@@aaronfield7899 Very unsporting of Franco to not join the Axis when it was only thanks to Mussolini and Hitler's help that he won the civil war. But he was vindicated in the end, probably saw that the Axis could not win the war, and so he didn't throw Spain into the Axis.
@@NoName-hg6cc Yes, with how damaged Spain was from its civil war especially, I don't know how much Spain could have contributed to the Axis side even if Franco had been dumb and/or honorable enough to join Hitler and Mussolini.
There are two movies already, both shot in the 60s ... one from the Italian perspective, one from the British. I think one was called simply ‘The Valiant’. And the run on Gibraltar inspired another film called ‘The Silent Enemy’. It may be that those attacks also inspired Ian Fleming to write ‘Thunderball’ (underwater action, Italian villain). Fleming was stationed in Gibraltar at that time.
@@arnaldoteodorani277 Thanks for that information. I appreciate it. I didn't know that tidbit of info about "Thunderball"(my favorite Bond movie). It wouldn't surprise me if this particular event inspired Fleming to put this into his book and eventually the movie.
Could we apreciate those graphics? Those are great ones, i couldn't imagin the amount of work who that would carry. The details on the shore, and especially the cities ashore, are great. The work is better even when you believe who it could not be more.
ppl give them shit but Italins could fight, and well at that, just they had bad leadership.Under Rommel they wiped out the Brits in East Libya against orders in a matter of days
The history of Rome is the history of the world. Period. Nobody else has contributed more to western civilization than Romans/Italians, by extension of their influence and culture in Iberia, France, England, Germany ect.
@@tylerhill9510 nah, more like europe China was the "Rome of Asia" and influenced a larger amount of people. It depends on period too, for example Slavs basically haven't been affected by Rome in any capacity Unless u consider Religion as a Roman concept
The Italian raid on Alexandria port was later an inspiration for the creation of Egyptian naval special forces that carried out several sucessful underwater attacks against the port of Eilat during the war of attriation 1967-1970.
@@Boykofan in the past there was so much discrimination no one can deny that (that was to be expected as being minority), but now things have changed, with alot of people become open minded and denouncing racism and discrimination ... Afterall we are all obliged by the law.
One of my Great Grandfathers manned a MAS during WW1; won a medal for valour. There's a street in his home-town named after him. (I know this is only vaguely relevant, but oh well.)
May I ask what was your great grandfather's name? I want to see if there is some info about him on the archives of the Ministero della Difesa's website. :)
The X MAS was the first frogmen unit in the world and its men were an example of the Italian genius that led to the development of the hyperbaric chamber, the first SDVs and innovative tactics. Only the few enthusiasts know that former members of this unit were sent around the world to train practically every other frogmen unit including SEALs, SBS and the famous Israeli S13 founded by two Italians. The latter unit used their tactics to carry out a series of raids in the 1980s. Even today the GOI of the Italian Navy trains and works constantly with them and is considered to be at the forefront of the world in specific fields such as that of underwater vehicles produced in Italy ( they are said to be 10 years ahead of the others). VIVA the X MAS!
the real name was not "the pig". I thought it was from Borghese or some other engineer. After several failed attempts to start the engine, he yelled: Can anyone start this pig?? after that everyone called it the "pig", the diver used also as first frogman a re-breather system, so you couldn't see any air bubbles at the surface! this was a very important new device and of course the hyperbaric chamber!!
@@NoName-hg6cc vedi che sei una persona senza senso? Secondo te erano delle persone equilibrate,che hanno avuto 1infanzia spensierata,senza abusi,sopraffazione? Se studi le loro gesta eroiche e sinceramente quasi suicide, o cercate o sotto l obbligo di superiori che all epoca non avevano nessun senso di tutela o accorgimento, erano sicuramente ragazzi fortemente traumatizzati,che le forze speciali di oggi,che ingaggiato il nemico solo se in evidente vantaggio di sorpresa, tattico,di armamenti: uccidere 10 poveri afghani ,che al massimo hanno un RPG ogni 5,e un kalashnikov, i nostri INCURSORi,bravi ,ma quando nlhai visori termici ,droni che ti fanno il punto da 5000mt con super visori,poi c'è sempre un2ndo gruppo che li secca a distanza solo se respirano. 2 minuti tutto finito.per non dimenticare mangusta, in Afganistan così operavano,di copertura.Gli arditi si gettavano in trincee dove l austriac era famoso per le mazze.entrambi i gruppi se ne uscivano vivi ,altro che trauma post bellico.molti di questi venivano allontanati dall esercito a fine guerra,perché elementi pericolosi per ae e altri.chi sa dove finivano.Dop0 10 milioni di giovani morti ,chi sa che fine facevano.hai presente apocalipse now,un film,ma quando fai determinate cose,non si torna a giocare a bocce ,non avevano antidepressivi...:- è matto,manicomio
Italo Balbo: We need man, reinforcements, supplies, ammunition, tanks, aircrafts and we're dangerously low in fuel as the British fleet is killing our supply lines Italian Logistic officer: Damn, that's harsh man but sorry, we can't do anything Italo Balbo: We're also very low on pasta Italian Logistic officer: Mama mia, perche cazzo non me lai detto subito, abordo ai maiale e fuoco a volonta. Probably.
Never understimate the italians in raids, guerrilla, siges and single combat. If you underestimate us in pitched battles you are right lol, we always lacked discipline and most of all cooperation skills.
@@wisdomleader85 Alpine warfare too was impressive (Alpini Corps in Russia, battle of Nikolayevka). Also the Folgore in El Alamein, Bersaglieri overall and the Trento, Trieste and Sabratha div. at Tel el Eisa vs the Australians (defeating even the Aussie div of the heores of Tobruk). Italy was impressive on the field as soldiers, but really poor in it's high command chain, resources and tech.
''The German soldier has impressed the world, however the Italian Bergsagliere soldier has impressed the German soldier.'' Erwin Rommel. I know these guys weren't Bergsagliere, but similar theme with the quality of some Italian forces.
@GoodGirlKate And most of modern Historians believe that Rommel opionion on Italian Officers are too hard. Most of them had to fight a modern and mobile war after 20 years of no-thinking. They did what they could in a war none of them was even prepared to think and went on willpower and sacrifices. After two years in such ways morale was low.
Interesting fact: 2 italian frigates named Emilio Bianchi and Sprtaco Schergat (two X MAS seamen who took part in the attack to Alexandria harbour) have been sold in 2020 to Egypt. The ships are now based in Alexandria itself.
The italian navy's work in WWII is often underestimated. Another serious issue they had was shell manufacturing quality, specially in high calibers. This saved multiple RN ships...
That's actually an invention of Adm. Iachino. There wasn't any issue with shell manufacturing quality, nor with salvo dispersion of Italian ships. Italians had never been impressed by British gunnery in the Mediterranean, and the only British ships they recognised having good accuracy were the older 8-guns light cruisers. Italian heavy cruisers had been the only one to score several +20km hits of any power in the conflict.
@@neutronalchemist3241 That's mostly because the Italian Navy engaged from far too distant ranges, making most of their actions useless. Though they searched for engagements often, that's true, but lacked proper air reconnaissance and radar.
Two additions to a very interesting video: 1. The submarine Scire was sunk in the entrance of Haifa harbour on August 12 1942 by the HMT Islay and a shore battery on Mt. Carmel. In 1984 the remains of most of the crew were extracted and brought to burial in the port of Bari Italy. 2. On October 22, 1948 the Israeli navy used MTM's purchased in Italy (and trained by a former member of the 10th flotilla) to sink the Egyptian ship Emir Farouk. The name of the Italian frogman was Fiorenzo Capriotti
Thanks for the additional info, very interesting. Capriotti was a ‘reserve’ for the Souda Bay action described in the video, I am not sure if he took part in any other raid. Do you know anything about any other Italian frogman training any other non-Italian unit?
@@arnaldoteodorani277 Former italian frogman Gianni Pugliese trained the colombian scuba unit and others trained the first Navy SEALs too. These are the only known units to have received training from X MAS veterans, in fact many other units have at least copied our tactics or got trained
It's good to see the Italians got something right during the 2nd World War and at such a small cost in terms of lives lost. Great presentation as usual. Thanks.
@@Wustenfuchs109 Thanks again. They built the most beautiful battleship I have ever seen, the Roma but it came to a very sad end, a victim of the German's new FX guided bomb, I think.
We can't compare those with... saying the late kamikaze pilots who barely even knew how to fly, the italian ones were officers with much training so their losses were most costly than the average soldier
We italians didn't have a great army. But we had these small groups of very talented and brave people very good in those kind of actions. Fun fact, the sinkers of the Viribus Unitis, Raffaele Rossetti (an engineer) and Raffaele Paolucci (a doctor) later became politicians, the former antifascist who collaborated with the republicans in the Spanish civil war, the latter fascist and, after the fallen of the fascism, monarchic
My grandfather served on HMS Valiant when it was targeted by X MAS in Alexandria. What is interesting is that the captured Italians warned the captain that the ship was doomed 10 minutes before the explosion, so all personnel could evacuate the ship. Imagine they did not warn the captain… It is likely my grandfather would have been a casualty, my father would never have been born (1944) and I would not be here writing this down. Talk about fate.
Great video. It's always worth noting that while the main Italian surface fleet was limited by fuel shortages, its existence also tied down huge amounts of Allied resources. You have to have a fleet and escorts and all the men guarding *just in case* the Italian fleet would sortie in strength. By sitting in port, they might have cost the Royal Navy far more in resources than they would have by sallying out, and that's worth remembering.
The Royal Navy suffered more losses in the Med. than in any other theater of war combined. It's even questioned if the losses suffered trying to resupply Malta had been at least compensated by its utility as a base.
Let's just ignore the fact that the Royal Navy had to be in 3 theatres around the globe and that they were having serious problems in the Mediteranean from the Luftwaffe, eh?
@@hebl47 one doesn't have to ignore that. Admiring the courage, innovation and success of one side doesn't erase the achievements of the other you know. The Royal Navy had larger commitments yes, however it was also the largest navy in the world at the time and could meet those commitments. It also had the largest oil producer in the world as a trade partner and so never had to worry about fuel shortages to a severe degree for their navy, unlike the Italians. Added to that is that the Royal Navy as a unified institution was a few hundred years old by this point being a well oiled and tested machine compared to the Italian navy which was significantly younger and had far fewer resources to work with. When you add in the British having the most advanced radar at the time and some of the most experienced naval personnel to run their vessels, the Italians do deserve a lot of credit for what they were able to accomplish as their navy was never intended or trained to fight the British, but rather the French instead.
@@hebl47 The serious problem from the Luftwaffe are BS, it was the Regia Aeronautica to give problem to them. Often allies source misleaded the Italian and German forces. In the Med wasn't Germany to keep alive the convoy logistics, but the Regia Marina and Regia Aeronautica, more than the German one as wrongly fake propagandistic sources say.
@@hebl47 I hate to break it down to you, but the Royal Navy was not the only one to fight on several theatres: besides the Mediterranean, the Italian navy was also in the Atlantic Ocean, Black Sea, Red Sea and, to a much smaller extent, in the Pacific. Annnd not all countries in WW2 had control over 25% of the whole world's population (and resources thereof) like the Commonwealth did.
As a Brit living in southern Spain, I live near Gibraltar and have visited it over a hundred times by now. It's definitely my favourite place locally. The Gibraltarians are brave people for withstanding so many sieges and bombardments over the centuries and never losing their morale 🇬🇧🇬🇮
I’d have to say that the Italians did play a pretty significant role that goes unnoticed. In the early war they tied up so much British resources by just existing as a hostile force. Just imagine if they had the fuel reserves and actually engaged the British in battle more than they actually did. It’s almost certain that over a third of the Royal Navy would’ve been lost fighting the Italians alone. That’s not even mentioning that they were fighting the Germans and on top of that the Japanese who entered the war at the time when Britain was quite literally on the ropes and stretched so paper thin.
The Italian Navy has competent crews and officers. They lacked fuel, radar and reliable air support. This didn’t have to be the case. Libya is the most oil rich region in Africa. In the 1930’s, an Italian naval engineer, Ugo Tiberio was working on radar and Marconi made a demonstration for Mussolini. They didn’t get the necessary funds to pursue it. And in World War 1, both the army and navy had integrated airforces with thousands of planes between them. Their planes were taken away when the Royal airforce was created. Many Italian naval officers pushed for building carriers as early as 1923. One other thing that should be said, is that even though their Navy performed the best of their three services, in the interwar period... they received the smallest portion of their defence budget. At least in the mid to late 1930’s. Even then, they tied up Allied Naval assets, sunk 1 million+ tons of shipping and forced them to sail around the Cape of Good Hope for three years. Had Italy stayed out of the war, things could have gone better or worse for Germany. One thing that’s very likely though, is that with a peaceful Mediterranean, the British are able to divert more men and resources to the fight against Japan and Singapore. Hamas hits was campaigning on a shoe string. The Japanese would have likely suffered a significant defeat.
@@brownsnakeded we Dont doubt that but most of what we commonly see portrayed is from the perspective of the USA . If we truly want to understand something we must look at all sides involved
we always hear of how the allies cracked the Axis codes, like the japanese communications before Midway, for example. but never had i heard that the Italians simply barged into the room and cracked the Royal Navy codes, then left mounted on a human torpedo
not only that, i saw a docu in our German tv, they showed a similar little sub that we used, but contrary to the Italian, our soldier made it only with Pervitin bcs it was a very harsh job! the Italian all without any speed or other drugs!
Excellent, a very less talked about parts of the Second World War, and the bravery of the Italian soldiers, though they didn't possess the coordination of the Germans, they were great in their own right.
I had long since known about these daring Italians and their raids. And was very impressed. These are likely some of the few effective Italian units of the war. My hat's off to them. My complements to all those who made this video a reality.
Angelo Cabrini era il comandante delle scuole CEMM a Taranto nel 67 quando mi sono arruolato. Sono fiero di averlo conosciuto e di aver servito sotto di lui. Angelo Cabrini was the commander of the CEMM schools in Taranto in '67 when I enlisted. I am proud to have known him and served under him.
Lol...are there really memes about... anything WWII related? Let alone as specific as Italians in WWII...? Or do you just mean that there aren't actually any, but based on their general perception alone, that they're worthy of them?
My guy, pretty please do one on the completion of the Reconquista. The conquest of Granada came at a time when the whole of Christendom was suffering PTSD from the fall of Constantinople. When the Catholic Monarchs entered the Alhambra, every single church/cathedral in Europe rung their bells in jubilation. Masses were held to show solidarity. There's surely a story to tell there. And there's no better storyteller than K&G.
Another impressive thing is that those frogmen captured by the Britts revealed the presence of a charge on board of the ship, but not the location of the charge. Basically they warned the British in order to save the crew of the ships. They acted in a really honorable way. Courtesy that the Britts rarely returned to our soldiers. Especially considering that their war propaganda still today depicts us as "cowards" and "traitors"... 😑
yes, this was very honorable, they knew that “normal” young sailors would die, so they waited and then told the captain so they could evacuate the ship! Italian have a very human art, i remember as they stopped me, in Germany the cops would have punished me, in Italy they told me, don't do it again ok, i said yes and they let me go
@@Ezekiel903 In Italy cops have better things to do than stop people. Usually they do that only to check out the situation. Not to persecute people randomly. The key philosophy here is: "live and let live".
@@Ezekiel903 maybe in future will change. But still, if it's a serious situation you can protest. Means gather people, signs and go to the offices or to the politicians to ask for changings. It's absolutely democratic and legal. Unless there's the use of violence, in that case every protest is shut down. Governments wants us to act in civil ways but they rarely act like that. Here in Italy so, they started to fear the people. We even have some songs that shows it. Have you ever listen the song "Tarantelle pe campà" of 99 Posse? That's exactly what I mean.
Great video!!! You are an excellent toutube chanel!! I would like to see more videos about Italy in ww2 , for example , the italian social republic,the gothic line, or about italian armies in lybia and their efforts for holding north africa
In 2021, i watch this video already knowing the outcome of the war. Also not a fan of fascism. Yet, i see myself cheering for the successes of the italians. Pretty sneaky way of disrupting the Allied Operations in the area. Gotta say...good job
My grandfather killed russians in ww2. And lost an eye to a mine his fellow soldier stepped on. And then his men couldn't come and save him for some time as russians were shooting at them so he just had to wait with face full of shrapnels.
@@guglielmolovisone6246 ma quale storia, ma per piacere basta con ste marsturbazioni mentali su stupidaggini, la storia sono i libri, non i motti fascisti buoni solo per pulirsi il sedere.
@@lokibau il fascismo è storia italiana anche se può non piacerti ed io parlo per amor di patria e non per amor di fascismo; e vado fiero di alcune azioni militari nella ww2 delle forze armate italiane. in quanto italiane e non fasciste
Brave men. The whole thing reminds me of a particularly Italian move in sword fighting called indraga mano. You get in close to your opponent, covering your dagger with your cloak and when you see your opening, wham! You throw off the cloak and thrust your blade into the man's ribs. I like their style.
Yea the brits go crazy about the time they threw barrels at some dams and glorify it. This shit is way more courageous and dangerous not to mention the damage was way more!
Regia Marina did well also in some battles in the Mediterranean Sea like the Battle ofPunta Stilo and battle of Mid August .I think Regia Marina should be reevaluated, like the role of Italy in WW2 that is understimated
Italian writer Julius Evola once wrote: "Worldview is not based on books; it is an internal form, which at times in a person with little education is expressed much more brightly, than in some other "intellectual" or scientist"
Many of these men were from Istria, my home region. S. Schergat was from Koper/Capodistria, A. Marceglia was from Piran/Pirano, L. Visintini was from Poreč/Parenzo (he lost his life on the 8th of december raid, and to conclude A. Straulino was a gamma diver, he was from Mali Lošinj/Lussigno.
Ian Fleming had access to this dossier while serving in Naval Intelligence. He based the story of Thunderball on this episode. Villain was Italian and his boat had the underwater hatch and the powered inspired weapon recovery/deployment craft.
Many don't know it, but the MAS of the Italian Navy also operated in Finland with the XII flotilla, specifically in lake Ladoga. When Leningrad was encircled and under siege by the Germans, the soviets started using the lake to transport supplies for the resistance in the area. The German command quickly took notice and asked the Italian Navy to use its specialized units to counter it.
Say what you want about WWII Italy's armed forces, but i'm in disbelief about how these guys could float, given the huge balls of steel they carried around...
Cause you do not know what their Cavalry did at Izbushensky. 200 men of the Savoia Cavalry rgt. Armed only with swords, grenades and some submachineguns used on the horses, charged and defeated 2.500 men of the 812° Siberian Soviet rgt. Armed with rifles, machineguns, mortars and cannons. Regarding the Folgore at El Alamein, stopping for 72 hours without any anti-tank weapon, 7 british rgt (4 infantry and 3 armored rgt. Plus a French free brigade battallion and Scottish cameroons battallion...you probably already know.
Allies headquarters: Urgent Report: Bad news sir, the Italians secret weapon managed to sink 5 warships and 22 cargo ships!! Allies Leadership: How much did you say we were producing? approx 2 aircraft carries a month sir. Allies Leadership: Then that is good news.
Your video is fantastic according to my account your channel is the best history channel of TH-cam it was so much interesting. It will be the best TH-cam channel in future carry on
Thank you for your videos. I have a little wish: would you keep talking about the kingdom of the two Sicily/kingdom of the Souther part of Italy, please? Have a good Day :)
Or as an option you could learn some minor conversions. You have the internet at your fingertips and conversions are quite simple. You could consider it making yourself multilingual.
Are the exact measurements really important details? A metric ton and an imperial ton is almost the same. One mile is roughly one and a half kilometers. So even if you think in metric you'll get the general idea about the weights/distances/speeds mentioned.
You are aware that many if not most of those calculations are based on WWII data that used that system, right? And why not learn a few simple conversions while you're at it? They aren't that hard really. Consider it making yourself bilingual/multilingual.
@@feibdegrassi1646 Because a lot of people who aren't you use it and they don't find it useless at all. You do have the option to make your own videos using the units of your choice. Easy enough, right?
Rome would’ve been ashamed to find out that their descendants joined the descendants of their bitter enemies instead of conquering all of Europe again.
660 Lbs,24 Feet, etc. I love your videos but could you please, at least in the video text, also show the units in metric system. I am sure that I am not the only one who would appreciate that.
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Battle of talikota pls , the enter of muslims in India ❤️❤️🇮🇳❤️❤️
Kings and Generals pls make a video on battle strategies and tactics of chatrapati shivaji maharaj the founder of maratha empire.
@@Bujuvaidya912 Oh yeah that is also important 😉
@@ritabanerjee7597 they have a schedule .🙂💫
@@baldwintheleper2568 Really
Gibraltar: "Those Italians won't be stupid to attack us directly! We are impregnable!"
Italians: "Let's rent a villa in Spain..."
So, Franco was reluctant to attack Gibraltar, but not Mussolini?
Rather a villa than a village of tents. Borghese was a cool cat for sure.
@@aaronfield7899 Very unsporting of Franco to not join the Axis when it was only thanks to Mussolini and Hitler's help that he won the civil war.
But he was vindicated in the end, probably saw that the Axis could not win the war, and so he didn't throw Spain into the Axis.
@@ennui9745Spain was probably not in condition to fight. Though it could have been useful.
@@NoName-hg6cc Yes, with how damaged Spain was from its civil war especially, I don't know how much Spain could have contributed to the Axis side even if Franco had been dumb and/or honorable enough to join Hitler and Mussolini.
The night attack on Alexandria sounds like something straight out of a movie.
Hmmmm...I think I can see a script there;-)
It does. But let's be honest: no American hero = no movie. You know how it goes.
@@Asgard2208 You're not wrong but there are a few exceptions.
There are two movies already, both shot in the 60s ... one from the Italian perspective, one from the British. I think one was called simply ‘The Valiant’. And the run on Gibraltar inspired another film called ‘The Silent Enemy’. It may be that those attacks also inspired Ian Fleming to write ‘Thunderball’ (underwater action, Italian villain). Fleming was stationed in Gibraltar at that time.
@@arnaldoteodorani277 Thanks for that information. I appreciate it. I didn't know that tidbit of info about "Thunderball"(my favorite Bond movie). It wouldn't surprise me if this particular event inspired Fleming to put this into his book and eventually the movie.
Could we apreciate those graphics? Those are great ones, i couldn't imagin the amount of work who that would carry. The details on the shore, and especially the cities ashore, are great. The work is better even when you believe who it could not be more.
You have to give the Italians credit for their courage and inventiveness.
@@PROVOCATEURSK oh, come one.. You right if you wrote by Christianity and senate
ppl give them shit but Italins could fight, and well at that, just they had bad leadership.Under Rommel they wiped out the Brits in East Libya against orders in a matter of days
I give them credit for making good food. Idk about that other stuff
The history of Rome is the history of the world. Period. Nobody else has contributed more to western civilization than Romans/Italians, by extension of their influence and culture in Iberia, France, England, Germany ect.
@@tylerhill9510 nah, more like europe China was the "Rome of Asia" and influenced a larger amount of people. It depends on period too, for example Slavs basically haven't been affected by Rome in any capacity Unless u consider Religion as a Roman concept
The Italian raid on Alexandria port was later an inspiration for the creation of Egyptian naval special forces that carried out several sucessful underwater attacks against the port of Eilat during the war of attriation 1967-1970.
There is Egyptian movie about these attacks it's name is away to eilat in Arabic الطريق الى إيلات
You learn something new every day. Thanks.
I'm Egyptian from Alexandria 🇪🇬 but I have never heard about these stories ... Thanks for the wonderful video
Are you Coptic?
@@Boykofan yes
@@MichelNabil Is it tough for Coptics in egpyt or are you treated the same as anyone else
@@Boykofan in the past there was so much discrimination no one can deny that (that was to be expected as being minority), but now things have changed, with alot of people become open minded and denouncing racism and discrimination ... Afterall we are all obliged by the law.
سلملي علي عادل شاكل يسطا
Suspicious men in suspicious uniform
“Hey there! Who are you? What are you doing here?!”
“Umm we’re French”
“Oh ok, that settles it”
Je suis français!!!
Fantastic video as always.
One of my Great Grandfathers manned a MAS during WW1; won a medal for valour. There's a street in his home-town named after him. (I know this is only vaguely relevant, but oh well.)
May I ask what was your great grandfather's name? I want to see if there is some info about him on the archives of the Ministero della Difesa's website. :)
No no, molesting battleships with glorified jet-skis shows a degree of courage always worthy of note. Hats off to your great-granddad 👍
Nothing wrong with that. It's good that you had a very brave great grandfather.
What is great grandfather’s name
@@jaketurx7743 I was able to dig it up (thank you, Italian Relatives for updating English Wikipedia): Giuseppe Aonzo
"Its the 20th century, who's gonna make raids?"
The Axis: Excuse me
The UK: *ahem*
the shadow legends
@@YuiFunami man, you beat me to it :)
Italian sailor: "I steer my boat filled with explosives towards the enemy and jump before impact"
Japanese sailors and airmen: "Wait, that´s illegal!"
The X MAS was the first frogmen unit in the world and its men were an example of the Italian genius that led to the development of the hyperbaric chamber, the first SDVs and innovative tactics. Only the few enthusiasts know that former members of this unit were sent around the world to train practically every other frogmen unit including SEALs, SBS and the famous Israeli S13 founded by two Italians. The latter unit used their tactics to carry out a series of raids in the 1980s. Even today the GOI of the Italian Navy trains and works constantly with them and is considered to be at the forefront of the world in specific fields such as that of underwater vehicles produced in Italy ( they are said to be 10 years ahead of the others). VIVA the X MAS!
the real name was not "the pig". I thought it was from Borghese or some other engineer. After several failed attempts to start the engine, he yelled: Can anyone start this pig?? after that everyone called it the "pig", the diver used also as first frogman a re-breather system, so you couldn't see any air bubbles at the surface! this was a very important new device and of course the hyperbaric chamber!!
Arditi? Macellai ahahah
@@valerianocuomo996 vai a studiare
@@NoName-hg6cc vedi che sei una persona senza senso? Secondo te erano delle persone equilibrate,che hanno avuto 1infanzia spensierata,senza abusi,sopraffazione? Se studi le loro gesta eroiche e sinceramente quasi suicide, o cercate o sotto l obbligo di superiori che all epoca non avevano nessun senso di tutela o accorgimento, erano sicuramente ragazzi fortemente traumatizzati,che le forze speciali di oggi,che ingaggiato il nemico solo se in evidente vantaggio di sorpresa, tattico,di armamenti: uccidere 10 poveri afghani ,che al massimo hanno un RPG ogni 5,e un kalashnikov, i nostri INCURSORi,bravi ,ma quando nlhai visori termici ,droni che ti fanno il punto da 5000mt con super visori,poi c'è sempre un2ndo gruppo che li secca a distanza solo se respirano. 2 minuti tutto finito.per non dimenticare mangusta, in Afganistan così operavano,di copertura.Gli arditi si gettavano in trincee dove l austriac era famoso per le mazze.entrambi i gruppi se ne uscivano vivi ,altro che trauma post bellico.molti di questi venivano allontanati dall esercito a fine guerra,perché elementi pericolosi per ae e altri.chi sa dove finivano.Dop0 10 milioni di giovani morti ,chi sa che fine facevano.hai presente apocalipse now,un film,ma quando fai determinate cose,non si torna a giocare a bocce ,non avevano antidepressivi...:- è matto,manicomio
then split to become the terror dogs of salò puppets
then survived to plot a coup who got canceled at last hour
That's a great topic! You should do a video on the Battle of Legnano and the italian communes. Great videos as always
@@ktheterkuceder6825 Are Turks and Persians the Same?
@@ktheterkuceder6825 Man just answer
Yeah I'd be really interested in a video like that as well
@@tsmlaska7761 what
Italian communes...?
Lesson learned. Never underestimated the Italians.
Given the industrial development level of Italy during WWII, their warfare, especially naval warfare was fairly impressive.
Italo Balbo: We need man, reinforcements, supplies, ammunition, tanks, aircrafts and we're dangerously low in fuel as the British fleet is killing our supply lines
Italian Logistic officer: Damn, that's harsh man but sorry, we can't do anything
Italo Balbo: We're also very low on pasta
Italian Logistic officer: Mama mia, perche cazzo non me lai detto subito, abordo ai maiale e fuoco a volonta.
Probably.
Never understimate the italians in raids, guerrilla, siges and single combat.
If you underestimate us in pitched battles you are right lol, we always lacked discipline and most of all cooperation skills.
@@wisdomleader85 Alpine warfare too was impressive (Alpini Corps in Russia, battle of Nikolayevka).
Also the Folgore in El Alamein, Bersaglieri overall and the Trento, Trieste and Sabratha div. at Tel el Eisa vs the Australians (defeating even the Aussie div of the heores of Tobruk).
Italy was impressive on the field as soldiers, but really poor in it's high command chain, resources and tech.
''The German soldier has impressed the world, however the Italian Bergsagliere soldier has impressed the German soldier.'' Erwin Rommel. I know these guys weren't Bergsagliere, but similar theme with the quality of some Italian forces.
@GoodGirlKate and outdated supplies
@GoodGirlKate And most of modern Historians believe that Rommel opionion on Italian Officers are too hard. Most of them had to fight a modern and mobile war after 20 years of no-thinking. They did what they could in a war none of them was even prepared to think and went on willpower and sacrifices. After two years in such ways morale was low.
At least look it up how it's spelled if you don't know before quoting someone...
At least Italy was able to put out a fight. Be, NL, FR, CZ, GR, Yugoslavia, were wiped out in a few days.
@GoodGirlKate not terribile, extremly terrible like Badoglio, Graziani and Balbo. At least Messe was good
Interesting fact: 2 italian frigates named Emilio Bianchi and Sprtaco Schergat (two X MAS seamen who took part in the attack to Alexandria harbour) have been sold in 2020 to Egypt.
The ships are now based in Alexandria itself.
Fantastic video. Appreciated the spotlight of this corner of history.
The italian navy's work in WWII is often underestimated. Another serious issue they had was shell manufacturing quality, specially in high calibers. This saved multiple RN ships...
@GoodGirlKate yep; Italy lost a good chunk of it's merchant navy right at the start, because of this.
Yes, they could had won against the British, but no one wanted to compromise it's navy, especially after Matapan
That's actually an invention of Adm. Iachino. There wasn't any issue with shell manufacturing quality, nor with salvo dispersion of Italian ships. Italians had never been impressed by British gunnery in the Mediterranean, and the only British ships they recognised having good accuracy were the older 8-guns light cruisers. Italian heavy cruisers had been the only one to score several +20km hits of any power in the conflict.
@@omarbradley6807 As Italian i don't think so, too much tech gap and resources in favour of the Brits.
@@neutronalchemist3241 That's mostly because the Italian Navy engaged from far too distant ranges, making most of their actions useless. Though they searched for engagements often, that's true, but lacked proper air reconnaissance and radar.
Virgin: " I go kill myself vs the emperor."
vs
Chad: " I am going to survive and still explode some stuff."
Chad destroys battleships then drinks his tea at bungoloo.
The virgin Japanese kamikaze versus the chad Italian frogman commando
Two additions to a very interesting video: 1. The submarine Scire was sunk in the entrance of Haifa harbour on August 12 1942 by the HMT Islay and a shore battery on Mt. Carmel. In 1984 the remains of most of the crew were extracted and brought to burial in the port of Bari Italy. 2. On October 22, 1948 the Israeli navy used MTM's purchased in Italy (and trained by a former member of the 10th flotilla) to sink the Egyptian ship Emir Farouk. The name of the Italian frogman was Fiorenzo Capriotti
Thanks for the additional info, very interesting. Capriotti was a ‘reserve’ for the Souda Bay action described in the video, I am not sure if he took part in any other raid. Do you know anything about any other Italian frogman training any other non-Italian unit?
@@arnaldoteodorani277 no. I only know of Caprioti. He was very known in Israel
@@arnaldoteodorani277 Former italian frogman Gianni Pugliese trained the colombian scuba unit and others trained the first Navy SEALs too. These are the only known units to have received training from X MAS veterans, in fact many other units have at least copied our tactics or got trained
@@lorenzo4408 Grazie mille! Sospettavo che avessero addestrato i SEALs, ora ne ho l conferma.
@@arnaldoteodorani277 ;)
It's good to see the Italians got something right during the 2nd World War and at such a small cost in terms of lives lost.
Great presentation as usual. Thanks.
@@Wustenfuchs109 Thanks again.
They built the most beautiful battleship I have ever seen, the Roma but it came to a very sad end, a victim of the German's new FX guided bomb, I think.
We can't compare those with... saying the late kamikaze pilots who barely even knew how to fly, the italian ones were officers with much training so their losses were most costly than the average soldier
@@paultyson4389 I know it's unrelated, but are Turks and Persians different in ethnic origins?
@@stefanodadamo6809 I know it's unrelated, but are Turks and Persians different in ethnic origins?
We italians didn't have a great army. But we had these small groups of very talented and brave people very good in those kind of actions. Fun fact, the sinkers of the Viribus Unitis, Raffaele Rossetti (an engineer) and Raffaele Paolucci (a doctor) later became politicians, the former antifascist who collaborated with the republicans in the Spanish civil war, the latter fascist and, after the fallen of the fascism, monarchic
My grandfather served on HMS Valiant when it was targeted by X MAS in Alexandria. What is interesting is that the captured Italians warned the captain that the ship was doomed 10 minutes before the explosion, so all personnel could evacuate the ship. Imagine they did not warn the captain… It is likely my grandfather would have been a casualty, my father would never have been born (1944) and I would not be here writing this down. Talk about fate.
New animations are great Wow :0
Great video.
It's always worth noting that while the main Italian surface fleet was limited by fuel shortages, its existence also tied down huge amounts of Allied resources. You have to have a fleet and escorts and all the men guarding *just in case* the Italian fleet would sortie in strength.
By sitting in port, they might have cost the Royal Navy far more in resources than they would have by sallying out, and that's worth remembering.
The Royal Navy suffered more losses in the Med. than in any other theater of war combined. It's even questioned if the losses suffered trying to resupply Malta had been at least compensated by its utility as a base.
This is called "Fleet-in-Being"
Thank you K&G, this will never make it to Hollywood.
People sell the Italians short but considering the shortcomings they had to deal with, they gave the Royal Navy a hell of a fight
Let's just ignore the fact that the Royal Navy had to be in 3 theatres around the globe and that they were having serious problems in the Mediteranean from the Luftwaffe, eh?
@@hebl47 one doesn't have to ignore that. Admiring the courage, innovation and success of one side doesn't erase the achievements of the other you know. The Royal Navy had larger commitments yes, however it was also the largest navy in the world at the time and could meet those commitments. It also had the largest oil producer in the world as a trade partner and so never had to worry about fuel shortages to a severe degree for their navy, unlike the Italians. Added to that is that the Royal Navy as a unified institution was a few hundred years old by this point being a well oiled and tested machine compared to the Italian navy which was significantly younger and had far fewer resources to work with. When you add in the British having the most advanced radar at the time and some of the most experienced naval personnel to run their vessels, the Italians do deserve a lot of credit for what they were able to accomplish as their navy was never intended or trained to fight the British, but rather the French instead.
@@hebl47 The serious problem from the Luftwaffe are BS, it was the Regia Aeronautica to give problem to them.
Often allies source misleaded the Italian and German forces. In the Med wasn't Germany to keep alive the convoy logistics, but the Regia Marina and Regia Aeronautica, more than the German one as wrongly fake propagandistic sources say.
@@solinvictus1234 Forgive me but I'll trust World War 2 channel's research over your sources. You seem to have a nationalist agenda, they don't.
@@hebl47 I hate to break it down to you, but the Royal Navy was not the only one to fight on several theatres: besides the Mediterranean, the Italian navy was also in the Atlantic Ocean, Black Sea, Red Sea and, to a much smaller extent, in the Pacific. Annnd not all countries in WW2 had control over 25% of the whole world's population (and resources thereof) like the Commonwealth did.
The raiders of 10th flotilla has become shadow legend in history.
*ba dum tss*
As a Brit living in southern Spain, I live near Gibraltar and have visited it over a hundred times by now. It's definitely my favourite place locally. The Gibraltarians are brave people for withstanding so many sieges and bombardments over the centuries and never losing their morale 🇬🇧🇬🇮
I’d have to say that the Italians did play a pretty significant role that goes unnoticed. In the early war they tied up so much British resources by just existing as a hostile force. Just imagine if they had the fuel reserves and actually engaged the British in battle more than they actually did. It’s almost certain that over a third of the Royal Navy would’ve been lost fighting the Italians alone. That’s not even mentioning that they were fighting the Germans and on top of that the Japanese who entered the war at the time when Britain was quite literally on the ropes and stretched so paper thin.
The Italian Navy has competent crews and officers. They lacked fuel, radar and reliable air support. This didn’t have to be the case. Libya is the most oil rich region in Africa. In the 1930’s, an Italian naval engineer, Ugo Tiberio was working on radar and Marconi made a demonstration for Mussolini. They didn’t get the necessary funds to pursue it. And in World War 1, both the army and navy had integrated airforces with thousands of planes between them. Their planes were taken away when the Royal airforce was created. Many Italian naval officers pushed for building carriers as early as 1923. One other thing that should be said, is that even though their Navy performed the best of their three services, in the interwar period... they received the smallest portion of their defence budget. At least in the mid to late 1930’s. Even then, they tied up Allied Naval assets, sunk 1 million+ tons of shipping and forced them to sail around the Cape of Good Hope for three years.
Had Italy stayed out of the war, things could have gone better or worse for Germany. One thing that’s very likely though, is that with a peaceful Mediterranean, the British are able to divert more men and resources to the fight against Japan and Singapore. Hamas hits was campaigning on a shoe string. The Japanese would have likely suffered a significant defeat.
Yall make videos about things I didn't know I was interested in.
Please add metric system notations also, all the viewers outside USA will be grateful
Basically the whole world would appreciate it ^^
@@mikesmnell414 imagine getting hurt over a metric system notation request.
@@mikesmnell414 Ok sneed, ima get sum players
And the educated in U.S.A.
I think everyone here agrees, "More WW2 videos that are not focused on the American perspective."
hey without America's involvement you would be complaining in German since the Great War
No, because there were hardly any in this channel.
@@KnightBanditDayz look into lend lease with out it the Soviets would have collapsed also the African and Italians campaign
@@brownsnakeded I'm sure if the American soldiers saw the future we live in right now they would go to Normandy and defect to the Germans
@@brownsnakeded we Dont doubt that but most of what we commonly see portrayed is from the perspective of the USA . If we truly want to understand something we must look at all sides involved
we always hear of how the allies cracked the Axis codes, like the japanese communications before Midway, for example. but never had i heard that the Italians simply barged into the room and cracked the Royal Navy codes, then left mounted on a human torpedo
Germany had Allied convoy movements through fortytwo due to broken codes.
You have to give the Italians credit for thinking outside of the box, and being incredibly brave.
not only that, i saw a docu in our German tv, they showed a similar little sub that we used, but contrary to the Italian, our soldier made it only with Pervitin bcs it was a very harsh job! the Italian all without any speed or other drugs!
Excellent, a very less talked about parts of the Second World War, and the bravery of the Italian soldiers, though they didn't possess the coordination of the Germans, they were great in their own right.
I had long since known about these daring Italians and their raids. And was very impressed. These are likely some of the few effective Italian units of the war. My hat's off to them. My complements to all those who made this video a reality.
Angelo Cabrini era il comandante delle scuole CEMM a Taranto nel 67 quando mi sono arruolato. Sono fiero di averlo conosciuto e di aver servito sotto di lui.
Angelo Cabrini was the commander of the CEMM schools in Taranto in '67 when I enlisted. I am proud to have known him and served under him.
Very well explained. Congratulations for the accuracy and professionalism of this video
Brilliant!!! Thank you!!!
Amazing depth of history. Never heard this stuff. Thanks!
You guys are the greatest historians alive!!! It’s true!!! The best!!!!!
This video should be rubbed in the faces of those who think Italy during WW2 was just a massive source of memes.
Lol...are there really memes about... anything WWII related? Let alone as specific as Italians in WWII...? Or do you just mean that there aren't actually any, but based on their general perception alone, that they're worthy of them?
@@JahRandom there are quite a lot of memes about Italy's performance in Greece.
@@Lorscia And as Hitler wrote, the Italians were about to attack again anyway, with better organisation.
My guy, pretty please do one on the completion of the Reconquista. The conquest of Granada came at a time when the whole of Christendom was suffering PTSD from the fall of Constantinople. When the Catholic Monarchs entered the Alhambra, every single church/cathedral in Europe rung their bells in jubilation. Masses were held to show solidarity.
There's surely a story to tell there. And there's no better storyteller than K&G.
Excellent video. Didn't know much about this since victories are written by victors.
Thank you , K&G .
Another impressive thing is that those frogmen captured by the Britts revealed the presence of a charge on board of the ship, but not the location of the charge.
Basically they warned the British in order to save the crew of the ships.
They acted in a really honorable way. Courtesy that the Britts rarely returned to our soldiers.
Especially considering that their war propaganda still today depicts us as "cowards" and "traitors"... 😑
yes, this was very honorable, they knew that “normal” young sailors would die, so they waited and then told the captain so they could evacuate the ship! Italian have a very human art, i remember as they stopped me, in Germany the cops would have punished me, in Italy they told me, don't do it again ok, i said yes and they let me go
@@Ezekiel903 In Italy cops have better things to do than stop people. Usually they do that only to check out the situation. Not to persecute people randomly.
The key philosophy here is: "live and let live".
@@danielefabbro822 exactly what I mean. This rarely happens with us.
@@Ezekiel903 maybe in future will change. But still, if it's a serious situation you can protest. Means gather people, signs and go to the offices or to the politicians to ask for changings.
It's absolutely democratic and legal. Unless there's the use of violence, in that case every protest is shut down.
Governments wants us to act in civil ways but they rarely act like that.
Here in Italy so, they started to fear the people.
We even have some songs that shows it. Have you ever listen the song "Tarantelle pe campà" of 99 Posse? That's exactly what I mean.
Great video!!! You are an excellent toutube chanel!! I would like to see more videos about Italy in ww2 , for example , the italian social republic,the gothic line, or about italian armies in lybia and their efforts for holding north africa
Thanks for covering this kings 👍
In 2021, i watch this video already knowing the outcome of the war. Also not a fan of fascism. Yet, i see myself cheering for the successes of the italians. Pretty sneaky way of disrupting the Allied Operations in the area. Gotta say...good job
I'd definitely watch more on the naval warfare videos.
Nice informative topic u have shared sir keep it up......
Awesome video! Thanks!!
My grandfather was an infant during the raids on alexandria. He told me they hid in the basement from the bombing
My grandfather killed russians in ww2. And lost an eye to a mine his fellow soldier stepped on. And then his men couldn't come and save him for some time as russians were shooting at them so he just had to wait with face full of shrapnels.
Love it keep up the vids bro you really help me out and I like history :D
great video. MAS (memento audere semper) = REMEMBER ALWAYS TO DARE. the first maritime special force.
@@ragnar217 lo so, è più accattivante
@@guglielmolovisone6246 è solo una stronzata da fascisti
@@lokibau no è solo la nostra storia da italiani che ti piaccia o no!
@@guglielmolovisone6246 ma quale storia, ma per piacere basta con ste marsturbazioni mentali su stupidaggini, la storia sono i libri, non i motti fascisti buoni solo per pulirsi il sedere.
@@lokibau il fascismo è storia italiana anche se può non piacerti ed io parlo per amor di patria e non per amor di fascismo; e vado fiero di alcune azioni militari nella ww2 delle forze armate italiane. in quanto italiane e non fasciste
8:53 I couldn't stand without laughing lol
Italians: we are ok, we are french, don't mind our uniforms
Brits: oh, okay
Brave men. The whole thing reminds me of a particularly Italian move in sword fighting called indraga mano. You get in close to your opponent, covering your dagger with your cloak and when you see your opening, wham! You throw off the cloak and thrust your blade into the man's ribs. I like their style.
can you imagine just constantly dropping bombs at nothing in the sea, or firing at nothing in the sky
Nicely done Ks and Gs . Thank you.
Great video KnG i really wamt to see more coverage of the battles in world war 2 both on the western front as well as the pacific
These videos are so good my dudes
Yea the brits go crazy about the time they threw barrels at some dams and glorify it. This shit is way more courageous and dangerous not to mention the damage was way more!
That's the Brits for you
Regia Marina did well also in some battles in the Mediterranean Sea like the Battle ofPunta Stilo and battle of Mid August .I think Regia Marina should be reevaluated, like the role of Italy in WW2 that is understimated
Please more World War Two videos! Your videos are amazing, the progress is insane!
Italian writer Julius Evola once wrote:
"Worldview is not based on books; it is an internal form, which at times in a person with little education is expressed much more brightly, than in some other "intellectual" or scientist"
Many of these men were from Istria, my home region. S. Schergat was from Koper/Capodistria, A. Marceglia was from Piran/Pirano, L. Visintini was from Poreč/Parenzo (he lost his life on the 8th of december raid, and to conclude A. Straulino was a gamma diver, he was from Mali Lošinj/Lussigno.
great video as always, bit it would be even better, if you would use the metric system like 95% of the world!! 👍
Ian Fleming had access to this dossier while serving in Naval Intelligence. He based the story of Thunderball on this episode. Villain was Italian and his boat had the underwater hatch and the powered inspired weapon recovery/deployment craft.
Many don't know it, but the MAS of the Italian Navy also operated in Finland with the XII flotilla, specifically in lake Ladoga.
When Leningrad was encircled and under siege by the Germans, the soviets started using the lake to transport supplies for the resistance in the area.
The German command quickly took notice and asked the Italian Navy to use its specialized units to counter it.
A video so nice I have to watch it twice!
the frog men from italy in ww2 , are still part of there military today in the special forces branch of there navy.
New intro😆🎶
I was waiting for the classic one
Say what you want about WWII Italy's armed forces, but i'm in disbelief about how these guys could float, given the huge balls of steel they carried around...
Cause you do not know what their Cavalry did at Izbushensky.
200 men of the Savoia Cavalry rgt. Armed only with swords, grenades and some submachineguns used on the horses, charged and defeated 2.500 men of the 812° Siberian Soviet rgt. Armed with rifles, machineguns, mortars and cannons.
Regarding the Folgore at El Alamein, stopping for 72 hours without any anti-tank weapon, 7 british rgt (4 infantry and 3 armored rgt. Plus a French free brigade battallion and Scottish cameroons battallion...you probably already know.
Who will win?
Big ol Royal Warship, or 2 Italian bois on a small sub?
That intro though 🔥🔥🔥🔥
I wish you do a video about libyan/italian war.
Battle of alhani .
Battle of qordabia .
Many more .
Amazing!
Enjoyed, thanks!
Yay more WWII videos.
Superb documentary
British: "T'is but a scratch!"
Allies headquarters:
Urgent Report: Bad news sir, the Italians secret weapon managed to sink 5 warships and 22 cargo ships!!
Allies Leadership: How much did you say we were producing?
approx 2 aircraft carries a month sir.
Allies Leadership: Then that is good news.
@@jeffvella9765 yeah bring those carriers in the mediterranean if you dare.
@@hollyjaw3303 wait till I get them out of my garage ;)
I love your videos, keep up the AMAZING work
Animation has became so better that it revials Hollywood
Your video is fantastic according to my account your channel is the best history channel of TH-cam it was so much interesting. It will be the best TH-cam channel in future carry on
20 min of peace finally❤
Thank you for your videos. I have a little wish: would you keep talking about the kingdom of the two Sicily/kingdom of the Souther part of Italy, please?
Have a good Day :)
Could you please use the metric system? For the greater world it would help following around with the measurements
Or as an option you could learn some minor conversions. You have the internet at your fingertips and conversions are quite simple. You could consider it making yourself multilingual.
Are the exact measurements really important details? A metric ton and an imperial ton is almost the same. One mile is roughly one and a half kilometers. So even if you think in metric you'll get the general idea about the weights/distances/speeds mentioned.
You should make an episode on the Axis air raids on the northern provinces of Egypt.
I'd love to see an episode about Gandalf the white.
It would be great if you shown metric values for all these weights and lenghts
learn imperial we learned metric
@@brownsnakeded why learn something useless?
You are aware that many if not most of those calculations are based on WWII data that used that system, right? And why not learn a few simple conversions while you're at it? They aren't that hard really. Consider it making yourself bilingual/multilingual.
@@feibdegrassi1646 Because a lot of people who aren't you use it and they don't find it useless at all. You do have the option to make your own videos using the units of your choice. Easy enough, right?
Great job.
Italian navy under facist italy:" Weak ."
Submarines: "Do you think so?"
Wow. Brave men.
Rome would’ve been ashamed to find out that their descendants joined the descendants of their bitter enemies instead of conquering all of Europe again.
Little known raids are my favorite thing to learn about
Nicely done.
Would have liked and shared but your sponsor deterred me from doing so.
660 Lbs,24 Feet, etc. I love your videos but could you please, at least in the video text, also show the units in metric system. I am sure that I am not the only one who would appreciate that.