Abstract
So, in November 1936, did Benito Mussolini capture the essence of Anglo — Italian rivalry. Italy, its shores totally enclosed by the Mediterranean, was yet denied the dominance of that sea by Britain, who controlled both exits, Gibraltar in the west, Suez in the east. This study will seek first to define Italian and British interests in the Mediterranean and Middle East; to examine how their rivalry developed, especially during the Italo — Ethiopian war; to explore the search for a modus vivendi in the later 1930s; to compare their opposing military strategies; and finally to summarize the events and reasons leading to the extension of the war in Europe to the Mediterranean and Middle East in the summer of 1940.
‘If for others the Mediterranean is a route, for us Italians it is life’
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Notes and References
G. Salvamini, Mussolini Diplomatico rev. ed. (Rome, 1945)
D. Mack Smith, Mussolini (London, 1981).
R. J. Bosworth, Italy: The Least of the Great Powers (London, 1979).
E. Santorelli, Storia del Fascismo, 3 vols (Rome, 1973)
B. M. Knox ‘Conquest, Foreign and Domestic, in Fascist Italy and Germany’, Journal of Modern History vol. 56 (1984), p. 14.
See P. Edwards, ‘Britain, Mussolini and the Locarno-Geneva System’, European Studies Review, vol. 10 (1980).
See S. Roskill, British Naval Policy Between the Wars, vol. II (London, 1976), ch. IX.
See E. M. Robertson, Mussolini as Empire-Builder. Europe and Africa 1932–1936 (London, 1977), pp. 18–20
P. Kent, The Pope and the Duce. The Lateran Agreements (London, 1981).
C. Leatherdale, Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925–1939 (London, 1983), ch. 6.
For Italian policy see R. Quartararo, ‘L’ Italia e lo Yemen Uno studio politicita di expansione Italiana nel Mar Rosso (1923–1937)’, Storia Contemporania, vol. X (1979).
Morewood, ‘Defence of Egypt’, ch. 3; M. Peterson, Both Sides of the Curtain (London, 1950), p. 96.
For their efforts see S. Roskill, Hankey: Man of Secrets, vol. III (London, 1974), pp. 186–91; A. Goldman, ‘Sir Robert Vansittart’s Search for Italian Co-operation against Hitler, 1935–1936’, Journal of Contemporary History, vol. VIII (1974).
See R. Quartararo, ‘Le origini del piano Hoare-Laval’, Storia Contem-poranea vol. VIII (1977)
D. Waley, British Public Opinion and the Abyssinian War, 1935–1936 (London, 1976).
See R. A. C. Parker, ‘Great Britain, France and the Ethiopian Crisis of 1935–1936’, English Historical Review, vol. LXXXIX (1974).
See W. S. Churchill, History of the Second World War: The Gathering Storm (London, 1948), pp. 153–4
B. Liddell Hart, The Memoirs of Captain Liddell Hart (London, 1965), p. 289
Lord Avon, Memoirs: Facing the Dictators (London, 1962), p. 388.
Roskill, British Naval Strategy, vol. II ch. IX; A. Marder, From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow (London, 1974), ch. 3.
For Italian weaknesses see B. M. Knox, Mussolini Unleashed, 1939–41. Politics and Strategy in fascist Italy’s Last War (Cambridge, 1982), ch. 1.
C. M. Andrew, Secret Service. The Making of the British Intelligence Community (London, 1985), p. 401.
L. Pratt, East of Malta, West of Suez. Britain’s Mediterranean Crisis, 1936–1939 (Cambridge, 1975).
See C. Seton-Watson, ‘The Anglo-Italian Gentleman’s Agreement of January 1937 and its Aftermath’, in J. Mommsen, L. Kettenacker (eds.), The Fascist Challenge and the Policy of Appeasement (London, 1983).
See D. N. Dilks, ‘Flashes of Intelligence: The Foreign Ofice, the SIS and Security before the Second World War’ in D. N. Dilks, C. M. Andrew (eds.), The Missing Dimension: Governments and Intelligence Communities in the Twentieth Century (London, 1984).
See R. Douglas, ‘Chamberlain and Eden, 1937–1938’, Journal of Con-temporary History, vol. XIII (1978); R. Rhodes James, Anthony Eden (London, 1986), pp. 176–95.
See F. R. Nicosia, The Third Reich and the Palestine Question (London, 1985), pp. 174–80.
See. D. C. Watt, ‘Britain, France and the Italian Problem, 1937–1939’ in Les Relations Franco-Britanniques, 1935–1939 (Paris, 1975).
R. Quartararo, Roma tra Londra e Berlino: La Politica estera fascista dal 1930 al 1940 (Rome, 1980), pp. 404–23.
For the opposite view see P. Stafford, ‘The Chamberlain-Halifax Visit to Rome: A Reappraisal’, English Historical Review, vol. XCVIII (1983).
For details of the Italian attitude see M. Muggeridge (ed.), Ciano’s Diary, 1939–43 (London, 1947) and Idem (ed.), Ciano’s Diplomatic Papers (London, 1948).
See L. Ceva, Storia della societa Italiana: Le Forze Armate (Torise, 1981), ch. 13.
See B. M. Knox, ‘Fascist Italy Assesses Its Enemies, 1935–1940’, in E. R. May (ed.), Knowing One’s Enemies. Intelligence Assessments Before the Two World Wars (London, 1984).
J. R. Whittam, ‘The Italian General Staff and the Coming of the Second World War’ in A. Preston (ed.), General Staffs and Diplomacy before the Second World War (London, 1978), p. 84.
See J. Grange, ‘Structures et techniques d’une Radio-Bari’, Relatione Internationales, vol. II (1974).
See C. A. MacDonald, ‘Radio Bari: Italian Wireless Propaganda in the Middle East and British Counter Measures, 1934–1938’, Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 13 (1977).
D. Mack Smith, Mussolini’s Roman Empire (London, 1976), ch. 11; Cabinet 19 (39), 10 Apr. 1939, PRO CAB 23/ 98
C. A. MacDonald, ‘Britain, France and the April Crisis of 1939’, European Studies Review, vol. 2 (1972).
A. Diff Cooper, Old Men Forget (London, 1953), p. 219.
Ibid; D. Irving, The War Path. Hitler’s Germany 1933–9 (London, 1978), pp. 246–52.
W. Murray, The Change in the European Balance of Power, 1938–9. The Path to Ruin (Princeton, 1984), ch. X.
Cadogan Diary, 23 Apr. 1940; F. H. Hinsley et al, British Intelligence in the Second World War, vol. I (London, 1979), ch. 6.
L. Woodward, British Foreign Policy in the Second World War (London, 1962), ch. 1; Ciano Diary, 22 Apr. 1940.
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© 1989 Steven Morewood
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Morewood, S. (1989). Anglo-Italian Rivalry in the Mediterranean and Middle East, 1935–1940. In: Boyce, R., Robertson, E.M. (eds) Paths to War. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20333-8_6
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