page_title: Axis powers
section_title: Italy
hierarchical_section_title: Axis powers / Founding members of the Axis / Italy
context_page_description: The Axis powers, also known as "Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis" was a military alliance that fought in World War II against the Allies. The Axis powers agreed on their opposition to the Allies, but did not completely coordinate their activity.
  The Axis grew out of the diplomatic efforts of Germany, Italy, and Japan to secure their own specific expansionist interests in the mid-1930s. The first step was the treaty signed by Germany and Italy in October 1936. Benito Mussolini declared on 1 November 1936 that all other European countries would from then on rotate on the Rome–Berlin axis, thus creating the term "Axis". The almost simultaneous second step was the signing in November 1936 of the Anti-Comintern Pact, an anti-communist treaty between Germany and Japan. Italy and Spain joined the Pact in 1937. The "Rome–Berlin Axis" became a military alliance in 1939 under the so-called "Pact of Steel", with the Tripartite Pact of 1940 leading to the integration of the military aims of Germany, Italy and Japan.
  At its zenith in 1942 during World War II, the Axis presided over territories that occupied large parts of Europe, North Africa, and East Asia.
caption: Italian Macchi C.200 fighter aircraft during the war
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