This new defense of Italian borders was actually a project on the edge of the country's industrial and economic capacities. In fact, over the years the works suffered significant slowdowns due to the lack of funds, but also of
raw materials .
The economic shortcomings often forced the use of inadequate materials: the use of
steel was rare due to the difficulty in finding raw materials, due in part to the
sanctions imposed on Italy for its
invasion of Ethiopia and partly to the
autarchy imposed by the fascist regime that created production and retrieval difficulties. To cope with the shortage of raw materials,
Adolf Hitler sent huge quantities of goods to Italy. The steel that arrived, which was used for cannons and generally for weapons, was melted again in order to obtain
beams and
armored loopholes for use in fortified works. Also the coal that was used to feed the blast furnaces of the iron and steel industries responsible for the production of armor, armored doors and for the production of concrete was sent from Germany.
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