From the balcony of the Palazzo Venezia, Mussolini told a Roman crowd that Italy was joining the war, timing his declaration to grab territory from an already-defeated France. The move, made when French resistance had nearly collapsed under the German blitzkrieg, drew derision even from some Axis officials for its opportunism, and stretched Italian forces into campaigns in North Africa and the Balkans that would prove disastrous.
From the balcony of the Palazzo Venezia, Mussolini told a Roman crowd that Italy was joining the war, timing his declaration to grab territory from an already-defeated France. The move, made when French resistance had nearly collapsed under the German blitzkrieg, drew derision even from some Axis officials for its opportunism, and stretched Italian forces into campaigns in North Africa and the Balkans that would prove disastrous.
Key people: Benito Mussolini