ABSTRACT
Ten months after the outbreak of World War I Italy abandoned the Triple Alliance and joined the struggle against the Central Powers as a member of the Triple Entente. This was the realisation of an objective doggedly pursued by French diplomacy since the formation of the Triple Alliance: to detach Italy from Germany. In the view of French leaders, the solidarity established between France and Italy during the war should have constituted the basis for a close entente afterwards, enabling them to strengthen French influence in Europe and in particular to keep Germany in check. In the event, of course, Germany’s power was soon restored, and menaced the European order established in France’s favour at Versailles. In May 1940, nine months after the outbreak of World War II, Italy acted in a manner precisely the inverse of 1914, abandoning nonbelligerence to enter the war against France and Britain on Germany’s side.
