, Cyprus, and Corsica). Mussolini also set his eyes on Albania. Mussolini’s plan was to invade Albania and take their resources in the name of Italy. In 1939 the Italian army crossed the Adriatic Sea, and shortly after conquered Albania. The Italian military was unorganized; the Albanians had no military; if the Albanians had fought back the Italians would’ve been held back to the Adriatic Sea. Mussolini made it appear that the Italian army was strong, and could defeat any army in its path, but in reality they were weak, poorly trained, and had tanks armored like a car. After conquering Albania, Mussolini set his eyes on Greece. The invasion of Greece was a short failure; Mussolini needed the help of the Germans who would pull their men out shortly after invading Greece, saying conquering Greece was a mistake for both Italy and Germany. Greece launched a counter attack and held the Italian forces at the Albanian boarder. Mussolini’s failure in Greece was one he would forget shortly. Mussolini failed conquering Greece and turned his eyes on Malta. In 1941 Mussolini announced war against Malta. Mussolini knew Malta was a necessary trade route in the Mediterranean. The Italians bombed Malta to weaken the forces and would eventually launch an invasion with the German’s help. Italy quickly conquered Malta and now had its eyes set on Egypt. As Italy and Germany set their eyes on Egypt the real war had started, Germany and the Soviet Union were at war and the United States of America has just entered the war.

Triple Alliance 4
The Italian army just before the start of the Second World War only consisted of 700,000 men ready for battle; only half of them had rifles. As the war progressed the Italian government started to mass recruit the men in Italy, their forces eventually reached 3 million. The commanders of Italy knew that the Italian army couldn’t win a war with the resources they had at the time. The Italian government went from 2 Billion dollars in debt, to 28 Billion in debt, and spending 12% of its national income on their army. The Italian army may have had 3 million men, but they were the worst trained army in Europe, and had the least amount of resources to support their army. Mussolini knew he couldn’t make a world revolution, or conquer other countries in the name of the Roman Empire. Mussolini thought that Hitler was a man with a global plan. He thought using Hitler could bring Italy to its once high prestige. Hitler and Mussolini both thought that Austria was a necessary ally; for Mussolini because it was a buffer between Germany and Italy, and Hitler wanted Austria because that was his home land. Hitler thought that Mussolini wasn’t a great leader and winning Ethiopia was a slight accomplishment that the Italians could not afford. Hitler challenged Mussolini’s authority over the people of Italy; Hitler wanted to see Mussolini put words into actions Mussolini wanted to prove that he was a man that should be respected; he followed through with his own attack on the Jewish people after from returning Germany. Anti-Semitism in the fascist party of Italy started in 1936 after the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936. The first rule he made was Italians can only marry other Italians; the Jewish people where banned from banks, education, health care, and insurance. Mussolini wanted to prove to Hitler he was a great leader, but if not a better leader than Hitler. Mussolini made it clear to the super powers in the world that he was siding with the Germans. As the German forces began their attack on Czechoslovak in 1938, the British prime minster of Britain contacted Mussolini. He asked Mussolini to try to save the peace in Europe, asking Mussolini to contact Hitler and try to make an agreement. Mussolini saw this as a new opportunity to exploit the British and the Germans. Mussolini convinced Hitler to delay the attack. Hitler delayed the attack for 6 months, but carried out his invasion of Czechoslovak claiming that this was the home of many ethnic Germans. German and Italian relations began to grow stronger; Mussolini viewed their relationship as the two super powers of Europe capable of conquering the world. Hitler saw this relationship as just an ally, one that won’t side with Britain or France. In 1939 Hitler and Mussolini signed a treaty—Pact of Steel. Italy and Germany became more than friends they were now alliances. This obligated Italy to go to war if Germany went to war. Hitler knew Italy was a weak country and took advantage of Mussolini who thought he was such a great leader. Hitler made Mussolini believe that he was a great leader, and promoted Mussolini’s success in Ethiopia. The war effort in Ethiopia used all of Italy’s resources; Mussolini knew he was in need of help; Italy had no resources, a weak military and a weak economy. He wrote Hitler a list of resources he needed. Hitler ignored the letter knowing that the Germans don’t need the Italians, and knows the Italians would just waste the resources. When Germany launched its attack on Poland Mussolini was unsure what he should do. Mussolini was scared of a counter attack on Italian soil. Before Mussolini could make a decision on going to war Germany was already successful invading Poland and now set their eyes on France. Italy also launched an attack on France that was unsuccessful; they didn’t have the resources or the army to succeed in war. France was quickly captured by German control. Mussolini realized that he was used by Hitler; Hitler didn’t need the Italian forces to win a war. Mussolini hardly helped the Germans conquer France the Germans began to exclude Italy from its decisions but kept them as allies so the Italians would not side with the French or Brits. In 1941 Mussolini received a letter from Hitler; Hitler informed Mussolini that Germany was launching an attack on the Soviet Union. Mussolini gave Hitler 60,000 men and was seeing success; Germany with the help of the Italian troops eventually conquered Ukraine.

The end of Mussolini
On July 10, 1943 allied forces landed in Sicily. Mussolini knew it was the end of his reign, he knew it was going to happen eventually because neither Germany nor Italy had, had their territories invaded by an enemy. The Sicilian people didn’t want to in engage in battle with the allied forces, neither did the Italian army, they surrendered without a fight. The Sicilian people were out raged that they were defenseless; shortly after an anti-Fascist movement began. The Prime Minster of Italy before Mussolini (Giggolti) said that “the fascists were but ‘fireworks: they’ll make a great deal of noise but only leave smoke”. Giggolti was right about the fascist movement; they came out as a fire work but just left nothing but smoke and nothing to show for it. On July 19 the US Air force dropped bombs on Rome, killing 1,400 and injured 6,000. The Italians quickly surrendered. The Grand Council voted for a new government change, 19 out of 26 members voted for Grandi’s revolution, after 21 years the rule of Mussolini was over. On July 25, 1943 the king of Italy appointed Badoglio as Prime Minister. The people of Italy where excited that Mussolini was no longer running Italy. Italians started an Anti-German movement in Italy, welcoming the Allied forces and running out the German forces. In 1945 the Committee for National Liberation has been recognized by Rome and the allied forces, they passed an act saying that all Fascists must turn them self in and suffer the death penalty. Mussolini turned himself in good faith hoping he might get off. Mussolini was killed on April 28, 1945. It’s still unsure how Mussolini died to this day; it was said he was shot in the chest, It is said that Walter Audisio killed him in the back of a van.

Conclusion
Mussolini showed that to be a great leader you need more then promises; you need a plan to be successful. The Italian people where glad that Mussolini was in power, but eventually saw that he was all glory. Mussolini ideologies where good, but his decision making was weak and he wasn’t a leader that had the people’s interest at heart; he was more concerned with the foot print he would leave in history. Was Mussolini was exploited for his poor decision making by Hitler, and this eventually led to his downfall. Was Mussolini successful spreading the fascist state to the rest of the world? No Mussolini was unsuccessful, he wasn’t concerned about the spread of fascism, he was more concerned leaving his mark on history; how he was a great man. If he was not so concerned about spending the Italian people’s money on fruitless causes (invasion of Malta, Spain, France, East Africa) If Mussolini’s concerns weren’t making Italy the new Roman Empire and was concerned about the economy and the well being of the people of Italy, he might’ve of been known as a revolutionist for his ideologies.

Refrences
BARBER, T. (2005, Oct 15). Mussolini's mentors italy's pre-war brand of liberalism goes some way to explain how the fascists came to power. Financial Times, pp. 46-46. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/249680481?accountid=11233; http://sfx.scholarsportal.info/guelph?url_ver=Z39.88- Todd, Allan (2002). Dictatorships, Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. PREDICTS COLLAPSE OF MUSSOLINI 'MYTH': Rossi Sees the End of Fascism By CESARE ROSSIFormer Associate of Mussolini, Now a Fugitive,in France. (1926, Mar 18). Predicts collapse of mussolini 'myth'. New York Times (1923-Current File), pp. 6-6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/103843802?accountid=11233; R.J.B. Bosworth. (2002). Mussolini. New York, Arnold Publishing Anthony L. Cardoza. (2006).Mussolini The First Fascist. Pearson DE GRAND, ,ALEXANDER. (2004). Mussolini's follies: Fascism in its imperial and racist phase, 1935-1940. Contemporary European History, 13(2), 127-147. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/204205687?accountid=11233 Adam, Henry. (1982) Italy at War, Chicago, Illinois Time Incorporated