Et Tu, Brute?: The Assassination of Benito Mussolini

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From the June 16th, 1936 afternoon edition of the Washington Post:

HITLER PLEDGES TO BACK NEW AUSTRIAN REGIME “TO THE LAST DITCH”

Roosevelt Condemns Seyss-Inquart Coup; Baldwin Facing “No Confidence” Vote In British Parliament

From Case Black:

It’s difficult to project with any significant degree of accuracy how Mussolini might have reacted to the Nazi takeover of Austria had he still been alive when it happened, but the Badoglio regime’s reaction to the coup is a matter of historical record. Fearing that Hitler might betray Italy as suddenly and ruthlessly as he had turned against the Schuschnigg government, the Italian premier placed his army’s border divisions on a full war footing and ordered Regia Aeronautica fighter squadrons to conduct round-the-clock air defense patrols over Italy’s major cities. At the Italian naval base in Taranto warships and their crews began preparing for a possible showdown with the Kriegsmarine. But while Badoglio was striving to defend his country against potential threats from the outside, he was unaware of a very real danger posed by pro-German elements within his own military....

From an intelligence report by the U.S. military attaché in Rome to Secretary of War Henry Stimson dated June 18th, 1936:

Morale in the Italian armed forces has declined noticeably since the Nazi takeover of Austria. A reliable source in the Regia Marina admiralty HQ has told our agents that few if any officers in the army or the navy believe that Italy can hold out for any substantial length of time against a concerted Nazi attack on the Italian mainland. The Italian naval attaché in Berlin is said to be deeply depressed...

From the June 17th, 1936 morning edition of the Denver Post:

FDR CHALLENGES ISOLATIONISTS OVER EUROPE

Says Latest Events In Italy & Austria Prove Need For U.S. To Take More Active Part In World Affairs

From the 2011 History Channel documentary Hitler vs. Schuschnigg: The Austrian Occupation 75 Years Later:

With the Nazis firmly in control in Austria and pro-Hitler elements within Badoglio’s own cabinet in Italy beginning to agitate for him to adopt a foreign policy more friendly to the Third Reich, Berlin was confident they would have no further trouble from Rome on the Austrian occupation question. Emboldened by the success of the Austrian coup as well as by the ease with which German troops had re-occupied the Rhineland, Hitler started to lay plans for his next European conquests: Italy and the Sudeten regions of what is today the Czech Republic....

From the June 20th, 1936 edition of Le Temps Paris:

WAR DANGER GROWING ON ITALIAN BORDER

Premier Badoglio Asserts Germany Wants To Take Over Italy

From an NBC Radio news broadcast dated June 21st, 1936:

The German ambassador in Rome today met with King Victor Emmanuel III and Italian premier Pietro Badoglio in an effort to defuse tensions between Italy and the Reich over fears that Hitler may use a now Nazi-controlled Austria as a springboard for invading the Italian mainland. While this conference takes place inside Victor Emmanuel’s palace, outside the palace walls a new wave of civil unrest plagues Milan and Naples....

From the June 22nd, 1936 afternoon edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

BALDWIN OUT; CHAMBERLAIN TAKES OVER AS BRITISH PRIME MINISTER

Handling Of Austrian Crisis Cited As Chief Factor In No-Confidence Vote

From Hitler vs. Schuschnigg:

The new British prime minister came into office at a time when the question was less if war would break out in Europe than when it would break out and who would fire the first shot. He was as eager to maintain peace as Baldwin had been but somewhat more realistic when it came to acknowledging the possibility that Britain might have to confront the Third Reich by force of arms in order to stop Hitler’s expansionist agenda...

From the June 27th, 1936 morning edition of the New York Post:

BADOGLIO WARNS HITLER

Italian Premier Vows All-Out War If Germany Attempts Invasion

From the 2007 ZDF-TV documentary War Of The Mountains: When Badoglio Faced Hitler:

Although both sides had a long way to go before they could be considered fully war-ready, Germany was further along in these efforts than Italy as tensions before Hitler and Badoglio increased. The Italians had never been an especially soldierly people, whereas the Germans had a warlike tradition dating back centuries; also, Hitler from his very first day as chancellor of the Third Reich had been striving to expand both the size and strength of the German armed forces....

From Hitler vs. Schuschnigg:

The British and Italian ambassadors in Washington had a tall order in front of them; not only did they have to overcome bitter resistance from the isolationist factions in Congress in their efforts to convince the U.S. government to increase military support to the anti-Hitler alliance, but they had to somehow achieve that goal before Congress and President Roosevelt’s cabinet left Washington for the 4th of July holiday. Few if any Congressmen took seriously the idea a new war might break out in Europe, let alone the possibility the United States might have to get involved in such a conflict....

From the June 29th, 1936 evening edition of the Boston Globe:

BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO MEET WITH CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS TOMORROW

Says U.S. Is “Last Hope” For European Peace

From the June 30th, 1936 afternoon edition of the Washington Post:

ISOLATIONISTS TO RALLY OUTSIDE WHITE HOUSE ON THE 4TH

Lindbergh Says Italian Crisis “None Of Our Concern”

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