ABSTRACT
The Duce continued his posturing to volatile Italian crowds, proclaiming the country's greatness, but privately he was prepared to admit that the mantle of authority had passed to Germany. Although most people seem to have found Galeazzo Ciano vain but likeable, he did not - despite his denials - get on well with the Germans. In response to Germany's impressive military display the Italians put on a show of their own when Adolf Hitler made his reciprocal visit to Italy in 1938. Ciano was sent to Germany for clarification of Hitler's intentions. J. von Ribbentrop confirmed that war was inevitable, but said rather cryptically that the time and place, and the casus belli, were 'still locked in the Fuhrer's impenetrable bosom'. Ciano's advice had borne fruit in the short term, but as German victories in the West followed in indecent succession, Benito Mussolini leaned ever more towards the possibility of joining the war at the opportune moment.
