Italy's focus tree is highly structured and canalized, and is certainly frustrating when a more agile Germany can derail Italian foreign policy. The tree does constrain the player in several ways, but many a focus has a bundle of bonuses attached rather than just a single one, giving the Italian tree more more substance than may appear at first.
Italy does not have a lot of Army focuses, but most of them deliver multiple rather than just single rewards. If Italy chooses to focus in this direction, the tree does allow a quick modernization of the Regio Esercito to bring it up to date for the late 1930s and in strategic areas to 1941, though beyond that it will need to research up the hard way.
Although the supreme warlord and decision-maker and skilled in political and diplomatic maneuver, Mussolini did not demonstrate any grasp of military affairs or military realities, a face most evident in connection with the planning, preparation and execution of the Greek campaign, when many deficiences were revealed (and concealed). Historically, the army's usefulness was as a symbol and tool of Fascist political and diplomatic power, measured then in divisions and battleships. In material and policy terms, the Regio Esercito received rather shabby treatment from the regime and the rival fiefdoms that made up Italian military industry.
From the '20s the modernity of the glamorous air and naval forces was offered as proof of the progressive benefits of fascism, and the air and naval efforts indeed produced forces that were numerous and up to date - for 1936. Thereafter they lagged behind the other powers due to divergent priorities and the weakness of Italian industry. However, the Italian player interested in reviving these combat services and overall military strength is aided by air and naval focuses that here again bless Italy with multiple bonuses sufficient to drive the Regia Marina and the Regia Aeronautica forward into the early 1940s.
Italy typically starts the game with the with the Ethiopian War Logistics focus, which helps supply the Ethiopian war but also leads directly to another research slot and 8 factories in between, with a following option for forts or oil exploration. As a look at the tree shows, many a focus provides more than just one bonus - there are frequently two or more, which makes the Italian tree much more rewarding than it appears on the surface.
Victory in Ethiopia unlocks the Triumph in Africa focus, which opens the large diplomatic tree that expedites an Italian Empire built either on cultivating friendship or the stark authority of Fascist force. This can bring Yugoslavia, Spain, Portugal, the Balkans and Turkey into a Novus Imperium Romanum instead of a Teutonic Pact of Steel. This tree also enables building relations with Germany and Japan and offers casus belli against France and/or Britain. All these options must be timed and navigated carefully as other countries have focus options as well that can interfere.
A 5 or 6-year plan can make use of a wide range of this range of focus options. That is enough time to succeed or fail in Italian imperial ambitions. Or Italy can fall in behind Germany with the Pact of Steel - a simpler and easier course than striking out alone. It is simpler, but the tensions between different potential commitments remain. The army, navy, and air force compete for resources, as do the goals of bringing Iberia and the Balkans into the empire and overseas ambitions in North Africa and East Africa, where Italy continues to seek its just rewards denied it after the Great War. Jumping back and forth between these choices is likely to be problematic. Prioritization and planning are needed.
