Here's an interesting video of XMas Lupo Bn on the Gothic line in 1944 by icunowlibra. It touches on the Canadian troops that were present there. I'm near the Mewata Armory in Calgary and often come across our young people who serve this country bravely. The other day I was chatting with one of our service people who deployed to Latvia with the Canadian-led NATO battle group. Anyway, please like and subscribe to icunowlibra if you like his content, all the interviews on this channel are original. Its great that these interviews (eye-witness accounts) are documented, and which add a human element to what happened there. icunowlibra also posted a 4 part video of S.79 Aces.
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VIDEO: Xa MAS Lupo BN Gothic Line 1944
Re: VIDEO: Xa MAS Lupo BN Gothic Line 1944
Really interesting. In Part 3, the secret correspondence between Churchill and Mussolini is mentioned, once again. Who knows if one day this correspondence will be made public. I do not believe.
Re: VIDEO: Xa MAS Lupo BN Gothic Line 1944
The photo (above in the YouTube video) of the Xa Mas Lupo Bn grenadier holding a Panzerfaust he used to destroy the Sherman behind him, grenades tucked into his pouch and belt and an M91 carbine slung around his back with camo pattern upper vest is striking - it would make a great poster. The truth of the matter is, that although in theory, these weapons were an answer to armor (and RSI units were proficient in the use of this weapon), the infantry that operated them had to get very close to score a kill (because of accuracy, the hollow charge wasn't affected by distance) which exposed them to small arms fire from supporting infantry - it was a dangerous job.
Supposedly a copy of the Churchill letters exists in a private collection but my feeling is that these copies (if the letters had indeed been copied) are probably long gone and thus history erased. There's a saying, history is written by the victors (this saying btw is attributed to none other than Churchill himself - the irony) and I think there is no better example than this case. Fascinating but I'm glad Italians are becoming aware and interested in this period, too often ignored or dismissed as unimportant or more often misrepresented.
Supposedly a copy of the Churchill letters exists in a private collection but my feeling is that these copies (if the letters had indeed been copied) are probably long gone and thus history erased. There's a saying, history is written by the victors (this saying btw is attributed to none other than Churchill himself - the irony) and I think there is no better example than this case. Fascinating but I'm glad Italians are becoming aware and interested in this period, too often ignored or dismissed as unimportant or more often misrepresented.
Re: VIDEO: Xa MAS Lupo BN Gothic Line 1944
Don't believe Vince. Unfortunately in Italy there is no general interest in shedding light on various aspects of that period and even today those who want to delve deeper into these topics do so privately otherwise they are immediately accused of being fascist. People's culture is easily created with clichés. An example: in recent weeks a series called "M: il figlio del secolo" (I think at the moment only the UK has bought the rights) is being broadcast which describes how Mussolini and Fascism took power in Italy. Even with numerous historical references, much is distorted and much is hidden, but popular culture is like this: it is easier to watch a series on TV rather than read book after book. The simplest thing is to say that the good ones are the whites and the bad ones are the blacks.
Ciao
Ciao
Re: VIDEO: Xa MAS Lupo BN Gothic Line 1944
If you get a chance you should read Ciano's Diary, below is a link to my notes - I didn't get a chance to write a proper article.
Ciano's Diary 1937-1943 - Book review
And read the unbridged version of the diary. It should be required reading for all students of History of this period, it doesn't just cover Italian domestic issues or their wars but foreign affairs with the UK, France, Germany, USSR, USA, Hungary etc. It's impossible to understand Italy's position in WWII and the decisions that were taken without reading it, and this is where too many historians go wrong, often in their laziness or disinterest they copy the inaccuracies written before them. Today, Google is considered by many as research and Wikipedia as an invaluable tool - incredible.
Ciano's Diary 1937-1943 - Book review
And read the unbridged version of the diary. It should be required reading for all students of History of this period, it doesn't just cover Italian domestic issues or their wars but foreign affairs with the UK, France, Germany, USSR, USA, Hungary etc. It's impossible to understand Italy's position in WWII and the decisions that were taken without reading it, and this is where too many historians go wrong, often in their laziness or disinterest they copy the inaccuracies written before them. Today, Google is considered by many as research and Wikipedia as an invaluable tool - incredible.
Re: VIDEO: Xa MAS Lupo BN Gothic Line 1944
.... in fact I just bought the book Storia del Fascismo in which the author Emilio Gentile ... "neither presupposes nor proposes a theory. It tells the facts that happened, as it was possible to know them through primary documents."
It is a substantial book (1376 pages).
It is a substantial book (1376 pages).
Re: VIDEO: Xa MAS Lupo BN Gothic Line 1944
We once had a very good Amazon bookstore with a great collection of books on these subjects but Amazon no longer supports third-party stores.
The best and only YouTube video I recommend on this subject is the video below. The author's accent sounds Eastern European. I don't know who the author/cc is, but he appears to be a historian and has likely spent time in Italy. It's an excellent video worth watching, from beginning to end as it clears up many misconceptions.
The best and only YouTube video I recommend on this subject is the video below. The author's accent sounds Eastern European. I don't know who the author/cc is, but he appears to be a historian and has likely spent time in Italy. It's an excellent video worth watching, from beginning to end as it clears up many misconceptions.