Beginning in 1922, Fascist paramilitaries escalated their strategy from attacking socialist offices and homes of socialist leadership figures to violent occupation of cities, eventually setting their sites on Rome.Around 1921, the fascists began to align themselves with mainstream conservatives, increasing membership exponentially.For the next several years, the small group of fascists took part in political actions, taking advantage of worker strikes to incite violence.The first meeting of Mussolini’s Fasci of Revolutionary Action was held on January 24, 1915.The rise of fascism in Italy began during World War I, when Benito Mussolini and other radicals formed a political group (called a fasci) supporting the war against Germany and Austria-Hungary.
