From a modest middle-class family who went all the way to Italy's stern dictator, Benito Mussolini literally raised his followers from scratch. His campaign was driven by the dissatisfaction with the Italian economy and political situation at the time. Many considered the results of the First World War unfair for the country. Socialists and communists fought for their vision of Italy's future. There were many reasons that brought Mussolini to power. In general, people wanted a radical and significant change, and they saw it as a solution.
The March on Rome is the uprising that brought Benito Mussolini to power in Italy at the end of October 1922. It marked the beginning of fascist rule and the death of previous parliamentary regimes of socialists and liberals.
Beginning of political activity
In 1912, Mussolini became a socialist who actively participated inpolitical life. In the same year, he began working as an editor for the well-known socialist newspaper Vperyod! (Avanti!). Mussolini opposed Italy's involvement in World War I, which began in 1914. However, after some time, he radically changed his views and began to support Italy's entry into the war in Europe. In these events, the politician saw an opportunity to realize his own ambitions. Two years later, Mussolini left the Socialist Party and formed his own movement.
Retiring from politics for a while, he volunteered and served with distinction on the Italian front in 1915. Two years later, he was seriously wounded and forced to leave the army.
Change of views
After returning to politics in 1917, Mussolini promoted nationalism, militarism and the restoration of the bourgeois state. He was not satisfied with the foreign and domestic policy of the country at that time. He believed that Italy needed to restore the greatness of the Roman Empire. In addition, he himself wanted to become a modern-day Julius Caesar.
Mussolini began promoting his ideas in his own newspaper, Il Popolo d'Italia. In 1919, he began to gather his supporters, among whom were General Emilio De Bono, Italo Balbo, Cesare de Vecchi and Michele Bianchi. The number of followers grew and he was able to form his own political party. His supporters began wearing black shirts to rallies.
Creating a party and preparing an uprising
March 23, 1919, laterfour months after the armistice that ended the Great War, a hundred former veterans of the Italian army, socialist politicians and journalists gathered in Piazza San Sepolhro in Milan to form a new political party. By the fall of 1922, the fascist organization already had over 300,000 members.
At this time, Mussolini became actively involved in politics. Volunteers in black shirts put down the strike called for by the unions. In the course of this process, his party began to gain the support of many Italians, mainly the middle class, who found Mussolini's nationalism attractive. He was also supported by veterans, industrialists and bankers. He encouraged his supporters to join him in the campaign against Rome, as did the great Giuseppe Garibaldi after the unification of Italy in the nineteenth century. The politician said that either his party, i.e. the fascists, will receive power, or she will take it herself.
In the months leading up to the march on Rome, Mussolini began to actively act. Bianchi was in charge of political matters, while the rest were to take charge of military operations. The first goal of the Blackshirts was the capture of cities around the capital. After the goal was reached, the columns of his supporters planned to go on a campaign against Rome. Officially, everything was discussed on October 24, 1922, at a meeting of the Fascist Party in Naples. The leaders scheduled a general mobilization for October 27, and an uprising for October 28. The plans included the campaign of the Italian fascists to Rome and the capture of strategic places throughout the country.
Mussolini's victory
In the run-up to this event, Luigi Facta, Italy's Prime Minister, grew increasingly concerned about maintaining his own position. In a last attempt to defend his position, he ordered martial law. In this case, the army would be between the government and the Nazis. The order was to be signed by King Victor Emmanuel III. However, he doubted the loy alty of his army and was afraid of an uprising that would jeopardize his power. For this reason, he did not sign the order. This meant that the army, which could have stopped the uprising and the Nazi campaign against Rome, was never brought in, which effectively led to the removal of the prime minister.
Mussolini, now confident in his control of events, was determined to get the leadership of the government, and on October 29 the king asked him to form a cabinet. The politician became the new prime minister of Italy. Traveling from Milan by train, Mussolini arrived in Rome on October 30 - before the actual entry of the Nazi troops. As Prime Minister, he organized a triumphal parade for his followers to show the Fascist Party's support for his rule.
Mussolini's march on Rome was not a conquest of power, as he later called it, but a transfer of power within the framework of the constitution, made possible by the capitulation of state authorities in the face of intimidation by the Nazis.
