Mussolini's rise to power was facilitated by the political instability and economic chaos in Italy following World War I. In 1922, he organized a march on Rome with his blackshirts, a paramilitary group, and forced King Victor Emmanuel III to appoint him as prime minister.
As prime minister, Mussolini established a totalitarian dictatorship in Italy, suppressing all forms of political opposition and controlling the media and the education system. He also embarked on a program of economic modernization and expansion, which included the construction of new roads, railways, and factories.
In foreign policy, Mussolini pursued an aggressive and expansionist agenda. He invaded Ethiopia in 1935, which led to the imposition of sanctions by the League of Nations. He also formed an alliance with Nazi Germany in 1936, which would eventually lead to Italy's entry into World War II.
Mussolini initially supported Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939, but he was reluctant to enter the war himself. However, after France and Great Britain declared war on Germany, he joined the Axis Powers in June 1940.
Italy's performance in World War II was poor. The Italian military suffered a series of defeats in North Africa and the Mediterranean, and Mussolini's regime became increasingly unpopular at home.
In July 1943, the Allied forces invaded Sicily, and Mussolini was overthrown by the king and arrested. He was later rescued by German paratroopers and established a puppet government in northern Italy, but he was eventually captured and executed by Italian partisans in 1945.