Under the secret Treaty of London, signed on April 26, 1915, Britain, France, and Russia promised Italy substantial territorial gains, financial loans, and strategic colonial concessions. In return, Italy agreed to abandon its neutrality and declare war on the Central Powers within one month. The specific territories promised are as follows:
- · Trentino and South Tyrol
- · Trieste and the Austrian Littoral which includes Gorizia and the entire Istrian peninsula
- · Dalmatia and a substantial chunk of the Balkan coastline which includes the city of Zara, now called Zadar
- · Sovereignty over Albania
- · The Dodecanese Islands and full sovereignty over the Aegean islands and Expansion of Italian African colonies.
Italy ultimately received Trentino, South Tyrol, and Trieste (only after World War II) but much of what had been promised—including the Italian-speaking peninsula of Istria and the Dalmatian coast—was not awarded to Italy. After the Second World War, many of these territories came under Yugoslav control under the Communist dictator, Josip Broz Tito. This occurred after Yugoslav forces committed atrocities against many Italians, including killings and mass burials in pits known in Italian memory as the Foibe.
At the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson refused to honor the Treaty of London in full and opposed Italy’s claims to several of the territories it had been promised. What was the cost to Italy in joining the allies in World War I:
· 2.1 million military casualties, including
· 600,000 killed in action
· 947,000 wounded
· 600,000 captured or missing
· Not to count the economic disaster that took place nor the eventual coming of the dictator Benito Mussolini.
So, it all came down to one man, Woodrow Wilson, who overruled Britain, France and Russia and the treaty of London. So next time you promise your neighbor to go to war with you, will you believe any promises made?
