Italy Lost Million Dead After Choosing to Enter World War It Could Have Avoided

What was said

"By the end of the war, the Italians have lost 689,000 people killed in battle, as well as probably about 600,000 civilians and another million Italians seriously wounded. And the thing is, for what? Because at the peace conferences, they are given Trieste, they're given Istria, they're given the Trentino and South Tyrol, but they're not given a lot of the other stuff they wanted."

Italy voluntarily entered World War I in May 1915 for territorial conquest despite having no defensive obligation, ultimately suffering catastrophic losses: nearly 700,000 military deaths, 600,000 civilian deaths, and a million wounded. Despite these sacrifices, Italy failed to secure many of its promised territorial gains at the peace conferences. This sense of betrayal and wasted sacrifice became a key factor in the rise of Italian fascism in the 1920s.