Sunday, June 10, 2007
This Day in the History of Ill Conceived Egotistical Decisions
On this day day in 1940, Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini declares war on France and Britain. He had not declared an allegiance to either side during the Spring offensive but now that victory seemed pretty much assured for the German forces in France, he joined in. Hitler was blunt in his appraisal: "First they were too cowardly to take part. Now they are in a hurry so that they can share in the spoils." It was horribly ill timed and without warning to his own guys. Britain inters nearly all Italian males in the Empire and captures scores of Italian ships still in British ports. Italy is more of a hindrance than a help to the Nazis for the remainder of the war. They do make great cars though.
Labels: WWII history; European theater
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 8:02 AM 
