Soon thereafter, Germany annexed the territory of Memel. After that, using the tactics known as Blitzkrieg, Germany attacked Poland, quickly annexing its territory. The world finally saw a menace on the horizon. Now, suddenly and unexpectedly, Russia came into the mix when it invaded eastern Poland.

The annexation of Poland finally caused France a. England to declare war on Germany. Italy remained neutral.

In 1940, Germany succeeded in invading the following lands: Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg, France, a. Rumania. Italy, meanwhile, annexed the territory of Fiume in Yugoslavia, while England evacuated its forms from Dunkirk. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbour.

On seeing Germany's successes, Mussolini joined Hitler. With Italy a. Germany declaring war on the United States on 11 December 1941, World War II came into full bloom.

Unlike Rome at the time of its empire, previous and present Italian governments were thrust into the international maelstrom without ever knowing what the outcome might be. Forget about long-range plans: Italy could only deal with short-range plans at best. Its leaders were mostly forded to play at tables dominated by potentates possessing full decks of cards.