Changes

====Italy====

The rise of the Fascist Party under Benito Mussolini saw Italy attempt to become a major player in world geopolitics. Italy had been on the winning Allied side in the Great War but believed that it had been unfairly treated in the aftermath. The Peace of Versailles gave Italy small portions that it had been promised in secret talks with France and Britain during the war. Italy had also taken grave casualties during the war and its military had one of the worst reputations of the major powers. Mussolini attempted to build a modern, mobile military but instead Italy's army, navy, and air force all earned a poor reputation during the next war. However, Italy's political ambitions remained large as Mussolini attempted to remain on good terms with both Germany and the western allies. The Fascists also attempted to create a new Roman Empire across the Mediterranean, seizing Ethiopia in 1935-1936 and Albania in 1939.

Italy's goals shifted as it aligned closely to Germany in the late 1930s. Italy backed Germany in a series of Eastern European crises in 1938 and 1939 but did not immediately join in the conflict. It was not until France was on the brink of collapse in June 1940 that Italy entered conflict with the Allies. President Roosevelt called Mussolini's calculated maneuver a "stab in the back." Still, Italy's goals were larger than its capabilities. Italy sought to regain territories given to France in the 1850s in exchange for help with Italian unification. Even with France on the verge of total defeat, Italian troops fighting the French along their shared mountainous border suffered a series of defeat. Italy gained just tiny portions of French territory before the armistice of June 22nd. When Italy asked for its full sought territory from Germany, it was stiffly rebuffed.