Italy needed time and industrial development before it could rearm rapidly, while Mussolini wanted the prestige of great-power participation. By making Britain and France court Italian cooperation, he gained leverage and avoided the cumulative cruiser, destroyer, submarine, and capital-ship constraints imposed on the three principal signatories. This created a strategic contradiction for Britain: an unlimited Italian submarine force sat astride Mediterranean imperial routes while British escort forces were capped. Because Italy remained bound by individual ship limits rather than overall category ceilings, the treaty could advertise equality while leaving a strategically placed potential adversary room to expand.
Chapter · 28:42-33:36
How Italy escaped the treaty's cumulative limits
Mussolini used Italy's weak industrial position and desire for status to secure fewer cumulative restrictions than Britain, America, and Japan accepted.