 Mussolini was very devoted, eventually sending in 37,000 men and huge numbers of planes to ensure that this "campaign against communism" would succeed.The foreign press started to heap pressure on Mussolini when Italian troops suffered a major defeat at Guadalajara, which led to Mussolini sending in normal troops rather than militia to fight in Spain, eventually ruining the Italian economy with the expense of a war Mussolini thought would end any day.This war also distracted Italy, allowing Germany to carry out the annexation of Austria with the Anschluss, a move that otherwise may have been a breaking point between the two powers, due to Austria's alliance with Fascist Italy.