Chapter 58

ITALY'S RELATIONS WITH THE WARRING POWERS

After nearly ten months of kaleidoscopic changes in the diplomatic situation, which kept the outside world constantly uncertain as to her ultimate determination, Italy declared war upon Austria May 23, 1915. The bare official explanation of these negotiations gave the impression of selfish bargaining, and a broad survey of conditions on the Italian peninsula before and during the first months of the war is necessary to a proper understanding of the causes that led Italy to take sides with Great Britain, France, and Russia.

Behind these long diplomatic exchanges, their foundation rather than the result of them, lay Italy's national aspirations and a gradual crystallization of public sentiment. Officially, Italy went to war with Austria over an alleged violation of the Triple Alliance; but to most Italians the hope of the war meant the return to the Italian flag of Italians living south of the Austrian Alps, realignment of their northern and eastern frontier on better national and military principles, the possession of certain territory on the eastern shore of the Adriatic as would secure her harborless eastern coast from hostile attack, a reduction of Austrian control over Trieste, and the repatriation of thousands of Italians living in the "unredeemed" portions of southern Austria, which despite many years of Austrian domination was essentially Italian in traditions, customs, language, and loyalty.

Negotiations were prolonged, also, by the fact that at the outbreak of the war Italy was, in a military sense, quite unprepared to engage in a desperate struggle. When Italian Alpine troops finally moved out and took possession of Austrian mountain outposts, the army had undergone regeneration. In both men and munitions Italy was equipped to play a part in the war worthy of a first-class power, and befitting her wide ambitions.

Although Italy was allied with the Central Powers, her peculiar situation dictated a national policy of cordial relations with all Europe. Geographically, she forms a unified mass with Germany and Austria, but the barrier of the Alps across her northern frontier diverts her interests from the north to the south. She is essentially a Mediterranean power, the one great nation on the inland sea with a long coast line and a number of ports. Her hope of the future lay along the Mediterranean shore, but her national unity was gained almost too late to enable her to realize the aspiration of African colonies. It was the disappointment of obtaining possessions in Tunis by the establishment of French control there in 1881 that found expression in the Triple Alliance. Her antagonism against Austria and the Hapsburgs was still unmitigated, but as a practical matter of statesmanship she had to choose between two antagonists--Austria opposing her on the Adriatic, and France on the Mediterranean. Since Africa presented the larger field for expansion, she enlisted the aid of Austria and Germany against France. At the same time she became friendly with England, and largely through this understanding gained her hold upon Tripoli. Cordial relations with France were reestablished in 1903. The sum of her efforts made her a link between the rival groups of European powers. This will explain the peculiar obligations of neutrality incumbent upon the nation when the Triple Entente went to war with her associates in the Triple Alliance.

Alliance with Germany and Austria was a necessity of statesmanship and diplomacy; but at no time was it generally popular with the mass of Italian population. It gave no support to Italian aims in the Mediterranean; it failed to hold the balance between Italy and Austria in the Balkans; it seemed to promise nothing for the future, except, perhaps, immunity from Austrian attack. In fact, it is doubtful whether the alliance would have been renewed in 1912 but for an unexpected outbreak of resentment against France due to a clash over rival interests in northern Africa and increasing suspicion of French action in Tunis. At the same time Italy took offense at the attitude of France toward her position in the war with Turkey, which resulted in the Italian occupation of Tripoli.

This better understanding between Italy and her allies soon was disturbed by their attitude toward Serbia, resulting from the successes of that country and Greece in the Balkan wars. For the sake of maintaining the equilibrium between Italy and Austria, the former sympathized with Serbia's aspirations for a port on the Adriatic. In August, 1913--this incident was not revealed until the Premier of Italy told it to the Chamber of Deputies on December 5, 1914--Austria proposed that Italy should consent to an Austrian attack on Serbia. Italy refused to countenance any such action. Revelations made after the beginning of the Great War showed that during the twenty months that elapsed between the renewal of the Triple Alliance and the outbreak of the war, Italy was constantly engaged in combating the policy of Austria-Hungary toward Serbia and striving to maintain the balance of power in the Balkans. The notes exchanged in this period emphasized particularly Articles III, IV, and VII of the Alliance, and since these portions of the treaty were the basis of subsequent negotiations leading up to the final severance of Italo-Austrian relations, their text may be set down here:

"III. In case one or two of the high contracting parties, without direct provocation on their part, should be attacked by one or more of the great powers not signatory of the present treaty, and should become involved in a war with them, the _casus foederis_ would arise simultaneously for all the high contracting parties.

"IV. In case a great power not a signatory of the present treaty should threaten the state security of one of the high contracting parties, and in case the threatened party should thereby be compelled to declare war against that great power, the two other contracting parties engage themselves to maintain benevolent neutrality toward their ally. Each of them reserves its right, in this case, to take part in the war if it thinks fit, in order to make common cause with its ally.

"VII. Austria-Hungary and Italy, who have solely in view the maintenance, as far as possible, of the territorial _status quo_ in the East, engage themselves to use their influence to prevent all territorial changes which might be disadvantageous to the one or the other of the powers signatory of the present treaty. To this end they will give reciprocally all information calculated to enlighten each other concerning their own intentions and those of other powers. Should, however, the case arise that, in the course of events, the maintenance of the _status quo_ in the territory of the Balkans or of the Ottoman coasts and islands in the Adriatic or the Ægean Sea become impossible, and that, either in consequence of the action of a third power or for any other reason, Austria-Hungary or Italy should be obliged to change the _status quo_ for their part by a temporary or permanent occupation, such occupation would only take place after previous agreement between the two powers which would have to be based upon the principle of a reciprocal compensation for all territorial or other advantages that either of them might acquire over and above the existing _status quo_, and would have to satisfy the interests and rightful claims of both parties."

When Austria-Hungary sent her ultimatum to Serbia in July, 1914, Italy had lost no time in making her position clear. Premier Salandra and the Marquis di San Giuliano, the Italian Foreign Minister, conferred with Herr von Flotow, German Ambassador at Rome, on July 5, and dispatched the following memorandum to the Duke d'Avarna, the Italian Ambassador at Vienna:

"Salandra and I called the special attention of the ambassador to the fact that Austria had no right, according to the spirit of the Triple Alliance Treaty, to make such a move as she has made at Belgrade without previous agreement with her allies. Austria, in fact, from the tone in which the note is conceived, and from the demands she makes--demands which are of little effect against the pan-Serb danger, but are profoundly offensive to Serbia and indirectly to Russia--has shown clearly that she wishes to provoke a war. We therefore told Flotow that, in consideration of Austria's method of procedure, and of the defensive and conservative nature of the Triple Alliance, Italy is under no obligation to help Austria if as a result of this move of hers she should find herself at war with Russia. For in this case any European war whatever will be consequent upon an act of aggression and provocation on the part of Austria."

When Austria failed to yield to this suggestion and declared war on Serbia, Italy, on July 27 and 28, 1914, had notified Austria and Germany that if she did not receive compensation for Austria's disturbance of the Balkan equilibrium, "the Triple Alliance would be irreparably broken."

While the Italian statesmen declare that they had made their position at the opening of the war perfectly clear to Germany and Austria, the world at large lacked knowledge of these negotiations upon which to base satisfactory judgment of Italy's action--or lack of action--at this time. Italy was in no position to go further than this. The unsettled state of political and popular opinion and her lack of equipment for war forced her to wait; but while she temporized she made ready. In reality, the Italian diplomats maintained that they took a definite position upon their charge that Austria had violated the terms of the Triple Alliance, and that from this stand they never receded. Negotiations with the other members of the alliance received a check, also, through the death of San Giuliano on October 16, 1914. On his deathbed the foreign minister declared his sole regret was that he had not lived to see the day of Italy's entrance into complete national unity.

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