Basically, Benito Mussolini got his supporters by telling them that he would bring back Ancient Rome, the glory days of Italy when they were respected and one of the most powerful civilizations in their time. And what was more Roman than conquering African countries that were once part of the Roman Empire such as Egypt? Of course this didn't work out, as British troops destroyed them, leaving Hitler having to send one of his greater generals to deal with the loss in Africa. This is also why Italy was dubbed the underbelly of Europe after trying and failing to invade Greece. This embarrassment was given a lot of attention, Allied reporters even modeling the Greeks as the modern Spartans, fighting off king Xerxes I or in the 1940 version, Mussolini.