Italian East Africa Ababa, to proclaim an empire by May 1936, making Ethiopia part of Italian East Africa. The Italian victory in the war coincided with the zenith of the international popularity of dictator Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime, during which colonialist leaders praised Mussolini for his actions. Mussolini's international popularity decreased as he endorsed the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, beginning a political tilt toward Germany that eventually led to the downfall of Mussolini and the Fascist regime in Italy in World War II. On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on Britain and France, which made Italian military forces in Libya
Italian ironclad Formidabile December 1860, originally ordered by the Navy of the Kingdom of Sardinia. She was launched on 1 October 1861 and was completed in May 1862; by this time, the Sardinian fleet had been reformed as the "Regia Marina" (Royal Navy) of the newly unified Kingdom of Italy. In June 1866, Italy declared war on Austria, as part of the Third Italian War of Independence, which was fought concurrently with the Austro-Prussian War. The Italian fleet commander, Admiral Carlo Pellion di Persano, initially adopted a cautious course of action; he was unwilling to risk battle with the Austrian Navy, despite the