There are a number of reasons as to why Mussolini's fascist regime collapsed in 1943, namely the economic problems she faced during the war, the failures of the military and the political tensions of the time, however, the most significant contributing factor towards was the military failures brought about by Mussolini's appointment of himself as the minister for all three armed services and the commander of the armed forces in the field. His desire to fulfil his narcissistic cult of himself resulted in the economic and military failures of Italy, leading to the collapse of Mussolini's fascist regime in 1943.
The …show more content…
This resulted in unrest among the Italian people, leading to Italy's first strikes in 18 years. During the week of 5th March 1943, 100,000 workers went on strike in Turin, reviving the organised labour agitation and left-wing political activity that had eventually resulted in collapse of the liberal state. These strikes showcased the first oppositions to fascism in almost 20 years, serving as a direct threat to the regime. Mussolini became threatened by multiple antifascist groups: actionists, socialists, communists and Catholics and illegal antifascist media such as L'Unita resurfaced. However, it was not just the common Italian people who brought about the collapse of the regime but the conservative elite, who he himself appointed, who ultimately deposed him. It seems that, in that sense, Mussolini did fulfil his dream to emulate Caesar. Leading fascists such as Dino Grandi and Galeazzo Ciano had been planning to depose Mussolini since 1942, however it was the Allied invasion of Sicily that set it into motion, demonstrating the weakness of Italy and the fascist regime. Furthermore, it became apparent that the Allies would not negotiate peace with Mussolini as they regarded him as to impetuous to make any negotiations with and thus, for …show more content…
The most significant factor leading to the collapse of Mussolini's fascist regime, however, was the military failures of the Second World War, in particular, Mussolini's narcissistic desire to fulfill the cult of Il Duce, as so demonstrated in his appointment of himself as the minister for all three armed services and the commander of the armed forces in the field. Mussolini's obsession over his own prestige, stretching himself too thin in appointing himself as almost all military leadership roles with no advisors as well as the Head of Government, lead to both the negligence of the war economy and the poor decision making that fueled Italy's failure in war, thus leading to a weak Italy, both in the sense of the economically and militarily, resulting in the collapse of the fascist regime in