Treaty of London (1915)

Background

The First World War (1914–1918) was an unexpected development that forced Italy to decide whether to honor the alliance with Germany and Austria. For six months Italy remained neutral, saying that the Triple Alliance was only for defensive purposes. Italy took the initiative in entering the war in spring 1915, despite strong popular and elite sentiment in favor of neutrality. Italy was a large, poor country whose political system was chaotic, its finances were heavily strained, and its army was very poorly prepared. The Triple Alliance meant little either to Italians or Austrians – Vienna had declared war on Serbia without consulting Rome. Two men, Prime Minister Antonio Salandra and Foreign Minister Sidney Sonnino made all the decisions, as was typical in Italian foreign policy. They operated in secret, enlisting the king later on, but keeping military and political leaders entirely in the dark. They negotiated with both sides for the best deal, and got one from the Entente, which was quite willing to promise large slices of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including the Tyrol and Trieste. Russia vetoed giving Italy Dalmatia and Albania. Britain was willing to pay to get 36 million Italians as new allies who threatened the southern flank of Austria.

When the Treaty of London became public in May 1915, there was an uproar from antiwar elements. Salandra resigned but no one could form a majority against him, and he returned to office. Most politicians, and indeed most Italians opposed the war, including most Catholics. Reports from around Italy showed the people feared war, and cared little about territorial gains. Rural folk saw war is a disaster, like drought, famine or plague. Businessmen were generally opposed, fearing heavy-handed government controls and taxes, and loss of foreign markets. Reversing the decision seemed impossible, for the Triple Alliance did not want Italy back, and the king's throne was at risk. Pro-war supporters mobbed the streets with tens of thousands of shouting by nationalists, Futurists, anti-clericals, and angry young men. Benito Mussolini, an important Socialist Party editor took a leadership role, but he was expelled from the Party and only a minority followed him. Apart from Russia this was the only far left party in Europe that opposed the war. The fervor for war represented a bitterly hostile reaction against politics as usual, and the failures, frustrations, and stupidities of the ruling class.

Terms

According to the pact, Italy was to leave the Triple Alliance and join Triple Entente; Italy was to declare war against Germany and Austria-Hungary within a month (this happened against Austria-Hungary within a month, but not until 1916 against Germany). Assuming victory against Germany and its allies, the Triple Entente promised Italy the following territorial gains (see Italia irredenta) at the end of the war:

1. Tyrol, up to the Alpine water divide at the Brenner Pass, which includes the modern-day Italian provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol.
2. The entire Austrian Littoral, including the port of Trieste and the Cherso-Lussino (Cres-Lošinj) archipelago, but without the island of Krk (Veglia) and the Hungarian port of Fiume (Rijeka).
3. Northern Dalmatia, including Zara (Zadar), Sebenico (Šibenik), and most of the Dalmatian islands, except Arbe (Rab) and Brač.
4. The districts of Vipava, Idrija and Ilirska Bistrica in the Austrian Duchy of Carniola.
5. The townships of Pontebba (Pontafel) and Malborghetto Valbruna (Malborgeth-Wolfsbach) in the Austrian Duchy of Carinthia.
6. The Dodecanese Islands (held by Italy since 1912)
7. The port of Vlorë in Albania
8. A protectorate over Albania ("Italy should be entrusted with the task of representing the State of Albania in its relations with Foreign Powers").
9. Parts of the German colonies in Asia and Africa
10. In the event of the partition of Turkey, Italy "ought to obtain a just share of the Mediterranean region adjacent to the province of Adalia"

The Kingdom of Serbia, which was not present nor a signatory, was assigned:

1. The Dalmatian coast between the Krka and Stagno (Ston), including the Sabbioncello peninsula (Pelješac), the port of Split, and the island of Brazza (Brač).

The Kingdom of Montenegro, which was not present nor a signatory, was assigned:

1. The Dalmatian coast between Budua (Budva) and Stagno (Ston), including Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and Bocche di Cattaro (Boka Kotorska), but without the Sabbioncello (Pelješac) peninsula;
2. The coast south to the Albanian port of Shengjin (San Giovanni di Medua).

Also, but less precisely, Serbia was assigned:

1. Bosnia and Herzegovina
2. Syrmia
3. Bačka
4. Slavonia (against Italian objections)
5. Some unspecified areas of Albania (to be divided among Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece).

Italy insisted, and the Allies agreed, that the question of the Adriatic coast between Zara and Istria should be settled after the war. Italy also insisted that Serbia should not be informed about the agreements. However, the Allies overruled this by sending an official note to Serbia on 4 August 1915, confirming the post-war territorial claims of Serbia and Montenegro.

The pact was to be kept secret, but after the October Revolution in Russia, it was published in November 1917 by the Russian journal Izvestia.

Paris Peace Conference

After the war, Italy would only negotiate with Serbia and Montenegro. The Italian delegation staged a walk-out for a number of months when faced with the denial of their territorial demands.

The pact was nullified by the Treaty of Versailles. Before 1918, the contents of the Pact of London had been published to the world by the Bolshevik Russian State. The Fourteen Points, as proposed by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, contained a number of clauses that argued for ethnic or national self-determination and against respecting the provisions of the Treaty of London:

In Wilson's view, the Pact of London had been arrived at by secret contract, hence was not valid. Nevertheless, Wilson had no particular problem with the implementation of other secret wartime agreements such as the Sykes–Picot Agreement. Overall Wilson sought to achieve borders being determined by the populations present in the area rather than by outside parties; the pact of London adjudicated to Italy areas that did not have a majority-Italian population. Wilson believed that Slavic claims to some of the disputed regions were more sound than those of Italy.

Italy ultimately was denied other gains promised in the Treaty: a share of German colonies and control of Albania. Italy tried to establish a physical claim in Anatolia (Turkey), but was quickly forced to evacuate. The partition of the Tyrol on the water divide line was confirmed by the Treaty of St. Germain.

Repercussions of the disavowal of the Treaty

After the war British and French leaders refused to fulfil all the promises in the pact. The irredentist nationalist element of Italy considered this an inexcusable betrayal by these two European allies. The colonial gains by Britain and France from the war further angered the Italians, who felt excluded.

The breakdown of the London Pact helped give rise to a belief in a so-called "mutilated victory" within Italy, which played a role in determining Italian inter-war imperialism. In 1920 Italian nationalists created the Free State of Fiume, although it had not been assigned to Italy in the Treaty of London. This underscored the unstable results of the Treaty of Versailles relative to Italian claims.