Fascist Italy performs even worse/weakest possible Fascist Italy

[Aloha]

So the subject of a stronger Italy seems to be pretty popular, but I wanted to talk about the opposite. Basically, how can Italy be much weaker than in OTL? What would be some mistakes it could make (before or during the war) so that it could be that terrible?

 

[ghilonif]

Easy: somewhat, have the Ethipian war turn into a failure. But it might mean there is no intervention in the Spanish civil war, and perhaps not even one in WW2, and this actually becomes a blessing, especially if Mussolini is kicked out. If not, there you might have an antiwank.

 

[Aloha]

Easy: somewhat, have the Ethipian war turn into a failure. But it might mean there is no intervention in the Spanish civil war, and perhaps not even one in WW2, and this actually becomes a blessing, especially if Mussolini is kicked out. If not, there you might have an antiwank.

I was thinking something along the lines of that too. Interesting scenario too, kind of like Italy's Finland.
The problem might be getting Ethiopia to win to begin with. Ethiopians were outnumbered and outgunned to a huge degree. Winning the war by themselves is quite difficult. Maybe the French and British could avert the war by really putting their foot down, though.
I think a failure of the Ethiopian War would also result in Hitler losing respect he had for Mussolini earlier on, and he might even call off the alliance between the two.

 

[Lusitania]

I would go with following the during month of December 1940 Italian are both defeated in Albania with the entire Italian army captured while British over run the Italians in Libya providing Mussolini with the biggest lump of coal for xmas. This results in Fascists in Italian collapsing by January 1941 and Germany instead of invading Yugoslavia and Greece instead invades Italy and Italy suffers 4 years of brutal German occupation.

 

[Evil Crusader]

Italy and Germany only entered a formal Alliance in 1938, but Ethiopian failure could probably accelerate it - they both still need a partner, and a revisionist one at that (at the very least, one who doesn't mind throwing certain targets under the bus).

I think a reasonable and subtle, but effective screw involves keeping things as OTL, except the Republicans do better and eventually win out in Spain; Italy spends even more resources and proceeds to occupy the Baleares, earning the hate of Spain. At that point, apply @Lusitania's points, plus Italy is even weaker/overextended and Spain joins the Allies when the eventual Barbarossa happens.

 

[Alex Zetsu]

How about throwing in some members of the Italian Army going for ant anti-fascist coup (but hasn't actually enacted it by 1940, so they are still going around testing for other anti-fascist officers to recruit)? They performed to pathetically OTL that aside from technological nerfing or traitors in their ranks it's hard to see how much I could make then worse. I could make their performance worse by improving the British but that isn't actually making them weaker really, just worsening their results.