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AMAZON BOOKS
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NOTE: STORMO! Recommended Books are denoted by the symbol 
Among the great misconceptions of modern times is the assumption that Benito Mussolini was Hitler's junior partner, who made no significant contributions to the Second World War. That conclusion originated with Allied propagandists determined to boost Anglo-American morale, while undermining Axis cooperation. The Duce's failings, real or imagined, were inflated and ridiculed; his successes, pointedly demeaned or ignored. Italy's bungling navy, ineffectual army - as cowardly as it was ill-equipped - and air force of antiquated biplanes were handily dealt with by the Western Allies. So effective was this disinformation campaign that it became post-war history, and is still generally taken for granted even by otherwise well-informed scholars and students of World War Two. But a closer examination of recently disclosed, and often neglected, original source materials presents an entirely different picture.
They shine new light, for example, on Italy's submarine service, the world's greatest in terms of tonnage, its boats sinking nearly three-quarters of a million tons of Allied shipping in three years' time. During a single operation, Italian 'human torpedoes' sank the battleships HMS Valiant and Queen Elizabeth, plus an eight-thousand-ton tanker, at their home anchorage in Alexandria, Egypt. By mid-1942, Mussolini's navy had fought its way back from crushing defeats to become the dominant power in the Mediterranean Sea.
Contrary to popular belief, his Fiat biplanes gave as good as they got in the Battle of Britain, and their monoplane replacements, such as the Macchi Greyhound, were state-of-the-art interceptors superior to the American Mustang. Savoia-Marchetti Sparrowhawk bombers accounted for seventy-two Allied warships and one hundred-ninety-six freighters before the Bagdolio armistice in 1943.
On 7 June 1942, infantry of the Italian X Corps saved Rommel's XV Brigade near Gazala, in North Africa, from otherwise certain annihilation, while horse-soldiers of the Third Cavalry Division Amedeo Duca d'Aosta defeated Soviet forces on the Don River before Stalingrad the following August in history's last cavalry charge.
As influential as these operations were on the course of World War Two, more potentially decisive was Mussolini's planned aggression against the United States' mainland. Postponed only at the last moment when its conventional explosives were slated for substitution by a nuclear device, New York City escaped an atomic attack by margins more narrow than previously understood. It is now known that Italian scientists led the world in nuclear research in 1939, and a four-engine Piaggio heavy bomber was modified to carry an atomic bomb five years later.
These and numerous other disclosures combine to debunk lingering propaganda stereotypes of an inept, ineffectual Italian armed forces. That dated portrayal is rendered obsolete by a true-to-life account of the men and weapons of Mussolini's War.
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Regio Esercito: the Italian Royal Army in Mussolini's Wars, 1935-1943.A history of the Italian Army's wars in Ethiopia, Spain, Greece, Yugoslavia, Russia, North Africa, and Sicily. The campaigns are examined in a book that draws on Italian, Russian, German, and Yugoslav sources, among others. Includes translated Russian passages. Mr. Cloutier brings attention to Italian battlefield successes. He examines a few strategic situations of World War 2, and holds that Italian forces at times were a key asset, whose misuse by the Axis cost them important victories. Black and white; 198 pages, 77 maps, 66 photos, 19 drawings, appendix, and photo annex. 237 footnotes. Available as affordable download from www.lulu.com
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A controversial reappraisal of the Italian occupation of the Mediterranean during the Second World
War which Davide Rodogno examines for the first time within the framework of fascist imperial ambitions.
He focuses on the European territories annexed and occupied by Italy between 1940 and 1943: metropolitan
France, Corsica, Slovenia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Western Macedonia,
and mainland and insular Greece. He explores Italy's plans for Mediterranean expansion, its
relationship with Germany, economic exploitation, the forced 'Italianisation' of the annexed
territories, collaboration, repression, and Italian policies towards refugees. He also
compares Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany through their dreams of imperial conquest, the role of
racism, and the 'fascistization' of the Italian Army. Based on largely
unpublished sources, this is a groundbreaking contribution to genocide, resistance, war crimes
and occupation studies as well as to the history of the Second World War more generally.
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"The focus of this study
is on Germany and its conduct of World War II as a coalition war ... was Germany
inept at conducting coalition warfare? At first glance, this might seem to be a question
that should not even be asked, since the answer should be obvious, given the outcome of
the war. To simply leave it at that, however, would be insufficient, because it begs a
whole number of questions. Was Germany better at conducting coalition warfare at some
levels of war than others? Were some services better at working with their allies
than others? Were the problems confronting Germany and its Axis allies similar to those
faced by the Allies, or were they different? Did the German military learn anything in
this regard from the experience of the First World War?
... another element that comes into question is the performance of the Axis allied forces.
The common perception of the Italian armed forces has been subject
to a wide spectrum of revision, ranging from the views of James Sadkovich to those of
Brian Sullivan, MacGregor Knox, and Lucio Ceva ... In terms of land warfare, Rommel
probably got more out of the Italian units under his command than he expected,
certainly more than the British would care to admit ... Italian artillery and
antiaircraft units provided good support to the German Twelfth Oasis Company
in its defense of Sidi Omar. One of Rommel's officers gave much of the credit
for the successful defense of Halfaya Pass in June 1941 to the Italian infantry.
Likewise, Italian armored units, especially the Ariete Armored Division, did
well during the Crusader battles, and during the retreat to Agedabia,
the rear guards of the Italian infantry divisions, aided by German mobile units and
favorable terrain, executed a number of excellent delaying actions to successfully
stymie the pursuit of the victorious but badly battered British Eighth Army ...
at the lower levels, strain was exacerbated by the Germans' habit of stealing
equipment from their allies ..." Highly Recommended.
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"The first thing to understand about World War II in North
Africa is that this was primarily Italy's war..."
A must read for anyone seriously
interested in understanding the Italian participation in WWII North Africa.
Highly Recommended.
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Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts: Mussolini's Elite Armoured Divisions
A superb account of Italian Tank Units in North Africa.
Highly detailed and balanced account of warfare in North Africa.
The campaign in North Africa during WWII was one of the most important of the conflict.
The allies fought for control of North Africa against the German Afrika Korps led by Rommel.
But the part played by Mussolini's Italian troops, and in particular the armored divisions,
in support of the Germans is not so well known. This painstakingly researched book looks in
detail at the role of Mussolini's three armored divisions - Ariete, Littorio and Centauro
- and the invaluable part they played in Rommel's offensive between 1941 and 1943. Indeed,
the author is able to show that on many occasions the presence and performance of the Italian
armored divisions was crucial to the success of the axis campaign.
Highly Recommended.
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Italian tanks formed
a large part of the Axis armored force that the Allies confronted in North Africa
in the early years of World War II. Those tanks were the
product of two decades of debate and development as the Italian military struggled
to produce a modern, mechanized army in the aftermath of World War I. For a time,
Italy stood near the front of the world's tank forces--but once war came,
Mussolini's Iron Arm failed as an effective military force. This is the story
of its rise and fall. Recommended.
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Modern Library Classics.
Recommended.
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The Italian Army Part I. At its peak the Italian Army contributed 2.5 million troops to the Axis war effort. In addition to its major role in North Africa, Italy's army invaded, and later bore the main burden of occupying, the Balkan countries. Italy also sent 250,000 men to fight on the Russian Front.
Recommended.
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The Italian Army Part II. At its peak the Italian Army contributed 2.5 million troops to the Axis war effort. In addition to its major role in North Africa, Italy's army invaded, and later bore the main burden of occupying, the Balkan countries. Italy also sent 250,000 men to fight on the Russian Front.
Recommended.
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The Italian Army Part III. At its peak the Italian Army contributed 2.5 million troops to the Axis war effort. In addition to its major role in North Africa, Italy's army invaded, and later bore the main burden of occupying, the Balkan countries. Italy also sent 250,000 men to fight on the Russian Front.
Recommended.
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Overview of the Italian Invasion of Abyssinia. Recommended.
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The focus of this book is the tank battles fought during the
opening phase of the war in North Africa. What really happened
during the engagements? How were the tanks fought? What were their
strengths and weaknesses? Not simplified generalities, but substantive,
basic facts gleaned from searching for details in the surviving original
records.
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Galeazzo Ciano: Diary 1937-1943
records his growing disenchantment with the German alliance and with Mussolini
himself. The diary was smuggled to Switzerland in spite of Nazi attempts
to capture it (Click the Amazon Icon to Order).
Not Yet Rated
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