By the Treaty of Laussane (1923) Italy got back the Dodacanese Islands, which she had surrendered to Greece in 1920. In the same year the Italian army bombed the island of Corfu and occupied it. Greece lodged a protest with the League of Nations on whose intervention Italy left Corfu after receiving compensation from Greece.

This gave a fillip to the prestige of Mussolini at home. In January 1924 Italy concluded Treaty of Rome with Yugosla­via by which the free state of Fiume was divided between the two while the city of Fiume prop- r went to Italy, Yugoslavia got the neighbouring town of Porto Baros.

In 1926, Mussolini concluded a treaty with Albania at Tirana by which Albania became practically a dependency of Italy. Later on Albania was annexed to Italy (1939), without much opposition.

In 1928, Italy was invited to participate in the administration of the Free City of Tangier on the West Coast of Morocco. This was looked upon in Rome as a great diplomatic triumph for Mussolini. In 1930, at the London Naval Conference Mussolini demanded naval parity with France. In 1931, he^ advocated the revision of the peace treaties.

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By these steps Mussolini was able to strengthen Italy’s hold on the Adriatic, increase her prestige in the mediterranean, and extend her diplomatic and commercial influence in the South Eastern Europe.