The National Fascist Party (PNF) was a fascist political party founded on 9 November 1921 by Benito Mussolini. It ruled Italy from the 1922 March on Rome until the Grand Council of Fascism deposed him in 1943 during World War II.
History[]
The National Fascist Party was formed on 9 November 1921 in the aftermath of World War I, which left several Italians with a desire for revenge against its former enemies as well as a longing to make Italy a great power in Europe. The PNF was led by Benito Mussolini, who formed the Blackshirts to act as the paramilitary wing of the PNF; they put down strikes to help out landowners and took over police stations. In 1922, 10,000 Blackshirts took part in the March on Rome, the result of which was Benito Mussolini replacing Luigi Facta as the new Prime Minister of Italy. King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy was now only a figurehead, with Mussolini holding the reins of power with the PNF, forming the Grand Council of Fascism to lead the country.
Under Mussolini, Italy tried to revive the culture of the Roman Empire and formed a senate, and the country also tried to cure illiteracy. While the country was militarily-weak and poorly-led, its people propered and supported Mussolini as their leader. Fascists such as Adolf Hitler idolized Mussolini, and in 1933 Hitler took over the Weimar Republic and formed Nazi Germany to replace it. Soon, the two countries entered an alliance, but it became apparent that Hitler was the dominant partner and that Mussolini depended on him. Mussolini was successful in conquering weaker Ethiopia in 1936 and Albania in 1939, but in 1940 he failed in his invasion of Greece from Albania and lost ground to the Greeks. He also foolishly declared war on France in June 1940, dragging Italy into World War II, during the course of which its forces lost control of Africa and asked for German assistance. Germany conquered the Balkans after declaring war on Greece, and they defeated the United Kingdom several times in Libya as an ally of Italy. Italian troops were now under German command, and Italy ceased to be its own country. In July 1943, when the Allied Powers invaded Italy, the German general Albrecht Kesselring had complete control over the Axis forces. The Allied takeover of Sicily and invasion of mainland Italy led to disenchanted fascists voting to remove Mussolini from power and restore the king to his throne, and Mussolini was imprisoned in a hotel while the king returned to power. Fascist Italy fell, and Mussolini made a vain attempt to form the Italian Social Republic in northern Italy, with German troops defending the country. The PNF ruled the Social Republic - also called the "Salo Republic" due to its capital of Salo - until its downfall in April 1945 when Mussolini was captured and executed by partisans. The PNF was outlawed, and Italy became a republic in 1946 while under Allied occupation after the end of the war.
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