The Italian Empire and the Great War

Description

The Italian Empire and the Great War brings an imperial and colonial perspective to the Italian experience of the First World War. Italy's decision for war in 1915 built directly on Italian imperial ambitions from the late nineteenth century onwards, and its conquest of Libya in 1911–12. The Italian empire was conceived both as a system of overseas colonies under Italian sovereignty, and as an informal global empire of emigrants; both were mobilized to support the war in 1915–18. The war was designed to bring about 'a greater Italy' both literally and metaphorically. In pursuit of global status, Italy fought a global war, sending troops to the Balkans, Russia, and the Middle East, though with limited results. Italy's newest colony, Libya, was also a theatre of the war effort, as the anti-colonial resistance there linked up with the Ottoman Empire, Germany, and Austria to undermine Italian rule. Italian race theories underpinned this expansionism: the book examines how Italian constructions of whiteness and racial superiority informed a colonial approach to military occupation in Europe as well as the conduct of its campaigns in Africa. After the war, Italy's failures at the Peace Conference meant that the 'mutilated victory' was an imperial as well as a national sentiment. Events in Paris are analysed alongside the military occupations in the Balkans and Asia Minor as well as efforts to resolve the conflicts in Libya, to assess the rhetoric and reality of Italian imperialism. Cover The Italian Empire and the Great War Copyright Dedication Acknowledgements Contents Note on Translation and Transliteration List of Abbreviations Maps 1: Introduction 1.1 How Imperial Was Italy’s War? 1.2 The Libyan Theatre? 1.3 History, Memory, and Historiography 1.4 War Beyond War: Italy 1911–23 2: Imperialism and Irredentism in Liberal Italy 2.1 Nationalism, Nation-building, and Completing Italy 2.2 Nineteenth-century Colonialism 2.3 The Growth of an Imperial Culture 2.4 Emigration and Imperialism 2.5 Mare Nostrum: Libya and the Mediterranean 2.5.1 Libya 2.5.2 The Dodecanese and the Eastern Mediterranean 2.5.3 Legacies of the Italo-Turkish War 2.6 The Balkans 3: From Neutrality to Intervention, 1914–15 3.1 The July Crisis 3.2 The Outbreak of War 3.3 Neutralists 3.4 Interventionists 3.5 The Treaty of London and Italy’s Expansionist War Aims 4: Italians on the Battlefield 4.1 Military Mobilization 4.2 The Fighting Fronts, 1915–16 4.3 Military Service Among Emigrants 4.4 Colonial Troops 4.5 The Year of Crisis: 1917 4.6 From Disaster to Victory: 1918 5: Societies at War 5.1 Cultural Mobilization 5.2 Resistance, Repression, and Crisis at Home 5.2.1 1917: Domestic Crisis 5.3 The Greater Italy at War 5.4 Fundraising Overseas 5.5 Mobilizing the Italian Colonies for War 5.5.1 Civilian Manpower 5.5.2 Colonial Economies 6: War in the Italian Colonies 6.1 The War Against Turkey 6.2 The Libyan Theatre of War 6.2.1 Anti-colonial Resistance 6.2.2 The Central Powers in Libya 6.2.3 The Anti-Italian Revolt in Tripolitania 6.2.4 War in Cyrenaica 6.3 Ethiopia and the Stability of East Africa 6.4 From the Akrama Agreement to the End of the War 7: The War Beyond Italy: Expeditionary Forces and Expansionist Ambitions 7.1 The Balkans 7.2 Albania 7.3 The Macedonian Front 7.4 Imperial War Aims and Expanding Ambitions, 1916–17 7.4.1 Colonial Pressure Groups and the War Aims Debate 7.4.2 St Jean de Maurienne 7.4.3 The Italian Expeditionary Corps in Sinai and Palestine 7.5 Italy and the Global War 7.5.1 Italians in France 7.5.2 From Murmansk to Manchuria 7.6 Planning for Peace 7.6.1 Albania 8: Race, Nationality, and Citizenship: The Meanings of Italianità in Wartime 8.1 Italianità 8.2 Race in Italy Before the First World War 8.3 Race and the Libyan War 8.4 Militarism and Race 8.5 A Racial War? 8.5.1 Encounters with South Slavs 8.5.2 Germanophobia 8.5.3 Colonial ‘Others’ at War 8.6 Race, Biopower, and the State 8.6.1 Citizenship and Nationality 8.6.2 Egypt 8.6.3 Citizens of Empire 8.6.4 Citizens and Subjects Beyond North Africa 9: The Paris Peace Conference and Beyond 9.1 Demobilization and Domestic Politics 9.2 The Peace Conference Begins 9.2.1 Italian Hopes in Paris 9.2.2 Territorial Compensation in the Era of Self-determination 9.3 Imperial and Colonial Settlements 9.3.1 Italy and the Ottoman Empire 9.3.2 Italy and the Greek Position 9.4 Francesco Saverio Nitti and Italy’s New Direction 10: Post-war Settlements in the Adriatic and the Balkans 10.1 The Myth of the Mutilated Victory 10.2 The Occupation of the Upper Adriatic 10.2.1 D’Annunzio at Fiume 10.2.2 Italian Public Opinionand the ‘Slavic Question’ 10.2.3 Post-war Occupation and the Rise of Fascism 10.3 The Rapallo Treaty 10.4 Albania 11: Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean After the War 11.1 The Allied Occupation of Constantinople and the Eastern Mediterranean Force 11.1.1 The Italian Expeditionary Corps in Anatolia 11.1.2 Reorganization of the Eastern Mediterranean Force 11.2 The San Remo Declaration and the Treaty of Sèvres 11.2.1 The Dodecanese Islands 11.3 The Italian Expeditionary Corps in Palestine 11.4 Italian Withdrawal From Asia Minor 11.4.1 The Treaty of Lausanne 11.5 The African Colonies 11.5.1 Tripolitania 11.5.2 Cyrenaica 11.5.3 East Africa 11.6 The Aftermath of War and Italy’s Unfulfilled Desires 12: Conclusion 12.1 Rhetorics and Realities of Empire Bibliography Archival Sources Published Primary Sources Secondary Sources Index