Italy Hopes War Will Bring New Roman Empire

Newspaper map predicting Mussolini’s imperial ambitions eight days before Italy declares war.

This map was published by in the June 2, 1940 edition of the San Francisco Examiner and gives an angled perspective of the Mediterranean, Italy and southern Europe. The emphasis is on Italy’s strategic geopolitical situation as the country’s neutrality during WWII neared an end.

Italian territory is highlighted in yellow, while the area shaded in orange purports to show “territories Italy wants.” Naval bases, air bases, and fortified areas are shown, including the heavily defended northern border known as the Alpine Wall. Text within the image provides geographic justification for the author’s claims, and a textbox in the lower left adds further context to the image. It ends with perhaps the most prescient message in the entire image: “If she is forced out of her neutrality, Italy will probably go with Germany, as only by combination with Germany and Russia can Italy get all that she wants.”

It was openly known that Hitler had been courting Il Duce to join the Axis for some time, and the opportunistic Italian dictator was waiting for the right moment to strike. Apparently that was eight days after this map was issued, on June 10th, 1940. The same day that Paris was declared an open city, Mussolini declared war on the Allies.