"Soldiers, sailors, and aviators! Black shirts of the revolution and of the [Fascist] legions! Men and women of Italy, of the Empire, and of the kingdom of Albania! Pay heed!
An hour appointed by destiny has struck in the heavens of our fatherland. (Very lively cheers).

The declaration of war has already been delivered (cheers, very loud cries of “War! War!”) to the ambassadors of Great Britain and France. We go to battle against the plutocratic and reactionary democracies of the west who, at every moment have hindered the advance and have often endangered the very existence of the Italian people...



People of Italy!

Rush to arms and show your tenacity, your courage, your valor!"

- Benito Mussolini: Speech of the 10 June 1940, Declaration of War on France and England