Editing Axis powers (section)

===Italy===
{{Main|Fascist Italy|Latin Bloc (proposed alliance)|Military history of Italy during World War II}}

====War justifications====

[[File:Benito Mussolini portrait as dictator (retouched).jpg|thumb|left|upright|The ''[[Duce]]'' [[Benito Mussolini]] in an official portrait]]
''[[Duce]]'' [[Benito Mussolini]] described Italy's declaration of war against the Western Allies of Britain and France in June 1940 as the following: "We are going to war against the [[Plutocracy|plutocratic]] and [[reactionary]] [[Democracy|democracies]] of the [[Western world|West]] who have invariably hindered the progress and often threatened the very existence of the [[Italians|Italian people]]".<ref>John Whittam. ''Fascist Italy''. Manchester, England; New York: Manchester University Press. p. 165. {{ISBN?}}</ref> Italy condemned the Western powers for enacting sanctions on Italy in 1935 for its actions in the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]] that Italy claimed was a response to an act of Ethiopian aggression against tribesmen in [[Italian Eritrea]] in the [[Abyssinia Crisis#Walwal incident|Walwal incident]] of 1934.<ref>Michael Brecher, Jonathan Wilkenfeld. ''Study of Crisis''. University of Michigan Press, 1997. p. 109. {{ISBN?}}</ref> Italy, like Germany, also justified its actions by claiming that Italy needed to territorially expand to provide ''[[spazio vitale]]'' ("vital space") for the Italian nation.<ref name="rodogno46">{{Cite book|first=Davide|last=Rodogno|authorlink=Davide Rodogno|title=Fascism's European Empire: Italian Occupation During the Second World War |location=Cambridge, UK|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2006|pages=46–48|isbn=978-0-521-84515-1}}</ref>

In October 1938 in the aftermath of the Munich Agreement, Italy demanded concessions from France to yield to Italy in Africa.{{sfn|Burgwyn|1997|pp=182-183}} Relations between Italy and France deteriorated with France's refusal to accept Italy's demands.{{sfn|Burgwyn|1997|pp=182–183}} France responded to Italy's demands with threatening naval manoeuvres as a warning to Italy.{{sfn|Burgwyn|1997|pp=182–183}} As tensions between Italy and France grew, Hitler made a major speech on 30 January 1939 in which he promised German military support in the case of an unprovoked war against Italy.{{sfn|Burgwyn|1997|p=185}}

Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940. Italy justified its [[Greco-Italian War|intervention against Greece in October 1940]] on the allegation that the [[Kingdom of Greece]] was being used by Britain against Italy, Mussolini informed this to Hitler, saying: "Greece is one of the main points of English maritime strategy in the Mediterranean".<ref name="John Lukacs 1941. P. 116">John Lukacs. ''The Last European War: September 1939 – December 1941''. p. 116.</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-783-0104-09, Nordafrika, italienische Soldaten auf dem Marsch.jpg|thumb|Italian soldiers in the [[North African Campaign]] in 1941]]
Italy justified its [[invasion of Yugoslavia|intervention against Yugoslavia in April 1941]] by appealing to both Italian irredentist claims and the fact of [[Albanian nationalism|Albanian]], [[Croatian nationalism|Croatian]], and [[Macedonian nationalism|Macedonian separatists]] not wishing to be part of [[Yugoslavia]].<ref name="Jozo Tomasevich P. 30-31">Jozo Tomasevich. War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration. pp. 30–31.</ref> Croatian separatism soared after the assassination of Croatian political leaders in the [[Parliament of Yugoslavia|National Assembly of Yugoslavia]] in 1928 including the death of [[Stjepan Radić]], and Italy endorsed Croatian separatist [[Ante Pavelić]] and his fascist [[Ustaše]] movement that was based and trained in Italy with the Fascist regime's support prior to intervention against Yugoslavia.<ref name="Jozo Tomasevich P. 30-31"/>

====History====
The intention of the Fascist regime was to create a "[[Italian Empire|New Roman Empire]]" in which Italy would dominate the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]]. In 1935–1936 [[Second Italo-Abyssinian War|Italy invaded and annexed Ethiopia]] and the Fascist government proclaimed the creation of the "[[Italian Empire]]".{{sfn|Lowe|Marzari|2002|p=289}} Protests by the [[League of Nations]], especially the British, who had interests in that area, led to no serious action, although The League did try to enforce economic sanctions upon Italy, but to no avail. The incident highlighted French and British weakness, exemplified by their reluctance to alienate Italy and lose her as their ally. The limited actions taken by the Western powers pushed Mussolini's Italy towards alliance with Hitler's Germany anyway. In 1937 Italy left the League of Nations and joined the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]], which had been signed by Germany and Japan the preceding year. In March/April 1939 Italian troops invaded and annexed [[Albania]]. Germany and Italy signed the [[Pact of Steel]] on May 22.

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-783-0104-38, Nordafrika, italienische Panzer M13-40.jpg|thumb|left|Italian [[Fiat M13/40]] tanks in the North African Campaign in 1941]]
Italy was ill-prepared for war, in spite of the fact that it had continuously been involved in conflict since 1935, first with Ethiopia in 1935–1936 and then in the [[Spanish Civil War]] on the side of [[Francisco Franco]]'s [[National faction (Spanish Civil War)|Nationalists]].{{sfn|McKercher|Legault|2001|pp=40–41}} 
Mussolini refused to heed warnings from his minister of exchange and currency, [[Felice Guarneri]], who said that Italy's actions in Ethiopia and Spain meant that Italy was on the verge of bankruptcy.{{sfn|McKercher|Legault|2001|p=41}} By 1939 military expenditures by Britain and France far exceeded what Italy could afford.{{sfn|McKercher|Legault|2001|p=41}} As a result of Italy's economic difficulties its soldiers were poorly paid, often being poorly equipped and poorly supplied, and animosity arose between soldiers and class-conscious officers; these contributed to low morale amongst Italian soldiers.<ref>[[Samuel W. Mitcham]]: ''Rommel's Desert War: The Life and Death of the Afrika Korps''. Stackpole Books, 2007. p. 16.</ref>

[[File:RNVittorio Veneto-Battle of Cape Spartivento.jpg|thumb|right|Italian battleships ''[[Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto|Vittorio Veneto]]'' and ''[[Italian battleship Littorio|Littorio]]'' during the war]]
[[File:A formation of Macchi C.200s escorting bombers.jpg|thumb|Italian [[Macchi C.200]] fighter aircraft during the war]]
By early 1940, Italy was still a non-belligerent, and Mussolini communicated to Hitler that Italy was not prepared to intervene soon. By March 1940, Mussolini decided that Italy would intervene, but the date was not yet chosen. His senior military leadership unanimously opposed the action because Italy was unprepared. No raw materials had been stockpiled and the reserves it did have would soon be exhausted, Italy's industrial base was only one-tenth of Germany's, and even with supplies the Italian military was not organized to provide the equipment needed to fight a modern war of a long duration. An ambitious rearmament program was impossible because of Italy's limited reserves in gold and foreign currencies and lack of raw materials. Mussolini ignored the negative advice.<ref>Stephen L. W. Kavanaugh. ''Hitler's Malta Option: A Comparison of the Invasion of Crete (Operation Merkur) and the Proposed Invasion of Malta'' (Nimble Books LLC, 2010). p. 20.</ref>

By 1941, Italy's attempts to run an autonomous campaign from Germany's, collapsed as a result of military setbacks in Greece, [[North Africa]], and [[Eastern Africa]]; and the country became dependent and effectively subordinate to Germany. After the German-led invasion and occupation of [[Yugoslavia during World War II|Yugoslavia]] and Greece, that had both been targets of Italy's war aims, Italy was forced to accept German dominance in the two occupied countries.<ref name="pp284">Mussolini Unleashed, 1939–1941: Politics and Strategy in Fascist Italy's Last War. pp. 284–285.</ref> Furthermore, by 1941, German forces in North Africa under [[Erwin Rommel]] effectively took charge of the military effort ousting Allied forces from the Italian colony of [[Italian Libya|Libya]], and German forces were stationed in [[Sicily]] in that year.<ref name="knight"/> Germany's insolence towards Italy as an ally was demonstrated that year when Italy was pressured to send 350,000 "guest workers" to Germany who were used as forced labour.<ref name="knight">Patricia Knight. ''Mussolini and Fascism''. Routledge, 2003. p. 103.</ref> While Hitler was disappointed with the Italian military's performance, he maintained overall favorable relations with Italy because of his personal friendship with Mussolini.<ref>Davide Rodogno. ''Fascism's European Empire: Italian Occupation during the Second World War''. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2006. p. 30.</ref><ref name="John Lukacs">John Lukacs. ''The Last European War: September 1939 – December 1941''. Yale University Press, 2001. p. 364.</ref>

On 25 July 1943, following the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]], King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed Mussolini, placed him under arrest, and began secret negotiations with the Western Allies. An [[armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces|armistice]] was signed on 8 September 1943, and four days later Mussolini was rescued by the Germans in [[Gran Sasso raid|Operation Oak]] and placed in charge of a puppet state called the [[Italian Social Republic]] (''Repubblica Sociale Italiana''/RSI, or ''Repubblica di Salò'') in [[northern Italy]]. In order to liberate the country from the Germans and Fascists, Italy became a [[Co-belligerence|co-belligerent]] of the Allies; as result, the country descended in [[Italian civil war|Civil War]], with the [[Italian Co-Belligerent Army]] and the [[Italian resistance movement|partisans]], supported by the Allies, contended the Social Republic's forces and its German allies. Some areas in Northern Italy were liberated from the Germans as late as May, 1945. [[Death of Benito Mussolini|Mussolini was killed]] by Communist partisans on 28 April 1945 while trying to escape to Switzerland.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=1131}}

====Colonies and dependencies====
{{main|Italian Empire|Italian imperialism under Fascism}}

===== In Europe =====
[[File:Italian Colonial Empire (orthographic projection).svg|thumb|Every territory ever controlled by the [[Italian Empire]] at some point in time during World War II {{legend|#4a9447|Kingdom of Italy}}{{legend|#c9ff6b|Possessions/colonies of Italy}}{{legend|#666666|Occupied territory and protectorates}}]]
The [[Italian Islands of the Aegean|Dodecanese Islands]] were an Italian dependency known as the [[Italian Islands of the Aegean]] from 1912 to 1943.

Montenegro was an Italian dependency from 1941 to 1943 known as the [[Italian governorate of Montenegro|Governorate of Montenegro]] that was under the control of an Italian military governor. Initially, the Italians intended that Montenegro would become an "independent" state closely allied with Italy, reinforced through the strong dynastic links between Italy and Montenegro, as [[Elena of Montenegro|Queen Elena of Italy]] was a daughter of the last Montenegrin king [[Nicholas I of Montenegro|Nicholas I]]. The Italian-backed [[Montenegrin nationalism|Montenegrin nationalist]] [[Sekula Drljević]] and his followers attempted to create a Montenegrin state. On 12 July 1941, they proclaimed the "Kingdom of Montenegro" under the protection of Italy. In less than 24 hours, that triggered a [[Uprising in Montenegro (1941)|general uprising against the Italians]]. Within three weeks, the insurgents managed to capture almost all the territory of Montenegro. Over 70,000 [[Royal Italian Army]] troops and 20,000 of [[Albanian Kingdom (1939–43)|Albanian]] and [[Sandžak Muslim militia|Muslim]] irregulars were deployed to suppress the rebellion. Drljevic was expelled from Montenegro in October 1941. Montenegro then came under full direct Italian control. With the Italian capitulation of 1943, Montenegro came directly under the control of Germany.

Politically and economically dominated by Italy from its creation in 1913, Albania was occupied by Italian military forces in 1939 as the Albanian king Zog l fled the country with his family. The Albanian parliament voted to offer the Albanian throne to the King of Italy, resulting in a personal union between the two countries.<ref name="countrystudies.us">[http://countrystudies.us/albania/30.htm Albania: A Country Study: Italian Occupation, Library of Congress]. Last accessed 14 February 2015.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/albania/28.htm|title=Albania – Italian Penetration|website=countrystudies.us}}</ref>

===== In Africa =====
[[Italian East Africa]] was an Italian colony existing from 1936 to 1943. Prior to the invasion and annexation of Ethiopia into this united colony in 1936, Italy had two colonies, Eritrea and Somalia since the 1880s.

[[Italian Libya|Libya]] was an Italian colony existing from 1912 to 1943. The northern portion of Libya was incorporated directly into Italy in 1939; however the region remained united as a colony under a colonial governor.