Second Italo-Ethiopian War

The lessons that earlier war had taught the Italians were bitter, and it had also shown all the world's great powers the Italian Army's true combat strength.

Of course, Italy's performance in World War I had also done nothing to dispel the great powers' contempt. Its army could not defeat any great-power nation and was even vastly inferior to the Balkan states, whose people were known for their fierce martial spirit.

Even the much-maligned British Army had performed far better than Italy's in World War I.

If the Balkan states and Russia had not tied down a large portion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's forces, Italy might well have been the first great-power nation to be occupied.

Of course, ever since Mussolini came to power, the pain previously inflicted upon the Kingdom of Italy had been deliberately forgotten by Mussolini himself.

As an ambitious ruler, Mussolini understood that he had to create enough political achievements to justify the dictatorship he had established in Italy.

Mussolini's ambitions were enormous. He not only hoped to expand Italy's territory, but even dreamed of making Italy the sole master of the Mediterranean, the Mediterranean's only hegemon, while dividing up the British and French colonies in East and North Africa.

Well, put more tactfully, this ambition could also be described as reclaiming the territories of the Roman Empire and rebuilding a new Roman Empire in the twentieth century.

After all, the Roman Empire had once been the hegemon of the Mediterranean and possessed vast colonies in North and East Africa.

But clearly, up to this point, not a single step of Mussolini's plan had been carried out. His enemies, Britain and France, were simply too powerful. Italy was not yet their match.

Still, over this long period of development, Mussolini had not gained nothing.

Mussolini believed