The Italian presence on the Balkan Front (1915-1918)
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Abstract
Italy’s fundamental concern when it agreed to take part in the
Allied military operation in Macedonia was to implement initiatives in
Albanian territory in order to secure itself a springboard in the Balkans.
A limited Italian force was sent to Thessaloniki so that Italy would not
be excluded from the post-war distribution of territory, but the country
played a more substantial part in facilitating Allied transport and communications via its own territory. The Italian presence in Thessaloniki was marked by concerted efforts to win over the city’s large Jewish
community with a view to future commercial infiltration of the area.
Not surprisingly, Rome’s policy in the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean in general brought it into conflict with Greek interests, and with Venizelos in particular, whom Rome regarded as an obstacle to its own expansionist plans.
Allied military operation in Macedonia was to implement initiatives in
Albanian territory in order to secure itself a springboard in the Balkans.
A limited Italian force was sent to Thessaloniki so that Italy would not
be excluded from the post-war distribution of territory, but the country
played a more substantial part in facilitating Allied transport and communications via its own territory. The Italian presence in Thessaloniki was marked by concerted efforts to win over the city’s large Jewish
community with a view to future commercial infiltration of the area.
Not surprisingly, Rome’s policy in the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean in general brought it into conflict with Greek interests, and with Venizelos in particular, whom Rome regarded as an obstacle to its own expansionist plans.
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