Böcker av H. James Burgwyn

Set up in 1943 by Hitler in the town of Salo on Lake Garda and ruled by Mussolini, this makeshift government was a last-ditch effort to ensure the survival of Fascism, ending with the murder of Mussolini by partisans in 1945.

This work analyses Italian diplomacy from the outbreak of World War I to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, and the part played by Sidney Sonnino. The book is based on Italy's perception of having won the war, but lost the peace, as they felt themselves ostracised by the Allies.

Instead of the expected speedy victory, Italy got bogged down in a prolonged civil war, which rendered Mussolini even more dependent on Nazi Germany. By tying himself to Hitler's war chariot, Mussolini sacrificed the national interests of his country and doomed his Fascist regime to ultimate destruction.