Why did Italy enter World War I if the majority of Italians were against it? On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was killed in Sarajevo by a Serbian nationalist. This assassination, perceived as an internal threat by Austria-Hungary, led to the almost immediate outbreak of war. As a member of the Triple Alliance, Germany declared war alongside Austria-Hungary while Italy, although a member since 1882, declared its neutrality on August 4 justifying its position by the fact that “the character of the Alliance is purely political”. defensive”1 and that, therefore, it can only provide military support in the event of a defensive war. From 1914, the Italians were divided into two opposing groups, the neutralists and the interventionists formed respectively by the socialists, the Catholics and the Giolittians on the one hand and the futurists, the nationalists, certain socialists and the north of the country on the other. elsewhere. Italian interventionists glorify war as the engine of modernity and the solution to territorial expansion while neutralists call it a "needless massacre"2 and deny Italy's ability to fight or gain economic or economic benefits. territorial. Italy entered the war on December 23. May 1915 against the will of the majority of Italians. Its participation was imposed by a small minority of leaders, including Prime Minister Antonio Salandra, Foreign Minister Sidney Sonnino, King Vittorio Emanuelle III, military leaders and liberals, who found a number of advantages that could result from their participation. These territorial advantages...... middle of paper ......gave the feeling that war could be a solution to the social, political and economic problems they had suffered since unification. However, the government was still unprepared economically and militarily and did not have time to persuade the Italians in this peaceful way. Civilian and military authorities used violence, coercion, and repressive measures to recruit men from across the country to join the military. Works Cited John A. Thayer, Italy and the Great War, (Madison and Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin Press, 1964), p.279Gabrielle d'Annunzio, Discorso di Quarto, 04/05/1915Antonio Gibelli, La Grande Guerra Degli Italiani 1915 - 1918, (BUR Biblioteca Universita Rizzoli, 2007), p.32Pope Benedict 15, 1917.Telegram from Austria-Hungary Ambassador Von Merey in Rome to Count Berchtold, July 30, 1914, in the documentary archives of the First World War..