Mussolini Unleashed, 1939-1941: Politics and Strategy in Fascist Italy's Last War / Edition 1

by MacGregor Knox

Overview

This book explores the motives, preparation, objectives, contact and consequences of Italy's war of 1940, which ended the country's role as a great power and reduced it to the status of first among Germany's satellites. What Professor Knox demonstrates more clearly than any previous biographer or historian is the limits of Mussolini's power. In particular, thanks to exhaustive research in the relevant archives, he has been able to throw important new light on Mussolini's relations with his military advisers and commanders. His scholarship is first-class, and for once a publisher's blurb does not exaggerate in claiming that his book is 'superbly written'.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521338356
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/27/1986
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.06(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.87(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; List of maps; Introduction; 1. 'There has been much bluff'; 2. Bellicose nonbelligerent; 3. 'The most impatient of all Italians'; 4. June-September 1940: Duce strategy in the shadow of Sea Lion; 5. The attack on Greece; 6. To the Berghof: Italy's end as a great power; Conclusion: The meaning of Fascist Italy's last war; Appendices; Abbreviations; Notes; A note on sources; Frequently cited works; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'For officers interested in questions as diverse as military incompetence and the formation of national strategy, this book will repay many times over the hours spent reading it.' Marine Corps Gazette

From the Publisher