1917 Fiat 2000
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As the sharply increased production figures of Fiat automobiles in 1914 show, people in Italy did not seem to have given much thought to the outbreak of war, as this is often associated with the impressment of private cars,
of
which the purchase price is often not or only inadequately replaced.
With trucks it is more likely that the state covers part of the purchase price, but then take the entire vehicle in the event of war. And if the car stays with the owner, the supply of fuel is of course no longer guaranteed. The longer
the war lasts, the more rationing will occur and private car journeys will be banned altogether.
What circumstances led to Italy entering the war? It was not the Sarajevo assassination on Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. Italy had only committed itself to helping the Austrians if they were attacked. That wasn't the
case here, so Italy remained neutral.
This explains the entry into the war not before 1915, and this time on the side of the powers against Germany and especially Austria. Apparently they had made the country the bigger promises of land gains in the event of
victory. One would love to get Trentino in the north and the city of Trieste in the northeast.
So the war is against Austria. Italy is by no means prepared, is struggling with major economic difficulties and a lack of qualifications and mass emigration. Colonial wars in Africa have almost always resulted in failures.
What makes it even more difficult is that the current war is taking place more in the high mountains.
What are you supposed to do with a tank there? Fiat obviously cannot ignore the demands, but the timing is anything but good. The actual order dates from 1915, but the first prototype was not available until 1917. In total,
only
for two corresponding guns were probably ordered.
After all, it weighed no less than 40 tons, much more than the leading English tanks of the time. After all, it offered space for a crew of up to ten if all possible weapons were to be manned. The designer had previously
worked
primarily on racing cars. It was eventually named 'Fiat 2000' in 1917, recognizable by the dome-like tower.
| Here you can find more information
about the first tank in Italy from Fiat. |
Although the Central Powers, including Austria, have lost the war, more than twice as many Italian soldiers lost their lives as Austrian soldiers. And the territories finally awarded to Italy caused a lot of trouble in the case of
South Tyrol because of its German-speaking majority and Istria because of its Slavic majority.
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