Mutilated victory

Mutilated victory (Italian: vittoria mutilata) is a term coined by Gabriele D’Annunzio at the end of World War I, used by a part of Italian nationalists to denounce the partial infringement (and request the full application) of the 1915 pact of London concerning territorial rewards in favor of the Kingdom of Italy.

As a condition for entering the war against Austria-Hungary and Germany, Italy was promised, in the treaty of London signed in 1915 with the powers of the Triple Entente, recognition of control over Italian Tyrol, the Austrian Littoral and Dalmatia—territories with sizeable ethnic Italian populations which had not become part of the Kingdom upon Italian unification in the late 19th century. Additionally, Italy was assured ownership of the Dodecanese, protection over Albania, and a sphere of influence around the Turkish city of Antalya, alongside a possible enlargement of her colonial presence in Africa.

At the end of the war, despite the initial intention of the United Kingdom and France to remain faithful to the pact, objections by the United States, eventually supported by the British and the French, and in particular conflict over the concept of self-determination spelled out by President Wilson in his Fourteen Points, led to the partial disapplication of the agreement and to the retraction of substantial promises recognized at the onset of the conflict. Italy gained Italian Tyrol, the Austrian Littoral, and some colonial compensations, but was not awarded the city of Fiume, League of Nations mandates, and Dalmatian territories with the exception of the city of Zara.

Together with the economical cost of mobilization and the social turmoil ensuing from the end of the war, the infringement of the treaty is generally believed to have fueled the consolidation of Italian irredentism and Italian nationalism, and became a focal point in the propaganda, among others, of the National Fascist Party, which sought to expand the borders of the Italian state.