Italy gets part of Saudi Arabia and Dalmatia

If Italy had got the Red sea coast of Saudi Arabia from the Ottomans and the Dalmatian coast from Austria-Hungary after WW1, how would the world look like today? Would Italy still face the same problems it faced at the time? Would fascism still be a thing? Would there be a war between Italy and Saudi Arabia?
 
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I think Dalmatia is much more likely, given that it was a wartime demand and all. For that to happen... would probably require better Italian performance. Not sure how to accomplish this- my first thought is to expedite the Allied Victory, maybe by an earlier US entry or a better Russian performance somehow (or an ASB thing like Gallipoli going through) as a stronger Russia would put more pressure on Austria, Germany and the Ottomans, which would make Italy's goals easier.
 
I think Dalmatia is much more likely, given that it was a wartime demand and all. For that to happen... would probably require better Italian performance. Not sure how to accomplish this- my first thought is to expedite the Allied Victory, maybe by an earlier US entry or a better Russian performance somehow (or an ASB thing like Gallipoli going through) as a stronger Russia would put more pressure on Austria, Germany and the Ottomans, which would make Italy's goals easier.
Maybe keep the US and Wilson's ethnic determinism out of Europe?
 

Philip

Donor
Could be establishing a protectorate over the Hejaz, which would be useful to the Hashemites since they'll gain a protector against the Saudis.

Italy's OTL slaughter of 80k the native Cyrenaican population and the expulsion of another 100k might make the Hashemites a bit nervous about the protector's intentions.
 
Italy's OTL slaughter of 80k the native Cyrenaican population and the expulsion of another 100k might make the Hashemites a bit nervous about the protector's intentions.

That hadn't happened yet, plus the Italians could easily villify the Senussi and point to the Hashemites as a "model" Arab protectorate. They also might not have as many reasons to respond with such violence, since Libya makes a far better settler colony than the Hejaz. The Hashemites know the Saudis pose a much more imminent threat to their position than the Italians do at the moment.

If a rebellion happened, I'd assume it would probably involve the local Hejazis deposing the Hashemites and starting (another) war with the Saudis via inviting them in. If you have Italians and wealthy Europeans strolling in Mecca and Medina and "defiling" the sanctity of the place, suddenly the Wahhabi/pro-Saudi message starts to make a lot of sense.
 
The performance in the war should not have been relevant, otherwise Serbia who was soundly defeated (although after a strong resistance) should not have been awarded anything at the peace table. In any case, the CPs breakthrough at Caporetto was contained by Italian forces only (the 10 Franco-British divisions which were sent to the Italian front arrived well after the front had stabilized on the Piave river, and in any case they were never used on front line but were kept in reserve near Verona, some 150 km from the front. Even in 1918 these division were kept as reserve; the only exception was a British division which participated in the repulse of the June CP offensive and fought on the Asiago plateau for the short duration of this offensive. The final offensive which broke the Austrian resistance was fought by Italian troops only.

Re. the OP question, Dalmatia should have been awarded to Italy, in accordance with the pact of London in 1915. Unfortunately it was not in the interest of the Franco-British to allow the Adriatic to become an Italian lake, which is also the main reason for the creation of Yugoslavia and for the French attempt to create a Danubian alliance which would have blocked any Italian attempt to penetrate politically and commercially in the Balkans. In order to avoid being seen as a betrayal of the pact of London, Wilson's naive position on ethnic borders was supported: it is interesting to see that neither the Slovenes (who wanted to remain with Austria) nor the Croats (who wanted to stay independent or alternatively remain in some federal form with Austria) were asked what they wanted.
This said, the Italian delegation at Versailles would have been much smarter to stay in Paris and negotiate, rather than leaving in a huff and allowing the others to dictate the terms.

Getting a LoN mandate over the Arabian coast would have been like asking for troubles: by the end of WW1, ibn Saud had already won over all of Arabia, excepting only the "kingdom of Hejaz" which was Ottoman until WW1, but administered by the Sharif of Mecca, a title which had traditionally belonged to the Hashemite family.
The "kingdom of Hejaz" was created by fiat in 1916 by the British and the new king (Sharif Hussein) became also an Entente co-belligerent against the Ottomans. By 1925, ibn Saud had defeated the Hashemites, and Saudi Arabia was born. Note that the British did not intervene, although they created new thrones for the Hashemite heirs (Jordan and Iraq, since Syria went to the French under the Sikes-Picot agreement).
This is not the place for discussing the story of ME in the inter-bellum period, but if anyone is interested I always recommend "Kingmakers: the Invention of Modern Middle East" by K. E. Meyer and S. B. Brysac https://books.google.it/books/about/Kingmakers.html?id=hcZrEHg4sdsC&redir_esc=y&hl=en
The book was published in 2008, but it is still a must-read for anyone who wants to understand why the ME is the mess that it is.
 
Why? Is not like his ethnic determinism was that much enforced anyway.

During the negotiation he had took a very pro-jugoslavian stance, and it was really determinated to make his view extremely enforced in that case; an italian-jugoslavian agreement has been signed only in 1920 thanks to him.

Could Italy have (just) been given a mandate over Asir and (non-British) Yemen?

Yeah, almost happened in OTL during the late 20's IRC;
 
During the negotiation he had took a very pro-jugoslavian stance, and it was really determinated to make his view extremely enforced in that case; an italian-jugoslavian agreement has been signed only in 1920 thanks to him.

Yeah, almost happened in OTL during the late 20's IRC;
But didn't the Allies also kinda ignore Italian claims and demans during Versailles? I imagine Italy achieving some breakthrough victory against the Austria would have made their position during their negotiations stronger, possibly gaining direct control of Fiume and over the territory claimed in the treaty of Rome.
 
But didn't the Allies also kinda ignore Italian claims and demans during Versailles? I imagine Italy achieving some breakthrough victory against the Austria would have made their position during their negotiations stronger, possibly gaining direct control of Fiume and over the territory claimed in the treaty of Rome.

Both France and the UK were not that thrilled in an excessive expansion of Italy in the balkan, but basically let Wilson being their hatchetman as he was a true believer and was a great supporter of Jugoslavia, plus he seen the italian claim as just a nasty territory grab (sure they were, but that can be said of all the other nations).
Wilson rendered null and void the previous agreement (the 'secret treaties') and so a diplomatic shitstorm started.
 
Both France and the UK were not that thrilled in an excessive expansion of Italy in the balkan, but basically let Wilson being their hatchetman as he was a true believer and was a great supporter of Jugoslavia, plus he seen the italian claim as just a nasty territory grab (sure they were, but that can be said of all the other nations).
Wilson rendered null and void the previous agreement (the 'secret treaties') and so a diplomatic shitstorm started.
I wonder if he would have had the ability to do the same had the Italian fared better(well in terms of results, not of effort), at the end of the day Italy got Zara and Fiume was basically left in a Danzig-like situation or even had better diplomatic standing(by virtue of having better diplomat or "luck"), I don't think having Wilson around inherently stops Italy from getting more land, even most of their claims at this point.
 
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