Overview

Forged on the battlefields of France, Greece and North Africa, the Italian Army's armoured units fought effectively despite inferior weapons and equipment and the challenging conditions that they faced This book describes the formation and battle performance of the major armoured units such as the Ariete, Littorio and Centauro divisions together with lesser known special forces such as the motorized X Arditi Regiment and the Raggruppamenti Esploranti, or special reconnaissance units. It traces their development during the 1930s to then focus on their combat experience in France, Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia, East Africa, North Africa, and Sicily. Finally, the book also describes the establishment of the 1. Divisione Corazzata M. Camicie Nere (M Blackshirts Armoured division) of 1943 which was fully equipped with German supplied tanks and self propelled guns. Covering the period between 1940 to 1943, the book reconstructs the history of these units by relying on their war diaries, official histories and other rare archival documents. In some cases, the book also draws from Allied or German archive documents. It is illustrated throughout with rare wartime photographs, maps and detailed descriptions of their formation, training, tactics, weapons and armour. 72 b/w photos, 4 maps

Full Product Details

9781911628811

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Reviews

If you have any interest in North Africa during World War II, then this book is a must have. Buy it, you won’t be disappointed. * hamsterwrangler.com * [Paolo Morisi] provides an in-depth overview of the origins and evolution of Mussolini's armored weapon until the armistice of September 1943. * VaeVictus Magazine, No 173 (translated from French) * Taking information from many sources, war diaries, personal recollections, this is an Italian perspective of WW2 armoured warfare. This book gives a more up-to-date evaluation of WW2 Italian armoured forces.  Recommended. * Tracklink Magazine Issue 119, 2024; Tankette Magazine 59:4, 2024; Model Military International 223, 2024 *

Author Information

Paolo Morisi is a military historian who has written extensively on the Italian Army during World War One and Two. He has published several books and articles on such topics as the Folgore Parachute Division, the Alpini and Austro-Hungarian stormtroopers of the First World War, the Savoia Marchetti S.79 torpedo bomber and the Axis air forces of the Second World War.

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