reasons of bad italian performances in WW2

[centa]

-Ethiopian war from 1935-36 (spent a lot of money)
-Civil war of Spain 1936-38 (spent money, lost houndreds of airplanes and soldiers. Destroyers and submarines given for free to the nationalist general Franco.
- Embargo since 1935 on Oil, Iron ore, Engines,Lubrificants,... by U.S.A. and others European countries after the Ethiopian war.
- Italy had not the same base industial potential of UK or Germany.
- The German foreign affaires minyster reassured ( a lot of time) Mussolini that Germany started war in late 1942, so Italian govern wasn't prepared for a total conflict in Sept 1939/mid 1940.
- Germany needed the conflict cause war was the base of Hitler's plans for the "New Order". Japan needed war after U.S.A. embargo cause its industies were really out of resources for continue the imperial expansion in China, Korea...Italy had not good reasons for a war, ...so italian people wasn't encouraged to fight al ong total war...
- In Germany ( the Fuhrer) and Japan (the emperor) were considered like god...in Italy Mussolini was considered only as a good chief, as a politician/ "condottiere".
- And at least....YES, a lot of stupid military mistakes...

[rafaelcb]

This is just my uninformed opinion, but I think Garmany's and Japan's public opinions were more supportive of the war in general terms. In Italy, as soon as Mussolini was executed the support for the war was finished.
Germany was motivated by the unfair results of the 1918 Armistice, and the UK was fighting for its existance as a Nation. I don't think Italy's motives are very clear besides Mussolini's own imperial dreams.

[rafaelcb]

This is just my uninformed opinion, but I think Garmany's and Japan's public opinions were more supportive of the war in general terms. In Italy, as soon as Mussolini was executed the support for the war was finished.
Germany was motivated by the unfair results of the 1918 Armistice, and the UK was fighting for its existance as a Nation. I don't think Italy's motives are very clear besides Mussolini's own imperial dreams.

[Loco]

-Civil war of Spain 1936-38 (spent money, lost houndreds of airplanes and soldiers. Destroyers and submarines given for free to the nationalist general Franco.

This is a big mistake. Spanish on both sides payed until the last bullet with national treasure: to the Soviet Union and to Germany and Italy, all the world drank of spanish blood, that´s the reason Spain got more than 20 years to rebuilding itself. Regardin Spain, the only bad deal Italy did in Spain it´s that lost men gaining few prestige. Since the first moment of rebellion, king Alfonso XIII, who was exiliated in Rome and saw the chance of returning to Spain, influded in Mussolini government to help the rebels with weapons. Alfonso XIII had financial aid of the millionaire Juan March from Mallorca for that, and the first fruit of italian help were the bombers Savoia as soon as august of 1936(the rebelion began the 18th of July), which hand´t rival in the Spain Air Force by then. Rebels had the planes just when they payed the warranty in the way I say as an advance. Regarding the war on sea, I think Italy never sold any destroyer to Franco´s side, but it loaned some submarines at first, and sold others too to spanish fascists. As the victory of Franco was becoming closer, Italy asked for the payment to Franco, and as Franco hadn´t lot of cash in that moment the payments were arranged mainly with spanish steel and other mineral goods. Not only Spain payed their debts to fascist Italy during all the IIWW but even after suddenly fascists italians became democrats with the help of allied bayonets the poor Spain continued to pay its old war debts to the new christian-democrat Italy during many years circa the 1955, this looks diabolic, a democratic country getting money from a country it helped to enslave.
About the role played by Italy in Spain, I feel hard to explain even to myself that I love Italy, or because of that. They commited the bombing of Gernika together with the germans, in fact italian bombers opened the bombings acting as scout bombers targeting the main points of the town for the germans planes. They bombed too Barcelona, an open city, despising the civils living there, that was a feat in the war crimes, the total war against population, not to the soldiers. About the way italians soldiers of CTV(corp of volunteer troops) fought in Guadalajara battle a lot has been written, it was true that even Franco´s soldiers laughed of them. Italians had a good role in some points of the north front, in Santander for example (my grandfather fought against them btw), and at the end of Catalunya campaing and lost many men, but in general it was always when the enemy was exhausted and destroyed.
Italians soldiers didn´t created enemies with spanish civilians, they acted usually with civil modals and italian officers on the field were more civilizated than their spanish fellows. Other different thing was the behaviour of fascist staff in points like Mallorca, where they commited crimes. They main crimes like the sunking of spanish ships by italians submarines(to note that Italy was member of the non-beligerant comission that vigilated that nobody helped to the fights in Spain), the bombings of cities and so was ordered by Mussolini, who even bragged in the newspapers that Italy was terrifying, but italians supported and adored Mussolini even it has said italians didn´t like war.