Benito Mussolini 13

 While Mussolini understood that peace was essential to Italy’s well-being, that a long war might prove disastrous, and that he must not „march blindly with the Germans,“ he was beset by concerns that the Germans „might do good business cheaply“ and that by not intervening on their side in World War II he would lose his „part of the booty.“ His foreign secretary and son-in-law, Count Galeazzo Ciano, recorded that during a long, inconclusive discussion at the Palazzo Venezia, Mussolini at first agreed that Italy must not go to war, „then he said that honor compelled him to march with Germany.“
Mussolini watched the progress of Hitler’s war with bitterness and alarm, becoming more and more bellicose with each fresh German victory, while frequently expressing hope that the Germans would be slowed down or would meet with some reversal that would satisfy his personal envy and give Italy breathing space. When Germany advanced westward, however, and France seemed on the verge of collapse, Mussolini felt he could delay no longer. So, on June 10, 1940, the fateful declaration of war was made.