France's wartime losses and trauma extend beyond the dead to the survivors of Verdun and the wider fighting on the Western Front. In this assessment, repeated government changes and distrust of the armed forces interrupt its naval response to Italy. Italy continues building ships and capability while France struggles to sustain its programmes. American treaty entitlement also exceeds what the navy can actually build, with Congressional authority and funding delayed until 1938. Those constraints support the judgment that Italy benefits most from the settlement.
Chapter · 25:25-27:19
Italy’s advantage and France’s interrupted naval response
War losses, unstable governments and Congressional funding limits complicate claims about who benefits from the treaty.